M-Day

Memorial Day followed a really fabulous weekend! Tyler's brother, Mark, and his wife, Elizabeth, flew in to hang out with us for a few days. The weather was less than ideal, but we still managed to go for a run (me and Liz), kayak (Mark and Ty while the rest of us took refuge under a tree because it was raining),

Soaked, but happy.

Mark braving the rain

visit a park on the Hood canal,

Beautiful Liz at beautiful Scenic Beach!

People at Church thought he looked JUST like Ty

golf (Mark and Ty), go on a dinner date to Yacht Club Broiler (just the grownups),

watch a basketball game (why, oh why can't the Suns win?) take the ferry to Seattle,

Mark, Liz, and the Seattle skyline

eat at Ivar's,

Ivar's white clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Yum.

Man, is he cute!

browse Pike Place Market and other stores in Seattle, and then see them off to the airport from the light rail station. Not bad for less than two days, eh?

Then we realized that we might miss our ferry unless we hightailed it back to the ferry terminal. So hightail it we did! Ty with the double stroller and me with the Ev man in the bjorn ran our little hearts out and made it just in time! But there was an injured ferry worker and so we were delayed another 10 minutes. Turns out running was only good for our hearts, not necessary for making the ferry. It was SO good to have Mark and Liz here! They were very fun guests. Max cried for about 20 minutes after we saw them off, "Mark and Liz!" over and over again with many tears. Yes, this happened during our mad dash to make the ferry. So I guess it made the scene even a little more comical. :)

I greeted Memorial Day at 6:30 a.m., put on my running shoes and headed out for my longest run since birthing Everett - 8 miles. It was good, thank heavens. I'm running a half marathon in about 3 weeks and I needed this run to be good for my confidence going into the race. My ipod lost its juice about 2 miles into the run, but it was actually quite nice to have the birds be my soundtrack.

I ran to Waterfront Park where our ward was having the annual pancake breakfast and met my little fam there. It was pretty chilly, but always fun to hang out with so many people I love so much!

Next we headed around the corner to a kids clothing consignment shop I like to frequent (yes, I still was smelly, if you're wondering). I mention this because I would like to brag about how big we scored. They were having a half-off sale. I love consignment shops for kids and I am pretty picky about getting nice things - not very worn looking, good brands. Here's what we got for $39:

• 5 pairs of shoes
• 5 pairs of shorts
• 1 skirt
• 2 dresses
• 3 shirts

Impressed? Me too!

The rest of the day was pretty chill. We ended up with some unexpected sunshine and decided to invite our neighbors, the Lintons, over for an impromptu barbecue. We love the Lintons!

'Twas a good day and a great weekend!

The End.

ROCKED!

If you don't want to read this super long post with every little detail, here's the short of it:

My husby pulled off a perfect, wonderful, incredible surprise party and one of my favorite people in the world - my little sister, Adrianne - flew in from Vegas with her husband and three kids to surprise me. I have an incredible husband, sister, brother-in-law, and friends!

My world was ROCKED, my birthday ROCKED, my husby ROCKS...and so do my sister, brother-in-law, and friends!

Let me take you with me as I try to make sense of, and document, the intricacies of the deception that lead to the biggest surprise of my life from my end of things. Everything in { } is what I found out after the fact...

Tyler told me a month or two ago that he was going on a rafting trip with the YM on Saturday the 22nd, my actual birthday, so we would need to celebrate on Friday night instead. I gave him a bit of a hard time about this. After all, last year on my birthday he climbed a mountain and so we celebrated early then too. Is it too much to ask to celebrate your birthday ON your birthday?! Actually, I didn't care much, I just wanted to hassle him a bit. He's really good at planning things and I told him I wanted to be surprised by whatever it was we did on Friday night. Little did I know.

