Kinda on vacation

Yesterday started the beginning of Smith Family Staycation.  Mark's parents and siblings are all in on it--a week off from work and other responsibilities and time spent together.  We have Wet 'n' Wild, a trip to Flagstaff, the AZ Science Center, and much more planned.  Yesterday those able to went to the temple in the morning, then we all went bowling, took some family pictures, and had Five Guys for dinner.  Today the group is driving up Four Peaks and then off to some other activity before tonight when the adults only are going out to a nice dinner.  Blogging was kinda off limits for the week.  But since I am stuck at home with a sick baby I get to do whatever I want anyway.  I was hoping to be able to watch some TV and eat some junk food but since we don't have cable and I got tired of watching Julia Child on PBS Create and I don't really have junk food I am on the computer watching the first season of Design Star on Hulu and eating some dried cherries.  I would complain about having to eat the cherries instead of some ice cream or potato chips with french onion dip, but actually the cherries are pretty darn good.

Sounds like Owen settled down for a nap.  That is good news.  He does not seem to be horribly sick, just has a slight fever and he won't eat much.  It seemed best to let him stay home and sleep so he could be well enough for the rest of the activities this week, and hopefully later today.  I sent Mark and the boys off this morning not feeling too sorry for myself.  I had visions of taking a nap and working on some crafting while watching something on TV.  I already told you what happened to the TV and junk food dream, and since Owen hasn't really been sleeping until now the nap thing didn't work out either. 

Now that it's quiet around here I'm left with the decision

Catch up on my sleep?  (I'm horribly deprived)

Or Design Star and crafting? (I'm pretty craft-deprived also)

Which would you choose?

Do you heart mesa?

About a year and a half ago my dear friend Kathryn started a blog called I Heart Mesa.  The blog is a place for people that live here in Mesa to find out what is going on around town and to grow in their love for where they live.  Our family has benefited from it several times by getting information about fun events.  A good six months ago Kathryn asked if I was interested in helping out with the blog and I have been writing (kind of secretly) on there since. Lately we have been working hard improving the blog and are in the process of making it bigger and better.  There will be some special changes starting May 31st.  We are planning a giveaway week, a new layout, and some guest posts by local bloggers. 

 If you heart Mesa too here are some ways you can get involved in helping the I Heart Mesa community:

• Go and grab a button for your blog (The code to copy and paste is on the right side)
• Send emails about things you know of that are going on around town to iheartmesa@gmail.com
• Write up a restaurant review for a favorite place around town.  Email us the review.

this one's for me

Sometimes I wonder whether or not to write on the blog because I don't think anyone really wants to hear about all of the details of our lives. This is one of those posts. And not a single picture.


The boys went with Mark on a church father and sons campout over Friday night. It makes my heart swell to think of these boys spending quality time with their dad. Dallin and Adam got sleeping bags and a tent from their Grandpa Smith for Christmas and they were excited to have a chance to use them. On Wednesday night Mark pulled the tent out and the boys had a practice run sleeping in it overnight in the backyard. It's a 2-man tent so Mark figured he'd not sleep in it that night, but he slept on the couch in the back room with the door open. After they'd been asleep for a couple of hours Adam woke up screaming and crying frantically. Mark ran out to the tent and called out to Adam as he unzipped the door to reassure Adam that Dad was there. When Mark opened the tent door he couldn't see Adam. In the dark he saw just a writhing sleeping bag. Mark reached for it to find Adams feet at the top. Somehow Adam had turned himself completely around and woke up with his head at the foot of the sleeping bag. Traumatic if you're three. We hope he'll laugh about it later.

Friday afternoon Mark and the boys headed off for the campout. Sounds like they had a great time. Mark brought hot dogs and marshmallows to roast over a fire for dinner that night. Apparently that night all of the little boys at the camp were running around in the dark with their flashlights playing lightsabers. The next morning they had some breakfast and played games with everyone, and played in the creek. Then after they packed up the three of them went to Jack in the Box for lunch and drove home. I think Mark's favorite part was listening to Adam sing to himself wherever they went. He said Adam was like Kronk on Emperor's New Groove, singing his own personal soundtrack. Mark loves music so he really likes to see how much Adam is interested in and has a knack for music.

I think I had a pretty successful time with myself and Owen while the others were gone. I got some girl time. I got some Owen time. And I got some me time. Actually I did a bit of cleaning too, so that helps me feel even better about my time. Friday evening I got together with two friends from church who each had husbands and sons gone and a toddler left behind. We had dinner together and worked on some craft and sewing projects. I am trying to get back into doing some creative projects. I feel out of it--I use to really enjoy doing crafts and stuff and I just don't do it anymore. After I got home I stayed up way too late watching a movie all by myself and eating ice cream. I paid for that in the morning because of course Owen was up early. But the two of us had some good time just the two of us. For a while we just sat on the couch together. I let Owen crawl all over me and contort my face with his hands. In exchange he let me snack on his neck and tummy.

Saturday afternoon Mark and the boys got home. We washed the cars and then went to Chik-fil-A because I'd cleaned the house while they were gone and didn’t feel like dirtying the kitchen again. Overall--successful weekend. It's fun to have family time all together but I could get use to splitting up for some one-on-ones from time to time.

Ten Months

Today Owen, you are ten months old.  Ten months is getting quite close to a year which is hard to believe. 

