Sheep, Dutch Ovens, and Rodeos (oh My!)

Warning: Too many details of our dutch oven cooking competition weekend in Cedar :)

I've always appreciated Nevada Day weekend. It was one of the only bonuses of moving to Vegas, I used to think. I mean, how much better does it get than to celebrate Nevada by getting an extra day off around Halloween? This year we took off Friday morning to go to Cedar City for the sheep festival where there was the dutch oven competition going with scads of other activities. Of course, as soon as we made it up there, we all hit Brad's Food Hut for THE best fried food and fry sauce EVER! I love that place. You know Cedar City IS the festival city and the festivities did not disappoint. We stayed at the uber-lovely Best Western (which REALLY has a sweet deluxe double room for those of you with kids looking for a place to stay AND they have a pretty impressive continental breakfast) which was centrally located so Tyler could run here and there getting all his last minute supplies together. I hung out with the kids so they could "rest," aka running around the hotel room and jumping on the beds while I tried to watch Oprah on the polygamists (so stinkin' interesting.) Once he got back we headed to the rodeo grounds for a hum-dinger of a college rodeo.
And can I just say every kid should go to a rodeo at least a few times when they are a kid. I have fond memories of going to the fair's rodeo a few times and tagging along with our "cowboy" friends when I was little. So, of course, when we pull up to the rodeo I can't help but reminisce a bit with my kids. Mackenzie's response was, "I think rodeos smell." And, yeah, they do a bit. We totally looked like the city folk amongst all the rodeo parents from Weber State, Southern Idaho, and Utah Valley colleges. Bruce, Tyler's dad, was loving it and I loved that my brother-in-law, Wade, bought a program so we could keep track. It got a little chilly whilst we were watching the events, so what better way to heat up than head to the Pizza Factory?

This is the only picture at dinner cuz, well, I was hungry. How do you keep seven kids still on a Friday night while waiting for a table? Bribery. Luckily Lexi had some skittles and if the kids could sit still they got one measley skittle. Once everyone got their first one I started round two. Travelling stresses me out a bit, and once we lost Brock and Caitlyn into the bathrooms a couple minutes after we got there, I figured we needed to do something. We only got thru two rounds before it was time to eat and can I just say $6.50 for all you can eat breadsticks and pizza is a steal of a deal. (Do I sound like I work for Cedar City Tourism yet?)

Friday night was rough. Tyler and I are spoiled with a king bed and a queen feels all squishy and invasive. Then, about 2:30ish Caylee makes it to our bed and explains she's pee'd her pants (but, luckily, not the bed - just the floor) because it's so stinkin' dark in the hotel room she couldn't find the bathroom in time. I felt pretty bad, especially cuz she hadn't been feeling well all day, and so I'm rummaging thru the duffel bag for a spare pair of undies. Once we got all tucked back in bed I tossed and turned until I heard someone in the bathroom gagging. It was probably about 4am by then, and poor Caylee was yacking in the toilet. So, I do the mom thing of rubbing the back, holding the hair, coaching her through the heaves, clean her up, re-tuck her in bed, and try again to go to sleep. Around 6:45am Tyler's wake-up call comes and I threaten him a few times to be totally quiet and not wake the kids, but then I got to pee and, well, basically it was a crappy night. The morning dawned a little better once we could get going. Like I said, breakfast was impressive (example? the hard boiled eggs were already peeled. Nice.) and then we loaded the car real quick so we could head over to the sheep festival parade down main street.

What do they have in a sheep festival parade you might ask? Sheep. Over 1000 head of sheep. And sheep wagons. It was pretty cool. The kids again exhibited their city-ness by shimmy-ing back to the sidewalk when the sheep started coming down the street like they were some sort of monster or something. It was pretty cool, and I found the sheep handlers just as entertaining as the sheep for all their hooping and hollaring and hopping around trying to keep the sheep contained. Then, to kill time after checking out, we went to the park to let the kids play.

Kenzie spent most of her time bossing the other kids into a work force to build up a leaf pile. I appreciated the touch of fall they got to experience and the energy they were able to expel before we headed to the CrossHollow events center with the dutch oven-ing. *Kinda weird side note, I totally ran into one of my best college friends when I pulled up to the park. I had been talking about Summer and her husband, Ryan, whose family work the sheep circut in Kanarraville, and lo and behold, who'd been driving one of the big rig livestock rigs? Ryan and Summer. It was totally random, and I told her I could have bet money that I would have seen her, but at the same time it was a little awkward since we're not very good at keeping in touch. Small towns, right?*

We tried to time our arrival with Tyler and Jared's first entry, the dessert. It was fun to see them both in action and there was a lot of people stopping by their booth to check out thier work. It was fun to see them really enjoying themselves, and the buzz was really positive since they were rookies and all. Some people there have been competing for, like, 20 years or so. Crazy. We hung out there a bit and then the moms took the kids to McDonalds to play and stay out of the kitchen. It was kindof a bummer to miss the action, but the kids were eating the stash of passer-by candy the guys had set out and it was a little nerve-wracking to be there for the judging. McDs was pretty busy, so we missed the bread turn-in. When we got back to CrossHollow, it was about time for the main dish submissions. They did SO well. I was impressed.

