ABC TAG... More than you ever wanted to know!

So I've recently been tagged... twice actually.

I am going to do this ABC TAG from Jane first, only because it's easier/faster...

(Sorry, Troy, you undertand, right?)

Here goes:

A- Attached or single:

Happily attached! :)

B- Best friend:

I am blessed to have too many...

If I have to name just one, of course I am going to choose my sweet husband, The Man of my Dreams, My Hunka-hunka Burnin' Love, My Sweetie, My Matthew.

He truly is sooo good to me. Love you, Babe! :)

C- Cake or pie:

Neither... I'm an ICE CREAM girl, all the way!

D- Day of choice:

Friday... TGIF! My house is always CLEAN and I am always sooo ready for the weekend!

E- Essential item:

Camera... I am rarely without one.

These are my current faves:

I take my "big camera" anywhere I want to be sure to get great pics of...

But I keep this "teeny camera" in my purse and LOVE having it to snap spontaneous, candid shots of my kids at a moment's notice!

F- Favorite color:

Green, any shade.

(Literally, figuratively and theoretically!)

G- Gummi bears or worms:

Neither. Chocolate-dipped cinnamon bears.

(Thanks, Janey!)

H- Hometown:

The Navy..? We moved around when I was young.

I never lived anywhere more than a few years at a time.

Although, since being married, I've now lived in PROVO longer than anywhere else,

so I guess THIS is IT...

...Happy Valley!


I- Indulgence(s):

I am a faithful monthly-pedicure connisseur...

Could I do it myself? Maybe, but I just LOVE to have pretty feet that I didn't have to stress over. Especially when I am pregnant!

One more, (which really IS a personal indulgence)... I am a chronic, habitual uber-organizer. I LOVE little sectioned compartments and I can not resist labeling and/or color-coding everything... really EVERYTHING! (Even my children are color-coded!)

I love to see things neatly stacked or in rainbow-color order. Silly as it is, I absolutely LOVE it! My closets, cabinets and even "junk" drawers are all immaculate.

It just brings joy to my little soul to see those tiny, typed name-strips and to know where everything in my little world is at every given moment.

I don't apologize... I am not ashamed...

I just function better when I am not living in chaos! (Or so I rationalize...)

Ahh.. there... I've said it... I'm a freak... now you know!

J- January or July:

Definitely fun, festive, warm, happenin' JULY!

(January is a blah-blah Home-Body month.)

K- Kids:

aka: "The Monkeys"

Kaden Matthew (soon to be 8),

Trevan Mattson (4 1/2),

Daynen McKay (almost 1),

and a new little peanut, due this Fall...

either Avari Mae or Bronson Micheal...

(can't wait to find out in a couple more months!)

L- Life is incomplete without:

I am going to be trite and say "Love".

(Sorry, but really... what else REALLY matters?)

...Well, I guess a trip somewhere... with a beach... at least once a year... is nice, too! :)

M- Marriage date:

October 11, 1996... coming up on a dozen years! WOW!

(Sad, but no photo... that is before the digital age and I am too lazy to scan a photo this morning...)

N- Number of siblings:

You'd THINK this is an easy question... well, here goes!

I was raised with just one brother, Joey (26).

He lives in Murray with his wife, Christie and their 3 darling kiddies.

Until a year ago, that was it...

However, last year when I met my Birth Mother, Jean, for the first time,

(Wild, huh? This is us... can you tell?)

I was lucky enough to "inherit" 7 MORE half-siblings! (YEAH... WOW!)

Cute, sweet Natalie (24) lives in Huntington Beach and is about to get married in May.

Gorgeous Kristi (22) lives in Washington State and is an incredibly talented singer (seriously AMAZING!),

The infamous Rhett and Drew (twins, although you'd never guess!, almost 19)

live in St. George and Provo, respectively,

Darling Joseph (14) is a great computer artist (and pretty popular with "the ladies", we hear!),

Awesome Ian (10, on left) loves all the same stuff as my Kaden (on right)... (they're great pals!),

and sweet little Lizzy (8) just got baptized.

(Funny to note that Jean's youngest is just a few months older than my oldest!)

It has been such a blessing to get to know and love them!

It's fun having this whole other "bonus" family and we enjoy seeing them often! :)

I also have GREAT "siblings-in-law" who I adore, so I don't want to leave them out!

