I Love Conference!

I've been a little uninspired concerning my blog lately, but luckily this weekend gives me something great to blog about. Conference. I love General Conference! When I was younger it always seemed like the two hours would drag by, and then we'd have to sit still for another session in the afternoon. But as I got older, I started to look forward to General Conference each Spring and Fall, and now I thoroughly enjoy it. This morning I noticed that our little family was in the living room, listening to the Lord's servants, (at least two of us were) and it made me so happy that we have this opportunity.

My favorite talk was the one by Elder Dallin H. Oaks about being good, better, and best. I loved how he talked about so many things: internet, movies, children's activities, careers. There is so much out there that we can fill our time with that isn't necessarily bad, but doesn't help us progress. It's making me stand more firm in our goal to always have family dinner together, no matter how crazy things get as the kids get older. Or I guess we're not supposed to let them get that crazy. We've slacked on scripture study this last week, and we need to get back on track. Also, I usually check my email and blogs each morning after I get the kids their breakfast. It would be so much better for me to sit with them instead of at the computer. I also like when he said that our youth are being entertained to (spiritual) death. That is so true, but it's not just the youth. Our whole society nowadays is centered around "me" and what makes "me" happy. It's pathetic, and it's got to change.

Anyway, I deem the 177th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a huge success. Is it ever not a success? Personally, I loved it.

Who's Who On Carrie's Burden

I should probably start off by explaining why my blog is called "Carrie's Burden." (Yeah, I probably should have done that a long time ago.) When Brian and I were dating at BYU, he had a huge duffel bag that he bought while he was in Germany. He was showing it to me, and wanted to demonstrate how big and sturdy it was. "I'm sure you could fit in it," he said, and soon I was in the bag, strapped to his back, with my little head poking out the top. His roommates took some pictures of us, and they told me to look sad, 'cause I was stuck in a bag. Brian strutted around the apartment (only the front rooms, of course) hollering, "Carrie, the burden!"

He still likes calling me that. He likes the double meaning that either I am the burden, or just that I have to carry the burden. So when I was starting my blog, he suggested that I call it "Carrie, the Burden." I said a quick, "No thanks," and altered the name for my own use. So I suppose that the burden falls upon me to chronicle the crazy events in the Jacks household, which I don't mind at all.

And just in case anyone is wondering who the people are that comment on my blog, I went back a few posts to check out my commenters, and I'll tell you who everyone is. (They're in the order that I found them. If I've spelled your childrens' or husbands' names wrong, I'm sorry.)

Tonya: Tonya is a super sweet lady in my ward who emailed me asking how to start a blog. She told me she was Blake's mom, and that he was in Alyssa's Primary class. Well, I knew who Blake was, but I had never seen his mother. So it took me a few posts and watching in sacrament meeting to figure out who she is. On a great side note, her husband was just recently baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Yea!

Shaille': Shaille' is Casey Claypool's wife, and Casey goes to school with Brian. We love the Claypools! They usually look after our cat when we're out of town. Last time Casey called to let us know that the cat had pooped all over the living room, and from the way he was reluctant to bring up the bad news, we thought she had died. Appparently she missed us a bunch, and we've decided that from now on she's going on vacation with us. Shaille' is a super scrap-booker, and I would love to see the memory books she made for her grandparents. I need to have her over sometime so she can show me how to use the Scrapbook Factory program...

Brooklet: Brooklet is one of my best friends, Brooke, who I met in the first grade. She was in Mrs. Woodcock's class, and I was in Mrs. Rodriguez's class. We went in to her class one day to sing songs with Mrs. Woodcock and her guitar, and I noticed that Brooke had the coolest Crayola Caddy in her desk that I had ever seen. I don't remember exactly how we became friends, but it turned out that she was a member of the church also, and we've been friends ever since. One of my favorite memories of Brooke is when we went to San Francisco for choir. Brooke is always so fun to be around, but I just remember that trip as one of the times she was at her best. I've got pictures of her sticking out her belly, trying to be fat, pretending to be a bum sleeping on a park bench, etc. Brooke's husband is going to dentistry school in Pittsburg, so she's way far away right now. She has two beautiful little girls, Claire and Morgan.

Kimberly Nicole: Kimmy is my little sister, who is currently attending Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington. She's the youngest in our family, so instead of having the normal two parents that everyone else has, she's got an extra five people telling her what to do and how to live her life. She takes it rather well. It's already pretty cold in Cheney, so she's been eating soup a lot. She called me last night looking for some fun things to do, because she and her roommates were bored. So Kim, did you dye and cut your hair last night? I'm dying (okay, pun wasn't intended, but it's there all the same) to know!

Hawkins Family: The representative from the Hawkins family that comments on my blog is Cali. Her husband, Nate, goes to school with Brian. We felt pretty bad when we got our cat, because her name is Callie, too. We debated for a while whether we should change it or not, because we didn't want Cali to think we named a cat after her. From everything I've seen, Cali is quiet, and patient, and just generally nice in every way. She mentions sometimes that she gets upset with the kids or has bad mothering days, but frankly, it's hard to believe.

Kim: The easiest way to explain Kim is that she's Bryant's mom. I saw Kim at school activities, and watched her perform in the Joseph Smith play the stake put on last year (she was Joseph's mom), but I never really met her until we decided to have a preschool together. Alyssa, Bryant, and a little girl named Alicia were our pupils and the mom's all took turns teaching each week. Kim played on a coed softball team for church, and she was great! When our ward played against her team, I purposefully wore a skirt so I wouldn't have to play (I HATE playing softball), but they needed another girl, so I sat out by first base looking all girly and wimpy while Kim was hitting, catching and throwing balls as well as the guys. Pretty cool!

