It's Late...

And I'm doing some work, but decided to take a break from the business world for a moment. I'm just sitting here in the quiet of my office alone with my thoughts. The only sound is the tapping of the keys on the keyboard as I put my thoughts out into cyberspace.

Right now, I'm trying to learn to dance in the rain. Sometimes I think life can be quite rainy. I am a very impatient person. Right now I'm praying that my body will decide to work and do it's job. I really want to add to our little family. Sometimes I'm scared to move forward with that though. You get this little baby, your first one, and you wonder how in the world you could ever have enough love in your heart to love another one as much as you love the first. It's strange. I guess it will work out on its own when I do finally get pregnant and we have another little one in the house, but right now it's just unfathomable to me.

It has been really strange for me having Dan at home. He has been home around 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. for the most part all of last week and tonight. It's so strange to have him home to be able to eat dinner with us. He hasn't been able to do that for the better part of almost three years. I guess I'll have to start cooking more again. I have gotten away from cooking each night because what's the point when it's you and a toddler...

This Friday is Independence Day. This holiday really means a lot to me and I always look forward to it. I love the festivities, the parades, the fireworks, the food, and being with family. My family always has a HUGE get together on the 4th. We have a great time together and are all exhausted when the day is over. Another part of it, for me anyway, is remembering the wonderful history of this country and how it really is a great place to live. We are allowed to do what we want/need to do in our lives. We are allowed to choose for ourselves. We owe that right of freedom to those who have fought and who are still fighting for freedom around the world. Whenever holidays like this come to my mind, I think of my dad and my grandfather. My dad served in Vietnam. He doesn't talk about it much, and that's okay, but I know he went through a lot to help those in need over there. He gave up a lot to go and serve. He lost some friends there too. I am so grateful for my dad and the courage he had to go and serve where he was needed. My grandfather was a soldier in World War II and in the Korean war. He is a remarkable man. Service in the armed forces is such a selfless thing. You go knowing that you might not come back, but you still go because you know that's where you are needed.

Anyway, these are the things I've been thinking about tonight as I'm alone with my thoughts. I hope everyone has a safe holiday and that you remember what it's really celebrating.

Wow!

Can you believe it's the last day of June already! It's so strange to me how fast this month has gone by. We're already preparing for fireworks and 4th of July stuff! It's so crazy. Things are going well here. Ethan and I went up to Mike & Chris' house on Saturday for a big family party. We had a really good time. The girls even watched all the little kids for us so the adults could go to dinner and a movie. Thanks girls! Dan wasn't able to come because of work, but we had a good time anyway, although I didn't appreciate the construction crews creating a slalom of traffic cones from Riverdale to Clearfield on the way home! That wasn't fun to drive through, but I made it!

I think I'm going to go this week to get Ethan's three year old pictures done. After I do, I'll post some on here. He's turning into such a little man. He's such a sweet kid.

Hillarious!

I got this email from a friend the other day. It still has me chuckling. The awesomeness of stupidity...

Keep in mind this actually really did happen. This is someone who was moving from an insurance claims office.

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:

Walmart Employee: 'Hello 'dis be Walmarts, how can I help you?'

Customer: ' I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.'

Walmart Employee: 'What you want on the cake?'

Customer: 'Best Wishes Suzanne' and underneath that 'We will miss you'.

You can't fix stupid...

It's SOOO Hot!

It was really hot today and the swamp cooler, while it is working better after a few minor adjustments, just wasn't cutting it this afternoon. I got paid, so I decided to take a car ride to put my check in the bank. After that, I went and got Ethan's haircut done at Cookie Cutters. I love that place. He did so well! He didn't cry and he didn't even move much! He still won't let them put the cape on him though...maybe next time.



One thing I hate about being home in the middle of the day are salespeople. I understand it's their job and I understand that they have to do it, but why pick me? I hate that. I had an alarm company's salespeople come to my door. I was upstairs working, but of course they didn't leave. The knocked again. Why were they encouraged you ask? It's summer. Summer at my house means direction of air and focusing that air to make the swamp cooler do it's job the best way it can. This means having the front door open with the screen shut and locked. If I'm upstairs, they know I'm home because the door is open. Also, if I'm downstairs it's kind of hard to not answer the door when they can see you through it! Oh well. At least they're gone now.

Another good thing today, the quest for a baby belly has reached its next step. I start my second round of Clomid today. Wish us luck!

Ethan's haircut. He didn't even cry!

Ethan's Birthday Party!

Well, Saturday was the day. We had a birthday party with my family and a few of Ethan's little friends. He had a great Spongebob birthday ice cream cake from Maggie Moo's. They make great cakes by the way. He got a bunch of really thoughtful and great presents from everyone. Julia even made a card for him! It was so cute. He has been having such a fun time. At the party, we had a kiddie pool out for the kids to play in the water. They had a blast! It was really fun. Ethan was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He didn't even slow down long enough to have some cake until after mostly everyone had left. Here are some pictures from the day.

