Life as a Middle Child

So... busy...

2012-01-26T23:37:00.000-08:00

I need to take a minute to talk about Clara. Our #3. She is funny. She is happy. And she is BUSY.

Tonight, for instance.

I looked over into the kitchen and there she was, emptying the dishwasher (yay for an early start!). We went over there and put the dishwasher up. We look back over and she's moved a chair to the dishwasher and was climbing on the counter. So moved the chair. And her.
Clara came over to where I was sitting on the couch. The lights started to flick, and I see that she was pulling the plug out and in, giggling. Then she went to the fire place and started throwing the wood pieces around. After we stopped that and started cleaning it up, we blinked, and the nicely folded clothes in the laundry basket were flying every which way. *deep breath*

We removed her from that. She found my purse and pulled out the iPad, which she can navigate around far better than anyone else in this household. I just deleted 50 pictures of the floor and ceiling.

Clara then burps. And says, "EWWW DAD!!!".

Suddenly there is a calm. And quiet. I turn and look. She's standing on a chair which she has pushed up to our hutch, where she quickly grabbed a hammer, said, "HI MOM!" and started hammering the hutch. Ack! We removed her from THAT.

It is times for family prayer. Clara has disappeared. Or has she? Suddenly the microwave is running. Culprit found! Family prayer said. Clara in bed.

We love Clara, she keeps us on our toes and laughing!

PS... I should also mention this happened over the course of 10 minutes.

Car Post

2011-12-01T00:28:00.000-08:00

It is no secret that we don't have the best of luck with cars. I was reading through old journal posts, and found this from May of 2006. I thought I would share it, it made me laugh!

