Fike's Lives

Dec.

2012-01-01T20:13:00.003-05:00

Alan's home!

Alan got home on Dec. 15th after having served an honorable, 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the Pocatello, Idaho mission. We are very proud of him and his accomplishment. He has definitely grown up, while still maintaining his "uniqueness". It was mainly just family at the airport, along with Alycia Fike, due to an unexpected change in arrival times. The kids and Vanessa made signs and they were adorable. Surprisingly all of the kids seem to just love him on the spot, especially Phebe. It was surprising given their ages, I only expected Victor and maybe Naomi to actually have a memory of him, the others were too young. Alan had only seen Phebe once, the day she was born, at the hospital on the way to the airport. He is still the zombie obsessed, gamer, Swedish fish loving, pyromaniac we all love.

Christmas was a busy time with all the family. Christmas Eve was celebrated at the in-laws, after a wonderful dinner, and a funny attempt to have the kids act out the Christmas story. Joseph(Mark) pushed one of the shepherds out of the stable, Lyssa had a meltdown and wanted nothing to do with it, Seth wandered around, and Ari stood on the stool as the angel arms spread with a wonderful look at me thing going on. Kira was the only normal one. After the opening of stockings and some excellent gifts( a new scentsy burner, gift cards for Home depot, baby cakes maker,ammo,etc), Ethan and Anthony surprised us with fireworks in the backyard.

Sara and gang are still living with us, so we did Christmas morning with them. I made up a sausage egg casserole the night before so all we had to do was pop it in the oven. Ethan surprised me immensely this year with getting us all fishing poles and camping gear. He went all out with a new tent, dishes, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, etc. We had been talking about doing a fishing trip up to Erie for Father's Day and doing the Palmyra pageant in July and doing camping for all of it. But we have no camping gear whatsoever. I am really psyched to use it this summer. He also promised a getaway weekend just for the two of us. I not sure when that will happen with the baby due in May. We are hoping for a dry weekend in April and will probably just go to Moraine. Ethan had gotten his present back on Black Friday, with a gun store having a sale. The kids got miscellaneous toys and such from us. Overall, I thought Christmas went off without a hitch and am very pleased with the results.

We got ready for church and went. That was a bit of a disaster for the kids. It was only 1 hour Sacrament, but Lyssa started it off by scratching a scab on her face which wouldn't stop bleeding, so Ethan took her out, and Mark wouldn't and I mean wouldn't stop talking. Had I had duct tape, it would have been used.

After saying goodbyes to people we headed over to my Mom's house and proceeded with my family's Christmas. First we made up Chinese food, Nessa did Shrimp fried rice, I did Sweet and Sour Chicken, and I don't know who did the egg drop soup, but it was delicious and I hope this becomes a tradition for us. Mom and Aunt Shiela had been sewing up a storm for all the grand kids. All the boys got new sleeping bags, which have hippos on them, I will post pictures later, something that she had made for us kids when we were younger. I don't remember what happened to mine, I probably wore it out. Victor's was a dark blue with a red hippo, Caleb's was Green with a light blue? hippo, and Mark's was red with black and blue hippo with insect prints. They were adorable and a hit with the boys. The girls got quillows, a blanket that folds into a pillow. Lyssa hasn't quite figured out how to fold the blanket back up, but she still loves hers. Ethan got a framed picture of The Signs of the Times of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It is his favorite picture of Christ and we have been on the hunt for one for our home. It is the same picture as the mural in the Washington D.C. Temple after you have walked through the Annex. I received another storage bin and a promise for a maternity clothes shopping trip from Mom. Nessa and Ethan gave us a cast iron frying pan, something I had been wanting.

Christmas still was going, after we left Mom's as we headed back to the Fike's for dinner with Gma and Gpa Fike. We hadn't gone to their house the previous night so they brought gifts down with them. Lyssa got a new doll, the boys got Steeler apparel, which they have worn today for the game, and I received a more cooking gear, stuff that I could use for camping. We had a great time visiting everyone and celebrating, but by this time the kids had had it, and were being extremely cranky, so we went home and went to bed.

Other news for this week was an ultrasound of the baby. I love getting ultrasounds, it just cool being able to see the baby. It is a boy this time! I was very surprised by that announcement. This pregnancy mimicked Lyssa's not Mark's, and I had always thought I would end up with one boy, two girls. Do not think that I am disappointed, I am actually very excited. I don't think I could handle two girls being as girly as Lyssa is. However, the main reason I chose to find out the sex of the baby was because it was a boy, I need to go shopping for the boy stuff. I had given most of the younger stuff away to Aubby for Seth, and gave most of the older stuff away just last August, while cleaning out the attic. I also purposely got some very specific pictures so Ethan could guess the result when I got home. Every one's reaction has been funny to watch when they realize it is a boy. The only person who really guessed it was a boy, was Alan. He did an "I told you so" dance in response. Baby boy is doing well and everything looks pretty good. Now we just need to come up with a name. We had a girl's name picked out, Emily, but agreeing upon Mark's name last time was pulling teeth for us. Who knows what will happen this time. I really don't like going through baby name books because they have way too many names to go through. Baby Boy is due May 19.

2011-10-17T21:30:00.002-04:00

I am currently in my ninth week of pregnancy. This was planned and expected. We wanted to wait until Lyssa had her 2nd birthday, which was in Sept. and the test came back positive the following Monday. Very excited about a new addition, pretty sure it will be a girl. The same symptoms with Lyssa's pregnancy are happening with this one. Sensitivities to dairy products, but overall very little issues in the way of morning sickness. Some nausea, but I have yet to have to puke. Anyone that knows me, is well aware that puking is something I avoid like the plague. The only thing that ever succeeds is the flu.

According to the internet, I am due May 19th. Anyone reading this and who writes to Alan, please do not inform him. It would be a nice welcome home surprise.

Since Mark, I have been able to figure out that I was pregnant pretty much the second a person can. Because of that, I found out while I was only 4 weeks along, and that is just way too to be announcing to anyone really besides Ethan. Over the next 5 weeks, we told a few family members, but had every intention of keeping quiet until about 12 weeks.

Then came Ethan's cousin's wedding. After going through with Amber's Endowment we were waiting in the hall for everyone else and Ethan was talking to Grandma and a bunch of others family members, about some cousin that was finally able to get pregnant after 13 years of marriage and pregnancy issues. Ethan, not thinking, blurts out," We just celebrated our 5th year last week and have 2 and a 3rd on the way." Grandma was surprise says,"Oh, you haven't announce that yet.", to which I said," You're right, I hadn't." With a glare to him, that everyone else just laughed at. At that point, it was just to complicated thinking about who knew, who didn't. We are excited, and I can't wait to have a spring baby.

2011-10-15T09:12:00.002-04:00

More details later, but for now, I am announcing my third pregnancy. I will be due in May.

8 years

2011-07-25T11:12:00.002-04:00

It has been 8 years today since my Dad passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack. I was 17 years old and at what should have been my last Youth Conference.

There were about 7 of us girls, Kate and Patti, two of my closest friends at the Cloud's cabin for the night. I woke up later than intended that morning and was surprise that S. Cloud hadn't woken me up earlier. She knew my preference to being one of the first awake. After I stirring, I was told to shower quickly because there was a family emergency, and Dad was at the hospital. That was the fastest shower I have ever taken, I swear it took 30 sec. Knowing Dad's physical health, I had already surmised that he had had a heart attack. No one had told me. Everyone else in the Cabin already knew and weren't making eye contact with me. I didn't notice it at the time. S. Cloud still needed to get something together before she could take me to the hospital, so Kate, Patti, and I were waiting outside by the car. I was bawling my eyes out. S. Cloud came out and asked me why I was crying, and in hindsight, I realize she thought that Kate and Patti had told me. I told S. Cloud," Dad has had a heart attack and I don't know how bad it is." She just stood there for a minute before finally telling me that he had passed away. I lost it.

After they loaded up the car, I asked to go to camp, where I had been working all summer. There were some dear friends I had made there and I had this compulsion to go there before going to hospital. Luckily for me the camp was only a couple miles away. S. Cloud obliged me and with Kate and Patti in the car with me, we drove to camp. I ran in and told my roommate, Michelle what had happen and then ran to the guy's campsite and told them. And I mean I ran, Kate and Patti chased me down, since they didn't know where I was going. S. Cloud called Mom at the time and was told that they were about ready to leave the hospital so it would be better to just bring me home.

We got home and Vanessa and Alan were there. Roger, also at Youth Conference, they had had a hard time finding which house he was at, I think he had switched which home he was supposed to have been at. He showed up an hour later. We found out more details as to what had happened. Dad had always had chronic insomnia, and Mom woke up to him coming back to bed around 5 ish. She asked if he was feeling better, he said yes, got back into bed, then proceeded to roll out of bed about 30 seconds later. It was instant. Mom called 911 and started doing CPR, but it was already too late. Alan was the only other person at home. He was 13. Vanessa was already married and out of the house.

A lot of things happened that day, a lot I don't remember, so I won't forget. Vanessa and I went with Mom to the cemetary to pick a plot. I remember S. Manley came with us and told us afterwards that the funeral director was good looking. He was. We also all got in the car to drive to Pap's house because Mom knew he wouldn't be able to handle the news over the phone. Ethan, Vanessa's husband drove us there. Once we got there, I think he knew something was up, but didn't know what was going on. To this day, watching Mom tell Pap that his only son had died that morning was the hardest thing I have ever dealt with. Pap isn't a member of the Church, so he didn't have the knowledge of life after death and that families can be together forever. He just kept saying," I going to 90 this year, why him? He wasn't suppose to go before me.". It was excruciating to watch. Mom called Aunt Grace, Dad's sister while we were still there and told her.

We went back home and frankly I was exhausted. I was tired of being at home around everything. S. Cloud was going to take Kate and Patti back to Y. Conference in time for the dance. Roger and I decided we needed the distraction, so we went. It was what we needed. I went to the testimony meeting they had the next day as well. On the way home, S. Cloud and I were discussing a bunch of different thing and Roger's birthday came up. His birthday was in three days and he was turning 16. We had the Funeral viewing scheduled that day. S. Cloud had been in this situation herself. Her older brother had died just before her 16th?(not a 100% sure) birthday, and they rescheduled the funeral so it wasn't on her birthday. We decided to throw him a surprise birthday party. It wasn't fair that his birthday should ignored. We called two of his friends, found a place, and let them contact everyone else.

I don't remember who came with me to church that Sunday, I do remember only staying for Sacrament. Monday was a blur getting ready for everything and family coming in. Tuesday was the two different viewings. Most of my co-workers from camp came. They were surprised at how much fun a "Mormon" funeral can be. They felt bad for laughing, but it amused me. That night, Ethan and Vanessa grabbed Roger and told him we were going to take him out to get some ice cream for his birthday. We drove over to where the party was, which isn't near any ice cream place in town, and when Roger saw his friends out on the lawn, he was asking what they were doing here. He was pleasantly surprised and we all had a break from a very long depressing day.

By the way, standing in the receiving line SUCKS. I refused to do it Wednesday morning at the viewing right before the funeral. I ended up standing off to the side with friends and family, near the line, but not where I was expected to hug everyone else. I don't remember much about the funeral except that much to Mom's chagrin, and old neighbor sang," Amazing Grace", a song that Mom hates because everyone sings it too slow. The neighbor did a decent job, it just didn't seem to fit into everything else. There were mentioning of things that Dad did with us, like he loved amusement parks and we went to one every year, he would take one of us out eat for breakfast every Saturday morning, stuff like that.

There was a luncheon afterwards, and Mom grabbed us kids and we went to the cemetary for the burial. It was just a few of us. There was going to be a bigger gathering after the luncheon, but this was just for us. Mom and Dad had had a 5th child, a little girl, named Natalie that had died at birth (this was not a surprising death), and as per agreement with the cemetary, her grave had been moved over to Dad's. We could see her coffin being buried with Dad's. After we said our good-byes we went back to the luncheon. The guys I worked with at Camp were chowing down the food, amazed at how much there was and how good it was. They provided some much comedic relief for us.

We had a close friends and family gather go back to the cemetary afterwards. There was prayer said, but I don't recall any of it.

Dad was very much a plain vanilla guy, who loved the scouting program. That is actually what introduced him to the church. He was drafted into the army during Vietnam and was serving at a supply unit in Germany where he helped out with a Scouting troop there where he met some members. He joined over there. He loved Roller Coasters, couldn't sit still to save his life. Our books and movies would be cataloged on his days off. He like to surprise treat us to ice cream occasionally and was the Bishop of our ward for 7 years.

I miss him.

2011-07-07T10:25:00.003-04:00

So the computer decided that it need to go kaput last month. We thought it was the processor, so Ethan finds a new one and orders it. It comes and Ethan installs it. It wouldn't go through. Then he started to think, maybe it is the mother board. The new processor was more powerful, so maybe the old mother board can't handle it. Ordered new mother board. Nope, now he is onto the power supply. After checking finances, we decided to hold off before we go blowing $150 on a new power supply. Yes, we know there are cheaper ones, but when it comes to the computer, it is Ethan's baby, so I let him choose. Plus he has been pulling 2 suicide weeks in a row. (Suicide week is when he works 8am-9pm for 5 days straight.) It kind of stinks that he is gone that much, I mean last week instead of making the hour trip to and from, he just stayed at Gma's house which is 20 minutes away. This week he is getting rides with other people so I could actually have the car.

Ever have a doctor that you really like, he is excellent at his job, and you would recommend him to anyone? Dr. Yost, an ENT in Butler is that way. The only downside to him is a lot of other people feel the same way. That means setting up appts. can mean months of waiting to get into him. Well after having a physical for the first time since high school that wasn't pregnancy related, I was "officially" referred to him. I had been asking to get tubes put in after my ear drums ruptured multiple time this last winter. Once the physical was over, I immediately called and as luck would have it, they had just had a cancellation and an opening available within the next week. YEAH! I went into see him yesterday and have it all set up. Dr. Yost also wanted to run some other test to see why I was have so many sinus issues, which were leading to the ear infections. It is nice to have a doctor who actually was trying to find out the root cause of the problem instead of just giving me something to deal with the symptoms.

We have finally finished, with the exception of baseboards, the remodel on our computer/front room, kitchen, and dining room. Blogger isn't being nice and letting me upload pictures right now, so some other day. The front room was originally, pretty much a man cave. Wood paneling, drop ceiling, awful light fixtures, and I think it was a blue and green carpet. Carpet came out, as well as the light fixtures and drop ceiling. The room had been a porch that had been enclosed so one of the walls was this decorative rock wall that was torn down. Put up drywall over all of it. Carpet was replaced with a rubberized flooring called Allure, and is a rosewood ebony color (really dark). The ceiling was drywalled too, painted white and given three different light fixtures that are adjustable for the library part of the room. We painted it sky blue and I love how it has turned out. Dining room was simply repainted. Kids had brought a permanent marker and it needed to be repainted anyways so we went with a really light pink. I am not in love with the result, but it looks better than the way it did. The kitchen also got new flooring, a white marble look and the walls painted a dark foresty/emerald green. I am not a huge fan of dark colored rooms but there are only three walls and very few spaces where there isn't a cupboard, counter, appliances, or doors.

After serious consideration, we also got another puppy. Same breed, just female this time. Named her Night Shade, I call her Shady most of the time. Her coloring is a lot darker than Titan's and she chews more than he did. The only shoes that have been safe are my sunday shoes and Ethan's canvas ones. She doesn't like the canvas and my sunday shoes are put up. Lost 4 pairs of mine, 2 of Lyssa's and 1 of Mark's. Shady is all alpha, but she loves Titan, and they get along great. The timing of her was because Ethan and I want to have another baby, and I don't want to deal with young puppy until next baby is at least a year old. So it came down to wait two years or get her now. We choose now, and I love it. Titan has a much better playmate than my lightweight children who get knocked over as easily as a blow up punching bag.

