New clothes

And so I got paid my little paycheck and Josh told me I could have it to go shopping! So I got my hairs professionally dyed (it looks so much better and lasts way longer than when I do it, so I try to go every third time) and highlighted and cut! And then (have I mentioned now awesome Josh is?) I went shopping for my new shape. I got FIVE shirts, a skirt and a dress for $73.37 (plus the gift certificate I had). Go me!

Big reveal!

Here is my new hairs, my new dress and my new shape!

Michael

Here is a little ode to Michael. I thought I  had kids all figured out until we got a boy. And man is Michael a BOY. You think of a boy-related topic and Moo is all over it: farts, butt jokes, fart-butt jokes, hitting anything with a stick, jumping on furniture, making weird noises all the time and also with, the inability to sit still. He is awesome! He is in morning kindergarden and likes his teachers. But sometimes he finds it hard to sit still all day long. He loves to eat nachos and quesadillas for lunch with mom. Then he likes to snuggle behind my knees while I have quiet time and he watches Power Rangers (current favorite). Then Michael likes to stomp around the car while we wait in van-pool for the girls. He LOVES to play and now has to almost constantly beg the girls to play.  He sometimes even has to resort to "I will be the baby mermaid!" He is inquisitive, smart and able to read pretty darn good. He is excited to move into the squirrel reading book. He is friends with Erin Korth and Calvin Black. He also loves to go outside and play in the snow with Ashley (when she is in the mood). We are so glad you are in our family Michael!

House stuff

Today is MLK and we cleaned out the basement room (Ellie will be upstairs for a while more) and after lunch we are going to tackle the garage. Josh bought some some of mental hacksaw from his dad and Papa Smurf delivered it. Then, while I was trying to not run over Ashley's toes as I backed out the garage one morning, I left my car door open and it plowed into the machine. It knocked it over on the garage floor and broke some major pieces (even in my inexperienced mind I could see some major pieces were not in the right places). But Ashley was fine! And the car door did not break off! And we all managed to push it back into the garage so we could close the door and not be late to school.

Me, again

Hey, I realized this morning that I am still only STARTING week 5 of recovery! I should still be taking two naps a day! I am doing mostly good. Need nap. Good to have list of things to do - gives me motivation to have a list. Wounds are healing. Working hard to keep everything moist and not weepy. Mentally I am ok also. I do get freaked out sometimes. Focus on breathing is good. I am so tired at night, but try to stay up to at least 9:30. Sleeping good. Working on adapting new idea that I can lay around some. Last night I picked a movie and watched all of it while I waited to go to bed!

Seeters

See I was seriously worried that I put "Play with sisters" on my goal list this month and yet there were no sister-playing activities in sight! Fortunately MLK day came and we had more time to play with weekend! We went down to Provo after school on Friday and went to the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the BYU art museum. It was pretty cool. Rockwell had total buck teeth. His models had to stand still for hours before photos were common and he could paint from those. He liked models who would raise their eyebrows really high. Heather and Holly took me 'little bra' shopping! Sara had a small intervention and my sisters saw my new boobies. A good time was had by all.

Crafts

So Josh is totally enjoying my surprise Christmas present (the 3-D printer) and here are two of the things he has made for us: a rocket and a tower dice-thrower (for those of use with less than excellent dice throwing skills) You put the dice in the top and they tumble out. Also here is my newest snowman-crafty table runner. Go snowmen!

Food storage

Josh got dedicated and worked on fixing up the downstairs food storage (also because he wanted to move the little freezer down there for space in the garage for his gadgets.)
So after a day of work, here it is! Very organized.

Stuffies and hide-outs

We are very fond of stuffies and hide-outs in our house. Here are some that Ash and Moo created recently. Ashley would like you to see how the chickens laid their eggs in a pyramid shape. Since we put their winter light in, they are back to laying 4 to 6 eggs a day. Time for more crepes!
And some general chicken pictures, courtesy of Ashley.

Ashley

Ash is a great girl. We love having her in the family. She is funny, smart and very intuative. She remembers amazing facts. She definately knows what she likes and does not like. She LOVES tuna and has a small can of it (and three mayo packages) in her lunch almost every day. Her best friends are Abby, Kia and best of all Abby Korth.
She has just discovered Calvin and Hobbes and loves to read/recite comics out loud for our enjoyment. She calls everything 'adorable.'
She LOVES the chickens and goes out to pet them every day. (But sometimes forgets to check the water and food). Her favorite stuffie is still Flowery Bear and she has the bear with her every night. She finds her during the night by shaking the blankets and listening for her little rattle. Her shoe size is 7.5! (mine is 8 so pretty soon I figure we can share shoes (at least for a while til she grows some more)).  She is having a bit of a hard time in third grade and does not love her math teacher too much. She sometimes does not listen too good.
She is taller than Ellie. She does not like Michael too much these days -  until they are best friends and play legos or mermaids or kittens for hours at a time. This morning they were playing "Animals that crawl around under blankets." She still has her piereced ears and does a great job of taking care of them, and often will put in fancy ones for Sunday (along with some lip gloss). Here she is with her favorite cold cereal this morning:

Happy New Year!

In keeping with our "stay at home and veg" theme this winter vacation, no one wanted to come and spend New Year's Eve with us. Which is totally good. Josh made four dishes for our usual Chinese feast. Then we stayed up (tiredly) for the New Year (Michael did not making it, passing out on the couch during movie #3) and went to bed.
This vacation has been really nice, just being at home.
Poor Michael has turned desperate for people to play with. He gets home from school at 11:30 and we have nachos for lunch. Then he wants a friend to play with. We even had TWO playdates in one day and he still wanted more the next day. Most of the neigborhood kids are in school til 3:30. If you want a play date, come on over! Here are our Chinese feast pictures:

Medical report

I am still alive! The last five weeks have been tolerable. Drugs are good. Naps are great.
Man, last Monday and Tuesday in particular were horrid and then I woke up Wednesday and felt good! It was nice. I am sure Josh appreciated that  I cook care of dinner after some days of pizza and raman noodles.
My sides still hurt and I have skin tags on both sides, which will either go away or can be "revisioned" in a few weeks when all the swelling is gone. Everything is itchy, which is apparently a good sign. The doctor said everything was looking good and totally normal. I can start really going to the gym next week she said. And even buy new bras! (at a regular store - what a novelty!)
Mentally I am ok, the naps and laying around (but not feeling well was not great) was very good for me. When I am tired now I think I can sit on the couch for a while and read or even watch TV (this is a new concept for me). I think being able to relax more will be a good thing for me. I am taking my drugs and doing ok. Classes start for me tomorrow and I am looking forward to something new to do. Being at home and supporting the troop is my favorite. But it is nice to have a little something on the side to do.

Here is a report on the care I recieved while recovering. Here he is taking good care of the household:

I am the luckiest woman ever to have such a great husband. He totally was there for me, let me take tons of naps, feed the children and entertained them, etc. He bought me Tang when I was hungry for some. He delivered everyone where they needed to go for a week and kept up on everything. He is awesome.
Other reasons why I like him lots: He sings with me in church (and even  and even sings a part)! He blows me kisses as he goes off at 5:25 a.m. every morning (As I lay in bed) to work hard for us, after an hour commute each way. He talks to the kids and takes time to play with each one of them. We work together to keep the kids under control and organized. We back each other up.  He encourages me to have fun hobbies and do things I like. He always eats the dinner I make (and for lunch the next day also!) Josh is gentle and kind and I am the luckiest woman in the world to have him for my husband. I can't believe my fabulous luck to marry you!