Name Game

My turn, my turn!!!

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)

Fred Silverado

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)

Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)

LMCD

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)

Reid Edwards

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)

MCDLA

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)

The Purple Milk

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)

Donald Jack

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)

Burberry Sixletts

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle names)

Ann Eugene

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)

Kessler Kadoka

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)

Summer Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)

Kiwi Socksie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)

Apple Aspen

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)

The Arguing Storm Tour

I liked this one a lot!!!

Houdini in the family

I don't have a picture of this, but I don't think you wouldn't have wanted to see it anyway.
Dallas was wallering on me today, and I noticed he had that ever-familiar odor that told me he needed to be changed. When he climbed down, I thought "I'll wait just a few more minutes...". But a few minutes proved to be too long, and when I glanced at Dallas next, he had a nasty diaper in his hands. Now, to those of you who've experienced the I'm-becoming-independent-and-I-want-to-do-things-myself stage is very obvious; however, Dallas had managed the diaper removal....without taking the rest of his clothing off. There he stood, overalls, long-sleeve t-shirt, shoes and socks, and completely naked underneath. Josh and I were flabbergasted, I mean, what are the odds, right? Anyway, we quickly stripped him down and put him in the tub, and when he was finished, we were doubly sure that his diaper tabs were firmly in place before putting pjs on him. Just one of those things...
As for the past week, we've done nothing but try to get Dallas over the sniffles/cough, and Josh has been working, and I have been doing the almost-spring-cleaning thing, and finishing up a book series. Not much to tell about I'm afraid, I don't even have my taxes back to gloat about.
Hope ya'll are doin' well, smooches!!!

Pic of the Day #5

By all rights, I shoud have posted this yesterday, but Dallas wouldn't let me touch it. While I was getting ready for Stake Conference (doing my hair, actually), Dallas picked up the iron. I'm not sure you can see it, but he burned from underneath his thumb all the way up his fore finger. It's all blistered over, and today he let me touch his hand so that I could see if it needed any extra attention. It appears to be healing well, though, despite the fact that he's been trying to chew on that particular finger since yesterday.

Swordfight and Naptime

Saturday night, Josh got Dallas all riled up. Dallas was throwing a fit when it was time to get ready for bed, so Josh had a little mock swordfight with him. Actually what happened was Josh and I were fighting with these, and after Josh disarmed me, Dallas picked it up, climbed on the bed and started attacking my poor husband. Josh was forced to defend himself, and I was forced to capture it on film.
After Stake Conference, Dallas wiped out on the couch with me. It was a very nice service, there was a lot of talk about not being offended in church, or to let being offended keep you from attending. The speakers were wonderful, and there were many memories of Gordon B. Hinkley shared. I had ridden with a friend from church, Carla, and she spent the first half hour in the halls with Dallas, letting him run off some energy.

Pic of the Day #4

Apologies to all for not posting a picture every day. We've had the sickies here, and it's all I can do to get food cooked and jeans enough for Josh to wear.

I have not taken a pic from inside my house, because it's trashed from everything else. Instead, I chose to capture the puddle just off the deck. It's been raining for several hours, it's just above freezing, and this looked like a mini-disaster, which is kinda how I felt after this long week.

I Owe my Mother

I received this as an e-mail, and I was going to forward it because it is hilarious, but I decided to post it instead, because I visit here more often:) Enjoy!!

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.

"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.

"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.

"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.

"Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.

"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.

"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY

"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.

"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.

"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.

"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.

"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.

"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.

"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.

"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.

"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.

"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.

"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.

"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.

"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.

"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.

"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.

"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.

"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.

"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.

"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Pic of the Day #3

Once upon a time, there was a brand-new pair of khakis. They were happy and clean, and went to exciting places like Olive Garden, and Church, and Family Dinners. Then one day, the busy man who wore the khakis, took them to work. The End.

Josh came home today looking like this. He told me he'd had to work in the fuel tank of an airplane all day, thus bringing about the ultimate ruining of this once-good-looking pair of pants.

Dallas got a hair cut!!! I spiked it this morning, and here he is, looking all kinds of handsome:)

Zoo Fun

I love going to the zoo. I love seeing the animals, and watching the faces of kids (especially mine) when they make noises, or start running and jumping. Yesterday, I got the chance to go to the Oklahoma City Zoo with Sarah and Eddie, Reno and Miranda, and, of course, the kids! Sarah and I packed a picnic lunch (she did most of it), and we proceeded to have a blast all afternoon.

Dallas and Josilyn leapt onto this turtle at the entrance to the "Island Life" exhibit, which, you will be shocked to hear, featured turtles. There were also some snakes, and bugs and spiders.

Walking along the boardwalk, Dallas decided he was finished with riding in the stroller, and hopped on the back of Sarah's Sit 'n' Stand to ride with Josilyn. It really was too cute to pass up.

