She did say "Yes"

I read Mickie's story, and it was good, but I'm not sure how that story benefits "posterity." I can't say I argue the details of that story, it appears very accurate, but I would like a little more focus on the fact that the answer was "Yes," so it couldn't have been that bad of a proposal. I just wanted to say that I view marriage proposals more like job proposals. If you don't like the proposal, reject the offer and ask for a better one. For posterities sake, that's good advice. Thank goodness for my sake, the proposal was accepted and we are very happy with the "merger" acquisition. For all the husbands that didn't give their bride the perfect marriage proposal, I would say they are probably men who are deeply concerned with your best interest at heart. They probably work hard to provide a comfortable home and show you they love you in a very special way. I can't speak for all these men or your relationships with them, but my guess is you love them each for their very unique way of loving only you. I'm probably not the romantic, knight in shining armor my wife dreamed about, but she is certainly everything I could ever want and more. I'm grateful she accepted my proposal. I love you, Mickie.

I said, "YES!"

(Yes I know I have old Lady hands, and I am a horrible photographer... the rings look much better in person)

March 14th 2006

Matt actually popped “THE QUESTION” yesterday, and I said YES! I think it was the first time that he has actually asked me to marry him, Funny huh! The real story is Matt had my wedding band and engagement ring re-dipped, cleaned and checked for my Valentine’s Day present. He pulled them out yesterday after work when we were switching cars for him to go to school and said “Will you Marry me?” My rings are nice and shiny again, I really didn’t realize how warn my rings were until he gave them to me yesterday in the sun light, HOW SPARKLY they are. The reason I point out that Matt popped the question is because when we got engaged, he didn’t even ask… so for posterities sake, I’ll tell the story as I remember it. Maybe sometime I can get Matt to share his side of the story…

It all started at the church pear farm on a warm September day, just up the road from my house in Oregon… HA okay I wont go that far back, but I believe that is one of the first times we met. I think had my Dad known that his youngest daughter would be marrying this crazy teenage boy someday he would have never introduced us! (I’m teasing… but maybe true?) Matt and I have almost known one another a whole decade! Wow!

Flashing Forward after Matt’s mission, he was working at a western wear and gun shop and I was working at a sandwich shop. He was attending LDS Business College in Salt Lake while I was attending BYU in Provo. Jason had just been born and my entire family was staying at the Wu house that holiday season. I was living in Will and Kristin’s basement at the time. It was December 26th, 2005. Matt had on a white cut off t-shirt and black basketball shorts. He was using his newly acquired curl bar in my downstairs bedroom that I had bought him for Christmas. He was down there for a while so I went down to see what he was doing. As I walked in the room Matt put down his curl bar from his last rep and said “Mick, I bought something expensive…”

(side note: Matt and I had had a joint bank account for about 6 or 7 months by that point…yes I know we weren’t even engaged then but it was just easier to manage our money that way)

He continued with, “Look under the bed”

I pulled out a new gun case, I knew he had been eyeing a certain gun for a while… I opened the gun case to see the shiny white gold 3 stone ring that I had pick out a few weeks previous at the jewelers. I turned to look at him and expected to see him on one knee or something… NOPE! He just mumbled something like “uhhh yeah that’s what I bought” and started walking upstairs for a drink of water!

I stopped him half way and said, “Shouldn’t you be asking me something?”

He turned and said, “Oh so are we going to get married or what?”

I said, “yeah, I guess so” and he continued to walk upstairs.

HAHAHA Not quite what every girl dreams of, but I must give Matt credit. There were NO FALSE pretenses, I knew exactly what I was “getting into” so to speak when I was going to marry Matt. No romance, no frilly lovey dovey stuff, just him… take it or leave it. Of course I took it! I’m not a really lovey dovey person myself but ever since then I have teased him about how bad that proposal was! Apparently he had tons of good ideas to propose on Christmas but everything kept getting all messed up and he was tired of trying to think of something so he just went with that. I guess a ring is better then the barrel ring (from a gun) that he kept threatening to give me instead. Over 4 years later were still going strong, what a great start to a wonderful marriage, right?

And now, for your veiwing pleasure, a few old Engagement photos. Taken by none other then the fabulous Trina Brumble.

