Sleeping Arrangements

At Nana's house we have three beds in one room.

Hannah's bed...



Leah's bed...



My bed...



How 'bout that, eh?

Hannah and her Allergies

When Hannah was about 9 months old. Maybe 10. She ate a hunk of frozen peach in one of those little mesh things. And got a hideous rash around her face and all inside her mouth.

No more peaches for Hannah.

When Hannah eats anything with jelly on it she gets a redness anywhere it touches around the outside of her mouth.

No more jelly/jam for Hannah.

A few weeks ago Hannah grabs my spoonful of peanut butter while I was answering the door. All around her mouth and everywhere she drooled (she had on no shirt) there was a red rash. Lines all down her tummy. Within probably an hour of that we had an appt at an allergist for Dec 12th. (Yesterday)

So yesterday, Drew, Hannah & I headed off to Casper. (There is – of course – no allergist in Rawlins. Imagine that.)

At the appointment we went over everything that happened before and they did a standard scratch test on her back with the addition of peaches and watermelon.

The results are that she is allergic to peanuts.

And dust. Yes – dust.

And cats. That’s right. We have two cats. We won’t within the next 48 hours or so. Maybe today.

If you know me at all, you know – I love my cats. I’ve been crying on and off about it today but there really is no choice to be made to me. I love my cats but not enough. Hannah’s comfort and health obviously come first.

If she didn’t touch and love the cats so much that would help. But it’s just not the case. Hannah LOVES the cats and (unfortunately) they actually love her back. They like to lay on her, rub on her, snuggle with her. She likes to rub her face in them. That kind of thing.

Probably 2 days ago I said to my mom – Something is not right with Hannah. It’s been 2ish weeks and something is just off. I’m not sure what to do. In the end I decided that we’d go to the allergy appt and then go to the regular doc this week to find out what’s up if the allergies weren’t the problem.

But guess what I realized on the way home yesterday? That’s exactly how long we’ve had the new kitten. Hannah picks that kitten up about 100 times a day and carries her around the house. Rubbing her face in the kitten heaven only knows how many times. So OF COURSE it got worse since the kitten came.

Sigh.

As far as the severity of her allergies goes, it’s not life threatening – the peanuts because she has no breathing issues at this point. But with each exposure to peanuts it will get worse. He said we don’t need an epi-pen now but that we’ll need to talk about that when she goes to preschool/school. (because that’s obviously the place where she’s gonna get accidental exposures)

The dust. I don’t even know where to go with that. We live in WYOMING. Oh my word. Of course dust is just everywhere. There is no escaping it. He did tell me when I do things like vacuum she needs to not come back in the room for at least 45 minutes to let everything settle.

I need a new vacuum cleaner designed with Hepa filters. It would be better if we didn’t have carpet. (Easier said than done.)

I think that is all. Oy.

Drew took this picture about 5 minutes into the 15 minute waiting period. You can’t see the cat one very well because of the lighting but it got just as bad as the dust one. And they all got worse than what you see here in this picture.

The peaches one was just the slightest pink dot. With most of them you can see they didn’t react. There were 23 spots in all.

ETA: He thinks she’s growing out of the peaches thing. He said to try them again later.

Tidbits

*These are all thoughts I had or things that happened between 5 am and 6 am in my bed this morning*

***

When Hannah tells you she wants to snuggle in bed – she means lay next to her. Not touching. I can rub her hair, sometimes hold her hand.

When Leah says she wants to snuggle in bed – she means fully body contact. Encircled in arms.

***

Leah: All four of us are in this bed and I don’t even feel squished!

(I certainly did.)

***

Hannah might ask for a duck to hold at 5 am. And she’ll mean the hard rubber ducks from her bath toys. Of course.

***

When you ask Hannah what an animal says – do not be fooled. She knows them all but she thinks it’s HYSTERICAL to say “meow” to every animal. Probably because it makes me laugh every time. She just gets this mischievous look on her face and I can’t help it.

****

Hannah:  one two thee four five!

Drew: WHAT did she just say!?!?

Me: She counted to 5. You know. Like every one year old does. One two three four five.

Hannah: six!

Me: That’s a new one. Seven!

Hannah: eight!

Me: Nine!

Hannah: Ten!

Me: Well okay. She counts to 10 like every one year old does…

***

Some things about this age are exhausting but really – life is so simple. They’re needs are pretty simple. They may not wake me up at 5 am to play with ducks in my bed later, but the worries are gonna get more intense. Today I will enjoy their simple needs.

Productive Napping by Hannah

Hannah was supposed to be napping. It was quiet for awhile and then I heard her playing but she wasn’t calling for me so I was just enjoying the quiet. After awhile I say to Drew, “Go tell her she can get up. I don’t think she napped but oh well.” And a few minutes later I hear Drew exclaiming, “HOLY CRAP!” So I come running and this is the sight that greets me:

I said, “Hannah! That was so naughty!” And she started to cry and got in the rocking chair in her room (at least she didn’t color that!):

When I undressed her for a bath, I found this:

She clearly stuck that marker right in her belly button. What goes on in her head??? LOL!

So that’s a blue permanent marker. A little keychain one. I had it in my pocket. (I was crafting and using it to mark some things.) I think it must have fallen out. Well… CLEARLY, it fell out.

