First Week Over

Wonder Woman, aka Stefanie, kept the kids busy all week with play time, craft time, snack time, etc. The kids especially like crafts, of course, and would help put all the toys away so they could get to it. Avi would say, "I love craps! I love craps!" lol

Ella and Seth have become fast friends, chasing each other around and laughing at their reflections in the front closet mirrors. How cute is that!

We had a heavy, wet snowfall the last couple of days and when the kids went for a walk yesterday, Avi, being Avi, fell into not one, but two! puddles!

I have to say this new schedule of work and home is great for me so far. I'm getting back into the tech stuff at work and I know my kids are in the best hands possible. I'm so blessed!

On another note, Shawn hurt his back shoveling snow and has stayed home from work. It's just as well since he has oodles of schoolwork. This whole school thing has been a rollercoaster for him... Please keep him in your prayers!

First Day Back to Work

I have so much to update on here but rather than being bogged down by that, I'm going to shove in a quick post about my first day back to work after maternity leave.

It went fine.

I looked good. ;)

My new supervisor is great.

I did get a headache from, I believe, excessive lighting but that is easily remedied.

The kids did terrifically well with my neighbor, Stefanie. What a miracle she is!!

I really feel that the time spent with the kids during the evening was better quality and we sang lots of songs before bed.

Getting them to sleep wasn't hard either... Bless you, Stef!!!!

Ella's Blessing

I asked Dad and Wendy what excuse they would use for a visit next since the pattern has been limited to baby blessings and Ella is likely our last. We'll have to see what occasion will draw them up once more! It was splendid to have them here! They took the children off my/our hands on multiple occasions enabling naps and housework. They also took on the long-needed chore of washing the windows, inside and out, as well as the screens. Many thanks!!!

Ella wore the blessing gown that I had used as an infant. I was going to use it for Averi and my sister, Eva's, gown for Ella (she offered) but a friend had given Avi a beautiful christening gown as a gift and I was happy to let her wear it. I guess Eva can pass her beautiful dress on to her granddaughter! My gown was slightly yellowed with age but still lovely. Who could've guessed it would cost $28 to dry clean!?!

We had a family luncheon at our home after the blessing. It turned out amazingly well! Thanks to all who contributed food!!

My favorite pic of just Ella

Ella with Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Kyle

Ella and Mommy

Avi folding arms for blessing on the food

Avi showing some leg!

Beautiful, sweet little Avi

Omi's cake for Ella

Uncle Kyle playing with the kids:

7th Wedding Anniversary

With the taste of expensive chocolate on my tongue and the scent of beautiful flowers permeating the air around my desk, I cannot help but feel inspired. Today is our seventh wedding anniversary and these unexpected items were hand-delivered to my workplace by my most precious gift of all: my family (thank you, Shawn!). Even after a memory lapse failed to prevent me from drinking from my grossly Avi-contaminated water bottle, I cannot help but feel eminently blessed. This day has had a long, difficult road in coming and, while I see the longer, more difficult road ahead, I have a great hope for and vision of the future.

Tonight, we celebrate by using our Tony Roma's gift card (thanks again for the generous Christmas gift, Francine! and thanks to Vickie for babysitting!).

Coming soon: Family Day tobogganing footage!

Refresher

I haven't been practicing up for my motorcycle license test this summer. Why? Well, er, uh, I dropped the motorbike at the beginning of the season and it's been out of commission all summer.

We finally got it fixed in time for the end of the season. Shawn and I went on a practice run yesterday. Thanks to mom for watching the kids for us!

I actually did better than I have previously! Didn't drop the darn thing anyway. I did stall a couple times and nearly panicked after making a sharp turn into the gas station cuz they had a speed bump right at the entrance. But I made decent recoveries and became quite confident with my driving.

I prefer the idea of taking my test in Vulcan because it's smaller and, hopefully, less intense. I'm excited to finally get this done!

Chapterbytes

Chapterbytes is seriously the coolest idea since Dairy Queen invented Blizzards. Anyone can become an author and contribute a chapter to an ongoing book! Since I like to write but have no sort of imagination or organization to create and follow through on my own entire story, I seriously love this concept. If you're interested in doing the same, Chapterbytes is always looking for new authors. Check out the About page, which includes the rules and method of contact.

Right now, the theme is chick lit and the book is called Foodie. I contributed my first chapter, Chapter 11, today! You can check it out here or start from the book's beginning here. Some of the writing is really good and, often, comical. Let me know what you think of it by commenting right on the chapter (or you can come back here).

