Twinkle Twinkle

Ashlyn loves to sing. We would sing ALL day if I allowed it. But you can only sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" so many times before going crazy! Some of her favorite tunes include: Rainbow, Barney, 5 Little Ducks, ABC's, 5 Little Speckled Frogs, Head Shoulders Knees & Toes, and If You're Happy & You Know It. She used to just sing bits and phrases as we would sing together. But recently she had begun singing the whole tune of a few of these songs on her own. Here is a sample - it is simply adorable!

A Friendly Reminder

I woke up this morning to the smell of bacon. I can not think of a better way to start the day! Also, it was 10:00. That's right, 10:00. Brian got up with Ashlyn this morning and I got to sleep in! The extra sleep was greatly needed because my nights are not very restful these days. So I was able to sleep in and then awaken to the smell of bacon...yum. Brian had made bacon, eggs, and cinnamon toast. What a guy! I really am a very lucky lady!

An hour later at 11:00, Brian said he had another surprise for me. How could my day get any better? Brian said his Pocket PC, or Smart Phone, had sent a reminder that today was daylight savings and it was really only 10:00! How great! I now had two hours to relax before I needed to get ready for church.

It was the perfect Sunday morning. And then came the shock. When we got to church, one of Brian's deacons walked by us in the hall and asked, "Why are you so late?" I admit, we were two minutes late, but I would not consider that "so late". He then said, "sacrament meeting is almost over." WHAT?!! Not such a "Smart Phone". Just a friendly reminder, daylight savings is next Sunday.

The Countdown: 2

I should have posted this yesterday, but I am down to two weeks! These last few weeks have flown by. Here is the update: I am dilated to a 2 plus and 90% effaced. WOOHOO! My doctor also checked my chart to see how I measured at 38 weeks during my pregnancy with Ashlyn, and I was the EXACT same! I thought that was very interesting. But, I think it also means that I will not be having this baby any time soon :( I was hoping to go early, but no such luck.

While I was writing this post, I found out that Brian's Grandpa died this morning. He has been ill with two forms of rare cancer. He has been in 24 hour hospice care and has not been coherent for about a week. We were able to visit him on Sunday and Brian was with him this morning when he passed away. We are grateful that his suffering is over. We are also grateful to him for what he did for Ashlyn. When Ashlyn was born we were able to start an investment fund for her because of the money he gave her. She will greatly benefit from this when she is older. Thank you Grandpa Homer. You will be missed.

Bumbo Recall

It seems as though there has been a large number of recalls lately. I am always interested to see what is being recalled and why, especially when it comes to baby products. Up until today, only one recall has affected us. Several months ago, Ashlyn's toy cell phone was recalled. This proved to be a good thing because the phone was in poor shape and we got a new one for free! Well today, one of my favorite baby products was recalled - The Bumbo. I love my Bumbo! For those who do not know what a Bumbo is, it is a seat designed for babies who can hold their head up, but can not yet sit on their own. The Bumbo allows them to sit up and look around rather than lay on their backs or stomachs all the time. Here are some pics of Ashlyn using her Bumbo:

This is what the recall said:

Hazard: If the seat is placed on a table, countertop, chair, or other elevated surface, young children can arch their backs, flip out of the Bumbo seat, and fall onto the floor, posing a risk of serious head injuries.

Funny thing, this happened to Ashlyn. Well, it wasn't so funny at the time. And luckily she did not fall to the floor. One day, I put Ashlyn her in the Bumbo on top of the counter. I did this all the time before I had a high chair for her. It was great having her up where I could see her while I fixed dinner. Well, on this particular day, I had just pulled a take-n-bake pizza out of the oven, set it on the counter and turned around to close the oven. Apparently Ashlyn was in the mood for some pizza, because she reached for it and went face first into the pipin' hot pie. She did not suffer any major burns, thank goodness, but she was quite upset!

I should add, that I rarely turned my back on her while she was in the Bumbo on the counter. If I did turn my back it was only for a brief second - I am not that irresponsible. Also, I always set her in the middle of the island, never on the edge of the counter. Needless to say, Ashlyn did not spend any more time in the Bumbo on the counter!

Back to the recall. If you own a Bumbo, you are to contact the manufacturer to obtain a new warning label sticker that you can place on your Bumbo! What a relief!!

Heroes

Today MSN featured a list of eight hometown heroes, ordinary people making a difference in their community. It made me think about what constitutes a "hero" and who my hero would be. Truth be told, I don't think I have a single hero, I have multiple. There are many people who have blessed my life. There are many whom I look up to as an example of what I hope to become. Many whom have enriched my life with their positive, happy personalities.

One woman featured in the article, Donna Holmberg said, "A hero is someone who takes on the challenges of everyday life and overcomes extreme adversity." This definition perfectly fits one of my heroes, my Grandma Lifferth. Not only has she overcome multiple challenges and adversity during her lifetime, she did so without complaint. She is a prime example of endurance.

