Fam Lee of Three

Our new baby boy!

2011-11-18T14:40:00.007-07:00

Announcing the arrival of our new son Payson Edward Lee, born at 9:10pm on November 15th, 2011 at Mountain Vista Medical Center. Payson weighed 6 lbs 7 ounces and was 19 inches long at birth. Mom and Payson are both doing great and are now at home with daddy and Payson's big sister Lacey. Our "Fam Lee of Three" blog will now appear as "One Two Lee Four!"

Complex personalities of the toddller

2011-08-18T06:22:00.005-07:00

Since I haven't done much blogging for the past year, I thought I'd record something here about Lacey's personality. Perhaps that would make my post about the Target pictures make more sense.

These were taken at her uncle Dallin's 12th birthday party in January.

Observation one: The need for constant attention and a mommy escort. Mommy, you must do everything with me! Sit right next to me to watch Barney, swing with me, swim in the miniscule baby pool with me, whatever it is.
Observation 2: Mom, I must have cake!!! And candy. And especially gum! What motivates a kid to chew up and swallow piece after piece of speriment gum. What makes it so good? And her 2 year obsession with fruit snacks. I had to ban them from the house. She would ask for a "Nack" at every meal.

Observation 3: She must be heard! She will use her outside voice 99% of the time. She will yell for whatever thing she wants and she will do it ALL day long. Our favorite is lately when she is with her good friend Olivia and she's playing nicely with her. There's mild-tempered Olivia and Lacey with her Stalin-esque demands. "LIBIA! LIBIA." Telling her what to do. And every time, I kid you not, every time she says her name I think of the country and its dictator Kaddafi. And then I think it's ironic that she is acting like a dictator. Is that the nerdy history teacher in me?

She will always probably be obsessed with swinging. Since the tender age of one. You will see ber married someday with an adult-size sing set in her back yard, and there she will be, swinging away.

This was immediately following my brother Shawn pummeling me in the forehead with a tennis ball on accident. Yes, folks, he did aim that well on accident.

If you observe closely you will see the red mark.

Now, a positive note. The title mentioned "personalities". That's because I am constantly amazed at the Jekyl and Hyde shifts of Lacey. Despite some of the difficult things mentioned above, there are so many things I love about her. She gives the BEST hugs. She says "i love you." She kisses my owies. She tells me, "You good girl." And also, "You big girl." (Which I think she thinks is a compliment because I have said it to her. Later we'll explain that's not nice to say to Mommy) She laughs and laughs at her own jokes. And she has this low deep voice she talks to me in and it's our little inside joke. She also growls at you a request when you're not responding to the first time. So there you have it. Many reasons to love my multiple personality, high maintenance child.

And since I'm on here now and who knows when I'll get my pregnant rear-end back on the blog. Let me make a few observations about how I'm feeling at Week 26. Well, you look at yourself in the shower and think, "I'm going to get bigger for 3 more months??? Look at this large basketball!! How am I going to walk around when it grows???

I get out of breath walking up the stairs in my house. So if you ever call me on the phone, I'll most likely huff and puff. PS, watching a 2 year old and being pregnant is a lot more tiring than teaching 150 high school kids like last time.

Did I mention I was excited?? I am!! I am cherishing the tiny tennis shoes my boy will wear that my sister-in-law gave us. I am excited for the little soft baby head on my shoulder. I'm excited to dress him up in a Santa suit for Christmas.

I'm excited for the next meal I will eat because I'm ALWAYs hungry and this time around, any treats is the desire of my heart. Different than last time. Bring on the brownies, icecream, candy bars. Bring on the 50 pounds I will gain! Uh oh. But for real, the doctor kind of lectured me that I was gaining a little fast last time and told me what foods to avoid such as "liquid calories, junk food, etc."

I promptly increased my intake of fruit juice and chocolate bars. Who wants to be a conformist, anyway?? Please stay tuned for future post when I complain about weight I need to lose.

The pictures coupons can take

2011-08-18T05:58:00.004-07:00

So I found these coupons for a free portrait sitting at Target, plus a whole package of prints for $7.99 and I just couldn't pass it up. For people who have been around me the last 2 weeks, I discussed this and how worried I was about doing it. I had several "master plans", if you will. One was bringing Lacey's friend McKell with us to "show her how it's done." McKell's mom Rachel is always up for photo shoots. :) Plan B was bringing Cameron in a clown suit. Ok. minus the clown suit but Cameron can be quite entertaining for Lacey.

Neither plan worked out so I set out to do it alone. The appointment was for 11:20 which I had deemed in my head to be a potentially disastrous, hungry time for Lacey. I tried to be very pleasant to her all morning. I tricked her into putting her dress on. Then I came up with the idea to curl her hair as she ate a bowl of powdered parmasan cheese in the high chair. You see, Lacey has inherited my obsession with cheese. This worked swimmingly.

Next, I gave her candy on the way to Target. Yes, all you moms out there I do use junk food to bribe my kid. We stopped at Taco Bell on the way. Yes, for more CHEESE in the form of cheese roll-ups. This was science, people! Her tummy needed to be full! I have learned that food Lacey's currency.

Nervous as I was for the 11:20 event to start right on time, the photographer was finishing up the previous baby for another 20 minutes! My eyes shot daggers at her! (without her seeing of course) Inside I panicked. " This mood will not last!!!" (I screamed that inside my head.)

So I forgot these photos upload in reverse order, so I guess I'll narrate them that way. This, we think, is the best shot. I had to bring out the tickle monster to get it. I have many regrets about not making it the package picture because of her hand sticking there.
The package pic. How we got her to pose so professonally, I don't know! She would only hold still for about 1 second at a time. Most of the tmie I was sitting next to her and had to run out of the way.

When she was standing, you bet your bottom dollar she was running in circles and would not stand on the red light. I have to give props to the lady for getting any still shots.

This one is at the beginning. You observe the subject seems unsure, timid, if you will. But underneath that shy facade is a firework ready to burst out any second and smack her daddy in the face.

You gotta love the cute, laying down pose. She held still for half a second and I'm flabbergasted that her legs are crossed so nicely.

Can we say that it's also a feat that her bow was left in!!! She never touched it! She never does that. So honestly, people, I'm making a mountain out of this mole-hill of minutia that I'm writing about. But it's going to take me about 4 more kids to stop being so high-strung. So until then, you're all just going to have to suffer through it. Ha ha! I honestly think Heavenly Father answered my little prayers about it.

Ghosts, Mice & Keys

2011-07-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

For one reason or another, Cameron got on YouTube the other day and ended up watching a few videos about ghosts. Needles to say, he's been a little jumpy ever since. Heck, he's even been leaving lights on in the hall now. That's a biggy too, because he usually prefers it to be pitch black when he sleeps. I guess that will teach him. Anyway, the whole thing with all the lights being on is just one of the many new and extreme protective methods being employed around here. It's been an interesting summer. Quick question, are ghosts afraid of the light like we are afraid of the dark?

Anyway, I think we have a mouse in our Attic. After all, we've been hearing random scratching here and there, and Cameron was in ear shot of some rustling in the garage. In any case, I'm confident this rodent is playing off of the already uneasy feelings that are going on around here. Mice are like that though.

Then there was the whole front door fiasco. Despite being pregnant, Cassie's been waking up early and getting out to exercise. Cam's been studying into the wee hours of the night and consequently sleeps in at times. Without waking Cameron or Lacey, Cassie slipped out the door and hid a single house key in the sole of her tennis shoe. She then proceeded to jog around all of southern Apache Junction before anyone woke up.

Upon her return, she became alarmingly aware that her faithful key had bailed on her somewhere in mid flight! She was locked out, and Cameron and the kid were still pleasantly slumbering without a clue. As considerate as she had been in letting the others sleep in, desperate times called for desperate measures. And so began, a knocking frenzy of all knocking frenzies! It was all in vain though, cause no one ever answered. It's possibly our early rising neighbors witnessed this thing go down and thought Cameron threw his wife out?

To better pass the time, Cassie ventured over to a friend's house where the two of them shared a lovely breakfast together and made numerous calls to retry waking Cameron up. Surprisingly, he never picked up! Attempts were even made to retrace footsteps and recover the lost key, but it was no where to be found.
Cassie then returned back to the house where she resumed her frantic knocking and doorbell ringing. She even went around back and threw pebbles at the bedroom window and made additional phone calls at yet another neighbor’s house. Again, no one stirred. Then she wondered, did a ghost or mouse get passed the gauntlet of lights Cameron had hoped would save him? Had that small whiskered friend of ours chewed through the phone lines?

Eventually, Cassie sat down at the neighbor’s house while the neighbor's husband tried his hand at waking the household. No luck!

Finally, Cameron's alarm clock went off and he happily got up quickly and initiated his morning routine. The answering machine was clearly flashing, but the only calls he could see on the caller ID were from Cassie's friend and a neighbor whom Cassie usually associates with. No need to check the messages he thought, they are for Cassie. That's when the neighbor began calling again, and Cameron became aware of a crazy person pounding on his front door. Long story short, he finally came to the door well rested and a little confused. Lacey woke up 10 minutes later.

The moral of the story is, white noise drowns out everything, so keep a spare key hidden somewhere! Never underestimate the power of an Alarm Clock when it comes to getting the job done!

Summer Update

2011-07-10T23:30:00.006-07:00

So what happens when a family of three becomes a family of four? While we are completely ecstatic about the upcoming arrival of or little boy, we are also having to make some major changes around here. For starters, our catchy blog title’s got to go. Any ideas? Secondly, Cam’s home office received an eviction notice so as to make room for the new baby tenant. We’re thinking a baseball themed room would be a winner! Then there’s the name. We’ve been shuffling through hundreds of boy names in search for the perfect pick. As Cameron puts it, “a guy can’t have a name that will get him beat up. It’s gotta be strong and strike fear in his foe’s hearts.” Needless to say, a lot of cute names may get shot down as a preemptive strike in defense of manhood. Cameron’s also polishing all his workshop tools in preparation for another man around here. It's going to be different. It's going to be great!

Cassie’s been wrangling the terrible twos while Lacey is constantly thinking of new ways to outsmart us. She sometimes reminds me of those tricky raptors in Jurassic Park. They are way too smart for anyone’s good. Just when you think you’re in control, they pop out of the bushes behind you and it’s too late! Lacey may not have a lizardly companion who’s luring our attention away from the eminent danger in the opposite direction, but she sure has a way of making the hunter the hunted. Ahhhh. It makes sense in an analogical way?

But seriously, Lacey is so cute and talks up a storm. We love her with all our hearts and can't imagine our lives without her. Pretty soon, we won't remember how we lived without or next one too! Lacey is growing up so fast. I guess that is why we knew it was time to have another baby. Our current baby isn't such a baby anymore! She is definitely a girl though, as is evident by the way she tries on all her shoes and won’t leave the house without a specific outfit on. Just don't judge us when you see our child wearing mismatched clothing. We are aware of it and are just avoiding some confrontations. What can I say, her style is a work in progress? She’s also learned to talk on the phone and goes through our wallets and takes out our debit cards. Nature vs. nurture? Hmmm?

Cameron’s been taking classes this summer through ASU. Come fall, he’ll be back in the full swing of things. Four classes and fifty hours a week. Needless to say, it’s wearing him down but getting him closer and closer to a career as a counselor for individuals, families and couples. Check out his blog at: cameroonie.blogspot.com. He’s also loving the fact that he’s a Sun Devil and really wants to go to a few ASU baseball and football games this coming school year. We especially want to see ASU up against UofA. Anyone want to go with us?

Aside from being more and more pregnant, Cassie has been teaching violin lessons. She’s also been taking Lacey to the AJ pool to learn how to swim. Lacey however, is more interested in the rubber duckies they let the kids play with after the class. Why would anyone however, show a child the reward for a good job before classes have even started? Swimming lessons therefore, turns into screaming sessions!

All in all, we are doing well and looking forward to the next half of 2011.