Enjoy!
~~~~

It is with deep sorrow and regret that I let you know of the passing of Car #1 (see Roberts Family Run Down - Christmas Edition 2005... waiting, I don't think I sent it out to everyone... I'll put it online). 1984 Toyota 4-Runner.
4-Runner suddenly went into convultions on Tuesday morning, sustaining massive transmission problems. After two days in the shop, Dr.Mechanic informed us that 4-Runner was in much need of a new transmission to remain alive. A near $1,000 surgery for new, and $800 for used. After much deliberation, 4-Runner has decided to live out it's remaining days in peace. Dr. Mechanic has given 4-Runner roughly 5 miles, before the end of it's traveling days with the Roberts.
The car has been in the family since it's birth, in 1984. It's 230,000 miles of travel has taken it to Washington, Oregon, Utah, Iowa and back, carrying many, many things. After surviving that awful drive through Nebraska, 4-Runner thought it was indistructable. 4-Runner has been kidnapped 3 times in the past few years, but has always found it's way back home. It's had the pleasure of driving around with the best drivers and the worst. After many, many years of faithful service to us, we are sad to see it go, but realize (much to popular McClure beliefs), a car can not live forever.
4-Runner is survived by all the McClure's, their kids and spouces, and, it's new love, 2005 Ford Taurus. Services will be posted later this evening on Craig's List, in hopes of finding a new family that gives a damn.

Thankful for the many thinks to be thankful about

2011-11-26T23:22:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was this past Thursday. We had a great time! At the end of the day, we (Pernell, the girls and I) were on our bed, and for an hour, we went around talking about what we were thankful for. The first thing that both Kaylee and Sam said they were thankful for? Clara. That made my heart warm.

What am I thankful for? Many things.

My girls. They are each so different and add so much to my life. I love them so very, very much. They have made me a much better person than I could have ever become on my own.

My husband. He is incredible and I love him so! Over the past couple months, everything has been hectic and a tad chaotic. He has stood strong and picked up the slack were I have left it.

My sisters. I love each and everyone of them unconditionally.

My parents. They are amazing, caring, talented people. They have and continue to be the rock in my life and lead by example. I love them.

My work. I am very blessed to have this fantastic job. Great people, great place to work, I love what I do. Not many people can say that.

My Country. Land of the free, home of the brave. I am so thankful for all those who keep it that way.

My Church. I am thankful for the knowledge and gift of the atonement. I am thankful for the friendships I have been blessed with.

A friend of mine passed away last night. She has been on my mind a lot the past month. She has been dealt with more trials than anyone I know, and more than anyone deserves. Never once did she ever complain, frown or let on if she was upset. Her non-wavering positiveness was truly a humbling example to anyone she came into contact with. She always.. always looked for the silver lining, and found it, no matter how thin it was. Cancer ultimately took her from this life. I know she is much, much happier now.

I am thankful for the silver linings in life and I am going to do my best to find them in each situation.

Greetings!

2011-11-08T23:59:00.001-08:00

Hello out there in blogger land!

ALL RIGHT SHOE THIEF

2011-10-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

HELP! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

Do you see it? Look close!

.......... all of these are right shoes.

Where are their mates?

The left shoe?

Gone.

No where to be found.

The Great Shoe Caper of 2011

has commenced!

The Shoe Thief of Norwood Street

has stirred quite a ruckus in our home. We cannot find the left shoes to most of our shoes.

Gone! Disappeared! Vanished!

DO NOT TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF IN OUR HOME!!

The second you blink, your left shoe will disappear. I have started keeping my work shoes in the car, as to not temp this conniving shoe thief.

We have been investigating and while the thief moves at lightning speed and is a master at evading the cameras, think we are close to naming the thieving shoe culprit...

........... so close.

If by chance you find a pile of left shoes, please contact us immediately.

UTAH! UTAH! UTAH!

2011-10-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

A few days after getting the 'mostly all clear' from my doctor to travel (see leg thing), off we drove to Utah to visit all sorts of fun family. Here are the chain of events:

Clara not liking the drive to Utah. Had to stop to entertain.

**insert imaginary pictures of us staying at Emily's house for a couple days... totally forgot to take pictures, which included fun cousin playing, a huge family dinner with both my sisters, their kids, Pernell's sisters and famiy.... C-R-A-Z-Y **

At this point, we went and stayed with Ammie and John. Not long enough! Next time we are going to stay over there longer.

Roberts Family Thanksgiving (in October) 2011.

Grandma Salad, Carl and all the grandkids

Roberts!

Great Grandma Roberts and the great granddaughters

Aunt Joy, Kaylee and Sam

Sunday we went to eat at Ruth's, which is this great little diner up Emigration canyon. We have always loved going there! This time they had us on the patio, which would normally be fine since they have heaters out there, but they put us in the boondocks where there were no heaters. Burrr!! The hot chocolate was great! After Ruth's, we snuck over to Molly's for a couple hours since she lives right on the way down from Ruths, so all the cousins could play together again. We ended up staying longer than planned because the adults (yes, all of them!) played Apples to Apples for 2 1/2 hours. Fun game!

Emily's, Molly's and my kids.

Emily, Molly and I.

...... and our guys.

Back to Ammie and John's! Johanna stayed there too while we were there. So fun to see them all! And Grace, she is so cute! We were excited to finally meet this sweet little niece of ours!

Uncle Pernell and Grace... soo sweet and cute!

Trip!

Side note... I am not sure why I didn't take any pictures at Ammie and John's. But clearly, one of the girls got the camera, because we got this beauty of Trip. :)
Monday morning we went and stayed our final night at Emily's.

Trouble reunited, Charlotte and Clara.

Aunty Em and Clara

Emily got a puppy (Great dane / Euro dane) while we were there Monday night. The puppy's name is "Betsy Jo Mega Pixel of Davis County". Maddie is the black lab Pixel is sitting on. They get along great. :)

The cousins... note the girls eyes... they are wishing for a dog!
HA HA HA HA HA!!!

Emily and her pups.

Em and Pixel

After stocking up on Honey butter, we drove home Tuesday morning. Next time we need to stay longer, especially with how much family we have in Utah now. We didn't see any friends this round. Next time!

And Clara? Well... the drive home was grand.
*mental note* Always travel at night.

PAGING DR. HOUSE

2011-10-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

*** WARNING ***

The following blog post has grotesque pictures. Not pretty.

Those with weak constitutions are urged to skip this post.

Once upon a time, not long ago in November of 2003, I wasn't feeling well. I got the chills and my body ached all over, you know, like when you get the flu? So I went to bed. When I woke up, my leg hurt. My ankle was bright red and hot. And it hurt. Long story short (5 ER visits, many, many different antibiotics, several doctors that didn't listen and then and finally getting admitted) I had an infection on my leg. It hurt. Really bad. I was in the hospital for a week on heavy drugs to stop the infection. It hurt. Bad.