I have no idea why we were doing that...

Dang! We look young!

Trina's direct quote "Go down the slide and act surprised once you get to the bottom" What good actors we are.

Isn't March just BEAUTIFUL in Oregon?

The usual looks between us, Matts look of "You bet I just did that" and my look of "Ohhh my gosh, I cant believe you just did that" If you know us, you know what I am talking about.

P.S. I am thinking everyone should post their engagement story and some old engagement photos, wouldn't it be fun to hear all the stories and look at old pictures? I think it would be... so do it!

Tender Mercies Tuesday: Squeals of Delight

Every Tuesday morning as I drive into the office I think, "Okay Ty, is this going to be a GOOD day at the office or a BAD day at the office." (I think I get that thought from my father :) I'll be the first to admit that I think the BAD days are VERY few and can be counted to maybe 2 or 3. Last Tuesday was a BAD day at the office, but considering he was dealing with DOUBLE ear infections he was rightly agitated. I know VERY SOON a time will come that Ty can no longer accompany me to the office because he'll be just plain too busy of a little boy.

I walked in as usual this morning, unstrapped Ty and scooted him over by Sheila our office manager who likes to play with Ty during my 2 hour morning meeting. About an hour into the meeting the "squeals" started. It's hard to explain it, it's not a squeal just more of a loud baby talk jibber jabber... at one point during our meeting it was a little quiet and all the sudden there was a super loud, EEEEEEHHHHHHHYYYYYAAAAAA... not a cry a VERY excited squeal.

I suddenly blushed and excused myself from the meeting I turn the corner to see Ty just sitting there with Sheila playing with his FAVORITE plastic Yellow Car. Sheila must have seen the look on my face and she said, "Oh, he's okay were just playing!" So I got down next to Ty and said "I know you are excited to play but you need to be a LITTLE quieter, we can hear you in our meeting." He just grinned at me as I walked back around the corner to enter the meeting again. I know he didn’t catch a word I said, but may as well try to explain the situation to him.

After the meeting I got back over to my desk next to Sheila and pulled Ty back over by me. I handed him a Ritz cracker and he went to town. Luckily he was sitting on a blanket because 7 or 8 crackers later he was a mess and the blanket was covered with crumbs. My boss’s Jeff and Jacob both came to see him for a minute before they left, complimenting what a good little baby he is.

As noon rolled around I got up to get Ty's bottle for him. I wiped him off and picked up the blanket and shook it out in the front yard of the Mansion. I came back inside and was handing Ty his bottle when Bryson Garbett turned the corner and said "Mickie?"
(My stomach dropped because I was expecting something like "Ty is a little loud during the meetings, I don’t think you can bring him anymore")
I said "Yes?".
He looked at Ty and said, "You don't have to worry about Ty during our meetings. I don't think anyone is ever bothered by him. In fact I quite enjoy his little squeals of delight coming from the other room."
(Insert HUGE sigh of relief)
Quite surprised I said "Oh, well it's still a little distracting I think."
He said "Oh, he is no problem at all. He is a very good baby and we enjoy having him come to work." Then he walked back into his office.

I know I have said this countless times, but I'll say it once again, I work for THE BEST COMPANY... EVER...HANDS DOWN... I am SO lucky and BLESSED to be working in such an environment and with such EXCELLENT people.

I won’t work here forever, in fact most likely not longer then another year or so. But I know that when I'm done working, I will miss this place and ALWAYS remember the “Tender Mercies” and absolute kindness that has been shown to Matt, Ty and me.

Found it!

So do you ever think "How did my parents do it!". I'll be the first to say that my parents are AMAZING... seriously top notch! Matt and I have hours and hours of discussions trying to figure out how to deal with situations that may arise in the future or are even happening now, that have to do with parenting. Obviously we are young parents and Ty doesn't get in to much trouble (if any at all) at this point. BUT it's so good to discuss situations ahead of time so both of us will have a "heads up" and be on the same page when the situations DO arise.

I came across THIS blog a few weeks ago through BLOOM. Let me tell you I have been EATING IT UP! Seems like "Jane" is the same type of mommy I had and FINALLY... it's a parenting HAND BOOK! I should have thought to do this with my mother because she is JUST as smart and amazing as Jane...