Cameron's blog

2011-01-07T23:26:00.013-07:00

Hey everybody,

I just wanted to post an invitation for everyone to visit and browse around on Cameron's personal blog. As many of you know, cam's been in school to become a marriage & family counselor. Anyway, his blog is all about that sort of stuff, and is a great way to get to know him better. Take a look!

cameroonie.blogspot.com

Family Pictures

2010-05-22T16:53:00.004-07:00

It only took us a year, but we finally got some official family pictures. Thank you to Robin again!

The Cousins Together in Utah!

2010-04-15T14:01:00.004-07:00

Lacey and I got to go to Utah to visit with my 3 nieces Alex, Sidney, and Kennedy. We loved it!! Thanks so much, Sandra! We stayed over there while Carter and Sandra went to Boston.

This picture happened when we were giving Lacey a bath and Kennedy and Sidney really wanted to jump in too, so what the heck?

The Gateway Discovery place in Salt Lake was Lacey's dream come true! She loves colored balls to throw around! All the girls were so helpful to carry her around and help her play.

I love how Kennedy is through the glass handing us more balls..

Sidney and Kennedy were going to put on a Three Little Pigs play for us but all we had time for was for them to dress up. Cute picture anyway!

Playin' in the front yard! Again, a ball!

I loved the snowy mountains! I've missed seeing them!

The girls spiked up Lacey's hair after her bath. I love those girls! We had so much fun!

From one chocoholic to another . . .

2010-04-15T13:50:00.002-07:00

Lacey's other birthday party at her aunt and uncle's house. This was to be ever-exciting, ever-suspenseful Cake Experiment #2. Will she like the cake?
I really botched up the frosting on the cake to the right. I put a lid on the cake right after taking it out of the oven, which trapped in the moisture, which made it too wet on top, which caused chunks of it to slide around.

When the cake flavor was changed to chocolate, was there ever a question?

ABC food! And her enthusiasm for this treat! Like mother like daughter!

Upon completion of her piece, Lacey stares at the table with a satisfied smirk.

The Embarrasing Dialogues: Part 2

2010-03-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is a confession. One time about 10 years ago I was housesitting at Max Tanner's while they were all out of town. They had a huge bathtub in the parent's room with jets. I wanted to take a bath in it and I was really into one of the Work and the Glory books my grandma let me borrow. (it was a 500 page hardcover) So I decided to take the book to the bathtub with me.

I set the book on the side of the tub on a towel and turned on the water. I remember thinking, "I need to be careful with that book." The tub starting filling up. Well, little did I know that before you turn on the jets, the water level in the tub must be above them.

I turn on the jets, and 2 huge bursts of water come gushing out, one aimed straight at the Work and the Glory book. I remember it like it was yesterday. I can see it in slow motion. The water hitting the book. Me trying to grab it and turn the water off.

Afterwords, the Tanner's immaculate bathroom with a glass shower had water droplets all over it. I had to clean it but I was not good.

Here the most shameful part of the story. I actually tried to return the book to my Grandma without telling her what happened. I just handed it to her. I was broke and didn't think I could buy her a new one. But I could've and I should've!!!! What kind of white trash mooch was I?
I just reviewed this with her 2 months ago and offered to buy her a new book. She said she doesn't remember that incident and doesn't know where the book is.

I learned some valuable lessons that day. Don't be a cheapskate. Don't bring someone else's book in a tub. Don't turn on jets before the tub's ready. Don't take baths in other people's houses in case something goes wrong.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-03-19T10:27:00.003-07:00

Happy fifth Anniversary!

Birthday Party Number 1

2010-03-09T10:06:00.009-07:00

Since Lacey was our February baby, we decided to throw her a Valentines themed party. This entailed using only the colors red, pink & white in all our decor and food products. Unfortunately, strawberry flavored cake and icing is an acquired taste. Lacey wanted nothing to do with her first cake. We should have known you can never go wrong with chocolate. Oh well.
No party would be a party without pin the tail on the donkey! Lacey did a great job too. Maybe that had to do with the fact that she wasn't blind folded, got carried over and had her hand guided to the right spot. But hey, we're still proud of our little b-day girl.Then there was the heart shaped cookie decorating station. Has a child ever had to have their stomach pumped out for consuming too much sugar?

Happy Birthday Lacey!

Cookin' Up Some Fun

2010-03-09T10:00:00.001-07:00

A borrowed hat from the Howe's! (photos by Jen)

The Twins: Part 1

2010-03-09T09:39:00.006-07:00

My sister Tracie got Lacey and her cousin Rylee (Justin and Kayli's baby) some matching outfits for Christmas. Thanks Trace! Some llong-awaited pictures are here, with more to come!

Happy Birthday Lacey!

2010-02-18T20:34:00.003-07:00

One years old today! We did some fun things! This afternoon we had a little photo shoot. Ill post the other things she did today later.

Our friend Jen made Lacey this tutu and took some pictures of her. They look so good, Jen! Thanks!

An Unfortunate Event

2010-02-17T14:17:00.002-07:00

"What happened here? Well, Mama got a little distracted and trapped me in my pants!"

She looks a little pensive here.

Another day I took this picture to record this cute sweater from Jeanne Mason and also to document Lacey's weird hair.

And today I took this one. Look! No more sticky-straighty-uppy hair!! It's getting longer. Now I'm nostalgic for it. My baby's growing up, man!

Need an Interesting V-day date idea?

2010-02-16T08:43:00.004-07:00

Why not install a bath tub? What's not romantic about that? You can shimmy it up onto a dolly. Then gather your friends and family to wheel the 500 pound tub through your house. Maybe you could sneak a wink at your significant other, or perhaps a smile. When he gets tired from the strain, pat him on the back and say, "Good job!"

This bath tub date can last for hours. You can start around 7 pm and it can go all the way until 12:15 am! Must be a great date to last that long! Between 11 and midnight, you work on lowering the tub down onto the floor using a special hook with a ratchet chain to lower it. This is a way to bond with those you love! The adrenalin is pumping, and when that porcelin hits the floor without cracking, boy do you feel satisfied!

Tub installation = romance!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so this really did happen on our Valentine date night. For those of you who know my dad, you know he will work as long as it takes and ask for the help of whoever is around. Thanks needs to go out to my cousin Kara for letting her husband and son work for many an hour on Saturday!

Also, a big thanks goes out to Cameron for being a good sport!!!! He had helped our home teacher with some drywall for a few hours that day. He was pooped from a long week of school and work too. And then the bathtub thing was pretty much he and my dad crouching down and sawing wood and pipes in a hole for 5 hours. So Cameron's dedication has to be applauded.

As a side note, we did go out to eat at one of my favorite places.

I had a grilled chicken quesadilla and it was the best quesadilla of my llife! But the crowning moment was: I poured water from the water pitcher right onto my lap so my lap was soaked all through dinner. That was the actual fun /semi-romantic part of the date night.

Oh well. If we rank V-day activities on uniqueness, this one will for sure take the cake!

Two Outstanding Women

2010-02-05T07:16:00.008-07:00

I borrowed this pic from another blog (Thanks, Jenny!). This is what we're reading for one of my book clubs. This book has been named one of the 100 most important books of all time. If you want to see someone with a positive attitude, read about Helen! She was blind and deaf and still learned to read, went to college, and wrote beautiful words full of figurative language and vivid description. She lived life to its fullest! I still have NO idea how you could learn to write that way and learn French, Latin, history, etc. by having it finger-spelled into your hand! I'm flabbergasted! Anyway, there are a couple of slow parts but this story is only about 115 pages and it's worth it!

The second book I've read recently is Sarah Palin's autobiography. Now, for those of us who began to think, "Maybe she isn't very smart." We were dead wrong. I was absolutely blown away by her vocabulary, her knowledge of the oil and renewable energy industry, her knowledge about how to get laws passed. The media did a good job of sensationalizing her, isolating her bad moments, etc.

Every scandal about her has been mistold. Her interview with Charlie Gibson had a bad moment, but he was ticked at her 'cause most people in Alaska didn't know who he was. The Katie Couric interview was 4 or 5 hours long but cut into 10 minutes and only the 10 when Katie was condescending and trying to make Sarah look bad. Of course Sarah reads! She had had op-eds published in the NY Times prior to that as well as had her words published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine and others. Thanks Katie Couric, for interrupting Sarah when she was trying to explain that Alaska's geographic location near Russia has caused many dealings with their government. Not only Russia but she has worked extensively with the governments of Japan and Canada.

She was being asked , "How do we make our state budget so well managed (With a surplus!) and how do we create clean energy and get the private sector to drill and make pipelines that benefit the American people like you did? " This woman accomplished more in 2 years than almost any governor ever has.

Got corruption? Sarah will waltz in, with Republicans fighting against her, and get several lawmakers charged with crimes and thrown in jail. Need to reign in greedy oil companies? Sarah told them to shape up or leave. And they shaped up!

She didn't ban books. She didn't fire the Police Commisioner b/c of her brother-in-law. The guy was insubordinate --said "no" to her so she legally could fire someone in her cabinet. (Besides, her ex-borther-in-law threatened to kill her dad and did taser a little kid)

Finally, why did she resign as governor and why do I think she shouldn't run anymore for anything? She resigned because several Alaskans were paid by millionares to make it their full time job to destroy Sarah and her staff and her family. Each bogus charge had to be investigated, which took 10,000 sheets of paper each case and thousands of dollars in lawyer fees. Her staff and family were going broke and so was she. She literally could not do her job. She didn't want to see her family and friends finances destroyed. She was seen as a threat, and some powerful people in this country would never have stopped harassing them.

She was destroyed using tactics described in a book called "Political Warfare." Attack the person, not the ideas. It's been done before to people like Newt Gingrich. All charges against Sarah have been dropped, as they were against Newt. But these 2 politicians are onto new careers. ( I thnk) So Sarah shouldn't run for anything because of the way she's been painted, but she's still one of my American heroes!!!!

Are We Obsessed?

2010-01-11T13:06:00.004-07:00

This is what I found when I went to check on Lacey the other day. She was fast asleep. "Oh, the joy! The pure joy of having these binkies in my hands! I will clutch them forever! I'll never let go!"

l The flash of the camera wakes her up. She examines her loot. "Yep, still got 'em."

"Three of my most prized possessions."

She cracks us up.

The best toy ever

2010-01-05T09:43:00.001-07:00

The toy on the left is such entertainment for Lacey. It plays old ragtime songs, the wings flutter, and it has weights so that it always gets right-side-up again. The antennas have bright red lights. This is the toy of all toys. My sister wanted to know what it looked like.

Lacey Attacks a Present

2010-01-02T15:30:00.007-07:00

Looking a little fatigued, Lacey awakens Christmas morning to find some colorful boxes under the tree.

She gives her parents a cheesy grin to signal that she is pleased to remove the paper.

What does she find inside the box? One of her heart's true desires: something to knock over.

The cups also taste delicious.

"This present is giving me pure joy."
Daddy got a book with photos of me and him in it. He loves me a lot!

"Mom, can we do Christmas again next year?"

Lacey and Rylee

2010-01-02T15:26:00.002-07:00

Lacey and Rylee are the first cousins to live in AZ. Justin and Kayli are the parents of Rylee. The babies are 3 months apart. These pictures demonstrate how well-behaved Rylee is. She knows what to do in front of a camera.

Where ya goin', Lace?

Lacey makes no eye-contact. Rylee is as still as a praying mantis.

Lacey proceeds to attack Rylee. Poor Rylee has been scratched many times. But she's starting to learn how to get revenge. Notice Rylee has kept the same expression and stayed totally still. (there was even a fourth picture)

And there you have it! The cousins who will be great friends all their lives!

The Embarrassing Dialogues: Episode 1

2009-12-16T07:27:00.004-07:00

So I've decided to record my embarrassing moments for posterity. And I suppose for you all out there in case they make you laugh.

Episode 1 brings us to the AJ Stake Center on Sunday night. It was the Stake Music Fireside, and several ward choirs were singing Christmas numbers. Our ward choir has a tradition of matching outfits. You wear red or black.

Well, in my haste to make it to my mom's Sunday dinner and back to AJ by 7:00, I completely forgot about this stringent dress code.

I showed up in a bright turquoise shirt, a jean jacket, and a white skirt. When I realized the mistake, I was horrified. I scanned the audience, looking for one more person from my ward who made the same blunder. Nothing.

