8 years??!!!

It's our 8th wedding anniversary today. I can't believe it! I guess it feels like I've known Hyrum forever, but it just seems crazy that it's been 8 years since we FINALLY got married.

Since it's our anniversary, I wanted to post a bunch of pictures and write the story of how we met, but...I've been at work all day with Hyrum and then the kids had horseback riding lessons, and now it's dinner time and we're going to snuggle and watch a movie, so I don't have time to post all the stuff for a sappy anniversary post like I'd planned. Maybe another day.

So, just for tonight, I want the world to know how much I love Hyrum and how I'm so grateful for him and that he waited for me to make up my mind about "us". My life would feel meaningless without him, and he's got to be the most supportive and loving father I've ever met. I have yet to meet a man who is more involved in the raising, feeding, bathing, changing, playing, teaching, and caring of his children. He goes to the doctor appointments with me, he voluntarily dresses them or gets up in the night for them, and he takes care of them at work when he sees I could use the help. I've NEVER had to worry about him not wanting to help with the kids. He's probably changed just as many of their diapers as I have and has gotten up in the night to help with crying kids more than I have in the last year. I can't even dream up a better husband than Hyrum is to me.

I love love love you, Hyrum. I always have (well, since shortly after meeting you) and I always will.

What a pain in my rear!

I went to the doctor for my 32 week checkup today. It turns out the pain I've had in my rear for the past two weeks is Sciatica! My stinkin' sciatic nerve is causing all kinds of pain when I walk, sit, or try to roll over in bed. I had to cling to the shopping cart at Walmart tonight in order to be able to walk. For the first time, I'm WISHING for toxemia so I can get this baby out and get my sciatic problem fixed, otherwise I'm looking at 8 weeks until I find relief.

So what is toxemia?
Preeclampsia...or high blood pressure. It can pose serious health risks to the mother and the unborn baby if not monitored closely. The only cure is delivery of the baby.

So what are the signs of toxemia?
Swelling in the legs, hands and face. Protein in the urine. Elevated blood pressure. Pain in the abdomen. Blurred or distorted vision.

I had some protein in my urine...again...today. I had it at my last appointment too, but I've never had that in any other pregnancy, including Talea's where I actually DID get toxemia. Talea was taken unexpectedly at 38 weeks, so if delivery will ease the pain in my rear, I'm rooting for a baby coming 2 weeks early again! Besides, it's easier carrying around a 5 pound baby than a 7 pound one. I know, I sound selfish, but really, this pain is MISERABLE!

Okay, after venting about my pains, I'd better post a picture so there's something interesting to see. This is Kiersa drinking her bottle, and you can see why I love them. She doesn't even have to hold them up, and she's not even sucking air. Wonderful! Before discovering these bottles, I used to have to lay her stroller back so her bottle would be upright as she drank.

Cute videos

Here are a few cute videos I thought I'd post.

Hyatt on his horse!


Kiersa cracking up at her bath toys!


Tilly and Milly riding a horse at the mall together, with Hyatt begging for money in the background!


Well, this isn't a video, but it's cute because Hyatt always goes around looking through his hands like binoculars. Thanks, Diego! Now I have to explain my son's actions to everyone!

He loves me...he loves me not

I overheard this conversation while I was blogging tonight.

Hyrum: Hyatt, do you love me?

Hyatt: Yeah, but I don't love your stink.

(laughter)

Okay, so Hyrum can be gassy, especially if he has dairy (since he's lactose intolerant). Tonight has been one of those nights, and I think Hyatt felt it was an appropriate time to share his feelings about it. Amen, Hyatt!!! I feel your pain!!!

Speaking of lactose intolerant, Hyrum, Hyatt and now Kiersa are all lactose intolerant. You know how Kiersa had that awful diarrhea and diaper rash forever? Well, after our return visit to the doctor, she had us put Kiersa on soy formula since she had been throwing up after her bottles. She said sometimes during a viral infection, you can become temporarily lactose intolerant. The day we started Kiersa on soy, her stools hardened and the diaper rash went away. She's had good diapers for a week or so now, and we ran out of the soy formula. We switched her back to her regular formula now that she's healthy, but after being on it for a day, her stools softened again and the diaper rash began to return.

