Weird rash

Poor Spence. He's had a rough go of it lately. First, he had a bad ear infection over Thanksgiving weekend, with a temp of 105F! That was scary, and he ended up in an urgent care center a week ago Sunday, to get some amoxicillin for his infection. Then, just this past Sunday morning, when I went to get him up, he looked like this...

The pictures don't even do it justice. His cheeks were so ruddy and red, and he had little red pocks all OVER his body. Who would have thought?! He acted fine -- even a bit more rowdy than he has been lately. No fever. No loss of appetite. It was just a weird rash. Well, we didn't want to risk infecting anybody so we did some shuffling for church time (Brian went to Sacrament to be sustained for his new church calling in the Sunday School pres., then I went to RS to play for our special musical lesson.) And Spencer stayed home and slept.

He was fine all day, other than looking a little freaky with the spots all over. Then today, it started lightening up. We still took him to the doctor, even though it seems to be clearing on its own. Dr first said it was probably a viral infection that is just ending. Then he called in the special pediatrician, and she said it looked more like a reaction to the amoxicillin -- but it could still be a virus, possibly. The good thing is that it's going away, and Spencer seems to be fine.

It's just crazy how much we worry about our kids, sometimes. Always better to be safe than sorry, I suppose. Anyway, just thought I'd share the mundane details of life here, so you can be glad for my absence from blogging. ha!

I have to say, our super-cute Spence still looks super cute to me, even if he is covered in red spots...

Gotta love those baby blues!

Holiday Fun

We've been busy having some good times these past few weeks. Thought I'd post a few of the pictures to share...

Here are the gorgeous lights from our little downtown Caldwell. We went last night to see the annual Christmas parade, and ended up meeting with several other families we know from church. The kids loved the candy and the lights.

We also got our tree yesterday and got out the Christmas decorations. (The tree isn't quite decorated yet, so you'll see picts of it in some other post.) Here's Sam and Spence, with Sammie modeling some of the decor'...

And Spence just looking cute, sort of waving (he doesn't officially wave yet, though I like to pretend he does)..

Samantha figured out what the Christmas stockings are for...

We went to the annual Christmas tree lighting in Nampa with Brian's family just before Thanksgiving. This year we actually MADE it there in time for the lighting! yay! (Then we ate loads of chocolates and meatballs they were giving out for FREE at the old train depot. yum!)

Sammie is making her amends with Santa... no more screams of terror. She actually allowed him to give her a candy cane. This is real progress!
The whole gang, gathered round the tree...
And last, the not-so-great photos from our awesome Thanksgiving dinner. We had a HUGE group from Brian's mom's side of the family. It was a fun reunion, with all the TG trimmings and lots of catch-up time for everybody. Someone got a REAL family photo, while I just took a few shots of people rallying for the picture...

We've been having some fun times, enjoying the chance to be with family.

New tricks and things

I know, now I'm going a little TOO "slowler" -- especially with the blogging. Sorry. I may be making a come back here; or this may be another false start... I just can't seem to get into the internet groove these days.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some cute picts of the kids and some of their latest fun stuff. Spencer has learned a lot of new tricks lately. First trick...

Brian calls it his Bat Boy trick, and sings the Batman theme to him. Spence just LOVES being our upside-down baby. Cute.
Next trick...
Our little man is on the move. This is a little video I took when he was first scooting, a couple of weeks ago. Now he's crawling everywhere, quite professionally.



And along with crawling, he has another trick to share...
That's right! He's STANDING. Sort of. He can get himself up, but can't get back down. Either he'll stand there and start crying for help to get down, or he'll eventually just lose his balance and take a tumble. But he sure is proud of his achievements!
He's also trying to master the stairs, even though I secretly discourage it... The landing onto hardwood is just NOT a good idea. But he's pretty determined.
As for Samantha, she has some new toys and things to share. First, play dough...
This kept her busy for nearly an hour, even though I was momentarily sad she mixed all the colors together. She was very proud of her "family" creations. Here she is singing, though a little more shy about it than usual, I think because of the camera...

