Lagoon

 The last weekend of September we took a family trip to Lagoon.  It's kinda become a Lyons family tradition, since Parker's dad gets about 6 free tickets every year from work.  I just can't believe how much fun we had this year!  One of the reasons this year was so great was because Caleb was tall enough to go on almost all of the rides!  He was so excited to get to go on the big roller-coasters like "the spider" and "wild mouse" and "colossus" and especially "wicked."  I'll never forget his face as he stood up to the measuring board and we told him he was tall enough to go on "wicked."  He got this cheezy grin, "I'm tall enough?!!......YES!  I'm tall enough to go on WICKED!"  Honestly I don't know how a 6 year old can stomach that ride though....I can barely handle it myself.  It goes 0-50 in like 5 seconds and then takes you up vertical, and then a vertical drop.  I screamed so hard I lost my voice.

 Angie was tall enough to go on quite a few rides too!  And she never got scared, which REALLY surprised me, since some of them were kind-of intense.  But she really enjoyed the kiddie rides, and luckily Caleb was happy to ride those with her too. 

 Last year at Lagoon, we arrived around 11:00 and were ready to go home by 5:00.  The kids were pooped, and hungry, and cranky.  THIS year was so much better.  They were older, and enjoyed themselves so much that we stayed until about 8:00!  It was well after dark.  I just couldn't believe it.  We left because we (the adults) were pooped....not the kids.  Caleb could have continued going on rides all night.  

 Baby Garrett was such a trooper too!  He sat in his carseat cradled in the stroller for pretty much the entire day.  Of course I took hiim out to feed him and burp him, and just love on him....but he spent most of the time asleep in that little chair. 

 We decided that Fall is the best time to go to Lagoon.  The weather was SOOO perfect!  We're usually battling extreme heat, but since we waited until the end of September to go....it was much more pleasant.  It was actually the first week of "Frightmares", so there were all kinds of halloween decorations around the park....and then as evening started to come in there were lots of people dressed up as zombies walking around and waiting to scare you.  I warned Caleb about the zombies, and pointed them out to him.  He made sure he kept his distance. 

 At one point, we decided to go to Pioneer village and hit the two wet rides.  We did the log plunge first.  Angie was NOT a fan.  She HATES getting wet unless it's in a well-heated swimming pool.  So naturally, a surprise splash while she's fully clothed brought on the water works.  She screamed and cried.....and then she got over it.  Then we went on Rattlesnake Rapids (a river raft ride).  I KNEW she was going to hate this one.  Luckly it's easy to move and change seats on this ride....so as we saw the splashes coming, I got up out of my seat and shielded Angie with my body.  As a result.....I was SOAKED!  And she STILL cried.  There were SOME splashes where the water just went over the side of the boat and landed in your lap.  So my butt was completely soaked....AND.....my shoes.  I wore tennis shoes and socks.....and after that ride, I removed my shoes and wrung out my socks.  A steady stream of water gushed out.  Aww man.  I walked the rest of the day in those squishy, wet, and now stinky shoes. 

After pioneer village we hit some of the bigger roller coasters.  Caleb went on "the colossus" FOUR times!  Once with Parker, once with me, and twice with Grandpa.  I'd forgotten how intense that ride was.  I screamed the entire time.  I really have no idea how Caleb could handle it FOUR times.  He rode more rides than any of us adults!  I have a feeling he may be hard to keep up with at an amusement park like this once he's a teenager.

While we were standing in line for "wicked" Paul and Claudia waited with Angie and Garrett.  At one point there was this car that started playing some music.  Angie decided to head on over and dance.  She danced for like five minutes straight!  And Grandpa videoed the whole thing.  It's pretty much the cutest thing you've ever seen. 

 After Lagoon we went to Aunt Jo's house and stayed the night.  Caleb LOVES going to Aunt Jo's house.  This just ADDED to his excitement from spending the day at Lagoon.  It was such an awesome experience to get to enjoy that with my kids.  Especially Caleb.....this trip was a milestone for him.  We really did have a blast.