Fun Day

Jenny won a free birthday party up at This Is The Place Heritage Park so we took the opportunity and went up there today. It was Jenny, Julia, Jackson, Mom, Dad, Ethan, and I. We had a great time! It was really hot, but we had a lot of fun. Ethan got to ride the horses in the pony corral. He was scared at first when I put him up on the horse, but once we got going he didn't want to get off. In fact, the ladies let him ride a second time for free because he wanted to go again so bad and there was no line. He loved the horses.

After that, we got to go see some baby lambs and goats in their petting zoo area. Soon we needed water so we went up to the hotel/general store area and got water while we waited for the train. The train is free with admission and takes you all the way around the entire park. Ethan loved it. We rode it like three times! It was a lot of fun. They have a lot more things for little ones to do now like crafts and stuff and they have train stops all over the park so you don't have to walk everywhere. Since it was a birthday party that Jenny won, we also got a free birthday cake out of the deal. We really had a great time! Here are some pictures from the day. It was so nice to have my mom and dad be able to come up and do something like this with us. Usually it's just Ethan and I.

Ethan Is Three!

It was three years ago today that I was in labor with Ethan and brought him into this world. Ethan, you're growing into a wonderful, inquisitive, smart, little man. He was so little then. Now he's a 40-lb. ball of energy lumbering toward anything that gets in his way. He is so smart and funny. He has such a funny sense of humor. He is my little boy now, not just my little baby.

HE DID IT!!!!

Dan took his final last night, the big one, and passed with flying colors! This means that he will graduate! The final was a practice NCLEX (state licensing exam) test. He'll take the licensing exam in July and then it will be done! He'll be working as a nurse soon! I'm so proud of him. He has worked so hard to get to this point. It's hard to believe he's not going to be at school every night. It hasn't been easy for our family to go through, but we made it together and now the rewards are so great!

The Bookworm

Dan is off studying right now. He took today and tomorrow off so he could prepare for his big final, which is tomorrow. I told him to leave the house so he didn't get distracted. My little bookworm went to the library where he is studying his little heart out. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard to get this far and to really be literally two days from completion of school! I never thought this day would come. It always seemed so far away! Maybe now I can get going on some online courses myself. Dan and I talked about it before and decided that I could start doing some classes once he gets done. I think I would like to try for a degree in English. I am not too into going to class though, so I think an online course or two would suit me just fine for the time being.

Another good thing about him being done with school is the fact that I won't have to work as much. I think I'm going to keep working at home some, but just reduce my hours. I think it will be nice to still have the tax deductions for doing a home business and a little bit of the extra income, but at least I won't have to work as much as I do now, not that it's a ton, but there have been times when I haven't really wanted to or haven't been able to work. It will be nice to scale back there a little bit.

Speaking of bookworms, just kidding, Jenny is going back to school. I just found out. I think that's so awesome. She was about a year and a half in I think when she left school initially. Hopefully most of her credits carry over and she'll be able to finish her degree. I think that's so awesome Jenny! I think you'll really enjoy being back at school. It's funny, we spend all of those years through elementary school, junior high, and high school, just waiting for summer, waiting to be free. When you're an adult you realize that learning is so important and, for me anyway, it's fun.

The Visitor...Men Can Skip This One...

I think this is the first time in a long time I'm glad I'm PMSing. It means the medicine worked and my body is doing what it's supposed to do! My "visitor" is usually unwelcome, but this time she is much appreciated. She should show up within the next few days. I never thought I would actually like to have her visit. It doesn't make it any easier to go through the emotional stuff, the chocolate cravings, etc., but at least I know my plumbing is working! It's weird to actually know when it's going to happen. That hasn't happened since I was on the pill. Yay!

It's a new day...

It's a new day. I know it seems simple, but one thing that really changes my outlook on things is the ability to move forward, even having a plan of action makes things better. That's what I'm feeling today. Today, I have a plan. There is the short term plan of getting my house clean today and laundry done, but also a long term plan for our family. Somehow the organization, even if things don't necessarily turn out that way, helps me to focus and feel more secure with things.

It's supposed to be really hot again today. Yesterday, I let Ethan try out his new wading pool. I got it for his birthday, which is this Friday. I figured I would let him try it out because it was so hot out. He had a great time. He loved playing with the hose to fill it up and he loved doing "cannonballs" in it. It was funny. He would say, "Cannonball!" and then slowly climb over the side of the pool and kind of hop in. It was cute. My little daredevil.

We're On Our Way

Well, the doctors appointment went well. After talking to him I'm feeling a little better about things. As far as we can tell, my body is doing what it should for the time being. That's definately a good thing. So now we wait.

In other news, Ethan turns three this week! My little baby isn't a baby anymore!

Just A Little...

Today I'm freaking out...just a little. I go in to the doctor today. Somehow, however illogical it sounds, I'm afraid that I'm going to go in and he'll say, "Yup. You're broken. There's nothing we can do. Now on your way." I don't think that's really what will happen, but I'm still afraid. Worse still, I'm afraid he'll just say that he doesn't know for sure what's going on with me. Hopefully at least he'll have an idea of what's going on after I talk to him. I'm just nervous I guess about going. I need to go though. The ultimate goal is so important to me that I can't not go. So, back to being a little freaked out. Hopefully it's not justified.