Katie B.C.: Katie B.C., otherwise known as Katie Bleazard Chen, is also one of my best friends from home. I met Katie in the sixth grade, in Mrs. Watkins class. It was the second day of school and I had forgotten my get-to-know-you assignment at home. I thought the teacher would think I was a flake and a horrible student, but it turned out okay. We needed to partner up, and even though I didn't have my paper sack with me, I partnered with Katie anyway. She was wearing a pretty cool clip in her hair. Anyway, turned out she was a member, so we had even more in common than we thought. Mrs. Watkins always commented that we did everything together. Then in high school, when she would randomly see us, she was surprised that we were still such good friends. Wouldn't she be even more surprised to know that we went to Disneyland together last spring, fifteen years after meeting each other? Katie's husband just graduated (or is about to graduate?) from medical school in California and they'll take off to Minnesota for residency next June. She has the cutest little girl, and she's also thinking of getting her doctorate in food science? By the way, Katie is Jason Bleazard's cousin, who happens to be a first year at Pacific University College of Optometry. (Wow, Kate, looks like you got the longest write-up.)

Shells: Shells is Michelle. I don't know her married name, but she used to be a Harker, making her Brooklet's older sister. My favorite thing to do when I went to the Harker's house growing up (besides hanging out with Brooke) was to watch all the sisters clean up the kitchen and quote the movie "Clue." They could recite the whole movie! I also love how the Harkers are incredibly quick in a conversation. I remember one time we were sitting in the kitchen, talking and one of them said (it was either Michelle or Monica) "Speaking of bringing things up...Lance, could you go get the such-and-such from downstairs?" My older brother had a huge crush on Michelle when he got home from his mission, but apparently she thought he was a nerd or something, because she wasn't all that interested. She's married now, just moved somewhere, and has a cute little boy. (Yeah, Michelle, I spy on your blog.)

Camille: Camille is also the wife of one of the students here at Pacific. The first time I met Camille was when we had a game party at our house during our first year. I remember thinking that she and Kevin were hilarious. She's got two cute little girls, Macey and Allyson. Allyson is only a few months old, and Camille is known by a few women in the Council Creek ward (she's in second ward) as the lady who looks like a super model while pregnant. I was in a presidency meeting for Young Women's and all the pregnant ladies were talking about getting fat and stuff and someone said, "...that lady in second ward who looks great. She's so skinny and she just has this cute big belly." I knew she meant Camille, because the truth is, she did look great. Lucky.

Anonymous: Anonymous is my older sister, Christina. She used to blog, but now she doesn't, although she does check mine sometimes, especially when I call her and tell her to look at the pictures. Christina is the person I call when I'm having a lousy day, or when I just want someone to talk to while cleaning my house. I call her for advice, for support, etc. I can always count on Christina to be furious at something when I am furious, or to at least understand that I am furious. She's the oldest in our family, and has done a great job of setting the example of how to be a good person. She has a strong testimony and has always made the right choices. She has six of the most well-behaved children I have ever met. Every time I've been pregnant, she's been pregnant with me, and it's so nice to call someone who knows just how rotten you feel, or who has great advice.

Happy Birthday, Dear Brian!

Happy birthday to you!

Here's a few of the great accomplishments from Brian's 31st year of life:
Passing the 21-point during the dreaded second year of optometry
Catching a ton of fish in Alaska
Passing National Optometry Boards

Here's to another great year, Brian! We love you!

New Hairstyle

I called my sister Kim to tell her I just got back form getting my haircut, and she said, "You have to take a picture and put it on your blog!" So here it is. I love having short hair, because when it's long I always end up pulling it back into a pony tail and I feel like a "frumpy mom." But when it's short, I don't have to do too much, and I most always feel cute. Oh, and I bought my first tub of dry wax, which is the most sophisticated hair product I've ever used.

Note: I am not smiling, because every time I tried smiling I looked like Goofey. (My nose is swollen from all the nose blowing I've done in the last week.) So I just held up the camera and clicked.

Choices, Choices, Choices

Those of you who have heard how my delivery went with Alyssa, know that things did not go incredibly well. I labored for 22 hours and ended up with a c-section. Afterward, when I asked the certified nurse midwife if he thought I would be able to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) in the future, he said that I could try, but that he thought it wasn't very likely. Fast forward to the next time I was pregnant, after asking the midwife what she thought about a VBAC, she did an internal exam and said that my pelvic opening was more funnel-shaped than most ladies' and she didn't think it very likely.

So when I got pregnant with Ethan, I figured that since two different midwives (aren't they supposed to be pro natural?) said that a VBAC wouldn't work for me, I went ahead and scheduled a c-section. Everything went great, the recovery wasn't too bad, and I healed extremely fast (for a section) and extremely well.

But now that I'm pregnant again, and nearing the end, I just keep thinking that it would be so nice to have a vaginal delivery and to not have to worry about the recovery from a c-section. I just wish that I would have thought this before Ethan came around, because now I have the history of two c-sections behind me, instead of just one.

So I've been talking with my sister (who just had her sixth baby, the last five being VBAC's) and looking things up online, and I feel pretty positive about the whole thing. The only thing is, I haven't been able to talk with my doctor about it yet. I tried to get in for a quick, just-talk-to-you appointment, but they didn't have any openings until two days before my next appointment, anyway. So Brian and I will go in on Friday afternoon to see what he thinks.