Diagnosis? Unknown.

~*~*~*~** magically fast forward to September 2011~*~*~*~**

I wasn't feeling well. I got the chills and my body ached all over, you know, like when you get the flu? So I went to bed. When I woke up, my leg hurt. My ankle was bright red and hot. And it hurt. Déjà vu much? Same leg, exact same spot, exact same symptoms. Went to the ER. Ended up staying for a day or so. This time, they took me seriously!

Ankle in the ER. You can't see the line I had drawn earlier (it faded),
but it had grown about an inch over the course of about 7-8 hours.

Went home, then had a follow up with my ever so awesome doctor. A couple days later...

Same leg, a few days later, four new red, hot, painful spots,
but the ankle area is going down and 'healing'

Leg swollen, and random red, hot, painful spots, but the red area that was on my ankle, going away.

Went back to the doctor, and was put on an additional dose of oral antibiotics, and and then went home and kept my leg up (again) for a few days. This seemed to help. After the next doctor check up, things were looking much better. I still never got a definitive answer as to what has been plaguing my leg. Fortunately this time it didn't get nearly as bad. In 2003, the infection was almost up to my knee before it started rescind. I hope this is the last time this mysterious infection and I dance around. It is very painful and worrisome and something I can live without.

Paging Dr. House.....

THE DEMISE OF THE 7th BIRTHDAY CAKE

2011-10-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Sam is 7!!! What a fun, crazy year it has been! Last year she had a big party (9 girls, a tea party... did I never share the pictures?? For shame! Remind me and I will, it was awesome!), so this year we stayed low key. At the last minute I invited two of her friends over as a surprise. We went and saw Lion King in the theater, played at the park, had pizza and then... cake.

Pernell picked up a cake from Costco. Way too much cake! After we let the girls decorate it a little more and sang Happy Birthday to Sam, I asked if they wanted nice, clean slices of cake on a plate... or just forks. They opted for the forks. And went to town. It was AWESOME!!! I mean, seriously, we would never finish all that cake! Why not make memories, right? :)

They started out so nice....

......... then they started getting a little more daring...

...... even GrandmaCookie (my mom) got into it...

....... then they just got silly!

...... and crazy???

The final damage.

WORTH IT.

Happy 7th birthday, Sam-I-Am!

NO SALT, PLEASE!

2011-10-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

Somebody, I won't mention names, but this 18 month old has managed to get a decent size hole in our backdoor screen over the summer so that she could escape when she wanted (custom made doggy door?). I was getting ready to go to bed at 2am and look what came in through the hole! YUCK!!!! I let a little note for Pernell to take care of it. He's a good guy. :)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

2011-10-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

Kaylee started 5th grade and Sam started 1st grade at Dorothy Fox Elementary. So far they love it and are both doing really well!!! Clara has been a little lonely, but she's slowly adjusting. It is nice to have the one on one time with Clara, but her best friends are still her sisters.

The Tale of the Eye

2011-06-06T01:14:00.000-07:00

This is the tale of a little girl, her left eyelid, and the scar that surely will be....

Once upon a time there was a 14 month old girl named Clara, and a 6 year old girl named Sam. They were cleansing themselves from the activities of the day of Memorial, which included a fun gathering of many friends and food. While frolicking in the tub of bath water, Miss Clara stood, grasping her mother's hand and the tub side. It was the perfect opportunity to play the age old game of 'Peek-a-boo'. Up and down the little miss went and then she slipped.

It was the perfect slip. SMACK! Her face right on the edge of the tub. Immediately her mother flung little miss out of the tub into her arms. Upon first looking over Miss Clara, there was no blood insight and a huge relief came over her mother as she tightly hugged the crying little miss. Pulling her away for another look brought nothing but pure shock to her mother. Blood was gushing out of Miss Clara's left eye. With the eye closed, one couldn't tell where the precisely the blood was coming from. Just somewhere on, in or around the eye. *at this point, it should be known that mother is normally a calm, collected individual when it comes to things like this, but not this time.*
Mother screamed for father to come in there. Father called mother's sister to come get Miss Samantha and Miss Kaylee. Mother managed to get Miss Clara dressed and cleaned up and discovered that the blood was coming from a perfectly slanted gash across Miss Clara's left eyelid. Sister arrived quickly and they are out the door in record to time Ye ol' Emergency Room.

When the nurse came into the room where Miss Clara and her parents were brought at the Ye Ol' Emergency Room, she couldn't even touch Miss Clara's head with out her crying (of course!). The merry young doctor came in and looked at her nice little gash and said it would need stitches and that she would need to be sedated Miss Clara in order to put them in.
If you recall in our 'Prequel to the Tale of the Eye', Miss Clara has been plagued with Asthma, there for a simple sedation procedure is not so simple.
An IV. Respiratory Therapy, and many, many back up nurses/doctors/party-goers where used in case the little miss decided breathing was for the birds.
Mother and Father were ushered out of the trauma room after Miss Clara was given the sedation medication (a double dose!).

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

An eternity of waiting, or so it seemed. Three teeny, tiny stitches and five minutes later, the merry young doctor retrieved thee parents of the little miss and once again, they were united.

Little Miss Clara had no breathing issues and came out of sedation, waging her tongue, swinging her arms and yelling at people. She woke up long enough to open her eyes and take a few swigs of a bottle and was sent home (1:30am).
The lasting effects of the sedation caused little miss to sleep until 11am the following day.

All was well.

That is the tale of our first non-breathing related ER visit with Clara, and first stitches visit for any of our kids.

The Leftorium

2011-05-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

I am left handed.

Cack-handedness. Sinister-handedness. Southpaw. Mancinism (the 'condition' of being left handed).

The only left handed person in my family (parents and sisters).

Kaylee... Sam.... Pernell? All righties.

Everything has always been catered towards right handed people. Scissors, potato peelers, all that stuff, made for righties. That is just the way the world revolves. According the the ever so reliable Wikipedia, 10% of the world is left-handed.

We are out numbered. But, look at some of the people that are lefties: Paul McCartney, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Picasso, Oprah, Bart Simpson, Count Chocula, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Prince William, Dave Barry, Phil Collins, Judy Garland, Michelangelo, Kermit the Frog, and Leonardo da Vinci, to name a few. Ok, there is a huge list, go look!

I would say that the lefties of the world, past and present, are pretty dang impressive.