Having climbed into the Sit 'n' Stand, Dallas leaned over the front part to see Isaiah as he chowed down on a blottle.

Bug was having a blast on the gorillas, especially this one that was short enough for him to actually climb on. The shadows in this one are a little funny, but Dallas and Josilyn are sitting on top of a huge gorilla statue.

Okay, these next two require explanation. Dallas and Josilyn wanted to stop and play on these bars, they're built in a curve that is about six feet high at the tallest point before going back down. In the first one, Dallas is standing on the second rung up, he'd climbed up by himself, and I thought it warranted a picture. In the second one, he's climbed up over my head, again all by himself. I took more than this, but I didn't want to crowd them, eventually, he reached the point where the bars level out before curving towards the ground, and couldn't get any farthur.

For a change, the weather was nice: warm sun, cool shade, cool breeze. We walked all over, with Dallas and Josilyn taking turns running around and giving us frights. A really neat place this zoo has is called the Oklahoma Trails, and it has exhibits with a lot of the different animals that were once very common in Oklahoma, but that have been displaced by human habitation. On the trail there was a nocturnal animals exhibit, it was done up in black lights. It had owls, bats, certain types of squirrel, and even a few rats.

The bears used to be in a much smaller pen, I was glad to see they'd been moved to a larger habitat.

This elk was just standing at the edge, looking at us, as if we were the attraction, so I was able to get a good picture of him.

This is a pygmy hippo, and he had just been fed, and thought I was going to feed him more. I got some pictures of his open mouth, but it isn't too appetizing, so I've left them out. He just kept coming up out of the water, flapping his ears, and every time I cooed at him, he'd open his mouth real wide and make this weird noise at me. It was really cute.

Although I had the camera with me, it was acting up, and I couldn't take all the pictures I wanted to. Some of the ones I couldn't take, were of Dallas and the fish exhibits. He loves watching fish, and we've considered getting a tank and letting him pick out the fish to go in it. We had a lot of fun, and Sarah and I talked about going to the museum next door to the Zoo, after the "Human Body" exhibit leaves. Poor Dallas fell asleep before we made it out to the truck, and didn't even wake up while I buckled him in. Josilyn spent the ride home telling Isaiah to "shhh" becuase Dallas was sleeping.

Pic of the day #1

Okay, this is embarrassing. There I was making breakfast, and when I went to put away the butter, it slipped and landed in the waffle batter!! AHHH!!! Why do these things happen to me?

Busy Day

Today was jam-packed, full of things to do, people to see, things to laugh about...let's just start at the beginning.
0525--Dallas decided he was finished being in his crib
0530--Dallas decided he was finished being in bed with Mommy and Daddy
0531--Mommy and Dallas get up
0545--In pjs, Mommy and Dallas go to Wal-Mart for donuts (yummmm)
0605--Return home, start coffee (specialty blend with caramel) set out donuts
0630--Daddy rises from the dead
0645--Daddy kisses everyone good-bye, and goes to work to take a test about...whatever it is he does...yeah.
0700--Dallas gets a bath to remove all the donut stickiness
0800--Mommy and Dallas snuggle on the couch and watch "Alice in Wonderland"
0930--Dallas is getting tired, Mommy does dishes
1000--Dallas is really tired, Mommy calls Aunt Melinda for sanity reasons
1030--Dallas is out like a light
1100--Chris and Laurie (in-laws) return from being on the truck for the last 6 weeks
1102--Dallas is awake
1105-1330--Unloading the truck, laughing, talking, eating lunch, laughing, talking...
1335-1515--Mommy does laundry while Dallas plays
1530-1730--Dallas naps, Mommy does more laundry and dishes
1755--Daddy finally gets home (passed test with an 87%)
1830--Dinner is almost ready, Chris and Laurie get back from shopping for a new truck
1900--Dinner is still almost ready, everyone talking and laughing, Dallas wreaking havoc
2000--Ate dinner with Chris and Laurie, Sarah comes over
2015-2035--Sarah and Mommy act like little girls again while baking cookies (note: Josh came in and tried to steal some, we sent him away)
2035-2110--Talked, laughed, missed an opportunity to take a picture of Dallas and Isaiah playing on the floor
2110--Everyone goes home to go to bed
2115--Dallas and Josh are in bed, Mommy blogging
And now, here I am, exhausted, but with a clean kitchen and an empty laundry room, with the dulcet tones of snoring coming from the bedroom. This is the best time for blogging, because there's no one to bother me, this is my chance to get caught up on everyone else, and to let out the exciting day. (sigh)
Yup, I'm done. Happy Blogging!!!

Oklahoma Weather/Dallas Update

Okay, here's the deal: I'll start with the weird weather, then tell all about Dallas' little exploits.