I want to thank Dad, who patiently talked me through some medical details.

Weekend at Omi's

It's late so this post will be brief.

My mother took Taylor for two nights starting Friday. Taylor is really much better behaved without his sister so they had a grand time. They even went on the "city bus!"

When we went to pick up Taylor on Sunday evening, Avi started climbing up the umbrella/banana stroller that Omi had been using to push Taylor around over the weekend. Taylor reacted with verbal possessiveness. Shawn explained to Taylor that it wasn't his stroller, but mommy's and daddy's stroller. Taylor's little mind quickly grasped the implication and said, "No! Mommy and Daddy can't sit in it! You're too big!"

Thanks for the break, Mom! It was wonderful to spend some quality one-on-one time with Avi. I'm sure Avi appreciated the break as well.

Coming soon: Wakeboarding with the Bullocks!

The Weekend

The trips to and from Raymond with the kids weren't too bad. Always a miracle.

Time spent with Becky and her family was, quite surprisingly, enlightening. Her 7-year-old and 4-year-olds were so enamored with Averi that I rarely had to worry about her! To me that says: Wait for child number three until the first two can entertain them! Of course, my reproduction equipment continues to age...

Taylor survived the houseful of girls quite well.

Thanks to Beck for the delish vegetarian meals, the late night chats and for cleaning up after my kids and I!

On the way home, I stopped in Vulcan to see my new nephew and check on my still-prego sister-in-law's status. Still prego.

Here's a pic of Averi entreating her cousin to come out.

Coming up next: Going to the temple with Lizzy.

Our Most Recent Trip to Idaho, Part II

We arrived in Nampa on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eva told us where we could find a key so we could get into her house while she was at work. We arrived just before rush hour started, as planned. It almost gets as congested as the Deerfoot between Boise and Nampa. ;)

On our first full day there, I had arranged to meet Owen and Lerina at their places of work. I wanted to see where they went and what they did every day. Shawn watched the kids so I could have a day to myself, visiting with the sibs. Thanks, hon!

Owen works at a hospital in Meridian (halfway between Boise and Nampa). It is a seriously beautiful hospital. I had gotten there early and so I walked the grounds a bit. It was before 10 a.m., which is when Boise starts getting hot, so the temperature was ideal, the atmosphere clear and peaceful. I thought of working there myself it was so relaxing! It was also nice to be without the kids after dealing with them during the 5 hour trip the day before. I even met up with a gentleman whose dog works for the hospital! She's their pet therapy program! So cool!

When Owen showed up, I picked him out right away. He's nearly 6'3" and was wearing mostly black. His hair was short for him and he had some facial hair. It grows much faster on him than Jason, who doesn't have to shave for days at a time. Jason actually breaks out in a rash every time he shaves because his face is so sensitive!

Owen showed me around where he works but, of course, I could not watch him during a surgery. Owen is a surgical technician. I'm not certain, but I believe they do instrument counts before and after and hand the surgeons their tools.

Next, I visited Lerina. She, too, works in Meridian, though on the other side. She's a welder. Only female one there and has earned employee of the month at least once. She showed me her workstation and her cool helmet/mask-thingy. She showed me some of the things that she had worked on and all the machines that had pictures of fingers being sliced off (meaning Don't Touch!). She explained the difference between tig and mig welding. She even got permission to show me a bit of tig! She basically works in a dungeon but she enjoys it. She wants to pay off student loans and save enough to do her own thing. She's an artist. Maybe I'll do a post dedicated to her art! I've begged her to do something for me but it takes time and (probably) money and so I continue to wait... ;)

Then, I went to Eva's work. She teaches hair, nails and makeup at the best Cosmetology school in Boise! She treated me to lunch at Ruby River where I ordered a chicken pasta sans chicken. It was delish! Then I got treated to a FREE manicure, FREE pedicure and $5 facial! With tips, I paid only $15 for a dream afternoon! Eva had cut and colored my hair the night before, so I was feeling hot and sexy! Good thing, because we got a sitter for the chill'ns that night and went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and to see the movie Hancock. Eva did my makeup and I wore my a sundress I had purchased there on my last trip down. We all had a blast!