Mark and Lyssa are doing well and are learning to talk better and better everyday. Lyssa is showing a devious streak. We have been working on Mark's potty training, and as long as he is naked, he does wonderfully. I am trying something new to get him to train with his clothes on, by having him teach Lyssa how to use the potty. I'll let you know how it goes.

2011-05-14T21:34:00.003-04:00

With the warm weather comes the beginning of Garage/Yard/Moving Sales. After becoming a serious sale-er 3 years ago, there are some common courtesies or realizations that need to be made.

Don't have a sale expecting to make back what you spent. I don't go to a sale to help you make money, I go to save me money that I would have had otherwise spent at the store. Have a sale to get rid of things, and if you make money in the process, congrats!

Unless they are kid clothes, clothes don't sell well. Even with kid clothes, they need to be stain-free and in good condition. $ .50 an item is a reasonable price. Coats, up to $5. Church clothes, such as really nice dresses, or suits, no more than $5. I am still talking kid clothing. There are a few exceptions. I have gotten a bag of 3t jeans that had holes in the knees for free. They are perfect for play clothes.

I don't care how much you were dumb enough to spend on name brand clothes, I am not paying the same price. Would I be shopping at yard sales, if I were?

Don't try to sell intimate apparel or swimwear.

Shoes are iffy.

Books should be never be more than $.50 for a paperback or $1 for a hardback. Harlequin romance books, $ .10

DVDs really shouldn't be more than $3. VHS, a quarter. Cds $2.

Don't bother trying to sell broken electronics. Make sure that you have an outlet available for people to test it out on.

Signs for sale should be up at least 4ft, and brightly colored with house number and times. Balloons are great. Do not put them up before the sale, then get mad at people who show up because they saw a sign. When the sale is over, remove sign immediately.

If selling furniture, please be reasonable. If it is made of particle board, no more than $10, and only if it is in good condition. Preferably less.

Filing cabinets, if they are rusty, throw them away.

Glassware, or fragile items should be up a little higher, people can't always avoid bringing their children.

If you are a smoker, don't be upset or disappointed if people don't buy because it smells.

If you have an item that you intend on asking a large amount of money for (newer treadmills, generators, riding lawn mowers, etc.), let people know ahead of time in the ad, or list it on Craiglist. I had a guy trying to sell a treadmill for $800. No one carries that much money around.

You would be better off to just put valuable things on Craiglist.

Be willing to negoiate.

Talk to your neighbors a couple of days before the sale and let them know. This will give them time to set up a sale themselves or put up parking barriers for their yard. The more houses having sales, the bigger the crowd you have.

If you are in a neighborhood that does an annual sale, don't decide that day to have your son clean out the garage. It is awkward and embarrassing to walk to someone's house that isn't actually having a sale.

Have plenty of cash for change.

If someone comes and sees something that is out of their cash range, don't accept check, tell them you will hold onto the item long enough for them to run to the nearest ATM.

If early birds really annoy you, set the time an hour later than you would really like to start.

Don't tell me it is a huge sale, if it can fit onto 4 or less tables.

Be prepared for weather conditions.

If you have a pet, put it inside, or out of reach of people.

Selling donuts, baked goods, and drinks are wonderful ideas. Put up a sign if whatever the item is, if it has nuts.

2011-03-07T08:38:00.002-05:00

My brother went to school for sound engineering. ( And learned some other stuff on the way.) On a whim he and his friends decided to put together some videos to put in a competition for Jones Soda's new energy drink. It would be a nice resume builder to come in 15th or so in a national competition. They put in two entries. They won 2nd and 4th. He is very excited. He also won a bonus award called the "Darth Bader Award." (Ryan Bader is a MMA fighter- mixed martial arts. Apparently he likes to just pick his favorite video and give them his own award.) Since Bader liked my brothers commercial so much, he will pay for Roger to go to Texas to attend the South by Southwest Festival. No, that doesn't mean much to me, just that my brother is awesome and won a free trip. Here is the clip that got 2nd prize.

http://zooppa.com/ads/whoopass/videos/insta-beard

He is the one that actually grows the beard.
You can go to http://zooppa.com/contests/whoopass#/awards if you want to see his 4th place one, also very entertaining, or any of the other entries. Go Roger!!!!!

On a side note, my sister actually wrote this, and I just copied it.

Quote

2011-03-06T15:29:00.002-05:00

"Daddy hit my butt!" In the middle of the closing prayer for sacrament, loudly I might add.

My job

2011-03-05T22:51:00.003-05:00

I work at a movie theater about 2x's a week for about 4 hours each time. I have been working there on and off since Oct. 2005. It isn't a big place, 4 screens, and we are a second run theater, which means that we get the movies after the first run place has had a chance to play them. Our tickets are $4 after 6pm. If you come on Wednesday, it is $2.50 all day and if you are really lucky, occasionally we have a $1 movie of the week, generally a kids movie we have had for a long time. The carpet is ugly, the equipment is old, and we have to use a pair of pliers to turn on the hot water in the back room. I love working here. There are a slew of people that have influenced my life while working here. There are friends that will be life time friends because of my job there. We have the best popcorn in town, and if you don't believe me, I will let you sample it.

I love being able to see the 'Pyscho' family,(Alan dubbed them that) that come with their big bowl and old peanut butter jars they use for drinks, so they don't have to get their refills in the middle of the movie. The mother that told me not to have anymore children, her three standing right behind her, at which point Alan let them know that I was currently 5 months along with Lyssa. Without missing a beat she congratulated me with genuine enthusiasm. The angry guy that got mad when I wouldn't let him buy a bucket of popcorn for a fraction of the price. The lady who was actually upset with Becky because she didn't get the popcorn that was flying from the popper, but instead waited so she didn't burn her hands with the hot oil. The older gentleman that told me to memorize his wife's face and to make sure I never give her any options, because she will take a day and a half to decide if she wants Sno-cap or Milk Duds. The guy who before seeing a war movie of some sort, I really wish I could remember the title, offered to buy everyone in that theater a large popcorn. Our assistant manager had to go through the theater 3 times before they realized she was being serious.

The time that theater 2 was having issues with keeping the film on track, therefore losing audio, was fixed by placing a toothbrush in a spot to hold it in place. Jim's mcmuffins that he made every year during the A/K Steel party, once the movies had been started. The after hours movies that were shown to employees and family's only. The really ugly green arm chair that was use for Santa around Christmas time, but for use during breaks to sleep in. The creepy janitor, Rodney, who is a goth, but a youth minister.

The times I got to share with Alan, watching him play his pranks and jokes on everyone there. Watching Charlie look for his red shirt, which had been pinned to the ceiling. To waxing the benches to see who would slide furthest off them. To loving to polish the stainless steel front because I loved the smell of the polish. To having the high school kids who worked there come to the theater on the night of prom to show off. To Jen and Garrett, who are now married, after starting to date after working there. To Jan's dog, Mitzi, who would occasionally accompany her on the days she had to get there early to met the Coke guy. To seeing the 5 year old kid all the sudden, pulling down his pants to pee on the pillars next to the parking lot, and watching with a grin as his parents ran to him. To hearing about Jan running and beating the snot out of a kid with a broom, when she saw him viciously attack another kid out in front of the theater. To the fat security guard that comes in for nachos. To Alan buying a 5 year old's ninja costume for Halloween and wearing it around the place for birthday parties. To celebrate Steph's graduation from college and her wedding. To seeing Mike finally stop paying for the cheese to go with his popcorn. To the summer we sold Hot dogs, and ended up selling more to the employees than to customers.

There are thousands of memories from there. I love working there and hope to be able to continue working there for years to come. I know it won't stay the same. It was realized tonight that from the original crew from 5 years ago, I am the only one left besides Jan, our manager. It was weird hearing that. Jan is extremely accommodating, and because of her doing so, most of us have stayed for years, working only on breaks from college. Kate was the last person to leave, and now Jan will be leaving soon to move to Florida with her husband. I that things will change and there is a good chance that it won't stay open after this summer. I hope it does. I love working there.

2011-02-06T14:12:00.001-05:00

Oh, by the way, GO STEELERS!!!!!!!

Verizon

2011-01-31T20:55:00.002-05:00

Starting Feb. 14th, Ethan will be going the workforce of Verizon. His official title will be Fiber Optic Analysis, or in layman's term, he is the guy you will talk to when you are having issues with Fios.

About a few months ago, a now former employee of Armstrong, Dave, started to apply to Verizon. He has some sort of degree with computer, and decided why not apply, they pay pretty well. (Ethan does not have a degree.) Dave never finished his application. Verizon ended up calling him and told him they liked what they have seen, and wanted him to finish the application. He did and they offered what Armstrong caps at with full benefits after three months. He turned his two weeks notice and told other people at Armstrong. No one thought much of it. Yes, it was decent amount, but it is in Downtown Pittsburgh and the commute wasn't worth it. Just before Dave is about to start, he gets a call from Verizon saying, ' We made a mistake and didn't see that you had actual experience at this type of job. (He had worked at Armstrong for 4 years.) We wish to pay you, basically$10 more an hour that we originally offered.' He passed on that information, and let on that Verizon is in the process of opening 200 more positions for the Pittsburgh office.

Basic info about Ethan's job, you can't just be fulltime, Armstrong(a local cable, phone and internet provider) has to officially make you full time. We were told to expect that within 6 months to 1.5 years for that to happen. March would have been 3 years. Nothing. No paid vacation, no benefits. He did get yearly raises, but...

Ethan proceeded to apply after that turn of events. He applied right after New Year's, and was accepted to take a test to see that he actually knows what he is doing. Two weeks later, he took the test, he passed. Then onto the phone interview. Other people were doing the same thing. Two people had their phone interviews and didn't do well at all, so we were nervous. Ethan has the phone interview and got an email the next day saying he was qualified for the position. BUT, that just means they have your resume' there for up to 2 years. They don't have to hire you. So we knew, because of Dave, that there were classes happening in 6 week intervals, the next one to start Feb. 14. We just guessed that particular class would have already been filled up, but were crossing our fingers for the one after. We were wrong. The day after the email qualification, we got a call that morning saying,'Pending drug test and background checks we would like to hire you to start Feb. 14. ' Ethan and I had seriously discussed how much would be needed from them wage-wise to make the transfer from Armstrong to Verizon in Pittsburgh. They offered well above it. Ethan immediately accepted, and after about a week we got a call saying everything with the drug test and background check had passed inspection and he would be considered an official Employee. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We know of at least one other person having been accepted and they plan on carpooling together. There are others who have gotten the Qualification email, but I am guessing they are waiting for the next class before calling. We hope there will be more people to carpool with.

We are unbelievably excited about this new news. I will miss him more through out the day, but the financial relief, the benefits, possibility for tuition reimbursement for school, and growth prospects certainly make up for it. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

New Addition

2010-12-17T18:01:00.002-05:00

Meet Titan, he is the newest addition to our household!

Ethan and I have talked for years about getting a dog for our family eventually. First it was a matter of breed, that took forever. Talked about temperament, hair length,(I am allergic, but can become immune to animals in my own home.), size, how old it should be when we get it, how they do with kids. We finally settled on a Redbone Coonhound. If you have ever seen "Where the Red Fern Grows", that is the kind of dog we are talking. They are known for being an amazing hunting dog. And yes, Ethan is planning on training it for coon hunting. No, I don't have an issue with hunting.

We started looking around to pretty much anything touching our state. Checked pounds and rescue centers, private breeders, websites, Facebook. We knew we wanted a puppy, Ethan was shooting for something younger that 6 months, I was shooting for at least a year old. I wanted it pass a lot of the puppy stage. There were lots of dogs out there, but most of them were too old for training, or would not have been able to handle being a hunting dog (mainly the abused rescue shelter ones). We also didn't want one to be microchipped, and that is a whole different story. Most of the high end shelters required it be done before adoption.

After several weeks of searching, Ethan comes across one that was very, very reasonably priced. The gentleman selling them privately had been raising hunting dogs for years, had them registered, and as I said very reasonably priced. The gentleman was down in Virginia, but when we looked on the map, it turned out not to be too far away from where Ethan's sis. Auby lived, so the commute wasn't an issue. We asked why he was selling them for cheap, and it turned out that there were 11 in the litter. He wanted to make sure he was going to be able to sell them all. They were only born in Oct. so they weren't available at the time of the call, but would be soon.

The first weekend in Dec. Ethan and his sister Alycia drove down and chose a male puppy and brought him back home. Three days later we finally agreed on a name that we both liked and the kids could pronounce. Titan is a very energetic, 9 week old pup. We are trying as hard as we can to get the housebroken stage thing done, but I know it will take a little while. The kids are doing well with him for the most part, but Titan really likes to jump and he is the size of Lyssa. Well we are trying. We'll let you know how it goes.

Questionaires by three people

2010-10-28T10:46:00.002-04:00

Nessa's Questions

1. What is your coolest scar ad how did you get it? I have a faint blue scar in the crease between my mouth and nose from when I apparently stabbed myself with a pencil at the age of 2.

2. What do you want to do before you die? I would like to do some schooling, I have plans for next year to complete the Phlebotomy course they have at BC3, and start working for awhile, so Ethan can do some school while working parttime. I would love to go to Greece, and go skydiving.

3. What is the best book you have ever read? I don't have a favorite book, there are tons that I love, McIntyre Liar, The Face on the Milk Carton, one of the most influential ones would be, hands down, Go Ask Alice.

4. What is your all time favorite dessert? Chocolate in almost any form, preferably Dark.

5. The food you wish would be blown from the face of the Earth? Ummm...Cottage Cheese, or tapioca, lumpy foods like that disgust me.

6. Coolest person you have ever met? Honestly, my brother Alan, he in my opinion one of the most enjoyable, entertaining, caring, loving person I have every met. Not to say there aren't others out there, but off the top my head, he wins.

7. Person you miss the most? Well I miss Dad and Pap all the time, but as for living people, Sara Sherrin, my sis.-in-law, Sarah from Utah, and Alan on his mission.

8. Favorite childhood game? 4Square, there was one summer when I was like 11 or so, where we spent almost the entire summer down at the park, and that was the number one game we played there in the basketball court. It had the perfect sized squares, and we were all pretty good at it, could hold our own.

Katie's Questions

1. What is your creative outlet? I am not all that creative. I am not a crafty person, I hate knickknacks beyond all belief, don't own a sewing machine, though I have to admit that occasionally I get the urge to sew. Usually around Christmas time. I love Christmas time, that is the one time a year, I am willing to put up with knickknacks. So as for creative outlet? Christmas time.

2. What is your favorite place to be? Warm and cozy in my bed. Whether it is first thing in the morning with the kids jumping on us, to reading a good book, to cuddling with my Hubby.

3. Do you know, or have you ever had a collection of anything? Books, I like collecting books.

4. Share things or objects you love most and why? Besides the obvious, family, religion and friends. I love finished projects that turn out the way I expected them too. Christmas time, and finding the perfect present.

5. Why do you blog? It is easier for the people who actually want to know what is going on in my life to follow this, than trying to remember everything for the Christmas news letter. I like the journaling aspect of it. I don't enjoy the whole write in your journal thing, so this is easier, but still getting stuff down.