I figured after this weekend Tyler's list of "needs" for this hobby would increase considering some of the professionals had space rack portable cupboards, etc. So far, though, I haven't heard too much. It'll probably come out at Christmas. We were also blessed to have some friends stop by and visit. Tyler's most favorite mission companion, John, and my most favorite wife of John's (I mean, he only has one, but I really like Amy) stopped by with their little family a couple times throughout the day to show their support since they live in Cedar. That was fun. And then My Amber (bestest friend from SUU) got back into town and came by at the end of the day for the announcing of the winners. They're all such good people and I wish they'd all move to Vegas or something so we could hang out with them more :)

Here's the boys after the had finished. Really, they worked ALL day long never stopping to sit down or eat too much or anything. They were in the zone and loved every minute of it. While they cleaned up we took the kids to another park for a bit before the grand unveiling of the dutch oven masters (who won $4000.00 and qualified for nationals. This is big time people!).

Here we are showing our support. Next year (yes, apparantly this will be an annual event) I think I'll leave el kiddies at home so I can sit with the baby and support and watch all the action. Running/entertaining the kids with no real place to go kinda stressed me out. Unfortunately the boys didn't place, but they got really positive comments on their evaluations.

They're competitive enough it gives them fuel for the next fire (or charcoal, if you will.) Since we got home Tyler has discovered that two of the three teams that placed from Cedar competed in Nationals last year, which means they have placed before in other qualifiers. Is it political? Who knows, but we're already discussing the merits of cooking a cake instead of a pie. SUCH big decisions. Anyway, there were tons of pics, so I put 'em in this slideshow for the two days worth of events. Enjoy.

Cedar City Dutch Oven Competition

And thanks for all the nice comments on yesterday's blog. I am feeling fine; layed on the couch all day long today and the bleeding is considerably less (sorry if that's too much details for some of you!) Halloween was a success (in part thanks to a back up costume for Brock - more about that later) and we enjoyed our annual get together for chili and trick-or-treating. Pics to come soon.

Sheep, Dutch Ovens, and Rodeos (oh My!

Say My Name, Say My Name

This is fun! I am tagging all those who read to post this on their blog, if you don't have anything else to post (ie, Tyler, Rick, John, etc.)

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME:(first pet & current car)
Satchmo Excursion

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME:(fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Carmel Fudge Swirl Sugar

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME:(first initial of first name, first three letters ofyour last name)
S-Bar (Not to be confused with the cheap hotdog brand of Bar-S)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Puppy

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, city where you were born)
Jane Burley (sounds like I had a sex-change operation and reappeared as someone's daughter after being their son who was killed in a airplane crash.)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
BARSA

7. SUPERHERO NAME:(”The” + your 2nd favorite color, your favorite drink)
The Blue Smoothie

8. NASCAR NAME:(the first names of your grandfathers)
James Eugene

9. STRIPPER NAME:(the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy)
White Diamond's Whatchamacallit (Raking in the big bucks with that name, I'm sure. It's all about the mystique)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother’s & father’s middle names )
Ann Eugene

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Witchita Waterhouse

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Christmas Tulip

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Peach Pant-y (Does this cartoon have a rating?)

14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Cereal Aspen

15. YOUR ROCK STAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Travelling Sunshine Tour (Christian Rock anyone?)

Placental Hematomas are SCARY!

I had actually planned on posting about our fancy festival weekend in Cedar City where Tyler and Jared ROcKEd the dutch oven cooking competition, but I got some other goodies to share with y'all. I should have known better than to make a plan; that's when things get all messed up anyway, right?

To start my day, I'll have to admit to being on my way home at 2:22am this morning from my sister's house where we had our weekly Bachelor party since Stacy was in Utah. As always, it was a trashy show, but who really cares when the 40 minutes of the show (thank you Tivo) pales in comparison to the 5 hours of good conversation. We did miss Stac and Dave, but were glad to have Nate join us at the midnight-ish hour. And as much as Daniel grumbles about the late hours, I'm thinking some responsibility on his part for providing the MoGs with huge caffeinated beverages comes into some part of the wee hours.

So, I didn't think I'd be accomplishing much today and since Paula came yesterday (YEAH BABY!) my house was in good shape. The only matters of pressing business were taking my niece and nephew to and from school since they were staying with us while their mom was in UT. No biggie; doesn't even require a shower first thing in the morning. So, I ran the kiddos to their schools, came home, ate some Raisen Bran, chatted with Jill, dressed and played with my kids, went and picked up Courtnie, and headed home to pack up Conner and Courtnie's stuff since I was dropping them back off at their house after the kindergarten pick-up. I'm sitting at Beatty Elementary school talking to my mom (actually I was complaining about my VT supervisor calling me before the month was up to get my VT report. HELLO? One more REALLY big day to get'r'done, whatever) and then things got interesting.