I have heard stories of my dad's childhood all my life. He always made his childhood sound fun and adventurous. It was not until recently that I really thought about the life of my Grandma. She had a hard life! I know that I would not have been as patient and tolerant as she was. I am spoiled! I am too used to modern conveniences.

My Grandma did laundry by hand, chopped wood, lived in a tent at three different times, trapped, killed, gutted and cooked small animals for her family to eat, and lived very meagerly. She had to feed her large family with what little they had which meant that she had to be quite creative.

But it is not just these physical things that makes her a hero. She also read her scriptures daily, went above and beyond her church callings, constantly put others' needs above her own, and never spoke ill of another person. She truly exemplified a Christlike life. She loved being a mother. She loved her family and did her best to make everyone feel important.

I am blessed to have such a legacy in my life. Even though she is now in a nursing home and cannot communicate, I will always remember her for the life she lived before she became ill. Grandma Lifferth definitely deserves the title of "hero" in my eyes.

Hooray For Uncle Jake!

Every kid should have an Uncle Jake, or U.J., as he likes to be called. Jake raked up a big pile of leaves just so his nieces and nephews could jump in and have fun! Maggie was the only one who did not agree with the others' enthusiasm.

You can tell by this photo that Ashlyn had a great time playing in the leaves! The kids had so much fun that I was tempted to jump in and join them. It would be great if adults could be as easily entertained as children. It definitely would be more cost effective!

Jake is a great uncle. All the kids love their U.J. And I can tell by the way he treats his nieces and nephews that he is going to be a wonderful father someday. Three cheers for U.J. - Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! We love you Uncle Jake!

The Countdown: 3

Mindy gave me this mug for Christmas two years ago when I was pregnant with Ashlyn. It is pretty comical. And since I am not feeling so hot right now, I thought I would post a picture of it instead of myself today.

So, I have three weeks to go. But I really hope that I don't still have three weeks to go. I am ready to be done! I am going to try to everything on my to-do list done this weekend for good karma. Then maybe the baby will feel like it can make its entrance into this world.

As per Mindy's request, I am going to tell a couple more funny things my doctor told me. As I mentioned before, at my 35 week check-up the baby was breech and my doctor told me to get on my hands and knees and move my hips back and forth. She said that this is not a proven method, but it is what a mid-wife would suggest. Well, a couple of other patients have asked her about using different methods:

• One patient asked if doing a head stand in her pool would turn the baby.
  
• Another patient asked if she could get the baby to turn by luring it with food - meaning that if she positioned a hamburger between her legs...something to that effect.

Where do people come up with this stuff?

Oh Pumpkin Patch, Oh Pumkin Patch

We went to my parents home on Sunday. As I mentioned before, my dad is a wonderful gardener. Well, he had harvested all of his pumpkins and had them all laid out ready for the grandkids. I think I was more excited than the kids. After dinner, we all went outside and each family walked away with six beautiful pumpkins.

I love pumpkins! It must be because they are the symbol of my favorite season. I have been wanting to take Ashlyn to the local pumpkin patch, but no need - these were FREE! Who can beat that! Thanks Grandpa, we love you!

I love fall days when the sky is blue and the air is crisp. Cold, but not too cold. Ashlyn was so happy to be outside on Sunday. I need to take advantage of days like this because it won't be long until it will just be too darn cold to go outside.

And just one more picture. Ashlyn loves her daddy. It has been so cute lately, because she is always asking about her daddy. "Where daddy go?" I get this question on a daily basis. I explain to her that he is at work, and then we call him. She loves calling daddy when he is at work and telling him about her day.

Dog Food Fetish - YUM!

For some reason, Ashlyn LOVES dog food. I have no idea why, but if I were to put a PB&J next to a bowl of dog food, she would go for the dog food. She has eaten more dog food in her short 19 months here on earth than I would like to keep track of. But she doesn't get it from our house. We have to keep Cooper's food outside so she doesn't get the opportunity to partake of it on a daily basis. However, I have to keep my eye on her when we visit other dog-owning homes. If she spots a dog bowl of food on the floor she will make a B line right for the bowl and shove as many pieces as possible in her mouth before I can get to her. GROSS!

This picture perfectly captures her obsession. Upon arriving at Grandpa & Grandmom's house recently, Ashlyn immediately asked for a cookie. Grandmom always keeps her cookie jar full and the grandkids know it. So, I gave her a cookie, which seemed to satisfy her. WRONG. She wandered over to the pantry, opened the door and was delighted to find a big bag of dog food waiting just for her. She dropped the cookie (it is at the bottom of the pic) and grabbed the bag of dog food. She was attempting to open the bag when I intervened and took it away. What a mean mom I am. I do not understand why someone would choose dog food over a cookie?! Oh well, to each their own I guess. Hopefully this is just a phase.

The Countdown: 4

WOOHOO!! Four weeks to go and the baby is head down! This means no painful procedure for me! Except for labor of coarse. Everything else is the same.

