Babysitters

Today a bunch of girls in our ward all went out to lunch for those of us who had birthdays in Nov, Dec, and Jan. We had all the kids with us... probably close to 15 or 20 kids... so we went to Peter Piper Pizza. The kids had a blast, and we had a great time visiting.
One of the topics of conversation was "what to pay a babysitter." We were comparing how it was when we were all babysitting... $2/hr -even if there were 4 or 5 kids, we ALWAYS left the house cleaner than it was (and not just picked up toys - I know I did dishes, swept & mopped etc. on occasion) and we all grew up with the general rule that you didn't accept payment if the couple was going to the Temple for.
What was it like for you as a babysitter? Are your babysitters all that you think they should be? What is "fair" payment when you only have one or 2 kids? Mind you, none of us are trying to be cheap skates... but what is fair? Do you pay per kid/per hour? Or just a flat rate? And do you come home to a bigger mess than when you left? I'd really like to know what you all think.

(To those of you who just leave the kids with your parents... remember how blessed you are to have them close!)

They Grow SOO Fast

I was just reading a post that I did back in August about Aiden and the cute things he says and does. I'm amazed at how much all of it has changed. It has been almost 6 months since then, but it sure doesn't seem like that long ago to me. Since its been a while, I'm writing down a few things that he is doing now.

A typical day starts at about 8am. Yes, I'm lucky. Aiden will wake up and play at his bedroom door until I call for him to come give me a hug. Then he runs into my bedroom, climbs on the bed and says "brek-est mama!" and depending on just how hungry he is, sometimes I can get a hug before he b-lines for the kitchen.

He is learning to sing "3 Little Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed". I can't do this one justice by typing, so stay tuned and maybe I'll get video of it soon.

Usually about twice a week when Jeremy gets home, we load up the car with airplane stuff and go flying at the park. We CAN NOT tell Aiden this is going to happen until we are ready to walk out the door. Once we tell him is it a constant stream of "daddy go da park da airpane fied again da airpane da park daddy" Rough translation "Daddy, lets go to the park and fly the airplane again." He gets so excited that he seriously can't form a coherent sentence. Its hilarious to listen to!He's VERY impatient. I don't expect him to be patient, most of the time. But he is SOOO ready for potty training that our biggest hold up is the fact that he won't sit still long enough to do his thing on the toilet! If he does sit there it's cause he is waiting for me to look away long enough to unravel the toilet paper or stick his hand in the water. I'm not very patient either, I guess.
We've found him sleeping on the floor just about every night for the past few weeks. He goes to bed without much fight, but talks for ever before he falls asleep. He loves to take his pillow, blanket, teddy and whatever else is on his bed, and stuff it next to the bedroom door. Then he curls up on it and falls asleep. When we try to check on him we have to force the door open so we can get in! What can you do but laugh and put the kid back in bed??? I don't think it is a big deal, but we are trying to get him to stay in his bed. He has a great memory. Great for him. Not so great for me. He knows that there is a bucket full of water balloons that I have hidden and every so often he asks for "badoons" and wants me to blow 2 or 3 up for him. I usually just look at him like I'm confused cause those things are HARD to blow up!
He loves any balloon. There is a balloon flying over a store that just opened down the block from us and everytime we leave the house he spots it right away and points it out to us.

Some of the words that he says that come out so funny.....

Tortilla: can't say this... but he can say....
Quesadilla: kay-see-dee-a (and he thinks its the same thing as a tortilla)
Marshmallow: mas-mano
Tomorrow: ta-mano

When he has a dirty diaper, he'll bring me the wipes, take one out and wipe himself with his pants still on. I'm telling you! The kid is ready to potty train!

When asked what a mouse says, he puckers up his lips and makes a squeeky sound with his teeth. SOOO funny!

When I brush his hair : "No, MY hair!"
When I tickle him: "No, MY tickle!"
When I wipe his face: "No, MY face!"
ETC.........
Can you tell what he is learning in nursery?!?!?

When I get upset with him: "Mama, count one, two, spank!"

I Never Posted This?

A few pics that I have forgotten to post.

