Delaney turned 1!

Delaney had her first birthday on Thursday. Yes, she was born on Valentine's Day! And one year ago today we were waiting in the AR Children's Hospital NICU on her. Today she's a robust, healthy girl and the sweetest kid in the world! I so lucked out with her. And, she took her first few steps on Wednesday, the day before her birthday! She's excited about taking a few steps, but hasn't quite made the connection that it can replace walking.

Oh yeah, here are pictures of her little party. She got her own cupcake to demolish and she thought that was pretty fun. She played with it for a while and then was upset because her hands were covered in frosting.
Then it was on to the presents. The older kids were more excited about that part, but Delaney was happy to get into it too. Callie ended up opening most of the gifts, and Delaney ate some paper. Happy Birthday Delaney!

We Survived!

So, Ashley came over to watch the kids (Thank you!!) and I took Callie into Urgent Care. We waited. Then we went into the room and waites less than I expected. The nice doctor and his nice assistant held Callie down and took a crack at the foreign body in her nose. It had been dissolving though, and green goo and tiny pin-head sized silver balls came out, but it was still solid enough that the doctor couldn't get it all out. He aslo wasn't authorized to use the nifty plastic thing to scrape it out. So we had to wait. Here is how Callie spent that time- with juice box and Polly Pocket. You can't see the green goo oozing out her nose along with a little blood. Oh yes, so much fun.

This is the "singy" that the ENT used to scrape green pasty goo and tiny silver balls out of her nose. I got to help hold her down. That fantastic move they teach you in lifeguarding, used to stabalize a possible broken back really came in handy! Of course, he couldn't get it all, since it had further dissolved during the wait. Fortunately Callie sneezed a few times and shot out more green stuff. I have no clue what it was she stuck up there! She said it was a bead that she found on the floor.

We had to wait another 30 minutes to be discharged. Callie enjoyed herself on the spinning chair. She flew back and forth accross the room, giggling like a madman. I was not so entertained.

What's with the nose?!!

You know how things happen and you just sit back and realize it is just so absurd you have to laugh? On Monday Dan was stuck in court, so I had to take all 4 kids to Urgent Care. I couldn't get appointments, so that's where we had to go. It took less than 2 hours for them to tell me that Joshua does not have Strep Throat, and Delaney did not have Pink Eye. Good to know. All things considered, the children were pretty good, but there ARE 4 of them. Dan got home shortly before 7, so I suppose I could have waited (NOT!).

Now Dan is gone to South Carolina for some client for a few days and Callie decided to shove a small object up her nose. I do not know why. None of my other children have had this nose fixation. This is the second time she's done this. Fortunately, last time it was a plastic Barbie shoe that was long enough that I could grab it with tweezers and get it out. This time it is shoved so far up there I am worried the doc may not be able to get it out.

And I did mention that Dan is out of town? Yeah, you are wondering why I am writing this, rather than hanging out in the waiting room right now. There are 3 reasons. First off, Callie cried herself to sleep on the couch (and she's naked- not sure why on that!). Secondly, Delaney is still napping. Thirdly, my babysitter can be here in 15 minutes. All my close-by friends are conveniently not home to ask to watch my kiddies, so I figure not much will change in 30 minutes, and life will be considerably better for everyone if I wait for Ashley to get here.

So, now I will vaccuum the floor and dress Callie and we'll go out for some fun at the Urgent Care. And I will be thinking of Lenette and her similar experience!

Funny Kids!

We had Playgroup on Thursday. The girls loved going to a new park, and Callie especially enjoyed the swings. After a bit at the park, we went to Jessica's house. Marian and Callie has a blast in the long tube they could crawl through. Fun for all! I just like to go gab with other moms!


I think Callie fell out of her bed, but I'm not positive. When I checked on her, this is how I found her! Bum up, sleeping on the floor. So cute!

Delaney just learned to climb onto these sturdy plastic chairs we have. She put her new skill to work last night as I made cookies! She's getting
so big!

My Top 10 Lists!

My top 10 Best Things about the trip (and I could have come up with a LOT more!)
1. Seeing the ruins at Talum and having Nephi and Helaman as our guides.
2. Horseback riding in Roatan
3. 4 course dinners at the “Windows” Restaurant. SO fancy, and I got to try neat new things. It also cracked me up that they would put your napkin in you lap and say “Don’t forget your seatbelt, Madame.”
4. Climbing the ruins at Altun Ha and imagining that Christ could have visited there.
5. Hearing Bruce Porter speak and delving into deeper stuff than I usually do.
6. The Stela rocks and ruins of Quirigua and feeling like I was standing on history.
7. The speedy jungle boat ride.
8. The amazing wooden carvings at Altun Ha
9. Being able to spend time with Mom and Dad
10. The Chocoholic Buffet! And all the other tasty food!


My low-lights list didn’t even have 10 things on it! I couldn't come up with much, and they weren’t even that negative.
1. Bologna sandwiches for lunch at Altun Ha
2. Gaining 10 pounds
3. I never touched the ocean! Not even a toe into the water.
4. Not enough time to do everything we wanted at the ruins…. All of them!
5. It took too many laps to make a mile when running and I hate having to count laps.
6. Dining rooms were too noisy.
7. Sacrament meeting- I’d have liked a more meeting type meeting, and less of a fireside kind. (I’m happy we had one though, so that was actually a highlight as well!)


Fun Details List:1. That was the first time in over 6 years that I went a whole week without changing a diaper!
2. I only had adult conversations with other adults! I never spoke to a child at all for a week!
3. I didn’t see a single tantrum or tear.
4. That was the longest period of time I went without thinking of my children. (No I didn’t go the whole week, but I really did not think about them as much as I thought I would!)
5. I took 175 pictures of the trip.
6. That was the first time in nearly 9 years that I didn’t have to think about anybody but myself. I rediscovered that I CAN get ready- from bed to walking out the door- in 30 minutes!
7. I went a week with no radio, TV shows (they offered 2 movie channels and CNN), telephone, internet or contact with my husband and children.
8. For 7 days I did not drive a car, make a meal, dress anyone else, clean the dishes, or do any laundry. Wow.