Howard Family

Omi at 1 year

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 23:38:00 +0000

Our little Omi is growing up! It's been a wonderful first year with her, she is so sweet and good. For her birthday she got a new doll from her brothers and a Little People House from us. Bring on the pink!

We had a family party that weekend where she was further adored and enjoyed a cake!

I love that face.

She devoured her cake, which turned out delicious! She may have also eaten 2 cupcakes the day before when I was making them, the girl likes chocolate, she comes by it honestly.

At 1 year:

Omi is still a toothless wonder, but she much prefers table food to baby food.
She sleeps 10-11 hours at night.
She has quite a dress collection and currently has 14 dresses in her closet.
She is finding her voice and isn't afraid to tell her brothers what she thinks.
She says bye, hi, dada, papa, wow.
She has a rather funny social laugh that she uses if other people around her are laughing.
She loves the book Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton.
She is just starting to stand up unassisted for a few brief seconds.
She still loves a binkie, which is new for me since my boys never did.
She brings more joy to our family than I ever anticipated.

Leuca

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:10:00 +0000

So Mark's mom (AKA GrandmaLeuca) has had a lot of health problems these past few months and has spent considerable time in the hospital since Easter. A lot of time actually. This was all new for us, since prior to that she has always been so healthy. So here are a few pics of how life has changed!

A visit to Summerlin Rehab back in May (towards the end of nearly 2 months in the hospital). Boys are geared up because she was on contact precautions.

Michael made this card for her for her birthday. So sweet but makes me sad because he drew her in a bed. Given their ages, her failing health will be how they remember her.

She can no longer live independently, so Mark and his siblings (who all live in Vegas) are taking turns caring for her. It's a hard thing, but good too. We got a turn this week, and it was good for us and the kids to learn to give service to her.

I made this bag for her walker, so she can carry all her essentials. I think she'll be the most styling lady at the doctor's office!

So that's kind of where all our thoughts and energies have been directed lately. Summer is halfway over and we have done very little on our bucket list. But we sure love our little family and feel so blessed.

Sunday Eclipse

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Wed, 23 May 2012 03:30:00 +0000

So Mark got us on track for viewing the eclipse, despite the fact he'd worked a 12 hour shift the night before and then had to teach for a ward conference, he pulled himself back out of bed after only 3 hours of sleep to make a memory with the boys. That's just one of the things I love about Mark.

Naomi and I got in on the action, and yes, she's waving!

Mark pulled out the special lenses for viewing, boys had fun checking the progress.

We had 2 of them, foresight on Mark's part when he got them so long ago.

The coolest part was as there was just a sliver of sun showing, it caused shadows to become distorted, Mark's hand was actually spread wide with 5 fingers.

And the coolest effect was on the shadows cast through the trees, lots of eclipse shadows as the sunlight filtered though the tree.

So keep on your calendars June 5th, when Venus passes in front of the sun and you can see a black dot in the sun from it, happens only once every 128 years!

Sudan

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:57:00 +0000

If you want a place to blogstalk, check our my friend Kim's blog about her life in the Sudan. I find all her posts fascinating, and humbling, and sometimes downright scarey. Check it out!
http://firstwondergoesdeepest.blogspot.com/

Crawling

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:32:00 +0000

Omi is now 7 months and she will tolerate some tummy time...

but inevitably, this is how she feels about it...

don't think I have to worry about a crawling baby anytime soon.

But I'm not concerned, I will love her and hug her and carry her everywhere as long as I can!

Snapshots and snippets

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:45:00 +0000

Just letting ya'll know that we are still around, just busy. The boys are currently obsessed with everything Lego and Star Wars. Omi is getting the hang of eating now and detests rice cereal but loves avocado. I have been able to start reading again since I do get a little bit of down time after all the kids are in bed. And Mark is wishing I had never signed him up to coach the boys' Primary baseball team. So there is a rather quick update, snippets to go with the snapshots!

Omi

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:10:00 +0000

Naomi (affectionately dubbed "Baby Omi" by extended family) had her 4 month well check. She checked in at 25 1/2 inches (85th percentile) and 15 lbs even (75th percentile). Right on track with my boys to be long. And she has delicious cheeks and chubs that just beg for kissing.
At 4 months she smiles to those she knows and may to strangers if they are nice and soft spoken (she already has stranger danger). She generally sleeps about 10 hours straight, more or less, with 3 pretty predictable naps each day. She never spits up, rarely cries, and is often content to just sit and hang out and play with some toys if I am otherwise occupied. She can blow excellent raspberries. She smiles at me when I suction her nose. Mommy is her favorite person and her favorite spot is snuggled under my chin. However, she really loves her daddy and brothers and I can already see her adoration for them. During Christmas season Jacob started calling her "our Christmas star" which has now turned into "our little star" since Christmas is over. They are super sweet to her and are big helpers. She quite enjoys her fists and they are constantly in her mouth now. She is truly the easiest baby. She is so fun and has such a lovely spirit about her and we constantly feel so blessed to have her in our family.