This pic is the best one I caught of Aiden & Cadence when Kennedy was here visiting.
I had just gotten after Aiden for doing something he shouldn't have. I happened to have my camera in hand and this is the look he gave me along with "Sowy Mama." I had to take the pic. NO ONE could stay mad at that face!!!
Aiden & Daddy - taken at the Mesa Temple during Christmas with all the lights on the Temple grounds. Aiden & Mommy - Taken in July at the park where we fly airplanes.

A Work in Progress

I am attempting - FINALLY - to customize my blog. At least a little. Hopefully I can figure this all out and come up with something I really like. Sorry if it is different everytime you look at it for a week!

Oh, yeah, and if you would all leave me a comment so that I have your blog addresses again that would be great. I lost them all in the 1st 5 minutes of trying to do this!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Cassie has been my best friend since my Junior year in HS. Neither of us could tell you exactly why we became such good friends. But it is a blessing to me that we did. Cassie is so much like me in so many ways. We could NEVER live together cause we'd undoubtedly KILL each other! But she is absolutely my best friend (other than my hubby and my mom)! Cassie's birthday is today, the 24th, and mine was yesterday. We have always made a point of going to lunch or dinner - just the 2 of us every year. I don't remember why, but I think I was in Vegas last year and we got to have our annual lunch together. This is honestly the first year since we became friends that we haven't been able to do something together on either hers or my birthday. I'm not tearing up or anything, but I do miss you more today Cass. She's turning 25 today so...

Here are 25 reasons why I LOVE Cassie...

1. She is an example to me in SOOO many ways
2. She's a great Mom to adorable kids
3. We share the same opinion on most parenting topics
4. Therefore we can VENT to each other about other parents views
5. But she still knows I love the other parents regardless
6. She waits 13 WEEKS to tell me she is pregnant!!!
7. And she knows I will call her names for doing it and then laugh and tell her Congrats!
8. She is a loyal friend
9. She loves the gospel
10. We talk on the phone once in a blue moon
11. When we talk, it is usually for WAY to long
12. She called me yesterday and almost forgot to say "Happy Birthday"
13. She's never held a grudge against me
14. Its impossible to get mad at her (but like I said - we would never have survived living together)
15. She loves her Mom, Dad & brother so much
16. She is very invested in her hubby's family and cares very much about them
17. She acts on the promptings of the spirit with faith that inspires me
18. She's humble enough that she is probably a little confused by #17
19. Her kids are always CLEAN and dressed cute
20. She apoligizes for a messy house even though mine is just as bad and she has twice as many kids messing it up.
21. She won't let me catch up with her on baby making - she'll always have one more than me!
22. At least until she's done... then I'll probably have 2 more! (But don't hold me to that!)
23. She will eventually break down and start her very own blog instead of living vicariously thru all of us who already have one
24. She's now laughing and doubting that statement
25. She loves me inspite of me

Cass, I hope you have a great birthday. I'm blessed to have such an amazing friend in you. Thanks for being there for the last 10 years!
Love you!

New Pediatrician

I have been very disappointed in the pediatrician I've gone to for the past year. So I have been asking around for weeks with only ONE doctor that got a good review from anyone. Not surprisingly, this ONE doctor was recommended several times. When I learned that he is on my insurance, I was thrilled. I called for an appointment and was told that he was booked out two & a half months for a new-well-patient visit. I told them that Aiden's great grandma & grandpa Benson (who are personal friends with Dr. Guthrie's parents) had recommended him to us and that we would take the first available appointment with him in 2 months. I received a call the next day saying that Dr. Guthrie would be happy to schedule me for an appointment in one week. WOW!!! It really is WHO you know sometimes!
Our appointment was today and I can now attest to why everyone has been recommending him. A pediatrician seems like such a "not that big of a deal" thing, until you have a kid. Not only do you want to have a decent doctor for your kid, but it is SOOO nice to have a doc that lets you be a first time parent. One who will listen to you, talk to you and not just rush in and out of the room. Plus, he carried on a cute little conversation with Aiden (and Teddy, who Aiden won't go to the doctor without) instead of just pushing on his tummy and leaving. He even "checked" Teddy and said he is healthy too. I was also pleasantly surprised when he started asking me questions about this pregnancy and he wanted to make sure that I knew to make an appointment with him to see the baby within the first week after he's born. I would have asked him all about that kind of thing, but it was refreshing to have him asking/telling me! I am SOOO happy to have found Dr. Guthrie! And I appreciate all those who told me to go see him, but I especially appreciate G&G Benson for letting me drop their names! For any of you here in AZ, I definately recommend him. And he's close - at Baseline and Greenfield.