At first I thought, "Did I just pee my pants a little bit?" but I kept talking because, well, I'm pregnant so it's not totally out of the question. A couple seconds later, though, when I felt a bigger gush and I checked to find a LOT of blood. I quickly ended the call with mom and called my Dr. who told me to go straight to the ER if I was bleeding as much as I was. Luckily I had a towel in the car, so I smushed it down my pants and I had to wait for Conner's bell to ring. Then I had to figure how to get to the gate without having everyone see the carnage that was all down the backside of my pants. I was freaking out as I was sure I was miscarrying. I totally went into crisis mode and walked right up to the teacher and told her I needed Conner first, now, it was an emergency, etc. When she was polite (and took her time) I announced I thought I was losing my pregnancy and needed Conner NOW so I could go to the hospital; I probably traumatized her. Anyway, Tyler's dad, who was going to watch the kids, drove me to the hospital where I met Tyler. Of course, since I didn't have a knife sticking out of my neck, I had to fill out paperwork and wait my turn. As soon as Tyler asked me how I was, I cried A LOT and when my brother walked in I about lost it again. I could tell he was concerned and he told me my sister had called, so I figured the calling tree had begun. I asked him if he had any oil for a priesthood blessing, but he didn't, so we called Tyler's brother. Blessedly, we got called into triage pretty quick and there was a really nice physician's assistant who got me more towels and paper scrub pants. He explained a "spontaneous abortion" is not necessarily a guaranteed thing and many women pass the trauma and still carry full term. I can't even explain the emotions I was going thru. I was a mess; just started crying; I was so sad for myself, for Tyler, for the kids. I felt guilty because this pregnancy didn't happen as any part of a plan, so I was still grappeling with it. And then I realized how excited I really was; that I bought into us needing another person in our family; that I liked thinking about baby name options. And I was trying to keep in mind that all things are for our learning and growth and WHAT could this all mean? I was just falling apart inside when Brandon got their and they administered a beautiful, calming, "thy will be done" blessing that really calmed my soul. Not that I thought I hadn't lost the baby (Tyler was more positive about that option), but I could tell from the blood loss it wasn't good. At the same time, I knew whatever happened IT WOULD BE OKAY.

We sat around waiting for the blood guy to take his vials and to get called back into the actual ER (they are always so busy at St. Rose Sienna!). I felt bad for those who were there in a lot of pain since I didn't hurt too much (by this time I had mild cramping on my lower, left belly area). Tyler was really supportive and kept making "Grey's Anatomy" cracks about the interns rendez-vousing in closets, etc. Once they called me back I had to go for an ultrasound without Tyler, and that was the most nerve-wracking since I knew I had already seen a heartbeat and I was fully expecting not to see one on the big screen. I know the techs aren't supposed to say what they are seeing, so I tried to ask vague enough questions. Ultimately, though, I couldn't resist my despair after she scanned over the fetus a time or two and I didn't see the ripple of the heart beating. I said, "There's no heartbeat is there?" I think she knew I was gonna lose it and she said, "no. no. there is, look. See, there's the heartbeat and it's even moving around." Oh my heck I just bawled and the tech was trying to comfort me. Then I wanted to know WHERE the blood was coming from so I urged her to keep looking. After the ultrasound Tyler and I sat and waited for the official diagnosis and it was: A placenta hematoma. It's basically a sore (lesion like) on the outside of the plancenta that starts to bleed when it pulls away from the tissue it had attached itself to (because of the growth of the placenta.) This is what I found online: A subchorionic hematoma is merely a sequestration of blood within the folds of the developing placenta. It usually has nothing to do with the fetus and, as long as you got a fetal heartbeat and there is adequate growth in subsequent sonograms, there should be no problem. The bleeding usually dissipates and disappears after a few weeks. Five weeks earlier it would have been far more serious, but luckily I am far enough along that I am not as at a high risk for losing little Miss Figgy (this week the fetus is the size of a fig.) I just have to let the bleeder fix itself and take it easy for a few days. I am still planning on going to Texas for the weekend to see Jenn, but will have to take it easy with the lifting (WHICH, considering all the climbing on me that my kids like to do, it'll be a good break to visit the Stanworths.)

A HUGE thank you to all those who prayed and send good thoughts and wishes. My in-laws were great to take care of the kids and my family was all on call for whatever we needed. Already several friends and family have offered help to take the other kids so I can rest, which is so much appreciated. I'm glad we have track break, so we won't be go-go-going too much anyway. It is nice to feel the love and support at such a scary time. I'll be taking it easy for Halloween day, and hope the bleeding totally stops by then. It's been a long day and I am feeling very blessed to have everything turn out as well as it did. Thanks again! I'll post the fun stuff tomorrow.