The walls and the bed and the floor are all cleaned up. Rubbing alcohol wiped it all right off. No big deal.

Her skin, however… it will fade eventually but the last incident just faded. And I need to take Christmas pictures. There is some on her neck and under her chin. Someday she’ll not have permanent marker right?

The sheets and the pillowcase, and that shirt went into the garbage. It’s a shame because she loves that shirt. She rubs it and says “Blankie shirt!” because it feels just like her blanket. Sad.

Oh and just so you know. I only have 4 permanent markers. She’s gotten in 3 of the 4 in the last 4 months. Watch for the orange one to make an appearance soon… *smacks head on desk*

Humankind

We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve. It will do us little good to speak of the general brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those . . . around us as our brothers and sisters.
~ Spencer W. Kimball

*Happy Sigh*

Snuggling with Daddy before school

CHEESE!

Hannah has clearly gotten the idea behind saying cheese. She even points at the camera and asks me to take pictures. Her face looks pretty much like this in every picture lately (except the grouchy ones. hehe.)

It used to look like this when she said cheese. She’s much more into it now, eh?

PS I swear I do her hair. I can’t do anything about her walking around with a blanket on her head half the time though. So. Stinking. Cute.

Favorite Christmas Music

Earlier today I was listening to Christmas music and decided I needed some new material but it’s overwhelming to choose. There’s just so MUCH. So I did this on FB:

And from Camela:

Camela: i don't know that i have one
Camela: i have songs
Camela: not albums
Camela: 2
Camela: my 2 favorites are
Camela: little big town's version of go tell it on the mountain and
Camille: christmas shoes?
Camille:
Camela: yes
Camela: bite me
Camille: lolololol
Camela: andreas bocelli and mary j blige's version of what child is this
Camela: totally magnificant

She’s mean to me. Did you see that!?!?
That’s all. I just thought I’d share my findings. I’m going back to downloading music now!

A Thousand Words

This is just the kind of day Hannah and I are having…

She’s seriously ticked off at me for taking her picture. I bet she’ll love these even more when she’s 14.

It’s 10 minutes later. I’ve come back to add one more picture.

Oh Hannah. Sigh.

Ya. That’s permanent marker.

Begin applause...

I am done Christmas shopping.

That is all.

End applause.

Yay Me!

Simple Woman

Find it here.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... It's dark and windy and cold. (That sounds forlorn but really in here it's Christmas-y and there is a fire roaring the fireplace. It's rather lovely.)

I am thinking...  about finishing my Christmas shopping tomorrow. I have everything left I need to get in carts online but I was waiting for "Cyber Monday" so I don't miss out on any deals.

I am thankful... for this guy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcNJqr84Lnw&feature=fvwp&NR=1 - today. I really wanted some egg drop soup and a quick YouTube video and I was good to go. It was yummy even. I added some green onions and a little more soy sauce after.

From the learning rooms... not much really. Although today Drew was reading a book to Hannah that shows how a duck comes from an egg and she was literally staring with her mouth hanging open. She was flat amazed and I thought - huh. Time to start doing the school stuff with her, I guess. She was 20 months yesterday.

In the kitchen...it's a little messy. It was a lovely Sunday (minus being sick still - but much better!) but we didn't do much by way of chores. We did decorate the house though!

I am wearing... pjs. 

I am creating... a lot of presents for Christmas. This to-do list WILL get done though!

I am going... finish this post and go curl up on the couch, in front of the fire, and watch TV with Drew.

I am wondering... if the above answer is the right choice. Perhaps I should go to bed?

I am reading... I just finished War Breaker by Brandson Sanderson. I really love him. I have another of his on deck. I can't think of the name. It's part of another series of his.

I am hoping... to grocery shop tomorrow but it sounds kind of unpleasant with my stomach still churning at random food thoughts.

I am looking forward to... Christmas! (and my birthday - that's first!)

I am hearing... the TV (Burn Notice)

Around the house... I love Christmas! It's fun to have all these things up.

I am pondering... what lessons I can do this year to remind Leah the true point of Christmas. We haven't had had enough time at church these days and I'm worried. I need to be healthy. It's not fair for her learning to suffer! Ugh.

One of my favorite things...  the sound of a child Hannah's age laughing - it's such a pure sound. No guile. No pretending. If she's laughing - something is funny.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Lots of Christmas present making

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Our Pets & A New Addition

I think I haven’t updated this blog as our pets have done a shift over the last year. We had two dogs and two cats. The two dogs returned to their former owner when he unexpectedly came back to town. He wanted them back so very badly and they were just so happy to see him. It was hard to not let that happen.

Shortly after that so acquired Chloe. I posted about her previously. So we had Benny, Joon, and Chloe. All was well. I seriously love cats.

Then we moved. We left the cats at the old house for one night. They’ve previously been at home alone for a lot more than one night. No big deal. But the next morning – no Chloe. We checked a lot, we hung posters, called the shelter several times. We never saw her again. It was so sad.  

Benny & Joon. Just as a refresher – they were feral (wild) kittens when we got them from the shelter. So as domesticated as they were with our family, they’ve only ever lived in a single home and moving was a new experience for them. So we get them over here… We kept them inside for about a week. Finally Benny was begging so much that I let them both out. Joon came back that evening – Benny did not. We went to the old house a couple days later to do something and… There he was. Benny had gone home. It’s 2 miles. We caught him again. He was less than pleased.