On July the 4th, Eva gave me beautifully designed gel fingernails! Then Eva, Lerina, Shawn and I (plus the 3 kids) went to have lunch at Quizno's with Kyle who manages there. I had a vegetarian sammy (or two) which was amazing! It was lots of noise, lots of mess but lots of fun. We also went to see the store that Kyle's been preparing to open.

We then left to hang out at the downtown park along Boise's river. We had thought to go paddle-boating but changed our minds. Here're some pics though.



For Independence Day, Eva and Kyle had splurged by buying fireworks! Before the kids went down, Taylor got to watch those worm-y things, throw little spark-y ones on the ground and hold a sparkler. A small toy truck firework was the grande finale.
After our barbeque dinner, the kids played in the kiddy pool. Unfortunately, the water was too cold for the babies! Whoops!


Once the kids went down, it was the adults turn at fun play! The best parts were when someone went to light another firework and the first one had an unexpected daisy-chain! We also got to see some big fireworks going off within Nampa.
We left late Saturday morning for Rexburg, breaking our journey on the way home.

Harris Family Get-together in McCall, Idaho - June 2008

We refused to call this a reunion since we just had one in 2005. They should be at least 5 years apart. The truth is, however, that the only person missing from this event was Shawn, so it basically was a family reunion.

I wanted to wait to document this until I had the pictures that my dad and sister took. I could be waiting forever. It's now or never.

Mom and I decided to travel through the night, Friday, June 13th. This was before Shawn and I got our minivan so we wanted to avoid as much hassle with the kids as possible. It worked beautifully. Except that we were exhausted, of course.

McCall is a small resort town in western Idaho. It's about 2 1/2 hrs from Nampa (near Boise) where my sister, Eva, lives. Nampa is 5 hours from Rexburg, where my dad lives. Rexburg is roughly 10 hours from Calgary. We took longer because we tended drive a bit slower due to fatigue and night conditions. Regardless, the trip is looong.

Mom and I dubbed our journey "Roadkill Roadtrip" for obvious reasons. I drove right over a large deer carcass. The fact that there were deer bits stuck to my undercarriage, which dripped blood until it was detailed (thanks Lerina!), still makes me shudder. I narrowly missed hitting another deer carcass later on. There were also gophers, skunks, porcupines and other miscellaneous, unidentifiable corpses joining in on the fun.

I stayed in Rexburg with Dad and his wife, Wendy while Mom continued on to Boise to stay the night with Lerina, my baby sister. Jason, my brother, and his two daughters, Savanna and Saleen, were also staying with Dad. Jason lives in Phoenix, Arizona and rarely gets to see family. The last time we saw him was May 2005. It was great to see him and the girls again!

I'm hazy on activities outside the main events--the hazard of delaying documentation. We headed to Boise on Sunday, June 15th. Jason and the girls would be staying with my brother, Owen, there. Mom and I and my kids would be staying with Eva in Nampa.

Breakfast on Monday morning was at Eva's. From there, we left for McCall. We would be using Kyle and Eva's timeshare points to stay in 3 suites of the recently renovated 5-star WorldMark! It was spectacular. We all made fun of Dad taking pictures of every room of the presidential suite but I'll be posting them later! ;) The main suites were totally awesome, but the presidential suite was... presidential!! The decorating was fabulous! The size was palatial! We had set it up so that all the meals and games would be here. The other suites were for Owen, Dad, Jason and I to sleep in. It was a truly amazing experience and we sure appreciated Eva and Kyle sacrificing their timeshare points for us to do it.

We ate nostalgic meals, talked and vacationed. Dad was great with his grandkids, taking them off parental hands so we could cook, clean and play. The kids loved this time and Dad's energy seemed endless. Wow!

The only pictures that I got, of course, were on the last day.

All of us except Lerina, who is taking the picture.

Uncle Kyle (Eva's husband) and the baby girls, Avi and Claire. Claire is a month older than Averi.

Grandpa and Jason's girls, Savanna and Saleen.

My sister, Eva, and I.

My brother, Owen, holding Avi and Omi holding Claire. This hand-holding was not orchestrated, obviously. So cute!

For your viewing pleasure, the trip home (which was much longer than coming down since it wasn't broken up):

Mothers Beware!

Everyone is sick but me...

Taylor and Averi both have pink eye. Shawn, Taylor and Averi have bronchitis. Shawn also boasts sinusitis and tonsilitis. I'm coordinating eye drops and antibiotics on a mass scale. All I can do is pray I don't catch anything.