When I was learning how to play basketball, the coach in 5th and 6th grade taught me how to shoot and dribble with my right hand because he couldn't teach left hand. In 7th grade, I had an excellent coach who taught me how to do everything with my left hand, which was far more comfortable and it made me a better player (although that isn't saying much LOL!).

I thought I would be forever the solo lefty in a home full of rights. Until...

tonight.

We typically spoon feed her royal highness, but tonight we decided to see how she would do on her own. I gave Clara her plate of dinner and a spoon . The spoon was put into her right hand (bad, me, bad... I digressed... FAIL!!!).

Instantly.... well, see for yourself...

Look at that transcendent left grip on the spoon as she performs a perfect dive and scoop that only a naturally born lefty could perfect!

No longer am I the solo-lefty in a house full of rights. No longer am I the only one in the home that thinks in their right mind.

The plate, food and spoon all ended up thrown on the floor. Really, are we surprised? You saw her birthday video.

VIVA LEFTIES!!!!

insert fun, catchy head-blog title HERE

2011-05-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

I blog a lot more than people know or read here. I 'head blog'. ALL. THE. TIME. I will see something and I think, "That would be a great blog post!" Then I think out the entire content of that blog post, starting with the extremely fun-to-read title. The blog is full of witty comments, fun rhymes, catchy cliché, with pictures to boot! As a matter of fact, this particular blog post was fully thought up at around 2:00am this morning (or yesterday morning?)! I frequently do this in the car while driving, or at the grocery store. "Twinkie? Oh! That reminds me of this time...."

Sometimes I jot down a thought or two that crack me up regarding the 'Head blog post' being created, but mostly... I don't.

Here is the problem. I used to have a really, really good memory. I mean, I could remember everything, no joke! I could observe and remember exactly what an entire class was wearing. Still to this day I remember conversation, verbatim, that I had in elementary school. Old phone numbers, addresses, locker combinations, cake!

Then I had kids.

After this last baby, my memory is about 50% of what it used to be (which is still good), and I have yet to come to terms with that, therefore I feel I don't need to write things down (well, maybe I have come to terms with that in regards to appointments and important events, I do put those in my iTouch). I usually forget to go post my 'most awesome' head blog post. Or I forget what it was going to be about. Like right now (this line was not created at 2am, but improvised right now), I had the best title for this post. It was perfect! It was a play on words that would make one, if not giggle, at least smile when they read it. And now I cannot think of what it was. I have even retraced my steps of were I was when thinking up this post. It started in the family room when I turned off the laptop. That is usually the time I think up my head-blog posts.

As I walked around the house double check the doors were locked (ok, triple checking), the title came to me once I hit the hallway to the bathroom. I thought, "OH! That is a GOOD ONE! Remember it.. *in a Homer Simpson voice with fist up* Reeeemmember!".

And now it is gone.

This is going to bother me.

I will probably think of it at... 2am.

*back to our regularly scheduled pre-meditated head-blog post*

I've decided to make more of an effort to transfer my 'head-blogging page' to my internet-blogging-page, so that this poor site has a little more entertaining content.

Either be warned, or be excited.

Silence

2011-05-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

My sister Emily is in town (hmmm, that story is probably a whole other post, but let me give you the readers digest version.... they were evacuated from Japan after the big earthquake in March, ended up there, her oldest son was sick, went to the doctor, ultrasounds, cat scans, more doctors and it turns out he only has one kidney and it isn't working too hot. You can follow their adventure HERE) and so 'the cousins' have been playing a lot. I love having them here because it is nice for my girls to really get fun times with their cousins.

Anyway, when it gets quiet in our house, usually that means the two older girls are in the playroom doing a project or something and Clara is asleep. Yesterday was no exception. Well, except there was an exception, one of my sweet nephews was here too. And it was quiet. After a while it dawned on me that... boys don't typically get this quiet unless they are up to no good. I am regretting not taking a picture, but I found around 9 paper plates all over the playroom floor with paint in them (miraculously not one drop of paint landed on the carpet), glitter was poured EVERYWHERE, painted, glittery rocks were on the floor and Indy and Sam were both on top of the desks creating artwork. I should have taken a

picture, but I didn't. I am sure I will have another photo opt while the cousins are here.

This makes me realize how different boys and girls are.

We are having fun with the cousins and don't want them to leave. It is so nice to have one my sisters near by. We can drop our kids off at each other's houses on a whim, go shopping, all that fun stuff together. Here is a picture of Charlotte (Emily's daughter) and Clara. Neither are impressed, but man, we had to do a Costco run!!! HAHHAA!!!

The First Birthday

2011-05-07T02:33:00.001-07:00

Holy moly, where has the time gone??? Clara turned one on April 2nd. Being that it was spring break and conference weekend, we opted to have a small little party with our good friends to celebrate not only Clara's first birthday, but also Milla's (Clara's 'twin'), who's first birthday was the next day. We had the party at their house, and are pretty certain after the cake episode, they may never invite Clara back (hehhee... we owe you big, Yosts!!!).

We'll let the pictures speak for themselves.... and then the Youtube video for the full effect. :)

(Clara is on the left, Milla on the right with a necklace)

I think it is safe to say that Miss Clara likes to hit things. Hmmmm.....

Happy Birthday, Clara! The year has flown by, and we can't wait for many, many more to come!! We love you much!

Quick updates

2011-05-07T02:13:00.000-07:00

Let's pretend it hasn't been six months since this blog has been updated, shall we? :)

Clara has teeth! She got her first two at about 10 months. Just recently her top two fangs came down, and in the past week, she has now gotten 3-4 more. Poor kid, that is a lot of teeth to get at one time! She keeps them good and sharpened on my arm.

Clara is also standing, and has been for a few months. She is refusing to walk, we aren't complaining. :)

She is still having asthma issues, but she is under excellent doctor care, so we aren't too worried about it.

Miss Samantha had a fun first soccer season! She started the season not knowing the first thing about the sport, and ended doing quite well. We were so excited for her!!! (she is goalie in this picture)

Kaylee is having a great year! She is starting piano and has been such a huge help to us! She and Clara get along so well!!! Kaylee recently had dental ' gear put in her mouth to prepare her teeth for the inevitable braces next year.

Life is going well here at our home. I promise it won't be so long in between blogs next time! :)

Gone are our days...

2010-11-10T11:52:00.001-08:00

.... of thinking we won't have to keep the house picked up. Clara has decided that if she wants something, she needs to do it herself. It is time to be mobile.

The catch is, she gets up.....

Gets on all fours, ready to go (don't mind the drool).....