We waited about 10 days and then he got out on accident. Again he went “home”.

Take 3. Bring Benny home (this is getting old). The next time he got out – we never saw him again. Benny was certainly not meant to be an indoor cat but dang. I never expected that he would go through all that. I assume something happened to him on his last trip back. You have to cross the highway twice in that 2 miles plus various other roads.

Sigh. So we were down to one cat.

Oh! And a turtle. Alice the Turtle. That’s something Leah and Drew acquired from a neighbor. It was set up all wrong and I had to fix the situation  but now Leah has a very happy Alice hanging out in her room.

Anyway!

We got a new kitten. My friend Karianne’s SIL had some kittens she was finding homes for and Karianne was going near her for Thanksgiving. I babysat her dog and when she got home she traded me for a kitten! Yay!

This is Kali:

Amazingly she looks A LOT like Joon. Very similar white markings, etc. Kali is more fluffy though. She’s pretty adorable, eh?

And Alice:

She actually now has a red light over the rock and the white light is over the right side and only on during the day. I have never wanted a turtle but she’s pretty funny. If you walk in on her when she’s basking on that rock she dives in the water with such a ruckus you’d think you walked in on a naked woman. And she likes to bang against the side to try to get you to feed her. Again. Apparently red ear sliders have no appetite control. Or so I read. So they will beg constantly. It’s pretty funny.

Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes

If you’d asked me a few years ago how I felt about sweet potatoes, I would have said what I’ve been saying most of my life: Ew.

The whole candied yam thing? Ack. Nasty.

But 2 years ago? Maybe 3. I was talking to Camela and (as we constantly discuss the most random of things) we started to talk about sweet potatoes. Apparently my not liking them was upsetting to her.

So she sends me a box in the mail and this recipe is in it…

Lara’s Sweet Potatoes
Serves 8-10

• 3 cups cooked & mashed sweet potatoes*
• 2/3 cup white sugar (that’s too much)**
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten

Topping

• 1 cup packed brown sugar (way too much)***
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter, softened

Mix together sweet potato, sugar, butter, vanilla, milk, and eggs. In a separate bowl mix together the topping ingredients. Pour the sweet potato mixture into a 9x13****, crumble topping on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

**************

Anyway! What else is in the box? Sweet potatoes, brown sugar, white sugar, pecans, etc. I had to buy eggs. geez! Okay, maybe I already had those in the fridge… The woman shipped me sweet potatoes from Maryland! Crazy.

She decided if she sent it all in the mail I would feel obligated to make this recipe and give the sweet potatoes a chance.

And guess what? I LOVED it. And I mean LOVED. And now I eat sweet potatoes in all kinds of ways. Sweet potato fries are the best! But still no candied yams. (yuck!) The first year I made them at Thanksgiving Drew said (and I quote): FORGET the candied yams. Always make these! That man has always loved candied yams so I make them every year for him but no more! Yay! My dad too actually. He told me to bring those to every holiday dinner.

So there you have it. Just one of the many ways Camela has changed my life for the better! Between sweet potatoes and football – I think I might be indebted for life.

The asterisks…

*I HIGHLY recommend you just baked these and then mash/stir. When you bake sweet potatoes the skin just pops right off. A couple hours and you don’t even have to mash them. Just stir. Chopping and boiling is entirely too much work

**The parenthesis are her notes. I do 1/2 cup of sugar because she said that.

***I disagree. I love that topping. I always do the whole cup.

****Sometimes I do it in an 8x8 and then the mixture and the topping are thicker. Yummy also.

Oh and that serves 8-10 bit? Maybe. If Drew isn’t there….

Thankful

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue,but the parent of all the other virtues." [Cicero]

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." [William Arthur Ward]

Two quotes I like. Sorry for the lame post. I'm wicked sick.

***

Today I am most grateful for my Leah. She has been amazing to me today!

Walk Tall

Write about a piece of music that changed your life forever. What do you feel when you hear it now?

When I got baptized at 8 years old my mother had someone (I don’t remember who) sing this song at my baptism. I heard it countless times in other circumstances but in a lot ways hearing it in that moment – it defined me. Who I am inside and my character.

I’ve sung it to both my girls many times. I hope it does that for them someday too.

Walk Tall, You're a Daughter of God

Right now I have a prayer deep within my heart
A prayer for each of you there is a special part
That you remember who you are and Him who lives above
Please seek for Him and live His way you'll feel His love.

(Chorus)
Walk tall you're a daughter a child of God
Be strong please remember who you are
Try to understand you're part of His great plan
He's closer than you know
Reach up He'll take your hand.

Long before the time you can remember
Our Father held you in His arms so tender
Those loving arms released you as He sent you down to earth
He said my child I love you don't forget your great worth.

(Chorus)
Walk tall you're a daughter a child of God
Be strong please remember who you are
Try to understand you're part of His great plan
He's closer than you know
Reach up He'll take your hand.

This life on earth we knew would not be easy
At times we loose are way His path we may not see
But please remember always please that you are not alone
He'll take your hand He loves you He will guide you home.