Grasshopper

Two days ago my work schedule was kinda pathetic.  I had so many cancellations that I ended up going home for a 3 hour lunch break.  While I was at home, I decided to go outside and cut some roses to put on the table.  I went out back to my big pink rosebush and cut a few.  Then I noticed a bunch of dead blossoms, so I started dead-heading.  I then went through the house and out to the front yard to see if there were any roses on my white rose-bush.  While walking through the lawn, I noticed that the grass was still wet from when the sprinklers came on this morning.  I felt something cold on my pantleg, around my left knee.  I didn't think anything of it.....the grass was wet.  Maybe somehow my pants got a little wet.  Then I go into the house, and I go into the bathroom.  As I'm sitting on the toilet, I decided to find out what was feeling cold on my pantleg.  I started looking for a wet spot.  Then as I started feeling around I felt something solid.

AHH!

My heart-rate picked up a bit.  What could it be?  I start playing back the rose-cutting in my head.  Maybe one of the dead-heads got into my pants?

No.....that couldn't be possible.  So.  I start FRANTICLY shaking my pant-leg to get WHATEVER IT IS out.  Then to my horror.  Out comes this GRASSHOPPER the size of my THUMB!

I SCREAMED and jumped backwards (also flapping my hands and dancing like a little girl).  People.  I HATE grasshoppers.  They just JUMP with no direction, and could easily land on my face or in my hair.  Not to mention, they are somehow able to have a kind of "grip" with those creepy legs, once they DO land on you. 

So.  I finally stopped screaming and tried to figure out my next move. 

 I'm not gonna step on it.

Because if I did manage to get my foot over it before it jumped and latched onto my face, I would STILL have to listen to it's body crunch and crack on my bathroom floor.  No thank you. 

I seriously considered shutting the bathroom door and leaving it in there until Parker got home.  Then HE could kill it.  But.  There was always this chance that it would go off and hide somewhere, or get out of the bathroom, and then we'd have this enormous grasshopper roaming around the house.  No.  That wasn't an option either.  I was going to have to kill it.

So I went and got the fly swatter.  I was going to have to hit it hard....because it was just so big.  And I was gonna have to be fast, so it wouldn't jump up on me. 

I swung the fly swatter with all my might and hit it right there on the floor. 

A huge stream of guts was coming out of it's butt.....but ht still wasn't dead.  But.  At least he couldn't jump anymore.

Now I have to get rid of it.

I'm certainly not going to touch it. 

I got a HUGE wad of toilet paper- so I wouldn't have to feel its creepy body underneath the tissue.  Then I wiped it up (guts and all) and threw it into the toilet and flushed it.

 

Don't ask me HOW that huge thing got into my PANTS!  I was outside for a total of like 3 minutes! 

And now I am even MORE creeped out about grasshoppers, because apparently they can sneak into your clothing and take a free ride into your house. 

Kids say

I just have to share with you all.  Last night Garrett slept through the night.  He's 8 1/2 weeks old.  I was just so thrilled.  I fed him at 10:30 last night, and then he went right to sleep.  Then this morning I woke up at 6:10 (because when you haven't pumped in 8 hours it REALLY starts to hurt) and he was STILL sleeping!  Of course I had to go into his room and check to make sure he was still breathing.  Which he was.  And then I pumped.  Oooh the relief.  Anyway.  I am just amazed.  He's such a good baby! 

This week was my first week back to work.  With that also comes daycare.  I'm not sure if I ever posted this, but I lost my day-caregiver last month.  Tresa Hansen.  I'm sorry...this is the only picture I have of her.