Priceless

Scrapbook Factory Deluxe
from Office Depot $43.99

Fairy wings for Alyssa's Halloween costume
Crib sheets
Nursing sports bra
Peanut butter M&M's and a cheap computer game
Dishpan tub to put Alyssa's school projects in
Gloworm for Baby's first Santa present
Puffs Tissues, with lotion
Birthday present for Brian
Crib mattress pad
Softsoap refill (milk and honey)
from Target $97.86

Fairy costume pattern, on sale
Snickers bar
16-month wall calendar
from JoAnn Fabrics $3.78

Very pink journal for Alyssa's Christmas present
Three children's books
from Ross $13.96

Dentist appointment with no cavities

Three hours of aimlessly wandering around
the stores of Hillsboro completely by myself
Absolutely Priceless

* * *

It was so nice to get out and run errands all by myself this afternoon, but I found that after a while I started to miss the kids and Brian. Even though they make things more difficult (usually the kids, not Brian), they make things fun.

Yo Ho, and a Bottle of...Cider

The Jacks family had been stricken by the plague. Yes, we've gotten the horrible, awful cold that's going around. Yesterday I lived off of Thera-Flu, and I don't know if kids are supposed to have it or not, but Ethan took a couple sips of it, and he actually liked it. So for lunch today, Brian got the idea to give him some hot (okay, warm, he's not even two) apple cider to see if it would soothe his throat. He loved it! Now, my kids are drinkers. They love water and milk, and they drink a lot of it, but they're not the type to take their cups from the table. But once lunch was over, Ethan would not part with his cider. He took it with him to drink on the walk to Alyssa's school, and he kept trying to drink it when it was gone. We gave him another cup of it for dinner, because he didn't have much of an appetite, and he wanted to take the leftovers to bed with him. I wouldn't be surprised if all of Forest Grove heard the wails coming from our house when I took the cup away from him. That kids loves his cider.

Ta Da!

I just have to take a moment to brag about the beautiful bumper pad I made for the new crib. Brian wanted green, and I wanted something non-babyish, since it would be going in our bedroom. I had an idea of what I wanted when I started, but it turned out even better than I had imagined. Now we just need a baby and a blanket in there to soften things up a bit.

Latest Project

Ethan is famous in our family for ripping off his bibs half-way through a meal, so I copied a bib that Brian used when he was little to make bibs for Ethan and our new baby. I just used random fabric I had in my scrap tub in the garage, and they turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. The flower ones are for my niece, Eliza.

Survivor

When I went outside this morning to move the toys out of the rain, I found one little flower that survived the heat spell that happened when we were out of town (and therefore not watering) for a month and a half this summer. It's a fighter!

What in the World is Wrong With My Children?

5:45. 5:45! That's when Alyssa showed up in our room, asking if it was morning time. Brian growled, "It's WAY too early," and turned over, leaving me to escort her back to bed without waking Ethan. She told me that her wreath, the 18-inch wreath covered in purple ribbon and white Christmas lights that I had recently made her, wasn't working. She was still scared. This wreath brightens the room enough for her to read books before she falls asleep at night. It creates no shadows for monsters or bad guys to hide in. It casts a cheery glow all around a pink bedroom, just so a certain little five-year-old doesn't get afraid when she wakes up in the middle of the night. How could she be scared?

I assume that after I tucked her into bed, that she actually lay down for a while and kept quiet, because I didn't hear her until after Ethan woke up at 6:15. 6:15! What does a one and a half year old have going on during the day that he has to wake up so early? I heard him holler, then I heard him giggle, then I heard Alyssa singing the beaver song she learned in kindergarten, and the two of them laughed hysterically at each other for the next forty-five minutes.

It was actually really cute. I didn't mind. The part that bothers me about the kids waking up so early is that Alyssa comes into our room every five minutes to see if it's time to get up yet. And each time I tell her that I will come and get her when it's time. I think we're going to buy them a clock. We'll put it in their bedroom, and tell Alyssa that if the first number isn't a 7, then please stay in bed.

I don't mind getting up early; I actually enjoy it. When I'm not pregnant I wake up at 5:30 to read scriptures and go to the gym, and it feels great. But I just don't want to get out of bed before 7:00 when I'm pregnant. And there's something about getting up early for your own reasons that's so much better than getting up early and starting your work-day (because I'm a stay-at-home-mom) the second you wake up. Man, if I was getting paid, I could clock in the moment I opened my eyes and clock out just before brushing my teeth. And I would be rich.

So we've tried everything: pushing bed-time back an hour, taking them to the zoo to wear them out ( okay, that's not why we went to the zoo, but you'd think it would work), asking them to sleep-in in hopes that it will have some effect. Nothing works. And they're waking up earlier each day!

Well, maybe the clock thing will work, but if you find me blogging at 4 in the morning next week, you'll know that it hasn't.

I'm Your Weather Man

Today the weather is overcast and slightly chilly. Fall is coming, and it's beautiful!

Party Animals

After living just outside of Portland for three years and going to countless 2-Dollar Tuesdays, we've finally bought a membership to the Oregon Zoo. So now we don't have to wait until the second Tuesday of each month to enjoy the animals! Here's some pictures from today's trip (2-Dollar Tuesday, I know, but it's what started this whole thing):

Alyssa and Ethan in an eagle's nest

Alyssa posing on a rock

Ethan just climbed through the log. He did it four times!