(I have been having a little fun with the Pioneer Woman edits I downloaded to my photoshop elements, I love the effect of this one called 'soft faded')

I wish I had taken a daily picture of her. I really think I could catalog 365 days of clothes and never wear the same outfit twice, since I was given/inherited so many clothes! I have 8 14gallon bins of clothes that range from newborn to 3T. It's a little ridiculous but wonderful! I make myself remember that when I am out and tempted to buy her something...though I did break down this week with Target clearance. Darn Target.

Holidays...

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

We had a great December and enjoyed all our festivities with family. Michael's Kindergarten class put on a really cute performance and he was so fun to watch...

While I intended for a lot of things to happen during the school break, very little did. However we did manage to paint Naomi's room, which I was impressed that we actually did it (with a little help from some elves).

But even with very little on the agenda, we still got tuckered out...

Christmas morning was fun, and the boys actually didn't mind waiting til after church to open presents. Jacob...

This is such a representative picture of the two of them...love it...

Baby slept through the gift opening, but woke in time for a picture with the dresses Santa brought her...

I didn't manage to send out any christmas cards this year. I pretty much only put up the tree and nativity, no other decorations made it up. And my well intentioned gift idea for our neighbors never happened either. Having a little baby can be terribly time consuming. But we had a lovely little family Christmas and I am so thankful for the blessings of 2011, but quite happy to start a new year!

Random Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:41:00 +0000

So I have some random pictures on my camera from the past week that make me smile. Thought I'd share.

This I haven't been able to bring myself to take down. The boys did this when I went into the hospital when I was pregnant at the beginning of my ordeal, back in February. They wanted to put hearts on all the bedroom doors for Valentines. The other doors got one heart. But they weren't satisfied with only one on mine, they wanted to show how much they loved me with lots of hearts. There used to be more, but these are the ones that remain, almost 10 months later, still on my door.

Next, we have Jacob. At 4 and heading close to 5, he is wanting to have some independence. Here he made his own cinnamon toast. It's disgusting, I think he used a half stick of butter on it. Needless to say he tried one bite and then came and found me and asked me to make him some.

Jacob again, quite proud that he did this all by himself and placed it in the nook in the entry to our room. I don't have the heart to erase it.

Found the boys with the camera one morning, quite enjoying themselves. I'm not sure the identity of this nose though, despite the fact there there are several shots from this angle, it's still not enough to make a positive ID.

My firstborn is turning 6. Sigh. He has grown up so much this year, I enjoy him a lot. I really really do, a lot. Mucho.

Here are 3 clean monkeys. It makes me smile, she seems to have a look that is telling me she doesn't think letting them in the tub was the best idea, but she'll tolerate it for now. Though she has her arms up in a defensive position, just in case.

So that is a glimpse into my little world, according to my camera. I still think I have the most wonderful baby ever made. I adore her so much. She has been dubbed "baby Omi" by my nieces and the boys have picked it up. Michael was trying to quiet her the other day and I heard him say "it's ok Om, your brother is here." So sweet, but never imagined 'Om' as the nickname.

I saw a quote on a friend's blog that said "THE DAYS ARE LONG BUT THE YEARS ARE SHORT." It is completely true. And as I switched baby's clothes out today and pulled out the 3-6 month sizes, it hit me hard just how quickly time really is passing.

Blessing Day

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 07:01:00 +0000

We had Naomi's blessing this month. It was so wonderful to have so much family here to love Naomi on her special day- we had about 40 people at our house for lunch after church that day. Sometimes living near family is a blessing (other times you want to throttle some of them but on this day it was a blessing).

So here is our little family (I love that Mark bought a new purple tie for the occasion, he wanted something representative of having a daughter):

All the Howard Clan (all of Mark's family lives in town):

All the Boston Clan (that live in town):

Sweet baby Naomi (or Baby Omi as my niece calls her):

Here is some detail of the dress I made (with some help from my mom), I love how it turned out! I have never made anything that detailed before, so it's definitely a boost for my sewing confidence.

My mom made the quilt that she is on and I adore it! (It's tradition for her to make a quilt for each baby.)

Naomi is such a sweet, gentle spirit and we are so very blessed to have her as part of our family. I am amazed everytime I look at her.

Naomi

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:48:00 +0000

Finally figured out how to upload pictures with the new computer, it kept saying I didn't have access to the folder whenever I tried uploading from photoshop to blogger or facebook. But alas all has been ironed out.

Here is a picture of me 2 days before delivery. I still threw up every morning except for the morning of delivery, but I think that was because we had to get up at 3am to be at the hospital by 4 and those stomach acids didn't have long enough to stew and make trouble. By the way, I don't miss pregnancy...at all. I chose to be induced, I had waited for labor with the other two and likely would have done so this time if not for my dad's surgery and the narrow window we had for my mom to take care of the boys. But I was glad to have baby a couple days early too- both the boys came close to their due date and had respiratory issues initially because of meconium, so it was a relief to not have that issue with her. I got hooked up about 6am and she was born at 7:09pm. I am no hero, I believe epidurals are part of the further light and knowledge provided by Heavenly Father. And after what this pregnancy did to me, I knew I didn't have the endurance even if I did want a natural childbirth. But of the 3 deliveries, this epidural was the best cause I could still feel my contractions and move a little. My nurses were great, apparently it was a good day to have a baby at Summerlin because there were only 3 patients on the whole labor and delivery floor. It only took pushing through 3 contractions and she was out. Dr Harter was fabulous as always, he is so friendly and personable in the office, but I appreciate how he takes charge and is so focused during the delivery.