Then can't figure out HOW this crawling things works and crashes.

And then throws a huge tantrum/cry/screaming fit.

It really is quite entertaining.

Once she finagles her way to whatever she is after, she is happy again (see video below for the full effect). We think it will be a matter of days (if even that!) before she gets it and takes off.

In the mean time, we really are now good about keeping everything off the floor. Neither Kaylee nor Sam were the type of babies that ever put anything in their mouths, stuck fingers in electrical outlets... Clara, not so much. If there is something on the floor, it deserves to be in her mouth. Just ask Sam about her homework.

We really are enjoying the baby stage all over again! :)

HALLLLLLOOOWWWWEEEENNNNNNN!!!!!

2010-11-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

For some reason Sam took a liking to this wig and HAD to have it. She wears it well, I must admit!!

Clara does not like getting her picture taken. I can never get a good picture of her smiling, and she is a cheeser, too!! So, this will have to do.

So Halloween Costumes for 2010. Kaylee, Sam and I went to several different stores a couple

days before Halloween.

Sam wanted to be Dash from The Incredibles, but we couldn't find the costume in her size. Instead we found The Queen of Hearts. She loved it!

Kaylee wanted to be a Devil.

We were

fortunate enough to find both costumes on clearance! *does a happy dance*

Clara was a ducky. So cute! We only got

one picture of her, as she got sick and didn't wear it again.

We went Truck-or-treating with our ward on Saturday night, then gate crashed my friends party that evening. Both were fun!! Sunday was played low key. A fun Halloween this year for sure!!! :)

Catching Up

2010-11-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time to get more caught up on life here in the Roberts' house old... or at least more caught up than just a post about a stump.

Ready? SET GO!!!

First, Sam turned 6!!!! For her birthday, we did a little Tea Party. It was so cute and so much

fun! Here are a couple pictures from it. We had the girls

decorate hats, place mats and plates. Then dec'ed them out

in necklaces, bracelets and rings. Then we went up to the tea party. My mom was gracious enough to let us do it at her house. For a menu we had peanut butter and jelly or ham

and cheese sandwiches (cut into flower shapes with a cookie cutter), fruit melon balls, grapes, cucumbers and to drink chocolate milk and strawberry lemonade. Dessert was cupcakes. It was such a fun little party and Sam, despite thinking going to Chuck-e-Cheese would have been more fun, has decided she really liked it.

Miss Clara. Oh Miss Clara. She has been a funny little

turkey, as usual. We seem to have her asthma fairly under control (ohh.. hmm, I don't think I ever announced it here, but she has asthma), however with the school year starting and her older sisters bringing new germs home, she has had a few hiccups. Right now she is on antibiotics getting over pneumonia. She is still happy, smiley and giggly, so

that is good!

On October 10, 2010 (10-10-10),

Pernell was finally able to bless her (to a christening) . We tried three or four different times to bless her, but each time, without fail, Clara ended up either in the hospital or really sick. This time she had has some issues, but we were getting her blessed, darn it!! And we did! YAY!! It was a really special day. There were two other babies that were bless that day also. So sweet! Clara was first. I think this was because they wanted to get her done fast in case she had another asthma attack or something LOL!!

Kaylee and Sam both started school in September. Kaylee in 4th grade (AHH!!! Can you believe it????) and Sam in kindergarten. So far so good, they both love school, their teachers and friends. YAY!!!!

This is the story of a STUMP

2010-09-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was as plant (whose real name I have been unable to find). It lived in front of our house, hugging up against the side of the garage, right below the roof drain, making it a SUPER plant. The blooms were long, tall stalks about 5 or so feet high with white flowers on the top (maybe bell like flowers??). It was a pretty plant when in bloom, but the leaves and entire plant was diseased. It was gross. This plant was over taking everything so it was decided to pull the plant out.

This was March. Pernell, armed with a shovel and a day off, went and started to dig the plant up. Two feet down into the ground, it was clear that this wasn't just a plant. It was a monster! He chopped off all the foliage on it, to reveal a root, or STUMP that was about a foot wide by who knows how deep. It was unmovable. You couldn’t even wiggle it, it was so deeply rooted. So the STUMP sat until we could find help to pull it out.

The STUMP, determined to win and not meet its demise, started to fight back and send up new blooms. Periodically we would break off the new blooms and think, “Tomorrow! Tomorrow the STUMP dies!”

Now it is September, and the STUMP… still there. Along with the big pile of dirt that was next to it. Many times I have been tempted to just bury it. But that would only make it grow more. Near throwing in the white flag, our good friend calls. Her husband is ready to assist in the STUMP removal! HURRAY!

What better day to remove the STUMP than on Labor Day?

So over comes Justin in his awesome truck with a cable.

Pernell watered the STUMP to loosen the ground a little.

Justin wrapped the cable around the STUMP.

As he started pulling the STUMP with his truck, we hear cracking. FASTER! GO FASTER!! He pushes the gas a little more. More cracking. Suddenly we notice the STUMP starting to come up. Hurray! However, we also notice, the STUMP with super roots… were indeed located under the house! As he was pulling the STUMP out, it was cracking the foundation!! It was as if it all happened in slow motion… the STUMP starts to come out as the crack in the foundation got bigger and the side of the garage started sinking into the Earth! AHHHH!!!!! What?? Was this super STUMP really that bad, bad enough to bring down our home????

…….. no, it wasn’t. As a matter of fact, it was really un-climatic. No, nothing cracked, especially not the house or foundation. As he started driving forward, the STUMP came right out. And that was it. No strain on his truck or anything. Just like that, in three seconds, the stump (no longer worthy of capital letters), was out. Then Pernell and Justin put it in the garbage (for yard stuff).

We are now stump free! Hurray! Pernell is reburying the hole, and life will continue.

Much thanks to Justin in helping us become stump free!

3 months and going strong

2010-07-02T22:41:00.001-07:00

Clara is three months old today. THREE MONTHS! Pernell and I were talking about that the other day. Where on earth has the time gone?

A few weeks ago Clara picked up a cold from Sam. She was sounding really congested, not breathing well and just not right (it is that mom’s intuition!). I brought her into urgent care were they gave her a breathing treatment and sent us home. Two hours later we were in the emergency room for the same thing. Another breathing treatment did not seem to help, she decided not to eat hardly anything and her heart rate was very accelerated, so she was admitted to the NICU. She was in there over night and released the next evening. We were sent home with a nebulizer, and that seemed to help. Now, almost a month later, we only have to give her a breathing treatment every few days. She just likes to keep us on our toes!

So now some highlights of Clara right now...

v Miss Clara is tipping the scales at 10lbs 15oz and 22 1/2 inches long (at birth, 7lbs 10oz and 20 inches long).