Yet, my princess is happy:


Unfortunately, due to illness, Shawn is having to cancel his motorcycle trip to Alaska. It was supposed to start tomorrow. It isn't possible to sneeze and hack inside a helmet without disgusting, and potentially dangerous, consequences. The fatigue inherent to illness is also a hazard. He's taking this development rather well.

Despite the germs permeating my dwelling, I can't help being grateful for my children's health. I've been lucky enough to get to know several amazing women via there blogs. Anna Marie's oldest has a rare genetic condition known as microdeletion. Heather and Mike's precious baby has a multitude of issues related to prematurity and oligohydramnios. I know a young mother suffering from multiple sclerosis and another young mother with depression.

These same people have remarkable bonds with their children. These children are happy, happy, happy. It is so heartening to see the sunshine amidst the clouds in a world with such sadness.

The blogging world is truly amazing to me. You can become friends with someone without even meeting them. You can offer support and advice, share laughter and opinions, witness faith and miracles. I have people I've never met on my mind and in my prayers. It is such a privilege.

New Hair

I love my sister-in-law. She's taken my kids for me, made freezer meals for after I had my babies and helped me move. Most of all, she does my hair. She's a hairstylist. Oh, to have had a hairstylist in the family growing up!

She recently started fostering a set of twins and so has drastically cut down on her hair-cutting hours. This makes me all the more appreciative of the fact that she took time out of her busy schedule to cut Shawn's hair and to cut and highlight mine.

These are the pictures I sent her of what I was looking to get:




















A slightly asymmetrical bob.

This is what I got:





















To me, it looks nothing like Jenny McCarthy or my friend's friend.

Don't get me wrong. I still think it's cute. Unfortunately, it reminds me of my haircut in grade 8 which was a disaster! Junior High sucks. (I looked all over for said picture of my infamous grade 8 haircut, braces and all, and I couldn't find it. Will post it as soon as I can and refer back to it in a future post...)

Fortunately, I can tuck it behind my ears and look less dramatic.

Her hair turned out better.

Getting to Know You

Today, I had the opportunity to get to know B a little better. This made me realize something.

Anyone will tell you I'm not really into socializing. There's something about inane chatter that bothers me. It is so pointless. Thus, inserting myself into situations where such things as the weather and weekend plans are discussed, irritates me to no end. Mostly because I suck at it.

I devised a strategy while attending post-secondary education to get around the necessity of social instigation. I found myself the biggest, loudest personality ever and made them my pal. Let me tell you, this made school soooo fun!

Anyway, my realization was this: While I don't care for empty chit-chat, I enjoy learning about people's lives immensely.

When I first approached B about contributing to Mommy 4-1-1, I was very nervous. For some reason, I had the notion she was the quiet, private type. Considering that's how I typically come across, I shouldn't have assumed. She surprised me by being heartily supportive of the idea. This glimpse of B was expounded on when I spent some time with her and her "miniature" this afternoon. Thanks so much for sharing!

Rain, Rain

It is a gloomy, wet and muddy day. It's raining! I love the rain. The grass always looks greener. The roads and sidewalks look cleaner. I think I have the makings of a poem here... ;) Water and sunlight are catalysts for growth and Spring is full of both! Another cycle begins!

Diana is moving to her new place in Lake Chaparral today and tomorrow. Shawn helped out this morning before he had to go to work. It will be so weird having them nearby!

Vickie did my hair this morning. It's stunning! Thanks, girlfriend! I haven't felt good about my hair in a long time!

Motorcycle Training, Part II

Training on Wednesday involved emergency braking and collision avoidance. Thursday, we practiced all the exam circuits: curve shifting, double-cone serpentine, braking, collision avoidance, figure 8 (circles), 90° turns with shifting and uphill parking. We had to quit early though because of the snow. We missed out on the group road ride. *sniff* The driver's test is tonight or Sunday. Sunday works best for me because Shawn isn't working, the weather will be warmer and I'll have more time to practice. Sometimes I wonder if a regular road test would just be easier...

Thanks to Sara for coming to the rescue with my kids! She missed out on wedding dress shopping with her best friend. *air kisses*

Check out B's husband's online company All Cute Gifts! The link is also under My Links on the sidebar.

Motorcycle Training, Part I

I have now had 2 out of 4 motorcycle training sessions. The first evening was pretty simple. The instructors are laying a foundation of safety. The most we did was shift into second gear. Last night, however, was complicated. Serpentines, circles, figure eights, 90° turns, curves which all involve counter-steering and all while shifting up and down. I really felt awkward and got depressed because it wasn't as intuitive as I thought it would be. By the end of the night, though, I felt much better about my progress. Hooray!