So last Sunday at Church he asked one of our favorite babysitters, Jessica, to babysit on Friday night. She said yes. {He also told her she was going to call on Thursday night and tell a lie to cancel; she was pretty nervous about it} We talked about the night and he said there were two parts and that he hoped Everett could last about 4 hours without having to be fed. I am never totally sure, but thought he could. He said that we MIGHT have time to go feed him in between dinner and the next part of the night. I found out that week that the rafting trip was cancelled and the YM were going to do a campout on Friday, but he wasn't going to have to go to any part of it. We talked about changing our date to Saturday but he said that he didn't think it would work to change it because of the second thing he had planned for Friday night. He wasn't SO opposed to the idea (since that might have tipped me off) he just said that he'd rather keep it on Friday and then we could hang out as a family on Saturday. I thought that sounded really nice.

On Thursday at about noon, Ty walks in the door. He never walks in the door at noon. I had talked to him about an hour before and he was encouraging me to get showered for the speech I'd have to record for my online Public Speaking class that afternoon. I thought, "I'll get to it when I get to it. Why are you trying to tell me what to do? Sheesh." He never dictates my life like that and later said that should have tipped me off. It probably should have. Well, he walks in and I still haven't showered because I did not pick up on the hint, so he tells me that I'd better get upstairs and shower FAST. So I run upstairs, trying to get him to tell me what's going on. I start to get in the shower and he comes in and says, "You're not washing your hair, are you?" Ummm, I was planning on it. "You don't have time. Hurry!" The doorbell rings and I realize he's serious. So I get showered and ready super fast and come downstairs to find my dear friend, Tristalene, on the couch. Ty is home to watch the kids while she whisks me away to lunch. So nice! We head to RoundTable Pizza where a group of friends have gathered for a surprise lunch. It was so, so fun. We chatted and ate and my friend Jennifer made a Krispy Kreme "cake" that I loved. While I was there my friend Rebecca asked what I was doing for my actual birthday. I told her that Tyler had something fun planned for Friday night. She said, "I have a rare Friday night with nothing to do, so if you need someone to babysit I would be willing." I told her thanks, but we already had Jessica coming to babysit. I go home happy and grateful for such good people in my life. {This was a great decoy surprise...who in their right mind would expect ANOTHER surprise party the next day?!}

Thursday afternoon I talked to my sister, Adrianne, who was leaving that afternoon for California. She and her family were going to the beach on Friday and then Disneyland on Saturday. {Really Ty called them at the beginning of the year to share his idea for this weekend and they bought tickets clear back in February and they're leaving that afternoon for Seattle where they'll stay the night and spend Friday until it's time to drive to our side of the water for the surprise party} I had a secret hope in my heart that she might come and surprise me for my birthday, but realize there's no way she can talk about going to Disneyland in front of her little kids and then not really go. I tell her to have fun and I'll most likely talk to her on Sunday when they get home.

Thursday night about 9:00 I get a phone call from Jessica, our babysitter for Friday. She has a family emergency in Idaho and won't be able to babysit after all. Man! Ty says that he'll call Chari, another young woman in our ward. Chari is Rebecca's daughter and the kids love Chari too. Rebecca, if you'll remember, offered her babysitting services just that afternoon. I forgot about that, though, until a few minutes into the phone call when Chari "isn't there" to talk to. I whisper that information to Ty who says, "Oh! Dana just told me that you'd be willing to babysit." {Rebecca is giggling on the other end while they are all waiting for me to say, "Oh! Rebecca offered to babysit"} It's arranged, we'll take the kids to Rebecca's house the following night.