Trying to keep myself busy

I am trying to decide if going to bed and feeling all gross and burpy is better than sitting up and blogging whilst trying to focus on not feeling all pregnant and sick. I guess another issue is I don't have anything to blog about, ya know the, "ooooo I am gonna totally blog that" kind of blog. So, probably not gonna be a hum-dinger of a post, but at least it'll give ya something new to look at in the morning.

Anyone out there have any tips for "morning sickness" that hits in the evenings? I've tried Tums. Finally. I bought some a couple weeks ago and have carried them around for days cuz I was nervous to take them. I even called my friend Jill to get her professional opinion b/c I remember her taking them once when she was pregnant. I actually opened them to give a couple to a friend of mine who's pregnant at church, but was too chicken to try a couple myself. I think I was afraid they'd be like Pepto Bismal or something. That medicine ALWAYS made me throw up when I was taking it to NOT throw-up. Anyway, I finally bit the bullet, er the pills and they weren't too bad. I opted for the tropical flavored ones, but they don't seem to be taking away the "ew I'm so nauseous" feeling I get in the evenings. I talked to my friend, Justiel, who's about 6 weeks ahead of me and, secretly, in my mind I was thinking about how jealous I was that she was gonna pass the pukey phase before me. And WHY am I whining about it? It's not like this isn't the first time around this popsicle stand. Well, whatever, I hate it, so if anyone has any tips, post em.

Oh, and post tips on how not to be a total space cadet. We had enrichment scrapbook calendar group tonight of which I had NO responsibilities for anything tonight. Well, I did have to show up, set up tables, be supportive, leave at 7pm to pick up my daughter at gymnastics, come back and be supportive, and clean up. Usually I teach the class with my friend ElRae's help, but this month she and Donna figured out the page, she shopped, put everything together, etc. and all I had to do was show up. So with not a lot to do (ElRae even did most of my layout as the example) you'd think it wouldn't be too hard to remember to run around the corner to pick up my eldest daughter from gymnastics. OH NO! Because I am a space cadet and totally forgot in the hour since dropping her off that I would have to get her. Luckily one of the other responsible moms noticed Kenzie hadn't been picked up and offered to call me on my cell. Reason #4 why you should always answer your cell phone even if you don't recognize the number (it could be a parent reminding you to DO YOUR JOB!) Of course, Mackenzie wasn't phased too much after I raced the 3 minutes over to the gym, "Mom, it's not like you haven't forgotten me before." Nice. Any tips about that ladies and gentlemen?

We're headed up to the big Livestock Days in Cedar this weekend, so I s'pose I should do laundry and pack in the morning. Oh, and I should probably not be in denial about having YW leadership meeting tomorrow night and prep my talk and handouts for that. And do the invitations for the YW medallion dinner in a couple weeks. And find the modesty skit for the Beehive Conference amongst me piles of papers. I'm watching ElRae's daughter in the morning since she's an active PTA mom and I am more of a pay-your-dues-and-donate-treats-for-all-functions kind of PTA mom. And I own that. I'm not complaining one bit about any of that stuff, mostly because tomorrow is the last day before track break. And to echo Leah's post, hallelujah.

Before I go, here's some rockin' pics of the BYU/UNLV alumni tailgating party where my rock star hubby worked his magic. Of course, I had to add the pictures of all the fans, too.

International Dutch Oven Society *SuperStars*

I have to say one of my favorite parts of Tyler's job is that I can talk to him whenever I want and he can call me whenever he wants. A few weeks ago (have I already shared this tidbit of our lives . . . scan, if so) Tyler called to tell me he and his friend from work, Ray, had joined the International Dutch Oven Society, or IDOS. WHAT? Who knew that even existed? And who starts something like that? I took it fairly well; I mean as in stride as anyone else would whose husband finds random clubs to join. I asked him what that means and he told me he gets a quarterly newsletter and information about dutch oven competitions. WHAT? Competitions? Oh yeah, it's a sporting club, apparantly. Tyler and Ray decided they were going to enter a regional competition during Livestock Days in Cedar City the end of October.

Alas, Ray's wife reminded him it was his daughter's birthday and so Tyler then recruited his brother, Jared, another dedicated dutch oven-er. (sorry, Mindie :() Then, of course, the practicing begins. I have to admit a few of Tyler's phone calls home about menus and recipes and presentation, etc. went in one of my ears and out the others. I was, though, about the taste-testing. The following are pics of their meat dish and dessert practice night with friends and family a couple weeks ago on family night. Then (not pictured) was bread day during Sunday's General Conference where they whipped up three dutch ovens of breads. That was pretty amazing; I mean to make bread in a dutch oven. I think the pictures say a lot for the entire, intense experience of those in the IDOS. Here you go:

First the meat dish. Presentation is everything, so they were working on how to best display the meat roll and potatoes. Tyler loves the camera (as I am sure you can tell.) They are pretty proud AND it tasted really good.