So she arrived, 6lb 11oz, 19 inches, my smallest baby. (Sorry sweet girl, I know coming to Earth wasn't exactly on your agenda right then).

Here we are, resting after delivery. We were still unsure what to name her initially, but eventually settled on Naomi Amanda. Naomi was my grandma's middle name and Amanda is my middle name. I like that it's rarely used anymore, and although unintended, finished off our family of biblical names.

The next morning Mark brought the boys by for a visit. They have adored her from the beginning and haven't stopped!

Daddy is kind of in love with her too.

We waited 24 hours after delivery and were eager to get home, hospital beds are the worst. During labor I swear my rear hurt more than the contractions!
Michael can't get enough of her, and feels a keen responsibility to look after her.

At 3 days old my fabulous friend Lynette came and took newborn pictures of her. I can't wait to see them all, but here are a few she sent me...I think they capture how sweet and gentle her spirit is. Lynette had just got her new faux wood mat, it totally looks like paint chipped wood boards but is really a nice foam mat. Love the effect.

I feel great (except for my bout with the flu this week), but I guess I didn't realize how cruddy I still felt being pregnant because it was so much better then it had been in months 2-5. But I love that once the baby is out, all the nausea and vomiting goes away and that feels soooo good! She is a perfect baby and really doesn't cry or fuss unless she has a good reason. She just had her 2 week well check and weighed in at 7lb 7oz and 21 inches. I don't think they are great at measuring accurately at this age because I doubt she grew 2 inches.

So that is a little about our lovely Naomi, and of course, I would do it all over again for her. I would. Every ache and pain and vomit truly was forgotten as soon as I saw her. People say that I can use this against her when she is older, but that is silly, it wasn't her fault. No way would I hold it over that sweet little innocent face you see above. Then again as the perionatologist said, "when she turns 15, you may want the IV zofran back..."

Let it begin...

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:06:00 +0000

So August 29th was the first day of school for Michael, he was excited, but got nervous when he got to his classroom, then got over it pretty quick. He is very motivated to bring home a green card every day which means he had good behavior. He already complains about homework, which isn't a good sign considering he'll be doing it for the next 20 years of his life. Here he is, ready to go... (one finger being for first day of school)...
September 6th marked Jacob's first day of preschool. He longed to go to preschool all last year when we dropped Michael off at Miss Aubrey's. At last it's his turn. So far he has been happy to go, but it makes me laugh that he is literally a head taller than the girls and a good 3-4 inches taller than the boys. I love my blond giant.

And here is me yesterday, 39+ weeks. Thought I should document the belly to some degree. I am really looking forward to not throwing up on a daily basis. I know I will feel tired and miserable in different ways after she comes, but I am so tired of the nausea with the constant tightness in the back of the throat. It's novelty wore off long ago. Here's hoping I only have one more morning of this.

We can't wait to meet her and get on with this next phase!

Welcoming Home the Missionary

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:35:00 +0000

The triumphant return!

The first of our nephews came home from his mission to Ghana Cape Coast on Wednesday (they can wear khakis, sandles and short sleeves there). All the Howard clan was at the airport for the event! Here is the happy family!

Cody is a seriously awesome young man and was a great missionary. He was so happy to see everyone and eventhough it's been 2 years, Michael was one of the first to run and give him a hug! We always prayed for him in nightly prayers and talked about him, so I guess he didn't seem like a stranger after so long.

My brother-in-law had these Tshirts made for everyone to wear, with Ghana, Cape Coast Mission on the front, and Got Malaria? on the back. Since Cody got malaria twice while he was there, it made for a good joke.

We all went out for lunch afterwards (they stopped at the Stake Pres office on the way and he got released in record time!) and then hopefully he went home and took a nap! We sure love our Cody!

a picture's worth 1000 words

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:13:00 +0000

My parents really wanted some new pictures of the little grandkids who are growing so fast, so they had a lady in their old ward take some for them. I love how all the bright colors and prints actually worked well together. Here's a look:

Brothers.

With Papa.

So Jacob.

Pretty pretty girls.

My folks.

Love Miss E and her scarf.

Silliness.

Buddies.

This picture is SO her. The zebra print and boots together, I love it.

Don't know what was said, but Michael's face cracks me up!

Now the hard part is to pick pictures to go up on my wall!

It's Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Wed, 11 May 2011 20:02:00 +0000

So we had to take my picc line out a little earlier than planned due to an infection, but I'm not sad about having it gone. I am grateful I had it when I needed it, but I had been on oral meds for a couple of days and was tolerating it, so I was hoping to get it out soon anyhow. Bad part is my arm looks nasty from my allergic reaction that I developed and the infection at the entry site, but a week of antibiotics should take care of that. (I think the blistering and oozing from my allergic reaction to the adhesive and the plastic caused the infection.)
The long tube on the left was what what inside my vein.
So although I still have a constant level of nausea throughout the day and still throw up every morning, it is so much better than those dark memories in my mind of throwing up 20 times a day, that I can tolerate the yuckiness I feel now pretty well.
We also had a visit to the perinatologist last week and had another ultrasound, which confirmed that we are having a girl. Everything looks really good, but we have to go back in two months to make sure that a calcification in the heart is going away as it should. Seems like we've had so many ultrasounds, she is a well documented little lady! We are happy and the boys are so excited too!