Kiersa has a specific pain signal. It's not a cry. It's a sound, like a squeaking inhale. We've discovered it means she pooped and it hurts. We haven't heard it since her diaper rash cleared up, but since it started coming back today, she started the noise again, and I caught it on video. When she did it, it triggered her Millie Cow book to start mooing!


So it looks like we'll become a family of soy or rice milk drinkers. I actually really like rice milk in cereal, but Hyrum is having a struggle with it. Hyatt has no problem with it since he's been on it for quite a while, but then again, Hyrum and Talea are by far my pickiest eaters, so I'm not surprised Hyatt's okay with it.

Grandpa

One thing I love about Tilly, and all my kids in general, is their ability to love their grandparents and cuddle up to them, even if they haven't seen them in a while. Talea was watching Kung Fu Panda with my dad, and I wanted to go watch a movie in my room that Hyrum was watching, so I told Tilly to watch the movie with Grandpa. She said it was too hard to sit on him, so I told her to sit on a chair next to him. She pulled the dining chair up close to his and snuggled up to his shoulder, so we couldn't resist taking a picture of it.


So sweet!!

Cluffmas

This year, we had visitors for Christmas. My parents and little brothers (well, they tower over me, but are only almost 17) all came up to our house on Christmas Eve to spend the holiday with us.

Before they arrived, I spent the day cleaning the house, mopping floors (oh how I hate doing that), and getting everything ready. I stayed pretty scummed all day, but hey, it's my family and only my mom would mind (she loves makeup and big hair).

On Christmas Eve, the kids put on their Grammie Jammies and we each opened one present. We chose to open the gifts Grandma Sheri sent us.

Tilly's greatest wish right now is to fly, like a butterfly, fairy or dragonfly. So Grandma Sheri sent her a fairy book that came with fairy wings, and boy was Tilly thrilled!



Hyatt loves Winnie the Pooh and gets Pooh obsessed from time to time, so Grandma Sheri sent him a Winnie the Pooh book, and he loved it!



Kiersa got bath toys and she loved chewing on them!



Hyrum got a magazine subscription to Outdoor Life, and I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Hyrum or Hyatt.


I got my CHOICE of magazine subscriptions, and I'm really at a loss as to which one to choose!!! I'm thinking I'll get Real Simple, since I love anything to do with organizing and making my life easier.


I'm sure you're wondering, "How did they fit 9 people in a 400 sq ft apartment? Where did everyone sleep when there are only 2 beds and a crib? Where was the Christmas tree? Here's how we arranged everything:

First, we had a tiny fake tree that we normally use at the shop, but we brought it home to have something for the presents to sit by.

Now as far as sleeping arrangements, my mom refuses to sleep in a house since she says that she's only alive today because she's been sleeping outside every night for the past few years, so she opted to sleep in her car instead of our camping trailer with my brothers.


Apparently, she "loves" sleeping in a car. More power to you mom!


My dad slept in the living room in the kids' twin bed since he wouldn't accept putting us out of ours, and the kids slept on our floor. Oh, Kiersa was in her crib in the living room with my dad.

CHRISTMAS!!!
On Christmas morning, Hyatt woke up at around 1:30 needing to pee. Hyrum took him to the bathroom, but purposely didn't cover his eyes so he'd see that Santa came. When he came back to our bed, Hyatt sudddenly said, "I saw a jumping horse!" Hyrum quizzed him about it to see if he could get him dreaming about it all night, but Hyatt was already asleep again.

Later, closer to 7 am, Talea suddenly yelled, "Mom! Dad! Wake up!!!" We were already awake, so we expected her to continue with something about how it was Christmas and it was time to open presents, but she was silent. She then said something about how she thought she must have fallen out of bed since she didn't know where she was, but then she remembered why she was on our floor and tried to go back to sleep. Hyrum was too anxious to see them open their presents, so he made the kids get up and when they walked into the living room, it was worth the early rising (they don't normally get up until after 8 am at least).