As we found our standing place to sing, there I was. Front and center. Turquoise and not proud of it.

Symbolic? Maybe. Maybe I never was a conformist. A secret rebel, perhaps? No. Just incredibly forgetful.

It's time to pull out the fish oil and Ginko Biloba pills for more brain power. But for now, I am a living example of the phrase, "Did you get the memo?"

Shopping obsession and a parade

2009-12-13T11:19:00.004-07:00

The coats I will mention in a sec. This is another pic of my mom and Lacey, this time, with a dress she got from my friend Brynn. I'm tellin ya, I can't keep this up. This whole "taking-pictures-of baby-in-every-outfit thing" cannot go on for my second child. I'm always thinking, "Should I photo document how cute she looks in this too? " What if I missed something? I don't have the RAM for this obsession.

Speaking of obsessions, I need to get control. Anybody have a problem with shopping for that perfect item, and even exhanging something two or three times until you think you get it right? And then once you settle on something, it still bothers you that maybe you should've gotten the other thing?

No? You haven't felt that way? Then maybe I am OCD. The two items I'm still all torn about are the two coats above. They were the same price, on sale. The leather one I thought was adorable. It has fur on on inside but it's not very thick. I bought the puffy one. I thought it would be thicker and warmer for when I do walks around the neighborhood. BUt it's hard to buckle her in her carseat with it on. If you can say anything that helps me think I made the right decision, please do.

Maybe the baby would drool on the leather one. Maybe I can buy her one like it next year or the year after. Maybe I need to do some stinkin community service so I'm not so darn materialistic.

This hat looks like a beret when it's supposed to look like a cute cap like the one the teacher from the show "Glee" wears. One day I will get the perfect hat.

We went to the Electric Light Parade in Phoenix. It was FRIGID that night. The baby screamed her head off. I forgot one of her shoes and her little socked feet were cold and I had that "Mother GUILT" we all get sometimes.

This was obviously, "Pre-Furry-Brown-Coat". As you can guess, the obsession with the coats came partly as a result of the "guilt" mentioned above.

Go to this parade someday! Freeze but enjoy the large balloons, lit-up high school band uniforms, lit-up cars, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio riding in a fire truck. I seriously feared for his life as we were on 7th street and Indian school.

The End

The First Crawl of '09

2009-11-28T11:56:00.002-07:00

Look at that face! She was thinking about crawling. But she also gets OCD on her one-wheeled bumble-bee toy.

Here goes! Starting position!

Crawl in action. (The first time was Sunday--this is a day or two later)

Hanging out with Grandma after church.

I Broke the Law and the Law Won

2009-11-05T10:33:00.004-07:00

So yesterday morning I had an incident. I come home from baby sitting every morning and have two routes I can go home. If I go one way I may run into a large bus loading about 40 kids in our neighborhood. I don't want to be stuck behind this bus so I tend to go the other way,

Well, yesterday I went the bus way for some reason unbeknownst to me. I see the last few kids getting on the bus. I see the stop sign. But yet I slowly creep my car past the sign. Hoping not to get in trouble.

Two minutes later my doorbell rings. I thought there was an off chane that it was an irate person and thought maybe I shouldn't answer the door.

But there she was. Mouth in a grimace. Ready to give me a tounge lashing. I'm holding Lacey in my arms and this lady exclaims, "Are you aware of the law of the stop sign on the bus???" I was thrown off so I just said, "I forgot." I am extremely ashamed to admit that was a fib. She replied, Oh you forgot, huh?" She was very angry.

"Well several of the parents and the busdriver are really upset 'cause we see you do this all the time!!!" Not true! That was only possibly the 2nd time I did it and it was awhile ago.

"Well, if it was your kid riding the bus and I did it to you, how would you feel?????" she exclaimed. So I decided to use a tactic my mom uses that allows you do not be a doormat but to make the person look dumb for yelling. I killed her with kindness.

"Didn't I meet you at the pool one time?" and then, "Thank you so much for telling me. Thank you so much for coming over." This made her even angrier and she walked off in a huff, saying "Your welcome."

So 10 minutes later I get a call from my friend in my ward who saw the lady literally run after my car. Psycho! She told me this woman is known to get on people's cases a lot.

All I could think about later is how guilty I felt for doing it, but also all the comeback lines I could have used on her.

The ironic part: My husband's a busdriver and he calls the police on people sometimes who run his stop sign.

Now all you parents out there whose kids ride the bus, I'm so sorry! I will never do it again. I made a mistake.

And all you psycho yellers out there: Power trips will never give you joy. And don't take the law into your own hands. Let the police do it. And if you ever come on my property again and yell at me in front of my child, I may tee pee your house.

Old McDonald Had a Farm

2009-10-25T12:59:00.004-07:00

And on that Shnepf Farm he had some corn.

He also had a small train to ride, bu lacey didn't ride it.

He had some hay to crunch on.

He had some punpkins to crouch on.

The littler pumpkins made a more comfy seat.

Cameron was the brains behind all these photos.

Lacey quite enjoyed herself.

One the first family photos ever.

And this is at our ward Trunk or Treat. My costume was thrown together 45 minutes before the thing started. I tried to make cornbread but it turned out flat and hard as a rock. Story of my life. I need cooking lessons!

Lacey was adorable.

The Tale of the Missing Adhesive

2009-10-25T09:50:00.004-07:00

The tale begins with a flu shot. Little Lacey Lee never had a flu shot before. She waited for her doctor's appointment with heavy anticipation. She knew her stomach was acting up. Was it the chocolate bars her mom always eats? Perhaps that piece of bacon wrapped around a green chili at the neighbor's Halloween party. Whatever it was, Lacey hoped the doctor would set her mom straight on her eating habits.

The end of the appointment comes and "Oh no! What's that sharp thing aimed at my leg??? OW!!" The shot went in. But Lacey soon got over it and gazed curiously at her new red Crayola crayon bandaid.

At about 12:00 pm when her mom got Lacey out of the car after the appointment, the bandaid was missing. "Hmmm," she wondered. Then she promptly forgot about it.

Lunch time! Lacey was eating morsels of wheat bread. But they kept on making her cough. Her eyes watered. She even threw up a little! Mom was worried that her previous skillful bread chewing had temporarily come to an end. "Why can't she chew it anymore?" Lacey nursed and then got tired.

At one point in the day Lacey was laughing and her mom thought she saw something red and black on the roof of Lacey's mouth. "Naw. There's nothing there," she reasoned.

Lacey took a 2 hour nap. She dreamed of dogs, water fountains, and Cheetos.

At 5:00 it was dinner time. Again, the bread. Again, the choking.

"How about some chomping-of the-tv-remote time?" Lacey's mom said.

So they sat on the recliner and Lacey chomped away. Suddenly, without warning, a wet limp item landed on the mom's arm. "What IS that?"

She looked down. And there it was. The red Crayola bandaid. The bandaid that had been attached to the roof of Lacey's mouth for over 5 hours.

Here is the evidenec. The very bandaid following its residence in Lacey's mouth.

We're currently looking for a school for mothering. First class of the day, "The Dangers of Choking."

Tutus or Too toos?

2009-10-21T17:38:00.002-07:00

Another cute pic from the photo shoot

A Future Cougar?

2009-10-14T22:20:00.006-07:00

Not that kind of cougar, you sickos! Courtney Cox's kind of cougar will not be the future of Miss Lacey. Hopefully she will marry someone within 8 years of her age. Some of you have already seen these pics on facebook. But I just wanted to put them on here too in case anyone else wanted to see.

She saw herself on the computer in this pic yesterday and then made the same face.

Strikin a pose. This girl sat like this for a good 5 minutes and didn't move at all. She actually got into this position herself and then just got stuck.

There are a lot more I'm getting from my sister -in-law. She's so talented! Thanks again, Robin! Check out her photography blog at portraitsbyrobinlee.blogspot.com

We love Lacey!

Help! She Won't Eat Solids!

2009-09-28T17:54:00.003-07:00

Ok, that title made it sound worse than it is. But I know there's lots of you with expertise out there. Tell me if you 've ever had this happen and what you did or have heard of.

I started her with all veggies the first couple of weeks. Then came all the fruits. She then rejected all the veggies. She got such a taste for bananas that she started just wanting those. She even refused the sweeter ones like squash and sweet potatoes.

I've tried mixing things with cereal. She'll only eat cereal with bananas. She started eating those fruit/veggie combos like apple &carrot but she's been rejecting those for 4 days now too. And a lot of times she's too tired /cranky /hungry to even want any solids.

I am going crazy!!!11 It's such a pain to prepare /warm food 6 to 8 times a day and maybe she takes it once. If I'm lucky, twice. What can I do?

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear

2009-09-24T09:23:00.004-07:00

I wanted to give ya'll an idea of how Lacey's hair sticks straight up. So I've been taking all these pictures of her but the lighting usually never shows her hair. This one does.

Her hair is like unto her Grandpa Nichols (Dave) , bless his heart. We lovingly refer to him as "The Mad Scientist."

Lacey is 7 months old! Time flies!

One of her favorite places to be.

My skirt is the background on this one.

There's a smile! This is one of the dresses we got around easter. It brings out her blue eyes.

Another fun place to play.

Close up! A lot of people think she's starting to look more like Cameron. What do you think?

She's waving at you guys! Hasta Luego!

How I Educate Myself . . . TV Doctors

2009-08-19T14:41:00.003-07:00

How could you say "no" to this face"? How could you hide any of your past issues, your baggage, your emotional garbage if thsi man were standing in front of you? Is it his bald head? His manly stache? Is it the suit? Or does finger-pointing make you respond?

All I know is, what would I do without the doctors in my life? They may not be my personal doctors, but I 'm getting diagnosed.

What, pray tell, would I do from 1 pm to 3 pm without these shows?

I have to admit, Dr. Phil is addicting. You start watching 5 minutes thinking you won't stay on that channel, but then the story hooks you in and you find that an hour goes by.

Though Dr. Phil often creates extra drama and makes the people hate each other more than they did before they came, a lot of times he has a good point.

I actually think "The Doctors" is a really interesting show and well-done. I get hooked in by their teasers. Things like, " Coming up, the tests you need to undergo to save your life . . ."

What test is it??? Is my life in danger? Do I need to give up my daily dose of chocolate?

I am quite glad I am stull able to further my education from my own couch, tortilla chips in hand.

The "Other" Tattoo

2009-07-31T12:37:00.003-07:00

I say that an email address is like unto a tatoo. You may or may not like it years from when you chose it. But you're stuck with it no matter what. (not saying anything bad about tattoos)

So I chose "fundip511" when I was 16. I liked the candy. The name was picked on a whim. I've always kept it and used yahoo 'cause I like the format the best.

Ever done something really embarrassing but don't realize how humiliating it was until a couple of years later when you think, "I was a buffoon!" ?

The story is that I worked for a professor at BYU as his teaching assistant. It was a humongous class of 300 called World Civilizations. On the first day of each semester, he would put my email address on the overhead and it was projected on this gigantic screen in the auditorium. And there it was. My professional email. The one people would look to for help in the class and to set tutoring times:

FUNDIP511@yahoo.com

Did I mention that many people have said over the years that they didn't open an email from me because they thought it was some racy, bad person??? I thought back then that you could only have one yahoo address under your name. So when I started teaching I made a hotmail and never liked using hotmail so I've kept fundip.I

Why oh why do I still use that address?

This all hit me the other day when I got an email from an old professor who now teaches in England. I thought, "He has carried that ridiculous address with him for 6 years now." I hope he doesn't think I'm a pervert.

Ugggh. I cringe.

4th of July--Food and Lacey

2009-07-15T20:43:00.002-07:00

My favorite color is red! My friend Melanie gave us this adorable red and white outfit and I had no royal blue ribbon to make it patriotic so I used another blue. Lacey pulled it off!

Cameron's creations. They were gorgeous cupcakes. The frosting recipe he used was too buttery though so he was bummed.

Another Cameron creation. Who doesn't love a good Jello parfait? I was quite proud of his skills.

There's a partial smile!