6. What is your take on pets in the home/ as family members? First off, I am allergic to all most all animals, excluding sheep and rabbits. While growing up we had one cat, one dog, and a slew of rabbits. The rabbits were kept indoor, and acted similar to cats. You can litter train them. I liked having rabbits. Since being married, we have had two cats. I don't know what happened to the first one, but the second lives outside. Ethan is rather short-tempered when it comes to animals. Very little tolerance for them. I have suggested a rabbit in the pass, his response was, "As long as it is for food storage". We have considered a dog, but that will be a while before that one happens. We want a Redbone Coonhound, their fur is short, and if we get it while it is young, my allergies have been known to adapt. I want an animal that can for the most part take care of itself, doesn't need my attention every single second, gentle with the kids, that sort of thing. You can fit those requirements, you are welcome to my family. As for people treating animals as loved ones, there is a point of obsession, but at the same time, as long as you remember who is human and who is animal, and you can afford to keep it up, go for it.

7. What are your internet guilty pleasures? FB, Hulu, and Mindjolt.

8. I hate the Dentist. Ok that's not a question, but it is open for discussion amongst yourselves.
I didn't hate the dentist until I started going while I was pregnant with Lyssa. I think it was mainly the dentist I had. He openly talked about how much he disliked his job, forgot to tell me I needed a root canal, found that out while checking out. Overall not pleasant to be around.

Dedra's Question

Corn, Chicken, and Tomato Chowder
1. What are your fav. soup and bread recipes?
1/2 lb of bacon cut into small pieces
2 medium to large onions diced
2 large cans of white chicken
2 cans (14 oz) diced tomatoes w/ garlic and onion
4 cans of corn niblets
2 boxes of chicken stock
1 pint of heavy cream
2 T Mrs. Dash seasoning to taste

Satue Bacon in soup pot. When almost done, add chopped onions and saute until transparent.

Add all ingredients except heavy cream. Cook on slow rolling boil about 1 hour. Then, add heavy crem, and cook 1 hour on slow simmer.

Keep warm until ready to serve.
This can be frozen.

Bread Sticks
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs beaten
2 1/2c milk
7 c. flour
1 T +1t salt
5 t yeast
1/2c butter

Melt butter and heat milk to lukewarm-not hot. Combine sugar, salt, yeast and eggs in a large bowl. Add milk and butter, let stand until yeast begins to bubble. Add flour and knead. Wash and spray bowl- place dough in bowl and place on shelf of stove to let rise until doubled. Punch down dough and shape into bread sticks. Let rise until doubled again on pilot light. Backe at 350 for 15 minutes.

2. What are you nickenames? Maggie-do is one my mom has given me. Maggie is one that most of my Utah friends and friends from high school use.

3. Where is your favorite place you have lived? Why? I love here. I love PA. I love that there are all the season, though I am not a fan of winter. I love the trees, and the humidity, I love the greenery and hills. I have lived in Utah, and Colorado, and spend time in Ohio, none compare. Utah is a dry baren dessert. I love arguing with Utahn about their lack of greenery. I don't care about mountains, they are giant rocks in my opinions. Colorado was pretty, but still not as green. Ohio is flat.

4. What kind of Camera do you have? Do you like it, hate it? We just got a new Nikon D3100. I love it.

5. What is the worst meal you had to eat? I am pretty good at avoiding bad meals, so nothing is coming to mind.

6. What is your favorite TV show that you probably shouldn't watch? Ethan hates that I watch Law and Order SVU. I watch Desperate Housewives, and where as I don't like all the affairs and sex stuff, I do like they way the address family issues and don't glamorize what life can be like for a housewife.

7. What is something you did as a child that you couldn't tell your parents until you were an adult? Umm, I can't think of one for myself, but I know Ethan accidently set fire in their garage and put it out, ran inside and told his parents that the garage was on fire, but not to worry that he had put it out. He only confessed before we got married.

8. Why do I blog? Already answered above.

Lyssa's 1st Birthday

2010-09-14T11:36:00.007-04:00

One year ago, I was scheduled for an induction, because a certain little girl was taking her good old time coming into the world. It was schedule for 6am Monday. Sunday evening, I got all prepare, packed bags, french braided my hair, took a nice warm bath. All the things I could do to get ready. Now all I needed was a good nights rest, and I was ready to go. I always read before I go to sleep, so I read for about 20 minutes, then hit the hay. Twenty minutes later my water broke. "DANGIT!", was running heavily through my mind. I really wanted that night sleep. With Mark, my water broke right as I was going to sleep as well, and all I remembered was being absolutely exhausted through the entire labor. I was hoping to be a little more rested this time.

Oh well, I grab some food, while Ethan got ready. All this time, I am not feeling any contractions. Kate was called and she came over, we had it planned this time that she would be my coach. I love my husband, but he was a lousy coach. He was too distracted by everything else to help me out. We get into the car and head to the hospital. Mark was already spending the night elsewhere, because we knew we would be going in for the induction early. Arriving to the hospital at 10:30 pm, we were taken up to the birthing suite.

I knew what to do this time, knew when to get into the hot tub, when to get the epidural, how to time it out. Kate and I had practice all the exercises, and Ethan slept on the couch. I tried hard to sleep but the nurse kept coming in and out, kind of annoying. Finally I could feel the contractions finally being uncomfortable, so I told them I was ready for the epidural once I finished with the hot tub. Epidural came about 6 am, and I was about 5 cm. Then we just sat there waiting for time to pass. I got checked about 10:45 am and was told I was fully dilated. I wasn't feeling a thing, so the nurse suggested that if I wasn't feeling the need to push, to let my body continue to do my thing, and they would be calling the midwife from the doctor's office next door to the hospital. Lori (midwife) showed up about 11:30, checked me out and said, yep, you are ready to go. She then proceeded to tell me that the baby would take about 10 min. I didn't believe her. I had gotten the epidural with Mark, but it had worn off just as it was time to push, and then I pushed for 1 1/2 hours. I was expecting the same amount of time. I started pushing with the contractions and after three sets of contractions, Lyssa Michelle Fike was born at 8lbs and 20 inches long at 11:42 am. And I didn't feel a thing.

Now Lyssa is a very happy little girl. She can walk, has 6 teeth, babbles like a pro. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 3 months. She loves any kind of electronic, remote controls, phones, keyboards, etc. She is tiny. She has a doctor's appt on Thursday, so I will know for sure, but I am guessing she is about 15.5 lbs, and still hasn't doubled her birth weight. Her lasted growth spurt has given her height, so I don't know how tall she is. She is the worlds lightest sleeper, and we can't go into her room once she is asleep or she will wake up. The blanket that Marme made for her has been declared her lovey within the last month. She doesn't use a pacifier anymore. Fake crying is her favorite past time. Her giggles are deep sound stomach giggles. Lyssa is actually ticklish, unlike Mark. Loves being upside down, but doesn't like heights. Can do stairs, but avoids them like the plague. Loves bath time, but can't hold still long enough to put a new diaper on.

Question

2010-08-23T12:51:00.003-04:00

With the recent turn over of Prop. 8, it has gotten me thinking about it a lot. I can understand why people think it should be allowed. The basic thought being, "If two people love each other, why not?". The biggest argument against the idea of gay marriage were mainly for religious reasons. And if you aren't religious, it holds no ground. Then there is the part that marriage is for the procreation of children. Well not everyone that gets married want to have kids, and not all couples are able to have children. (Personally, I think trying to use the argument of couples not being able to have kids is an apples and oranges situation, and shouldn't be use.)

Well, here is what I think.

I think it is unreasonable to expect people to completely forgo religious belief.

Christians make up 76%, Jews about 2%, Muslim 1%, Atheists make up 4% and 14% are agnostic, leaving the rest unspecified (Wiccans, Hinduism, Buddhist, etc...) within the USA. After looking at numerous polls and studies, it basically came down to 70% believe the Bible to be the true word of God. Other religions such as Muslim and Jews have their own books, The Koran, and The Torah. All of which said homosexuality is an evil/bad/perverted thing.

So with that, there are churches that are "seeing past" what their own books say, saying things like," the book is old, we need something more modern." Or taking out other scriptures and saying who are we to judge. Still doesn't negate what it has originally said. Lev. 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination.

So with this, very basic, very easily understood statement. WHY, then are we expected to encourage something, that with in our deep beliefs is an Abomination. Why are we expected to basically ignore our religious thoughts and beliefs that most of us hold dearer to ourselves than almost anything besides family.

A friend of mine wrote a blog article that frankly, I couldn't have said better(Thank you, Sara)

1. People, homosexuality is of the devil. It says so in the bible and I am going to side with the God who created me more than with idiots running around naked saying I am not tolerant. Yeah I am not tolerant. I am not tolerant to sin. Before anyone gets on his high horse and start preaching that I am not very nice, well let me tell you something. I do have gay family members and friends and I love everyone of them. But I refuse to believe that they have the right to change what God himself formed and ordered. A marriage is not merely a piece of paper. It is a union of two souls for eternity. It was ordered by God to Adam and Eve so they could bring more souls to this earth and so they could be something greater than mere bodies.

2. Another reason why I was angry was the fact that they dared march on sacred Temple grounds trying to show that we are not tolerant and that we hate everyone. Are they insane?

3. With gay marriage being legal in a state, that state has the right to educate children that homosexuality is normal and no parent can do anything about it. I am sorry but WHAT? Parents are the primary educators of their children and therefore have a divine right to know what is being taught to their children. If a teacher dare ever tell me that I don't have a right to know what he or she is teaching my children, well that teacher might well get out of my way because I am very protective of the people I love.

4. The whole argument about how 'unconstitutional' the proposition was is ridiculous. Apparently what the proposition did was put opposite sex couples above same sex couples. Of course we are superior. We can procreate which is our main divine purpose on this earth and same sex couples cannot. The end.

5.5. The fact that one person can overturn what millions of people voted on seems ridiculously flawed to me. The Californians voted and the proposition passed. Get over yourself. You want to be gay legally, move to another state where it is legal or move to France. How can one person completely rule out what millions of others agreed on?

They are too cute

2010-08-05T22:48:00.001-04:00

Baby naming

2010-07-28T11:54:00.004-04:00

Now that I am a mother, and am at that stage in life where friends are having babies, I am truly realizing the importance of a baby's name. I definitely have some firm opinions when it comes to baby names. But I don't think I am being outrageous about the rules considering it is more consideration for the child who will go by that name. For instance, I am rather anti - family names, especially if you aren't married to the other person. Now there are times and places where it is appropriate, but for the most part, no family names. When my sister was expecting her first, I was talking to my piano teacher about it, and he said," She should name him, Bruce Ernest". (Her f-i-l, and our Dad's name, both having died within the last year and half before this pregnancy.) There are many other ways to honor a dead relative. But here are some basic rules.

1. If you hate the family name, don't use it. I don't care if that relative saved your life in 'Nam'. If you don't like it, use something else.
2. Don't add extra letters just for the sake of making it look "cooler".
3. Be nice, and double check initials for bad words.
4. Be nice and make sure it doesn't rhyme with something that will get the child made fun of for the rest of their life.
5. Don't name your child after Jesus.
6. No rhyming names between siblings. Ex: Kevin and Devin. (RL Ex of a set of twins I know.)
7. If you 'have to' mess up the spelling, don't go overboard.
8. NO NOUNS. Ex: Rainy Rose. I don't care, don't do it.
9. If you are making up a name, stay away from Q's. Ex: LaQuinta
10. Names after virtues are not going to give a child with that virtue. Ex: Chasity, Charity, Hope, etc.
11. Tongue-twister names are just plain mean.
12. I generally say to stay away from any name that is in the top 10 most popular names. Too many kids by the same name.
13. All of theses rules apply to nicknames as well. Check any and all possible nicknames for said birth name.
14. If you have given a pet your fav. name, then get pregnant, do not give the child the same name.
15. I am not an advocate for gender"safe/confusing" names. More specially when they really aren't gender safe anymore. Ex: Marion, Stacy, Ashley.
16. Any guy names that sounds like it came from a Danielle Steed book. Ex: Tane, Justus Brice.
17. If you are going to spell the name oddly, you have no right, whatsoever to get mad at mispronunciations. Ex: Nate', pronounced Na-tay-a.
18. No rhyming with last names, no rhyming period!!!! No first names same as last names for that matter. Ex: Robert Fobert (RL friend), David Davids.
19. Nothing that can be misconstrued as a possible porn name or a sexual act. Ex: LaPleasure, or B.J.
20. The name should not be longer than the child at birth. Ex: Meloncholia Francessca Antouinette.
21. NEVER AFTER AN Alcoholic beverage, you are just asking to pay for rehab. Ex: Brandy, Jack Daniels.

If you want some laughs http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames

Overall, just be courteous to the child, because eventually, they will probably be choosing your nursing home.

Question for you

2010-07-23T22:56:00.003-04:00

Do any of you have random chinese comments left on your pages? I get them all the time, I am trying to figure out a way to get it to stop. I have gone private before, but I hated it, but I think I will need to do it again, unless someone has a good suggestion. Let me know.

Convo with Jenna

2010-07-12T10:47:00.003-04:00

Jenna: (saying this walking behind me on the steps) Margaret, you have no butt.
Me: (a bit of eye rolling) Yes, Jenna, I am aware of having no butt.
Jenna: Its like whatever was supposed to be your butt, just went into your boobs.
Me: ( Just staring at her)

Idina Menzel, Baby Seth, New Shift, and kids!

2010-07-05T10:56:00.003-04:00

Last Tuesday, Kate E., Amy C. and I went and saw Idina Menzel perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. SHE WAS AMAZING! IF you don't know who she is, she was the original Elphaba in Wicked, Maureen in Rent (play and movie), the girlfriend in Enchanted, and a guest star on Glee. She did a wonderful slew of songs, from 'Life of the Party', 'Funny Girl', 'I'm not that Girl', 'Pokerface'(she apologized to the orchestra for making them do it, but they did an incredible job), 'There is only this', and thankfully 'Defying Gravity'. There was a standing ovation, so she came back on stage and did 'The Sun will come out tomorrow. She told stories about each of the songs and such. There was one which was a song that she and her husband sing to their little boy Walker(10months) that the pianist made an accompaniment for the Orchestra to play. It was adorable, talked about waking up and what kind of dreams did you have Walker, things like that. We were lucky enough to get superb seats, front row balcany, just off to the right of the middle. I don't think we could have gotten better seats if we had been willing to spend more. It was a sold out show. We had a blast!!!!

Ethan and I have a new nephew, Aubrey and her hubby Patrick just had their new little boy on Saturday, Seth Patrick, weighing in at 7lbs 3oz, and 20 1/2 inches long. He was a week overdue, but I think it was on purpose, so he could hit Auby and Patrick's first Anniversary. Congrats on the new baby!

We went down to Virginia on Saturday to visit the new baby.

This was on the way back from Virginia, Lyssa loves her french fries.

The kids are doing well, Mark has started potty training and is doing very well, I need to thank Vanessa for jump starting it with him. She was watching the kids when we were at the concert, and her little one is trained already, so she showed him and since then, we haven't had much of an issue getting him to go. He is constantly on the go.

Lyssa has been crawling for about 8 weeks now, and has just started furniture walking. She'll be 10 months next week. Has three teeth and a stubborn 4th on the way. She has taken to baby food rather well, and is currently being weaned a little bit, down to about 2-3 feedings a day, for no other purpose than I would like to be done by the time she is 12 months. Mark weaned himself off by 9 months, but she doesn't seem to be liking that idea at all. So we will do it very gradually.

Ethan's job just had a new shift bid, and he is now going to start working daylight! This is excellent news, I can't wait to start on a new schedule. A little more normal bed times for everyone, and it will be nice to have evenings with him. Ethan and a friend of his are currently working on a new project, trying to make generator that is run by magnets. Don't ask me, it is over my head. But they seem to be enjoying it.