March came in like a lion

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Well somehow we made it through March, though i didn't see how it was possible a month ago. My life has been consumed with getting through each day. I got the PICC line at the beginning of March. However, the TPN and IV zofran wasn't the miracle I was hoping for, though I know I'd feel so much worse without it. But the nausea had gotten progressively worse, and I got to a point that I wasn't keeping anything down again, so I gave up and just stopped eating. Which actually made me feel a bit better- hunger pain is easier to deal with that stomach pain from constant vomiting. About mid-March we saw the perinatologist, I told him that I had stopped eating and he said, "don't even bother, it's a losing battle!" So that made me lose the guilt I was feeling about giving up on food, cause I felt like I should still be trying to eat. (Keep in mind the TPN provides me with calories, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, etc straight into the bloodstream, so my body is getting nutrition, just not in an ideal form. I get labs drawn 1-2x/week so that the pharmacist can mix up just the right balance for my specific needs.) Anyhow, the perinatologist added a medication to decrease the stomach acid and that has really helped and cut down the frequency of having my head in a toilet. So I focused on trying to eat popcicles or drink a little slushie or soda as a way of trying to get a little more calories or liquids in me. The past couple days I have been trying out very small amounts of solids, with some success. Though pretty sure I need to eat more than 1/4 cup a day to get off the TPN. So it will be baby steps, but I am counting on April giving me some improvement as I near the magical 20 week mark where the hormones change and then maybe I can have a life back.

The good news is that this baby looks as healthy as can be. We had a very extensive ultrasound done that measured every part of the baby and me and all looks good. We got some great pictures of baby sucking its thumb which I thought was pretty cool at 13 weeks. We got a pretty good idea of what the gender is, but will probably wait for another ultrasound before we announce.
(Jacob was pretty sure the baby was falling in a hole in this pic, I assured him the baby is in a safe place, it's just dark there.)

Jacob managed to turn 4, but somehow I didn't get any pictures of his party, just some video. I love him dearly. He cracks me up with how is brain works and how expressive he can be in his manner and intonation. He is still my blond giant, but sometimes when he is sleeping I just see that little newborn face and all his innocence.

Michael is learning patience I think, with having me out of commission. He will come find me several times a day and give me a hug and a kiss and tell me he loves me. I tell him I'm sorry I'm sick, but I will be better when the baby is out and then we can have more fun. He assures me that I am still a little bit fun.

Mark is my best friend and sometimes I think this has been harder on him than on the kids. I miss having fun with him, 'cause nothing is very fun right now. Whenever he can he preps my meds and TPN bag for me, tries to make me comfortable. His work and sleep schedule makes it a little more challenging. But we have made it through 8 weeks of this, so we should start seeing some improvements soon, since I am 16 weeks now. At least that is the plan!

So March came in like a lion, and goes out like a...somewhat less angry lion.

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:41:00 +0000

Just wanted to update and let my friends know how I'm doing. I got my PICC line this morning, not the worst thing in the world but would rather not have to do it again, 4th times a charm right? The good thing about this is that they can draw blood from it and my meds can go in it, as well as TPN and fluids. So after 7 IVs in 2 weeks I was very ready to stop being poked, since the PICC line can last for several weeks or more. This also means I can take the needle out of my abdomen because the nausea meds go in the picc line now. I am hoping that the meds going straight into my blood will give me better relief from the severe nausea than the meds going into the fatty tissue of the abdomen and being absorbed. I am also hoping that the TPN, which is nutrition that goes straight into the bloodstream, will help me feel a little better. Maybe a nice pharmacy cocktail of vitamins, minerals, and proteins will give me a little boost in energy.
My parents have been a lifesaver with caring for my boys, I can never repay them for all that they do! Mark is my rock and takes good care of me. Michael is my worrier and is always checking in on me and does what he can to take care of me. Jacob provides the comic relief. My sisters have brought meals and brought their teen/preteen daughters to clean my bathrooms and floors.
I was looking at baby pictures of my boys and trying to psych myself into remembering how awesome babies are. I'm just glad that I know this too shall pass, and glad that we are being blessed with another baby despite the difficulty, and that the Lord does show tender mercies in even the smallest things.
Michael at 5-6 months. Sigh.
Jacob at 4-5 months. Sigh. At least I know I grow yummy babies!
Oh yeah, and it's fun to do this to them- tough guys don't care if their bibs have pink!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:30:00 +0000

So I found these online when I was looking up info on my zofran pump. I think they speak for themselves.