Bizarre Stories Log, Summer '09

2009-06-30T17:47:00.003-07:00

I had a couple of funny moments on my trip to Kansas. We just got back from riding with my family for 22 hours there and back.

Some highlights:

1. I was blow drying my hair and I had a sink full of water with a poopy outfit soaking in front of me. You know, they tell you to never blow dry near water. Well, all of a sudden the blow dryer falls into the water. Being the genius that I am, instead of unplugging it real quick, I pulled the dryer right back out of the water.

I could've died!!

2. This story actually happened right before Kansas. Cameron and I had taken 2 cars to church because I had to get a calling before church. So after church, I had the baby and I was looking for him so we could ride home together, forgetting he had his own car. I waited and waited in the foyer. No Cameron. This friend of ours started looking for him. He looked in every room of the church and couldn’t find him so he started to get worried. I didn’t have a watch so I didn’t realize forty minutes had gone by as I was just sitting there waiting and chitchatting.

Soon, half the bishopric starts looking for him too. All of a sudden, a lightbulb went on! Oh! We brought two cars! He went home. Let’s just say I was beyond embarrassed.

3. Finally, the Finale!!

In Kansas we went to see the movie "Up" with the whole family. We were already in the theatre and my older sister Tracie was in a huge rush to meet us in there. She had driven like a mad woman to pick up her 5 year old Spencer from summer camp. She jumped out of the car with him and starting walking into the theater, then realized she didn't have her car keys. So she thought, Oh well, I'll just have someone drive me home afterwards to get the spare keys.

She comes out of the movie and walks to her car and notices IT"S RUNNING! She had left her car running for the entire 2 1/2 hour movie ! We were dying laughing. And no one stole her car. Only in Kansas!!!
She honored me so much when she told me that she has now topped anything ditzy I've ever done. This one takes the cake, and probably will forever.

The face can say alot . . . especially the mouth part of the face

2009-06-04T08:12:00.005-07:00

"Gee mom, I am so thrilled to be riding in this car for 4 hours straight. But I can't feel my butt anymore. Do you think you could take me out of here? I'll smile a good one for ya! Pleeease!" (After a 24 hour trip to Greer, AZ Lacey was eager to exit her car seat)

"This saucer tastes like fabric. It's better than my gripe water. Delish!! Too bad I'm too short to reach any of the toys around me."

"Ya know, I feel rather relaxed at the moment. But that will last approximately 5 minutes so enjoy it now. And why do you keep pointing that shiny silver thing at me?? It's blinding!"

"My stroller is very stimulating to the eye. The black, the white, the silver! I want my next vehicle to be a Volkswagon Jetta. Thanks, daddy."

" Oooooooooooh yeah. I'm lookin good. Look at me and my bad self! My head-holdy-uppy-self."

"You know, that flash takes my adorable smile away, mom. You can keep trying and trying, but it ain't gonna happen. You big weirdo!"

"Why must you take pictures of me every time I get a new outfit on? There's no room on your computer for all these pics. I know your computer is nearly crashed again."

" Dad found the secret! Strip me down and you'll get the grin. Jackpot!"

"My gums hurt so I'm drooling. And no, I'm not storing nuts in those cheeks for the winter. Elvis is aliiiiiiiiiiiiiive!" "You people are wacko! Where's my lunch?"

Crafts and decor for sale

2009-05-29T23:19:00.011-07:00

Hey everybody! I've just been cleaning out my craft inventory and have listed some of the remaining items from last year on this blog. I have included pictures of each item on the sidebar. Many of these are close replicas of items that sell in the "Country Sampler" magazine. My prices are considerably lower though. You can buy these same crafts on my website's online store at the following link http://gahomedesign.org/crafts.aspx . I can't offer the discounts through my website, but I can over the phone. If you would like any of these or want me to make you a custom product, please give us a call at (480) 969-5229. I do negotiate prices and take best offers. In addition, if you need help arranging your furniture and decor so that is is optimally functional as well as aesthetic, give me a call. I'm currently running a consulting special for only $20.00. This service will give you feedback and suggestions from a decorator/designers perspective. We'll discuss various furniture layouts, color schemes, suggested purchases & upgrades, etc. . You can also visit my website, http://www.gentryaesthetics.com/. Just call us for more details if you are interested. Thanks!

Any jobs out there?

2009-05-28T08:02:00.001-07:00

Sorry for any of you who already got this message on facebook. I'm just putting it here because you never know how you might be able to network.

Hi! Cameron works for the school district and because of budget cuts, he will not have work this summer. He is looking for a summer job or is even willing to get a new job altogether. He's starting school but will probably start doing classes online. If anyone knows of anything, please let me know! ( his skills are in carpentry, interior design, CDL driving trucks or busses, computer stuff, or we're just looking for different entry level things) Thanks so much!!!

Idol Woship 2009 Style

2009-05-05T11:18:00.002-07:00

These are my favorite Idols. Who will be in the finals?

Housewives of New York and Mesa

2009-04-24T12:10:00.016-07:00

I have a guilty pleasure. I LOVE to watch the show "Real Housewives of New York City." What s it about rich people's lives that makes us glue ourselves to the t.v.? Is it their snobbish obsession with designer labels? Is it their constant bickering? Perhaps we aspire to live in high rise apartments on the upper east side.

Whatever it is, my sister Tracie got me pondering on just how different the Housewives of New York are from the Housewives of Mesa/Gilbert/AJ. Here are a few differences:

Housewives of New York marry metrosexual Australians. They buy "fixer-upper" million dolllar condos in Brooklyn. They attend fashion shows and play tennis. Most admirably, they begin writing books on "How to raise children", even though they may lie about their children being able to speak French.

Housewives of Mesa pore over the pages of "What to Expect the First Year", looking for any gems of wisdom to help them navigate through the ever-changing colors of poop and the pros and cons of using a binky.

Housewives of New York sell non-fat whole-grain calorie-free desserts to promote good self-esteem for wealthy people. This self esteem will come through promoting a healthy lifestyle rather than a hot body, as evidenced by the brand name.

Housewives of Mesa sell a variety of things, from board games to scenty candles to cosmetics. I admire all the people I know who do this because I have not one grain of salesmanship in me.

Housewives of New York do yoga.

Housewives of Mesa might do yoga but most often are found walking one or more children around the block.

Housewives of New York drive Porchses. (actually I have no idea what kind of car this is)

Mesa-ites drive Windstars. (I happen to have a wine-colored one)

Here are the housewives. The name is misleading because not all are wives and they don't stay at home. Their marital statuses are as follows: single mom with half-boyfriends; the countess whose husband, the count, just left her according to the tabloids; married but has a gay guy she hangs out with who helps her with interior design; single and looking; married with one kid; and married with 2 boys.

Sometimes these housewives make gourmet, non-dairy, non-gluten, no-egg cupcakes.

Sometimes I make 3 cakes in one week that I eat the majority of because I'm nursing and need sustenance. Or maybe it's out of boredom. Or maybe I'm addicted to dessert.

Housewives of NYC go to 5 star restaurants for lunch.

Housewives of Mesa go to Filibertos, or "Fili's. We order 2 pound burritos. Our stomachs hurt later but it is SO worth it.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-18T20:35:00.010-07:00

The not so happy bunny dons her first Easter outfit. The things we force our kids to do!

The binky saves the day!

We loved this dress and another one, finally chose this one, then I went back to get the other one 3 days later. I'm a sucker for baby dresses.

She gets that open -mouth thing from mom.

Sunday suprise!

2009-03-30T22:32:00.008-07:00

Well, at almost six weeks old now, we decided it was time for Lacey to start attending church! So, dressed in our Sunday best, we went to all our meetings as a new little family for the first time. Lacey wasn't real interested in the speakers, so she took a nap. She just couldn't help how the organ lulled her to sleep.
On another note, Lacey has also begun to smile for social reasons. This is a good thing! Prior to this change, all other smiles were gas related.

I love you, Dairy

2009-03-30T12:50:00.003-07:00

Thanks for all the advice, everybody. We ended up getting the gripe water from Walgreen's, although my friend Melanie tells me they have it way cheaper at Nature's Finest.

The doctor said Lacey doesn't have reflux because she doesn't have the symptoms at all before the late afternoons. She doesn't have colic every day which is a good thing. When she has it, she seems like she's in pain from all the gas. So it has been suggested to me that I need to give up dairy foods or eat way less of it. I know it's probably good advice, but I'm so dang selfish and since she doesn't seem to have it everyday and we don't know if it's caused by dairy, I'm having trouble abstaining.

Let's discuss my love affair with dariy foods:

1. Milk with my cereal is an obsession. I feel sad and lost when I think about eating something else. Oatmeal could work except that I love to drench it in milk.

2. CHEESE . Why do I love cheese so much? Almost anything can be made better wiith cheese. Ahhh, cheese crisps, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza. Most people have hobbies. These are my hobbies. They have doctors for this, I know. Feel sad? Have a cheeze-it!

3. Ice cream! Oh man, what I wouldn't give for a Blizzard right now. I have been passionate about Dairy Queen since they started all their new commericals a couple of months ago.

4. Yogurt. I could eat this twice a day. Yo-plait is the best. Isn't Go-gurt a delightful invention? I've never bought it but I've had it many a time.

Ok, can't think of anymore. But you guys get the picture. I'm thinking I'll just experiement with eating less of it but no go off completely.

Do I need to give up chocolate??? What's your experience with dairy?

We all live in a yellow submarine.

2009-03-27T10:33:00.008-07:00

Question for the day. Is a school bus yellow or orange?

Many people have recently been asking a little bit about me and what it is I do. So, in response, I thought I’d post it FYI. About three and a half years ago, I made the goal to start my own architectural and interior design business. This field of work is one of the great loves in my life. It is also a goal of mine to work for myself and be enabled to run my business out of our home. Well, after completing all the legal formation documents, obtaining licenses and establishing a website to showcase my services and portfolio, I opened my business LLC. It was a lot of work, but it has been a big check off on my list of goals.

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

Meanwhile, while I’ve been building the business, establishing a clientele and waiting out rough spots in the economy, I have also been employed at Mesa Public Schools. This too has been a wonderful job! Specifically, I transport Special Ed students to and from their important programs and their schools. I love it! Honestly, I sometimes smile when I think about how I get paid to do something I thoroughly enjoy. It is such a rewarding job as well. There are few places on earth where you can feel very close to heaven. One of these places is in a Special Ed bus full of perfect spirits trapped in imperfect bodies. And the service opportunities overflow continuously. Don’t get me wrong though, sometimes the bus atmosphere can also be a living you know where. But, for the most part, I love doing what I do. I also drive preschoolers and kindergartners during the lunch hour. Just yesterday, one of my five year old boys on my bus asked me “did your mom buy this for you?” He was referring to the bus. I chuckled about that the rest of the day. I had to explain that the school bought the bus so that he could have a way to go there. Another cute moment happened at Christmas time. I was attempting to correct some behavior problems, and so I expressed that they all needed to be good because Santa Clause was watching them. Just after saying this, a little girl spoke up and said, “And Heavenly Father.” I smiled about that for days! But, she’s right!

Some people's kids are really dog ugly! J/K

If you don’t mind, I’d like to add that bus drivers, among numerous other overlooked professions, are very hard working, patient and loving people. People often under estimate what it is they have to accomplish every day. Have you ever been in a car with a screaming kid, been late, and been stuck in traffic? If you have, I want you to multiply this by however many students are on board your bus. Sometimes 70! Now, your goal at this point would be to stay polite despite every reason to fly off the handle, drive safe despite all the hazards, and be on time despite everything that holds you up. On top of that, you would have to discipline, intervene, and be encouraging. You would also have to build a relationship of trust with your students and their parents and teachers. Having witnessed the kinds of bad drivers I see on the road every day, I want you to know that it is a miracle that students rarely get hurt or in an accident during their transport. Bus drivers are good drivers. This also has a lot to do with the fact that the buses are very safe and are inspected by the drivers themselves prior to each trip. And believe me, this inspection is required and is very thorough and extensive. One last thing, though some drivers look a little shaggy and shady, many drivers are very educated people who have retired from various professions. Don’t misjudge the job. I was surprised to learn that many drivers were once lawyers, police officers, doctors and school teachers. So, next time your child gets on or off a school bus, please take a moment to thank their bus driver. They likely love and care for your kids too!