Sitting on a tractor, obviously

Here's Ethan lovin' the "mister"

The lorakeets are our favorite part of the zoo

Brian made a lot of friends today

Z Z Z z z zzz

I am a co-sleeper. I didn't really plan on being one, and Brian and I never even discussed it before Alyssa was born, but once she arrived we found that we just couldn't put her down at night. She was like a glorified pet that you beg your mother to let you have sleep in your bed. Except that she didn't have fleas. So while we were in the hospital, Alyssa spent much of her non-eating hours sleeping on Brian's chest, and she continued to sleep there at night when we brought her home. Our first night out of the hospital, Brian and I actually fought over who got to hold her when we went to bed.

Ethan also slept in our bed, but he and Alyssa slept differently from each other. Alyssa wanted to stretch and move when she was awake, but she refused to sleep if she wasn't snuggled next to a warm body. Ethan is our cuddler, but halfway through the night, even as a newborn, he would want his own space, so we would put him in a bassinet beside the bed.

In our family, it's when the baby reaches about six or seven months old and begins to take up more space in the bed that Brian announces that he's not getting very good sleep, and the baby needs to move to a crib. And that's when my sleep goes down the hole. I know a baby is supposed to be able to sleep through the night around three or four months, but because my babies get used to nursing whenever they please, they don't. So I put the baby to bed, and then I'm up three, four...ten times a night with a crying baby who just wants to eat and go back to sleep.

So now that baby number three is coming soon, and Ethan is still in the crib, we needed to have a place for our baby to sleep. He'll sleep with us at night-time, but we need a safe place for him to nap, and then a safe place for him to transition to when Brian starts losing sleep. But I'm hoping that this time around, when the baby gets kicked out of our bed, I won't start losing sleep too.

I mentioned before that we looked at the Arm's Reach Co-Sleepers, and weren't too pleased with them. Then I started looking at the play yards with bassinets, but upon reading the guidelines for them, once we'd be ready for the baby to move in to the bassinet permanently, he'd be grown out of it.

I went to bed on Thursday very depressed and confused. Brian had all sorts of suggestions, like putting the baby to sleep in a drawer, box, or laundry basket, (His sister actually made a very cute bassinet out of a large laundry basket with her last little girl.) but none of his suggestions met my criteria for the perfect baby bed.

Then on Friday Brian came home from school just before we left to take Alyssa to kindergarten, and he mentioned they were having a yard sale at the Hinman House just up the street. We walked on over on the way to Alyssa's school, and there in the driveway was a beautiful, three-sided crib. Actually, it does have four sides, but one of them is currently off, which is how I'm going to leave it.


I measured it all out. There is exactly enough space in our bedroom to put the changing table against the wall, the crib next to that, and the bed next to the crib. We'll leave that fourth side open, giving us our very own co-sleeper. We'll have to put the fourth side back on when the baby gets older and can pull himself up. We wouldn't want him crawling onto our bed during nap time and falling off onto his head.

So that was a very long and drawn out (or shall I say protracted? Who had Mr. Bullert at CBC?) way of saying we bought a crib for the baby. And even if my reasoning doesn't make much sense, it's exactly what I was looking for without even knowing I was looking for it. I've been looking at bedding sets online (those puppies go up to $900, just for a blanket, bumper pad, and crib skirt!) and couldn't find anything that I really like. So now I'm excited to make the bedding for it, and I can't wait until it's time to set it up.

Playing House

Brian and Brooke are right. I have been "nesting." I got up early on Monday (not by my own choice, though - our kids like to wake up at 6:30) and started by cleaning out the kitchen cupboards. I made a huge list of things to get done (wash down walls, mop, put refresher on wooden floors, wash dining room table and chairs, etc) and I got everything done except doing something about the stinky diaper pail, which I tackled the next day. I even painted my toenails, which is not easy with an eight-month-pregnant belly in the way.

I've got an excel file of things to do before the baby comes, things to buy before the baby comes, food to freeze, and food to store in the garage. Right now we're in the market for a pack-n-play or bassinet to put in our room, since Ethan's still in the crib. (Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.) We were going to get an Arms Reach Co-Sleeper, but after looking at one in the store, I wasn't too impressed with the quality. So right now we're looking for something that will be easy to use after the c-section that will allow us to have the baby sleep with us, but also give us the option of putting him down somewhere else.

Yesterday I felt like a real mom. My baby went to school! Ethan and I walked her to class, and she made two friends on the way. She walked right in, and I had to call her back to get a hug. Ethan fell asleep on the walk home, so I was free to read baby magazines (which I pick up at the doctor's all the time, but they're all the same!) and make cookies for three o'clock snack.

So I've been cleaning and planning and cooking, and we have just eight more weeks until this baby comes. Sometimes it seems like forever, and sometimes it feels so close. I'm so excited to meet him and to not be pregnant anymore, but I also want time to slow down so I can enjoy September and Brian's birthday and Halloween. But time will move forward at it's own pace, and I'll just have to be content with what it chooses to do. Meanwhile, I think I'm going to go clean the bathroom and organize the game closet.

Kindergarten, Here We Come!

Today was Alyssa's very first day of school! Today we just went in to meet her teacher and get acquainted with where everything is. Alyssa had a great time! We filled out her "Mom will pick me up" card, got her picture taken, painted a picture, and took a self-guided tour of the school. When we were done with the tour, I asked if she could find her classroom all by herself, and she did great!

