Flu, or Just a Virus?

Uuuuugggggghhhhh.

I started feeling ill yesterday evening, but I was up all night running to the bathroom. I HATE being sick, mostly because my kids are so crazy active. I end up propping them in front of the television all day, and that is just bad parenting! Well, what else can you do when you're so sick you're stuck on the couch with no energy to move?

Body Ache
Head Ache
Stomach Craziness
Stuffy, Runny Nose
Excessively Tired

Somebody shoot me now. I'd post a picture of myself, but I don't want to punish you sweet readers.

Birthday Countdown...

This little goob turns two years old on the 30th. I need to plan something, some type of grand celebration! I'm thinking a restaurant get together with family and any friends who want to come, because I don't think I have the strength for another party on my back porch. I welcome any suggestions and good ideas, meanwhile I will be searching the internet for inspiration...

Feeding the Ducks

Margaret and I took the kidlets to feed the ducks at the pond on BYU campus. My camera skills were terrible, but the babies had a blast! It brought back memories, because our aunties (and sometimes our dad) used to take us to the same spot to feed the ducks when we were little. With my kids there wasn't a lot of time for reflection, though, due to the fact that both Margaret and I were preoccupied with making sure Ben didn't dive in to swim with the ducks! And these ducks are obviously trained, because they just stood at our feet and waited to be fed. I don't remember any ducks quite so "friendly"! It took Ben chasing them and yelling "quack, quack" as loud as he could to get the ducks to scatter.

Daily To Do List

I don't remember where I found this list, but I think it is a great way to make sure you're really living!


Daily To Do List

Read a poem

Listen to a piece of music

Look at a piece of art

Eat good food

Create something

Express gratitude for something

Have DIRECT experience of life

Touch the earth

Let go of the unnecessary

Love with an open heart



How great is this?

Last Days of Summer

I cannot tell you how happy I am now that summer is pretty much over. I can't contain my excitement! I always have big plans for Fall, like making apple crisp, going to the pumpkin patch, and taking a drive through Provo Canyon to see the season's foliage. What I'm really waiting for is a change in the air. I love the crisp bite in the air that always accompanies the Fall seasons.

Here, some pictures of the kids enjoying the last days of Summer with their Dad.

The Business of Being Born

My friend is 8 weeks pregnant, and I'm so excited for her! Like mine, her first birth was unfortunately an emergency c-section. Due to her (negative) experience, she is exploring her options in order to make her second birth a better birth! I really admire her.

We have a mutual friend who loaned me a great documentary, titled The Business of Being Born. The film discusses the history of Obstetrics in the U.S., and the negative impact that modern medical practices have had on the process of natural childbirth. I had researched a little in the past on the subject of natural/home birth, but the statistics in this film just astounded me. This documentary is definite proof that the system of childbirth in place in the United States is broken.

In a way, I have had the opportunity to experience both sides of the coin. While I haven't experienced home birth (or a birth without the aid of an epidural), I have had a difficult first birth resulting in a c-section, and a second birth that went very well and resulted in a natural delivery. As any mother would tell you, I preferred my second birth! It is so wonderful to know that there are options out there for mothers who want a natural birthing experience in every way. And above everything, education for women regarding their options is crucial.

If you haven't watched this film, you should. I highly recommend it for moms, and moms to be.

The Help That I Needed

The LDS Church has just published a new Nursery Manual titled "Behold Your Little Ones." How awesome is this? Nate and I have been struggling to plan meaningful Family Home Evening lessons for our kiddos, so this manual couldn't have been published at a better time.

The manual has 30 lessons that are geared towards nursery aged children, but after reading through some of them, I think they would even be appropriate for children as old as 5 or 6. Each lesson also has a corresponding b & w coloring page that can be copied (Built in activity!). The manual is $5.50 at the Church Distribution Center, but the entire thing is also available in Pdf at www.lds.org.

Dance, Dance, Dance!!!

Sylvia went to her first dance lesson today. Considering she's a wild woman, she behaved very well! She is attending a combo Tap/Ballet class, and she's tickled pink that she gets not one, but two pairs of dancing shoes! She is in a class with about 10 other 3 year olds, and she has a teacher that is just wonderful. I've never seen a group of pre-schoolers behave so well before in my life! (And I spend every Sunday in Primary, so that is really saying something...) I wasn't quite sure that Sylvia would be ready for a dance class so young, but I was thrilled to be proven wrong. She can't wait for dance class next week!