My doctor told me two funny things that previous patients have said to her:

• One patient asked if babies were like puppies and could not open their eyes for the first few weeks after they were born!
  
• When my doctor went to measure another patient's belly, she noticed that her belly button was pretty dirty and in her words had a lot of "crusties". The patient said that she was worried that she would harm her baby if she cleaned her belly button. The patient went on to explain that she thought her belly button was attached to the baby's umbilical cord and she didn't want to do anything to disrupt that connection!

I would have such a hard time keeping a straight face! But my doctor is very sweet and in both situations she kindly explained to her patients what the reality was. Its hard to believe that some people can be so...naive, to put it nicely.

Home grown produce!

As I mentioned in our very first post, Brian and I attempted our first garden this year. And we did struggle with our little garden. Our zucchini plant produced pumkins (with the exception of one softball sized round zucchini?), our cucumbers died, and our poor tomatoes struggled. I am reminded of a poem my dad once wrote:

Poor struggling garden,
pity of the plot,
there are many things
you are not.

Of course my dad wrote this poem long before he became the master gardener that he is today. But this poem describes our first garden very well! However, I am happy to report that Brian harvested our carrots tonight and just look at these beauties!

Fresh, uncooked carrots are Brian's favorite vegetable and he was very excited that his efforts finally paid off. I should also mention that our lemon cucumbers and bell peppers did produce as well. So, our first attempt at gardening was definitely a learning experience. Hopefully next year will be a better success!

Attitude

Something to think about:

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances..."
-Victor Frankl (survivor of WWII concentration camp)

We will never have control over everything that happens in our lives. There is no way of avoiding the trials that are thrown our way. The only thing we can always control is our attitude. This is something I need to work on. Children are a great example of this. Whether Ashlyn is sick, hurt, or doesn't get her way, her positive attitude always shines through. She may get angry for a moment, but it is fleeting, and she is back to happy girl that I love so much! Right now Ashlyn has a bad cold with a fever which comes and goes, but she still smiles, plays and sings. I don't know about you, but when I am sick I do not smile, play, and sing.

A Great Thing!

Quite often I find Ashlyn this way. Instead of taking the toys out of the box, she just climbs in! This is great because it means less clean up for me!

Blogoholism

Hi. My name is Jamie and I am a blogoholic. It all happened so fast. Six months ago I didn't even know what a blog was and now I am an addict. That is how blogoholism works. Once you try it, there is no turning back. In case you are wondering if you may also be suffering from blogoholism, here are some signs and symptoms:

• Your blogging has caused you to neglect other aspects of your life; the dishes in the sink, your children, paying bills, etc.
• Your late night blogging has caused sleep deprivation.
  
• You check your blog (and other blogs) multiple times a day to see if you have any new comments.
• Your excitement is like that of Christmas morning when you discover that you do have new comments.
  
• You are a blog stalker. Some may think that if they don't have their own blog, that they are not a blogoholic. This is not true.
  
• You become angry and frustrated at others when they do not update their blog frequently.

Unfortunately, there are no recommended treatments for blogoholism. The best thing to do is to just admit that you have a problem. I did it and so can you...

The Countdown: 5

Five weeks from today is my due date! I had my appointment on Tuesday and here is the update: I am dilated to a 1 plus, I am 50% effaced, and the baby is breech. I was excited to find out that I had started dilating because I have been having a lot of contractions - they have been waking me up at night. I am not so excited about the breech part. I have to go back next week and my doctor will check to see if the baby has rotated. She told me to try getting on my hands and knees and rocking my hips back and forth. I did this last night and I felt a little silly. It didn't help that Brian laughed at me! If the baby hasn't turned by next week then the doctor will have to try and turn it. I won't go into details, but this does not sound like a pleasant experience! Hopefully it will not come to that.

Favorite Fall Foods

I love fall. It is by far my favorite season. I love the holidays, the changing of the leaves, the cooler weather, and of coarse the food! MSN listed the eight most fattening foods of fall. How many are you guilty of consuming?

1. Halloween Candy. I would say that I am pretty good about limiting my intake.

2. Mashed Potatoes. Who says this is a fall food? Give me a big bowl of mashed potatoes any time of year!

3. Pumpkin Spice Latte. No problem there.

4. Apple Pie. If you have ever had my mom's apple pie, then you would know that there is no way to resist!

5. Cider. Love it, but I really don't drink it a lot.

6. Stuffing. I don't care how many calories are in it, Thanksgiving would not be complete with out this delicious side dish. I always have seconds!

7. Candy Apple. Again I love them but don't have them very often. It has probably been 5 years since I had a candy apple.

8. Turducken. Never had it. Sounds kindof strange to me.

So there you go. There is definitely a lot of yummy food to partake of in the fall, and I say indulge! For me, there is nothing better on a cold fall day than a bowl of homemade soup. Soups and stews have to be my favorite fall food of all. I guess this is good because they are generally low in fat. But my question for all of you is...

What is your favorite fall food?