Las Vegas

We spent the 26th-28th in Las Vegas with Devin's parents. It was a nice trip because we were able to visit with them and the kids adore their grandparents...well Contessa & Collin anyway! Cameron doesn't get to see them very often, so he doesn't quite know who they are. He was okay with them if they kept their distance, but didn't appreciate being picked up! Eventually, he will realize how great they are and want to be around them more.

The kids loved having adjoining rooms, since we left the doors open so they could go in their room when they wanted. This also helped Cameron as he didn't have to stay in their room, he would sneak in and then leave as he wanted to.

We do love our home though, so it was nice to get back here. Now I am spending the day cleaning so Scott & Miss can have a fairly decent place to stay tonight. And naturally, I have a bad cold so that is making it difficult to work! But, that is my life, and I love it.

Happy Birthday Devin!

Well, the head of this household turns 30 today! Unfortunately, he does have to work, so that stinks. We are going to get a cake to celebrate Collin's & Devin's birthday tonight though. I am hoping to also make a great dinner to, but we will see how well that works!

Kiva.org

If anyone is interested, this site kiva.org is a really neat website. They are a non-profit loan place. You make a "loan" of $25 or more to a specific person or group in a 3rd world country. You can look at why they are requesting the loan (all are for business purposes) and what the payment terms are, if they have already had loans and the status of those loans. After the loan is repaid, you get your money back.

It is a really cool thing, and since the loan amount you are giving is small, I consider it more of a donation than a loan, although we should be repaid. You even get email updates about how the money was used and how the business is running. The non-profit does not keep any of the loan money!

If anyone is interested in helping out, check it out. There are several businesses waiting for loans.

What Holiday are You?

Well, I saw this fun little quiz and just KNEW I was going to be either Christmas or Thanksgiving...guess not! What holiday are you?

You Are Easter

You are an optimistic, hopeful, and genuinely sweet person. Sensitive and affectionate, you are easily touched. You love nature, animals, and anything cute or cuddly. For you, every day is a new chance - no matter what happened yesterday. What makes you celebrate: Almost anything. You love most holidays and celebrations. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The peacemaker. You can prevent any squabbles that might break out. On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Remember to include everyone

What Holiday Are You?

We gave blood

Someone in our stake has luekemia and one of his friends decided to do a blood drive as his eagle project yesterday. So, we went down there to donate blood for my first time and the first time since Devin's mission. Devin was told in the past that he couldn't since he lived in the UK during his mission, and mad cow disease can be passed through blood. So I did some research and it turns out he can because he arrived in March 1997 and the cut off was Dec 1996.

My donation went well, I was done in about 10 minutes. Devin's didn't. He ended up having a collapsed vein and after several of the phlebotomists dug around his veins for a while, they gave up. He was able to donate about 1/2 the usual amount. So his will be used for babies instead of adults. (yeah, a baby hero!)

Poor man has a very bruised and sore arm. I don't think he will ever donate again! I don't blame him though, I wouldn't either.

What kind of Christmas tree are you?

This was a cute thing to do. I am TRYING to get into the Christmas spirit.

You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

This was really fun, hope you all enjoy it and let me know what kind you are!

You Are a Christmas Sweater!

Over the top, colorful, and totally flashy. You're not afraid to be a little tacky.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

I lost weight!

Okay, so some of you know that I was having strange reactions to the IUD. I had gained quite a bit of weight, which they claim the IUD does not cause. WELL, I had it removed on the 7thm and I have already lost 5 pounds, without trying! In fact, I have been enjoying way too many sweets the last few weeks. SO THERE! It does cause weight gain!

Bad time for Grandmas in our family!

Well, my grandma has been in the hospital and was transfered to a nursing home temperarily. Last night, we also discovered that Devin's grammy temperarily died. She was having dialysis, so they were able to bring her back quickly and she is now on a ventilator. We are hoping she recovers quickly. So yeah, bad time for grandmas.

UPDATE- Poor Baby

I took Cameron back off the milk and put him on soy milk again and the rash cleared up. So I guess my little guy is still lactose intolerant. He is doing better with the ear infection, he doesn't seem like he is in pain anymore. He isn't taking anitbiotics either now. They don't always give antibiotics for ear infections anymore, but this one was really bad. Luckuly he is back to his normal happy self!

Cameron has been taking antibiotics for his ear infection. The medicine is giving him a horrible diaper rash. Poor baby just screams and cries quite a bit right now from the pain. I feel so bad for him...and me! I am hoping that the pain goes away soon for him, I can't stand seeing him suffer. My house is starting to suffer too!

New wall color

Okay, so if you have noticed some of my pictures, we have wood paneling EVERYWHERE! We don't live in a cabin, so I don't want it to look like it! Besides, cabins are usually nicer wood, not this horrible paneling. I HATE it. We are trying to pick a new paint color for the living area and for our room. Contessa has a pink room (naturally!) and Collin wants a red room (his favorite color). Our bathroom is a light blue/purple.

Our kitchen has hideous wallpaper and orange countertops (seriously, who would choose orange countertops???) Our livingroom, diningroom, computer room, kitchen are all connected and completely covered in the paneling. My room is 1/2 paneling and 1/2white.