2010-04-24T18:51:00.004-04:00

I have two beautiful little nieces that I babysat quite regularly. Kira is 3 and Ri is 2 and for the most part, Mark, my 2 yr old got along pretty well with them. The girls just moved away this last week, and it will be about 4 months before I see them again. Since they have been gone, I have been reflecting back on the things that would happen between the three of them. All three of them are very headstrong when they wanted to be. Kira was a girly girl and very inquisitive about anything and everything. Ri, when she wasn't happy, she let you know you, but she could also be the sweetest thing with her genuine smile and laughter.

I definitely had my bad days with them, but we also had fun days playing cowboys and Indians, watching movies, and helping me make cookies. We read stories and played outside. I would try to protect Lyssa from Kira and Ri's never ending desire to hold her and try to play with her.

There are many different stories that have happened when my back has been turned, such as the time I was taking care of things upstairs only to come down and find that the three of them has decided they need to cook and proceeded to break 2 dozen eggs on the kitchen floor and throw cheese into a pot. Bopbop (Grandpa Fike's nickname by the kids) was their savior from me that day by showing up early to pick them up that night. Or when I set up the wading pool, it took me several tries of forcing them into the water before they realize they were suppose to play in it with their swimsuits and diapers on. Many a diapers were found off the porch the following day. The wading pool had an inflatable whale thing in the middle of it with a hook-up for the hose to do a sprinkler effect. Mark and Kira loved it, Ri would freak out and run as far away as she possibly could.

There is one thing I was very happy to see pay off right before they left. Ri, as much as I love her and all, she can be a very whiny pushover. Mark and Kira would take toys from her, push her, anything, and she would just stand there and whimper or whine at them. Sorry, but even at the age of 2, whining isn't going to get you anywhere. It would drive me nuts that she wouldn't even try to defend herself or try to get the toy back. I know Mark and Kira needed to stop doing things to her, but she was making herself and easy mark. So one day in desperation, I watched was Mark took a toy from her, and her just stand there and whine, I grabbed Mark and Ri and made them face each other and told Ri, that if Mark or Kira did something that they shouldn't do like take a toy, or push her over, to push them back. Then I literally had her practice. At the time, Kira and Mark had a hay day being pushed by Ri. This took place months ago and was repeated about once a week, until she stopped whiny when they did something. I know many people would completely disagree with my parenting technique, and I did discuss this with Sara, the girl's mother, but I really felt like she need to learn to stand up to them. And frankly, I wanted someone Mark's age to stand up to him and not let him get away with being bullyish. I can only do so much and usually only after something has already occurred. But if she started fighting back, he wouldn't be so willing to do mean things to her. Well last Sat. was the last day I watched them and Sara stayed around after she was done with work. Mark and Ri were walking passed us and Ri tripped and accidentally hit Mark on her way down. He was like "Hey!" and kind of hit her and then she proceed to hit him three times in a row. I am sorry to say, it was really amusing. Sara and I stopped them from going further, and made them say sorry, but I was happy to see Ri stand up for herself. Now will be the time that I teach Mark when and how much is appropriate, but for now, I am glad to say neither of them are pushovers.

Ri and Mark at the Lodge.

This was common occurance.

They tried hard to "share".

Mark and Kira playing at Dave and Kita's wedding.

At Aubby's wedding

So for now, I say I love and will miss you guys altogether, you definitely gave me some fun memories.

2010-03-22T15:21:00.003-04:00

I woke up to a little boy trying to climb into bed with theses.

What a wonderful breakfast in bed.

Then later on, I found him naked under Lyssa's crib. Not sure on that one, but it made me laugh.

2010-03-20T10:58:00.005-04:00

Daily, I feel like there isn't anything to write about on here, but as I look back at the last couple of weeks, a lot of things have happened.

Awhile ago, Mark got too close to our propane heaters and singed his hair. In an attempt to save it, we just cut off the orange parts, but finally gave into buzzing it all off. I don't like. I miss his longish hair, and I think he looked better with it. It will grow back. See buzz cut in pictures from previous post. He is talking a lot and very cunning. He will do anything to get Lyssa's pac. And I mean anything. I have had more than one person mention that he seems a little old for the pacifer, and I am in complete agreement. But good luck keeping him from it. I mean it. I took my Aunt out to Ohio on Thursday and she got to see first hand just how far he will go to get it. He is at the point that first thing in the morning he brings me one for Lyssa, I say thank you, two seconds later, he has one in is own mouth. Thinks he should be able to keep it because he was "sharing".

Lyssa is doing extremely well, a bit of a lightweight right now. Check ups were this last week with a new doctor, and as much as Lyssa has only gained 1 lb in the last three months, her growth in general is still great. Many speculations for the lack of weight gain being due to a very cold winter, the fact that she is very mobile (not crawling yet, but is on all fours trying the torpedo launch forward) going backwards, rolls over, all that fun stuff. She is starting solids and despises rice cereal with a passion. She can sit up, no teeth yet, but is a drooling machine. Sleeping through the night was something she did very early on, and luckily for us a habit she decided to keep. Overall, very cute, very cuddly, and very lovable baby girl. Six months last Sunday!

Around the house, with the tax return, we have been working on finishing the kids room, they are painted and just need the trim and baseboards put on, then we are finished!!!!! Mark has been moved out of the toddler bed and into the double bed that we have. His room is a ridiculously bright yellow color, and we found the playmats that you connect together, got a bunch of them and uses those as his carpet. Lyssa will stay in her crib for a long time to come, but is now in her own room which is green with pink ladybugs, flowers and dragonfly decals. We bought a new window to replace one in the living room, and now that it has warmed up, it will be going in soon. The shelves in the storage room were finished as well!!! It looks so nice.

Also with the tax return came a downpayment on a new car. We had a '99 Hyundai Elantra with 102k miles on it. Struts were gone, crack in the windshield, brakes and roters have been needed to be replaced every year we have had it, recently replaced the clutch, basically it was becoming a money pit. Since we live in PA where all the season are actually tangible, not just a change in clothing lines, we had only three criteria. Decent gas mileage, 4 doors and at least allwheel drive. This last winter reminded us how much it would have been to have allwheel drive. We went to three different dealerships before finding one. I got to try my hand at truly haggling prices. I don't like it but I did managed to bring down the price by about 2K. YEAH ME!!!

A 2007 Suzuki SX4 with 43K miles on it. YEAH!

So that pretty much sums up what has been happening with us. Ethan is still working, I started going back to the theater for a whole 4 hours a week. I am still watching my S-i-L's girls three times a week, but they will be leaving soon to a brand new life down in Texas. Mark is going to miss the girls, but I'll be honest, I will not miss the messes of three of them together.

2010-03-12T18:07:00.002-05:00

We got pictures taken the other day. Mainly it was for Lyssa, pictures of her in her blessing dress, then individuals with Mom and Dad, then family pictures afterward. We did the same with Mark. We had a hard time getting the kids to smile, apparently Mark decided before pictures that nap time needed to be earlier in the day than normal. Of course that time was during pictures. Lyssa, even with Tylenol, was a teething monster. I am happy that pictures turned out as well as they did.

New family pics

2010-03-12T17:41:00.005-05:00

2010-02-18T14:58:00.001-05:00

My feelings about winter.

Silly putty

2010-02-02T17:04:00.004-05:00

Out of order of course, but here is an updated pic of our little girl!

While Christmas shopping this last time, Ethan and I found a bunch of $1 silly putty. We have seen Kira and Ri playing with it during Sacrament meeting and it seems to be a pretty big hit with them as well as being a quiet toy. So we bought some for Mark.

Last night he went to bed with it. Ethan finds him with three big globs in his hair this morning. At first we were thinking we might just have to shave all of his hair off, but after talking to Marme, she suggested peanut butter. I have heard of using peanut butter on gum, but have not heard anything about silly putty. The first two globs came out pretty easily, but the last one was really thin and matted in by his roots. Several more globs of peanut butter were thrown in, and I am sure I will continue to find bits an pieces of silly putty in his hair for a while, but he did manage to look decent again. I am glad we were able to save his hair. I don't want to shave it. I love it too much.

2010-01-25T17:39:00.002-05:00

I love being a mom, I love my children. But to most of you who really know me, know that I am not a child person on any level. I didn't like babysitting as a youth, I liked the kids just fine, but I have a hard time especially with young children. The lack of understanding what they are trying so hard to say. Rereading the same book, playing the same games over and over again. Constant repetition of praise, encouragement, discipline, I find it very taxing sometimes. Please don't get me wrong, I love these children. I don't know if this is coming to a head because we haven't had a working car, so I have been very much housebound for the last week or what. But I need some adult conversation time.

Yesterday at church, my friend Kate wasn't feeling well and was trying to figure out about work. She has been working at the same movie theater that I have been working at on and off for about 4 years now. I haven't worked there since before Lyssa was born. I told her I would cover for her, and I was able to. I had a blast. I like working. I like the social atmosphere. There is only one job I have had that I didn't like. That was Bath and Body Works, and that was because the managers didn't listen when you had something to say. I loved just being out of the house and being around other people.

Slow and painful death...

2010-01-12T15:26:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, while I was getting ready for a bath, I notice the water was extremely hot. Almost to boiling point. I thought it was odd, and decided to ignore it right then. Then I went to do dishes, water is still really hot. A couple more times this happens so I tell Ethan. He didn't quite believe me, or just thought I was exaggerating. Then no hot water at all.... This is getting annoying. Ethan checks the breaker, its fine, then checks the fuse, it is blown. We go and get another. The water temp gets turned down to below hot. It is still boiling hot water though. A week goes by, the fuse blows again. We know something is going on, but aren't really sure what. The fuse has blown two more times since then, and when Ethan checked it again this morning, there is water all around it. Cracked. Grrrr.... As an attempt to look on the bright side, the new one has a lifetime warranty, and is an 80 gallon instead of 50, which is what we had. Knock on wood that this is the last appliance for a while to die.

Going Private

2010-01-09T14:20:00.002-05:00

Going Private, leave a comment with your email address and I will add you.

Mission boy and sick boys

2009-12-11T17:47:00.004-05:00

I drove Alan and Mom to the airport on Monday for their flight out to the MTC. Alan has successfully entered into the MTC and is on his way to be a fully trained LDS missionary. The Pocatello Mission is going to have fun with him. He is easily one of the most enjoyable person to be around. There is always a story or something going on that you just want to shake your head and call him a dork for doing.

Yes, he was the Wendy's girl.

Yes, he is giving Cory a wet willy.

Trash bag king of the Theater

Both Ethan and Mark are currently snoozing off a nasty cold that has been swarming our house for the last two weeks. I have a doctor's appt. for Mark tomorrow so I'll find out if it is turning into anything worse. I hate it when we are sick. Mark has been a miserable human being for the last two weeks, but I just thought he was starting the terrible twos or something of that nature. But the fever and other things are making appearance today that are making me think otherwise. I haven't been able to be much help for him, all he wants is Daddy. Leaves me free to take care of Lyssa, so I don't really mind. I think all the cuddling with Daddy is what is making Ethan sick now.

some of the pics

2009-12-08T15:17:00.001-05:00

She has a great smile, and is starting to show signs of getting dimples.

2009-12-07T09:59:00.001-05:00

I am an Aunt again, my sister finally had her baby. Baby girl! And Ethan (her husband) said it was the best delivery yet! Yeah!!!!!! Go Mommy and baby!

Unsmiley

2009-12-01T21:45:00.002-05:00

When Mark was about three months old we got pro. pictures done of him in his blessing suit, and decided that we would splurge with the speciality pictures, like that with each of the kids. Well due to Lyssa's fast growth, she was weighted at 13.5 lbs today(10 weeks now), we knew we need to get them done soon, otherwise she wasn't going to fit her dress anymore. She is a cubby one. Mom was going to get pictures done with the boys(Alan leaves in a week) at Sears, and I had gotten some good coupons to do pictures with, so I went with them to get Lyssa's done. First outfit, sitting up, she did just fine, got some smiley ones. Then they put her on her stomach. Anyone know of a baby that truly likes being on their stomach at this age? She didn't smile again the rest of the time. I felt so bad for the guy, he was trying every which way to get her to smile. His lips had to be sore. Making all the sounds and everything. We finally gave up. She has a beautiful smile and does smile often, I don't know why she wouldn't today. Once I have access to the stuff online, I will post.

Ant and the Grasshopper

2009-11-11T09:39:00.002-05:00

The Ant and The Grasshopper

This one is a little different... Two different versions...

Two different morals

Old Version

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter and dies out in the cold.

Moral of the story: Be responsible for yourself!

Modern Version

The ant works hard in teh withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the anut is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide the pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to the video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when the sing, ' It's Not Easy Being Green.'

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Pres. Obama condemns the ant and blames Pres. Bush, Pres. Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich of the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay for his fair share.

Finally the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire the proportionate number of green bugs, and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and give to the grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house crumble around the because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful neighborhood.

The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

2009-11-05T14:07:00.002-05:00

Why Trampolines
Aren't Safe in Wisconsin.

Who says you can't buy a trampoline for five
Bucks?

4 hour crying jags...

2009-10-29T14:51:00.002-04:00

Once Lyssa is asleep she will sleep for a decent amount of time. But in order for that to happen she has to actually fall asleep. The other night she went on a 4 hour crying jag, that I still don't know what the cause of it was. I know it wasn't food that I ate, and she wasn't having gas issues, and she was eating just fine, but she just kept crying. Grrrr. I hate nights like that thoughs. I know after awhile you just kind of have to let them cry it out. But then there is the listening to the cries that make you hurt because you know they aren't happy, and then after doing everything you can do, you just get annoyed that nothing is working. After that night, I got earplugs. Call me cruel, I don't care.

Lyssa's Blessing day

2009-10-26T14:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was Lyssa's blessing. I don't have any pictures currently, so you'll have to wait. We had plenty of family come and be able to participate. My Bro-in-law was telling me while the blessing was happening, he thought she was going to just explode her diaper the way she was just laying there, the calm before the storm type attitude. But she did very well. Ethan gave her a beautiful blessing. Lyssa wore the blessing dress that I had been blessed in. All in all it was a good day. She handled being loved by many relatives like a champ.

Last Thursday, she had her doctor's appt. Doc. was impressed with her growth, gained 2 1/2 lbs, and two inches in height since birth.

My youngest bro. got his mission call about a week ago, and I just wanted to say YEAH! Pocatello, Idaho, it made me giggle. He had a little bit of a hard time pronouncing it while it was reading it out loud to us. Just made the moment better. I am going to miss that boy, but I can't think of anything better he could possibly be doing. I am so excited for him!

2009-10-12T14:20:00.001-04:00

Lots have been going on, just too tired to care to write

2009-10-09T23:44:00.002-04:00

Its funny, many people were giving me lots of advise about Mark's reaction to the baby before she was born. The biggest thing I have seen different has been his amount of physical affection he now gives. He has never been one to give kisses or hugs or what not. We tried to teach him, but all that ever happened was when I ask him for a kiss, he would turn his head, allowing me to kiss his cheek. And that was if I was lucky. He still does that, but now he will give me hugs and kisses anytime HE wants to give kisses and hugs. I like this change. He loves giving Lyssa hugs and kisses, but it is a very dangerous thing for him to do. He will literally end up smothering her with his love.