(Chorus)
Walk tall you're a daughter a child of God
Be strong please remember who you are
Try to understand you're part of His great plan
He's closer than you know
Reach up He'll take your hand.

Bacon

Today I was informed that if I haven't blogged about bacon I  might not be a true bacon fan. I found this appalling.

I feel like this will repair the situation. The bacon part starts about two minutes in. I think I saw this routine for the first time a couple of years ago. Still in this house one of us will say at random: Bippity Boppity Bacon!

Jim Gaffigan - Bacon - Free videos are just a click away

Twilight Anniversary

The first twilight movie came out on Nov 21st which just happens to be my anniversary. That year I told my husband that all I wanted for a present was for him to go to that movie with me.   And for each successive year I've requested the same thing. The only qualification was that he had to smile and pretend he liked it - even if he didn't. haha.

However, this is his review as we walked out of Breaking Dawn, Part 1 tonight:

That's it. They've got me.
We have these books, right? 

If you know anything about Drew, you know - this is seriously high praise. He proceeded to discuss his plan for when he would have time to read and that he had a whole year before the next one came out. He's all excited.

I loved it too. The most of the 4 so far. It was fantastic.

My Anniversary...

Years ago I gave Drew a thin book of a few Rumi (Birth 1207- Death 1273) poems. And this particular poem has been rolling around in my head today. It's a good one I think.

Sweetheart you have aroused my passion
your touch has filled me with desire
I am no longer separate from you
These are precious moments
I beseech you, Don't let me wait
Let me merge with you.
~Rumi

This one too: 

Dear God,
Let all Lovers be content
Give them happy endings
Let their lives be celebration
Let their hearts dance in the fire of your Love.
Rumi

Sunday Stealing

I stole this meme from a blog. The entire premise is to steal memes/prompts/ideas from other blogs. That's so fantastic. The tag they signed off with was:

"Cheers to us thieves!" 

I really just feel like I MUST support this with at least one post.

 

1. Have you ever licked the back of a CD to try to get it to work? Yes. Many, many times.

2. What’s the largest age difference between yourself and someone you’ve dated? A year or two? Sorry. Nothing dramatic to discover there.

3. Ever been in a car wreck? Yes

4. Have you ever been on a blind date? Nope

5. Are looks important? To a certain extent, I think so. But only because it’s the first judgement people make of you. And it just depends on the situation. Are they important in that they’re a definition of our character? No. Is it important to be clean and not walk about smelling like you rolled in horse crap? Yes. Probably so. Does that give you an idea where that ranks in importance to me?

6. Do you have any friends that you’ve known for 10 years or more? Yes. Quite a few

7. By what age would you like to be married? I am married. So….

8. Have you ever made a mistake? I’d so love to say NO! to that question. I’m pretty fantastic but indeed. I have made a mistake or two.

9. Are you a good tipper? Yes. As long as you’re a good waiter/waitress.

10. What’s the most you have spent for a haircut? About 100 bucks. I was in NYC. It was so fun.

11. Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? No

12. Have you ever peed in public? YES. Ugh. Once Drew and I were trapped on the interstate because there was a bomb scare. We were about a mile from an exit. We had been planning to pull off there so I could use the bathroom. But NO…. Fast forward almost 3 hours and finally I was near tears. Drew got a big quilt from the trunk. We went to the side of the road (there were cars for miles of course) and he held the quilt up in a circle – like a stall – so no one could see me. I had a pile of taco bell napkins. That was about 10 years ago. We still laugh about it. Heaven bless my husband for finding me a way to pee!  (PS We were on the interstate for an hour after that.)

13. What song do you want played at your funeral? Wow. I have no idea. I’ll have to think about that. Maybe the hymn "Nearer My God To Thee". Really I want the people who are still living to use whatever comforts them.

14. Would you tell your parents if you were gay? Yes

15. What would your last meal be before getting executed? Seafood feast. Crab – snow, dungeness, blue, king. Shrimp. Lobster. And sushi. Lots of it. I think you already know these things about me though.

16. Beatles or Stones? Beatles

17. If you had to pick one person on earth to die, who would it be? Sweet glory. Let me never have that kind of responsibility. Perhaps I’d pluck a child molester from the earth.

18. Beer, wine or hard liquor? None of the above. (or to the left as the case actually is)

19. Do you have any phobias? No serious ones. I do not like spiders but if it comes between freaking or keeping a spider from my child – first I will kill the spider, then I will freak. And I really, really don't like needles. A lot. I get kind of pale/odd-looking before blood draws.

20. Do you ever walk around the house naked? Yup

21. If you were an animal what would you be? Why? Hmm. I usually say Panda Bear to this question. However, I have NO idea why. They just seem so soft and cuddly.

22. If suffering an injury, would you rather be left blind or deaf? Wowzer. I think deaf.

23. Do you have any special talents? Duh. Of course I do.

24. What do you do as soon as you walk in the house? Go to my computer, I think. Depends on if the girls are with me and what time of day it is. I don't really have a routine.