Mike & Mauri Staker: http://stakerfamilycircus.blogspot.com/,

Megan & Russ McMurdie: http://ifhesingsonemoresong.blogspot.com/

and Mindy & Cody Johanson: http://johanson5.blogspot.com/

I am truly so blessed to genuinely LIKE my in-laws! All of them!

One of my greatest blessings is to have married into such a fun and wonderful family!

O- Oranges or apples:

Both... and any other fruit for that matter! I LOVE FRUIT!

P- Phobias or fears:

I have this unexplainable fear that I am going to accidentally back over one of my children...

(it's usually Trevan I worry about, mainly because he is "just that height".)

But I actually refuse to move my car in or out of the garage until I can see both my boys at least 20 feet from my Tahoe and know they are standing still and watching me pull out.

They get really annoyed, but at least I know they are safe!

Q- Quote(s):

I am a vinyl lettering addict! I LOVE quotes and inspiring thoughts and have them all over our home.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but here are two I love...

Above our Master Bedroom door:

and on the wall in our Upstairs Balcony:

"A happy Family is but an earlier Heaven!"

R- Reasons to smile:

Oh, so many everyday!

My Boys... ALL of them...

(I refer you to letters "B" and "K"),

my countless, innumerable Blessings,

feeling the promise of new life within me,

(I'm one of those crazy people who actually totally LOVES being pregnant),

finishing my laundry this morning,

and lately, keeping in touch with all of you!

(I'm LOVING the blogging thing!) :)

S- Season:

Summer! Warmth, sunshine, swimming, vacation, flip-flops... what's NOT to love?

T- Tag five:

Gretchen Knell: http://knellplace.blogspot.com/

('Cuz she is far away... and we miss her!),

Susan Bland: http://www.theblandclan.blogspot.com/

(Honey, it is TIME to update the ol' blog! We will HELP you!),

Carrie Finlinson: http://thescarrielesa.blogspot.com/

(I am hoping to officially OUT her "secret"!),

Meanna Dullum: http://nathanandmarianna.blogspot.com/

(Way too long since I've heard from her!)

and Krista Lewis: krista@snugabugbaby.com

(Maybe she'll finally jump on the bandwagon and get a blog up and going!

No photo because she doesn't have a blog YET for me to steal one from!))

U- Unknown fact about me:

Is there anything left? I'm kind of an open-book, aren't I?

V- Vegetarian or oppressor of animals:

Oppressor, I guess. I do LOVE a good steak!

(Although I LOVE most veggies, too! I just love GOOD FOOD, in general!)

W- Worst habit:

I am a chronic over-achiever and think I can do everything.

I continually overcommit myself, and consequently, am often running behind.

Although I have made HUGE improvements lately... NO, REALLY! Ask Matt! :)

X- X-rays or ultrasounds:

Definitely Ultrasounds!

(Is that really a question? Who wants an x-ray, or anything broken?

I just wanna see that little babe I'm cooking in there!)

Y- Your favorite food:

I've posted this before, but if I had to eat one food for the rest of my life,

it would most definitely be the Fillet Bryan at Carrabba's.

Makes my mouth water, even to THINK about it!

Z- Zodiac:

Leo-to-the-core, baby! (Rar!)

Wow... I feel like I just came from therapy!

Indeed, that was long... but, I never said brevity was one of my talents!

(To the contrary, in fact!)

SO, now I'm curious to see who actually takes the time to read it all! :)

This Afternoon's Craving...

Mmmmm... MMMMMM... Mmmmmm!

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So in case you are having trouble interpreting (or perhaps believing!) what you are seeing, this is my latest Culinary Development:

Leftover Hard-boiled Easter Eggs, sliced-in-half

Sprinkled with a little Salt & Pepper

Topped with (that's right!) Sweet-Pickle Relish!

Wah-lah! Heaven on a plate! A delicious Confectionery Masterpiece!

(...Or perhaps it's just the pregnancy talking...)

Ahhhh!

So we made it through Daynen's surgery this morning... (insert a big sigh of relief)... he had a "bilateral myringotomy", which is the official name for "tubes" in both ears.


Both, our surgeon, Dr. Kipp Robins (who also did Trevan's tonsillectomy a year ago) and anesthesiologist, Dr. Thayne Wilson (who is one of my clients) were wonderful and reported that everything went as well as could be hoped for. It is such a routine and relatively simple procedure, but it is still so dramatic when it is your own sweet baby!