Friday we went and did our big grocery shopping trips. After those we took the kids to Toys R Us to spend the gift certificates they got from Tutu and Papa Ted. After Toys R Us I realize that I don't have my wallet which I had set in the seat of the shopping cart at WalMart. Ty didn't know it was there and he was the one who unloaded the cart. That caused a frenzy because we had dinner reservations at 5:30. {And over 40 people showing up for a surprise party who will be waiting for us} Ugh. We head back to Poulsbo, a 15 minute drive, to look for said wallet. To no avail. Who comes across a wallet and decides to take it? Punk. That put a major damper on things and I asked Ty if we should just cancel and go out on Saturday night instead. He's not soemphatic, but says that he thinks we should still go that night. So we hurry home, unload our groceries, try to nurse the babe who won't eat which causes more stress because now he's supposed to go another 4 hours as far as I know {this really works into the plan quite nicely}, and head out the door. Ty runs the kids into Rebecca's and tells me I have to wait in the car because I'll talk too much and cause us to be even later {Rebecca gave him that idea (because she knows me well :) ) and it wasn't out of the ordinary; we usually have Ty be the one to drop off the kids because we're usually running late and I DO talk too much} I know that's absolutely right so I stay put and call Adri to tell her about my wallet and see how the beach was. {She thought it was Ty and was surprised to hear my voice. They're driving to Rebecca's house and she's hoping that I don't hear the rain on the car windshield because she just told me how nice the beach was.}

Finally we're headed to the restaurant and I start to chill out and enjoy the time with my man. On the way there he hits the steering wheel and says, "Oh no! I forgot something." I ask what and he says that we need to stop by home after dinner to pick up swimsuits and towels but won't tell me where we are going with them. {Very good decoy...put my mind so far from a party at Rebecca's} I realized I'd forgotten the diaper bag anyway so we are going to have to stop by and pick it up and then we'll have to make time to nurse Everett since he hadn't eaten before we left. We went to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant and loved it. I was trying to figure out where we could be going with swimsuits, hoping that it's not a very public place since I just had a baby three and a half months ago. :) I make all sorts of guesses and try really hard to figure out what it could be{much to Tyler's delight}.

We leave the restaurant and the lost wallet is all but forgotten. I was having a great time and felt so in love with this handsome man of mine. We were driving home to get the diaper bag and swimsuits and Ty tells me to call Rebecca and tell her we're on our way. "Why?" I ask. "So that she knows we're coming and can be ready. Maybe we should just check to see if Everett is even hungry." So I call and she tells me that he just started getting fussy. Perfect timing. We'll be there in a bit. We stop and pick up our stuff and then head to Rebecca's. All I'm thinking about is the next phase of the date and where we could possibly be going. We walk up to Rebecca's and she answers the door with my sleeping babe in her arms. "Sorry, he fell asleep." She turns and walks into the house while we follow her. "That's okay, I'll just wake him up and feed him real quick." As we're following her I see some Hawaiian decorations hanging up...BUT I was so thrown off course that it didn't even cross my mind they could be for me. I thought, "I wonder if they're having a party for Matt (her son who's graduating) tomorrow." I walk down the hall and follow Rebecca to the kitchen. I come around the corner and...HOLY COW! There is a huge sea of faces and camera flashes. I backed up, totally shocked and laughing, and hit Ty a few times while they all sang Happy Birthday. I was so blown away. I just kept trying to wrap my mind around it. Wasn't it just by chance that the kids were there that night? Was this really the plan all along? I kept saying, "I don't understand!"

A fuzzy 'initial shock' picture by Ty

Another fuzzy 'initial shock' picture

Can you believe this guy?! I love him so.

I felt so loved and loved looking at each person who came! Next they had me sit on the couch to watch a video Ty put together. First was my in-laws wishing me a Happy Birthday, next was my sister-in-law Megan, then I broke down in tears when I saw my friends Kelly and Janet. (You guys totally made me cry; I have a video to prove it) Then all of my siblings and my parents were on there. It was so thoughtful and I loved every second. At first I didn't see Adri's family on the list of names for the video and I thought, 'Maybe they ARE coming!' But then I saw their names last and my heart accepted once again that they were, indeed, in California. However, their video popped up and all that was on it was their empty couch with my sister's voice saying, "You've reached the Tippetts. We're not home right now. If you want to reach us, Danalin, you'll have to turn around" (or something close to that). I said, "No way!" and turned around to see my sister and her family behind me. **Cue immediate 'ugly cry'** Oh. My. Goodness. Just because I had a hope doesn't mean I EVER thought they would actually come! I was beyond shocked. We hugged and cried for a bit. The talk of the night was that I slapped her...but it was a soft, I-can't-believe-you're-here! kind of slap. It really took me a few hours to absorb everything. My mind was reeling.