Alyssa's already made a friend. She's so friendly and outgoing, that I'm not surprised. She started talking to a little girl named Brittany while she was painting, and they hung out together the rest of the time. She had so much fun that she said she didn't want to wait until tomorrow to come back. I think Alyssa's going to have a fabulous school year!

How to Get Rid of These Flies?

We still have about five flies buzzing around our living room. Sometimes they venture off to other areas of the house, but mostly they're just going in circles around the dead center of the living room. When will their party end?

They don't land, so I can't swat them with a fly swatter. Ethan sure gets a kick out of watching me stand there, swatting at the air. I haven't killed a single one.

If we can't get rid of these flies by Monday, I think we're going to fog the house, or set fire to it, or something.

Completely Proud of Myself

I've been meaning to clean out the garage since we moved into our house last August. The people that lived here before us had a dog that shed like crazy. Even now, a year later, I sometimes sweep up dog hair when I'm cleaning the house. I didn't get a chance to sweep the garage before we moved in, and there was dirt, dog food, and dog hair all over the place. Then the guys just dumped everything labled "garage" in the middle of the floor (what else were they supposed to do?) and I never got around to organizing it all.

Over the last year, things have been piled on top of the original pile, and it got to the point that we had a tiny meandering walkway to the stairs and about a two-foot walkway to the mail box, with a huge pile of miscellaneous junk covering the rest of the floor.

I went in on Tuesday while Ethan was napping to straighten up the loft area, but when I finished that, I just kept going. I threw away a living room full of boxes (the living room is where I tossed them before Brian came home to put them in the recycling tub), reorganized the furniture, and even made the dressers available so we can store things in them instead of just storing the dressers. It looks fabulous! I love having a clean garage!

I wish I took before pictures, but I honestly didn't think I would do that great of a job. The plan was to have Brian help me this weekend, but he was surprised to come home from school to find that it was all done! Here are the after pics:


Notice the HUGE area in the middle. No more problems walking to the stairs! And I don't have to hug the washing machine to walk in front of it to do laundry.
The black bag and Styrofoam didn't fit in the garbage this week, but they will be gone next week! Yea!

Our Summer Adventures

Ethan got into the oil based paint when Christina and I painted her kitchen table and chairs. The lady at Lowes recommended the oil base paint to me, but I vow that I will never use it again. We were scrubbing black paint off our skin for weeks! Luckily, I got to Ethan fast enough that it only left a grey area on his tummy for a few days.

Here's Ethan playing in the water with his cousins, Asher and Derek. Derek is the oldest by just a couple of months, and Asher and Ethan are only two days apart. These boys are going to have fun growing up together!

Alyssa loved swimming at Grandma Roses' house with her cousins.

Grandma Roses built a fort for all the kids to play in, and they loved it.

This is the bed that Alyssa sleeps in at Grandma Jacks' house. She got up early one morning and helped Grandma and Grandpa collect snails from the backyard. Grandma likes to put them in the garbage to keep them from eating her plants, but Alyssa wanted to keep them as pets. She had them in a ziploc bag, and put it under her pillow, but it wasn't shut all the way. The above picture is what greeted me when I went in the room to get some clothes for the day. We had to take the whole bed apart to make sure we found all of the snails.

Here's Brian reading a Princess book to the kids that Alyssa got for her birthday. He had just finished boards and driven up the night before, and we were all so excited to see him.

Alyssa got a Cranium game called "Hullabuloo" for her birthday. It seems like it's a great game for all ages.

Brian is famous in our house for building towers. He likes to stack things (ice cream, then canned soup, then cheese, etc.) on the conveyor belt when we're grocery shopping, and sometimes he stacks various dishes and food items during dinner. It looks like Ethan inherited the stacking gene from Brian. He was so proud of himself! (Notice the two cheeze-its on top.)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

So after being in the Tri-Cities for a month and a half, we are finally home! The kids and I took off when Brian got out of school in the middle of July. He stayed behind to study for boards, and after all the stress and worry (and I'm sure he was stressed and worried too) about how boards would go, he joined us in Washington. We had a great time hanging out with our families. We passed the flu around for about a week, which was no fun at all. I think because I'm pregnant it hit me the hardest. There was a point that I was throwing up every fifteen to twenty minutes for a few hours. Stink! The great part is that Ethan was throwing up the same time I was so I didn't have to clean up after him. Brian did a great job of taking care of him.

Brian went to Alaska to go fishing with his dad and brother for a week. It's something they've wanted to do since before Brian and I even met, and finally they did it! They had a great time and brought home 500 pounds of fish! They even left some old clothes and shoes behind so they would have room to fill a suitcase with frozen halibut and salmon.

We had a great time, but if feels so good to be home. We now know what our house looks like with at least four weeks accumulation of cat hair. We also have about ten flies buzzing around the middle of the living room. They're not going anywhere else in the house, just flying in circles in the living room. I don't know, maybe something very flat died under our rug, and we can't smell it. So this week will be spent thoroughly cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, etc.

I'm excited to have life get back to normal again. Brian started school yesterday and Alyssa starts kindergarten next week. We went to bed at a normal time last night, and Ethan seems happy to be back in his own room. I should be posting on here a lot more, too.

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

Five years ago today I became a mother. We went in for a doctor's appointment on the 8th of August, two thousand and two and were greeted by a very happy certified nurse midwife, John Rose. I loved going to him. He always had a bit of trivia to tell us (What's the largest herb? A banana!) and he always had time to answer any questions I had, which were many, considering that I was a first-time mommy. It was the day before my due date, and I think I was only a centimeter dilated, so he stripped my membranes to see if that would hurry things along. We were told that if something were to happen then it would happen within the next forty-eight hours.