25. Do you like horror or comedy? Comedy.

26.  Are you missing anyone? Yes. Very much.

27. Where do you want to live when you are old? Near my children and my (hopefully) many grandchildren.

28. Who is the person you can count on the most? Me.

29. What did you dream last night? I don’t remember any dreams from last night.

30. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football

31. Are you named after anyone? Yes. Two Aunts.

32. What is your favorite alcoholic drink? I don’t drink alcohol.

33. Non alcoholic drink? Virgin Margarita, salted rim and Strawberry Daiquiris

34. Have you ever been in love? Yes

35. Do you sing in the shower? Loudly.

36. What is your favorite Holiday? Christmas
    
    
37. Would you ever get plastic surgery? Yes and I have. Something had to be done about the giant boobs I used to have. Is that an over share?
    
    
38. Have you ever caught a fish? Of course!

39. When was the last time you felt like crying? Yesterday when I woke up from my nap and realized Drew had left for work while I was sleeping. I remember him kissing my neck and my cheek and saying goodbye but only in a sort of dream-like way. I wish I had woken up all the way.
    
40. Can you cook? Yes, yes I can.

Breakfast (… and 2nd Breakfast)

I guess you could call 1st Breakfast the Breakfast Appetizer but really if you’re a hobbit deep inside (who longs for adventure) the proper names are 1st and 2nd breakfast.

1st Breakfast

Donut Muffins
Dry Ingredients. Whisk together.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Wet Ingredients. Beat together.

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup yogurt (I used strawberry-honey greek gods. yum.)
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine the two bowls. Mixing just enough. If you mix too much you’ll have tough muffins. The more you mix – the tougher the muffin.
Bake for 14-15 minutes at 400 degrees in greased muffin cups. (do the toothpick test to make sure they are done)
Melt half a stick of butter or so in one bowl.
In another bowl mix:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

When the muffins come out. One by one dip the muffin tops in the melted butter and then roll the tops around in the sugar mixture. Set them on a wire rack to cool.
It’s like a donut muffin and just kind of melts in your mouth. Yum.

2nd Breakfast

Sweet Potato Hash

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup sweet onion, diced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

I sautéed that in a skillet until it was all done the potatoes where soft pieces and the onions soft and browned some. Then I moved the whole lot to a cookie sheet and set it in the 400 degree oven to keep roasting while I fried some eggs.
Oh I also took some of that really that “microwavable” bacon and laid it across the top of the sweet potato hash in the oven. It cooked like that. It’s the best way. Trust me.

PS That’s the egg no one ate. The others all had the appropriately runny yoke. Promise.

Benevolence

Isn’t he charming?

Thankful Thursday

My thoughts are centered around three things right now. 

1. Dishwasher
2. Washer
3. Dryer

I sit here at my computer. The dishwasher is washing my dishes. The washer is washing my clothes. The dryer is drying them.

I can be productive even if I'm asleep. What technology is there to love more than that?

Although I do love my phone... If it folded my laundry I'd love it more. There happens to be a big pile of clean laundry on my bed that is definitely not folding itself.

Wordless Wednesday

3 Months 2010…

3 Months 2006…

The Hideous Trip

We left Castle Rock, Colorado around noon. This trip - with smooth sailing and minimal stops from the short people in the back - takes about 4.5 hours. We stopped in Aurora to see Hannah's bmom, Amanda. We were gonna hang out but she was feeling crappy to say the least so we took her and Hannah's bdad some lunch and headed home.

As soon as we left her house and got back on the interstate we hit construction. Awesome. That lasted well over an hour just to go about 10 miles.

We had a normal drive to Cheyenne - albeit very windy around Cheyenne. We stopped to see Drew's mom, sister, and nieces. We visited for awhile, checked the road report and realized we need to get going. This was probably around 6? I forget. By the time we got to Laramie (45 miles from Cheyenne), the roads from Laramie to home were closed. Great. Drew has several brothers who live in Laramie. We headed to one their homes. They have a basement with this fantastic huge sectional sofa in it. Leah, Hannah, and I all slept on it and Drew slept on a twin mattress next to us. It was really comfy. Hannah thought we were insane - telling her to lay down and go to sleep on a couch but she handled it really well and then slept all night without any troubles. Yay for her!

(as a sidenote: Hannah has started calling us all with our last name involved. Leah Howe! Mommy Howe! Daddy Howe! So when she woke up Sunday morning her head was right next Leah's and she sits up and with total glee shouts: LOOK! Leah HOWE! - I'm ever so glad I was awake to witness that.)

We all get up. The roads are open. YAY! We pack up, leave, get the girls some breakfast (which before we left the house they both refused but then Leah was starving a few minutes later. I love kids. haha.) We get 20 miles down the road - we're so happy to be heading home. And boom. They reclose the roads. We are forced to turn around, drive the 20 miles back to Laramie to wait. We decided to hit Walmart. I needed things there but I hadn't wanted to go before because I wanted to be HOME.

Oh well. We spend 3 hours in Walmart. I get all the things I was after. The girls are losing it. I think maybe we should go back to his brother's house. So does Drew. Leah does not agree. That's backtracking. I see her point (no. she did not use the word backtracking) We were driving past the theater as we discussed this and see that "Puss in Boots" starts in 15 minutes (in 2D. THANK GOODNESS. I've had it with 3D movies.)

So off we go. We watch the movie and just towards the end I check on my phone and YAY - the roads are open.

We head out. Again. By now it's like 2:30/3 in the afternoon.