2009-09-16T14:35:00.002-04:00

Baby Girl Lyssa Michelle Fike has officially joined our family as of Sept. 14, 2009 at 11:42 am. She was a week late and was scheduled for an induction the morning of Sept. 14, but decided that she wasn't going to be told when to come to the world and decided to finally start making her way into the the world of the 13th, about 10pm by making the water break. Mark did the same thing.

After calling Kate, my coach this time, and gathering stuff up, Ethan and I headed to the hospital. No contractions had really started, but seeing as I was already supposed to be induced in a matter of hours, they got me all hooked up. Labor moved slowly, ended up getting an epidural, and then needed pitocin to help get things moving around 6 am. Spent the next three hours trying to get some sleep while the nurses kept poking and prodding at me for one thing or another.

At 11 am, I hit the 10 cm and said I could start pushing if I felt the need, or if I could deal with the pressure, to just let my body do its thing and continue to push the baby down on its own. I wasn't in pain, thanks to the epidural, so I waited it out. My midwife was working at the office and was going to go for a lunch break, but after being told how far along I was, came up and checked on me. She then told me that this baby was only going to take about ten minutes to come. I didn't believe her. Mark had taken an hour and a half of hard pushing with the epidural having worn off at the beginning of pushing. So after about three contractions, Lyssa came and had the cord wrapped around her neck three times, not tightly though. They got it taken care of and everything went very smoothly.

She had taken to nursing very well, and has been a very sweet and mellow baby so far. Not too much fussing at all. I have been healing wonderfully. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers!

2009-09-16T12:16:00.007-04:00

2009-09-13T22:07:00.001-04:00

Water broke, and I am on my way to the hospital.

Doctor's appointment

2009-09-08T15:12:00.002-04:00

First off, yesterday was the due date. Still no Lyssa. I thought I was going into labor Sunday night. Enough contractions that were noticable and coming frequent enough to be timeable. But seeing as it was 2:45 am, I knew it would be in my best interest to get some more sleep. After fighting excitement, I manage to do so, only to wake up at 8:30am, feeling fine. ggrrrr....

Anyways, I went to my scheduled doctor's appt this morning, the one I was really hoping I wouldn't have needed, due to having had the baby. Her name is Lori, and she is actually a midwife. She was surprised that I hadn't had her yet. After checking me out and seeing that I am exactly the same place I was last week, she tried stripping the membranes. I am hoping that will due something. If it doesn't, she already has me scheduled for an ultrasound on Saturday and induction on Monday. Monday will be 41 weeks. The idea of delivering a big baby scares me, and I am hoping that baby Lyssa won't be too big. All she is doing is gaining weight at this point.

Lori, made me laugh at little when she was asking what I was doing that was taking so long as well as asking what happened with Mark. Mark was due Dec. 24th and as for his labor, my water broke at 1:30 am on the 23th. When we got to the hospital, I was a whopping 1 cm then too. Maybe the baby just needs to be little more aggressive and kick the stupid sac open to get started. I don't know.

Side note, last night there was a power outage from 7pm to midnight. I was in the middle of giving Mark a bath when the power went out. Nothing weather wise indicating that one would happen, guess someone ran into a telephone pole. I didn't think much of it, it was still light out. I figured I would just put Mark into his bed a little early so he still had some light to fall asleep with. He has been starting to show signs of being a little scared of the dark. Normally there is a lamp we leave on, but hey no power. I put him in his room and left him there for about 30 minutes. It is dark by now, and I had finished reading, and was just going to go to bed. Not much else I could do. When I went to check on him, he was still up, and it is pretty dark out. I pull him out and take him to my room, thinking he might fall asleep if I am there in the bed with him. It isn't until I am tucking him into our bed that I realized Mark's streaking tendency had struck again. I had already blown out all the candles and didn't have a light source in the room. I had no problems finding the diaper, just with finding the diaper to his butt, because someone likes to run away from me. Even in the dark. Then when I do find him, he wiggled around a lot. I did manage to finally get it on him successfully, and after about 15 minutes he was out.

Humor

2009-09-07T11:24:00.000-04:00

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sallini.com/rumors/therumors/religion_sexuality_mystery/image.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sallini.com/rumors/rumors_in.php%3Fid%3D76&usg=__wVGcuAGpBia5wmKOXvQ8SeFbwPI=&h=332&w=500&sz=17&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=VKJy4VptM6ZOiM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcollege%2Bgood%2Bgod,%2BI%2Bam%2Bpregnant%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26um%3D1

Mark's goal in life...

2009-09-05T12:22:00.002-04:00

To become a professional streaker. A couple of post back I was writing about the cloth diapers and how he didn't like the velcro ones, well now he doesn't like any kind of diaper. Disposable, snap cloth ones, or velcro. If it is on his butt, it needs to come off. I had my sis-in-law over the other day with her daughters for dinner and after the kids were done eating, they were running around while we finished. Kira, the oldest of the three comes up to us later, and keeps saying, "mom, mom, mom" like a normal two year and when we looked up, she just pointed at Mark, says, "Nakee!", and giggles really hard. Sure enough, Mark was stripped down to nothing and running around. I had him just sitting next to me a during a movie at home, I turn for more popcorn, turn back, and get a full view of his butt. Not to mention all the times I wake up to check on him during the night, only to find him in the buff. Oh, what to do....

Can you relate?

2009-09-01T12:33:00.001-04:00

Long, Legal, and probably boring to most, but we prevailed!

2009-08-31T15:29:00.003-04:00

About mid July, Ethan and I received a letter from the Butler County Sewage Association. Couple of things to know before explaining everything. First off, Ethan and I did not go through a bank when we bought the house, therefore, we were not required to do the normal house inspections like many are. Secondly, the house had been vacant for what we can figure, about two years. Third, everyone in our area has a septic tank. There isn't an available city water hook up out here. Fourth, we bought the house last October, and have been living in it without any problems since Jan. 1 2009. Fifth, we have a creek running through our backyard, and we have about an acre of land. Sixth, anything in quotations is a direct quote from the letters.

In this letter, it was saying that due to the fact that our house had been vacant over a year when we bought it, "certain steps must be taken before that system can be used." It then gives us a number to call for any questions.
" You should be aware that before making repairs, installing or replacing an on-lot system, you must get a permit."
It then tells us that, "The absence of an on-lot sewage system, or the use of a malfunctioning or unpermitted system is a violation of 25 PA Code Chapter 73, 'Standards for Sewage Disposal Facilities,' and sometimes, a violation of the 'Clean Streams Law of Pennyslvania, ' and can result in large fines if not corrected." It too states that an inspection will be done by their Sewage Enforcement Officer on July 31, if they didn't hear from us by then, and that we would be responsible for the $50 investigation fee if that inspection ended up taking place.

Well, we were caught off guard. Ethan called the lady, Vicky Mazzanti, and talked to her twice that week. With in those calls, she said that they would be sending someone to do an inspection, at our (Ethan and I) cost of $350, that they would probably have us pump the tank, and that they would have us sign an annual inspection and pumping agreement. Should we fail the inspection, we would have to get a permit to fix it. She said that she would send us the application for the permit the next day.

Ethan went to some of our neighbors to see if this was something new, or something that everyone in the area had to do. One neighbor said he had lived there for 35 years, and was only needing now to pump because it was backing up, and as for everyone else, they have never heard anything about such a thing and that the BCSA was full of it. One of my friends who lives close has already had to deal with them for when they were putting in a system for a new place, and that they were nasty to deal with, and that they would make sure that there was a reason we would fail the inspection enough that we would need to end up putting in a sand mound system, estimate cost being around $23,000 minimum. (However vengeful that sounds, they had dealt with them a lot.) Lets us say Ethan and I don't have $23,000 sitting around.

I call Vicky after hearing the stuff from everyone else, and politely asked her where in the law that due to the fact that house had been vacant for so long, that they had the right to demand inspection. Know this, we had been searching through the quoted 25 PA Code Chapter 73, and were finding nothing to support her claim. This was the first Friday after we had gotten the letter. Vicky then gave me the code 25 PA Code Chapter 72. 22H as a reference. After talking with her, I looked up the code. First off, Chapter 72 is all about ADMINISTRATION OF SEWAGE FACILITIES PERMITTING PROGRAM, and 72.22 is dealing with 72.22. Permit issuance, and 72.22H says specifically
(h) A permit is not required when a new dwelling is proposed to replace a previously existing dwelling when the local agency determines that the size and anticipated use of the new dwelling, as determined under § § 73.16 and 73.17 (relating to requirements for absorption areas; and sewage flows), are the same as or less than those of the previously existing dwelling and the previously existing dwelling was in use within 1 year of the anticipated date of completion of construction of the new dwelling. This exception does not apply when an active investigation of a malfunction is under way by the local agency or the Department.

Layman's term, if we had bought this house, torn it down and were building a new one on the old foundation, we would have 1 year from time of destruction to anticipated completion, not to need a permit.

IT DOESN'T APPLY TO US. We had some cosmetic remodeling on the house, but nothing, and I mean nothing that would have anything to do with the sewage, or ruin the integrity of the house.

The following Monday, we get the application for the permit. This is a copy of the following letter information.

"As I explained to you on the phone, when a sewage system is not used for more than one (1) year, but less than three years, an alternate sited for on-lot sewage is usually established before the existing system may be used.

However, since you have lived in the home for six months and I can see for the Butler County property detail map of the site that there is not any available area to establish an alternate site, we will require a system inspection, including a dye test.

Should the system pass the dye test, we will prepare, an Annual Inspection and Pumping Agreement, to be recorded with the deed and enforced by this office.

Please complete the enclosed the application and return it, with your check to this office in the envelope included by Aug. 7, 2009.

After receipt of these items, our Sewage Enforcement Officer will call to schedule testing."

The application for the permit was there as well. The application is Abandoned System Permit Application. Had we actually signed the application, we would have been literally saying, that we intended to install an on-lot system on this property. We hadn't even had the inspection yet, and they wanted us signing that we would put in a new system! After doing more research, we wouldn't have been able to meet the newer law requirements for putting in a new system. We didn't have enough land to have a septic tank more than 200 ft from property line, or the creek.

Talking to Ethan's parents, they suggested that we get in contact with a friend of theirs. He was a Constitution Rep. for Pennsylvania, knows the laws well and would be able to help us fight this.
He offered to write a letter for us to send in response to all of this. Before we were able to mail in the letter, however, he wanted to come and inspect the property himself, making sure that there weren't any signs that our system was malfunctioning or draining into the stream or causing something just as hazardous. We also bought some No Trespassing signs, normal ones and some that were brought from the friend that change trespassing from a state offense to a federal offense and the person can be fined up to $5,000 per person, plus the cost of legal fees, should they come upon our property without permission or a warrant. There were no signs of a malfunctioning system and we were given the go ahead to mail in the letter he had written.

Some of the many points that were included in this letter:

Finding out how they were notified about us in the first place.
That we didn't fit the requirements they said they had the legal right to come and inspect for.
That they were trying to force us into a "desired contract of adhesion!"(The Annual Inspection and Pumping Agreement)
That we weren't in violation of the "Clean Streams Law of Pennsylvania," according to the codes.
Who was employing them, seeing as they were an association not an Authority.
That they have no authority to my property unless I have harmed someone.
That we had no intentions of signing a binding agreement with them.
Asked if they were trying to extort money from us.
That I didn't have an abandon system.

There is a lot more involved, but this was the basic gist of everything. It was a lawful notification and they were given 30 days to respond. We sent the letter certified mail on July 27, and seeing as it is now Aug. 31, their silence is their acquiescence to our statement. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No more worrying about legal issues and huge monetary problems that could have come about this whole thing.

Switching to a toddler bed

2009-08-28T14:56:00.002-04:00

So in preparation of the new babe, I have been starting to get Mark ready to move out of the crib and into the toddler bed. Every other attempt has failed miserably, so I decided to try a new tactic. I took the side of the crib off and pushed the toddler bed right next to the crib, incase he decides to roll around too much. Well the first night of this, he didn't move from the crib, but he didn't fall out of bed, so that is a good sign. Last night, we were traveling home from Gma and Gpa Fike's and he fell asleep in the car, so Ethan put him in the toddler bed. When I went to check on him later, he was in the crib. Oh well it will take awhile. One nice thing about this transition is not having to get up to pull him out of the crib in the morning, he just toddles his way into our room and let us know it is time to get out and feed him. Work in progress. Today was payday, so I went shopping this morning and now have the house sufficiently stocked for when the baby comes. Anytime now is good for me. Though, at my last doctor's appt, she said she didn't think babe would be coming anytime this week. Guess that means for me to take advantage of the nesting and just get things done.

A sure way to commit suicide

2009-08-18T15:37:00.001-04:00

Cloth Diapers

2009-08-18T13:25:00.002-04:00

We recently decided to try out cloth diapers. I remember my mom using them on all of us kids when we were younger, and am aware of what is involved. I also know that cloth diapers have come a long ways since then. There are AIO, Pocket, liners, covers, all sorts of different kinds now. Now one of the things that was mention over and over again was that you want to use snaps for toddlers and velcro for infants. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. Last night proved me wrong. I had order a couple different kinds and was trying to see what I would like best. Last night for bed, I put Mark in a chinese fold diaper with a cover on it for the night. The cover was a velcro fastener. I went to check on him a couple hours later, only to see him completely butt naked, with the diaper outside of the crib. And yes the bedding needed to be washed. Oh well, lesson learned. I just got my other order of diapers with the snaps and already I am seeing a difference. He can't as easily pull that off. He doesn't pull of disposable diapers off, so I don't know why he felt the need to pull the cloth one off.

I don't have a whole lot to say right now, so picture time

2009-08-17T21:02:00.003-04:00

MY BOYS!

Mark's first time on the Carousel, he wasn't too impressed with it.

The dinner before Auby and Patrick's wedding.

Hanging out at the shop in Mansfield.

Goggles are awesome

2009-08-10T13:11:00.002-04:00

I am hitting the home stretch, less than 4 weeks! All my time is spent either reorganizing the baby's stuff or sleeping. Ethan has been a huge help with Mark, playing and holding him when I am not feeling up to it. The baby is starting to drop, I am able to breathe better now and the bathroom trips have increased. The biggest issue now is chronic insomnia, any suggestions would be very helpful. I seriously laid down for 4 hours two days ago and only managed to actually sleep for 45 minutes of it. We have been pretty lucky this summer, it hasn't been hot at all until the last two days. I am eternally grateful for that blessing. Not much has been happening around here. We are watching the girls for Sara at the moment, she has a job interview, cross fingers! That is all for now.

Currently...

2009-07-27T15:15:00.003-04:00

Things I cannot stand
1. The slightest movement when I am trying to sleep. This includes the cat and snoring (myself included) in any form. My sensitivity to vibrations is higher than most due to the hearing problem. I can deal with a fan going, or a washing machine, white noise stuff, but nothing else really. It drives my husband nuts. The cat has been kicked off the bed so many times because it won't hold still, and I don't really want him sleeping there. Scratches to the foot on Sunday have been the first time of retaliation. I don't currently have a door for my bedroom, so I have resorted to shutting Blackjack in the bathroom at night. I am having a hard enough time sleeping, being 6 weeks away from my due date, I don't need any distractions.

2. People who haven't been around kids in year, or if ever, and don't understand that kids are kids. They aren't neat, quiet, or patient, but in actuality curious and ingenious at discovering new ways to figure things out.

3. We are currently fighting with the Butler County Sewage Association (BCSA). I won't go into details yet, I am waiting to see their rebuttle for the letter we mailed out today.

Things that are making life great...

1. I am down to 6 weeks left! This baby will soon be here. Whereas I know it will be hard, it is always worth it. The pregnancy is almost over!!!!!