Enjoying the birthday messages from family and friends

Watching the Tippetts family's video; realizing that Adri and her family are in the same house

The hug before the "slap"..sorry, Adri!

The party was SO fun! There was delicious Hawaiian food, compliments of Ilona, which I enjoyed the next day as leftovers since I was so stuffed from dinner. I loved chatting with everyone. Oh and the cake! Ty had them blow up a picture of me and put it on edible paper...the girl at the store talked him in to a magazine cover. :) Kind of creepy to eat your own face. Ty got my lips. The details of this whole thing amazed me. What a man, what a mighty good man I married! I even received some really nice gifts. SO much kindness.

Fosters and Tippetts

The ladies who made it all possible! Jennifer Kelly (L) and Rebecca Dean (R). Love them!

Then Adri and her family got to come home with us for the weekend! Despite the weather, we had a perfect weekend with them. We got to kayak, go shopping, the guys went to the driving range, we went on a double date while Jessica finally got to babysit :), and just had a wonderful visit.

Oh, so fun to have cousins at our house!

Kayaking at Island Lake

I LOVE this woman! THANK YOU FOR COMING, Adri!

Finding crabs at Waterfront Park

I still can't believe how well it was all pulled off. THANK YOU to everyone who did SO much! I feel like there is no way for me to really thank you and tell you how much it meant. So much work, so much time...so thoughtful. Amazing. I will never forget turning 30! It's going to be a great decade.

FOUR real?!

Brother had a birthday!

What?! I have a four-year-old?!

I guess my oldest should be 4 since I have three kids. :) I don't think a birthday will pass without momma tears being shed. I always seem to find myself still awake at the exact time of his birth - 12:09 a.m. (only on his birthday...I am way too old to do that every day). I was just finishing the decorations. Lots of blue because the boy loves blue. I was thinking about the minutes, hours, days before he came into the world. Days because his labor lasted that long. Days. Plural. He'll hear about that the rest of his life and maybe someday when he watches his wife go through labor he'll really appreciate it. His wife will for sure. Every single contraction was worth it. So were the hallucinations from whatever medication they gave me because the doc wouldn't allow an epidural even though I'd been on pitocin for, like, 10 or 11 hours. I'd do it all again. I'd even hang in there for a few more days of crazy pain. He is worth it all. He's my bud, my helper, my comic relief, my example. He made me a mom and he is constantly teaching me how to be a little better and how to grow in that calling. 'Love' doesn't seem like an adequate word to describe how I feel about this little dude.

His birthday was on Sunday, May 9th, so we took him out on the town on Saturday. We ate at a local burger joint - Noah's Ark - for lunch...
and then headed to the USS Turner Joy, a retired Vietnam war ship turned museum in the Bremerton Marina. It was awesome! The kids were thrilled. The weather was perfect. It was one of THOSE days. Those really fun, everything is right in the world days.

I had to throw this in...couldn't help myself. Can you believe I get to live here?

He fell down some steep stairs. It was awful, though he wasn't hurt. What kind of mother snaps a picture at a time like that?!

Also had to throw this picture in...she's so cute!

He spotted a cool airplane in the gift shop on the way in so we decided to get it for him on the way out. They are so easy to please at this age! It was $3.99.
The next day, the actual BIRTH day, we shared. It was Mother's Day. Max came and climbed in bed with me that morning and said, "I'm excited I get to share a special day with you!" We went to Church, came home and opened presents, took a nap together in the afternoon, and then had spaghetti for dinner (Max's request) with a really yummy salad topped with bleu cheese (my request).
Then his three best friends, Adam & Ian (brothers) and Reyes, and their families came over for some cake and ice cream. Low key. Lots of love. Perfect day.

Can't believe he's 4! Being a mom to this little man is a privilege.