Here he is with Daddy, as we checked in and the nurse took his vitals. (This is just a few seconds before I realized I'd forgotten to charge the camera battery and it died... so DARN! No other photos at the hospital..!)

Waking up from anesthesia is always a little rough for a few minutes, but he did pretty well. There was a lot of fluid in both ears (his left ear was 100% full, right ear over 80% full), so we are told to expect some drainage for a few days, but he should have a remarkable increase in hearing and a decrease in both ear pressure and (hopefully!) in ear infections. Yea!

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Poor little guy! By the time we got home a little after 9 am, he was soooo ready for a nap...

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He has always been my sleeper and LOVES to be in his own bed! He is still sleeping soundly...

...In fact, I think I may go join him! We are both exhausted! (I guess I'm just a wimp, but I realized I would NOT do well as a mom to a chronically sick child... how do people do it?)

Guy's Trip to Gooseberry Mesa...

So Mr. Hollywood has moved in... Matt has been SERIOUSLY bitten by the photo-bug and we think he should consider starting a new career in Movie production! He came home from his day -and-a-half bike trip with over a HUNDRED photos (not bad, Honey!) and before he'd been home 3 hours, he had produced an awesome movie and burned it to DVD for all of his buddies.

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I'd post it here, but the file is too big and I haven't figured out how to reduce it to fit...

(Click the link below to watch it on youtube.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQfFoRVz2QY

Here are a few of my fav-or-ite pics ...

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WOOT-WOO! What a hottie!

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What? Yes, I did say there were other guys who went, too. Oh... Did you want to see them, too? Alright, but they just aren't nearly as good-looking as my man... cuz HE is a MACHINE!)

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But, okay... if you insist... here are a few shots of the other guys, too...

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Cody, our awesome brother-in-law, showing off some MAD SKILLZ!

Troy "Bulldog" Blanchard...

And Kendrick "Endo", aka "Garbage Disposal"... :)

WOW! So who is this new guy and what has he done with my anti-photo husband?

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(I don't know, but I think I'll keep the new guy! And maybe I'll add him to my Picture This... payroll! He's quite the photographer!)

Egg-Hunt "Egg"stravaganza!

Thanks to Laurie's cul-de-sac for hosting our annual

Grandview Neighborhood Easter Egg-Hunt "Egg"-stravaganza!

Beautiful weather, great food and good company... it was perfect!

(I should have taken photos of the food and gathering... we out-did ourselves this year...

but without Matt, I was too busy keeping track of my Egg-hunters, solo- style.)

Kaden, all-about-speed, was thrilled to find a dozen eggs right off the bat...

...and even more "egg"-cited that one of his was a coveted golden egg! WooOOoo!

As always, the boys were so "egg"-cited they could hardly sleep last night! (Little Trev woke me up at 6:30 to ask if it was time to go yet. ) And despite the pained "egg"-spression on his face (because it was so bright), he said it was worth the wait!

He was still searching LONG after everyone else had finished to count their loot and ended up finding a full dozen for himself and then made sure Daynen had all of his! What a good brother... He really is so thoughtful!

And I'm soooo glad that my littlest hunter is feeling better today!

Aside from eating dirt and grass, Dayne loved shaking the eggs and was thrilled to find a surprise in each one!

What a fun-filled (and "eggs"- hausting!) morning... I 'm ready for a nap!

My Hot Bikin' Baby!

My Hot Babe is off to do what he does best... "Work hard and play harder"! (Although, he hasn't been able to do nearly enough playing lately!)

Matt and a few buddies are off for another biking adventure down in St. George this weekend. They plan to bike Paradise Canyon's Bear-claw Trail and Gooseberry Loop.

They'll be back Saturday evening, to be home in time for the Easter morning hoopla..!

Have fun, Hon! Can't wait to see the pics!

WORST Mom EVER!

Remember how I thought Dayne seemed to be feeling better this morning? Well, he took a turn for the worse a few hours later... His nose was running out-of-control, and I was worried by how green the "drainage" was. (Gross, I know!) I was concerned that he might have a sinus infection or something. I, myself, was feeling like death-warmed-over, so I called and made Dr. appointments for both of us.

Yeah... well, it turns out sweet little Dayne has double ear infections (in both ears!) and the left ear is so bad that the drum has actually burst! I had NO IDEA! I have always been able to tell before! He has not pulled on his ear this time or anything! This is his 5th... FIFTH... ear infection since Christmas and they want to start talking about tubes... I am so sad for him! I feel just terrible! Poor sweet boy!