Ups and Downs of Motherhood

2009-03-25T13:01:00.003-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've been on here. Cameron has done such a fabulous job of keeping it up for me. I'm so grateful to all you guys for commenting too. It's so sweet of you guys when I am such a blog-reading slacker and never make comments. I'm behind in blog reading but I will catch up!

Well, I could never think of what I was going to say on here. I like to find some sort of comedic material.

I finally got the inspiration to write when I was watching "Fools Rush In" a couple of mornings ago at about 3 am. That's the one with Matthew Perry and Selma Hayek. She was playing a mom giving birth on the side of the road on top of Hoover Dam. When she had the baby and they put the baby on her chest, all the memories came flooding back. I even cried. So here's to the ups and downs of new motherhood!

Ups:

-The pushing ends! That miserable feeling of losing all your strength completely every 3 minutes is over. (plus, my epidural had worn off somewhat and I could feel some of the pain and it wasn't pleasent. I know, you natural birth people are saying : You wimp!!)

-They put this purple, wet baby on your chest. The first thought was just relief that she was out. Huge relief! I felt bad that I wasn't bawling my eyes out with joy yet. Is that abnormal? But it's such a miracle and when I look at her now it blows my mind that she lived in my tummy.

-The gassy smile of a baby. Yes, it may have nothing to do with you. But you can pretend it does and it's awfully cute.

-When you're changing their diaper and you happen to catch that explosive poop coming out so it doesn't get all over you. That's victory, man.

-A cuddly head resting on your shoulder

-Watching your husband be so incredibly sweet with the baby, love her, and be the best daddy for her

-Mom's, sisters, grandmas, etc to help you hold her. and a Grandpa (my dad) who does research and calls us to help us figure out how to help her

-when you get four hours of sleep in a row!

Downs of motherhood:

-Colic!!!!!!!!!!!! Anybody experience this? What did you use? We got some drops from Walmart and we might go get some Gripe water but we're not sure where to go.

-Explosive poop that lands on you and soaks your pajamas and the baby's

-Back pain

-Soreness

Baby crying in the car and you can't reach her

-No sleep. And when Lacey won't sleep in her bed and I end up holding her for several hours in the middle of the night
****************
Anyway, but it's all worth it! I just have no idea how my mom did it eight times!

Lacey's model shoot

2009-03-24T19:02:00.018-07:00

Not too long ago, my sister-in-law Robin came over and took pictures of Lacey as a special gift to us and the baby. Robin is a professional photographer who has her own business called Portraits by Robin Lee. She does weddings, receptions, babies etc. The pictures turned out so cute and we couldn't help but share some of them with everyone. Robins blog is listed on our blog with all of the other links.

Spring Break Fun

2009-03-21T10:35:00.007-07:00

Wow, what a fun filled week. Never a dull moment and never time to relax. We all just played hard till we dropped. Additionally, there were a few important mile markers hit during the break as well. For starters, on Tuesday, Lacey experienced her first St. Patrick's Day. (Posted Below) Wednesday afternoon, Lacey turned a month old. A day later, Cassie and I hit our four year Anniversary. Time keeps chugging along.

Cassie's older sister Tracie and her family arrived in town for spring break. They are the best! Our family of three couldn't resist getting in on the fun. We literally spent every waking hour at the Nichols home. Whether it was quad riding to the Salt River a dozen times, stopping at the Orange Patch for a secret snack, or just speeding through the yard, we definitely put in a lot of riding time. During the down time, the quad or trail 90 was attached to a wagon for some slower child friendly rides. Believe it or not, by the middle of the week, we had a train of wagons hooked to the quad. By adding an extra wagon, I could squeeze more kid rides in simultaneously. Genius!

We also took a trip to Scottsdale's McCormick Railroad park with all the kids. For a train enthusiast like me, this place is a dream come true. It brings back a lot of memories too. As a child, my Grandpa Grampp used to take me there. I miss him. It's neat that the park is still there today so that Lacey had a chance to ride the same trains too.

That's right, Lacey got her first train ride and carouse ride while we were there. A lot of stimulus for an infant, but don't worry, very safe. She did not ride a quad!!!!

Later in the week, we all took a trip to Sycamore Creek for some more quad riding. It was a lot of fun zooming over the hills and along the trails. The tunnels under the highway were especially thrilling. The best part of the adventures was the trips to where all the creeks converge. We sure got wet riding through this river. I of course, got stuck once. Time to lose some weight.

Last but not least, we produced a short movie. Yes, that's right. A movie! Hannah & Porter, (Georgina Jones & Robert Naismith) hosted a today show titled, "The Tomorrow show." "Tomorrow" because their show is so up to date that they are one step ahead. Lindsay (Petunia Rose) was our field reporter and Spencer (Touchdown Tom) headed up the sports desk. Cassie guest appeared on the show and I played a late 1970's dad with a mullet in a Cool-aid commercial as well as the recently crowned Ms. Scotland in an interview. It was a lot of work but such a blast. Sorry no pictures yet! Not coming to a theater near you!

Now that everyone's gone back home, it's time for the real world. Ahhhhhhh!

St. Patricks Day!

2009-03-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Fountain Hills has become somewhat of an annual tradition in our family. This setting became a big part of our lives because it was where Cassie and I got engaged in 2005. Additionally, we were married in the month of March, just two days after St. Patty's Day. And... you guessed it, our colors were green!

This year was Lacey's first St. Patrick's Day! She really went all out. She even wore green.
Three Irish girls! Momma Cass, Lacey, and Hannah. If you'll look carefully, you can see Sandy (Cassie's mother) in the background. If you're a real stickler and very observant like me, you might say to yourself, "hey, she's not wearing green." But in her defense, orange is actually one of the colors on Ireland's flag. So, we'll let it slide this year without any pinches. You are also free to sport the colors white and gold, or wear large buckles and belted top hats. We'll, if you want to?

Not a lot of people know this, but every year, the City of Fountain Hills dyes their famous fountain green for the day. It's really something to go see. Unfortunately, they stopped dyeing it at 4:00pm, and we arrived at 5:00pm. Oh well, there's always next year.

Lacey's First Bath

2009-03-17T23:30:00.001-07:00

Hey, no cameras!

Mom, can I please have another bath?

Pictures of Lacey, by popular demand

2009-02-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

Although Lacey did not attend her church meetings, she did manage to get in her Sunday dress.

Lacey meeting her great grandma Grampp.

Lacey crying for her great grandma Grampp.

Lacey Burrito

Lacey and momma Cassie

Still Lacey and momma Cassie.

Lacey & Daddy

Lacey's first car ride home.

Lacey & her grandma Nichols

Lacey meets Uncle Dallin and gets held by Aunt Hannah

Lacey & Aunt Hannah

A happy and healthy Lacey arrived home today and met the dogs!

2009-02-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

Heavenly Father answers prayers! Lacey had a miraculous and speedy recovery and was finally released from the hospital at 2:40pm Saturday February 21st, 2009. Cassie and I on the other hand were sent home the night before at 10:00pm. Being discharged without our daughter was torture, but we were so excited to hear this separation would only be one night long. Lacey's stay at Banner Gateway was 10 minutes shy of three days as apposed to the possible 5-7 days originally projected. We owe a great deal of gratitude because of the many prayers offered by all of you. Thank you again for your care and concern.

Upon her arrival, our four dogs were somewhat vocal about the addition to our family. So, to calm them and maybe ease the curiosity caused by the strange new crying and gurgling sounds, I carried each dog one by one, and introduced them to Lacey at a safe distance. Now, keep in mind, I've learned a great deal about my dogs and their behavior over the years. I know how to read them, so I'm usually aware of the cause of certain reactions. Shortly after Curly, Polly, Tyke and Scout each saw Lacey, they were returned to their cage. This was followed by the most pathetic whining. The kind of whining usually heard by three dogs, when they are jealous of the lucky fourth dog privileged enough to be invited into the house with us at the time. I can only assume our four k-9 friends were under the impression that our new little girl was one of them and that she was the lucky one of the day.

And two becomes three. Our big news!

2009-02-20T15:20:00.001-07:00

At approximately 2:50pm on Wednesday February 18th 2009, our little 7lb and 2 ounce baby girl was born at Banner Gateway Hospital located in Gilbert Arizona. She is 20 inches long, has the cutest blondish brown hair and big beautiful curious blue eyes. Cassie and I have officially decided to name her Lacey. Additionally, we have given her the middle name “Kay” in honor of her late grandma Leslie Kay, who passed away 2 years ago on March 14th, 2007. Kay also happens to be my twin sister Cassidy’s middle name, my niece Liberty’s middle name, as well as Cassie’s sister Natalie’s and dad’s middle name.

From a daddy’s perspective

2009-02-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

Cassie being pregnant had been a very surreal and almost laughable phase in our lives. We giggled and joked often about many aspects during this 9 month transition. Despite a spell of morning sickness and some discomfort the last few weeks, Cassie’s pregnancy was mostly pleasant and almost seemed unreal. Though she looked pregnant and we made many preparations for an addition to our family, our lives went uninterrupted, very few things changed and the reality of a baby seemed unimaginable. This isn’t to say however, that friends and family members never attempted to elaborate, describe and explain what we were about to experience. I suppose now more than ever before that the birth of a child is simply an event that must be experienced to be fully understood.

As I assisted the nurse in helping my wife push, reality still hadn’t quite set in. After all, Cassie was still in good spirits and our relationship and conversations continued as they always had before. Even between contractions. We were still the same, though the setting and circumstances were foreign and maybe unusual. But, this all changed in one single moment. Suddenly, I saw a small head! This was quickly followed by a little body. As soon as she was out, the doctor flipped her right side up and I saw a face and reaching arms. I was stricken and completely in love. I now had a daughter! She was mine. No, she was ours!

Throughout my entire life, all of the relationships I have developed and experienced took time and effort. While dating others and then later while dating my wife, these relationships started with feelings of attraction that then grew into stronger feelings and eventually love. But, seeing my daughter for the first time abolished such processes and broke all records. My heart grew in an instant and I now loved this supposed stranger with all of my heart and with such great emotion and passion unlike all I have ever felt before. It really was love at first sight. A notion I hardly believed in previously. I was now a parent. A father! Joy radiated throughout my entire being.

Our baby was then taken to a nearby area where she was cleaned and checked. Everything seemed normal, and the nurses tended to our baby in a very routine manner. They looked very trained and experienced. When our girl cried a little during these procedures, her voice was impressed on my mind forever. It was sweet and very quite. It was familiar to me, as was her face. I knew she was sent specifically for us. They then wrapped her and handed her to me.

Laying there in my arms was an angel so real and so amazing. I never wanted to let her go! But, if I had to, the next best thing and just as thrilling was to see her meet mommy, who up until now, had been recovering and maybe a little left out of such wonderful experiences. This reunion was unforgettable. Seeing Cassie get to hold our baby for the first time brought tears to my eyes. We then took pictures with our little girl and relished the moment.

Then, our baby was returned to the little work area for more tests. She wasn’t breathing deeply or crying enough like she should be and this alerted the nurses. Instead, she was grunting. When I heard them discuss that issue, I was thrust into the dark world of a worrying parent within minutes of my little girl’s birth. I now knew what it felt like to care so deeply it hurts beyond description and likewise carried the concern of a father who feared for the life of an individual he would gladly trade places with if ever the option was offered.

Soon, they were sucking a large amount of liquid from Lacey’s lungs. I stood there feeling helpless, but I wanted to do anything I could to help. I did not want to leave her side. Sensing this, the nurses allowed me to accompany them while they wheeled our baby to the nursery for additional assistance and equipment. I must have looked pitifully desperate and worried, that many of the nurses and doctors continually looked me in the eyes and tried saying anything and everything to assure me they were doing the best they could and that our baby was going to be fine. I’m actually surprised I’m able to recall these moments as they were very traumatic and were experienced as though it was an out of body type moment. I don’t remember walking. I don’t remember breathing. I just remember being their and hearing the echoes of voices as they took turns giving me comfort and working on my girl.