The Missing Toilet Paper Caper

Toddlers love toilet paper. That's just a fact. Why? I don't know. There is some sort of joy that they get from tearing it to shreds, rolling the entire roll through the whole house, etc. I went to use the bathroom the other day when I noticed the toilet paper was not in it's proper place. I had recently gotten a new roll, but hadn't put it on the holder yet. I looked at the empty holder and then looked at the floor, the back of the toilet, but I couldn't see the roll. Finally, I opened the toilet...and there it was, the entire roll, in the toilet. It wasn't even unrolled. I kind of chuckled to myself. This wasn't the first time Ethan had decided to play with the toilet paper and I'm sure it won't be the last. Hopefully it's the last time I have to fish it out with the plunger though.

So Tired.

Fun at the Gateway

Thunder

I'm lying here in bed listening to the thunder and watching the lightning flash through my darkened window. What a sight. It's amazing to me how fast the world changes, how fast it cycles. Somehow hearing the thunder makes me come out of my own head for a moment and see the world beyond my thoughts. I've had a rough few days with my anxiety disorder/OCD. Leave it to Heavenly Father to send thunder when I really need it.

Today...

We went to the zoo today with Jenny and the kids. We had a good time, we got to ride the new carousel (which Ethan was scared of until we started moving), we even saw a few animals.


I wasn't sure how Ethan was going to react to the carousel, but as I mentioned, he was okay when we started moving. He even tried to sneak back on the ride after we were done.

Everything was pretty okay, until mommy decided it was time to go. It was getting to be nap time, the zoo was getting crowded, and toddlers were being a bit cranky. It was definitely time to go. At that point, I had to lug my 40 pound almost three year old up a huge hill because I couldn't get him to walk for most of it. I think his problem was that he was tired and a little hot, but oh well. We had a good time anyway. We also ate at Crown Burger. Anytime you do that, it's a good day already!


Here is a funny picture I took of Ethan on the carousel while we were waiting to start moving....priceless. Oh how I torture my child by making him ride the carousel.










Here's a happy one watching the elephants get their bath.

Ethan and the ice cream cone.

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

It's June and we're having a bad thunderstorm again. I hate that. It's been at least once a week for the past month or so. I don't usually mind the rain, but there is some benefit to being able to go outside when you have a toddler with cabin fever. Oh well, I suppose we'll spend enough time out and about over the next couple of days after the storm blows over.

In other news, I'm still working on the seemingly neverending task that is catching up on housework. Things have been so busy with going to Idaho, etc. that I haven't had time to catch up on everything yet. I've made a dent by doing several loads of laundry and cleaning the kitchen, but I'm not done yet. Hopefully Hurricane Ethan will be mild today and I won't have too much catch up work to do before I can get down into the bulk of it today.

Things are going pretty well for us as of late. Dan has about two weeks left of school and then he is done! It's such a great feeling to have him almost done with his degree. He'll be able to start working as a nurse probably sometime in July. He'll also take the licensing exam in July, so it should be an eventful month for us. He graduates in June, but the ceremony isn't until the middle of July...and I'm making him go. He doesn't want to go and walk and do all of that, but I need a celebration of the end of it all, so I'm making him go. I told him we're inviting his parents, my parents, and we're going. Period. We're taking pictures, and he WILL smile holding his diploma. :) I think it's kind of funny that he doesn't want to go. I also think that if he doesn't go, he'll regret it at some point. Maybe this will be a good excuse to go to Rodizio Grill....mmm...bacon wrapped turkey....mmm...

As far as I go, things are going okay. My body seems to have realized what to do now and we're still working on adding to our little family. Hopefully it happens soon. I don't want Ethan and the rest of our kiddies to be too far apart.

Sorry this post is so sporadic...that's just how I'm feeling this morning.

I'm Free!!!

After four years of cub scouts, I'm finally free. This is the longest I have had a calling. I even have more tenure than the current bishop in my ward. They called me on Sunday and said they wanted to meet with me. Ironically, I had a scout meeting that afternoon. I asked if he wanted to meet today. He said if I could, that would be great and that it wouldn't take that long. He thanked me for my service, said they were giving me a break, and sent me on my way to my scout meeting to tell them the news.

I did have some good times serving in the cub scouts, but I have been ready to be done for a while. I did my time. I served. I even had fun sometimes, but it's not an easy calling by any means. I'm just happy I'm free! I have my last pack meeting tonight, my last time of running Ethan over to my mom's house in a frenzy so she can watch him while I'm gone. My last time of running through the drive through starving at 9:00 p.m. because I didn't have time to eat before pack meeting. My last time dealing with anything cub related...at least until Ethan is old enough.

I'm Free!!!!

Mmmm.......artificial sweetness........