Jane is married, LDS and the proud mother of 11 children (Whoa). Her oldest daughter Natalie started asking parenting questions to her mother through e-mail... then she decided to post her answers on a blog so she can go back and read the answers. Friends began reading answers and asking questions themselves, now the best part is THE FLOOR IS OPEN! Ask JANE any parenting question and she'll answer either privately or on the BLOG! She has some good answers and puts into words what I want to be as a parent. Matt and I have even begun to discuss a lot of the posts and what we want to do as parents.

Seriously check it out! 

Week-end Wrap Up

Thursday night Kristin called telling me Sierra had a little fever so she asked if H, Brit and the girls could stay at our house instead. I consented of course and so everything was set. Let me tell you Friday I started scrubbing, I guess it gave me motivation I had been wanting but I had to sanitize EVERYTHING because

A: Ty had just had ear infections but was on antibiotics so he wasn’t contagious...
B: I was sick as well earlier in the week
C: it needed to be done anyways!

I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned everything. H and Brit got hung up at the hospital and didn’t get to our house until about 9:30 pm. After I cleaned everything I was starving and neglected to make dinner, plus we needed to go grocery shopping anyways. Matt and I packed up Ty and headed to an early-ish dinner at Chili's. They changed their menu again so I had a hard time finding something (I usually order off the guiltless grill) I found a Sante-Fe Turkey Avocado wrap that was okay, Matt ordered something that was taken off the menu but they still know how to make it... Then we went grocery shopping and decided to get a red box movie. Redbox is in a legal battle right now with a bunch of movie companies so the selection has been pretty slim. We looked and looked and found a few options... I convinced Matt to rent "Hannah Montana the Movie" HAHA Our cousin Melissa does a post every Monday called her MONDAY MOVIE REVIEW and she and her little Madeline watched it and gave it 4 stars... it's G so why not right? We watched it, it was pretty funny at some parts definitely a family friendly, kid geared movie... it was enjoyable enough.

We played with the little ladies on Saturday morning and then we went to my Basketball game (I coached it). My poor girls can dribble like crazy but cant make a basket for the life of them! We'll be practicing shooting BIG time this week.

Baylee LOVES Ty, Laycee didn't seem too interested in him. It's pretty funny how Ty responds, most of the time he is okay SOMETIMES he is a little unsure :) H had to work at 7 p.m. so they all took off around 1.

Matt and I went to Costco to get Diapers Wipes and Formula... sheesh babies are expensive...

Afterwards we went to the Gym and we did our Tri training while we watched BYU beat Wyoming. I had a big day of training 45 minutes on the bike 25 minutes running. With BYU these next 2 games are going to be BIG... SDSU on Wednesday and UNM on Saturday. Hopefully we can get to go to both, I am WAY excited. Were in the hunt for our fourth consecutive conference championship. 

After our work outs I was way hungry again and decided to make Nachos, Matt said he didn’t want Nachos but he wanted mini pizza's. Turned out to be "Make your own dinner" night.... OHHHH MAN my Nachos were a SLICE OF HEAVEN! They were SOOOO good! I used all low fat or non-fat stuff too (besdies the cheese I can't do lowfat cheese). I used Beans, Grilled Chicken, Tomatoes, Avocado, Olives, Salsa, Sour Cream and Colby Jack cheese... MMMmmmm. Matt even jumped ship on his pizzas and shared my Nachos with me. I made way too much for myself so he finished them off for me. (I also made a special Bean and Olive free section for him, knowing he would want some)

Ty Ty has been jumping like crazy and scooting around everywhere. He still isn’t crawling yet but we're thinking in the next week or two he'll be off to the races. OH and his top teeth haven't come through yet! It's been what, a week and half? Gosh.  

On top of all that we've been watching the Olympics like crazy... (they're on in that video above even) just LOVE them! USA! USA! USA! The only time it's okay to chant right Dad? I wish we had MSNBC so we could have watched some weekend HOCKEY but we don’t...bummer! Ty and I will be watching more Olympics tonight along with Biking and Swimming to train with Prezanne... :) More work and school for Matt, he has a test on Wednesday so he's been studying a ton and working hard. Life is busy... and were feeling good.

Constant sound track in my head these days!