She also got a new princess game that she plays with almost every day. It was one I got awhile ago and told her it looked a little too old for her so we would save it until she was a little older. Well, in a pinch I got it out and told her she could play with it (to keep her busy). She immediately asked, "So, now I'm a little bit older?" Here she is clutching her new game, as she sits in her NEW booster seat -- proving that yes, she IS a little bit older!
For the holidays, Sammie got a new "princess" dress, as she calls it. She wants to wear it EVERY Sunday (and every other day, for that matter), and often asks if I can put on MY princess dress (wedding dress) too, so we can be matching? Hasn't happened yet.
Sam also has a new love for "all things baby." She loves playing with her dolls, changes their names every other day, and changes their clothes every other minute (which gets tricky, as both dolls only have two outfits each). I find her babies in the strangest places... here they are in the bathroom closet upstairs, and later they were sleeping in the tub. I think it's cute, and so much fun to see her imagination develop.
I find her babies in the strangest places... here they are in the bathroom closet upstairs, and later they were sleeping in the tub. I think it's cute, and so much fun to see her imagination develop. She put Bob the Bear in time out yesterday for hitting, "we AREN'T supposed to HIT, BOB!". Hmm... sounds familiar?

That's all for now, folks. Sorry to be such a slacker blogger. I'm amazed anybody still reads, though I'm really glad you do. Thanks! I'll try to get a post up sooner this time, kay?

Slowler. And other randomness.

It's just past midnight, and I just finished reading through every blog on my list. I even commented on almost all of them -- which, as you can imagine, took me awhile. It was nice and relaxing to see what other people are up to. It's been a long time since I've taken time to just sit back and enjoy cyberspace.

But really, shouldn't I be sleeping right now? The answer is yes, of course. But I think I have a mild case of insomnia or something. The past few weeks (and especially the past few nights) I've had such a hard time sleeping. I toss and turn and get up to use the bathroom and check on my kids and look out the window and whatever else there is to do in the middle of the night besides sleeping. Tonight is an exception -- I haven't actually tried going to bed yet. I guess part of me figures, what's the point? Maybe I'm hoping I'll get so super tired enough that I'll just drop off eventually and get some really deep sleep. Who knows.

Despite the lack of restful sleep, I'm happy to report it has been a better few days around here. I have not stomped my feet or screamed frantically for awhile. This is good. This is very good, in fact. I'm even doing better at the prayer thing, though it's still really hard to make the habit stick. I'm trying, and I think the Lord knows that. And another thing that seems to be helping...

Slowler
I wanted to write a few words about slowler. This is Samantha's original word, and I think it is so cute. Sometimes, when I'm in a hurry to leave the house, I start buckling her into her car seat as fast as I possibly can, throwing the diaper back in the back seat at top speed, shoving shoes and socks in so we can put them on when we get where we're going (lets face it, they come off in the car anyway so what's the point in putting them on BEFORE we leave the house?)... With all this going on, Samantha sometimes looks at me and says, "Mom, can we go just some little bit slowler?"

The other day I stopped long enough to see the look in her eyes when she said this, and I decided to take it to heart. I'm really trying to "go some little bit slowler." And it's helping. I know it's not an original idea, and it's something every grandmother would tell a young mother -- stop and enjoy the little moments, take some time to just relax and appreciate your kids, etc. I just happen to like the way Sammie said it. It hit home for me, and it's easy for me to remember, when things get hectic. Just go slowler.

And what have I noticed? Well, for one thing, my punctuality fettish is a bit petty. Sometimes we'll be on time, many times we will not. We're excused; we have children. And for those who do not excuse us, they are welcome to come watch our children so we can be on time. In addition, I'm realizing my housekeeping is not that bad, even on a bad day. I can live with more clutter and dust, and I feel better if I try not to focus on it.

What else? I've noticed that Samantha's eye lashes are really long. And when she gets really excited, she blinks a lot and bats those lashes right down over those big blue eyes in the cutest way. And Spencer -- he's always scratching himself with his nails. I cut them all the time, but when I look close at that baby soft skin there's always some new little cuts he's made. How does he do that? Also, he's such a little chatty boy. He has this most adorable/slightly annoying high-pitched scream that he comes up with when he gets really, really excited. It's so cute. I'll have to get it on video one of these days. I'm just really enjoying the times I get to hold and cuddle my babies right now. Good stuff.