100 miles to go from Laramie to Rawlins.

20 miles. We pass the turn around mark. YAY.

30 miles. Dead Stop. Dead stop traffic in the middle of nowhere. Miles and miles of cars. Sometimes we'd get up to 4 mph.

SIX HOURS. 20 more miles. That's how long it took to go the next 20 miles. Six. Hours.

At one point I turned to Drew and said – the pioneers probably did this 20 miles in better time while pulling handcarts.

There were no accidents. It was windy. Very very windy. My sister heard them refer to it on the news as "hurricane force winds". We don't have hurricanes here. We just have wind. A lot of it. Sometimes it's stronger than others. But when you mix that with some dry-ish snow - there is no visibility. It's awful.

There was nothing to do but forge ahead. Did I mention that this 20 mile stretch has no cell phone service?

My poor children. They did so well. Leah never had a fit or freaked. Hannah had one little melt down at about the four hour mark. Seriously? She's one. That's impressive.

At that point (being the stellar law abiding mother that I am...) I let them up. We were staying between 0 mph and 2 mph. I let them get up and walk around the van. Hannah even sat on Drew's lap for awhile. Leah got in my seat and I went to the back of the van and cleaned it so I didn't go stir crazy. When we started to move faster I buckled them back in and they both fell asleep not long after.

Finally about the 60 mile mark traffic got normal. It was glorious. We were home in less than an hour from that point.

I actually cried when we got off the interstate. My babies were sound asleep. It was 10ish. We put them in bed, took a long hot shower, and I was asleep the moment I got in bed. Drew said he was all wound up and watched TV for awhile. He was amazing at the driving. He's so careful with all his girls in the vehicle with him. Gotta love that about him!

And I gotta love that just the day before he'd bought us 4 new tires. If we'd hit those roads on our old tires. Oy. That would not have been good.

There you have it. The hideous trip.

I don't want to leave town again for awhile, okay? Thanks.

For a little happy - Here are some pictures of the girls during our walmart trip. They were both in footie jammies.

Leah said: Let’s pretend to take a nap now…. I’m fooled. How ‘bout you?

My Leah

I’m feeling very emotional about her this evening. I doubt I can find the words for how wonderful I think she is. All the amazing parts of her, the ‘secret’ parts that only I get to see because she’s too reserved to show it to the world.

The parts everyone gets to see too. Her kindness. Her ability to draw in the other children around her and involve them all. It’s fascinating to watch.

She has such a tender heart. She makes me a better mother. “Don’t yell at me mommy!” I can reprimand her all I want but if I do it in a raised voice she doesn’t hear it at all. I’ll thank her for that someday – maybe when she becomes a mother.

She is having a phase about food I don’t adore all that much but we don’t have to go there today…

Here are some fun pictures of my 6 year old…

These are from last Friday. The things she wanted to do for her birthday were in Denver so we celebrated it on Friday when she didn’t have school.

Looking all embarrassed about us singing to her…

This is her favorite new outfit from her Grandma Howe. She chose it to wear to school for her birthday today. SO cute.

She wanted to take pumpkin cookies to school but we didn’t get home until very late last night (that’s a whole ‘nother blog post in the making. Tomorrow perhaps.) I offered to make them early this morning and bring them to school but she didn’t want me to do it (she’s so sweet!) and suggested running to the bakery to get them. So Drew & Leah did that and then took them to school. But I felt bad so I made pumpkin cookies today anyway and had them done when she got home from school. (The pumpkin cookie recipe will probably be another post. This was the first time I’ve done this particular recipe and I doubt I’ll ever even look for another one again. Yum.)

PS This morning while we’re getting ready for school Leah says to me:

I feel so old!

Decorating Daddy

He's awfully patient sometimes...

Superglue

Were you aware that super glue on the ends of your fingers makes it hard to swype or type on your phone?

Just an fyi. In case you're planning to keep up with blogging on your phone while out of town.

Not that I would know...

My Wishes

Blogging Prompt: It's 11/11/11, make three wishes.

Whenever I answer things like this I feel all this pressure to figure out what the perfect three wishes are!

1. I want my children to grow up with firm sense of who they are and a well-defined sense of the power they hold inside of them.

2. (in relation) I want my children to be HAPPY.

3. World Peace. .... haha. Got ya. Not that world peace wouldn't be great but it's not actually making my list.

3. (take 2) I want to be healthy. In all it's forms. Physically... Emotionally... Spiritually...

Hostage Negotiations

I swear I blogged. The blogger app on my phone is holding it hostage!

I'm waiting for it's demands...

92 Questions

I did this MeMe once before on Facebook but when I was searching about for blogging ideas tonight I came across it again. It amuses me. So here it is... ;)

• Full Name: Anna Camille
• Age: 35
• Birthday: Dec 24 (crap. I'm almost 36.)