This was their first attempt at a homemade pie crust. It's tricky, serious, gotta-concentrate work to get it in the dutch oven just so. Marie Callender's has nothing on these guys.

My favorite part about these kinds of activities is the male consulting that goes on. You can't see Tyler's dad in this picture, but between them all they were working out any kinks and possible issues the dessert might have. It was serious business! They looked at and talked about the dessert for a good while before they finally cut into the caramel apple pie.

All the kids enjoyed the fruits of their dads' labors. Actually, I think the cousins just like any excuse to get together and play. Eating (even dutch oven) is just something to get out of the way so they can go run and play. (from bottom, counter clockwise: Courtnie, Brock, Caitlyn, Caylee, Conner, and Brevin.)

Anyway, it's good times. One more thing to be a supportive wife about. Which reminds me, I have pictures of the band gig to post too. Maybe next time. The brothers will be off to Cedar City for the Nevada Day weekend, so I'll have a better report of their first official competition in a few days. P.S. I am sure if you'd like to join the IDOS you can do a search online and find tons of results.

Where I've been!

Let's hear it for completing a HUGE project! The Warm Springs stake youth dance festival was Saturday night and, in my ever-so-humble opinion, it freakin' rocked! Not that I have THAT huge of an excuse as to why I haven't been blogging lately, but to say that the dance festival consumed my life the past couple of weeks would probably be an understatement. I really felt strongly for a couple years that we do something like this with the youth (you know how I like a production) and was glad to hear the activities committee was organizing a full-on festival. When it came back to the youth leaders, it was exciting . . . and a lot of work. I am glad that Barb (one of my BFF) accepted to co-chair with her super-hubby because they were AWESOME. Really, I can't say enough for all the leaders and the planning committee who got behind the project. And for those who didn't . . . well, I won't say anything because I am trying to be a better person. Plus it helps that I think they ate their grumbles when they saw how great it was. I'm glad all my family came, too. That was nice to see them support the stake and me. Especially my dad (not to down-play the rest of the family who came), but it really surprised me and touched me that he would come to something he'd probably rather not be at just to support me. Well, maybe he came for someone else, but I totally thought it was for me, so thanks Dad.

In other news, I did get my hair colored. I opted not to cut it (again) and to go dark for the fall season. I think it's kinda funny how I try to stay hip but get worried that someone will think, "Does she know she's too old to have long hair?" Like at what point does a mom have to get a mom-do? I wonder if, when I get all puffy and fatter if it would be better to go short then. Tyler's a longer-is-better kind of guy and I'm just vain enough not to care but what looks best. I do love Leisl (my hair gal) and have gotten re-accustomed to darker hair. Plus I kinda slurged on the hair product aisle at Target the other day and have found this sleek-hair stuff I'm kind of diggin'.

I had my first official Dr's appt. last Friday. It went as expected. I pee'ed in a cup, got weighed (really? why does that have to be at the beginning? "Hi, how's your morning? Let's see how fat you've gotten," says the nurse.), and the Dr. said I was "perfectly pregnant." Whatever that means. She was really supportive and kept reminding me it was a blessing (that could have just been casual pap-smear talk) and had a portable sonogram machine so I could see the kumquat (oh, yeah, we've grown from a kidney bean to a grape to a kumquat.) And (drum roll, please) there was only one kumquat. My official due date is May 12th, right in between Caylee's May 10th and Kenzie's May 13th birthdays. However, let's be real, I will be working hard for an early induction. May Day baby anyone? J/K (sorta) that's pushing it, but I'll be a little too done for my liking to go past May 7th. If the past holds true this baby will be a girl (as May's when the girls come to the Barlows) which is fine by me. I could do with more emotional drama than physical trauma (like with my boys). We'll see, maybe by Christmas.

And last, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, a honkin' huge moment of silence for this announcement: Due to Sarah's lack of having it together, Paula will be re-joining the efforts to keep the Barlow house from completely falling apart. Yes, yes, next Monday she'll be coming to mop and scrub and wipe the corners I have been ignoring over the past two months of ickiness. I'm sure it will take me at least this entire week to pre-clean the dump heap we've called home. I do have some dignity so I won't list all the gross-ness, but I will say when Caylee is practicing her alphabet in our dust it's time for back-up. And when Tyler asks, "have you called the cleaning lady yet?" it's time to actually make the call. Whatever. Wonder woman I'm not. Let's all embrace that for a moment.

Have a great week, hopefully I can post again before a week passes, but let's not all hold our breath.

My week by numbers!