Thanks to mom who is watching the kids while Shawn works and I train! Kisses!

Ughhhhhh....

Murphy strikes again! The morning I was to start my motorcycle training, I had to make a mad dash to the toilet. Again and again. I'll save you the lurid details. I can count myself lucky that they're allowing me to reschedule. Thank you so much to my husband who watched the kids and cleaned up before he had to work all evening. (And for dropping me off and then picking me up all the way at McMahon stadium. I thought since I'd plugged myself up with Immodium that I could handle the training. Alas, I hadn't counted on the weakness and dizzyness and continuing nausea.) Thanks a million to Lizzie and Kyle and Mommy for watching the kids for me yesterday evening while I slept and slept and slept. Between toilet sessions. Ugh.

On a happier note, Averi's crawling! I mentioned it before but she only went about one baby step. Now, when something nearby catches her attention, swish swish swish and she's there. Soon, the speed factor will come into play. I better dig out my baby gates.

Night Out

Shawn and I try to get out to Limericks, a local pub, for cheap wings night once and awhile. Tonight, Shawn's sister, Vickie, and his dad watched the chill'ns so we could do so tonight with Shawn's friend, Darryl, and his wife, Tara. Halfway through the evening, I got all paranoid about how the they were all faring, always imagining the worst from my kids. When I went to pick up Taylor and Avi, Taylor was enjoying a bath, courtesy of Grandpa, and Vickie was snuggling with a swaddled Avi. Averi looked like an angel and Vickie reported that she had been just fine. Vickie commented that she loved watching my kids (utter shock!). Of course, she also stated that she couldn't imagine having to take care of two kids all the time. I told her you only get kids one at a time (usually), which helps, but that you do it because there's no alternative (except not having kids at all). Anyway, thanks to Vick (and grandpa) for the evening!

Sixth Wedding Anniversary!

Before I get to the exciting stuff, Shawn started sealing the shower grout today. Only one more coat and we can actually use the thing! (Update: 4 hours x 2 coats = 8 hours! I love you, honey!)

After dropping the kids off at my saint of a mother's place, I did a quick tidy of the house and then Shawn and I set out to finish buying motorcycle gear. He got a pair of boots; I got a pair of gloves and chaps! From there, we went to the mall to get shoes for Shawn. Looooooooong overdue, just ask my mother. Shopping is not the best way to break in new boots with 4-inch heels...

For dinner, we went to our favorite restaurant, Milestones. Shawn had the special: 8-oz steak (medium-rare) with prawns and crab while I had the chicken penne with roasted Italian tomatoes, spinach and asiago cream. The restaurant treated us to dessert: a Mexican chocolate cake with vanilla gelato, whipped cream and caramel sauce. Scrumptious!

Throughout our day, we talked about what life would be like if we didn't have kids... Are we evil?? We both agree, of course, that life would be alot emptier without them. We'd never give them up!

Special thanks to mom again for making this wonderful day possible!

Mom's 50th Birthday

The reason my mom turning 50 is such a big deal is because it means that I'll be turning 30 this year!

My sister, Eva, called in a panic this morning because she hadn't sent anything for mom's bday. She asked for mom's work name so she could get the address. She sent flowers, a small teddy bear, truffles and balloons! Mom was teased about having a secret admirer... ;)

I was going to take mom out to dinner but we went shoe-shopping at the mall instead. Unfortunately, I was the only one who came out with any footwear.

Justification: I had to replace two pairs of shoes. One that should've met the trash can long ago and the one from my recent puddle incident. I found a pair of (work/Sunday) shoes I'm absolutely in love with but need to assess wardrobe compatibility.

Getting on with the story, I picked up mom from work and then dropped the kids off with my sensational sister-in-law, Vickie, who agreed to 'sit spur-of-the-moment! (Tons of love!!) She also agreed to 'sit next week for my stake Winter Gala, which I will be attending with mom and my parents-in-law (Shawn's working). After shopping, mom and I had dinner at Opa!, a Greek fast food place. It was fabulous.

Mom's watching the kids tomorrow for our 6th wedding anniversary and Shawn and I are ECSTATIC!

Thank you to all our family without whom our sanity would've been obliterated eons ago!