v She is sleeping about nine hours a night and has been for almost two weeks.
v Clara is starting to smile and trying really hard to giggle!
v She loves to watch her sisters run around.
v She is rather opinionated (if you don't believe me, just ask anyone that has ever met her!) and if she does not like you, you will get a nasty glare and maybe even a yell.
v When she goes #2, she sucks air in… (see video!)
v The few times she has woken up at 3:30am (mostly because she hears daddy up and getting ready for work), she starts to grin really, REALLY big… we think that she thinks if she smiles, we’ll let her stay up. Hahahhahahahahahahahhaha!!!
v Clara HATES having her nose suction
v She HATES having breathing treatments
v Clara’s hair is still light red. Her eyes appear to be blue. We are in trouble.

Kaylee and Sam have adjusted well to her Royal Highnesses rule. It is amazing that such a tiny little person can have so much authority over all of us.. and so much STUFF!!!!!!!!!! Clara is such a fun little baby to have around. She lights up whenever any of us walk in the room. She is such a delight and we are so thankful she decided to grace us with her presence in our family. She fits right in!!

My Eternal Family

2010-05-05T23:51:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday my mom took our family pictures. I love how they turned out!!!

Time flies!

2010-05-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Clara is a month old! Wow! Time is flying! We are in survival mode right now. Just getting by day to day. It seems about every other day is a good 'sleep night' for her. Last night was not. :-X

She is doing pretty well! She's back to her birth weight, but still seems so tiny. Still in size NB clothes and diapers. Such a cute little girl. We are all adjusting to her very well. Her sisters adore her and she just loves them too! She is not a fan of her bassinet. I can safely say she hates it. We need to figure that out. I imagine once we do the sleeping won't be an issue for her.

She is eating really well! Because she has some issues with weight gain, I nurse every other feeding and then we give her formula every other time or so.

Clara has been such a blessing for us! We adore her!!!

Below is her birth story. You don't have to read it, I am posting it to remember it.

Clara’s birth story

I went into the doctors on April 1^st, and told her that, “We are done being pregnant!” She laughed and said no no I still had 5 more weeks. Then she checked me. When I heard that, “Uh oh..” I know I was going to win this one! I was dilated to four and my bag of water was bulging out. She asked when my next NST was, and told her it was right after this appointment. She said to go and we’ll go from there. She said that if I went home, if I felt even a hint of leaking water, to get right back. See, my last two, from the time my water was broken to delivery about one hour, and I live 30 minutes from the hospital. As I was leaving, I mentioned to the doctor that I thought the baby might be breech. She checked, and sure enough, she was.

At my NST, baby’s heart rate was not cooperating at all and contractions were 2 ½ minutes apart and the fluid levels were at a 7, and her feet were in my cervix. The nurse came in and asked me the last time I ate anything, and she took my water away. At that point I decided to text Pernell to give the girls to my friend and get my bag and get back to the hospital (he was in the waiting room with my two girls).

Doctor came over and said she was giving the baby a half hour to shape up or we were going to go in for an emergency c-section. If she shaped up, then I would be admitted (I think I was already admitted at this point LOL) and if I could make it through the night without my water breaking (it was a miracle it hadn’t at that point!) then she would try to turn the baby then induce, or if baby wouldn’t turn, c-section.

During the night I was more nervous about my water breaking because then it wouldn’t have been my doctor doing the surgery, so I stayed really, really still the entire night. Contractions leveled off and even stopped around 2am. At 8am my doctor came in and she tried to turn the baby. That was the single most painful thing I have ever been through. I remember just screaming really loud, and when doctor said, “I’m sorry!” I just kept yelling, “NO WORRIES! JUST KEEP GOING!!!” I really wanted to avoid a c-section if I could. After a couple minutes of trying that, it was very clear the baby was not going to turn. So, c-section it was. Funny, but I was not nervous at all for this surgery. I’d never had surgery before, but for some reason, a few weeks ago, I had this weird feeling that this pregnancy would end in a c-section. I can’t explain it, but prepped myself for it weeks before. At 8:30am I walked into the operating room, got a spinal and off we went!

The anesthesiologist was fantastic! Actually, EVERYONE in there was fantastic! Such a great group of people that got to see my insides. We talked and joked hed the entire time! There were seven nurses, two doctors and the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist kept me up to what was going on. He said, “Ok, doctor is going to map out right now where she is going to cut”. A little bit later I felt tugging and what not. I said, “What on EARTH are you doing up there??” My doctor, “Uhh… delivering your baby…” “Oh.. you already cut?? I just thought you were getting creative with a magic marker!” Boy I felt smart. Hahaha!

Clara was very stuck in my ribs. It took a lot of twisting, pulling, tugging, pushing and yanking to get her out. There was no way I would have been able to have her any other way other than a c-section. One of the nurses there said that it was a difficult c-section. When Clara's butt came out, they announced it…and then she started to pee. Clara was born at 9:06am April 2^nd, 7lbs 10oz and 20 inches long. The area were they clean up the baby was right where I could watch, it was great! Her apgars were 8 and 9. She had lots of bruising (especially on her head were she had been stuck). She has light red hair and was feisty! All the while, the fantastic anesthesiologist was pumping in drugs to get rid of the nausea and then he gave me something aawwwweeesssssooooommmeeee for pain. I have no idea what it was, but suddenly… life was just peachy. Hehehe!

The actual surgery started at 9am and was over around 9:35am or so. From there, they brought me and Clara into the PACU. They put Clara on my chest, and she immediately looked up and around, then put her thumb in her mouth!! AHH!!! GET THAT KID A BINKIE!!! No more thumb suckers!!! J

When they took Clara’s blood sugars (I had gestational diabetes), it was 12. They thought that was too low, since she was very alert and looking around. So they got another machine, and it was 13. Then got another machine and it was 10. At that point I said, “Give her formula”, which I think shocked the nurses. I had been through this with baby #2. A bit after that, they had to ‘break’ the news to me that she was going to go to the NICU. Really, this was no shock. Husband and I were waiting for it. So he carried her to the NICU with the NICU nurses, and they brought me back to my room.

Over all my experience was awesome!! I ended up losing way too much blood that kept me in the hospital an extra day or two. We were told Clara would be in the NICU for 1-2 weeks, and she came home at 7 days old. There have been some hiccups with my recovery and her weight gain, but nothing that time won’t fix. What a way to end my pregnancy years! BTW... I gained 2pounds the entire pregnancy. Not too shabby.

Introducing....

2010-04-05T23:57:00.001-07:00

Clara Renee!

Born April 2nd, 2010 at 9:06am. 7lbs 10oz and 20 inches long.

More pictures and her 'story' to come soon...