Tilly was thrilled about every gift that she opened and acted like each one was the coolest thing in the world. She got her Mr. Fuzzy and some other toys she'd really wanted.


Kiersa had fun playing with her toys, but being only 10 months, she wasn't that exciting to watch with presents.


The highlight of Christmas was watching Hyatt become a Cowboy. He's been wishing he could be a Cowboy for a long time, but refused to believe he could be one until he had a hat and a rope. Oh, Santa did better than that! Santa got him Wrangler jeans, a cowboy shirt, spurs, a rope, a hat, a horse, and a roping dummy. He was ecstatic!!! He immediately stripped off his batman jammies and got decked out and jumped on his horse, spuring it to great speeds.

The kids originally called the horse "the Braxton horse" since their cousin Braxton had one that they rode at Thanksgiving, but now Hyatt has named it Spirit, since it looks like Spirit, from the movie.

We had a great few days just sitting around eating Christmas leftovers and pie, watching TV...oh and mom, dad and Weston even made it over to the coast to see the lights at Shore Acres. We really enjoyed having family with us! The boys really stepped up and helped Hyrum with construction on the top floor of the house. They opened up the stairwell and built the bathroom wall, and it all looks like it's coming together!

On the left is the stairwell, on the right is the hallway leading to the master bedroom.

Here's looking past the hallway into the kids' bathroom.

This is from standing in front of the master bedroom looking back toward the hall and stairs. I love how open it feels now!!!


My family left today, and we'll miss them until we see them again.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for a mouse.

The nasty little vermin invaded our house and I just recently found evidence of it...on my yoga mat,


under the dining chairs, on my sewing machine (it had a tight cover on too, the sneaky little mouse), in my Sunday bag, behind the kids' bed, on the counter, etc. Hyrum even saw it run across the room once.

We bought 3 types of traps, and haven't caught a thing. There are also no new traces of it's presence. Maybe we scared it away!

Baby love

My kids are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little one, and I found them in Kiersa's crib, practicing with dolls. They were rocking them and singing to them.


Kiersa is absolutely obsessed with babies ever since she saw Jaiden in Utah. She can't get enough of them, real or fake. I got out the bucket of dolls I had in the top of the closet and put them in her crib, and boy did she feel like she was in heaven! She couldn't stop smiling...

or kissing the babies.


I'm going to have my hands full protecting the new baby from Kiersa's affections. I might just have to turn her crib into a jail, and last Sunday she got plenty of practice wearing stripes. I thought she looked so stinkin' adorable!

Yee Haw!

Horseback riding lessons were tonight again, and since the kids are back to normal health (no more fevers, vomiting, diarrhea or diaper rashes, hooray!), we all went. Tilly had her first lesson, and she did very well, I thought. She guided the horse through the poles like a pro (poles as in the pole-bending event that girls do in rodeo).



We asked Hyatt if he was excited to be a cowboy again today, and he said he couldn't be a cowboy because "I don't have a cowboy hat...sorry". (Little does he know, Santa is bringing him one.) I have a feeling he'll have that hat glued to his head day and night, once he gets it.


Kiersa adored the horse, so she'll be next for lessons, as soon as she can sit on the horse and not fall off.


Hyrum found a saddle and horse-dummy to rope off of, so he spent a good chunk of time roping Hyatt and me. Hyatt was dying for a turn to rope, so Hyrum showed him how, but I was enjoying watching him so much I forgot to get any pictures of Hyatt.




It costs us $20 for an hour lesson (Tilly and Hyatt get a half hour each), which I found out is a smoking deal. Some ranch place around here gives lessons for $150/hour, and Hyrum said that's more what he expected to pay, which is why he jumped on the $20 lessons.


It's really fun for me to see my kids on a horse. I've always wanted my kids to grow up on horses, and I always wanted to marry a guy who was a bit of a cowboy, which is exactly what Hyrum was...which is one of the things that attracted me to him and away from my missionary I was waiting for. MAN! I LOVE Hyrum!

Sold!