I feel so scatter-brained and TIRED all the time, but I don't want to give up on this outlet, so I thought I'd share just a few tidbits so y'all know we're still kickin' over here. :)

14 - number of dance festival costumes I am helping to finish/put together for the priest/laurel couples for Saturday night's performance. Thanks to the uber-talented other women who have all sewed and hemmed the dresses together, I am adding the fringe and making headbands (WHICH I owe Stacy a huge thank you for making last night's "The Bachelor" a work party.)

6 - number of dance practices for aforementioned dance festival THIS WEEK! Anything for the kids, right?

1 - number of inches my hair has grown out since my last color job. Luckily I'm getting my hairs done this afternoon.

2 - number of nights I stayed up WAY to late this week. Of course, The Bachelor keeps me up on [Monday] nights even though it's practically painful watching all the catty women fight over "the sexiest Bachelor yet"'s affections. I just can't argue with the good conversation (I just hope Erin blogs about her afternoon yesterday) and food (like heavenly pumpkin cupcakes with real whipped cream on top.) We did get out of their last night at a better hour of midnight, but I was nearly falling asleep on the way home. Saturday night I finally got to sleep around 3am after scrappin' til midnight, talking to Erin until 1am, feeling gross in bed until 2am when Brock wandered into our room, and then until 3am while Brock kicked at me when I went to lie down with him.

2 - number of pages I finished in 6 hours. Can we all just say it? Sarah's a machine!

7 - number of days it's taken me to get my room cleaned . . . oh, wait, it's not done.

2 - number of migraine headaches that I've had this week. Moving into that phase is so lovely. Thursday I woke up with one (doesn't that defy logic?) and was down for pretty much all day. Sunday I was at choir and BAM got socked with another one. My poor kids are getting used to me "taking rests" and Tyler's not getting used to the house looking like I've been "taking rests." Such is life. My SUPER-DOOPER Visiting Teachers helped me this past week a ton, but not because they had to, because they're my friends. Donna brought me a darling "dealing with the icks" bag with cheese, crackers, nuts, kool-aid, and some onesies and then Sherry ended up keeping my boys for a couple hours when she called and I was ice-packing my migraine Thursday. Both were SO sweet and much appreciated. Both of them were headed out of town the days they helped me, and I'm sure it wasn't convenient or what they wanted to be doing when they had packing, their own kids, etc., but Thanks girls! You da best!

Anyway, there's a few tidbits. I know, hardly worthy of a glance, but I'll write more when I get a chance. Headed to the Halloween store for . . .

3 - number of my kids' costumes I need to finish putting together today before Kenzie's dance class.

Tit for Tat

Today as I was pulling into the driveway after running the kids around all morning I got a call from Tyler. This is how it went:

"Hey Babe. What are ya doin'?"
"Nothin'. I just pulled into the driveway and I'm finishing up Caylee's book order to turn in when I pick her up in a bit."
"Oh, you got all the kids dropped off then?"
"Yeah. How's your morning? Are you getting a lot done?"
"It's goin'. I sure like our new office. I'm diggin' it."
"Good, good. What's up?"
"Well, Scott Brown just called, ya know," [aaahhhhh, now I get why I'm getting such an early-in-the-morning phone call] "and he's thinking we should go on one more fishing trip before the end of the year."
[I'm quiet at this point.]
"What do you think?"
"Ugh, I guess it would depend on when and where and how long you're gonna be gone."
"Well, we're thinking sometime in November to maybe Lee's Ferry or maybe even up to Provo."
[I'm still quiet at this point.]
"So, what do you think?"
[Pause] "What weekend?"
"How 'bout the second weekend?"
"Ugh, you're playing in that golf tournament with Sam Dommer Friday and Saturday; you could go the weekend after. "
"Oh yeah, that's right."
"However that second weekend is a 3 day weekend; you'll have that Monday off; the kids will be on track break . . ."
"I've got that golf tournament with the bank on that Monday. Remember? Every year? The Veteran's tournament?"
"Okay, so you're going to be golfing Friday, Saturday, Monday, and then leave Thursday, Friday, and Saturday? That 3rd weekend is the Beehive Conference."
"What does that mean? Do you have to go somewhere for that?"
"No, it's in town at the stake center; it's set up and stuff."
"Soooooo, what are you thinking?"
[Pause] "Okay. Honestly, I am thinking you've kicked my butt in days gone from home this year and I feel like I should get something out of "one last fishing trip this year" because I'm not feeling generous. But I should be nice and let you go, cuz I know you love it and you've been working really hard. But I guess I am feeling pretty picked on if you leave me again for a fishing trip when I am all pregnant and crazy." [Yes, I pulled that card]
"Okay, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno. I'm looking at the calendar. Megan's wedding is that first weekend in November and Mom had asked me if I could go with her, but I didn't feel like it's fair for me to away. Or I was thinking I want to take Caylee to LA to go see Wicked for Christmas or something. So, I don't know what to swap for."
"Do both."
"Really, okay. Alrighty, have fun on your fishing trip then. I'll talk to you later; I'm going inside. Love you."