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to be having this baby, this is just the hardest thing I've had to do. I was sick with the other two and had to take zofran all 9 months, but this is worse and I hate feeling so incapacitated. I feel particularly blessed to have a wonderful husband and fortunate that my parents are still living with us to help with the kids. I had great doctors while I was in the hospital who were very compassionate and understanding. I have read stories online of women who had been to the er 5-10 times before their doctor recommended a pump and had lost 20 lbs. I'm not that tough. 3 days of not keeping anything down and 5 lbs lost was enough for me. The perinatologist was quite entertaining and insisted that 10 minutes of throwing up was more than enough. He was the one that suggested I may feel like throwing myself off a cliff before it gets better. He also said that the only cure is delivery, so right now September can't come soon enough!

Christmas Miracle (x2)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 07:35:00 +0000

So Mark was schedule to work nights through all the holidays- Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, and New Years. Being low on the totem pole kind of stinks. So I was excited for the boys but feeling sad that Mark wouldn't be home Christmas Eve and that he would have to sleep through the day of Christmas. So as he was getting ready to head out the door Christmas Eve, he got a call from work and they called him off! Mind you that in a year at the hospital he has never been called off from work! We teared up at the reality that he would be home and able to enjoy all the festivities. That was our first Christmas miracle! The second was that these crazy boys slept through the night, which Michael hasn't done in a really long time(nor since Christmas). As a side note, please observe the cute pajama pants I made, way easy and with a steal on thermal tops from OldNavy, it was dirt cheap PJs! They love them and that makes me happy! So two Christmas miracles! It was a great blessing to have Mark home, and it wouldn't have felt right without him there to read the story of Christ's birth from the scriptures. Who knows what future Christmas's will bring, hospitals still have to run and people on life support still need their Respiratory Therapists, but for now, I am grateful to have this miracle this year!
We tried to simplify Christmas this year with each of the boys getting a present of 1) something they wanted 2) something they needed 3) something physical and 4) something spiritual/mental. They also got presents from grandparents, from each other, and of course from Santa. But I will say it is much easier to shop when I have those guidelines. I hadn't said anything to them about the 4 presents, so it was great when Michael opened the box with dress pants for church and shouted out "This is just what I needed! Thank you!" Apparently I wasn't the only one who was thinking he needed a new pair.
The following picture is by far the best investment for Christmas morning! They got them in their stockings, and the kids picked up every piece of wrapping paper and box on the floor because it was so fun! I didnt have to pick up a thing!
So we were able to spend Christmas morning together as a family, then Mark had to take a nap in the afternoon so he could go to work that night. So the boys and I headed over to my sister's for Christmas dinner and that sums up Christmas!
I have never been one to get that excited for New Years, and Mark worked in the Trauma unit at the hospital on NYE, so we rang in the new year by texting. Gotta love it.
So the holidays are over. The tree is down, the house is almost put back together. And I am looking forward to the hopes of 2011. My only real goal is to document that I am part of the family in the pictures and videos, since they are pretty much all of the kids. Maybe in the future my blog will show evidence of this!

Since my last post...

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 05:09:00 +0000

Since my last post we have:
**Pulled romaine lettuce, green onions, sweet potatoes, the last of the green beans, and a few limes and lemons from the garden! The freezing temps a week or two ago killed the tomato plants sadly. But I suppose that is bound to happen, with it being winter and all- even in Las Vegas. (Note: all credit for this produce goes to my dad)

**We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, the first one I haven't worked on in the past few years, it was great to be home. I mastered a good roll recipe. We even used the sweet potatoes from the garden. We dubbed it the year of the pies, they were heavenly, trust me. I made a cranberry cheesecake and my sister's pumpkin cream was fabulous! We gave everyone in my family the Heritage Makers book that I made about my parents, the pictures in it are such a treasure and I had been so excited to share it with my siblings.

**I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Mark treated me to a night away, which was fabulous to sleep in til 9am. I think the 30's are treating me well, it's a good era. (Somehow my camera has no pictures of my birthday or Thanksgiving, hmmm)

**Michael celebrated his 5th birthday! Hard for me to believe, but it's true. He was pretty easy to please this year. I asked him if he wanted a friend party, and he said no, just a family party. I was more than happy to oblige! So we had all the aunts and uncles and cousins over for a "family party." He loves Pioneer Woman's sheet cake, so I made that for him and he was happy as a clam. The only thing I would change would be to have the party on the night of his birthday, rather than the night before, because all day on his birthday he wanted to know when he was going to have his party and was a bit put out that we'd already had it. He is such a smart, sweet, snuggly boy. I can't wait to see what he will grow into this year.
**We picked out our tree. We still go live, I'm not sure that we will ever go fake, I think real trees are connected too much in Mark's heart to his dad and the Forest Service. And eventhough I hate the dead needles, I do love the smell. We used to go out to the forest or to a tree farm and cut down our own when I was little. I remember one year, the tree we had cut down in the forest was so massive that it wouldn't stay up, my dad tried using fishing line connected to nails in the wall to keep it upright, but it still fell over. So eventually he nailed the stand to the floor.

**My tree is now decorated, but it feels like it's missing something, I haven't figured out what. I wrapped it with wide green ribbon this year, so maybe I'm just not used to it yet, or maybe it's because we had to make do with 3 strings of lights instead of 4 since one fritzed out. But I do love these cute little owl ornaments I made. Jacob wanted green and Michael blue, they insisted that I needed pink, and Mark wanted one that looked like a real owl. I think I delivered.