I found a Maclaren Triumph (yes, the stroller I'd been drooling over, but it was $150-175 at Babies R Us) on craigslist in Coos Bay for only $75 (the same price I paid for my Volo)!!! I snatched it up instantly, of course. The sun hood is slightly sun-faded, but still in great condition, and the pink will work well for my house full of girls. I was shocked to find it in this area because I normally only find high-end brands like Maclaren and Britax in the Portland craigslist. The Triumph is definitely softer than the Volo, and the recline is a nice feature.


This is my second great deal I've found on craigslist. I think I'm hooked to shopping on it now!

What I want for Christmas

We went to the mall on Saturday so the kids could tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.



Hyatt was pretty scared of Santa at first, but he made it through the photo. Miss Smarty Pants (Tilly) remarked (when looking at the photo afterward), "I had the cutest smile."

Tilly told him she wanted a Mr. Fuzzy that she saw in the mall in Orem (which of course we didn't buy at the time, but we luckily found a similar replacement at Walmart for a fraction of the price just after this visit to Santa), and Hyatt said he wanted a candy cane, since he saw Santa handing them out.

The best part was that there wasn't even a line, and the photographers refused to let us pay the $10 for the picture since they did Hyrum's kitchen photos for the homeshow this year, so I'm glad we passed Santa up at the University Mall in Orem, with the endless line.

Although we went to the mall for Santa, the mall toys were a way bigger hit for the kids.

Need a good laugh?

This skiff of snow we had on Friday cancelled school. I guess people aren't that experienced with winter driving out here.

Dad is great...

I showered the girls with me this morning, and when I got out of the shower, I found this.



Mini chocolate donuts for breakfast???

I started to get after Tilly for eating the chocolate donuts (that Hyrum had so sneakily told Tilly to slip into the cart at Walmart yesterday) for breakfast, when Hyrum said he had told her he thought that was breakfast so he'd given her permission.

Nice, Hy.

Have you ever seen "Billy Cosby: Himself"? If you haven't, go out and rent it ASAP. It is soooo funny! I grew up watching that, and I'll never get sick of it.

This donut incident reminded me of the chocolate cake sketch on that show. His wife told him to go make breakfast for the kids, so he grudgingly went downstairs to make it and his 4 year old (Talea's age), asked if she could have chocolate cake. Hmmm. Eggs, milk, wheat...that's nutrition! So he served up chocolate cake and grapefruit juice for all his kids, and they sang him praises, "Dad is great! Gives us the chocolate cake!"

...until the mother came downstairs and had a conniption

...and fire shot from her eye sockets.

Well, fire didn't shoot from my eyes, but I was a little disgusted. Not surprised, just a little disgusted. Now I know why Hyrum and my kids are such picky eaters. They just want solid sugar all the time!

If you're a parent, you'll love "Billy Cosby: Himself" even more than just the average person. And since this chocolate cake sketch is so hilarious, I'm including it in this post for your viewing pleasure.

Tiana's Quick Picks for Baby Gear

This post is for those who are looking for great baby gear. I've had some requests lately about what my recommendation is for particular baby items, since I love researching the crud out of baby stuff, so here are a few items I don't ever want to live without. Granted, all of these items may seem to lean toward the spendy side, but they're actually mid-range compared to some of the stuff out there.

After having tried cheaper brands for these items, I am CONVINCED that all of my picks are WELL worth every penny I spent on them. I only wish I had discovered them earlier, before I wasted money on the cheap stuff.

After ages of research, these are items I've purchased and use pretty much everyday:

**UMBRELLA STROLLER: Maclaren Volo
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, compares to a Maclaren. It's easy to use, lightweight, has great handles you don't hunch over, a canopy and basket, and the wheels NEVER drive me crazy like cheap umbrellas. I sort of wish I had bought the Triumph since the Volo doesn't recline, but it does the job and the kids seem comfortable enough when they sleep in it. I chose the Volo because it was on sale for $75 at Target. In England, you'll be hard pressed to find a different brand of umbrella stroller.