2. People that are more educated than Ethan and I are, are willing to help us fight The BCSA. I don't know what we would be doing right now without their support and help.

3. Self propelling lawn mowers. This gives more time to Ethan to do the heavy duty stuff, that I can't do, leaving me to simply guide the mower around the yard. Great exercise, without overdoing it.

4. Mark's smile and enthusiam. No matter how impatient or short I can be, his smile is always right there to cheer me up.

5. Ethan, my wonderful, diligent, supportive husband. I can't count how many times I have asked him to rub my hand, back, hips, whatever, and he just does it. Plus the work on the house, the way he works hard to take care of us. I love him.

6. A good book. It is amazing how time flies when there is a good book to be read. Reading the Work and the Glory series right now, I don't know how many times I have read it already.

7. A bath. I love taking bathes. I love being able to take a couple minutes to myself, usually reading.

New family Pics

2009-07-25T19:38:00.000-04:00

Favorite Comic Strips

2009-07-24T09:01:00.006-04:00

I grew up reading comics from the newspaper pretty much everyday from the time I learn how to read. There are some that stay with me forever. Foxtrot, Calvin and Hobbes, For Better or For Worse, Baby Blues, and Zits are the all time favorites. If you don't read them, you should.

15 Books, 15 Minutes, 15 Friends

2009-07-20T17:03:00.000-04:00

Instructions: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing your fifteen too.

1. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle

2. The Face on the Milk Carton - Caroline B. Cooney

3. Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli

4. Thy Kingdom Come Series - Linda Paulson Adams

5. Witches - Roald Dahl

6. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowlings

7. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

8. The Alliance - Gerald Lund

9. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

10. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous

11. Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali

12. The McIntyre Liar - David Bly

13. Whatever Happened to Janie - Caroline B. Cooney

14. 1984 - George Orwell

15. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

Root Canal

2009-07-14T21:17:00.003-04:00

On Monday, I went to the dentist for the first time in like 4 years. It was a local office and they were nice enough, though they didn't really tell me anything that was going on. As they were finishing, the hygienist mentioned that there was a cavity. Okay, no big deal, the dentist doesn't bother me, but as I am checking out, the receptionist was mentioning that I need to be scheduled for a root canal. Big jump from cavity. This wasn't a horrible surprise, seeing as a filling had fallen out while I was pregnant with Mark, and the molar eventually broke after he was born. I wasn't on insurance and it wasn't bothering me, so I let it pass. The receptionist scheduled me for today at 1pm. We figure we might as well get it done now.

Even so, I had no idea what was involved in a root canal process. After a little Internet research, I get the basic facts down and now understood why they wanted me to get one. If you want the details, just look it up. Anyways, today I go back in and first they do is get me an x-ray for the doctor (a different one than yesterday) to see what he need to accomplish. Apparently I am abnormal, my roots are extremely long. This made the procedure a lot longer. If that wasn't enough, apparently one of the roots was basically calcified, therefore, almost impossible to drill through. For that one, they purposely left the drill bit in there, had me go do another x-ray, so they could see how close to the end of the canal it actually was in comparison to the drill bit. Mind you, that was after he broke or wore down three other drill bits. What was supposed to be an hour long process ended up being two, with a dentist telling me he hasn't had one that difficult in a long time. GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR............. I have to go back in a week so they can put the crown on, they like to wait a week, in case there is anything they need to check on. That is a common practice from what I was reading. Seriously though, what was supposed to be a routine cleaning ends up like this? I have never been one to hate going to the dentist, but this has given me a reason to start.

His smile is the bestest!

2009-07-07T21:41:00.000-04:00

Auby's Wedding weekend

2009-07-05T22:17:00.003-04:00

Over the last weekend, my sister-in-law Aubrey got married to a good guy, Patrick, down at the D.C. Temple. It was a beautiful wedding, day and reception. Congrats to the lucky couple.

Auby and Dad dancing the Father Daughter dance.

I love reflection ponds.

Mark was not the happiest kid that day.

2009-06-25T13:01:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Mark had his 18 month check up. He is very much on the small side, but his weight for his height is appropriate, so they aren't concerned about it. He is 31 1/2 inches tall and weights 22lb 11oz. I think that put him in the 5th percentile? I don't remember. As for the actual check up, I met a newer doctor, Dr. Dobbs. She seemed very sweet, and was very patient with Mark. Mark is normally very good at these things, but it was not his day. I had to get his iron checked a couple of weeks ago and he didn't even notice they had pricked his finger, he was just fascinated with with the band aid they put on him.

Anyways, as always, when Dr. Dobbs got to the vaccination sheet, she was very surprised. There are only two shots on there. The Hib shot and one follow up. Dr. Dobbs was very polite and asked me as to why that was, and I explained to her my reasonings. I am not opposed to vaccines. I have done my research for a long time, long before Mark was born, going down to even the specific ingredients of each vaccine. If you ever want to be grossed out, read the ingredients and find out what they really are. After praying about it and truly studying the effects and what not, I came down to the conclusion that for the most part overall, vaccinations are a good thing. However, I was finding many issues with how aggressively they are administered. Many of the shots have to be repeatedly administered, mainly due to the young age. They don't effectively take hold. Many times there have been children to get the chicken pox shot, only to still receive it later as an example. Waiting until a child is older seems to be the most efficient way to guarantee, to me, the best health and protection to my child. Mark doesn't have to get as many shots over all, they take better, and I don't feel like I am allowing a boat load of foreign stuff in his system all at one time.

The proposed scheduling(http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/medical/immunization_chart.html) for shots calls for:

3 shots of Hep B before 18 months
5 shots of Dtap(Diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine) by the time the child is 6 yrs.
4 shots of Hib: Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine by 15 months
4 shots of IPV: Inactivated poliovirus vaccine by 6 yrs.
4 shots of PCV: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine by 15 months
3 shots of Rota: Rotavirus vaccine by 6 months
2 shots of MMR: Measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles) vaccine between ages 12 month to 6 yrs.
2 shots of Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine between 12 months and 6 yrs.
2 shots of Hep A: Hepatitis A vaccine; given as two shots at least 6 months apart between 12-23 months.
3 shots of HPV: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for girls, given as 3 shots over 6 months. Also recommended for girls ages 13 to 18 years if they have not yet been vaccinated. Suggested between 11-12 yrs old.
2 shots of MCV4: Meningitis vaccine; also recommended for younger children from certain high-risk groups, as well as 13- to 18-year-olds who have not yet been vaccinated. Suggested at 11-12 yrs and for college entrants.

There are many that would argue that the multiple shots are needed as extra protections for the younger the child is, due to their low immune systems. In some cases I agree, but I also know that breastfeeding also allows a lot of the same protections until the babe is about 6 months. They literally have Mommy's protection. But not all children are breastfed for various reasons.

There are so many different risk, and while many are extremely low and truly rare, I have had enough close family be seriously and permanently affected negatively by vaccines for me to know I need to be careful. Ethan himself ended up with a mild version of the measles after getting his MMR. I will not be talked into doing something I think can be willfully harmful to my child when waiting seems to be a better option. He is getting older and will slowly be getting them, one at a time, I don't care if I need to go ever other week for 4 months, I will deal with it. I think the next one will end up being Dtap, mainly because of the pertussis (whooping cough). Again, not against vaccines, just want him to be older to better be able to handle them.

Continuous remodeling

2009-06-24T14:32:00.002-04:00

The last month or so there has been a weird smell in the bathroom and we haven't been able to pinpoint the source. At first we thought, maybe its the trash can, trash cans almost never share a pleasant order, but after repeated scrub down, we knew that wasn't it. Then the seepage from under the sink appeared. We kept looking for a leak, but weren't finding one. Yesterday, Ethan and Trevor took the vanity out, and there it was, the hot water connection has been leaking, but it was actually behind the vanity, therefore we weren't seeing it. It has been happening for awhile, and there is a little mold growing, but nothing that isn't repairable. As for the vanity, it is a goner, so we went looking on Craiglist and found someone in Gibsonia selling a bigger one for $45. Yeah!!!

I love finding a good deal

2009-06-18T16:03:00.004-04:00

I love being a garage sale junkie. The money that is saved by going to these things have more than paid for the travel. Today I knew there were two nearby that I wanted to hit on Herman road.

The first one, a first timer finally cleaning out the attic, had clothes for both boys and girl from 0-3 months to size 16 and she was only asking 10 cent an item. I went to town with that deal and ended up suppling Mark for his entire 2T wardrobe. The lady seriously had 7 storage bins of just boys 2T stuff, not to mention all the other sizes. Plus the stuff was clean and organized amazingly well. No hint of a smoker in the house or animals. They had some sets of dishes out as well, plastic and rainbow colored. After this last move and my clumsiness, I am down to only a few actual glass glasses. Plus with people staying with us for Auby's wedding, we needed more than just 8 plates to get through the week. Also got Mark a life vest for swimming, clothes and shoes for the baby, and my lucky find for the day consisted of two large containers of Linkin' Logs. All in all I walked away with 7 walmart bags full of clothes and shoes, a complete set of dishes, and the boxes of Linkin' Logs.

The second one was a flea market deal with a church. I am not particularly fond of going to these. They usually ended up being junk that old people should have thrown out 20 years ago. But I did manage to find some canning jars for $1 a box and a couple of chapter books that I enjoyed as a preteen. For an hour's worth of looking and driving, and $20, I did well.

P.S. I have this random stray cat that has been living out my living room window for the last three days, anyone want it? It is black and white, looks like it is about 6 months, very sweet, gets along with Blackjack just fine. I just don't want another cat, but this one seems prefect for a family with kids.

When mommy is getting dress, I entertain myself...

2009-06-18T11:42:00.001-04:00

I am just about to leave for work, and just finished showering, only to come downstairs to this lovable mess. No more leaving the cornstarch with the diaper stuff (cornstarch has been the fastest way for me to get rid of a diaper rash for him).

Remodeling again

2009-06-17T22:11:00.002-04:00

The bedrooms are almost done with hanging of the drywall! The nursery is finished, and Mark's room just needs drywall on the chimney. The screws we have for that won't go through the brick, so we need to get special kind before that is finished. As annoying as the remodeling project usually are, I am please with the results. There was a lot more drywall than needed, so we are also going to get the hallway done while we are doing everything else. The rooms look a lot better, you can't see the previous water damage anymore, now it looks more like padded walls. Now onto mudding, then paint! I don't know what to paint the nursery, but we will come up with something soon. I doubt that will happen before the wedding, but I hope at least the nursery gets painted before the baby is born. I want to get the baby stuff put where it should go instead of staying in storage. Mark's room just isn't as much a priority since he is fine where he is.

Rather funny...

2009-06-13T18:58:00.003-04:00

This morning everyone needed showers. I was done first and Mark had just finished with me. I go to get dressed and left Mark in the bathroom with Ethan in the shower. The door is open and as I am walking back to the bathroom with his diaper, I see Mark holding Blackjack. As I get closer, he throws Blackjack into the tub. Mind you the shower is still going. Poor thing got soaked instantly. Mark had the biggest grin on his face. I felt so bad for Blackjack. Ethan, still showering says to look at Blackjack. Blackjack can jump out of the tub if he has a running start, but seeing as everything was wet, it made it very differcult and he kept sliding back down into the tub. Again I felt horrible for Blackjack, but the site was absolutely hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing. Grabbing a towel and pulling Blackjack out quickly seemed to calm him down fast. Drying him off then letting him run around again, he headed back to the bathroom again. Mark is still there and tries to do it again. Luckily I caught him this time. Hopefully Blackjack will catch on soon that shower time is the time to avoid the bathroom, especially if Mark can grab him.

Winners!!!

2009-06-13T09:49:00.004-04:00

Stanley Cup winner! What a year for Pittsburgh, Superbowl and Stanley Cup, has that ever happened in another town? And people make fun of us for the sport's pride in this town, well I think it has paid off. Can I just laugh at Hossa, stupid fool, he never did manage to score againg the Pens. giggles are all around....

I didn't think I was getting old quite yet...

2009-06-10T09:04:00.002-04:00

I had a doctor's appt yesterday and all is going well. My doctor is actually a midwife and it has been very common to see someone shadowing her. Its been like that for the last 4 months. Well the guy that was with her yesterday, I recognized him. I knew I had seen him before, took me until I was setting up my next appt to realize where I recognized him from. High school, I remember him in high school, not only that, but he was a grade below me. Am I completel off base thinking that he is a little young to start internships or rotations whatever he was doing was called? Most people I know from my class have just finished their 4 year degrees as of this year. Him being a year younger, is making me think that he shouldn't be in Med school yet? He definitely wasn't training as a nurse. Oh well, maybe he was Doogie Howsering it a bit.

As for the doctor's appts, they are now being moved from once a month to every two weeks, meaning I am moving a long fine, weight gain has been okay, only 5 lbs over what my prepregancy weight was,(I dropped 10 lbs the first trimester) baby is active and kicking. I have another ultrasound set up, they had some concerns they just wanted to double check, and it is time for the rhogam shot. And last but not least, no more stupid glucose test, unless they find something later. I despise the glucose test, last pregnancy I had to do the three hour test twice, luckily this time I have only had to do the one hour twice. Babe is growing nicely, and I am finally showing enough that people aren't as embarrassed to ask me when the baby is due. I like this stage, I no longer look like I might be pregnant or just gained weight, they can't tell.

Lack of sleep...

2009-06-08T10:34:00.002-04:00

Being 27 weeks preggers has started to make sleeping a little harder. It is to be expected, and I am doing what I can to stay asleep, you know, using the extra pillow, not drinking an hour or two before bed, stuff like that.

What I didn't count on being a problem was Blackjack. He has decided that our bed is his bed too. Despite the multiple toss off the bed, he still doesn't seem to catch on. I don't have a door for my room, due to really weird size doors that were in there originally, that had to be ripped out when we were doing dry wall. Plus that door didn't actually shut either. Baby gates he finds an amusing toy, and after seeing his height for jumping, it would take about two seconds for him to be done with a solid babygate.

I am a firm believer that animals do not share the beds with their owners. Plus I do have a small allergy to cats and where as I am getting more immune to him everyday, I don't really want him behind my head cuddling with my pillow, which he attempted to many a times last night. Plus with the new babe coming, I know she will spend a lot of time in my bed. New baby and cats don't always mix. Sometimes they do, but seeing as I don't know what he will be like with the baby, I don't want to take a chance. Grrr....

I have tried locking him into rooms for the night, and every room that has been tried with, Blackjack has successfully escaped from, how, I don't have a clue. I keep waking up during the night to find him on my bed. I love the cat, but sleeping is getting annoying.

Remodeling...

2009-06-05T10:44:00.003-04:00

With the upcoming nuptial of Aubrey(sis-in-law) and Patrick, there will be lots of family in town 4th of July weekend. Since there is room to spare at my house, we will be housing some of them and I am excited about it. This is finally giving us the push in the pants that we need to get the other two bedrooms finished. The biggest thing that was stopping us was that we needed to put in a new window in each of the rooms before we can drywall the walls and ceiling. Well Ethan and Dad got that done last Saturday and tonight, assuming that the storage room/nursery is cleared out enough to work in, the ceilings will be worked on. Yeah, we are progressing!

I am excited to see Mark in his own room that I don't have to worry about waking him up at night when I am trying to finish the laundry! We had already picked out colors for Mark's room, but I am not sure what color to paint the baby's room. I know the baby is a girl, but I am not a paint the room pink or purple kind of person. I don't mind pink or purple, I just don't want it on my walls. I am thinking a pastel yellow or a peach color, but I am not sure. I had a bedroom that was a peach color before and I loved it. But I am really leaning towards a duck theme for the nursery. Oh well, time will tell.

