Dear,

(really every one is doing it)

Dear Ash & Johnny,
Congrats on 8 years! what a fun couple you are!!

Dear Awesome and Ellie-
Hope you make it to the altar tonight.

Dear NBC,
please please please don't cancel Chuck. It is the best show since Alias and makes me look forward to Mondays!

Dear Dan,
thanks for making me laugh, and for enduring my (limited) views on linemen and my love of catchers.

Dear Dan's New Golf Partner,
100 + holes in Mexico was one thing, but lets ease me into being a golf wife slowly. Maybe start with just one round every Saturday?

Dear Canada,
(oh my heart aches already) please be good to Nick-P and we'll book our tickets for the 2010 Winter Games.

Dear PW and the Blog Chef
thank you for your gentle reminders that no matter how hard I try I will always be an amateur chef with a lame point and shoot camera. And thank you for the wonderful walnut shrimp. My family thinks I am amazing!!

Dear Honesty,
you are a lost and forgotten virtue.

Dear Families Helping Families,
thanks you for helping me to see the difference I can make with "my own two hands"

Dear Lauren,
Drive Safe and come home soon. We love you!! and can't wait to hang out!

Dear Refinance,
Painful, time consuming, confusing and frustrating and worth every penny of the $200 a month I will soon be saving. And I skip a payment should I get new eyes or boobs? (haha! didn't think anyone would still be reading)

Free Cone Day & other little stories

We went to the annual Free Cone Day at BEN & JERRY'S.

Don't be deceived by this cute little face. On Friday night we went to a big fundraising Art Night at Annie's school. We got some caramel popcorn that we ate while the 1st graders were all singing. Just a short while later Meg was all freaked out about her nose and was trying to stick her entire finger up her nose. The little $*!& When we got home we tried the little trick the ER doc told us from last week (you can read about that below incase you missed it) and Dan held her while I gave her mouth to mouth to try and force it out. I gave her a couple of breaths and then she sneezed and out came the popcorn kernel. Bet you can guess what food is now banned at our house.

oh and just today the doorbell rang. It was the mail lady. and Meg. Didn't even know she was gone, but thankfully she was able to tell the mail lady where she lived.

Before we went to Mexico I bought a tent (looks like a mosquito net) to put over Meg's crib so that she can't climb out. Guess who has learned how to unzip the tent??

I saw a book the other day titled "I was a really good mom before I had kids." I don't know if this should be the name of my next post or my life!!

Happy Easter

Easter 2009 was great! We celebrated with multiple egg hunts, dying hard boiled eggs, frosting sugar cookies and taking the time to focus on our Savior Jesus Christ. I read the entire Book of Mormon for lent and then rewarded myself with a new set of scriptures. It was a great way to focus and bring the spirit into our house leading up to Easter. And I love being in primary because it helps me to focus on the basics of the gospel. The Atonement is complicated and can be applied in so many layers, but simply put: it makes up the difference for me where I fall short every single day. Some days I am a little bit short and somedays a lot more than I would like to admit. But being able to apply the atonement in my own life- forgive others, ask for forgiveness, continue to learn little by little, and knowing that my Savior loves me completely and unconditionally gives me the hope and strength to keep trying to be a little better tomorrow.

What is THAT smell???

A question I have been asking myself since we got home from Mexico about a week ago.

I would give Meg a kiss- get a whiff of something and then wonder what is that smell??

Was I standing too close to the garbage?

Does her breath stink?

Am I imagining something?

Then sometime over the weekend I realized the smell was coming from her NOSE.

I became obsessed: asking other people to smell her nose, smelling her tissues. Does she stink or do I just think she stinks?

I called the Doctor yesterday and the could get me in for the last appointment of the day.

From my google research I knew that one sided foul smelling nasal discharge was most often caused by a sinus infection or a foreign object.

I knew the chances of a sinus infection were slim seeing as how Meg hasn't had a recent and prolonged cold. But I was holding out some hope that I would have a Rx for antibiotics in my hand shortly and we'd be on our way!

The PA we saw in the office could see something up her right nostril but could reach it with her limited tools so we were on our way to Primary.

waiting our turn in the ER

The waiting room for the ER at Primary Children's was packed. I tried telling the tech as we checked in that we really didn't need to stay. This wasn't an emergency.

We stayed. We waited. 2 hours later they found this . . . (a popcorn kernel)

For those who care about the details: they wrapped her up like a mummy and it took three people to hold her while they put a foley catheter (6 fr) up her nose. They then inflated the balloon with saline and when they pulled it out the kernel came too.

good as new!! and she smells good too!!

Out of Sorts

Meg just turned 2 and suddenly we are out of sorts.

Meg and I are at odds.

Last night was an official boycott of the crib. The mattress is as low as it goes and the little monkey climbed out nearly 20 times. I am not ready for a big girl bed. I am not ready for 10 pm bed times. I am not ready for no more naps. Meg is ready for a big girl bed.

And as you can see from the picture she is wearing big girl underwear. Suddenly as I am in a mad rush to leave town for the weekend, Meg wants to potty train herself. Every time I turn around she is naked. We have gone through half a box a diapers in the last few days. Meg is ready to be potty trained.

The nakedness doesn't help our bath problem. Meg loves to take baths & showers. Usually 3 or 4 a day. So we are naked and suddenly she wants another bath. And don't worry we climb in and out of the bath which covers my bathroom with water and is an accident waiting to happen.

And speaking of accidents you would think Meg would get hurt climbing. But Monday I was putting her in the car seat and when I pulled her over so that she was square in the seat to buckle her up I dislocated her elbow. oops! (for all the parents who will do this in the future- i guess it can happen real easily and it usually just pops back in with a little help.)

In between sitting on my counter with a cookie cutter as an ankle bracelet, Meg enjoys:

• Decorating my bathroom with bronzer and eyeshadow
• wearing shoes in all shapes and colors and sizes
• eating cinnamon toast crunch (and then drinking the milk just like her sisters)
• watching Dora and the Wonder pets
• eating cereal out of a bag and leaving a trail of where she has been
• climbing on anything and everything (how do you think she got on the counter) and her bikes and toys as a step stool.
• talking on her cell phone
• pushing her baby around in the stroller

Hopefully like the stars, Meg and I will again (one day soon I hope) align.