I, on the other hand, am just so very grateful to find that apparently, my "cold" is actually strep and a kidney infection. Ugh. So crappy to be sick... Even worse when you are pregnant and can't take a dang thing! (Tylenol? Please!) Antibiotics to the rescue... I should start feeling like a new person in a day or two!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Our Little Leprachauns were so excited to wear green to school today... and even MORE excited to catch anyone who wasn't!

And little Dayne seems to be feeling a wee bit better this morning (hopefully he's on the mend), although he'll be happy to stay in his jammies all day... good thing he has green ones (they match his nasty green boogers)!

My poor little Dayne is a sicky... soooo sicky. Sickest he's ever been. (Just a really bad cold, he's not dying, just sooo miserable!)

I thought about taking a photo, but it really is too pathetic. His beautiful, bright brown eyes are droopy and bleary... His nose runs unstoppably and is raw, despite my gentlest attempts at wiping... His face and cheeks are red and chapped from the constant smear of snot he wipes every which way in frustration... He has no energy, but can't sleep, or even eat for that matter... His wet, hacky cough and miserable little wimper echo throughout his restless non-sleep... poor kid! It's breaking my heart!
The worst part is, I feel so helpless! I am sure there is very good reason for having recently banned all the infant cold medication, but it was a cruel, cruel thing to have not replaced it with anything remotely helpful. I called the Pediatrician's Office yesterday (after his poor cheek was CRUSTED to the sheet in his crib... literally!) and asked what I could safely give him. Tylenol (not helpful) and Benadryl (as in, just the plain allergy type-antihistamine). They reiterated the absolute importance of not giving any type of cough suppressant or expectorant, or any cold medication with a nasal decongestant or antihistamine to any child under age 2. SO what do I do with my miserable 11 month old? Said we'd just have to "wait it out". In the meantime, they "helpfully" suggested hot baths/showers, a humidifier (both of which we were already using, pretty much ineffectively), and saline nasal drops... fun. Do these people have children?

Cheap, Cheep, Craft Idea...

So I made omelets for Dinner on Wednesday night (an attempt to keep the evening bout of "morning sickness" at bay by filling up on protein). I ended up with 8 empty eggshells... The boys were bored... homework and chores were done... Daddy wasn't home to wrestle and I didn't want to turn the TV on, so I thought, "Hmmm... what could we make with these?" A stroke of inspiration and a quick run upstairs to the Craft Room to gather a few "on-hand" art supplies and... Wah-lah!

Easter Chicks!

We rinsed the eggshells and glued in a pom-pom,

cut a little beak from construction paper

glued it on,

and glued on some goofy google eyes!

Simple as that! Kept the boys busy (and happy!) for about 20 minutes and the clean up was a breeze!


Kaden named his DJ (top: baby yellow one), Drake (left: big yellow), Slater (right: big green) and Jake (bottom: big orange).

Trevan named his: Lee (top left: funny eyes), VJ (top right: baby yellow), Josh (bottom left: big green) and Harry Potter (bottom right).

(Hmmm.... can you tell what shows my kids watch?)

The boys were so proud of themselves and couldn't wait to show Daddy when he got home! (I think HE was even impressed!)

Now, if I were REALLY creative, or had thought/planned ahead at all, I would have gotten a cute basket or egg crate or something to display them in, instead of plain old plastic bowls...

Wide Awake...

Since when did my beloved bed become the most uncomfortable place on the planet? Blech!

I have been up since 2... tossing and turning... (Poor Matt!) I've tried every position imaginable, but to no avail... my hip aches, my knee hurts, my shoulder is tweeked funny, my hand is asleep, my hair is brushing my cheek,... (For crying out loud!) ...the blankets are twisted (Heaven forbid!), my foot is hanging out, the heating pad (yes... I was desperate!) is too hot, no...wait, not hot enough...

Aye carumba! What the heck? I never have trouble sleeping... NEVER! Ask anyone! I can sleep anytime, anywhere in like 2.5 seconds... and through anything! It's one of my talents... I need very little sleep, but I sleep very deeply and very efficiently... usually. Yeah, well not TONIGHT!

Is this another pregnancy thing I haven't had to deal with before? HELP! What to do? I'm desperate... Suggestions welcome... Right now, I'm going to take a hot bath...