After the appointment I went to the mall with my mother-in-law and I walked as fast as my hugely pregnant body would let me, for as long as I could. No real contractions. I went home, had dinner, still no contractions, then went to bed. Since nothing seemed to be happening, Brian decided to invite some friends over to play Risk. He came to bed at twelve o'clock, and I got out of bed at twelve-thirty, because I was finally starting to get some real contractions.


We were living in Brian's grandma's basement for the summer, so I headed to the family room to lie down on the couch and count contractions (why I didn't walk around, I don't know). Brian had given me a beautiful new watch, which he said would be great for timing my contractions with. The only problem was that it didn't have a second hand. So I pulled out his watch and stared at it, counting when the contractions came, counting how long they lasted, and counting how much time there were between them. When things felt like they were getting serious, I woke up Brian and told him it was time to go to the hospital. It was four-thirty in the morning.


We arrived at the hospital five minutes later. Even though it was a short drive, it was a hard one. I was leaking fluid, which I thought was my water breaking, but apparently it wasn't, and I was holding my bottom off of the seat, because Brian kept shouting, "Don't get it on my car!"


When we checked into the hospital, they monitored me for a bit to see if I was truly in labor. I was, which thrilled me. I would have cried so hard if they had sent me home. At this point I hadn't decided if I would get an epidural or not, so they gave me a shot of pain killer so I could sleep for a while. They should have given something to Brian, too, because he was stretched out on a couch that was way too short for him, and he had a very hard time sleeping.


The day progressed, but I did not. They broke my water around lunch time. I ended up getting an epidural. By evening time, they checked where the baby was, and she had moved higher into my body than she had been when I arrived early that morning. I had been pushing for about two hours, and nothing was happening. The baby had turned sideways, so her head was facing my hip. It was at this point that john Rose asked if I wanted a c-section. After twenty-two hours of labor, I readily agreed.


The epidural had long since run out, and the anesthesiologist was busy, so it took a while for him to come prep me for surgery. The nurses told me to stop pushing, since it would do no good. That was horrible! When you're pushing, it hurts, but you can concentrate on pushing. When you stop pushing, you just have to lay there, letting each contraction come and go. And even though I wasn't getting any closer to delivering the baby, the contractions were coming closer and closer together. At first I would squeeze Brian's hand, to take my mind off the pain. Pretty soon I had him squeeze my hand, as hard as he could, so I could at least concentrate on a different kind of pain. When I was a little girl I was in a car accident and needed to have fifty-six stitches in my head. It hurt a lot. The doctor told me to say "Ow" every time it hurt. I spent I-don't-know-how-long saying "Ow, ow, ow, ow," over and over again. I reverted to this strategy when the contractions would come, but my moans were a little louder and a little more intense. "Ow, ow, ow, Owwwww!" And that is what my parents heard when they arrived at the hospital.


Eventually, I was prepped and wheeled into surgery, and Alyssa was delivered at ten o'clock in the evening. She was a beautiful baby, and very very sweet. She showed us that she had a temper the next morning when she had trouble latching on while nursing. It didn't take her long to get the hang of it, though, and she grew quickly.


She was strong and active since day one. She was rolling over and crawling by four months, walking by nine, and running soon after. She was talking early, too. She didn't babble in sentence form, like most toddlers. She worked on one word at a time until she mastered it, then she moved on to the next word. There was never a time that we didn't understand what she was saying, because she always spoke so clearly.


She's always been difficult to keep up with. I'm excited for her to go to kindergarten, so I can have a few hours of rest each day. Even though she's a good girl, she's exhausting! She doesn't sit still for long, and she's constantly running around on adventures. Most of these adventures end up getting her in trouble, but when you ask for her motives behind the action, they always make sense. She's so clever, and so smart.


Alyssa is also one of the most polite and friendly little girls you will ever meet. When we went with Brian's mom to meet Christina and her kids at the park, she instinctively introduced Diane to all of the cousins. She is so good about saying please and thank you, and she's always concerned about others' feelings.

Alyssa loves to sing! She can belt out songs from "Phantom of the Opera" like no body's business. She also loves to make up her own songs, and she gives us concerts sometimes.

Alyssa loves Heavenly Father and and Jesus. She's learning about them and when she makes a mistake we talk about ways to make them happy. She knows that immodesty makes Heavenly Father sad, and she points that out when she sees girls around town making bad choices concerning their dress. She loves to pray! Sometimes I forget to have prayer for breakfast or lunch, but Alyssa always reminds me.

I'm so thankful to have Alyssa in our family! I couldn't ask for a better daughter. We love her so much!

Reading or Napping?

This is what I found when I checked on Ethan during his nap time. He fell asleep reading a book that weighs as much as he does! The greatest part is that it was upside down.

Our Little Pixie

Yesterday morning Brian found Alyssa behind the lazy boy recliner with a pair of scissors. He quickly took them away, not knowing what it was she had been cutting. It wasn't until evening that we noticed she had cut a chunk of the hair above her forehead to about one inch in length. It obviously wasn't too noticeable, because it took us all day to find it, but the main reason for that was because it was covered is by other hair was hanging over it, into her face. Alyssa refuses to have her hair done each morning, and the times that I actually succeed in convincing her, she fights the whole time and takes it out again within the hour. It is constantly hanging in her face, which is the reason she gave us for cutting off the chunk that she did. "It was in my eyes," she said.