This one is for Uncle Larry

Meet Larry, Matt's mothers only Brother... 

He is one of Matt's most favorite people... He is a drummer in Texas AND he sings too. Pictured here is (left to right) Larry, Matt's Grandmother Bobbie, Matt, and Larry's Son Dustin.  

I bring this up because we have a little drummer on our hands. Okay we know every baby does this, but we've decided Larry, that as soon as Ty can walk and talk were shipping him down to your place so he can be your little apprentice... teach him all you know! :)

Here are some beginner videos Larry, remember these are just a starting point. Don't mind the fact that he pokes his own eyes, sucks on his "drumsticks" and gets easily distracted. I am sure with your expertise all this can be solved and he'll be an AMAZING musician.  

BINGO!

(Why has that song been stuck in my head for weeks? "B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name oh")

ANYWAYS I went and saw Dr. Taylor at the Riverton Southridge Clinic. He's a VERY nice guy, thanks for the referral Carolyn!

Soooo turns out I am a FREAK! Okay kidding but really it turns out that I am simply in the middle of having about a 2 year long reaction to a medication given to me during or right after having Ty. About 5% of people have it and it is called Dermatographism. He diagnosed me by breaking a tongue depressor in half and scratching a little spot on my hip with the broken part. We chatted for about five minutes then he looked at the spot, low and behold hives...  I could basically write something on my skin with a pen cap and where I scratched hives would show up. No wonder I am itchy all the time...

Anyways he gave me some new top of the line allergy medication to take if I get the hives REALLY bad, instead of having to take Benadryl and be knocked out for 4-6 hours. This stuff shouldn't make me tired at all... so that's good. It's called XYZAL. This isn't something that will last forever, luckily... but it does last a couple years.

Funny thing is Matt and I were planning on having our kids every few years apart... what does this mean for me? Either go through the birthing process COMPLETELY medication free (no Epidural, Pitocin, Ibuprofen, Percocet, whatever else they gave me it really could have been ANYTHING...) OR just take it all then and have some STRONG allergy medication on hand for the 2 years following... HA So that means I'll probably have itchy HIVE prone skin for about a DECADE or until about 2 years after our last child. NICE... once again I find out about the JOYS of motherhood. Hey maybe i'll get lucky and next time I wont have to have whatever medication I am allergic too? I betcha it was that nasty Penicillin or whatever they gave me because I was Strep B Positive... (okay that's a shot in the dark but I HATED having it so I am secretly hoping that was it)

(I put this picture on to show you all what the HIVES look like, boy are they ITCHY!)

At least i'll be ready next time I have a kid rather then having a head to toe HIVE break out... Doc said pretty much right after having the next baby I'll need to be on a VERY strong antihisamine for a couple weeks then i'll be able to wean myself off of it and take it only as needed (Like I will be doing now)...BLAH!

CLICK HERE for more about Dermatographism, cool pictures... maybe I should try it out! haha 

More Doctor Visits Ugh

(Yes that is how he fell asleep on the couch... FINALLY! Such a tired little guy, he sleeps just like his daddy :)

After 2 days and nights of constant fussiness and a whiny Ty, I decided it was time to take him into the Doctor, AGAIN. Ugh I hate to be one of the "frequent Flier" moms but I knew something wasn't going right with Ty. Suzanne and I guessed yesterday that he might have had an ear infection...

I went in and YEP a flaming ear infection in BOTH ears! So he has had some antibiotics and Motrin all ready and has fallen asleep.

It's a good thing, he wouldn't take any naps yesterday and slept for maybe an hour last night... I'm thinking I may need to take a nap myself!

Also, I finally scheduled an appointment for myself to see an Allergy Doctor tomorrow morning. I STILL get hives randomly in random places. I get them about every other day on my arm, leg, stomach, back or face... just about anywhere. It's not really bad though so I have been putting it off, but I think it's time now that I just see a Doctor about it and find out if I am allergic to something weird. I REALLY dont want to do an allergy test though (where they prick you 40 times with needles to see if you are allergic to trees and stuff) It doesn't bother me THAT much :) I guess we'll see how it goes, i'll let y'all know my diagnosis!

Oh and here is a NORMAL picture of Ty and I. This was taken before church on Valentines day, we just LOVE our little Ty guy!