Some Maxisms:

Recently Max went to give me a kiss and dramatically tilted his head. I asked what he was doing and he said that he was going to kiss me like Dad does. So we had a talk about son kisses and husband kisses - when sons kiss their moms they just kiss them straight up, no dramatic tilt of the head needed. A few days later he was standing behind me and leaned around my shoulder to plant one on me. His head was tilted and I could tell he was really thinking about something. Afterward he explained, "I wasn't kissing you like a dad, it's just because I was standing behind you and so I had to turn my head. I was still kissing you like a son." I'll take all the kisses I can get because I know he won't want to be kissing his momma forever!

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Today I told Max I had a job for him (he loves that!) and gave him something to take to the recycle bin in the garage. He came back inside and I thanked him. He said, "Well, I had two jobs."

Me: "Oh? What was your other job?"

Max: "I had to PUNCH the wind! I punched it like this (arms punching wildly). Like a boxer."

Me: "Why did you have to punch the wind?"

Max: "It was blowing on me and making me cold, so I had to PUNCH it."

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The other day Max had some friends over to play in the sandbox. I reminded them of the rules and then said I was going inside but would be checking back. Max says, "Oh, with your magic eyes?" Little dude seriously thinks I have eyes that can see through anything...I totally encourage it. As I'm walking away he turns to his friends and informs them in a this-is-so-going-to-impress-you tone, "My mom has MAGIC eyes!"

Inspiration Shared

A few weeks ago I was reading my scriptures (the Book of Mormon, to be precise) and came across some verses that I love...a lot. They made me think of a dear friend going through a trial and I felt strongly that I should share the inspiration with her. It was then shared with another friend who needed it for a talk at Church that Sunday.

Well.

Wouldn't you know it, just a few weeks later I found myself in the depths. I'd been on the verge for a while, but finally dove deep. You may recall. This same dear friend sent me a supportive e-mail and then said she felt like she should send me back the e-mail I had sent to her a few weeks previous. Turns out this bit of inspiration had more than one purpose.

So I decided to share it here. It might be just what someone out there needs to hear. I love the scriptures!

Dear Friend,

"I was reading my scriptures this morning and thought about sharing what I read with you. It's in Ether 6. The Jaredites have built their barges to take them to the promised land, they climb in with faith, and start on their journey. I really LOVE these verses. The Jaredites did everything they could do to prepare for their journey - they did their part and then commended themselves to God. In verses 5 & 6 it says: "the Lord caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind (the wind, remember, that the Lord caused to blow)." But despite all of the waves and the winds, they were protected and nothing could really hurt them. When they were encompassed about by many waters, though, they cried to the Lord and he brought them forth again, back on top of the waters. However, the wind never ceased to blow towards the promised land. They were sure to thank the Lord throughout their ordeal and when they finally landed in the promised land, they knelt and humbled themselves before the Lord and shed tears of joy because of the multitude of tender mercies the Lord had shown them.

I know that Heavenly Father knows our exact "location" on this life journey always. He sends the "winds" (trials) for the purpose of bringing us ever closer to Him. And when we are so overcome by the "waves" that are upon us and we cry for deliverance, He will deliver us from them; He knows how much is too much. And we may have a bit of a breather, but then the winds will inevitably come again because we must get to Him - to our promised land. I love that the "winds" have such a purpose. Without them, we would be bobbing in the water, never progressing anywhere. But He doesn't send the winds and then figure that He has done His job and forget about us - He is ever watchful of the process. He sends the winds and then watches and listens and waits for us to say that it is too much...then a reprieve...then more winds. He wants us to come Home."

Love,

Danalin

Or I think I should say...

Love,

Your Father in Heaven. It's His message, after all.

Report

I am completely overwhelmed...with all of the LOVE. I don't know what I expected when I put my guts on my blog for the world to see, but I wasn't totally prepared for the love I would feel from so many. Yesterday was such a tender day - I received several phone calls of support and every time I checked my blog there was a new comment.

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

I put some of your advice into action right away. I called and got myself out of something I had committed to that was stressing me out. It felt so good! While there are many commitments that I have to keep, and some that I want to keep for my own sanity (running and doing the races), I am going to be very careful with how I use my time for the next little bit. I feel like the pure happiness will creep back in as the anxiety over schedules subsides.