I LOVE MY HUSBAND's TAT!

Moving on

Time goes on, THANK GOODNESS, sometimes. This morning my pregnancy progressed from a lot of nausea to full-blown (no pun intended) puking. YES! Thank you gag reflex. I don't think I'll be eating AND brushing my teeth within the same half hour. That seemed to be the kicker. SO, this afternoon I will be scrubbing the toilet in case my head ends up back in the loo. It's probable. Ick, I knew it'd be a matter of time, though. And it's a good sign, right? I mean, check it off the to-do list of gestation. Here's an update on my lentil bean, which apparantly has sprouted into a full blown kidney bean when it lost it's tail.
Your baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. His arms have lengthened, too, and his hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart. His knee joints have formed, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.

Dear Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,
I understand that you probably don't have much of your own life. I mean, why else would you spend a lovely Sunday afternoon lurking around on people's blogs only to leave mean comments. Sure, bouncing from blog to blog may be interesting to peek into strangers' lives, and maybe today you were bugged to find a blog that showed a person obviously better-off and happier than you must be. Perhaps you don't understand the purpose of a family blog - to share one's personal experiences and opinions with those who appreciate and love the wonderful person they are in reality. A blog does not completely explain the depth and sincerity and awesome-ness of a person, but it is a small glimpse of their greatness and it really frustrates me to think your measly little comment would make him/her question any of their fabulous-ness. I suppose it's not so nice of me to address you, Anonymous, in such a public forum, (and I actually hope you are Anonymous enough to not follow our family thread as that would be more disgusting), but perhaps you understand tit for tat when I leave this comment on your blog, if you'd been brave enough to own your own crap:
Anonymous, You stink and I am really upset that you would dare to leave a negative comment on a blog that inspires me and makes me happy. The fact that you can't leave your real name, and hide behind an "anonymous" tag speaks volume for the small-minded, teeny-hearted LOSER you must be. Back off our blogs!
Seriously bugged,
Sarah

More love, Less hate relationship

Although Brock and Caitlyn are both two, and have been around each other from the beginning, they are still working out some of the kinks in their relationship. Let's face it, Brock can be brutish and Caitlyn is Miss Independent (unless Grandma is around, then she wants a partner.) Here's some pictures and imaginary dialogue between the two of them (since they can't talk much more than to yell, "MINE," or "NO," or "STOP!")

Brock: "Caitlyn, if I poke your hairbow and head enough times will you hollar at me? Cuz I think it's really funny when you scream and whine. In fact, I get a big kick out of getting a rise out of you. This probably won't change much while we grow up together."

Caitlyn: "You know, Brock, we can play together with civilized activities (like book reading and pretend-kitchen-playing) that don't end up in either of us crying. If you just do as I direct, and NEVER touch my purse, we can have a lovely friendship."

Brock: "But wrestling is SOOOO much better than that other stuff."

Caityln: "Not really. Lasting happiness comes when you keep your grubby hands off of me. Now sit here and look at your mom like a nice boy. Thanks."

The Big 'Ol Family Campout

I haven't really added my commentary on the campout, and since it was last weekend, and everyone else in the family wrote about it, I could just say "ditto." But, here's a few of my tidbits to add to the other reviews:

*So great having all the family get together. The Christmas cousin party doesn't really cut it, and it's always great when there are occasions throughout the year to get together in between (weddings, blessings, etc.) Thanks, from our family, too, to Dustin and Leah who organized and reserved the campsite and dealt with the dork of a camphost who OBVIOUSLY didn't like anyone in our group but Dustin and Leah.

*One of my favorite things in life is to hear the laughter of my family. Yes, yes, sometimes it's from naughty jokes and sticking one's finger across the lip of another, but still it's one of the happiest things in my life. I have vivid memories of being small and listening to my parents and aunts and uncles staying up late talking and laughing as I fell asleep on a pillow on the floor of one of their family rooms. Saturday afternoon, when I took a nap with Brevin and Brock, I was taken back to that child's-place as I fell asleep to the outbursts of the conversations of those who were still gathered around the picnic tables. It was a feel-good moment.

*And because of those friendships between my dad and his sisters and their families, I have one of the BEST support systems a girl can have. Really, my siblings and cousins are the BEST sounding boards I have and I appreciate their opinions and advice. I think their experiences with life teach me a lot and I learn a lot from them. Sitting around the campfire and "shooting the breeze" is an ideal time and place for more of that bonding. And you can't really do that at the weddings or baby blessings, so a campout was perfect.

*My husband is the BOMB. Not only does he enjoy my family and all their sicky-ness and silly-ness, he likes cooking for all of us in the freezing cold. AND he convinced me we should take the trailer instead of the tent. WHICH came in handy when it was freezing outside and when we needed a flush toilet instead of a pit. AND he was really patient with me and the kids (which is nice since I tend to be a little uptight [what? Sarah?] when we are out of our element and in the elements). I love him and his mountain man self.