1. Last beverage : Ice Water (that was probably my last 50 beverages)
2. Last phone call : Drew
3. Last text message : Denise
4. Last song : Children's Christmas Music
5. Last time you cried : Today

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice : No
7. Been cheated on : Yes
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: No
9. Lost someone special : Yes
10. Been depressed : Yes
11. Been drunk and threw up : No

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

12. Deep Blue
13. Turquoise
14. Dark Purple

SINCE LAST YEAR (2010), HAVE YOU:

15. Made a new friend : Yes
16. Fallen out of love : No
17. Laughed until you cried : Yes
18. Met someone who changed you : Yes
19. Found out who your true friends were : I think I already know that.
20. Found out someone was talking about you : No
21. Kissed anyone on your FB friend's list : Yes

GENERAL:

22. How many FB friends do you know in person: In person? They're all people.
24. Do you have any pets : Yes
25. Do you want to change your name : No
26. What did you do for your last birthday: Hung out at my mom's house and had a fantastic dinner, then celebrated Christmas Eve.
27. What time did you wake up today : 1st time? 2 am. 2nd time? 4:30 3rd and Final? 6:30
28. What were you doing at midnight last night : Sleeping.
29. Whats something you can't wait for: Leah's birthday celebration this weekend!
30. Last time you saw your father : When I went to Denver about a month ago.
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? That's an essay not a short answer question.
32. What are you listening to right now: Drew apologizing to me (Don't ask)
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom? My dad's name is Tom. My FIL's name is Tom. So ya - a lot.
34. What's getting on your nerves right now : It's cold in here. I'm sick of it being cold in here.
35. Most visited webpage : Facebook
37. Nickname(s): Cam, Jamil, Bife
38. Last Book you read: I'm working on War Breaker by Brandon Sanderson right now.
39. Zodiac Sign : Capricorn
40. He or She: Eh?
41. Elementary : I don't remember all their names. Several.
42. High School : Claremore High School & Westford Academy
43. College: Ricks College & University of Wyoming
44. Hair color : Red
46. Height : 5' 2.5"
47. Do you have a crush on someone? Indeed
48. What do you like about yourself? Lots of things. I'm kind of fantastic. :)
50. Tattoos : No. I have commitment issues. They're so permanent!
51. Righty or lefty : Right

FIRSTS :

52. First surgery: Tonsils
53. First piercing : Ears
54. First best friend: Stacy. I was 5.
55. First sport you joined : When that happens I'll let you know.
56. First vacation : Road trip across the country - Georgia to South Dakota. We went to visit my mom's parents.

RIGHT NOW :

59. Eating: Nothing but I could really go for an ice cream cone.
60. Drinking: Ice Water
61. I'm about to: Finish this note
62. Listening to: Drew is still talking. (still don't ask)
63. Waiting for: Bedtime.

YOUR FUTURE :

64. Want kids? : I have two.
65. Get Married? : I am.
66. Career? :  Mommy

WHICH IS BETTER :

67. Lips or eyes : If I met someone who didn't have one of those things... Well I'd rather not.
68. Hugs or kisses : Both please.
69. Shorter or taller : Taller
70. Older or Younger : Older
71. Romantic or spontaneous : Both
72. Nice stomach or nice arms : Arms
73. Sensitive or loud : Sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship
75. Funny or Shy?: Funny

HAVE YOU EVER :

76. Kissed a stranger : No
77. Drank hard liquor : No
80. Broke someone's heart : I hope not.
81. Had your own heart broken : Yes
82. Been arrested : No
83. Turned someone down : Yes
84. Cried when someone died : Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

86. Yourself : Yes
87. Miracles : Yes
88. Love at first sight: I believe in like at first site. Love is a lot deeper than that.
89. Heaven : Yes
90. Santa Claus: I am Santa Claus.
91. The tooth fairy: I am the Tooth Fairy.
92. Angels : Yes

That was entertaining to write. Again.

Hannah discovers Mommying

Today Hannah discovered Mommying. She’s been for awhile carrying this Anne Geddes baby that’s dressed like a lady bug. However, today she noticed that baby is always asleep (it has permanently closed eyes) and she was annoyed. “baby awake? baby wake up!” So I got out the bin of dolls (oh yes. there’s a whole bin. don’t ask.) and she immediately picked out these two babies. And all day they have gone everywhere with us. For every meal she said “babies hungry!” and they had to sit in the high chair with her. They had to go with us on any errand. They went with us from room to room, for her naps, when I rocked her. She brought them to me several times “kisses!” and I had to kiss her and both babies.

Hannah: Baby? Cookies? Here baby.


Hannah: Milk Baby! Drink. Drink milk!


Here she is forcing the babies to look at me and say cheese. Could she be any more adorable? I’m thinking not.


Hannah: Done Baby? (then to me) All done Mommy!


And this is just some fantastic fun video of my girls just as dinner was ending…

Just some adorable fun (and a little high pitched scream at the end–although it’s lower than it used to be!)
 

PS The blogging prompt today: Has anything traumatic ever happened to you? Describe the scenes surrounding a particular event.

Well... Yes.  But I can't think of one I want to share or go through the emotional mental process of writing.


My Apologies. ;)

Help Me, Please?

What is the worst way you have ever had someone ask you for help?

Okay. That's not THE blogging prompt for today but it made me laugh out loud. I've had more than one person do this but it's my LEAST favorite, most obnoxious, feels-insanely-manipulative pet peeve way of asking for help.

Needs Help Person: So... How are you?

... I answer. Reciprocate:

NHP: Oh I'm good. What are you up to today?