Thursday morning we woke up to this lovely sight. It was also the day before Dallas was to go into surgery, so we thought he might want to play in the snow before being unable to do anything except be a vegetable.

As you can see, Dallas really enjoyed our (sort of) sledding adventure.

This is on Monday, when the temperature went up as high as 80 degrees. Dallas mananged to escape from me after taking off his clothes and diaper when he spilled something that smelled horrible on them. He decided he was going to Grandma's, even though there wasn't anyone there.

Here we are, on Wednesday morning. I took the picture in the shade because the sun made it difficult to see the light snow.That concludes our strange weather report, and on we go to see how Dallas is doing....

This is what Dallas' incisions looked like on Saturday (there are actually two, not just one there). He was about to get his sponge bath, and I decided to get a picture to remind me how scared I was about them cutting a chunk out my baby.

Monday (the really warm day this week), Dallas chose to play minus a shoe, and plus some smelly oil. Thus the reason for the streaker photo earlier.

While I cleaned a portion of the garage, and Josh worked on our taxes, this is what our brilliant child did. Although originally scattered throughout the living room, I collected the pieces of our emergency flashlight for a picture. As you can see, he managed to get the entire thing into all its seperate parts, including the little plastic cover to protect the bulb, though this is hard to see in the photo. Nothing was broken, and after putting it back together, it worked perfectly.

Dallas was so full of energy, I wish I had a better camera to catch all his antics, but I caught this one only becuase he stopped for a couple minute's breather.

On a side note, Josh and I were thinking of trying to do something special for Valentine's Day, but we weren't sure if we wanted to do the whole Special Dinner, or go to a movie, or watch a movie in... We haven't done anything special for V-Day, ever, so we wanted to at least try something different...any suggestions???

I Been Tagged...

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning


B. Each player answers the questions about themselves


C. At the end of the post, the player tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they are tagged


10 years ago I was . . .

Trying to get used to the idea that my oldest sister had just gotten married.


5 things on my to do list today . . .

1. Update my family on Dallas' recovery

2. Do those darn dishes

3. Take all the trash out to the dumpster

4. Make Josh's favorite meatloaf

5. Have fun with Sarah in town


4 Things I would do if I became a billionare...

-Get out of debt

-Travel around the country in an RV

-Set up funds for college

-Give lots away to medical research


3 of my bad habits are. . .

1. reading when there's too much else to do

2. sleeping in way too late

3. leaving clothes in the washer


5 places I have lived...

-Edwards, CA

-Nampa, ID

-Ellsworth, SD

-Yukon, OK

-Guthrie, OK


5 jobs I have had...

1. Dishwasher at Quick-Wok

2. Server at JJ North's

3. Teacher at a daycare

4. Deli-girl

5. Donut pusher at Walmart


4 Things most people don't know about me...

-I really do own some pink clothes

-I spent hours as a teenager teaching myself to have better handwriting, because my mom told me once that she couldn't read what I'd wriitten.

-I have kept every single piece of jewlry ever given to me.

-I'm not afraid of becoming my mother



OK, now who's it?
You have been tagged. . .

Calista

Sarah Hare

Esther

Michelle

I have a correction to make on the post about how fast Dallas might recover.

This is Dallas at around 10:30, he'd just gotten the soft puppy from his Aunt Sarah, and he actually fell asleep soon after. You can definately see how tired he is just from his laying there while I took a picture.

Here is Dallas at around 11:30, a sisiter fron our ward had brought us dinner (frito and chili pie), and he decided he wanted the Fritos. He ate a bunch of them, without throwing up, and started to get sleepy again, so I thought it was time for pjs and bed.

Boy was I ever wrong!! Dallas was up and running, yes running, until nearly 1 o'clock. I finally sat him down on my lap and we played with the Little Leaps, until his day could catch up with him. He went down quietly after that and I was able to get a few hours of sleep before he ran out of bottle and needed another to give me a few more.

Well, there you have it! As everyone can see, he's doing great: small amount of pain, large appetite, drinking lots of fluids (he had a very wet diaper last night), and trying hard to make up for the time he lost yesterday being asleep so much.

Okay here are the tags I promised to post, enjoy!

4 Jobs You've Had:
1. MOMMY
2. Dishwasher
3. Donut girl (walmart)
4. Teacher (daycare)

4 Places I've Lived:

1. EAFB, CA
2. Kuna, ID
3. EAFB, SD
4. Guthrie, OK

4 T.V. Shows You Love to Watch

1. Law and Order
2. CSI
3. CMT
4. House

4 Places You've Been on Vacation

1. Disneyland
2. Texas
3. Mount Rushmore
4. Florida

4 Websites You Visit Daily

1. Yahoo!
2. Google
3. Blogger
4. MSN

4 of Your Favorite Foods:

1. Chocolate (duh)
2. Roast beef and potatoes
3. BBQ
4. Sticky Chicken

4 Places I'd Rather Be:

1. In a hot tub
2. With my parents in UT
3. In bed
4. Cold Stone

And another one...