Check out this link: Maclaren umbrella strollers



**DOUBLE STROLLER/JOGGER: Phil & Teds E3
I have yet to find a front/back double jogger. I think they're only side by side. Regular double strollers are either super long or super wide. I stumbled on Phil & Teds somehow while looking at reviews of strollers. It said that if you have a kid with another on the way, the only way to go is to get a Phil & Teds. I researched it online, bit the bullet, bought the whole shebang with the doubles kit, pannier bags, double rain cover and insect cover, plus a BOB handlebar console for drinks/phone storage all for somewhere around $500. This the BEST baby item I have purchased yet.
The front wheel locks for jogging, yet swivels for walking. It's never larger than the size of single jogger, it folds so compactly for a double, and it comes in cool colors. The E3 is outdated now and is comparable with the classic or sport double. They have come out with newer models with improvements (that I wish mine had), but I love mine just the same and swear by this brand. You will NEVER regret this purchase, no matter how much it costs you. I see them everywhere in big cities, amusement parks, and even in London.
Oh!! In a pinch, I've used the foot well as a 3rd seat, as long as the rider isn't so heavy that the foot well rubs on the wheel. It saved us in England a lot.

Here's a link. You have to click on "push" and "inline buggies": Phil & Teds inline buggies



Here's the BOB handlebar console I added to my jogger. Love it!


**INFANT CAR SEAT: Chicco Keyfit30
I don't know if this is the most amazing seat ever, especially since I haven't tried the Britax Companion that has a stability bar in an accident, but I really like my Chicco, and it's a heck of a lot better than the Eddie Bauer one I had for Talea and Hyatt. The handle doesn't make a loud click when you raise it up, therefore it doesn't wake up the baby. Also, it slides smoothly and quietly into it's base and I never have to worry about one side not locking in. It has adequate padding and comes in some cool colors. The canopy comes off in the back, allowing me to change its position when the sun is in the baby's eyes. It also goes up to 30 pounds, which is great if your baby gets chubby fast like Kiersa. I'm completely satisfied with it.

Here's a link: Chicco Infant Seat



**CONVERTIBLE CAR SEAT: Britax Boulevard
I hated the Eddie Bauer convertible seat I had for Talea. Talk about a kinked neck when she slept! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this seat! It has a great side-impact protection head pillow that keeps my kids so comfortable (and safe) when they sleep. They stay completely secure in their seats and can't get out by themselves. They can't pull the chest snap down and get their arms out! It works from 5 to 65 pounds. The fabric is soft and washable (I put it in the gentle cycle and air dry it just to be safe). They have a new and improved Boulevard called the Boulevard CS out now where the head wings angle out a bit more so the viewing angle isn't as blocked, and there's an audible click when you've tightened the harness properly (my parents need that when securing my kids!). There are also a lot more pattern options. My next Boulevard will be a CS in the cow print. I can't imagine using anything else since using this seat. It is bliss! Never a speck of regret after this purchase, and I've purchased 2. Well worth the money!!

Here's a link to Britax: Britax Boulevard



Now this is what I'm talking about! Look how comfy they are. Not a kinked neck in the bunch! Especially the little ones in the Britax Boulevards.


***BOOSTER SEAT: Compass B540
My nephew had the Graco high back booster, and his head was constantly flopped forward while he slept and he looked painfully uncomfortable, so I hunted for a seat with a better head rest. I found this one, and I really like it. The head pillows are larger, so Tilly's head stays up in it and she's more comfortable. She hates using her Graco backless (that's my secondary booster until I get the camouflage Compass) compared to this one. The armrests flip up, which makes it easier for Tilly to buckle and get in and out. The back also folds down which makes it easy when flying with it or when storing it in a truck when it's not needed. So far, I'm completely satisfied with Tilly's comfort and safety while in this seat. No complaints from Tilly either.

To see what Tilly looks like sleeping in her booster, see the picture above with all three kids sleeping. Her head stays in place.

None of this for my kids!


Hope this helps! If you have any recommendations for me of baby gear you swear by, I'd love to know what they are. I love researching stuff and finding out what people like.