My kids love her so much.  They went to her house for 2 years.  But her husband got a job teaching in Nevada.  Which is so much better than ANY job teaching in Idaho.  So they had to move.  I was devastated.  I got the news they were moving about one 2 weeks before Garrett was born.  The only bright side to this whole thing was that I would be going on maternity leave for 8 weeks and would have that much time to find somebody new to watch the kids once I go back to work.  Even with 2 months to find a replacement, the news pretty much rocked my world.  I spent lots of time fretting and crying over the matter.  I would NEVER find anybody as good as her.  And there's an un-explainable amount of comfort that you get as a working mom, just knowing that your kids are comfortable where they're at, and that the person caring for them loves them. 

Anyway.  So this week was the first week at the new daycare.  I feel pretty good about this place.  It's another in-home daycare....although she has quite a few more kids than Tresa did.  But Angie seems to like it.  Anyway.  Yesterday I was picking up Caleb and as we were getting into the car he says to Mary (a 5 year old girl at the daycare).... "Goodbye honey."
..........
I'm sorry, WHAT?
I looked at Caleb.  "Did you just call her 'honey'?"!!
He looks at me.  "Mom!  We're playing mom and dad."
........... ok....... (is that ok?) .......
"Oh.  Ok."
So as we're driving away I decide to investigate the matter (knowing full-well that the first boy I ever held hands with was in first grade, just like my son is).  "So Caleb....is Mary your friend?"
"Yeah.  But she's a girl."
"well, it's ok to have friends that are girls......as long as you don't kiss them."  :)  There I said it.
"Right mom.  Cuz we don't kiss friends."
"Right."

Lately, Angie has been kind-of obsessed with gender.  She's always asking me, "Mommy- you a girl?"  and I tell her yes, and that she is too.
"You have a pee pee?"
Honestly....it was funny the first time.  But now i'ts just routine.  The conversation ALWAYS goes like this.
"No sweetie, I don't have a pee pee.  Only boys do, like Daddy and Caleb."
Well a few weeks ago we were at Grandma Lyons's house.  Angie was being loved on by her grandpa.  He was doing all of the things that make Grandpa the favorite.  Pushing her on the swing.  Taking her for walks outside (while carrying her of course) and all the while carrying on with extremely meaningful 2-year-old converstion topics.  They were sitting on the couch, and she was on his lap, giving him big hugs and being oh so sweet.  I looked over at Paul a few minutes later and his face was BEET red.  He was trying so hard not to laugh.  Ok no...he was laughing, but just laughing so hard he couldn't get it out.  I vaguely recalled hearing part of the conversation.
"Pa pa- you a boy?"
oh no.  I didn't hear it.....but I KNEW what she'd asked him next.  I looked at Paul again.
"She asked you if you had a pee pee didn't she." 
He laughed OUT LOUD and nodded.  Good job Angie.  I think you successfully emberassed your grandpa. 

Pump-In-Style

Ok....most of my readers will not care a bit about this post....but it took me SO long to figure this out, that I feel like I owe it to the other pumping mommies out there to share my discovery. 

My breast pump is a huge part of my life right now.  I like to pump and then bottle feed my babies.  I have never nursed.  It takes too long, and I love being able to get instant relief when the milk has come in, and I'm ready to get it ALL OUT!  Since I'm a working mom anyway, it all makes sense that I should do it this way. My breast pump is a Medela Pump-in-style. 

The model I have is what you see in the picture.  So here's what was going on.  I was noticing that I was losing suction.  I used to be able to pump 4 oz (I always measure on one side, even though I always pump both sides at once) in 5 minutes, and by 7 minutes I could have 6 ounces.  Quick right?  Lately it's been taking 15 to 20 minutes to get 4 ounces!  It gets SO annoying, I mean....I have to use this thing 4 times a day.  There were times when it felt like it was taking LONGER AND LONGER every time I used the pump.  I was really getting frustrated.  But I FINALLY figured out why (and honestly....it's not all that complicated, I'm just a little slow I guess)

The breast attachment is something that I rinse after every use, and I actually do wash the horn with soap every time.  But there's one part that I was NOT washing every time.  See below...