Also, you may remember that I'm a bit of a guilt-aholic. I think that has a lot to do with my issues. So yesterday I started to form an "It's Okay!" list in my head:

• It's okay that there are smudges on the front of my fridge
• It's okay that the floors haven't been mopped for two weeks
• It's okay that there are still little bits of Max's hair from the haircut I gave him two weeks ago on my bathroom counter
• It's okay that I was in my pj's until 2:00 p.m. yesterday
• It's okay if I miss a day or two of running
• It's okay to not attractively fit into my pre-babe jeans yet
• It's okay that the kids watched a movie on Tuesday night and then again on Wednesday morning while I did school work
• It's okay to sometimes overreact to my kids acting out as long as I try harder to be patient the next time
• It's okay to wish that Everett would take a bottle so that I could be away for more than a few hours at a time
• It's okay to feel sad and overwhelmed sometimes

Thanks, friends. I can't tell you how much I love you and how much I needed your words yesterday. I guess this blogging business is good for more than just posting about how cute our kids are and the rad lives we lead. It felt good to get my feelings written out and helped me to decide to take some steps forward. When you're in the middle of the "darkness" it's hard too see the way out, so your advice was, indeed, welcomed and much of it will be heeded. Thank you.

I also have to say how grateful I am for a loving husband. He is my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, my greatest support. He's the one who will be by my side, literally, and help me to walk out of this valley. I keep thinking of how he joined me during the last mile of my marathon - it was the time I thought I would be feeling "I've got this" but instead felt "I have no idea how I'm going to finish this". And then my man shows up and starts running next to me. Oh man. He helped to get me through and he'll do it again...and again and again. As many times as I need him. Because that's what this marriage business is all about.

And I will come out on the other side of this a little stronger and a little closer to my Father in Heaven. Because that's what this life business is all about.

Advice Welcomed

I need to blog about Max to the Max turning 4! However, there is another matter of great importance that I would like some advice on. For real. If you're looking to be uplifted and entertained by a blog today, look elsewhere.

I think I have some postpartum depression. I've been totally denying it for a while, hoping that I could just pull myself out of it. It's not happening. I've also felt ashamed and guilty. Ashamed because I don't like admitting "weaknesses" and guilty because I feel like I should only be depressed if I have kids who are hard to handle. Like admitting I am depressed means that I think my kids are horrible (which I don't) or that I don't like being a mom (because I do). Does that make sense? Is it totally ridiculous? Such is the state of my mind these days.

I am functioning. I am smiling. I am laughing. I even find joy in my everyday life. I doubt that anyone around me knows that something is wrong. But it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest and if I give myself two minutes to sit and think I go deeper into "the hole". I have prayed. I've read my scriptures diligently. I play and laugh with my kids often. I have moments that are good. But then the anxiety/sadness return.

I feel...

• Lonely. Tyler has to be gone several nights a week - with school and then Young Mens. I feel like we barely have time to talk.
• Overwhelmed. I'm a single mom many nights and I'm taking classes online and I have three kids under the age of four and I have to carve out time to train for the 1/2 marathon and Ragnar I'm running this summer.
• Lame. I know that there are MANY women who do much more with much less support and so I feel lame for feeling the way that I am feeling; like I have no right to complain. It could always be worse/harder, right? I know that in my head, but it doesn't make me feel better. And I think that shoving these feelings down has made it all worse.

Ugh. I just can't shake it. I want to have a day to sit and cry and talk to my husband and best friend for hours and go shopping or do something by myself that requires me to shower and look pretty and then return home to happy kids who've missed their mom and want to give me kisses. But there are diapers to change, cute little mouths to feed, a babe to nurse, kids to dress and entertain...and that's the thing, I really LOVE doing those things. So how is it that it all seems too much sometimes?! Why do I want to cry every 5 minutes and never stop?