I am looking for a couple of things for the bedrooms, a twin bed mattress and frame (frame optional), two dressers, and a toy box. If you see any and live close to me, let me know.

2009-06-01T23:05:00.003-04:00

We decided on Blackjack for the kitten. Why? It loves to sit on your shoulder, and I mean loves too. This reminded us of Pirate of the Carribean with the monkey, Jack, and since it is black, Blackjack. We had every intention of blocking him into the kitchen at night until he is litter box trained, but about two seconds after I turned off the light, it is back on Ethan's lap trying to get to his dinner. I put him back in the kitchen then watched as he scaled the giant baby gates I have in place. This is going to make it little more differcult. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Destruction equals new life in my household...

2009-06-01T15:05:00.003-04:00

When we moved into our house, we knew that we were going to encounter mice. That is what happens when you live in the country area. They had a nest in the kitchen ceiling that was discovered with when we pulled the ceiling out. That was a surprise, Ethan is standing there with the crowbar, ripping out plaster and suddenly, three squirmy things hit the floor and start running. Mice do not scare me, but I absolutely hate them. I do not scream or anything like that when I see them, but try to find the quickest way to be rid of them.

Having a child that is willing to get into anything makes it harder when choosing mouse traps. You don't want to leave poison, he could easily find it, you don't want the snap trap, then go to the emergency room explaining broken fingers, so we have been using the sticky traps. Not the most effective but they have caught 4 mice for us so far.

Today, I caught two, one was like almost dead and just sitting there on the dining room floor, and the other got stuck in the trap. I am not sympathic when it comes to rodents, especially in my house. Outside they can live, inside, they die.

Ethan and I have seriously considered getting a cat, but the biggest fight against that is my allergies. Yet, I have proved that I can become immune to certain cats. I adopted a cat when I left Colorado a couple of years and had no problems with her while I was living at home. We figured that if we got a young kitten, I would probably do better with it than a full grown one. Not as much hair, smaller, that sort of thing.

Well as luck would have it, my in-laws have have cats. Lots of cats, due in particular to one, named Agrippa. I don't think I have ever seen her during the spring and summer months not pregnant or nursing. Well she had four, a little before Easter, and now we have adopted the little black one. Alycia had named it Bageria, after the panther in Jungle book, but Ethan and I have not decided if that will be its name. We are pretty sure it is a boy though.

New toy

2009-05-29T17:00:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to say thank you Grandma Fike, he loves the rocking horse!

Utah trip

2009-05-23T19:23:00.005-04:00

I have been on vacation! My friend Kate and I went out to Utah for a week and had a blast. We visited friends and family, and did some site seeing. The pictures explain most of them. None of the pictures are in order, so enjoy the randomness.

My friend, Sarah is getting married in June, but we were out here to see her bridal shower. Here she is opening my gift, home pregnancy test in a must in my gifts.

We had a chance to catch up with an old friend who used to live in our home ward, Brittany, we had such a good time seeing her. It had been 7 years, since Kate and Brit last saw each other.

We had a small party at Em's place with some of the old Remington girls,( my last apt before getting married) and made the best dessert, Italian sodas! Kate and I ended up having them two more time this trip.

Just chilling with the girls.

Sarah and I after her bridal shower.

We went to church with Brit and her family, then went to lunch afterwards. It was a great blast from the past talking about what has happened to the ward since they moved out.

Brit and her husband Andy, with Kate and I.

We went up to BYU-I to visit Kate's sister Audrey. This was my fav. shot of these two.

Kate making fun of my belly. I am 24 weeks along!

After doing baptisms at the Salt Lake Temple, we saw the Joseph Smith movie in the J. S. Memorial building, then decided to treat ourselves to the Garden Restaurant on top of the J. S. Memorial building. It was amazing view and food.

Touring the Visitor's Center.

Having fun on Temple Grounds.

SLC temple at twilight.

My Aunt and Uncle told us about being able to see the Motab practicing in the Tabernacle on Thursday night, so we went to see them. It was weird not seeing them look alike.

Sarah had dress fitting, and since I won't be here for the wedding, I got to see what her dress is like. I thought it was beautiful.

Aunt Laura, Kate, kids, and I got to do was go shopping! I was in need of summer maternity clothes, Mark was born right before Christmas. I love having an excuse to shop.

We hit the Provo temple, Kate did baptisms and I did initatories.

Our first night there, we went to Leatherby's and had some of the best ice cream. Mine was a chocolate raspberry brownie thing.

When we made the car reservation for the trip, I signed up for an economy car. I wanted something good on gas, and something cheap. When we got there, the rental guy walked us up and seriously said " here is your economy minivan". I wasn't too please, but having worked in a car rental business before, I have had to do that to other people. I figured we could last a couple of days with the van, but we would need to switch out to a smaller car before leaving for BYU-I. Two days later we switched to a Kia Rio. Kate kept calling it our clown car because of how small it was. I think it was the right size, it fit me.

I am such a Mom...

2009-05-04T18:00:00.001-04:00

This last week, our well used dryer went completely on the fritz. The motor was over heating, no matter what setting it was on, and therefore not rotating. Ethan and I had been dicussing getting a new one, and oddly enough I was the one doing the major researching this time. Normally Ethan has a lot of down time at work and does the computer researching. But when it comes to the chore of laundry, I am the one that does it. Ethan and I fully when know what chore the other hates, mine is dishes, and his is laundry. So Ethan let me get a dishwasher, making life much easier. I hate the feeling of the food in the dishwater, it really grosses me out. As for laundry, it is not a chore I mind. I actually kind of enjoy it. I can sit there and watch a little t.v. while folding, usually after Mark is asleep. Down time that is still productive.

After going through many different specifications as to what I want, it came down to price, size - 7.0 or larger (need to accommodate for growing family size), if possible a stainless steel drum, and as an added bonus as many features that can possibly be added without jacking up the price. The stainless steel drum to deal with our severe heavy iron problem in our well water. The other stuff would have stained eventually. As for features, that is pretty self explanatory. This was the best deal of them all http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100498354.

They will be delivering, installing, and hauling away the old for free! Five years ago, I couldn't have cared less, it is amazing what makes me excited now. The only downfall is that it won't get here until May 12, which is the day I leave for Utah, meaning I won't see my latest appliance until May 20th when I get home. I am such a Mom

Yard sales

2009-04-25T11:34:00.002-04:00

So I went Yard saling for the first time this year, this weekend. Yesterday was a total bust, but today made up for that. I am really finicky about how much I pay for something, and can't stand going to the sales that people are trying to sell 50 cent things for $5. When shopping I am mainly looking for some baby clothes, for the new babe, toys and clothes for Mark to grow into, books for any age, my children's book collection would put many to shame, and I am proud of it. I don't just do the toddler stuff either, it is anything from babies to learn to read, young adults to adults, anything. Once in a while there will be some other things I need to look for, like now I am shopping for a toddler bed, two chest of drawers, things like that to put in the kids rooms. Well today I manage to grab two bar stools for our kitchen island - $5, multiple Church clothes for Mark - $4, 6 tennis ball for my ball happy son - $2, 7 books - $4, and a new baby jumper(I have one, but I really don't like it very much) - $3, and for the grand finale............... a used piano for $20, and the best part about that, they are delivering it here for free! I have been after a piano since we got rid of the one we had, no way was it going to be okay after a couple of months of storage, so we gave it to some one else. I am estatic about this find.

THE NEW TOY

2009-04-24T03:24:00.003-04:00

Ethan is very very happy here is what he got

pictures

2009-04-23T20:36:00.004-04:00

They are very good at entaining themselves.

First real Easter egg hunt.

His' "Oh really" look.

I am ready to be a big brother.

2009-04-23T20:15:00.002-04:00

Last night I went to the church for Activity Days, I am one of the leaders. Well, my other partners weren't able to help out, one was sick and the other had a meeting for scouts she needed to attend. There were only three girls that showed up last night, we have five regularly.

Anyways, we were doing this engineering activity involving playdoh, bendy straws, and paper cups. They are supposed to build a structure that will hold the cup above the ground, and we fill the cups up with pennies and see who's can hold the most. They weren't see each others work until everyone was done. So I had them split up around the primary room. Frieda (she cracks me up on regular basis) decides to claim the piano for her working area. I didn't think much of it, but oh well. So I give them 15 min. to work on their towers. Terry and Heather had very similar projects, but then there is Frieda. When she claimed the piano, I had no idea that she was actually going to incorporate it. She puts half of her playdoh in the cup and has the straws bent over the edge of the piano with the other half of the playdoh holding them to the piano. The straws are then shoved into what playdoh in the cup. Just looking at it you knew it wasn't going to hold anything. Honestly the cup itself kept falling off. Frieda keeps messing with it to no avail. The other two had long ago finished and we were just waiting for Frieda. I had to use the bathroom, so I tell Frieda that she has until I get back from the bathroom to finish. I get out of the stall, and there is Terry standing there. She starts, very poorly I might add, trying to keep me from going back. They conspired to keep me there for as long as possible. They are 9 years old! By the time I am "allowed" back into the room, Frieda had completely changed her tower. I couldn't believe they conspired against me. I love these girls, and they constantly amuse me.

2009-04-20T18:31:00.002-04:00

So I have been realizing that besides the normal grouchy-ness or extreme hyper-ness, Mark has develope a new symptom when he is tired. He hits his head more often on objects that he has long ago learned to go around, he falls to the floor, reverts to crawling anytime he falls. He has an equilibrium problem. Is this common with your children?

Old grumpy men and their wives...

2009-04-16T12:01:00.002-04:00

I work part-time at the cheap movie theater in town, and have on and off for about 4 years. I like anyone else who deals with the public have had some amazing customers, some fickle, rude, demanding, arrogant, happy, funny, and any other adjective you wish to inject here. Yesterday I was working my normal Wednesday afternoon shift. Wednesdays, we are open all day and it is our $2.50 bargain day. Tickets, popcorn, and drinks deals are all $2.50 each. The normal crowd usually consist of older people, especially when we have movies like "Gran Torino".

Anyways this older couple, I'd say about late 50's come in, husband goes to the bathroom and wife comes to get the tickets from me. She buys the tickets, a drink, and gets two bags of popcorn, one for each of them. Hubby comes back out and she hands him his popcorn and after she is done putting some popcorn salt on her's, she offers it to him. Our popcorn salt is orange, and many people think its cheese. Very common happening. He just stares at it, then ask her if she is sure that its is salt, and not cheese, she and I both assure him that its is just salt. I am getting a very grumpy man vibe at this time and know, that pretty much anything I do isn't going to satify the guy. He then ask why is its orange, and his wife promptly tells him " Because they are trying to poison you", then turns and walks away. I was trying hard not to laugh at him. I love that she just told him off, and made him realize he was being ridiculous. I love the wives that know exactly how to deal with grumpy husbands.

Ultrasound results

2009-04-07T10:11:00.002-04:00

Everything is looking great for baby number 2! We found out it is going to be a girl this time! No permanent choice on a name, but we have some ideas.

Things I love about being Mark's mom...

2009-04-06T17:12:00.003-04:00

1. When he is soooo tired, he sees me, gives me just enough of a smile for me to watch his eyes roll back into his head.

2. That he loves playing with any type of ball. The other day we spent a half hour on the stairs, him at the top, me at the bottom, tossing a tennis ball to each other.

3. He doesn't have a normal giggle, he does this shriek laugh instead.

4. Even if I have put him to bed crying, and he is still crying when I check on him much later, he continues to smile even more at me.

5. He loves going to Daddy! (I love that he is will to give me a break.)

6. He is a not a screamer, even in the worst of circumstances. He can scream, but it usually quickly subsides.

7. His love for falling asleep in the car, two seconds before we reach our destination.

8. Whenever he throws something down now, he says " oohhhh!" I think he is trying to say geronimo, Ethan and I say it all the time when we play together.

9. He doesn't need my help to find entainment most of the time.

10. He always want to go outside. This is an excellent sign to me.

11. He will and can fall asleep in other people's arms, but not mine.

12. When we play volleyball at the church on Tuesday nights, he always wants to get on the court and play with us.

13. He will sleep through the night very well, and if he wakes up, he goes back to sleep on his own.

14. After bathtime, when I put him on our bed to get his diaper on, he always takes off the other side while I am getting his diaper. Then nicely sits on Daddy's pillow butt-naked waiting for me to come get him, before there is a need to wash the pillow. He always sits on Daddy's pillow, not mine, yeay!

15. He loves to talk, babble, whatever it is right now. I have no idea if he is trying to form words or not.

For you Dedra....

2009-03-25T22:18:00.002-04:00

Dedra, you wanted to see what had been done to walls to make me ask for advice. It was done in permanent black marker, by an artistic 2 year old. I have tried dry erase marker, magic eraser, that just gets rid of all layer until you can see the drywall again, and every kind of cleaner I have. Nothing is removing it, but I figure this gives us a push to finish painting the rest of the room. We left the one wall blank so we could do a darker version of what is already there, so there would be a nice contrast. Now we are thinking about switching which wall will be going darker.

2009-03-25T22:06:00.002-04:00

Today is my Mother's 60th birthday! Happy birthday Mom. Alan, my little brother got Mom a full-size body pillow that she had been wanting. The video is just showing how much fun Alan and Mark had enjoying it. I hope you all enjoy it! I love it. I haven't laugh so hard in a long time.

advise

2009-03-16T18:45:00.002-04:00

Any suggestiong for the removal of permanent marker on walls would greatly be appreciated.

Pictures

2009-03-06T22:15:00.004-05:00

Last week Friday, two of my best girlfriends and I went and got some pictures taken of us at JCPenney's just for fun. Kate, the brunette, and I have known each other since she was born pretty much and have stayed pretty tight the whole time. Sara, the red head, and I have been best friends since she turned 12, and came into Young Women's, we are now sister-in-laws due to me marrying Ethan, her older brother. We have been best buds for a long time, and we wanted to get the pictures done for posterity sake. We have been friends through just about everything, death, separations, marriage, births, college, and so on. With the exception of Ethan, there are no two other people I would want around me through the toughest times. Except maybe Alan. He is a story for another day.

Kate is a very busy and ambitious person, who is constantly on the go. She is going to school for Music Therapy with a minor in Spanish. She is a bargain shopper, and a fantastic dresser. She had 30 minutes to get a shower, get dressed, clothes were still wet from the washer and she manages to look this impressive. She has been a very outgoing, talkative, sarcastic, and blunt all her life. We have worked together and surprised others with our banter to the point that our manager was wondering why I wasn't offended when Kate commented on me being "deaf". Her response was, "She is!" I just laughed.

Sara and I got to know each other at a sleepover in Young Women's and needed makeover partners. She was the one that details of boys and just general being a teenager, were discussed with. She got married and has two daughters, and now is a wonderful mommy buddy, of who I am constantly talking to about about kids. She is attending school and working her butt off to finish to support herself and her girls. She has the grits to do what needs done.

Super belated pictures from the Superbowl. Mark was hanging out with two of his cousins, Kira and Ari. These are the two girls I watch regularly during the week. We start fan brainwashing at an early age for the Steelers.

2009-02-27T00:23:00.002-05:00

WHY WE CARRY... be sure and keep up with HR45. it is a gun bill that may come up for a vote. with the people in power, it may just pass.

PEOPLE ASK WHY?
I don't carry a gun because I hate the government. I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone. I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and Not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.