After what seemed like an eternity, our baby was doing better. To help her, she needed blow by oxygen to get the proper oxygen saturation in her lungs. Without machines, she was getting only 89% out of 100%. I touched her often and prayed for her in my heart over and over. Again, I didn’t want to leave her, but I was probably in the way. So, after being promised she was in good hands, I somehow ended up back at Cassie’s delivery room. When I entered the room, the nurses were gathering our things in preparation to move us to our more permanent room. They exclaimed, “there’s daddy,” while Cassie was in the background nearly fainting and being held up by two nurses. It was all so much to handle, and the nurse must have known I was struggling with the scene. She immediately diverted my attention and grabbed my arm and our things and said, “Why don’t you come with me to your new room.” Heaven knows I wouldn't have been able to help keep Cassie from falling. I too was near the tipping point.

Halfway down the hall, the nurse asked if I was okay. I tried to respond, but tears welled up in my eyes and my mouth involuntarily pulled downward on each side. She explained to me that baby’s frequently breathe in these types of fluids when they are being born, and that our baby would be okay. After walking down what seemed like an endless hall, she sat me down in our new room and got me juice and some crackers. I'm sure I was an interesting sight. Big guy, emotional, and being appeased by crackers and a little juicy juice. I sat there in a trance for some time!

Cassie was brought into our room and I spent the next few hours visiting her and the baby off and on. I can only imagine Cassie’s anguish caused by being unable to see her baby or jump up and visit her like I was able to do. Cassie was still tethered to an IV, so she had to stay put. I tried to be informed about our baby and learned very quickly what all of the numbers on her monitors meant and what was good and bad. I reported back to Cassie as often as I could.

For the most part, Lacey was doing well, but the x-rays showed that some of the fluids still remained and had settled in her lungs. This meant that they would have to keep a close eye on her to make sure that she wouldn’t develop Pneumonia. Finally, at around 8:00pm, Cassie was able to go with me to see our baby. By this time though, our little girl had been moved to the NICU. The NICU is an intensive care unit for newborns. Inside of this wing of the hospital, Lacey would receive continuous care 24/7 and was placed under a hood with oxygen. She was also hooked to an IV with antibiotics. Despite the need for all of this, she was still doing relatively well.

Cassie’s mom and sister’s came, and were the first to see our baby so long as they were accompanied by one of the two of us. It was good to have someone else there to help Cassie and I relax and for us to receive words of support. Later, while Cassie visited with nurses, Sandy, Hannah, Natalie and I took a lap around the hospital and visited the cafeteria and gift shop. We also looked for a piano, but learned there wasn't one yet. Though it was nice to see them and take a stroll, I'm sure I was as entertaining and energetic as a zombie. I was so scared! I couldn’t eat and my breathing was heavy because I was so worried. I would have been worse though had they not visited. After they left, the long night began. It was a sleepless night for the two of us, and I'm not sure when I finally conked out. I worried myself to sleep. I was afraid that if I slept, I would be unable to check up on Lacey for several hours and feared I would wake up to bad news.

The next morning was much better though. We visited our baby as soon as we woke up, and learned that she was a very happy baby considering her situation and seemed to overlook the fluid in her own lungs. They said that she acted like she felt nothing was wrong with her even though the x-rays said otherwise. She was also breathing without the help of extra oxygen. This was a big improvement. Since this time, Cassie and I have had wonderful bonding moments with our baby as we have visited her frequently and fed her every three hours. Because of the circumstances, it became necessary to supplement breast feeding with formula as well. Though it is our goal to get her completely off of formula, this temporary feeding plan allows both of us to take turns participating in each sitting. I’m so grateful to get this opportunity and love being with our girl. She is so cute and the best thing that has ever happened to us.

We are so grateful for all of the prayers offered in our little family’s behalf. We know they are being heard and answered! Please continue to pray for Lacey’s health so that we can bring her home soon. We also apologize if you were not contacted or informed when our baby was born as we had planned to do. We had a long list of people to call, and with all of the emotions we were simply unable to attend to the task as we had planned. Thank you for your support. We are so happy and blessed. Thank you for the phone calls, visits and food. We feel loved.

Sincerely,
Cameron

Last Day of Freedom

2009-02-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

So tonight's the night. I realized I had only washed a few outfits for the baby, so I'm doing laundry. I'm washing things like hats. How many little caps does a baby need? Probably like one. But at this point we're keeping them all.

So I finally got the nursery pictures up on here. The quilt on the wall was made by my friends Jen and September. The mirror we got from my sister-in-law Chelsea and we just painted it. She also gave us the changing table and crib! We are really lucky to have gotten those. Thanks Chels!

We are borrowing this bassinet. The shelf above is a work in progress. We're not sure what to put on it. The debate these days is will the baby sleep in our room for awhile, and if so, will the insomniac Cameron ever fall asleep at night?

Yay for the bed set! Too bad the lamps, rugs, etc that go with it are so pricey.

My mom's chair got painted. She was so nice to let us use it. The beautiful blanket on it was also made by Jen. She is so talented!

Another view.

Anyway, I love this room and feel happy when I go in it.

So the plan is to go to bed really early tonight and then set my alarm for 2 am and head to el hospital at 2:30. We'll see if I can fall asleep knowing I get to see my baby soon!!!

On the due date

2009-02-14T15:20:00.001-07:00

On the due date I have eaten chocolate and rainbow sherbet icecream. I have done every piece of dirty laundry in our house. (and hung it up or folded it) I'm tired!
I guess this baby may just wait until she gets induced to come out. That will be . . .drum roll please . . . Wednesday at 3 am. What a weird time! It was either that or Friday and I'm good with sooner!
I'm done being full time teacher for years! Yay! It feels weird and surreal. Some things I'll miss but in some ways it feels like I escaped from Alcatraz and I can run freely on the beach.

Photos from one shower

2009-01-30T03:28:00.000-07:00

These are pics from a recent shower. Thanks Mel and everyone who came!!!
Some of my lovely friends, many of which I've known for more than 15 years.

I feel like a spoiled brat getting all this stuff.

This is a blanket made from material that Cameron's mom who passed away had used. It was so neat to get it. Thanks Chels!

I loved the colors and the food!

What am I doing up at 3 in the morning, you say? I can't stop thinking about all the things I need to do before I go into labor. So I stopped tossing and turning and got on here.

It's getting exciting

2009-01-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

So I'm dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced. Who'd of thought that at my first "real" exam? So when do you think this baby will come? The doc said probably next week. Any advice on how I ought to spend my time until then?

One month and counting

2009-01-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

My bladder and me are definately ready for the baby to come. My main memories at the end of each day are being in the bathroom. It's gonna get crazy the last couple of weeks.

I've been "nesting" I guess. Cameron thinks I'm going to start doing deep spring cleaning, like windows and cobwebs. I've been more all about putting baby clothes in the dresser and hanging them up. I cleaned out my closet too. Oooh -Exciting.

Back pain

2009-01-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

These posts are boring, I know. But I realize the power of having many people out there to answer my questions. I've got a lot of lower back pain when I sleep but other times too. I've tried the pillow between your knees thing, but it's not helping. Anyone have any ideas?

No sleep

2008-12-31T04:51:00.000-07:00

What do you do if you can't sleep at 4 in the morning? Anyone have any ideas?

I have eaten Sugar Puffs. I have checked my facebook. Now I'm writing on here.

The baby was kicking me at 4:30 I think because I didn't eat much last night and she was hungry. And angry.

Everyone says this is preparing me for when I'll be up with the baby. It's gonna be rough. But hey, I'll have something to do then.

Now I'm going to read some Harry Potter to fall back asleep.

Google Reader is amazing

2008-12-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

My friend Kim just informed me about a wonderful invention called Google Reader. I put all the links to all the blogs I read there and it tells me when something new has been posted. Then you go to it and as you scroll down people's blogs it marks them as "read." This will be such a time saver and then I won't have massive guilt about forgetting to read blogs!

Yay! It's my Christmas break. Two weeks off! Three weekends included. I don't even know what to do with myself. I may read the 7th Harry potter again just because I love those books and I read it so fast the first time I may have missed stuff. I might read the Eragon books. Anybody read those?

So I started my first day of vacation today by getting up at 6:15 am. What the heck???? I can't even sleep in because my mind is so busy all the time and my bladder so full. Oh well. I'm going to a temple sealing this morning of a girl in my ward. I love watching those!

If I only had a Brain

2008-12-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

" Increasing absentmindedness"

This symptom is listed in "What to Expect", AKA the Pregnancy Bible, under the 8th Month. For fun, let's make a list of recent mishaps.

1. I left my church notebook, which is really heavy and stuffed full, on top of my car. I proceeded to turn onto a HIGHWAY to go home. I noticed out of the corner of my eye some white papers flying behind my car but it didn't hit me that they were mine. Then 2 cars started honking at me and I pulled over into the turn lane. I just sat there confused. Finally I realized the notebook was up there. It's a Christmas miracle! The notebook stayed up there and I only lost a few papers!

2. I have left my wallet in a Fry's grocery cart no less than 3 times since I've been pregnant. Two of the times some honest employee found it and I got it back with nothing missing. The third time was last week when an LDS girl recognized my picture, called my friend Rita to get my number and then called me. She said she found my temple recommend in there and knew I really would want to get that back. She dropped it off for me at Westwood. I'm tellin' ya, I must have guardian angels.

3. At school I looked for a stack of papers for about 10 minutes in the middle of class. Then I found them in my right hand.

4. This is nothing new. I accidently left our dogs locked in their cage when I left for work. They became emotionally distressed and pooped all over the place. Luckily Cameron happened to come home for lunch that day and he rescued them and cleaned up the mess.

5. I left a white elephant gift on top of my car and drove through my parents' neighborhood. I heard a 'clunk clunk' and realized it this time. It had flown off the car onto the road. It was a painted wooden coat rack. I think the wrapping paper saved it. Not a scratch.

Are we sensing a pattern here??? Maybe the top of the car isn't such a safe place.

Let's be honest, it's a miracle I've gotten through this semester without seriously screwing up a bunch of kids' futures. I have kept track of their grades. If I've lost something I've blamed it on my student aides (not you, Haley). Sometimes it was their fault and sometimes it wasn't but I wouldn't know that until later. It's just better to blame them to keep the students off your back. I'm horrible. But I made it. I taught a semester of economics knowing nearly nothing about it beforehand. Poor children.

Now there's one week left. I purposely scheduled class parties on different days so I could eat more. Hooray for overeating season!

Hey, you guys should post an "absentminded" story on here if you have one. It might help me feel normal.

Thanksgiving memories

2008-12-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Before the garage received its makeover

Ok, so we're way past Thanksgiving. I'm a little behind. I have a bigger behind though. Let's blame the lateness of this post on that, and on the basketball weighing down my stomach.

Memory #1 The little brother

Pictured below

(Notice my triple chin in the picture. I have no shame)

Upon arrival to my parents house near Thanksgiving, I found this note on the counter:

Dear Hannah,

Get out now!!!!!!!

Love, Dallin

"Get out of where?" I asked Dallin. He said he didn't know. But I caught a glimpse of what Hannah's life must be like, the 3 year older sister of a boy so cute but so autistic.

Then I looked at my mom's fridge and there was a crayon colored turkey done by Dallin at school. There was a "Thanksgiving story" under the turkey. It read:

" The Turkey is going to kill the kids. The turkey is going to kill the other dogs. It is almost Thanksgiving dinner.

- Dallin"

Now if I was his teacher, I may want to do some psychological testing. Where does this violence come from. Has he faced a rabid turkey in the past? And more importantly, will he hurt me ?

I posted pictures of Cameron's transformation of my parents's garage. (They are at the top. Does anyone know how to get pictures to move down on a post?) He thought it would be fun to get festive. He wants to do event design for people someday. He wishes these pictures weren's in a garage and that the chairs weren't plastic, but I think he did a great job.