**Can you figure out what is wrong with this picture? Jacob has a funky double jointed thing going on, pretty sure your foot shouldn't point that direction. **Michael has taken to having bad dreams and getting up 5-10 times a night. Last night was the first night in a week that he only got up once. But we started a new routine at night, put up pictures by his bed to help him think of happy things as he falls to sleep, and added a small melatonin tonic before bed to help him get through this rough patch. I'm not completely sure that I am happy about giving him the supplement, all natural though it may be. But seriously, 10 times in one night?! That is worse than a newborn. Neither mom, dad, nor 5 year old can tolerate that for very long.

**I have been texting my brother in Qatar, and praying for his safety as he flies in and out of Iraq and Afganistan. He will miss the holidays but will be back home safe in Alaska after the new year. His Air National Guard duties normally take him to humanitarian clinics in Mongolia, but he is taking a turn in the middle east and I am so proud of him.

**And finally, today at work I was declared an angel! I gave a man on a ventilator his first ice chip in two months- no food, no water, no ice in that time. That is what makes my job awesome! I love giving people their first chance to talk while on a ventilator and see them say "I love you" to their spouse, or give them their first taste of food since going on the ventilator. It makes up for the really sad cases I see.

I think that about sums it up for now! Hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas!

Living Life

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 03:28:00 +0000

So the past few weeks have been crazy busy, especially the last week of October! It started with meeting our friends, the Thiriots, for FHE out at Lake Mead- we had a great time talking and eating and letting the boys be boys. I like this picture, it shows how all 5 of them were in constant motion. But we managed to keep all of them from being burned and kept safe from the coyotes lurking nearby. I love having Lynette as a friend because she is such a great example of how to be a fun mom (yes, you are Lynette!). Her crazy 3 boys plus my crazy 2, makes for an exponentially crazy time, but it was great! For being 5 boys ages 5 and under, they really play well together. They had unlimited quantities of sand to play with, which for little boys can be very messy and thus extremely fun.
The next morning we had Michael's preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch, which both boys quite enjoyed. Unfortunately it put my packing for our trip quite behind, so we didn't get out of town until much later than I had hoped. It has become something of a tradition for our little family to hit San Diego the last week of October.
But we finally got out of town and into San Diego in time to eat dinner at Rock Bottom, where we had our wedding luncheon after we got married. The food is still great, but they changed brew masters so the homemade rootbeer isn't quite as good. I didn't realize when we chose our hotel that it was right by the railroad tracks, but it turned out to not be a bother for sleeping. At least not nearly as much of a bother as sharing a bed with a 4 year old is. Anyhow, it provided great entertainment for the boys, they were happy to sit at the window and watch for trains and trolleys.
The next day we hit Sea World. It was midweek and not hardly busy at all, which was great because I'd always been on a Saturday on previous trips which was horribly busy, especially last year when we made the mistake of going on Halloween day. But not this year!
I still love the Shamu show. I was surprised that the trainers aren't back in the water with them yet, but I think it made for good show still because the orcas did more stunts.
Watching the show, Shamu, Shamu!
We had packed a lunch and had a great picnic in our car, as I was opposed to paying outrageous prices for mediocre food that I knew my children wouldn't eat. So we got rejuvenated and hit a few more shows and exhibits until it closed. And can I say it was great to go without a stroller this year, so much easier! The boys got a kick out of seeing the belugas closer, since we had seen them in the bay when we were in Alaska.
After Sea World we headed up to Old Town to visit the new Mormon Battalion Visitors Center, which we thought was fabulous! It was very interactive and kid friendly. Jacob passed out for the first part, and as dead weight he is one ginormous 3 year old.
But they had touch screen games...
Panning for gold...
Brick making/building...
We had a great time and then hit dinner at our favorite mexican place in Old Town and the food was fabulous!
The next day we got up and had breakfast at the hotel, swam a bit, then went to the Maritime Museum, where they had some submarines, old merchant ships, a replica of an old British ship that the boys thought was a pirate ship. But really, any ship with sails is considered a pirate ship at their age.
We even got to go on a boat ride around the bay, but my camera died and the boys both fell fast asleep almost as soon as we got going and didn't wake up until we had to get off the boat. But the weather was perfect and Mark and I quite enjoyed the tour. One of the things that gives San Diego the vibe that it does is the military presence, and the aircraft carriers in the bay really are amazing.
After having a picnic lunch at La Jolla Shores, we spent some time in the trees. Michael is always asking to climb a tree, but we don't really have any climbable trees at home or at any of the nearby parks, so this was a tree that was just perfect for small climbers.
We changed into our beach gear and hit the water. There was a sea lion hanging out just beyond the break which was fun to try and spot where he would come back up.Funny how they seem impervious to cold, when it suits them.
So peaceful and beautiful. Turns out we picked the best time to go, it was warmer than it had been much of the summer.
Beach bums.
We eventually forced ourselves to go home, though if we hadn't had to work we would have stay another day. But it was a wonderful getaway from Vegas. We got home late Thursday, I worked all day Friday and then Saturday was my brother's wedding and reception and then trunk-or-treat. I still hadn't made their costumes yet, so Saturday morning was spent creating two turtles. Michael specifically wanted a brown one (like his preschool teacher's desert tortoise) and Jacob specifically asked for a green one. I thought they turned out quite well considering how little time I was able to spend on the project.
They were quite pleased, so I was happy that it fulfilled their expectations.
My brother's wedding and reception turned out quite lovely, small but very nice and they couldn't have been happier. And it was so great to see my brother happy.
Todd and Rosaly Boston, 10-30-10!
After the reception we had enough time to go home and change so we could meet my sister for her Stake Trunk or Treat. Mark had to work that night and I didn't feel like going to my ward's by myself, so I went with my sister to hers which was huge! It was insane how decked out people's rigs and parking spaces were! On Sunday we had our family Halloween party which was great as always. The next week I was under the gun to finish a Heritage Makers project before my credits expired. So now that that is done, I have a bit of time to take a breather before I turn my mind to the holidays.