KSL Story on Baylee

ksl.com - Tumor causes toddler to lose physical abilities overnight

click the link above

Thank you SO MUCH to Shara Park and KSL for doing this story. Baylee is our little Decmeber miracle.

Baylee on KSL, TONIGHT!

Hello all,

My Niece Baylee who you all read about in December will have a news story ran on her this evening at 10 pm. If you live around here it will be on KSL Channel 5 at 10 pm. Please watch! If you don't live around here tomorrow I will post a link to the story on this blog as well. We are all very excited to get the word out on OMS. :) Please tell anyone and everyone to tune in!

Our Valentine's Day

Yes It's blurry I know, Matt was taking it fast :) For our Saturday Valentines Day Date we went out to breakfast at Kneaders, Matt played 2 Basketball games and we went to the BYU vs. Air Force Basketball game. It was great and Ty was even on the big screen for a while... he loves to go to Basketball games as much as we do! Pretty sure that was a PERFECT day :)

Sunday we went to church then headed to my aunt's house for a huge gathering of random food (international to celebrate the Olympics) and to celebrate Birthdays. It was AWESOME to eat random stuff and hang out with the family, always love a good family gathering. 

Afterwards, we went back to the Wu house to exchange Valentines. H, Brit and the girls, took off yesterday morning so they weren't there and were missed! Their Valentines will be waiting for them when they return next Friday.

Jason wrote a special note on Matt and I's Valentine, he wrote "Have a Valentine's" haha So funny that little guy.  

"Ohhh.. what's in here Dad!"

By the way yesterday was Chinese New Year too, hence the ADORABLE little Sierra in her pretty dress.

Will told me to get a picture of him and his Valentine... good one Will.

Mmmmm Matt loves Fun Dip.

Classic Prezanne

Ty LOVED playing with all the cards and crinkly papers.

Matt let Ty taste his dip stick from the "fun dip" that Prezanne gave. I said "Take that away Matt!" Then went and got my camera...i'm a bad mom I know. No 8 month old should be gumming on a stick of pure sugar. He liked it, I think more because he is teething than anything else...

 

Yes he is our CHUBBY baby... haha he needs to start crawling and thinning out a little! Ha Ha

Last but not least, here is my all time favorite Valentine... isn't he so sweet? He's just SO excited for a kiss from his awesome and GORGEOUS wife! Such a geek... really... But I'll LOVE him forever! Thanks for being my Valentine Matt!  

P.S. For my Valentines gift Matt is having my wedding band and engagement ring checked, cleaned and re-dipped. So sweet and thoughtful. :)

Special Edition Matt Post: Almost There!

When I called home today during break Mickie told me that Ty has two upper teeth coming in. He is just getting over his cold, so she couldn't tell from his runny nose and fussiness. She thought the symptoms were due to the cold. Yesterday (Thursday), I was able to come home rather than go to school. Typically, I go to school after work and get home about 9:30-10 pm, so I get to walk in the door, pick up Ty and take him to bed. My wonderful wife gives me the opportunity to at the very least, put him in bed for the night. Unfortunately, he doesn't see me for three days since he is asleep when I get home. So, needless to say, Thursday is the first day of the week Ty and I get to play. It's usually the highlight of my week. Well, I finally got to play with him and try to teach him more about crawling. I lay him on his stomach and I crawl back and forth in the living room, to try and show him how it works. He is almost to the point of getting on his hands and knees by himself, but we found that when he is on his hands and knees, he freezes up.

In this picture you can see the poor kid thinking, "Great, now what!? I thought if I got to this point I would be able to just move around." For all of you who think it is easy to abandon this position, try to imagine getting down from stilts. Until, you learn the dismount, you just have to accept the fact that this will probably hurt. It's the same with toys out of his reach, when he is sitting down. Give it one good flop and hope your hand finds the toy, before your face hits the ground. Such was the dismount from the crawling position, as it probably will be for the next few days.