New weigh-in

2008-11-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

Ever been weighed at the doctor's and felt guilty? Uh, guess I shouldn't have bought that box of Little Debbies last weekend and given them a nice home. It's a dangerous thing to send a pregnant woman to the grocery store at dinner time when she hasn't had dinner. You never know what she'll come home with!! It could be chicken nuggets and icecream.

Yes, yes, at the end of these 40 weeks I will come out over that "healthy weight gain" number that some unknown authority has declared. This holiday season, I must become a new person. I will change my entire "holiday personality." No longer will I say the following things in my head:

"Look at all those cookies. I need to try ALL of them."

"It's Christmas! Who cares what I eat!"

"I'll walk it off tomorrow."

"I'll work out especially hard in January."

"MMMMMMMMM. CHOOOOCOLATE." (Think of Chunk in the movie "Goonies.")

This will be very difficult, considering that for my entire life I have eaten whatever I want at Christmas time. Wish me luck, people.

Pop goes the belly

2008-11-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

So I decided I needed to record the pregnant belly for posterity. You never feel cute. But I will post these anyway because let's face it guys, it's a sight to see. It's hard to imagine someone pregnant until you see it. (really not that exciting)

Pull out the ribbons and lace!

2008-11-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's a girl! We got a 99% ultrasound today along with a cool 3-D pic of her face. I'm so excited.

On another note, anybody know where I can get some cheap support hose? I've got green veins like my mom and sister had. I'm borrowing my mom's right now. They're thigh-highs and today one slipped down and my students could see the top rubbery part. oooooooooo, so cute~! I'm making major fashion statements these days.

"The cabin experience"

2008-10-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

If you've never been to the cabin, you've never lived. My dad has been building a cabin with his bare hands for about two years now. It is coming along and we have helped a tad here and there. The above pic is my little bro Dallin eating dirt. This can be a common occurence.

We went to a water hole near the property and there was an old fence. Like all encounters with old fences, this one had to be photo-documented.

Hannad and the water hole. Doesn't it look like she's posing for her Lifetouch photo?

Cameron and me. I may or may not have worn those clothes for 2 days. Showers are not common at the cabin. In fact, there is no running water yet so an extended stay has included giving yourself a sponge bath before church to get all the dirt off your body.

The outhouse is around the back. If you're lucky, the wind might blow the "blanket door" out of the way while you're in there and you can feel a cool breeze. And somebody might see you. Awkward.

The classical stylings of the expectant mother

2008-10-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

The idea that pregnancy can be laughed at really makes up for those uncomfortable moments of achy calves and heartburn. Lately I have misplaced things that I was carrying in my hands, thrown a marker across the classroom on accident, and locked our 4 weiner dogs in their cage for 12 hours while I was at work. Thankfully, they didn't come down with a horrible case of UTI. They looked like rats trying to escape from a burning building when we got home. There didn't seem to be any "accidents " although the faint smell of urine is ever-present.

Until . . . the next morning when the dog poop was discovered underneath the blankets, waiting there like a horrible hidden surprise. Imagine the desperation of a small dog, locked inside and needing to go potty, and then finally going in his own bed and covering the evidence. Anybody know a good pet therapist?

But let's get to the title of this post. Last weekend we went to a wedding reception for a girl in our ward. I thought it might be cold in the building, so I brought a stretchy black sweater. We were sitting around a table with our cute Bolivian bishop and some of our friends. I pull out the sweater to put it on a lo and behold . . . .

It's not a sweater!

Black stretchy pajama pants! How convenient!

The whole table was laughing and saying it was my prego brain. The next thing I knew, my bishop grabbed the pants, held them up, and put them on his head. Great moment.

Pull out the pink????

2008-10-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

The doc said there's a 70% chance we're having a girl. So what do we think about those odds? Do we start buying flowery crib bumpers? Anyway, he was nice enough to check real quick for us and said he can do it again later but I don't want to bug him at my Nov. appointment. So I think I'll ask him in December and get the final word.

"Brainstorm" and is my fly open?

2008-10-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

So this year I was conned into becoming the coach of the Brainstorm team at Westwood. This is a trivia game that is similar to Jeopardy and it's actually on TV. Each team has 3 players and they have buzzers. The host is named Dave, and acts like any other normal game show host.

The pic above is some random team I found online. So here's why I'm sharing this story. As a pregnant woman whose pants and skirts don't fit right now, I'm always looking for an excuse to dress casually at work. I also started a routine 3 years ago that on Tuesdays and Thursdays I basically don't do my hair. I put it in a clip or pony tail. So the day of the Brainstorm filming happened to be a Tuesday. I dressed down, not thinking that other coaches from other schools may be dressed up. I wore a blue Westwood t-shirt, khakis that barely zip up, and sandals.

My team on the other hand, wore black suits. The other coach that came with me wore dress pants and a tie. So I was looking a tad on the shoddy side. To top it off, I have a cut on my cheek that hasn't healed and it's huge and red. I don't put makeup on it so it can heal.

So we get to Phoenix for the filming and the other teams and coaches are there, all professionally dressed. They ask who the coach is for Westwood and the lady says, "Oh! I thought you were one of the students." Yeah, I get that all the time. Then I find out that during the filming of the show, I will be called out of the audience to be introduced. So I frantically go to the b-room, put makeup on my cut which makes it look worse close-up I'm sure, and I tuck in my shirt. I realize that the fly area of my pants is folded so that it's going to look like my zipper is down. Not good. But oh well, what could I do? I was feeling self-concious.

So I joked with one of the students about her saying during the show, "I just want to give a shout out to my coaches' unborn child." I was joking, but of course she wanted to do it. So the time comes. They call me out to be on camera. Picture me standing awkwardly in front of those boys in that picture, my fly looking like it's down, bad hair, totally underdressed. So it comes to the girl's turn and she says, " This is my coach, Mrs. Lee. She's pregnant."

Awkward silence. No one really knew how to react, especially the host. And all the camera people and judges just stared at me. It was a rather embarrassing moment, I have to say.

So guess what? It will be out there in living rooms across Arizona on November 19th. If anyone has Cox channel 7, it's on at 6:30 pm. You can T-vo it for me and we can all have a good laugh.

Lessons of the day: 1. It's better to be overdressed. 2. Don't announce pregnancy on a game show.

If you've got it, flaunt it

2008-09-17T19:30:00.002-07:00

Well, well, well. The baby didn’t want to show its stuff today. I feel bad saying “its” but I can’t bring myself to prematurely pick a sex. So today was dramatic and anti-climactic. I guess I should have asked someone how long ultrasounds take. I had no idea they were going to do all those other measurements. So I’m thinking the lady would look at it and then yell out, “it’s a girl!” or whatever. So this lady, we’ll call her Pam, (actually that was her name), was silent for 15 minutes while she measured. Cameron just stood there expressionless and I was just anticipating.

Well, the baby was breach. So Pam said she would let me go to the bathroom. My bladder was explosively full at this point. You guys were right, though, I was too excited to think about that. Well, after a half hour I got to go potty. I came back and the baby was turned around! I thought, “It’s got to happen now.” But I had this sinking feeling that Pam didn’t know what she was doing. Or didn’t care if I knew or not. She did after all, make an offhand comment about how knowing the sex was not “medically necessary” anyway.

Well, she didn’t see anything. There was a leg in the way. I can understand this and I was kind of fine with it. Until I found out later that she could have rolled me over or told me to go for a walk and then tried again.

So I went back to school and had 10 kids stop me on the way back to class. I literally have kids betting money on this. Plus I had them sign a paper with their guess and am giving them extra credit for being right. My count down has been on the board for 12 days. So yeah, you disappoint the kids. Oh well. We’re starting a new count down.

Hopefully my insurance will cover another ultra sound if it’s deemed as “necessary.” I have to hear back from my doctor. Until then, I wait.

The most important thing is that I saw healthy bones, a heart, and a normal size baby. Plus cute stuff like it grabbing its toes and fingers.

So the moral of the story is, flaunt those body parts or drive your frazzled mother nuts.:)

Prego update

2008-09-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

I get my ultra sound on Sep 17th. I wanted to ask all you mothers out there your opinions. This one place said I needed to drink 32 ounces of water and hold it for over an hour before I go in. I am freaking out about this because I don't think I can do it. Did any of you have to do that? I might go to another place now.

What are the weirdest theories people have ever told you about whether your kid is a boy or a girl? Here are some I've gotten lately:

-if you got heartburn as soon as you got pregnant, it's a girl

-if you carry the baby low, it's a boy

-if you've been really sick, it's a girl because of the extra hormones

-and the weirdest one . . . if you take your birthdate, your husband's, and the conception date and do some sort of mathmatical equation, it'll tell you the gender . . . Uh, OK. I don't know what the equation was but the guy said it won't work 'cause our birthdays are in the same month.

So far, I've decided not to believe any of them. So what theories do you guys know?

Im-PALIN' the competition

2008-09-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

I like to see a woman that stands for family values, is super intelligent, and doesn't apologize for what she believes. No matter where you are on the political spectrum, you have to find something to admire about Sarah Palin.

Yes, she was only a mayor for two years and a governor for almost 2. But governors make huge, ginormous decisions every day. She commands a national guard, she manages billions of dollars of a budget, she overseas the resource wealth of Alaska. In her first year she created an 6 billion dollar budget surplus. Our governor, by contrast, has been a part of a billions of dollars budget defecit. I nearly lost my job, and many teachers like me did. Not to mention cops and prison guards I know that have lost thousands a year in overtime pay. Palin made huge decisions and they came out ok.

Not to be too harsh, but running a campaign for two years doesn't count as executive experience as some may claim.

But besides that, for those of you who have strong opinions on one side of the other, I won't get into criticisms. I'm just lettin you know that I am excited for this woman and about her. No man gets questioned on whether he can be a father and adequately do his job. So why should a woman be? US Magazine has been very cruel to her.

Can you tell I'm obsessed with politics? I would bore you with everything I think about on a daily basis. I think being a history teacher might have something to do with it. I've had to follow these things for 5 years. Oh well.

Don't feed baby carrots into a slicer

2008-09-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

So i can't type much b/c I sliced my middle finger on an evil Saladmaster machine. I got stitches yesterday. I cried when they soaked my bloody finger in soapy water. I got 5 shots directly into the wound so they could numb it. I may never have that finger print again. I can commit Heinous crimes. I cried this morning when I took the bandage off. Then my Tylenol finally kicked in. I am a wimp.At least it's not my grading hand. I can still work I guess. Lovely Labor Day, eh?

That is not my finger but you get the idea.

A Bun in the Oven

2008-08-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so not a visually stunning layout or post, but here it is. We are finally having a baby. Some of you know that already. Highlights of the pregnancy so far have been:

1. Cameron seeing the ultrasound today and saying it was the coolest thing he's ever seen.
2. When the baby was the size of a blueberry
3. When I got to throw up in an airplane bathroom (twice)
4. When my baby and I stood on the continental divide in Colorado
5. When my baby was the size of a small prune
6. When I got to go to Girl's camp just after finding out I was preggo
7. When I realized I haven't gained any weight yet because of "losing" food)
8. When the baby was the size of a peach

Here's the other issue. Since the baby is due on Valentine's day and Arizona's birthday, what should I name him /her?

Arizona Valentine Lee?

Do you think if it's a boy he'll get beat up?

If anyone has any cool ideas, let me know.

Smoky Mountain Adventure

2008-07-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally posting again. I wasn't posting because I had no way to download pictures, but I'm not going to let that stop me anymore. I'll just find some.

Have you ever been to east Tennessee? It's quite the southern paradise. I went for a weeklong AP History training. I stayed in Maryville, a few miles from Knoxville. This is a picture of my dorm building.

So I'll tell you the most adventurous story: The lost hikers. I made friends with three teachers there: Jennifer, a spunky English teacher who hadn't been hiking in years; Melissa, member of a hiking club and divorced mother of 1; and Phil, a gung-ho married guy with 2 kids.

We drove through the Smoky Mountains, pictured at the right, to a ranger

station at Cades Cove. There I learned that this area is known to

be invested by hundreds of black bears. My immediate thought was:

Jim: What kind of bear is best?

Dwight: That's debatable.

Jim: False! Black bear. Bears! Beets! Battle star galactica!