I've been going slowler outside, too. We've been on more walks lately, and I'm loving the sunshine and autumn weather. Samantha loves to pick up rocks and leaves on the walks, and Spencer just calms right down the second we leave the house. It's something we all seem to need, but I just haven't felt like I have time to do it. We spent two hours yesterday just sitting on a blanket in the back yard. (Well, actually Spence was on the blanket, Sam was running around the yard, and I was repotting some plants.) It's just so refreshing to be outside and have some quiet time to think... even with kids.

I've also noticed more of the thoughtful things Brian does all the time. He made us dinner last night so I could get ready for Scouts without getting frazzled. That's not always typical, but it's thoughtful and kind, as Brian always is.

Well, I'm tired now, and my typing is getting slowler. So, I guess I'll go try that sleep thing again. Goodnight blogging world. My Girl's advice to the stressed and troubled: just go some little bit slowler.

Family pictures

We did it! We got family pictures taken... finally! Spencer finally has his own professional shots. yay! And some of Samantha. It wasn't the best day for taking pictures, as our kids didn't really cooperate very well (Samantha had an "accident" the second we arrived at the studio, Spencer was hungry an hour earlier than normal and didn't like the high pitched noises our photographer made to get him to smile, etc.) But I thought there were some cute ones, so thought I'd share. In no particular order...

My little Halloweeners

Hey, I thought I'd put up our pictures of Halloween while it's still somewhat fresh. We had a nice Halloween -- much more candy and hoopla this year than we've had the past four years. (They don't do much for Halloween in England, as they're looking forward to Guy Fawkes day, on Nov 4... in fact, I bet people are lighting fireworks and burning bonfires and effigies over there tonight and every other night this week, just thinking about it makes me thankful to be getting a good night's sleep tonight with no loud, incessant banging of fireworks!) a picture of last year's Guy Fawkes, just for fun...
I confess, I'm out of the Halloween habit, and didn't offer up much enthusiasm for it this year. First, I missed the memo about "trick-or-treat at the Y" Halloween morning, and went to work out right while all the trick-or-treaters were arriving. Sammie and Spencer were with me, uncostumed and ready to be dropped at the childcare place which had been transformed into a Halloween-parade area. This being Samantha's first "real" Halloween, she kept asking me, "what do those people have on? what is that guy wearing? why is he looking so silly and funny?" I forfeited my workout so we could skip the pandamoneum -- and so Sammie wouldn't feel too left out because I forgot to dress her up.

In the afternoon, I called Dalana and borrowed some costume ideas from her -- some Sesame Street characters, a lady bug costume, and a cheerleader. Samantha tried on all the costumes and declared she would be Elmo! then a Ladybug! then a Cheerleader like Brie! Then... as always, she opted to be a princess.

I had to include the pictures of her as a ladybug, because she was so stinkin' cute. And, the whole time she was wearing the costume, she crawled around the house with her fanny in the air saying, "I a Ladybug!!" over and over, making me sing, "Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home..." multiple times. (but she didn't like me to say the ladybug's house was on fire, so I had to skip that part.)
Spencer was really excited to be cookie monster, I'm sure. The blue was good with his eyes and he got tons of compliments.
Here's trying to get them to pose together...

We went to our church's "safe" trunk-or-treat party at the church car park, then came back and knocked around our neighborhood for a bit. Spencer got tuckered out and ended up asleep in the back of the car with Brian, while I walked Sam to the doors.
Sam got a little spooked by some 9- or 10-year-old kid in a skeleton mask who wouldn't talk and just stood staring down at her on someone's door step. I had to tell her several times, "He's just pretend. It's just a little boy in there. He's just being silly, etc." as she clung to my leg. I was tempted to rip his mask off and show her he wasn't really that scary, since he was kind of punky about it, just leering down at her in amused silence. But he just grabbed his candy and left, and I held my temper, and Sammie calmed down.

After the neighborhood rounds, we went to Grandpa and Grandma's house for one more round of candy and some good pictures with the cousins in their costumes. (Spence was already modeling pj's by then, so we didn't include him in the photo shoot.)