 This little flappy valve.  I also noticed that as I continued to lose suction, these little valves were making more and more noise while using the pump.  Kind-of a "buzz" vibration that I suppose only pumping moms would recognize.  And I also noticed that as it lost suction, I was getting more and more condensation in the hoses. 

 Apparently when you don't wash these parts, you get build-up which affects the suction.  See the white stuff?  Well.  Once I cleaned it off....it was like my pump was brand new again!  6 ounces in five minutes again.  What a relief.  And the condensation went away in the hoses.

 On a second note, I just want to say that the pump itself has a face-plate that can be removed.  (see below)

If the face-plate isn't re-attached completely and tightly, the pump won't work right either. 

So....lesson learned.  The best way to keep the pump in working order is to keep it clean!  Who knew.

It's Over

 Today was baby Garrett's blessing day.  My parents came with great-grandma Willis, and Parker's parents came with great-grandpa Lyons, along with Jayne and Garrett.  We also invited our best friends Travis and Jill with their 3 kids. 

 Parker gave little G such a beautiful blessing.  There's truly something amazing that happens whenever that man is able to use his priesthood power to bless his family.  I can't explain it, but it brings out a side of my husband that I don't always get to see, and it's like I fall in love with him all over again every time it happens. 

 After sacrament meeting we came back to our house and I had a baked potato bar, complete with non-homemade chilli.  But to make up for it, Jill brought cornbread made from scratch that was truly a hit, so nobody cared that the chilli was Nalley's and not mine. ;)

 After everything settled down this evening, and the kids were put to bed, I sat on the couch and started feeding my little Gher-bear, and I just started to cry.  Today is the last day of my maternity leave.  My baby is 8 weeks old and that means it's time for me to go back to work.  Man it went by fast. 

With Caleb, I started school when he was 4 weeks old.  Hard right?  Yes.  But school seemed like such a "righteous" cause you know?  It's school.  Then Angie came, and I went back to work when she was 6 weeks old.  But daddy wasn't working at the time, and she actually was able to stay at home until she was 8 months old.  But with Garrett there is no school, and there is no stay-at-home parent.  I can't express the guilt that I feel.  It hurts so bad.  He's so precious and innocent, and he deserves to be cared for by his mother.  I knew this day was coming before he was ever born.  Before he was even conceived.  But it doesn't make it any easier. 

I just have to continue to pray and hope that the Lord will bless us with a different situation someday.  I worked hard for my education, and I can not ignore my student loans  It is what it is.  It just sucks.  All I've ever wanted was to be a mother, and to care for my children the way that I know I should....which is to be at home with them.  I am grateful for the 8 weeks I had to spend every day with him.  It was complete bliss. 

TOFW 2012

 Last weekend I went to Time Out for Women with my sisters, mom, and Grandma Willis.  I really enjoyed myself, even though I was kinda fighting a terrible stomach bug at the time.  Parker watched the kids at my mom and dad's house, and I got to spend some time being spiritually fed by some awesome speakers.  My FAVORITE talk was by Hilary Weeks.  Here's the link to a segment of my favorite talk:

 Like all conferences, some talks were better than others, and some of the music was good, and some of it was not my favorite.

I was really touched by a few talks in particular.  A woman from Africa, a woman who suffered cancer in her eyes leaving her completely blind, and then another of my favorites was Hilary Weeks's music video "Beautiful Heartbreak"  Here it is.  Get out your tissues.



I've decided that at things like this, you get out of it what you decide to put into it.  There were times when I felt un-interested, but I wasn't focusing.  When I decided to really apply myself and listen with my heart I was able to take home so much more.

What I took from this conference: I need to pray more and spend more time reading my scriptures.  I learned that the power of positive thinking can change your life.  And I learned that I am SO lucky.  No.  Blessed.  To have the things in my life.  There are SO many people who have it worse than me.  I have such great examples to be found in my mother, grandmother, and sisters.  They are such a source of strength to me.