So anyway, we take off on this hike. Melissa and Phil started getting way ahead of Jennifer and me. See, she wanted to take a lot of pictures along the way, and also she needed to rest for 5 minutes each time we walked 5 minutes up the hill.

We were on our way to see some waterfall. Phil and Melissa decided to just go way ahead of us and meet us later. The problem was that we never planned a meeting place and they never told us to turn left onto a different trail.

So soon they were an hour ahead of us on a different trail and we continued to climb up the mountain thinking they'd soon be on their way back down. They never did come. And it was like 8:30, about an hour until dark, when I suggested we'd better start back without seeing the waterfall.

At 9:30 it got pitch black outside and we were hiking through bear-infested woods. A bear had just killed a lady hiker a week before. It was taking us much longer than we thought to get back.

Meanwhile, Melissa and Phil got to the car 45 minutes ahead of us. When they had almost reached the car, they saw a black bear. Melissa was totally freaked out that we were hurt or eaten by that bear. They decided to tell the ranger station we were missing. A ranger came and wrote a missing person report and didn't even try to look for us.

When we finally got there, still pretty chilled out and calm, Melissa started sobbing. "You don't know how glad I am to see you guys!!! " She hugged us and cried and cried. She told us that while she was waiting she promised God all these things if he would send us back. (one thing relating to her run-ins with men) Anyway, this poor woman had this traumatic experience and we were fine.

We got a 10 minute lecture from the ranger, who wanted us to reflect on "what we did wrong."

So the moral of the story: Don't go hiking in late afternoon without a flashlight, have a plan of where to meet, and don't mess with Smoky mt. rangers.

More family photos from April

2008-05-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Some more family photos. The first is of Nat, nephew Porter, Nat's prom date Preston, and our new nephew Tanner
Sister Tracie, me, my dad, Kayli and Justin. Doesn't Kayli look like she fits right in with our family?
Finally I got Cameron to be in a pic.

Justin's Wedding Extravaganza

2008-05-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

We're happy now after 9 chicken nuggets a piece.
Semi-sweet, sweet, or bittersweet?
My new nephew Tanner Lee Haddock
Cameron's followers

The gals Cam's good at entertaining kids

Hannah pre-injury

What a hottie!

Why me?
Cameron and our nephew porter intensely battling

The happy couple --Look at that waist!
Niece Lindsay and nephew Spencer killing time at the Visitor's Center

Here are a bunch of pics from Justin and Kayli's wedding. My sister Hannah broke her arm an hour before the reception. Notice her cute bummed-out face. Check out her blog on my link list for the full story.

Highlights of the wedding:

-My sister Terra getting naughty and hitting strangers, knocking over food on the table, and finally knocking over the giant punch bowl off its stand. (Note: She's disabled, for those who don't know)

-My brother Dallin throwing his pink matching tie and no one could find it forever.

-Hannah landing on her left arm funky while getting "popped" on the tramp. (not a highlight--a lowlight for Hannah)

-My dad coming out, "Yep. It's broken," very matter-of-factly. My dad would say "Yep, that's blunt head trauma" in that same tone.

-My dad and brother making Hannah a splint out of a spatula and a cut out piece of cardboard. Don't forget the bandana sling.

-Natalie leaving for prom after the reception on the same night.

-"Justin and Kayli Jeopardy" that me and my sister made on my powerpoint.

-Justin singing Ben Folds' "The Luckiest" to Kayli

-Being with my entire family

-Temple sealings! I love 'em!

Highlights of the School Year

2008-05-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

I want to update this more so people will check it and not think it's ever changing. So I'm doing a temporary post here. I will post more pictures later this week of my hilarious students and their skits on 1950's music, tv, stars ,etc. Hopefully. Anyway, this was a highlight of the year on Halloween when my neighbor let me borrow her tea pot costume. I was a little intimidated to wear it and it was a little embarrassing. But then I realized later that people thought it was funny and that my students will always remember that. When will they ever have another teacher in a Mrs. Potts costume? Hopefully, they'll remember me for more than just that though.

AP Test Anxiety

2008-05-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

I have never experinced something quite like this. Here I am, it's 5 in the morning and I can't sleep 'cause I know there is a gigantic test that a bunch of kids are going to take. And I was the one to prepare them for it. I have anxiety.

Did they study last night? I really prayed that they did. Because it sounds like most of them didn't study at all until yesterday. Janae, remember when me, you , and Ben studied? How much did we study before the actual test?I was so confident that their scores would be good until yesterday. I had given them a practice multiple choice and most of them scored about 10 percent below passing. Then I realized that I didn't deduct an extra 1/4 a point, like AP does, for every one you miss. The last 2 timed essays I gave them, many of them didn't even finish in the time. I am so freaked out that they will write crap essays or fail the multiple choice.

It is so weird to be the underdog school. Coming from Mt. view, where kids come to you with most of the abilities they need to pass an AP test, even going there myself, I am used to that attitude of hard work. We did whatever it took. I am working with kids who are way below the level, whose writings are filled with sentence fragments and misspellings. They are generally lazy, except for about 10 of them. There are about 8 realy strong writers. I love all these kids though.

Anyway, so I am going to school today to give a test to the rest of the kids who aren't teaking the AP exam. I will be wondering what essays my kids are writing, praying that the questions are something I taught themm praying they will write fast. And then after today I will wait. This agonizing TWO month wait until the scores come out. And then next year I'll do it all over again.

Hey, but I got a call yesterday that someone wants to be my student teacher! Wouldn't that be awesome? I didnt' even know I was old enough to have one. The only thing is I would not want her to teach my AP classes. Janae, remember that crap student teacher in history that almost ruined our year? Anyway, so I'm going to ask if she could just teach my regular history. Yes, my schedule has changed again. I will have 2 AP's , 2 regular, and one economics. That's nuts! Three classes to prep every day. I really hope I get pregnant this summer 'cause if stress is causing it not to happen now, that could very muich be the case this fall.

waiting for life

2008-05-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

I decided instead of waiting for my broken digital camera to be fixed, that I would just write on here without pictures. I've love looking at all blogs. But I especially love when people pour their heart out, or are just honest with how they feel. The people's blogs I read are so good at writing it out. I'm not so expressive, but I can try.

It seems like when you are a girl trying to have a baby there are so many different "baby" things that cross your path. And it's funny how you can prefectly handle things sometimes, but other days you feel totally incapable. of it.

"baby showers"--usually fine. I love to see the happiness on my friends' faces

"friends who announce they're pregnant that got married after me". This one has been tough lately. I really want to know though! I hope no one will think they can't tell me. I just tend to think there's something wrong with me, or wrong with our little family's beginning. I know there's not. I love that people are having kids. I know that I'm supposed to be learning something by waiting.

"when i get emails of sonograms from college friends I haven't heard from in months and didn't know they were prego"
This one can go either way. I think if I were 21 or 23, this would be different. I wouldn't care that it's going to take at least a year for this to happen. But I've become obsessed with comparing my age to people I know. I'm just about 26. "My sister had 2 kids by that time." This is a pointless exercise. I know so many people start their families later and they still have several kids. Still, this one has made me sob on a bad day.

"Turning 26 on Mother's Day this year." This could be a doosie. I don't know. I have been doing fine thinking about it because I think I'll be distracted by my birthday.

"Learning that someone I know has infertility." This one has made me admire people for their strength. I think that I could have it worse and have health issues. Or I think maybe I will eventually find how I have infertility too. But I just feel selfish and dumb for worrying about myself. It's so good to hear how other people get rhough things. And people are amazing. And I need to not freak out this early in the game.

"Hearing about pregnancies where people get deathly ill." This makes me be realistic that pregnancy won't be a cake walk. And it makes me ralize how selfish I am with my eating and sleeping habits that I choose. And how wimpy I am when i get a sore throat.

"My sister coming to town with her two month old baby boy" --It felt weird to hold him knowing that I could be responsible for a little person. I will be so awkward with it at first! it's kinda intimidating. But I loved holding my little nephew. I'm baby hungry and you gotta love those motherly instincts.

I'll end this now. Basically, I'm glad I teach high school because it's so distracting from other problems in my life. In fact, deciding to teach again next year has made me excited to travel for training this summer. And that has been a distraction. And thinking about waiting to try for a little while so I don't have a baby right in the middle of the school year in January. I have a lot to be grateful for. A baby will come at the right time,I suppose. I just wish I could be happy any time I encounter baby stories. Eventually I will. Evcntually.

Christmas Break in Mesa and Topeka, Kansas

2008-03-30T18:44:00.002-07:00

To the left is my brother Justin and his fiancee, Kaylee. Their romantic moment here was playing Guitar Hero together. It's cool that they both share a passion for it.

Me and Harry S. Truman, my fave president. We went to his presidential library in Independence, Missouri. It was amazing!

The family at my sister's house

Dallin and my niece Lindsay. So photogenic!

Hike in the Supers

2008-03-30T18:44:00.001-07:00

Hannah accidently fell in.

This is one of the best short hikes I've been on. It's right outside of Gold Canyon, like 10 minutes from our house. You could take your toddlers on this hike. We had quite a lovely time sticking our feet in the water. Funny story. Dallin got mad at my mom because she was walking slower than he wanted. (he's autistic so when things don't go his way, he freaks) . So he threw his red Cabellas hat far into this huge bush. Well, we were ahead of my mom and she came up behind us and said, " I 'll get the hat on the way back." Well, we got to the top and dipped our feet in the water and saw the Indian petroglyphs, and then started back down. We get to the right spot and the hat is gone. He freeeeeaked out! He was crying and saying over and over, "I want my hat!!" We told him we'd get him a new one. Yeah, that did nothing.

So ten minutes later we're hiking and we see a little kid with a red hat on ahead of us. We thought it looked like Dallin's. So my mom had me go up to the lady and and say, "Did you guys happen to find a red hat?" I was trying to look like I didn't notice the hat on her kid's head. It was SO awkward. She was really nice about it and gave it back. But the kid looked really sad. We wouldn't have taken it back but he's autistic and would've thrown a fit the rest of the day. So that's the story. We had lots of fun!

Haircut from you know where

2008-03-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

So I had a traumatic day yesterday. Everyone has probably had a bad haircut experience. Where you don't tell the lady what you want or she misunderstands you. So I like this girl but I let her have the idea that I wanted short layers, when I really wanted long layers. She flipped my hair out and it looked like a mullet or some ultra modern rocker girl. Tears srpng to my eyes and it was our anniversary and I wanted to look cute.

So I went home and re-did it and then I was okay. But I still can't believe how short it is in some spots.

Luck 'O the Irish

2008-03-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Cam and me
My sister Hannah, my brother Dallin, and me. Yeah, I didn't get ready that day.
Dallin has the cutest little grin. He fakes it a lot too.
How green is that??

These are some pics from St. Patrick's Day in Fountain Hills, AZ. We loved the green fountain. Incidentally, this is where Cameron proposed, so you could say the Lee family began here. Maybe we could be buried here so people could say the family ended here too. Oh wait--families don't end. Nevermind.

Cassie & Oscar May 2006

2008-03-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is me and the late Oscar Meyer Lee, or "Mug Bug". Cameron wanted me to put this on here because we both really love this dog. He's been gone now for over a year. We still miss him.

May 2007 -A Family Photo

2008-03-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

So what happens when you try to put a non-digital camera on a timer with 16 people? My dad ran in and out of the picture probably 30 times. Terra would not face the camera so he kept signing to her, "You MUST look. You MUST look." He said it with emphasis, very loudly. We cracked up. Spencer, our nephew in the striped shirt, would run in and out of the pic. And everyone's patience ran very thin after 45 minutes. We had never seen any of the pics before they were developed. We got them back, and in every picture but one, my dad's head was covering half of my sister Natalie's face. It was all for nothing!

Until . . . Cameron photo shopped it! He gave Terra a new head, moved my dad's head, and filled in part of Nat's shirt. And wallah! A family photo.

I Finally Got a Blog

2008-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

So after months of thinking that I can't have a blog until I have kids, I finally broke down and started one. Now I'm not sure what to write on it. I'll start with some pictures to get me going.