Introducing our new addition.....

2010-02-18T23:53:00.000-08:00

.............. Viviana and Armando!

Thank you, Pernell, for the most perfect Valentine's Day gift!

I love you!

Voodoo... Dots... or Krispy Kreme... what is the verdict?

2010-01-14T15:49:00.001-08:00

ANOTHER DAY WELL SPENT…. To Donut Experiment.

I had a horrible craving for donuts last night. Horrible! I posted the comment on Facebook, and people started commenting. I decided to take the three donut places that were mentioned, go to them all today, and rate them.

The three places were Voodoo Doughnuts (20.22 miles away), Dots Donuts (4 miles away) and Krispy Kreme Donuts (15 miles away).... all in opposite directions. Yes, I know, you would think I would have better things to do with my time.

Voodoo Doughnuts: I have actually heard great things about Voodoo Doughnuts. Lots of people like them. They are fairly easy to find. In Portland near Lloyd Center is the one I went to. The building is bright pink, which Samantha *loved*. Outside there is a sitting area with a hodgepodge of random seats (a dentist chair, seats from cars, etc). When I went in, the inside did not look clean at all. The cashier was not friendly and didn't smile at all. I told her it was my first time there and she rolled her eyes and said, "What do you want?" On suggestion from a friend, I picked the Memphis Mafia doughnut, Oreo and then butterfinger doughnuts. They were put into a box that was not a clean box on top. I am sure something just got on it.. right?? They also have vegan doughnuts, which is a great thing! The price was a bit high, but what is price when it is so good, right? They also do not take credit cards, cash only. I must admit I was very happy and relieved to be out of there. Not a pleasant place to be, especially with kids. I get the feeling that 'smoke' breaks, they aren't smoking cigarettes.

Taste: The doughnuts had a good taste, but tasted stale.

Krispy Kreme - the great thing about KK is it has a drive through. This is great. Awesome! The downside Is that it is easy to get into Krispy Kreme, but getting out is a hassle. I told the girl that it was my first time (lie lie lie), and she instantly asked what kind of doughnuts I liked and started recommending some. I picked up original, blueberry, cream filled, maple bar, apple fritter, old fashion, marion berry filled. At the window the girl saw I had a child in the car and gave her a KK hat, another big hit! Price was the cheapest of the three doughnut places, but being that it is a big chain, that wasn’t surprise.(PS.. maple bar was eaten before we got home. Oops!)

Taste: Doughnuts tasted fresh and good. The originals are really good, melt in your mouth.

Dots Donuts: Clean, easy to find. When I walked in, the lady was very nice, and the assortment of doughnuts was unreal! I told her it was my first time there and she instantly started recommending donuts. We picked up banana cream, coconut cream, root beer bar, cotton candy, bubblegum, apple fritter, Oreo, old fashion, s’more, chocolate and peanut butter, and chocolate covered. This lady was very pleasant. Price was right about the same as Voodoo doughnuts.

Taste: These donuts were so good! Very fresh, very soft! The variety of flavors was awesome! I’ve never had a root beer bar doughnut… it was yummy!!!

Summing IT up

Voodoo doughnuts is a cool place to go to. Very ‘Portland’ attitude and atmosphere. Lots of fun things and is a novelty. I don’t think I would go there again though. The doughnut itself wasn’t all that good. Maybe they were day old??? Who knows! The people there were not pleasant to be around at all. Krispy Kreme is a friendly, clean place, defiantly a chain. All the doughnuts are good, some are heavy then other doughnuts. Sort of like McDonalds, good, you will always know what to expect.

Dots Donuts, clean, friendly, and an amazing variety!! The doughnuts were fantastic!

OVERALL, Dots Donuts wins, hands down!

Of course, I should mention by the time I got to the first place, I was so over the doughnut craving. :-P

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years

2010-01-14T15:31:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Yes, I've been behind on blogging. The first 20+ weeks of this pregnancy proved to be spent worshiping the porcelain God. Now that THAT is behind me (I am 24w 3d), and fall term, I can relax a bit more.

Thanksgiving was very low key. Plans kept changing right up until the night before. It ended up being the four of us and we had a missionary for dinner too. Good food, lots of work. Exhausting.

Christmas was very fun! My sister and her family were here from Japan. Our kids played great together! She has boys my girls ages, and then a little 8month old girl. Fun Christmas, girls got what they wanted, and it was low key (that seems to be my theme this year). Spent time at my moms and at my dads. Again, fun!

New Years we had a couple friends over with their kids. We played games until about 10:30 then everyone went home.

Kaylee's 9th birthday was another low key, fun time. She and I went shopping for new clothes (dresses, shirts and pants). She is growing like a weed!! We had a nice quiet dinner as a family and just relaxed.

Both Pernell and I started school up again on the 4th of January. I am doing all my classes online this term, and he is at the school twice a week. It should be a good term for both.

Pregnancy wise, this one is going pretty well - already better than the previous two. I'm at every two week appointments, and monthly ultra sounds. And, yes, we are having another girl! We are all really excited, and the girls have already named her. Of course, what actually goes on the birth certificate has yet to be determined. :-)

Enjoy some pictures from the holidays!

The cousins... Indy, Charlotte, Kaylee, Sam and Dayton

Sam and Kaylee enjoying Christmas presents

Kaylee and Sam Christmas morning

Indy and Sam
cold spell we had. Christmas Story much?

Here we go!

2009-11-12T15:05:00.001-08:00

Don't you just love that when people haven't blogged in a while, their posts usually begin as,

"I am such a slacker!" or, "Why do I even bother having this blog?" or, "Wow, it has been a while!"

Well, I refuse to do that. No, no I will not. Instead, I will tell you what I have been up to that has delayed this fabulous post.

When we last left off, my friend and I took off for an adventurous trip to Forks, Washington, which may or may not have anything to do with the Twilight Series. The drive up was fast, fun and really a beautiful drive! The Northwest is such a stunning place! More on that later. That trip really does deserve a post of its own. If I forget, just remind me.

Both Pernell and I are in school and it is successfully kicking our fannies. I think the reason that it is kicking my butt is because I have been sick. For the last nearly two weeks I have been in bed with an awful cold and sinus infection. Just as I am getting in the clear, both girls are now sick, and Pernell is just about there. Nothing says, "HELLO HOLIDAYS!!" like a good string of sickness.

If I may direct your attention to the left column of this blog

<---------

You will notice that we have decided that tormenting two kids is just not enough. As it turns out, THIS one is tormenting us! Oh the morning sickness has been awful. But that is OK. May 3rd, 2010 is the due date. We should know what we are having next week. So far this pregnancy, despite the morning sickness, is going great!

Now back to watching TV and eating soup.

Looking up

2009-09-12T14:49:00.001-07:00

Despite the previous post.... I am excited!!! Headed off to Forks, WA for a quick trip. Pictures upon returning home!

What could it be?

2009-09-11T00:27:00.000-07:00