He would throw his hands out to the side and allow gravity to do the rest. Then, he would look at us as if to say, "No worries dad, my face broke my fall." I think I would be truly upset if someone knew I was about to fall and just watched me do it. Maybe, that's why they cry after falling. We always say, "Oh your fine, that didn't hurt." They are probably saying, "the fall didn't hurt, but the fact is, you picked me up and put me right back in the same position to fall again, and you didn't even acknowledge the fact that you had the power to stop me from falling! You watched and smiled as I did it!" I do have to admire his determination to keep trying though.

You can see he wants to do it from all the training and push ups he does to get better. All I

have to say is, "Go Ty. Your doing great." I love that kid.

(Mother;s notes... I was in the middle of washing all of Ty's clothes, I know that he doesn't match at all, but thats all I had left that was clean :) You all know those days.)

Whoops, gotta call poison control...

Ty got the cap off of the Neosporin tube and I didn't know if he ate some or not, he'd been playing with it for a while. I looked on the back of the tube and it said to call poison control if digested... great.

For a poison emergency in the U.S. call 1-800-222-1222
American Association of Poison Control Centers

There was very little in the tube to begin with so he couldn't have eaten more then a dab if he ate any at all. Poison Control said it would give him a little Diarrhea or he would throw it up if he ate a whole bunch, which he didn't. So note to self, no more leaving the Neosporin out and Poison Controls number is now memorized :) Oh the joys of motherhood.  

Fortune Cookie Valentines

Last night, I decided to try something new out...

Let me back up, I have a guilty pleasure... it's a T.V. show. I don't watch much T.V. like I have said before, but if I am working from home for some reason I can't resist THIS show!

I've never been the type to watch shows like that, but I saw it once and i've been hooked. It gives me great ideas! I think that is the point of the show but it helps me pretend to be crafty and know whats "in-style" even though most of the time I don't like the "in-style" things.

Anyways, I saw them do THESE on the show and I thought... hmm that would be fun. 

So Suzanne and I went to work, while Preston did his homework. 

This year all the siblings here are exchanging Valentine's. I am thinking i'll just make these! We made a batch tonight but I dont know if Matt will let them last that long...

(The Aluminum Foil reflected oddly on my shirt...)

I must say Suzanne and I wrote little love notes to go on the inside like : Be Mine, I Love You, Hug Me, You Drive Me Bananas, and the list goes on. Matt ate one and looked at our note and claimed they weren't FORTUNES so he wrote his own. Something like: Dont touch that guy, he's hungry... Wha? How is that a fortune. I guess that his sense of humor.  We did pink ones and purple ones... I wouldnt suggest purple but the pink ones were okay. We dipped them in chocolate and put red sprinkles on them too. They are real cute. :)

(Matt just got home from school and was headed to the fridge for dinner I snagged him on his way :)

Also Suzanne posted HERE about getting 25% off coupons for Aeropostale jeans... I mentioned wanting one so I could buy some for myself and she decided on her way over to just buy me some instead! How nice of her! She even knew my size and everything. Dont they look great? Haha This was picture 3, the first two were uhhh well, it was late, i'll just say that. 

Here is our little Ty miserable, yep he's still sick. He's trying to smile mid hack and cough. I'll tell you though, he LOVES his Daddy. Sure he'll take me if he doesn't have any other option but if it's a choice between me or Matt? Matt will win EVERY time. That's okay with me though, I think Ty misses Matt during the days he has school.  

If you have a minute

And you want to cry your eyes out read this blog. A few friends of mine had been talking about it and I had no idea about it. This is just the initial experience, she updates frequently, read her most recent posts for how the little guy is now. AMAZING.

Their little guy is in the SAME UNIT Baylee was in for all those weeks, same nurses, same Dr's, miracles are happening for him too, MIRACLES. This struck such a heart string with me, having been in that same exact place a few short months ago. It is SO amazing how prayers work and how God blesses our families.

Tender Mercies Tuesday: The Little Things

I think all too often, when a few little things happen that I don’t like I feel that it’s been the worst, most unproductive and AWFUL day. I become miserable and wish for the day to come to a close sooner so I can start fresh the next day. I give up on that day and want to move on.

In an effort to change that, rather then noticing the little things that went WRONG during the day, I decided to notice the little things that went RIGHT and let those stack up to make it and AWSOME day. This week it's the little things I noticed that came as Tender Mercies. Priceless moments and joys that make me smile, lift my spirits, give me humility and cause to be thankful.