We got loads of candy out of the whole Halloween venture. Brian and I each escaped with large packs of peanut m&ms (Sam doesn't like the nuts), and some Snickers and Baby Ruths besides. Not bad. We'll probably do it again next year, maybe even with more enthusiasm and preparation? I mean, maybe I'll even humor Samantha and dress up as a princess with her (she pleaded with me to put on a princess dress several times this year, but I just don't have a princess dress right now, rats!)

Big thank you!

Wow! I got sooo much good advice and encouragement from that last post. THANK YOU for taking time to share with me and give me some fresh ideas and fresh perspective on things. I really appreciate everything that everybody wrote. Most especially, I'm glad to know I'm not alone with this sort of crazy parenting business.

I report that the last few days have been better --- there are always up and down days, right? I'm sure once I can get my hands on some of your book recommendations and implement some of your suggestions more consistently I'll be doing even better. Right now, I better get going as we have a waking-up Sammie girl at 11pm who needs some soothing back to sleep. Always another little lesson to learn about parenting, isn't there?

Just wanted to say thanks!

Soliciting Advice

Today I'm hoping to get a bit of feedback on a few things that we're working on at our house. So, if anyone has some wisdom, knowledge or even just random comments to share, please do! Here are my topics:

1. Parenting the almost-three-year-old Samantha. It's been a real challenge for me lately. She's just being two, I know. But sometimes she gets soooo wild and out of control. She only does what she has in mind to do, most of the time. Sometimes that coincides with what we'd like her to do, sometimes it conflicts. Example: today I asked her to pick her puzzles up off the floor so I could vacuum. She was busy coloring and didn't want to. I asked her a second time, with a warning that the puzzles would go in time-out if she didn't pick them up. She looked at them and said, "okay, put them in time out," then went back to coloring without a second thought. The puzzles are now in time out for two days, and she really doesn't care. So, anyway, I feel like I've done everything from praising her every move, to calmly putting her in time-outs, to screaming at her frantically, to spanking her soundly, to ignoring her antics, to cuddling her like crazy, etc. Anyone got any fresh ideas, or even just some words of encouragement that I'm not messing her up or damaging her self-esteem or whatever? I've love to hear from whoever.

2. Along the same lines, I confess bit of an anger-management issue. The little things dealing with mothering sometimes seem to drive me CRAZY! I have yelled when I have no right to be yelling. I have slammed doors when I should not be slamming and should be calm instead. I have almost bitten a hole in my lip from gritting my teeth. Example: last night Samantha picked up some dirty silverware off kitchen table and started to put it in the dishwasher full of clean dishes. I said, "Woops, no Sammie, please put it in the sink, it's dirty." She was still heading for the dw. "No Sammie, that goes in the sink! Not the dishwasher." Still going to the dw. A little louder, I say, "In the SINK, SAMMIE! the SINK!" Then, as she is defiantly putting them in the dishwasher (just because that's how she is -- she just HAS to do whatever it is she wants to do), messing up all the clean silverware, I find myself shouting, "NO! NO! NO! THAT GOES IN THE SINK!!! IN THE SINK!!"

Really, what she did was not that big of a deal, definitely NOT worth shouting about. I was really embarrassed, especially when Brian turned around with a shocked look on his face. But at the same time, I was so angry. Even writing about it, I'm feeling tense. Goodness. I have stress relievers -- play the piano, clean the house, listen to music, workout, etc. They aren't working for me in this department. I need something more. Any ideas? Please don't think too terrible of me for admitting this. I know I'm supposed to always be the sweet, kind, patient mother. And I really AM trying. But not always doing a good job of it, sigh.

3. I need some good book suggestions. If you want to recommend some on the above topics, I'm open. I'd also like some good reads on getting and staying healthy. Also, just good fiction would be appreciated, if you've read anything good that you'd like to pass on. I went to the library with Brian last week, and all I checked out was a bunch of Sammie books, because I couldn't think of any for me. That's so lame. Give me your ideas, please!

4. I'm a person who believes in praying regularly. But I am having trouble making it happen. This is another big thing to admit, I know. I'm not saying I don't pray, but it's more that I don't have a set time and place that is a part of my daily routine right now -- other than prayer with Brian at night, and prayer with Samantha, and prayer on meals. I guess I'm just looking for any suggestions for making time for a little personal prayer and meditation, and making it a habit.