So what colors do all of you suggest? I have brown couches and medium brown wood tables/entertainment center. Devin wants white - I say NO WAY! I was thinking a brown, but I don't want too much brown and with my furniture I think it would really be boring. So I also looked at blues & greens, but just can't decide. For my room, I was thinking a deep color, but again can't decide what color.

Oh, and also the house color. Our house is a horrible yellow with white trim. I really want something different. Yellow is fine, but this yellow is just so gross!

Anyone have ideas?

Snowy Monday

I should put up some pictures, but I am being lazy! We came home yesterday to several inches of snow. It is cold (the high was 18 degrees!) and cloudy. I had a ton of errands to run, so naturally Cameron was sick! He has had a temperature since Saturday night and was pulling on his ear. I knew it was an ear infection, so I finally just went to the clinic and one of the doctor's checked him. Yep, ear infection.

The doctor is concerned about the size of his head compared to the rest of his body. He hasn't gained more than a few ounces in almost 3 months either. They think he might have chronic ear infections, we just aren't aware of all of them, since teething can cause the same symptoms. So we are suppose to go in every 3 weeks to have it checked. I just hope its not really true, I don't want to have to have tubes in his ears, poor kid has already gone through enough!

I also over did it this weekend, so I am really sore. and my pants sit right on one of the incisions, so that hurts. I have had to keep my pants unbuttoned so it won't hurt so much. One of my friends laughed about that and said it looked like I was pregnant because they were unbuttoned, so I am just waiting for the rumors to start!

My surgery

Well, I went in at 6 am (well really 5am my time, since we were in Salt Lake and we are an hour behind them!) and was prepped for my hysteroscopy and possible laparoscopy. The anestesiologist came in and put my iv in, which didn't hurt AT ALL! I was pretty impressed, usually they hurt at least a little, but most of the time alot.

So anyway, they take me to the OR just before 7:30 am. I don't actually remember anything, not even getting onto the OR bed. I remember them fooling with the IV bag as we entered to OR, so they must have given me the sleeping meds then.

They were hoping to be able to just do the scope, but ended up having to do the laparoscopy. So I have a 1 inch incision in my belly button (or somewhere right around it, I can't really tell, and a 1/2 inch incision on my left side. Iam pretty sore today, but I only had to take 1ibuprofen yesterday. So I was pretty happy about that. I think I will need to take another today though.

Devin did not do well with the kids. He was very frustrated by the time he got to the room with them. I guess breakfast went well, but as soon as they go to the hospital, things went down hill. So he took a nap as soon as we got back to the hotel at 9:30am.

So anyway that is how I am doing now. It looks like I should be recovered completely in about a week or so. Hopefully sooner, but you never know. I can at least walk pretty well, and that is important!

Something Different - Bridal Showers

I was thinking about my bridal shower today, I don't know why. Anyway, almost all bridal showers I have been to have been informal and just basically a big gathering of friends. I remember Autumn's bridal shower (a little, I was only 10!) had a theme and each guest was given certain invitations with a certain type of gift to get. There were things such as kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc. I don't remember all of them, but it was an interesting idea.

So here are a few ideas I had, if I were to have another bridal shower (I won't, but maybe I will host another someday!):

- An advise shower - the bridal shower invitations would include a card for a piece of wisdom for the new couple. They would be gathered at the shower and put into an album with pictures of the attendees.

- A Recipe for Sucess shower - The wedding shower invites would have a recipe card attached that you include your favorite recipe to share with the bride. They could be put into a file folder, or a cool recipe scrapbook. I REALLY want to do this!

- A Luau - wouldn't that just a blast?

- A Scrapbook party - IF the person was a scrapbooker or a photographer, I think it would be so fun to hold a scrapbook shower. Take pictures of the guests & gifts, then scrapbook them together (would need a photo printer!)

Does anyone else have ideas to add? We could even make come of these into baby shower ideas!

Our fashionable son, Collin

It has been really cold the last few days. We expected quite a bit of snow, but only got trace during the night time once. Well, Collin has been wanting to wear his snow boots really bad. So he put them on...without clothes. Oh, my silly little man, what are we going to do with you?

Contessa loves the camera.

I had taken the camera out of my purse while looking for something, so Contessa asked me to snap a few pictures. She was sick this day, so her smile isn't the best, but she tried!

Kid's don't need toys, they need crockpots...

Counter space is limited in our home, and we are still working on shelving issues. So my crockpot was on the floor in front of our shelves for a few days. Cameron normally just plays with the cans, but one day he discovered the crockpot...and climbed in. I had to take a few pictures it was too cute. He sat in it for about 20 minutes before moving on...to the cans.

Christmas Time!

Since my kids have been thinking about Christmas for several months, we started watching Christmas movies. They liked the Grinch, and last year I bought them stuffed animals. They asked me to take a picture so everyone can see. So here it is. You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch!

I'm walking now!

If you remember, I took a video of Cameron's first real steps...months ago. Just this week he has decided to walk most of the time. So here are a few pictures of him walking to me, since I had a camera. He is such a ham.

Future Computer Expert!

Cameron is fasinated with the computer. He climbs up ONTO it (usually onto the keyboard, sometimes the monitor) or tries to play it. He spends quite a while sitting there banging on the keyboard.