I am irritated. Today. In a bad way. I want to say to people, "What is WRONG with you, you twits??" Some people are idiots. I may be having a pity party, too. Please don't come. You are not invited.

Why? It could be because I have not been feeling 100% great. It could be that the stinkin' cleaning fairy went on strike and my bedroom is a bomb. It could be that people think that it is oh so funny to go around authority when something has already been said and dealt with because they don't like the decision. It could be that some people complain and whine (when not having self deserved pity parties) all the time, and expect sympathy all the time even though they make no effort to change their situation. It could be that self-centered idiots need to back off. It could be that I had a thingy cut out of my boob Monday larger than the size of a half dollar and have 5 stitches and it hurts. It could be that preschool is not starting fast enough.\It could be the blogs I like to read haven't been updated in a while (hint.. hint.. hint.. ). It could be that I am dreading starting school again in a week. It could be my bed is causing my back to hurt. It could be that this blog layout frustrates me. It could be one of many, many, many things.

Bottom line, I am irritated.I may not be the most pleasant person to be around right now.

Hopefully it will all go away after a good nights sleep... on the couch, that does not hurt my back.

PS...

2009-08-19T04:11:00.001-07:00

I am in desperate need of a cooler layout. Any help?

Summer Catch-up

2009-08-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

In May we had MIL visit. We hit Cannon Beach (see a few posts down), and the Zoo. We love the Zoo!!

After that came June.

In June we did a couple things. First, I worked on Food Certification for Girls Camp for our Church.

This year we learned cooked two new ways (camping type). One, we wrapped up a hot dog in a wet paper towel, then loosely in tin foil, put it in a juice container and lit that sucker on fire (starting at the top) When it was done burning, POOF! The hot dog was good to go.

The second type of cooking, we cut an orange in half, filled it 2/3rd with cupcake batter, wrapped it in tin foil, set it on coals for 10 minutes, and again POOF! Yummy cupcakes! I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but trust me, it was good!

Also in June we raided Grandma's garage sale. Check out the sweet things we snagged! I remember when my mom went to Tokyo and brought these back. They are authentic, and fit Sam perfectly!

July was a fun month with visitors! Pernell's Grandma, Aunt and Cousins came to play. We played all over the place... the coast, Portland, everywhere! We spent one afternoon on a boat named The Portland Spirit. It went up and down the Willamette River. Good times! Ever since I can remember The Fort does amazing fireworks, but not this year. Due to budget cuts, economy.. bla bla bla, they did not put on this show *sniff*. Little did we know that everyone would make up for the lack of professional fireworks. We sat in our driveway and watched as our hill lit up with the coolest firework show I've ever seen! Everyone just bought fireworks and BAM! Let them off. We couldn't have asked for a better 4th of July. Of course the next day, we found out poor Kaylee had Pneumonia. After two weeks of resting, antibiotics and many, many chest x-rays she received the 'all clear' from the doctor.

Oh, and since we are on the subject of sickness, in early June I got sick. I'm not talking about cough cough sniff sniff sick, I am talking about dead to the world ;I think I might die; sick. After three weeks of dealing with that (YES, I KNOW...no lectures needed!!) I went to the doctor. She immediately realized that I had every symptom of the dreaded swine flu and sent me right to the hospital to be tested. I was tested, and said the results would be to my doctor in the next 5-7 days. Here in lied a problem. Classes were to start for me at day 3 of that 5-7 day wait. I still felt awful. If the test came back positive, I'd be shot if I went to class! So I dropped all my on campus classes, and so stupidly signed up to take 13 credits online... during the summer term were 12 weeks is crammed into 7. It has been a fantastic summer! Test came back negative (WOOHOO!!), but I still felt awful. After 11 weeks I finally felt normal. Wait, that was just recently. Oh no, no, being sick did not consume my entire summer. Awesome.

BACK to the Summer time goodness.

The first part of August, after seven months of preparation, I went to Girls Camp with our Church. It was fun! 22 teenage girls for a week long spiritually fun retreat. assistant was fantastic, the girls were great! Over all, great week!

Well that pretty much sums up my summer thus far. After Thursday I will be relieved of 90% of my stress, as two of my classes will be done. WOOHOO!!

Until then.. TTFN!

Helllllllllloooooooo

2009-07-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hello out there! No, I have not forgotten about all you faithful blog readers! Currently I am getting my butt kicked with summer term and am going to Girls Camp (WOOHOOO!!) in about a week and a half. Once I get back, things SHOULD be back to normal and I'll post all sorts of fun, good stuff. Including pictures!!

Until then... enjoy your summer! And, FYI... forgetting to put sunscreen on is BAD. Yes, very bad. It will give you blisters. Yes, yes it will.. *owwwww*

To my 1am Visitor

2009-06-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

To the person who banged on my door and rang the doorbell at 1:00am last night / this morning.... I am so bummed we did not get a chance to meet up! There I was, enjoying the quiet evening... de-stressing, playing a game. Then suddenly,

BANG BANG BANG BANG... dingdong! Dingdong!

After jumping a mile and having to restart my heart, I realized... someone was at my door... at 1am?? It must be someone dying to see me! I was so excited. I even debated on getting dressed, since you probably wanted to see me in my sexy jammies... why else would you ring at 1AM? But alas, I did dress (maybe that is why you ran away??). I started to yell, "Who's there? WHO IS THERE?" But no answer. You wanted to keep me in suspense. I peaked out the window... and saw no one... so.. you like games! You wanted me to come out and find you! So that I did... I opened the door and looked around.

"MARCO!... MARCO!... MARCO???"

No polo... I must have missed you. I knew I shouldn't have gotten dressed!

Please, next time you want to visit me... or just check if my doorbell is working.... I would so prefer it to be done during the day. I make great cookies, and can get you some lemonade if you stick around. Also, please, please, next time you decided to ring and run, do it before 9pm. You woke my kids up (not to mention scared the crap out of all of us)..... that doesn't make me like you much. And I want to like you..... really I do!

Till next time!

Life as a Middle Child

So... busy...

Car Post

Thankful for the many thinks to be thankful about

Greetings!

ALL RIGHT SHOE THIEF

UTAH! UTAH! UTAH!

PAGING DR. HOUSE

THE DEMISE OF THE 7th BIRTHDAY CAKE

NO SALT, PLEASE!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

The Tale of the Eye

The Leftorium

*insert fun, catchy head-blog title HERE*

Silence

The First Birthday

Quick updates

Gone are our days...

HALLLLLLOOOWWWWEEEENNNNNNN!!!!!

Catching Up

This is the story of a STUMP

3 months and going strong

My Eternal Family

Time flies!

Introducing....

Introducing our new addition.....

Voodoo... Dots... or Krispy Kreme... what is the verdict?

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years

Here we go!

Looking up

What could it be?

PS...

Summer Catch-up

Helllllllllloooooooo

To my 1am Visitor

insert fun, catchy head-blog title HERE