I'm sure there's more I could confess here, but I'll leave it for now. Hope everyone's enjoying a lovely week of gorgeous autumn time!

Update from us

I thought I'd go for a RECENT update, now that I've put up most of the big stuff from the past few months. So, starting with today... we had a church/community Harvest Party this evening, with all the fun games and food and costumes, etc. Sammie was a princess and I daresay she knew she was lookin' cute!
When we got to the party, she got several "ooohh she's so cute" comments from the young women. Of course, she accepted the praise with polite smiles and darling giggles. She won a little polly pockets doll at the fish pond, and a cupcake at the cake walk. She done us proud!

Spencer was a pumpkin for the party tonight, but umm... we forgot to take his picture. Oops. Well, here he is modelling his latest trick...
That's right, folks. Spencer can sit up, all by himself! I know it looks like he's sort of leaning against the couch, but he's not! He's sitting unassisted, what a big man! He did happen to have a major "throw-back" accident at church last Sunday, where everyone cringed as they heard his head hit the floor at the start of RS, but other than that, he is quite steady. He's also army crawling and rolling like a champ -- all over the place. He just celebrated his 8-month mark on Wednesday, big boy!!
Tonight after the Harvest Party we went to the hometown high school football game -- showdown between the rivalling high schools, Caldwell and Valivue. Caldwell got stomped, but Brian roots for Valivue anyway. It was fun to watch, and be part of the small-town crowd. Samantha especially loved the marching band at half time, the falcon mascot waving what she thought was an "American Flag" (no, it was actually a school flag), and she apparently loved taking off her shoes and coat because she kept doing it.
Sammie also loved sitting by Grandpa Bishop, who met us at the game. She paid the most attention when she was sitting with Grandpa. Spencer didn't exactly love the game. I don't think football is his thing yet. But he was pretty patient and didn't put up too much of a fuss even though it was cold and an hour past his bedtime.
In other news, we got a new bathseat for Spencer, and he loves it. He (and I) gets to be more "hands free" at bath time now, which is great. (aside: look at those gorgeous baby blues! his eyes seem to get blue-er every day, thanks to his daddy's good blue genes!)
And he has a little added protection from his "playmate." Yes, the bathseat is a good thing for all of us.

It sure beats bathing in the kitchen sink, but we still do that sometimes too, when we don't want a huge production. (Truth: I just CANNOT keep Sammie out of the tub any time I try to bathe Spencer. She hears the water and her clothes come off. Since I'm busy making sure Spencer doesn't drown, I can't very well physically make her keep her clothes on and stay out of the tub. So, it's either sink bath for Spence sometimes, or bath time together.)
As for me, I've been proud of my domestic efforts lately. I made three batches of pumpkin bread last week when my parents were here. (That deserves a separate post, but unfortunately we didn't take ANY pictures, can you believe!?!?) Anyway, my mom loved the loaf with raisins and pecans, everyone else seemed more partial to the chocolate chip loaf. There was plenty of both kinds, and muffins as well. Good stuff, that pumkin bread! Thankfully it's "seasonal" and now is its season!
I've also been busy learning to can. It may seem silly to post the pictures, but I'm very proud of my fun things I've canned this year. Here's my homemade grape juice, compliments of one of Brian's parents' friends... a couple who grows grapes but just didn't want to can them this year. It's really powerful juice concentrate -- tastes alot like Welch's, to me.

Here's the massive steamer Brian's mom let me borrow for the grape juice. Imagine our house filled with that sweety grapey aroma for a few days while I was canning. mmmm, good stuff.

I've also canned salsa and tomatoes with Brian's mom, but I don't have pictures of that. And here's some of my strawberry freezer jam. I've always wanted to do freezer jam, and let me tell you this is gooooood stuff. But so much sugar! I will not always make the "gooood stuff" but will search for the low-sugar recipes in the future. (Confession: I also had peaches and plums from my mom and dad that I wanted to use for more freezer jam and fruit leather, but I didn't get it done in time and... well.... I'm sad to say they molded. Maybe next year, I hope!)

That's all for tonight. Let's hope I can start being more regular about this, right?!