So taking all this into account, I decided to cut it. At first the goal wasn't to have her hair match the part she cut, but to get it out of her eyes. We put Curious George on the televsion and I gave her a very cute, chin-length bob. It was great to have her hair out of her face, but now it wasn't covering the one-inch spike on top of her forehead. So I kept going, and we ended up with this.


It really is quite cute (the picture doesn't do it justice), especially with her little pink headband, but it's going to take quite a while to get used to. I lay in bed for over an hour last night grieving the loss of my little girl's hair. Why didn't I just leave it alone? Why did I chop it all off? What is Brian going to think? She has to go to kindergarten like this!

All in all, it will grow out, and until it does, it will just have to do. The great part is that it's out of her face. There's about five different facial expressions I've seen her do today that I never knew existed. She really is a cutie.

I Really Do Love Him

Despite yesterday's link to Brian's horribly rude and funny comment toward the "shape" I am in right now, I would like to take a moment to say just how much I love him. He is such a wonderful guy! He works so hard for our family: going to school, studying for boards, practicing for clinic, etc. And he always takes time each day when he comes home to play with the kids. He's always doing little things to let me know that he loves me. On Thursday night I was having a rough time putting the kids to bed. We extended their bed time by an hour to see if they'd go to sleep better, and by the time they were down, I was absolutely ready to "clock out" for the day. He saw that I needed a break, so yesterday he found a babysitter and surprised me by taking me out a movie. (It was crazy to take a bathroom break halfway through and think, "I'm actually walking somewhere by myself. There's no kids with me." If you don't count the baby, that is.)

A while ago I was thinking about how important Brian is to me, and I realized that I know him better than anyone in the whole world. My mom sees Brian as being perfectly confidant in himself. When finals were approaching in May I told her that Brian was so nervous for the proficiencies coming up. She was baffled. "Brian? Nervous?!? He doesn't get nervous, does he?" There's so much you can learn about a person that comes only from living with them. It's crazy, because thinking back six and a half years ago, I hardly knew him at all. He was just this tall, good-looking guy that I was madly in love with. I don't know if it's that I really didn't know him back then, or if it's just that I know him so much better now. I love being so close with someone and loving them for the wonderful things about them and even loving them despite their faults.

I know that even though Brian likes to tease me, that he loves me so much. I can see how happy he is when he makes me happy, or when he says something hilarious that makes me laugh. And I can tell he worries about me when things aren't going right. When things were at their worst when I was pregnant with Ethan, Brian's mom came to stay with us to help out. I was in and out of the hospital, and nothing they did would help me to stop throwing up. Brian's mom told me that one night before Brian went to bed, he came into the living room and said, "I'm scared." He didn't say anything else, just paused for a moment and turned to go to bed. It makes me feel so loved that my tough and manly husband stepped outside of himself for a moment to let someone know just how much he cares for me.

I'm so glad that I found such a great man to spend the rest of my life and all eternity with. I was only nineteen when we got married, and Brian's apartment manager told us that we would be divorced before five years were up, because I was so young. I told him that when I fell in love and got married that it was forever, and that I was in it for the long haul. So far so good. I couldn't have chosen anyone better to spend eternity with. Someday, after this life, when Brian and I are making worlds together, we'll still be loving each other. And with Brian, I'm sure there will never be a dull moment.

This Explains Everything

So maybe this is why there's a lack of intimacy around here...

Improve Your Intimacy In Five Easy Steps!

Step 1. Stop being pregnant.

I received an email from Mommy Without Pounds (an exercise program that I signed up for that I never did any of the exercises from) that said, "Carrie, improve your intimacy in five easy steps," and I didn't even have to open the email because I know exactly what needs to be done.

I need to just stop being pregnant.

Brian tried cuddling up to me last night when I was reading in bed and he was studying, but when I'm pregnant I just can't be touched! I feel sickest in the evenings, so all I want to do is lay still and be left alone. And then there's the pregnancy claustrophobia. I think it's because my body is undergoing a complete overhaul to make this baby and so many things are out of my control, that when someone touches me it makes me feel even more out of control and my whole body goes, "Whoa! I need some space!"

I remember before Ethan was born the first thing on my list of things to do once he was out was to kiss Brian. I can't give Brian more than a peck without feeling completely overwhelmed. (In a bad way, though, not like when we were dating.) When I watch a chick flick I think, "That's so cute, they're kissing...I want to be able to kiss my husband!" I can hug him, but if he hugs me back I can only take it for a couple of seconds before I have to push him away. Nicely, of course.

It's a problem with the kids, too. Actually, Ethan's body is too small to intimidate me, but if Alyssa climbs up on my lap for a hug, I give her a quick one and tell her to hop down quick before I feel too sick.

I know this is only a small inconvenience, but why do our bodies have to get completely whacked out when we're pregnant? I want to be able to love my family!

Well, there may not be any intimacy in my life right now, but come November there will be plenty of hugs and kisses going around in the Jacks household. We'll even have one more person to take part in all that loving.

A Moment to Rant

Yesterday I was sick. I threw up all morning long, and then felt like throwing up all afternoon long. Brian was extremely helpful by going grocery shopping for dinner, and then when I wasn't feeling up to making dinner, going to McDonalds to pick up some food. So even though yesterday stunk, it wasn't that bad. It just explains why I've got to spend today catching up on everything that needs to be done.