Get to Know My Sweetheart
What is his name? Josh
How long have you been together? 2 1/2
How long did you date? 5 years, off and on
How old his he? 21
Who eats more? Me
Who said "I love you" first? He did, way back in 7th grade
Who is taller? Josh, just by a few inches
Who is smarter? Him
Who does the laundry? I do, for the sake of my wardrobe
Who pays the bills? He does
Who sleeps on the right side? We switch back and forth everytime the bed moves, he likes being close to the door.
Who mows the lawn? We both ride the mower
Who cooks dinner? I do
Who drives? He does, mostly, unless he's too tired (not often)
Who is more stubborn? That one's a toss up
Who kissed who first? Josh kissed me first when we first started dating, but when he showed up after a few years absence I kissed him first.
Who asked who out first? He asked me
Who proposed? Josh, down by the creek on a sunny afternoon
Who is more sensitive? I am
Who has more siblings? Me (I have 5, Josh has 1)
Who wears the pants in the family? We both do, just on different subjects

I tag whoever wants to share their story!

Okay, I plan on doing the tags at the end, mostly because everyone wants to know what's going on...so here's the scoop.

While we were moving into our new/old/new apartment, Dallas started crying really hard and sitting on the floor not doing anything. I thought he needed a diaper change (he hates having a dirty diaper), but Josh and I were moving a hot tub, so I kept talking to him, assuring him we were almost done, until I was able to pick him up again. When I changed him, he was very dirty, so I put him in the bath tub. He didn't much like that, for a change, so I took him out. He promptly threw up on me, so he went back into the tub. He'd calmed down so I pulled him back out and laid him down to put a fresh diaper on, and that's when I noticed a bulge under his skin right next to where his right leg joins the body. It was about the size of a small sausage link, and was i little hard to the touch. Realizing that this could not be a good thing, I wrapped him up and took him to Josh, who pointed out there was nothing to be done for the moment, so we went to bed. It was gone in the morning, but I scheduled an appointment anyway.
Dr. Kimberly Edgmon told us he had a hernia, and that he was a little sick with the rotovirus. With some live cultures the rotovirus cleared up quickly, and she sent refferred us to a pediatric surgeon name Dr. Mantor. We went to a pre-op appointment with Dr. Mantor, and he told us that Dallas had two hernias, one in his lower right side, and one at his navel. He also told us that Dallas might have another one on his left side, and that he would be using a laprascope through the navel hernia to check the left side, just in case.

Now, an inguanal hernia is when the membrane that holds in the organs gets pulled down along with the reproductive organs when they move down into the lower abdomen, leaving a gap. The intestines then run the risk of sliding through this hole and getting stuck, kinking the intestines and causing a great deal of vomiting, because the body can't rid itself of its waste. Below I've drawn a rather crude image of it to make it a little more clear.

Last night, at seven o'clock, Dallas was given a blessing by two men of our ward here, in it he was promised successful surgery and a swift recovery. This morning, Josh Dallas and I went to the hospital for Dallas' surgery. After checking in, we only had to wait about 30 min, before they called his name. In pre-op, we dressed him down into little yellow scrubs while we got the 411 from the anesthesiologist. Then Josh took Dallas to be gassed and get an IV, I admit I couldn't do it, the doctor told us that it would be normal for Dallas to fight, for his eyes to roll back in his head, and that we would have to hold him down. I just couldn't do it, so I waited in the recovery room for Josh to come back without him.
An hour and a half later, our name was called, Dr. Mantor came out and told us that there had been another henria on his left side, and that everything had gone beautifully. Twenty minutes after that we were able to see Dallas in the recovery ward. He woke up soon after, and by noon we were on our way home. Dallas has now had quite a bit of sleep, but he's laying behind me on the couch, just resting. He has two incisions on his lower abdomen, and a bandage over his belly button. We've been told he'll be back to running and playing in a couple days, and that the bandage will come off then too. Unfortunately, Dallas won't be allowed to take a full bath for a couple of weeks, but he'll be able to take a shower after the bandage falls off.

The camera got left in the car while we were inside, so there aren't any pictures of him in his yellow scrubs, flirting with the nurses, and sitting up playing after waking up; sorry. We'll be taking some here in the next several days, of Dallas getting back to his old self. I'll also post the pictures I took of him playing in the snow yesterday, so there will be more stuff to be seen very soon. I hope I've explained things well enough for those who were shocked to hear about him going into surgery, and not bored those of you who were aware of all the facts. We appreciate all the prayers, both before and during this difficult time.