.... I answer (and if I know the person well I hear the trap being laid)

NHP: Oh! I'm so glad you aren't doing anything important. Can you ________ for me? 

Seriously. I HATE that. It's so obnoxious.

One time my husband told someone I was at home and lonely (this was pre children and he had to work) and said to them that they should do something with me, entertain me, etc. And what did they do for real? Call and say "I heard you weren't doing anything. Can you babysit?"

Nice. Thanks. My feelings were wicked hurt. And guess what? I said yes. That was a different me. Today I would have said no.

I am more than happy to do people favors (and really I rarely do say no) but be up front. Give me the chance to gracefully say no since that is, in fact, my right. Don't make it awkward for me. It's MEAN.

That is all. End of rant. :)

Wasn't that fun?

Random Questions

I went on a site with this enormous list of writing prompts and I picked a few questions that immediate answers came to mind.

What is the best way to treat meddlesome people?

Restrict their access to you!

What would happen if you could fly whenever you wanted? When would you use this ability?

Does this mean fly in a plane whenever I want or that I could physically fly? I don’t know which but I’ll answer both

1. Flying in planes whenever I want – I would travel all over the world. I would literally go everywhere. There is nowhere I don’t want to visit at least once just for the experience. And I would take my girls with me all over the place. I’d love for them to have those kind of experiences to shape who they are!

2. If I could physically fly… When would I use it? Um… ALL. THE. TIME. I’d fly from my room to the kitchen. Are you kidding? I’d fly EVERYWHERE. That would be awesome.

What would happen if you could become invisible whenever you wanted to? What are some of the things you could do that you cannot do now?

I could pee alone. That was my first thought. I could go invisible, sneak down the hall, and PEE. ALL. ALONE.

Where would you prefer to be right now--mountains, desert, beach--and why?

Most of the year my answer would be the mountains but it’s dang cold there right now so I’m going with the beach – preferably a deserted quiet one. I want to lay in the sunshine and the peace and quiet.

And I would never pick the desert. Ick.

If you could give any gift in the world, what would you give and to whom?

My initial answer to this was instantaneous – Fertility. I’d give it to anyone who had ever struggled to have it. Most specifically right now I’d give it to Ann Marie.

Linear

I wish working through grief was more linear. Start here. Take these steps. End here. Wouldn't that be glorious? Then a simple commercial or random TV show wouldn't have the ability to knock you flat when you are least expecting it.

That reminds me of this chart I saw about the path to success. I think that it applies to emotional/grief work too.

Most Attitude Award goes to…

Hannah.

Specifically for this performance...

We set the stage with Leah accidentally stepping on Hannah's foot. Hannah does her annoyed shriek/scream...

Leah: I didn't mean to!

Me: Hug her and tell her sorry.

Leah: Sorry Hannah (as she gently hugs her)

Hannah (with genius timing): Zip it.

and she turns her back on Leah.

That's right. 19 months old. Most attitude.

*****

Today's blogging prompt:

When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

I'm just gonna be honest. This one is kind of dumb. At least for me. I'm not a writer. I blog. So... ya. On the computer. Because who writes a blog with pen and paper and then types it up? That's a bit nutty.

*****

This morning Leah was just playing with paper. Drawing and writing things. She draws several tents and brings me the picture - where underneath it she believes she's written the word TENTS. But alas - it was the word TITS. Without cracking a smile I explained that wasn't how you spelled tents. And she says: what does it say? uh... So I told her and said it was a rude word for boobs. She laughed and went back to try and spell tents. This is the picture below. (That’s a pond to go fishing on the side there.)

 

I want an award for not busting up laughing at both of these incidents. A big award.

PS It's Daddy that says "zip it". Not that I don't have a goodly amount of attitude but I'm not taking the blame for that one!

Quiet? What?

Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today?

Can I listen to music and write…. HAHAHAHA.

It’s never quiet in here. I have to be able to hear a million things and still do a blog post. It can’t always wait for the little bit of peace at night when I’m tired.

At this moment I’m listening to Drew & Hannah watch Despicable Me. Which is not silent, of course. Lots of chatter from Hannah too.

She’s also been on and off my lap at least 6 times.

I’m also carrying on several IMing conversations in Yahoo! and Skype.

And contemplating getting up to make some brownies… but I haven’t had breakfast yet. That might not be healthy. Or I could eat some healthy breakfast while they cook. These are my deep thoughts for this morning.

And I have a cold. And I’m medicated. So it’s a miracle I have any thoughts at all.

Oh – the only music I’ve heard today is my hideous cold voice singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” to Hannah several times – also while typing this post.

That’s all I’ve got for you today!

PS – I’m doing the thankful days thing in my sidebar. Adding one each day for November.

Crab Please!

If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

Well that’s an easy one!

I want a crab and sushi buffet.

Snow crab, King Crab, Blue Crab, Dungeness Crab – all of it. There should be some of everything. And if it’s my last meal I want plenty of clarified butter to be dipping it all in!

And for the sushi  - lots of roe (but not salmon roe. I don’t like that), lots of tuna and spicy tuna, eel and avocado, shrimp tempura rolls, some crab in my  sushi too… well you get the idea.

Sushi and Crab.

I had this on Oct. 7th when I was in Castle Rock, CO visiting my mother. I took this picture with my phone. So. GOOD.