So what should I do? Go see a doctor? A therapist? Keep plugging along? I know this is a pretty public forum to share this information, but I want advice. I want experiences from others to draw from. And I think mostly my dear friends read this anyway. :) That's all I have to say for today. Happiness in the form of my very cute children and the celebration of my oldest boy turning 4 years old will return to the blog in a few days....life really is good, I'm just depressed (I think).

Say WHAT?!

For all of the mundane, exhausting, frustrating aspects of this motherhood gig, there are so many great aspects that make this job rock. I'm lucky to have these three little humans to look after. The key is to remember that when all three are screaming/crying/pestering each other at once...I'm working on it.

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Me: Can you believe you're going to be 4 years old?!

Max: No, but I'm excited!

Me: Me too.

Max: Mom, when I'm 4 I'm not going to throw ANY fits and I will get EVERYTHING for you that you ask me to.

Me: That will be awesome.

Max: Yeah...(long pause) but I'm 3 still. And when I'm 3 I'll still throw some fits.

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The kids were picking up their bazillion small army men and I was counting to 200 to see how 'fast' they could do it. I got to 88 and Kelly says...

"Mom, we shouldn't say 'idiot'!" You're so right, sister. Except I said 88, not idiot.

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You remember this little guy?

The one I gave birth to a little over 3 months ago?

The one that I've bragged about on this blog as being the BEST babe?

Yep, that's the one. Well.

It all started on Sunday. *Warning: possible TMI ahead* I was nursing and it was time to switch sides. I lay him on his left side and try to start nursing when he violently thrashes his head to the side and screams. CANNOT get him to chill out as long as I'm trying to get him to eat on that side. A burp? Nope. Full? Nope. This goes on for three days. I figured out that if I did the football hold I could get him to eat on both sides, though (thank goodness!). I talk to several friends and my sister who all seem to think the same thing - an ear infection. Neither of my other kiddos have had one and I was sure that the collective wisdom of all of these women had to be right.

I decided to get him checked out. I saw a different doc than our normal one and when I told him the symptoms and stated rather matter-of-factly that it was likely an ear infection, he said, "Well, he wouldn't have that kind of a reaction with an ear infection. Sometimes babies have a side preference." "Yeah, but that can't be the case. It was so sudden and his reaction is so violent. He has to be in pain. I'm sure something's up." The doc starts poking around in my sleeping boy's ears; Everett starts to open his eyes to see what's going on, then opens them wide and greets the doc with a huge grin. That's my little lover, that's the kind of stuff he's made of. He's rudely awakened out of a deep sleep by a stranger and instead of being annoyed he grins. 'Side preference' - pfffsshh.

The examination found that his ears were....FINE. Perfect, actually. Clavicles? Fine. He's a perfectly healthy boy with a side preference when nursing. WHAT?! Is this for real? I had never heard of such a thing. "Just keep trying and he may grow out of it." Ummm....okay. I walked out of the office with my head hung in slight embarrassment. Did I really just spend $25 to be told that my son is slightly stubborn? Cute, but slightly stubborn?

Sure did.

And it makes me love him a little more. Way to make yourself heard, little man.

"The Tom"

Today our family helped to clean the Church. I love when Tyler signs us up to clean (no sarcasm in the previous statement)! It makes me feel more invested in our building and grateful that we have such a place to meet in each Sunday. We like taking the kids for that reason. We were cleaning with the Lizon family today; they have 4 little ones. Max helped me clean the sacrament trays and, boy, is he a good little dryer. Super thorough. Who knew? Brother has a bright future in my kitchen.

Anyhow, we had the following conversation that brought a smile to my face:

Max: Mom, I'll help you for three more minutes and then I need to have a meeting with the Kids Lizon. (love that he was calling them that)

Me: Oh? Do they know you're having a meeting?

Max: No, but I'll tell them.

Me: What is your meeting going to be about?

Max: The Church, Jesus, The Tom.

Me: The Tom?

Max: Yeah, you know, Thomas S. Monson.

Ha!

**Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet and President of our Church. We generally refer to him as President Monson. That's why this gave me a kick. :) And the little dude is 4, so he meant zero disrespect, but I told him that we should probably call him President Monson**