~Tylenol to keep my sons fever down

~Priesthood blessings from Matt and my B.I.L's at a moments notice to help Ty get better

~Ty's warm body and head snuggled on my chest while he slept

~The simple pleasure of having time to read a favorite book

~Exercising with family and getting to laugh at my dear sister who swears "THIS IS NOT LEVEL 4!"

~Listening to Ty squawk and squeak with his cold, his laugh is precious and those few smiles melt my heart

~InstaCare

~The small amount of alone time with Matt before we both fall asleep at night

~Getting fun surprises in the mail from loved ones

~Spending time with family, even if it is playing silly games or babysitting

~Feeling the February sun on my face

~My sweet co-worker who loves to watch Ty while I am in meetings

~Finishing our Taxes, knowing that everything will be okay

~Seeing Ty light up with a HUGE smile the second Matt walks in the door after work and school. Ty knows how much his Daddy loves him.

I am sure the list could go on forever. I will say there is no doubt in my mind that my Father in Heaven knows my needs and wants, he absolutely cares and provides for me and my little family everyday. All these things are little but add up to one big huge sigh of relief, followed by a warm happy smile. It’s so nice to recognize the little things.  

Time to Celebrate!

Today is HD and Kristin's 27th Birthday! Happy Birthday you TWO! WE LOVE YOU!

(P.S. I think i'll eat some chocolate in honor of this special day :)

In other news, we ended up taking Ty into InstaCare yesterday because he didn't sleep more then an hour on Saturday night. Matt was up with him all night. His cough is so nasty that he would cough so much after he ate that he would throw it up. We ended up spending quite sometime at InstaCare and we missed church! I don’t think we would have gone anyways, no one else wants this little bug Ty has. The Doctor said he didn't have Croup, RSV, or anything serious of that matter. He said he just has one nasty cold! He said the only thing we can do is alternate Tylenol and Motrin for his low grade fever and possible aches and pains. No cold medicine for kids under six... so we just have to wait it out. We bought a new humidifier filter, maybe that will help? Doc said if everything seems to stay the same, no improvement at all in 5 days to bring him back in. He was SO cuddly yesterday, he did NOT want to be anywhere else but on our laps. He sleeps for a while then wakes up and wallows a bit then falls back asleep. He has a seriously runny nose and watery eyes. He cries and just looks at Matt and I like "Whhhhhy, WHHHHHY I feel so sick..." It's the worst feeling to just look at him and say "I'm so sorry you are sick..." Here's hoping he feels better soon. For now he is constantly on my lap. I don’t think I’ll get much done today, but that’s okay it's not often Ty is a cuddly kid :)

Hmm

Ty has developed one NASTY sounding cough for the last 2 days, he doesn't have any other signs of sickness though. He's not grouchy, doesn't have a runny nose, and still eats and naps normally. Last night he must have been awake a ton though because of his hacking and coughing... There's nothing you can do for an 8 month old with a nasty cough right? I have his humidifier on the entire time while he is napping and sleeping at night but thats all I can figure to do.

What would you do? How long should I wait before I take him in to the Dr? Should I even take him in at all? 

Tis the Season

It's time to start the training. LET TRIATHLON SEASON BEGIN! I have actually accepted the challenge and will be doing at least one Tri on May 8th. It will be in Tempe AZ with Matt's aunt Mitzi. It's an all women's one, which is nice so I wont have to worry about a MAN running me over but more of a women that LOOKS like a man I am sure. These Triathete women are intense! I am doing it to have fun get in better shape and have an excuse to go to Arizona. I am glad Mitzi talked me into it!

I have discussed it with Matt as well and he is thinking of doing either one in Kearns on the 24th of April or the Daybreak Tri on May 29th, I will probably end up doing whichever one he is doing too. I am hoping for the Kearns one in April because it is BEFORE the one in AZ. I would like to work out a few kinks before I go somewhere else and look a little silly. The swim is in a pool and you finish the run in the Olympic Oval Arena. It is perfect starter Triathlon! Anyone else want to do it?? I think it would be AWESOME if we could get quite a few of us to do it together.

(I know a couple people in this video and it shows the Daybreak Tri Matt did last year. He LOVED it!)