I also learned that as much as I love my baby....I will NEVER take him to a big conference like this.  And IF I did (which I wouldn't) then I would LEAVE THE ROOM when he started to cry and hopefully set a good example for the other sisters in the room who can't seem to comprehend the over-the-shoulder stares that are screaming, "Are you SERIOUSLY going to sit there while your baby whines in this HUGE room full of people?!!". 

I hope to get to go again sometime!

Harvest

Summer is going by so fast!  I just wanted to write a few things down.  Our garden is doing really well.  We have plenty of broccoli, beans, and zucchinni to eat on a VERY regular basis.  I haven't had to do any canning yet (which I probably SHOULD....but I don't really have the time, so it's good that my garden isn't FORCING me into a canning spree).  Our peach tree produced some AWESOME peaches, but I picked them about 1 week too late, and they were pretty soft.  I decided that since we wouldn't be able to eat them all in time, that I'd make some freezer jam.  I'd done strawberries with my mom a few weeks before.....it can't be all that hard.  I did everything she said, and followed the instructions exactly.  It didn't set up.  Maybe my peaches were too soft.  Apparently my mom's one attempt at peach freezer jam was also a failure.  So......next fall if we have too many peaches, we'll be freezing them and then putting them in smoothies or cobbler.  Not jam.  I guess we'll use it as berry syrup on our pancakes or something.  It was really quite a let-down because incase anybody forgot....I have a newborn baby in the house.  And the fact that I took the time to pit and peel peaches instead of taking a nap is saying something.  Boo.   

The other day we went to the park, and Caleb was getting pretty good on the monkey-bars.  A few minutes later he came running up to me in tears.  He held out his hand and showed me a dime-sized blister that had been ripped on the palm of his hand.  I told him that it's a monkey-bar blister and that I had gotten several when I was little.  I told him, "I know it hurts, but every kid gets these kinds of blisters.  You're gonna be ok."  His reply made me laugh:  "Every kid in the whole wide world?"  ........how do you answer that?  As a matter of fact, he's ALWAYS asking me questions I can't answer.  It's really annoying at times.  He always asks questions regarding time, which is a concept he really doesn't understand yet.  "Mom....how long does it take to get to Las Vegas?" then when I reply "Oh, about 8 hours."  His next reply is, "Well how many minutes is 8 hours?"  Seriously?  You can't tell time yet kid....why are you asking me this?  He also is constantly asking me math problems.  "Mom.  How much is 8 plus 5?"  Then when I tell him, he either argues with me about what HE thinks is the answer.....or he follows-up with another math problem.  I'm glad he wants to learn....he just asks this kind of stuff ALL THE TIME.  One of these days he's gonna figure out that I'm still counting on my fingers. ;)

Caleb is quite the little sponge when it comes to learning.  His favorite thing to watch on TV is documentries!  He's always got some thing on from national geographic of animal planet.  His favorite show on PBS is "wild Kratz" which is 2 brothers exploring animals.  As a result, Caleb is always spewing facts like, "Mom- did you know the ocean is the largest ecosystem in the whole wide world?"  and "Mom- did you know the biggest mammals are whales?" The other day I was talking to him about monkeys.  As we listed off different species like howlers, arangitans, gorillas and so forth, I mentioned a chimpanzee.  Caleb quickly corrected me.  "No mom.  Chimpanzees are NOT monkeys, they're APES!"  ........yes you're right.  I've just been schooled by a six-year-old.

 

Little miss Angie.  She sure keeps me busy.  But is SO much easier to care for when her brother is gone.  They spend so much time fighting.  But today (our first day home with Caleb at school ALL DAY) and she said to me, "What aw you doing widdow miss mommy?"  Hah!  I guess I call her "miss Angie" more than I thought, cuz apparently now I'm "miss mommy."  She has been insisting on dressing herself for the past week or so, and is becoming more tolerant of me putting ponytails in her hair.