At 29 wks 4 days

For my journals sake, I thought I would put some things down about this pregnancy. It has been so different (in my mind) than when I was pregnant with Aiden.
Emotions & Such
I know I still have 8-10 weeks left but I notice I am much more ready to have this baby than I was with Aiden. I think with him I had a more real sence of time. I still have 2 months left and I am getting closer and closer to the "any day now" mode. I don't mean to complain. I'm not miserable. Uncomfortable at times, but nowhere near miserable. I think that because I know how much I love the newborn stage, I am just super excited for it to be here.
I also am finding myself fighting off feelings of panic about the baby's health. I know they are unfounded feelings because the doctors say everything is right where it should be and the baby is healthy, growing, and normal. But because of my miscarriages, I think I get myself worked up at much smaller things than I need to.
Complains about Aches & Pains
This time around I feel much bigger. With Aiden I had a false sence of how enormous I was. I thought I looked a lot better than I did. Which is probably a good thing or I would have been super depressed. But this time, although I am in much better shape and weigh about 20 lbs less, I am very aware of how far out this tummy of mine is.
I've had crummy heartburn the last few nights. I don't know what it is that I eat or don't eat that causes it, but its there.
With Aiden, even in the beginning of my pregnancy, I had terrible leg cramps that would wake me up every night in agony. My doc said to increase my calcium and potasium, which I had already done, but nothing seemed to help. I am so happy that I haven't had that problem this time. Not even once. I have been taking a calcium supplement along with my prenatals since last February and I think that it has helped this time.
I think I have relatively good energy levels right now. I still nap when Aiden naps most days, but that's mostly cause I just love my sleep. I am able to accomplish the things I want to usually. Jeremy is helping to pick up the slack on things like sweeping and vaccuming that I can't bring myself to do. I appreciate him so much for that.
My Little Monkey
I try to remind myself that this is the last 2 months that Aiden is my only concern. I have tried to focus on that in the past few weeks. He is so good to play on his own, so sometimes I tend to take advantage of that. But I've been trying to take him to the park, play with him, read to him more and do whatever I can to make the most of this time where he is my one and only. I'm still amazed sometimes how easily he has become our everything. I am so excited for Aiden to have a little brother. I'm so excited for our family to grow over the next few years. But there is a part of me, right now (I'm SURE this will change as SOON as this baby is born), that will be sad to leave this stage of my life where it is just him.
Lastly
I am so unbelievably grateful for this little one we are going to have. I know that somethings can't be fully appreciated until we can't have them in our own time. Having the 2 miscarriages has helped me to be grateful for this pregnancy and for Aiden more than I think I could have been without experiencing that pain and sorrow. I don't wish it on anyone but I thank Heavenly Father for my own trials because I know they have made me stronger. I love my little family!

Four Things

Here's a little bit of random info about me...
Four Jobs I've Had
1. Day Care
2. Sonic
3. Lifeguard
4. Secretary

Four Places I've Lived
1. Vegas
2. Cedar City
3. Vegas
4. Mesa

Four TV Shows I Watch
1. Psych
2. Criminal Minds
3. NCIS
4. House

Four Places I've Visited
1. Salt Lake City
2. Chicago
3. San Diego
4. Los Angeles
(super exciting, I know!)

Four of my Favorite Foods
1. Cafe Rio
2. Smoothies
3. Strawberries
4. Pizza

Four Places I'd Like to Travel to
1. New Zealand
2. Hawaii
3. Washington DC
4. Anywhere Church History

Four Things I Look Forward to This Year
1. Having a new baby
2. Buying a house
3. All the fun milestones of the new baby
4. Jake's Mission Homecoming (my brother)

Four people I tag to do this next
1. Amber Cruz
2. Brooke Bleazard
3. Megan Bleazard
4. Monica McDowell