I love this time of year, with the expectation of the holidays, the cooler weather. Yes, cooler for Las Vegas. And even downright chilly sometimes, even my Alaska family that was in town last weekend was surprised how cold the Vegas wind was! I love making soup in the fall. I love wearing layers. I miss crunchy leaves under my feet in the fall and I wish my boys could experience a leaf pile to jump in. But I enjoy starting to think about what to get people, what to make, what to bake. So here is hoping to a delicious and truly Thankful Thanksgiving!

To blog or not to blog...

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 03:14:00 +0000

...that is the question. I have come to the conclusion recently that I think much of our computers and phones seem to take the place of real life interactions. I kind of discovered the same thing the more I was away from TV- I feel much more connected to my life since I rarely watch TV anymore. So just like with TV, I will likely continue to blog on occasion, but only because I do love the connection I have with my old friends that live far and wide- Jenny, Judy, Robin, Melissa, Melissa, Salinda, Leah and several others (who haven't posted in awhile). I love my Vegas friends too, but I see you more often. My original intent with blogging was to do it in place of scrapbooking, but I don't post all the things I would want to record, and I don't want to put too much information out there, so it hasn't really worked for that purpose. So I'm not quite sure what my purpose for it is now. But I do love seeing my friend's kids grow and seeing their adventures, so I am not going to abandon it completely.

I think that if I wanted to do a serious blog, I would do a recipe blog and share all the great food we make, or a tip blog. Like when I discovered that you can make your own foamy soap and save tons of money. Maybe others have figured it out, but those I've told didn't know either (just ask me if you don't know). And a magic eraser really gets out anything- even black ink off of my microfiber couch, and sharpie ink if you are fast enough. But again, that would take time that I don't really want to spend right now, or at least energy I don't have right now.

Okay, blah blah blah, enough about my blogging woes. I do plan to do a post about our recent adventures, just need to get them downloaded, of course. I've just been feeling like this lately:

What's a girl to do?
***Disclaimer: I realize after writing this that somebody somewhere might think I am judgemental of devotion to blogging. Seriously, I do not see it that way, I just know what I can do to keep my own self sane, that's all.

Going Green

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:47:00 +0000

It's no secret that Michael has not been the best eater. I had tried many things over the last 3 years to get him to eat a variety of foods, you can do all you can but you can't force a child to swallow. I had pretty much decided I wouldn't make much headway until I was home more.
So anyhow, he used to freak out and fall into a crying heap on the floor if something green was placed on his plate. However, he is older now. And he wants things. Mainly toys. So one night we worked out a deal where if he tried 10 new things, he could pick out a new toy at Target. Over the summer we had added corn and lettuce and cucumber to the list of foods he would eat willingly, so I knew he was becoming more open to trying new things. We made a chart and put it on the fridge so he could track his progress. We started out easy- ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, yogurt (yes normal things that most kids his age would eat), and then his motivation for more stickers took over all his previous fears. He wanted to pick the green beans and eat them for dinner! So thanks to Grandpa's hard work at keeping these alive through the summer, they are finally putting out beans!
So we went on a treasure hunt.

Picked them.

Cooked them, and then ate them with dinner! He has since eaten spinach, green pepper, and peas. He sometimes shudders while eating them, but I know the more he has them the more he will get used to the taste. I can't tell you what great progress this is! And what was even better was that he forgot about Target and wanted to pick something out of the prize bag I keep in my closet, so that was way cheaper of a bribe! We are now working on our second set of 10 items.

I guess once you go green, there's no going back!

Last of the Alaska Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 04:39:00 +0000

So the remainder of the trip was spent visiting, which will be a much less interesting post for people outside my family.
We helped my niece get ready for 80's day. Without intending to, it turned out kind of flashdance-ish which probably isn't good. We cut the socks off to look like leg warmers. I have a hard time looking at this picture since in my head she should be 3 years old still.

I went and visited my friend Brooke that lives in Eagle River. It was fun to see her and her family. We went to a campfire with some of their friends and let the boys run around in the woods til much too late but had a great time. I am terrible about remembering to take pictures with friends when I visit. I visited Diana and Melissa this year and didn't get my picture with them either.

My boys like their marshmellows straight up, raw. But they like to cook them blackened and then expect me to eat all of them.

Oh all right. Pass me some chocolate and a graham. Tis the curse of a mother.