Police Protection is an oxymoron. Free citizens must protect themselves.Police do not protect you from crime, they usually just investigate the Crime after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess. They can not be everywhere and protect everything and everyone. We don't expect teachers to raise our children, we can not expect people to protect everyone. There simply isn't enough manpower, and frankly, we should be willing and able to take care of ourselves.

A LITTLE GUN HISTORY

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953,about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were roundedup and exterminated.--------------------

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up andexterminated.------------------------------

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a totalof 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves wererounded up and exterminated.--------------

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 millionpolitical dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded upand exterminated------------------------------

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up andexterminated.---- ------------- -------------

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up andexterminated.------------------------------

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, onemillion educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded upand exterminated.-----------------------------

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Centurybecause of gun control: 56 million.------------------------------

It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forcedby new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed bytheir own Government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than$500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:

List of 7 items:

Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent.Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.620 percent.Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in,the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease inarmed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in thepast 12 months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults ofthe ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how publicsafety has decreased, after such monumental effort, and expense wasexpended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. TheAustralian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.

You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind themof this history lesson.

With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because theyknew most Americans were ARMED!

The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in just defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.
SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN! SWITZERLAND 'S GOVERNMENTTRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE. SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!IT'S A NO BRAINER! DON'T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAXDOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.

I'm a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment!

Joys of little boys...

2009-02-23T11:30:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, Sara was throwing a Scentsy party at my house. There were a fair amount of adults and little kids there. Not a problem, I have toys and there is room to run around now. About half way through the party, someone informed me there was problem with the toilet. Lovely, it couldn't happen while it was just Ethan, Mark, and I hanging out at home, no, in the middle of the party. They had tried to flush and the water level wasn't going down. No overflowing thankfully. Out comes the plunger. Spend a good amount of time with that, and water level come down, but there is obviously something in the way. Many thanks for people who helped me!

I didn't know what to do, so I start IMing Ethan at work asking him. Not much he can do, he is stuck at work until 10pm. I asked him if he wanted me to go buy one of those toilet augers, or snake things to see if that helps. Tells me no, that he can probably get it taken care of when he gets home. Fine, no problem. After picking him up and his failed attempts, we finally say, we'll worry about it later tomorrow.

Next morning, before church, Ethan takes the toilet off, in hopes that whatever the stupid thing is, will be right there, and problem solved. Not the case, but we needed to get going to church. After church, we hit Home Depot and pick up an auger and wax seal. Immediately set out to revive the toilet. Tried going through the top, no such luck, I am holding the toilet now, and Ethan is seeing if we can get the item out from the bottom. After about 5 minutes, the auger itself it stuck in the toilet. Spend about 15 more minutes just fighting the toilet to free the auger, so we can at least try something new. I get tired of holding it, and ask if we can turn it on its side. Ethan agrees and voila' the auger has been freed with a few tugs. We are both starving, so we sit it back up and hear the miracleous sound of "clink" and open the top. We can see something, so down the stairs for gloves and now we can see the wonderful present Mark left for us in the toilet.

Its a candle lid.

Now, the one is the pictures is not the same one that was pulled out. That got pitched. But just so you have an idea. We thought we had been pretty good about keeping the bathroom door close, but apparently not.

2009-02-20T19:58:00.001-05:00

I love watching little kids dance!!!!

2009-02-18T23:04:00.000-05:00

1. Have eaten alligator, emu, barimundi, and kangeroo meat. I have also eaten camel a half hour after riding one.

2. Have swam in the Great Barrier Reef.

3. Gone Hot air ballooning at dawn.

4. Dove's Raspberry Dark Chocolate cover Caramels are my all time favorite candy.

5. Ridden an Elephant.

6. Am allergic to all fur-bearing animals, with the exception of rabbits and sheep. Even though,
sheep don't have actual fur.

7. During my senior year, I was incharged of the flys for the high school musical. While doing "Anything Goes" I hit the male lead with the Brig (boat's jail), on opening night.

8. Have worn hearing aids from the age of 2. Hearing loss is considered moderately severe. 20% loss in my right ear, and 25% loss in my left.

9. My hearing loss is suspected of being a congenital defect, but we don't know for sure.

10. Use lip reading to help make out what people are saying on a regular basis. If you are facing the opposite direction as me, 90% chance, I won't make out what you are saying. Forget it, if you are in another room.

11. I will encourage anyone to have at least one summer working away from home, doing something they have never done before. www.coolworks.com is great site for that. That is how I got my dude ranch job in Colorado.

12. Have seen a Humpback whale in the Pacific Ocean.

13. Have swam in both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.

14. Know how to use a whip properly.

15. Favorite Christmas gift was a .22 semiautomatic rifle from Ethan our first Christmas together.

16. Favorite book is usually whatever book I just finished.

17. I love going to garage sales. Mark's books and toys can almost all be contributed to garage sales.

18. "The Face on the Milk Carton" and " Whatever Happen to Janie" by Caroline B. Cooney were my favorite books as a young teen.

19. My baby toe nails' are the size of a baby's. I swear Mark's were bigger at birth than mine are.

20. Slept outside in negative temperatures. Will never do that again.

21. Don't mind doing laundry, but hate putting it away.

22. First initial reaction to seeing Mark when he was born was," Conehead". He seriously looked like he had two brains in his skull. I was glad that went back to normal in just a couple of days.

23. Tried talking Ethan out of buying a king-sized bed when we were looking at mattresses, and now am forever grateful he stood his ground. I love my bed.

24. Ducktales, Chip'n'Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, and Gummi Bears are my favorite cartoons.

25. Hate how ironic my due date is. Its Labor Day.

2009-02-16T22:04:00.003-05:00

Here are some more updated picutres of the house, now that we are a little more finished.

We dry walled over the plaster walls, to help insulate better. There is no insulation, just two solid pieces of wood for the exterior wall. The windows are new as well as the cabinets, stove, and refridgerator. The floor will be the next thing done, I am not a hundred percent sure what color it will be, but it will be something new.

I need to do a new comparison shot with this room in particular. When we bought the place, this room had a tub and toilet. You could see the outside walls, and there was nothing on the floor. We have since tiled, installed a new toilet, insulated and hung drywall, add the towel bar and hook, as well as put that giantic hole in the wall.

Oh and as a present for Valentine's day, the gift of a door, kind of seen in the picture, was installed. This may seem kind of lame, but this is easily the best present I have received in a long time. PRIVACY!!! from little boy, plus no more random opening of the toilet to discover what recent toy he decided just had to go in. His current favorite is to get the dirty diapers from the trash and throw them in. Luckily, the toilet handle has to be turned up to flush, not down. He hasn't figured that part out yet.

Better view of bedroom completed. New drywall, and fresh paint can do wonders.

You can see in the mirror the big hole that was put in, it is there on purpose. The laundry room is on the other side, and when we get the cabinets ordered, they will be installed in the hole and I will have a built in laundry shute, and the cabinet will be dual side opening. This is going to make laundry so much easier.

Another shot of the bedroom.

Ethan grouted the tile for the fireplace as well for Valentine's Day. And no, that is not the normal use for the treadmill, we threw a family birthday party last night and wanted to make sure there was enough room for everyone, and that little kids didn't try to play on it, so on the toys went.

I am trying to show how cool the black granite tiles really are, when the fireplace is going, you can see the reflection of the flames on it.

Voila' that is the end of today tour, come again, and we will show you more someday!

Margaret needs

2009-02-11T23:00:00.002-05:00

You just google "(Your First Name) needs" and check out the first ten links that come up! It can be pretty funny and sometimes true, as you can see! Here's mine...

1. “Margaret needs to know what the heck a2 - 2ab cosq + b2 is all about.” Yeah, I really need to know that.

2. Margaret needs to be admitted. I disagree. I may not fit everyone's definition of normal, but I don't think I need to be admitted.

3. Margaret needs a tech makeover. Well Ethan would probably agree with that one.

4. Margaret needs your help for speech therapy. I did take speech in Elementary school. Couldn't hear myself saying s's.

5. Margaret Needs Us. I don't think I want to know who us is.

6. Margaret needs a collar with a bell on Flickr. Ummmmm........

7. Margaret needs someone to talk to, but, who??? Somedays I could agree with that.

8. Margaret needs a blog. Already have one.

9. Margaret' Needs More Laughs' I'll accept that one.

10. Margaret needs our prayers. I won't say no.

2009-02-06T18:12:00.000-05:00

He is going to hate me later. Hehe.

Superficial, but annoying

2009-02-06T16:38:00.002-05:00

A couple of months ago, I did something to my right hand thumbnail. Smash it, hit, bumped it, I don't know, I don't remember. Because of this random injury, I now have, what appears to be, two separate nails. It is split all the way down past the cuticle line. And I mean split, they both grow at different pace. That is right, it keeps growing. Now the split is not in the middle, conveniently it is off to the far left side, therefore not as noticeable. But with it being split, it means I catch it on everything, my clothes, my gloves, my son's diaper, my blankets, Ethan's hair, my hair, anything.

Plus, it looks ugly. I am very proud of my nails and the way the look. I was a nail biter until 6th grade, then after 3 attempts, I managed to quit. Since then they have grown strong and have great shape.

Therefore with it being ugly, misshapen, and a general pain, I am asking for any suggestions on how to fix it. Nail polish isn't strong enough to keep the split sealed. I have tried superglueing it, but I want something a littl more permanent. The only idea that seems to be left in my mind is smash my nail enough that it turns black and just falls off and hope a nice new one grows in its place. Problems with that is, I am a wuss when it comes to pain, and that idea holds no appeal to me whatsoever. Suggestions would be appreciated.

Couple of thoughts about the game

2009-02-02T08:38:00.002-05:00

1. Learned that Sara's baby, Ari, can sleep through even the loudest screams.
2. Really think Harrison could have won the MVP, if he hadn't gone punching the other team, causing a penalty.
3. Didn't realize how tense my stomach muscle were getting until after the game was over.
4. Mr. and Mrs. Potato ad, absolutely hysterical, there were some other good ones as well, but its early and I don't remember.
5. Harrison will never have his record-setting 100 yd interception return ever beaten, matched, yes, beaten, you can't beat the max
6. The Cardinals played an amazing game, they have every right to be disappointed, but no right to be ashamed with the outstanding game that was performed.
7. Oh, and last but not least, Pittsburgh won the Superbowl!!

Bath time

2009-01-30T21:56:00.002-05:00

I love taking baths. I love the warm water and just relaxing with a good book. Well, Mark likes baths too. If he is awake when I am taking one, chances are he is with me. He is at the stage of throwing things in and out of the bathtub, whether or not there is water. He loves just playing in the bathroom in general.

Tonight, he had just woken up from a nap, when I was getting ready to get in. So normal procedure consist of waiting until the water has stopped running, before removing his diaper, otherwise I spend the next 10 minutes cleaning up his pee. I like my bath water hot, so I normally get in before I let him in, making sure it is a suitable temp. for Mark. Normally, I mean normally, he is jumping in excitement, holding on to the edge of the tub waiting to get in. Tonight was not so. I get in and turn around to grab him, and all I see is his naked butt waddling out, holding onto his blanket. I figured he would be back in two seconds. Not so. He heads to my room, then comes back enough for him to be in view. I smile at him and encourage him to come in. He gives his shriek giggle that he has, and runs away back to my room. Comes back again, 3 seconds later, makes it to the doorway this time, I smile, he giggles and runs away. He is still naked mind you. So I am getting concern about him being completely able to pee at his own freewill. I have attempted to get of the tub to get him each time, but everytime I do, he starts heading back. This senario repeats another three times, each time getting a little closer. I finally trick him with a toy, getting him close enough that I don't have to get out of the tub. (I really hate getting out of the tub once I am in.)

This whole evening made me laugh. I love that he is walking and is being a normal little boy. He has, in my biased opinion, the cutest smile and laugh, that will almost get him out of any trouble. I pity others who aren't able to understand the joy of a little child.

Pregnancy

2009-01-29T21:18:00.002-05:00

In case you haven't heard, I am pregnant again. Yes, this was planned, I want Mark and his siblings to relatively close in age, but at least a year between pregnancies. My main rule was that I needed to stop nursing for at least 3 months before becoming pregnant again. Mark weaned himself at 9 months.

I found out the same day we moved into the house, Jan. 1. What a way to start off the new year! I am about 8 weeks along and doing pretty well. Milk is absolutely forbidden, according to my stomach, but other than that, morning sickness is keeping pretty mild. Morning sickness was practically nonexistent with Mark. That has been a blessing, for I despise, hate, abhore, whatever word means the worst, throwing up. I will do anything to avoid it.

Oh well I am far more confident over this pregnancy than I was with Mark. Now I have experience, and have a far better idea of what to expect and what I want to do. Hey, this time I will actually know when I am having real contractions. Last time, I kept thinking I was getting the Bracken-Hicks, so it was quite the surprise when my water broke. Its nice knowing what I truly need to take with me to the hospital this time, and I already have all the equipment this time. I will probably stay at home longer this time before leaving to the hospital. They say to go to the hospital when the water breaks, right away. Well we did that, and when we got there, I was a whopping 1 cm. It was a slow process. I was so hoping I would be like Ness and water breaks, and there is the baby pretty much right after. Nope, no such luck. Well if anything is really different this time, it will be the sex of the baby. I just hope everything is as easy as Mark has been. Crossing fingers.

25 things you didn't know about me

2009-01-28T22:03:00.001-05:00

25. I have never had a boyfriend. Ethan and I went straight from being friends to being engaged. I wisely never went out more than 3x exclusively with any of the guys I dated.

24. I have lived in 4 different states. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, and Colorado.

23. While living in Colorado, I worked on a dude ranch. Yes I helped herd cattle, as well as other stuff.

22. Very rarely eat beef. I just don't like it.

21. I don't like cooking that much, but absolutely love my Betty Crocker cookbook.

20. My wedding band is a CTR ring, that we picked up after the wedding, on the way home.

19. Absolutely hate, hate, hate wintertime. Like right now, I hate snow, I hate being wet, cold, and seeing my breath when I breath. I hate the lack of sun, and snow blindness. I hate bad weather. My firm opinion for snow is that we need it for Christmas and Christmas break, you know the time kids are out of school? Then it needs to go back up to at least 60, if not 70 degrees.

18. Heat over cold anyday, rather be in a humid hot summer, than freezing in January.

17. Feb. is my least favorite month. I feel like it is the longest month of the year. Refer back to 19 for hatred of this month.

16. Favorite piece of jewelry, outside of my engagement ring, is a piece of brass ring that turns my finger green, but I love it. I would love someday to get a ring made identical to it.

15. I love my fingernails, I am very proud of them looking nice majority of the time.

14. Love my naturally curly hair.

13. I learned to drive a manual in Colorado, and have been driving one ever since I got married.

12. Think that fish and little dogs are the most worthless animals on the planet. Only slight above them are hermit crabs and rats.

11. Find grabbing a blanket, a good book, and cup of hot chocolate, extremely relaxing.

10. Truly enjoy playing volleyball.

9. Was taking a trip home for two weeks, when Ethan proposed. When I came back to Utah, I surprised just about everyone. No one was expecting it.

8. I love shopping, only when I already know what I want, and where it is already. I get annoyed really quickly otherwise.

7. I hate when people use too much syrup on pancakes or waffles.

6. I hate mice, but not because they are furry rodents, but because they annoyed the living daylights out of me.

5. I will lay on the floor with a pillow and blanket and let Mark climb all over me, while trying to get another 20 minutes of sleep.

4. Oreos without milk are a sin.

3. I hate it when people think that I got knocked up before I got married.

2. I would rather be barefoot than wear the cutest shoes.

1. Want to smack teenagers that smoke.

2009-01-22T22:58:00.000-05:00