Angie has some favorite movies right now that just make me so pleased!  Goofy Movie is the first.  This movie was a STAPLE in my childhood.  I just love it!  And  it's awesome to see that my girl likes it too.  Her other favorite is "Annie."  And this is just so cute, because she sings the songs to herself while she plays, and even dances around the living room saying, "We've got Annie!" 

Angie also has a favorite word right now.  "Probably."  Everything is "probably." 
"Mommy- you should probably make dinner."
"Mommy- you should probably vacuum."
"Mommy- you should probably paint my nails." 

Our garden has produced a hybrid.  The cucumber is to the left of the pumpkin- both of which are in the same box.  They've cross-pollinated to give us yellow cucumbers!  Ironically, they taste just like a cucumber.  They're just a different color!

The pumpkin (so far) seems to be un-affected.  And so far we only have one.  It's currently the size of a cantalope....maybe a little bigger.  It looks like it'll make a fine jack-o-lantern!

Just before school started, we decided Caleb had better learn how to tie his shoes.  So we bought him lace-up shoes for school, and he had about a week to practice.  He had it down by the first day!  I was so impressed at how fast he learned- but today when I picked him up from his first day of school, both of his laces were un-tied.  Oh well. 

Caleb also got a new set of partial dentures this summer.  About a week ago actually.  After Garrett was born, I didn't make him wear them for a few weeks.  Then when I tried to get him to put them back in, he cried "they don't FIT mom!"  I found it hard to believe that his mouth could've changed that much over 2 weeks....but maybe he was just so used to the change before.  So I took him into my work.  Dr. Thompson tried in the old ones and said "These things are way too small.  His teeth have errupted more, and he's going to need a whole new partial."  So we had a new one made.  It fits him pretty well....but for some reason, his upper lip-line is not right when he smiles.  The picture below illustrates what I'm talking about.

Dr. T. is on vacation right now, so he'll have to wear these for the first week of school, but hopefully I'll get him in and they will be able to fix it so that his smile is a little more normal.  He's still a handsome little guy.  And such a trooper to live every day with such a mouth-full!  I love him so much.

Last Sunday we had corn on the cob with our dinner.  Angie (who has front teeth) was able to dig-in with no problem.  Of course I had to take a quick picture.  There's nothing more classic than a kid eating corn on the cob! But I was surprised to see how well Caleb did too!  He didn't want it cut off the cob.  And he didn't want to wear his partials either.  With only 5 teeth, my boy was able to mangle an entire ear of corn.  He actually ended up eating much more than Angie did!

Finally- little Garrett is my joy.  His blue eyes and red hair just amaze me.  I don't know where it came from, or if it'll stay that way.  But he's just so beautiful!  We've allready adjusted the straps on his carseat because he's just SO BIG!  And he's been wearing 3 month clothing for several weeks now.  The newborn stuff barely lasted long enough for him to wear each outfit once!

He's starting to make facial expressions, and has slept up to 5 hours sometimes at night.  I have been feeding and burping him while lying on the couch at night, and I've made a bad habbit for myself.  After he's had enough, I roll him onto my chest to burp him, and we usually both fall asleep for another hour or two.  Most of the time he hasn't burped, and then when I finally wake up (because I haven't pumped yet, and now it's just painful) he usually needs fed AGAIN before I can go back to bed.  It kinda makes for a long night, even though I'm spending the majority of my time snoozing.  I need to keep myself awake while I'm burping him....just get everything done and then I'd be able to actually go back to bed.  But it's just so easy to roll him over and doze off myself.  We'll get the hang of something.  I only have 2 weeks of maternity leave left. 

I've enjoyed this time so much, I'm just so sad it's about to end.  He's so precious, and I love him so much!