The next day Jacob put his head in a wall. See the shiner on his forehead? And the circle surrounding it? It matches the hole in the wall in my niece's room. Note the scrap under the nose as well? That was him trying to copy his cousin and do a forward flip on the trampoline. Nothing like a face plant. It was one of those situations where I could see what he planned to do but didn't really have time to stop it, but was kind of amused that he was attempting it.

We spent more time outside playing (they are on the picnic table under the slide), but I like the picture because it shows what a pretty spot my brother lives, surround by trees. I saw a sign that said the fire danger was "low" which made me laugh. After 30 straight days of rain, it was almost like they were daring you to go ahead and try to start a fire.

The last day there I took the boys to the Alaska Transportation Museum, which was really more like a junkyard, but what drew us there was that they have this little train you can ride on that goes for about 10 minutes through a forested area. It's kind of cheesy because they have old doll houses and toys set up to look like little towns, and I can tell you Hillbilly Barbie has seen better days, but the boys greatly enjoyed it.

Ta Da! We looked at some of the big engines.

And some of the old jets, boats, and firetrucks they had.

We had a great visit, but were ready to come home. The boys were as good as they could be on the long day of traveling back to Las Vegas, right up until Jacob threw a huge fit on descent into LV because I wouldn't let him get out of his seat to look out the window. Full on screaming. It was lovely. People needed to wake up anyhow, right?

I think that is it, oh, I should post Jacob and his spider. That was kind of funny. I think he needs a pet, he gets too attached to bugs. He is still feeling the loss of an earwig I flushed down the toilet 4 days ago. And when I tell him not to touch the roaches that turn up dying outside, he says "but it's my little friend!" Yeah, maybe I should invest in a fish or gecko.

Alaska Days 3-4

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel H.) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:52:00 +0000

So day number 3 we go got up and headed south on the Seward Highway, heading to? Seward. It was about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive, but it was so beautiful the whole way that we really didn't mind. We stopped again to watch the belugas in the water. Michael really enjoyed it! Jacob not so much, because he is a desert baby and doesn't like to be cold.
If you know anything about my boys, you may know of their train obsession, so of course we had to stop and see the train coming down the tracks.

The air was so clean and cool, I love that Jacob was enjoying the feeling. There is something fun about putting your hand out the window and riding the waves.

I also love the color that the glacial silt gives the rivers and lakes if they are glacier fed, I think it is so pretty.

We made it to Seward and took a hike! It started out nice and easy but got a little more difficult for the boys, but they trudged on once they found some sticks. We were hitting their fall season and the leaves were starting to fall from the trees. Which if anyone knows anything about me, they know I love fall and I love crunchy leaves under my feet.

Exit Glacier is 3 miles long and they show how it has been receding steadily since the early 1800's, which makes me wonder how they can blame it on global warming caused by carbon emissions since that didn't really get going until the 1900's, but whatever.

I'll tell you what, that is a dang cold wind that blows off a glacier!
I love the blue color!
Michael was quite proud and has turned into a bit of a picture poser.

Every good hiker knows that you have hike out with whatever you took in. That includes children who don't want to walk anymore.

We then hit Resurrection Bay, where alot of whale watching boats leave from. I seriously considered adding it to our plans, but I was worried that the boys would get bored being on a boat for several hours, even with the chance of seeing whales. But I figure we will go on our next visit, when they are a little bit older and can appreciate it more.

We then hit the Alaska Sealife Center, which is a cold water aquarium. They had these buttons that you could push to hear different animal sounds, this is Jacob's reaction to the walrus. It makes me smile.

Here are some shrimp. Which really look pretty disgusting and make you wonder why you eat them. But then I had fresh shrimp that my brother had caught halibut fishing, and I gained a whole new appreciation for shrimp. Unfortunately I have been spoiled and now can never have anything but fresh shrimp. There is no going back.

A little puffin.

I liked the salmon exhibit and they had tanks with salmon at different stages of growth.

I have no idea what this fish is, but it's ugly. It sure seemed like he was coming to check them out.

After eating some more good food involving fresh halibut, we drove back to Anchorage and then north to my brother's house. Mark had to come back home for work, but I was staying 5 more days at their place. We missed him terribly the rest of the trip but still managed to have a good time.

The following day, we hit the Alaska State Fair for over priced food and rides, but you have to love fair food. It was actually the warmest day they'd had in over a month. Good timing on my part.

Riding a little train- are you kidding me? $3 a ride.

After the fair we headed back to my brother's place and enjoyed being outside. They loved, loved having a playset and swings, and room to run. They have a great sledding hill too and lots of trees, where moose like to come through and then come up the the house and eat my sister-in-law's flowers.

Sigh...oh to have grass. Of course the consequence of having this grass would be to have it covered in snow for 8 months. (That is my tall brother, he's 6' 5". I would like for my pediatrician to meet him so that everytime he sees Jacob he will stop asking how tall Mark is. It seems to confuse him that Jacob is so tall.)

The next day it rained the whole day and was about 50 degrees, so we were lucky to have such good weather on our adventures. I will finish up later with the rest of my visit. But I am glad I am actually blogging this so that I can remember what it was we did, when I finally get around to doing something with all my pictures...someday.