Seriously think about it... if you dont know what to do to train I have a schedule that is probably less time then you spend exercising now and if you have a gym or rec center membership you can run on the treadmill, do a stationary bike and swim in the pool and you'll be set! You don't have to have a fancy bike or a wetsuit, just a swimsuit and some work out clothes, and ANY kind of bike! Borrow one if you dont have one no big deal at all! I think the longest time of exercising in the program is 1 hour. The program I have is a 13 week one and I start next week for the May 8th one I am doing. You only do one thing a day, except Saturdays where you do two things AND you have two days off a week! Matt and I are looking into a Rec center membership for me so I can do my swim training there. Exciting stuff I tell ya, EXCITING STUFF!

Click HERE for more info on the Spring Sprint (Kearns) and Daybreak Tri's

Join us! You know deep down you want too!

Just another day at the office

Lately I have been letting Ty pick out the clothes he wears in the morning. I'll lay out a few choices in front of him and the first shirt or pants he grabs he wears that day.

Yesterday was my day at the main office, so I layed out a few nice choices and he chose wisely. I told him it was an extra special day because we had TWO meetings, one with all the head haunchos, so he should maybe think about dressing up more than usual.

Here he is after a hard day at the office from 9 am to 6 pm. Plum tuckered out...

He chose a white shirt, tie, black pants and black shoes for work.

He looks so goofy in that picture! After we got home we changed into our play clothes and Ty enjoyed some Graham Crackers... boy does he love them!

Tender Mercies Tuesday: The Sun is SHINING!

I recently read a talk by Elder Val R. Christensen, a quote I really liked from it was this:


“Change your attitude. By looking at a problem in a different way, it may be possible to reduce discouragement. I have been impressed with the pioneer story told about Zina Young. After experiencing the death of parents, crop failure, and sickness, she was encouraged with a spiritual experience that changed her attitude. While attempting to seek divine help, she heard her mother’s voice: “Zina, any sailor can steer on a smooth sea, when rocks appear, sail around them.” A prayer came quickly: “O Father in heaven, help me to be a good sailor, that my heart shall not break on the rocks of grief” (“Mother,” The Young Woman’s Journal, Jan. 1911, 45). It is often difficult to change circumstances, but a positive attitude can help lift discouragement.”

Not that I have had anything in particular get me down recently, the words still resonated with me.

Short and Sweet, the sun was shining yesterday and I am SO happy that I decided to change my tune. I got more done yesterday then I did in all of the last week combined. I wasn’t irritated at all and enjoyed my day. I think it has been rough on me not having Matt home as much as he has been previously. I’ve been able to look ahead rather then dwelling on the problems or discouraging things. I’ve realized that “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”- Mother Teresa , that is something I can definitely do, small things (laundry, dishes, work, taking care of Ty) with great love.

ENOUGH!

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit, I muddled through January. I whined, dragged my feet, made up excuses, complained and procrastinated. I didn't WANT to do a thing and didn't do much because of it. Usually I am MUCH more of a go getter, but not in January's, I guess. This morning, I heard my Ty cooing from the other room just waiting for me to come get him. I got up, made my bed, got some clothes on and walked downstairs to prepare some breakfast for him a nice warm, yummy bottle. As I walked around my house I noticed piles and piles of clean and dirty laundry, messy bathrooms, and dishes in the sink. Then the thought of reading some scripture, getting in a good exercise and watching a bit of a show that I missed last night on masterpiece classic thrilled me. I chided myself and said I needed to get my house, job and head (with scripture) in order first then I would have plenty of time to exercise and watch a show this evening.


Usually in the morning I just pull the covers back over my head and thoughts of complaint fly in my mind of, I didn't get enough sleep, or I don't feel well, or there is so much to do I don’t even know where to start, how awful. What a way to wake up everyday!

So what was different between those days and this morning? TODAY people, is FEBRUARY 1ST! A different month and apparently a different attitude for me! I started off my day charged with energy. I immediately made a list while I was thinking of everything I needed to do today, this week or even this month. No more complaining, whining, procrastinating and WISHING you had more time Mickie... no more. It's time to get things done and ENJOY it!

Bring on the pink and red people, it's time to get some stuff done, have some fun and show some LOVE!