Of course we love and adore you just as much as ever.  You are finally crawling around now, and just barely in the last couple of days really crawling across the house.  All of the sudden you are getting into things and making messes.  It's great actually.  Maybe because you were slower at crawling than your brothers, but I really am enjoying watching you move and even enjoying watching you get into stuff--for now. 

A few days ago I was feeding you in the living room and Dallin walked in.  You turned from what you were doing, saw him, and said, "da-ih" and all that were there--me, Dallin, and Dad--were pretty certain you were trying to say Dallin.  Sometimes I wonder if I am reading too much into things.  And sometimes I wonder if I am not giving you enough credit.

You are tired of baby food already.  Apparently I gave you table foods too fast because that is almost all you will eat now.  Tonight you had spaghetti for dinner and last night you had potatoes with cheese and sour cream. 

That gets us to the next point: you no longer seem to have a dairy allergy.  Yay!  I have really been enjoying myself eating things I haven't been able to eat for a good seven months.  This is a tangent but last weekend for date night Daddy and I watched a movie at home after you were in bed.  I drove down to Nielson's Frozen Custard and got us a quart of vanilla custard.  I was going to get berries in it then I saw butterscotch on the list and decided to try that.  Oh, my, it was awesome.  I definitely have a new favorite.  And fortunately you will someday be able to have some too. 

Monday we are going in for another blood test and hopefully this one will be normal.  Hopefully too you will have gained some weight in the last month.  All the dairy should have helped that one at least. 

You are loved little man, and you are like sunshine around here. 

Mother's Day 2010

Tonight as the boys were getting ready for bed Dallin came and found me to give me a hug and ask me, "How was your happy Mother's Day?"  I told him it was a great day.  Then I grabbed his hand and we walked into the front yard and laid down on the grass to look at the stars for a minute.  Adam and Mark came and joined us then we corralled back inside for the rest of getting ready for bed. 

I was spoiled today.  I got 4 cards from 2 boys, jewelry from the husband.  Actually as I was unwrapping the gift Adam says, "It's a necklace."  And Dallin adds, "Prettier than your other necklaces."  I got massaged, hugged, kissed, and smiled and excited-arm- waved at from the baby.  Dallin and Adam were really sweet today, with a few spontaneous "I love you's" mixed at random throughout the day.  Mark even made muffins the night before since we have early church and don't usually end up with lots of time for breakfast.  And I got a nap.  Sweet.  But most of all, I've got these guys:

I love being a mom.  Yes, I get frustrated and am impatient and short-tempered, but those feelings can always be put in perspective by the absolute joyousness of motherhood.  It's an incredible thing to watch a little person learn something new or experience something for the first time that you don't think twice about.  Children have a way of opening our eyes to the awesomeness that is all around us.  And that feeling of love you have for your child, what's more amazing than that?

As a mom I have some things that I am proud of and other things that I need to improve on.  Sometimes I can be a control-freak for instance (but you knew that, right).  I need to learn to keep my cool and not get so frazzled when my kids aren't doing what I told them to do because I told them to do it for crying out loud.  I need to learn to diffuse conflict better.  I pray for help in being more calm.

But still I can look around my home and at my children and take pride in who I am as a mother.  My kids know that I love them--I am sure of that.  They get home-cooked meals and book-readings and hugs and kisses and a song and back tickle or massage (per request at bedtime) daily.  They get cooking lessons and craft activities and games like Chutes and Ladders or Hide and Seek with mom from time to time and lots of time to play and be kids.  They get lessons in putting laundry away and cleaning windows and being strong helpers by taking groceries in from the car.  They know that going to church and reading scriptures and praying are important parts of my life. 

We're quite happy thank you.  And a shout out to Mark the dad who makes us all complete.

A big day for little O

Yesterday was a big day for Owen.  First, I noticed he had grown a new tooth, on the bottom next to the other two.  Then, he was trying to get something away from him on the tile floor and he outright crawled on hands and knees a foot and a half to get it.  That evening Mark left for a church meeting and Owen waved goodbye.  Oh my, my heart melts just thinking of that little wave.

These last couple of weeks Owen has gotten a lot stronger.  He can sit up easily from lying down.  If he has just the right thing to grab onto he can pull himself up to a shaky standing position.  He can pull himself across the floor army-crawl style.  I think if he gets a little more time on the tile he will crawl more--for some reason he is more likely to be on his hands and knees on the tile instead of the carpet. 

Owen's follow-up visit to the doctor is in about two weeks.  No update yet.  Just hoping and praying that tests results next time come back normal.  Feel free to pray for little O!  I feel like everything will be normal, but if he does end up having high triglycerides already as an infant we could have a lot to worry about in the future (heart disease, diabetes, etc). 

There was one morning when I had just nursed Owen and I was holding him on my lap, he was facing me.  I was just trying to soak him in and love him.  Dallin and Adam both came in the room and squeezed in as close as they could get to me on the couch, talking to their baby brother, stroking his head, grabbing his hands, and saying sweet things.  One of the older boys laughed about something and Owen started laughing.  For a couple of minutes we all took turns laughing and every time Owen would copy.  It's a simple thing but moments like that are the best moments of my life. 

UR BLAWG IS BEEN HACEKD

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LOVE YOU BUNCHES!!!

-Mark