It was fun. Cold, for sure, but fun nonetheless. I'm really hoping we can camp at the beach for the reunion next year. It'll be like the good 'ol family campout with more sun and sand. Good times, for sure!

Private Practice

I know there are really important things going on in the world; real heart-breaking experiences. SO, I am not trivializing them when I tell y'all about my emotional breakdown I had tonight. Tyler was gone at band (they're practicing late for their gig on Oct. 13th) and I had bathed and bedded the kids AND pre-cleaned for the deep cleaning that I'll be doing tomorrow morning WHEN I sat down to email. So I was emailing and the Grey's spin-off "Private Practice" came on, which I took off my DVR schedule after last week's premier because I thought it was lame. BUT, my other option was "Gossip Girl" and so I let Kate Walsh and hottie-matoddie from Wings keep playing. Yeah, so they have this babies who were switched in the hospital story line and by the end the moms (who have loved and bonded with these babies for months) are trading back and talking about what helps these sweet baby girls (one of which will die prematurely) need to go to sleep and I am BAWLING. Full on ugly cry. I am snotting all over, totally not emailing, and enjoying my private moment. When Tyler walked in. Oi! He has a moment of confusion trying to figure out while I'd be crying so hard when he sees me watching the TV and gives me the "you gotta be kidding me" eye roll and a scoff. Yes, he laughed at me. So I told him to be quiet, leave me alone, get me a tissue, and not interrupt because I wasn't giving him a hard time about being at band for over 3 hours! And now I am headed to bed since I'm drained from my private practice. Have I mentioned how great hormones are?

Fo real!

I sat down to write a blog post since I haven't written in, well, a long time. As soon as I sat down I hear Caylee hollaring that Brock is bleeding from his mouth, I can hear him crying, and the phone rings LITERALLY all at the same time. (Apparantly Brock had jumped face first off the toy room couch onto the wooden dollhouse that was tipped over on the messy floor.) It seems like this is pretty much par for the course the past week or so, so I haven't even read anyone else's blog or my own email very much. I am not sure what to "blame" it on, because it's always a combination of things "to do." Fo real!

Pregnancy rant (skip this paragraph if you're already tired of listening/reading about it): The last couple of weeks I started to feel gross. And by gross I mean nauseated and really tired and irritable. I also contracted some random cough/cold thing which is oh-so great when I already have a sensitive gag reflex. I started heaving when I brush my teeth a few days ago and my sniffer is so sensitive I can't even stand the smell of the lotion I always use. It is especially great when Brock fills his diaper or Caylee sprays "Sweet Pea" body spray all over the house. At first I was thinking it would be a night thing and I could avoid it if I went to bed early, but the past couple of days it has been right after I eat breakfast and throughout the entire day. AND I HATE IT! I honestly don't know why people say pregnant women "glow" unless they are speaking about the greenish-radioactive kind of glow. I am just really tired, too, so a lot of my "blog time" has gone by the wayside as I end up in bed by 10:30pm (that's early for me!) I am biding my time trying to focus on a happier place where my stomach will be more content and I'll have more energy. I don't go to the doctor until October 19th and I have GOT to go get some pre-natal pills to at least try so I don't get my butt chewed at the visit. It seems a little silly, though, 7 weeks into it to be taking "pre-" vitamins. And so y'all don't think I am totally ungrateful, I am excited to think about the spring when the baby gets here and I can be tired for a better reason. I had a dream this morning that I was having twins and was freaking out because we had to sell our house. Can you imagine? I mean, some of you can, but fo real I would freak!

What else has occupied my time? I sent our reimbursement/complaint letters to the airlines to see if we can get some $$ back - FINALLY. I have been working on them forever and finally got them sent off. And the dance festival for our stake youth is coming a long nicely. I am excited for the priests/laurels dance that I've been supervising/helping with. Tyler's mom is SO great to be the costume expert, so we've been discussing/shopping/cutting patterns, etc. for that. I finished up the choreography this week and I am excited for our practice this Friday morning to put it all together. And we had the big 'ol family campout last weekend at Mt. Charleston. I am so probably the last person to blog about it, and this hardly counts as I have pictures and more commentary to give on the butt-freezing/heart-warming event. So, in addition to school, pre-school, 2 dance classes, soccer, mutual, Tyler's band and dutch oven addictions . . . ya know LIFE, I have fo real slipped on the blog scale. Such is my life these days.

Before I go change for mutual tonight, I want to send my love to my friend Jenn. {I hope you are getting a chance to escape into blog world every now and then, so you can know how my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I can't imagine the pressures and emotions you are experiencing these days, but I am confident you will have a deeper appreciation of all those things you hold dear, that you will be a source of strength to those around you, and you will be a stonger woman than you already are. I love ya to bits (and Marc and the girls!) FO REAL!}