First thing on the agenda: Mow the lawn. With me being out of town and Brian being super busy, the lawn hasn't been mowed for a couple of weeks. We have foot-tall flowers growing in both our back yard and front yard. The front looks awful for people to drive past, so it must be done, and the back is really hard for the kids to play in, so it must be done. (We spent the day inside yesterday because I wasn't feeling well. Believe me, I've got to get those kids outside.) I mowed about twenty feet of our grass, and the lawn mower died. No problem, I filled up the gas...but it still didn't work. So I tried calling my mom for help in what to do. "We're sorry, all circuits are busy," the phone said. I've never heard that before. You'd think if you're paying for phone service, you'd get phone service.

So I got online to ask Brian what to do. He had me check the oil, and apparently that's the problem. (I hope that's the problem!) The whole time I was typing to Brian, Ethan was cranky and Alyssa was making water messes in the kitchen (she fills up glasses all the way with water and drinks it with a spoon!) and then Ethan came to me with poop running up his back. So I changed his diaper and even though I washed my hands afterward, I can still smell poop. I now smell like gasoline and baby poop.

* * *

Scratch that! Brian came home from class with a bottle of oil, and found out that we didn't need it. He started the mower and it started just fine for him. So he mowed the lawn for me! When he came inside I asked him why class got out so early, and he said it didn't. He just didn't want me mowing the lawn in 102 degree weather, which he says it's supposed to be this afternoon. He is so much my hero today!

So our phones are working again and I was able to call my mom. The lawns are freshly mowed and I've got the slip n' slide out and ready to go for after lunch. I guess my day is going to turn out fine.

If Only It Were True

Alyssa spent about ten minutes kneeling on the kitchen floor, singing the "Sing Sweet Nightingale" song from Cinderella, then she came to me and announced, "I just cleaned the whole kitchen!"

Been a Long Time

It's been a while since I last blogged. I keep thinking of little things to post, but it almost feels like I should update things before I continue with my regular posting.

The kids and I went to Tri-Cities, Washington last week while Brian spent all of his "free" time in a KMK Course to help him study for boards. We stayed with my sister, Christina. She has five kids, with another baby girl coming in a few weeks. Alyssa and Ethan loved living with their cousins, and instead of calling Christina everyday like I normally do, I was able to see her all of the time!

We went to swimming lessons every morning. Alyssa only lasted two days. She didn't like to bob, and she found that splashing around in the wading pool with her cousin Marian was a lot more fun than hanging on to the side of the big pool and sitting through lessons. We stayed at the park for about an hour after swimming lessons, and Ethan and Derek would always fall asleep in the swings. (They're not asleep in this picture, though.)


The Fourth of July was great! Alyssa was incredibly tired that morning and put up a big fuss getting ready for swim lessons. This was when we decided to stick her in the wading pool. Brian's dad had the day off, and Alyssa had invited him to come to her lessons, so he came by the pool and took some pictures of her, then he and Brian's mom took off for Farmer's Market to buy cherries and Ron's Original Kettlecorn. (Now available with Splenda!) I figured with Alyssa's mood, she needed a change of pace and some time away from everyone, so we headed to my parent's house, where they were knocking out the wall between the kitchen and the living room. That was fun to watch and to help with. Ethan especially liked all the power tools that his Papa was using.

We had yummy steak for dinner, with strawberry shortcake (with blueberries to fit the Fourth!) for dessert, then we headed back to Christina's to walk to the Trac to watch the fireworks. We ended up going right into the stadium and sitting on the grass on the side. What great seats! Alyssa and Ethan both loved the fireworks, but they also both fell asleep.
















On Friday we went to the park for a McDonalds picnic with Grandma and Grandpa Jacks. We threw a rubber duck in the water for their dog, Kimber, to splash in to get. Alyssa followed Kimber into the river and got soaked up to the waist. Then we put swimsuits on the kids and let them play in the wading pool. The kids and I took off straight from the park to go roast s'mores at my parent's house, but when we got there my dad asked if Brian had gotten ahold of me. I called his cell phone, because he said earlier that afternoon that he was going to Costco and some other places. He said he wasn't out anymore and that I could call "the house." When I tried calling our phone number, he didn't pick up, which I thought was strange, so I left a message saying I would call back in a minute. Then the phone rang again and caller ID said it was Brian's parents. When I picked up the phone and found Brian on the other end, I was so shocked! He had come to get us! Originally he said he couldn't come pick us up until Tuesday, but class was canceled Friday morning and he was able to get everything done to that needed to be done over the weekend. What a great surprise! We were missing him so much!

We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with Brian's parents, then we drove home on Sunday. We had a great time, but it's good to be back in our own house and back on schedule. Christina and I had the best intentions of getting the kids to bed on time each night, but it never worked out. Ethan would wake up at six or six-thirty every morning, and we would play hard through the day. It was exhausting, but we had a blast!

When Brian and I were first married I had two different people, at two different times, in two different states compare the way Brian runs to a gazelle. With his long legs he can bound across a soccer field or around a baseball diamond in no time flat. Apparently, Ethan either hasn't inherited this trait or he hasn't acquired it yet. When Ethan runs, he sounds like a herd of elephants. Yes, one boy sounds like a whole herd of elephants. He picks up his feet when he runs, and almost slams them into the ground, which amplifies ten-fold on a hard wood floor....and he runs fast.

The kids and I are staying at my sister's house for a while so Brian can study for boards. As I lay in bed this morning, I could tell everywhere that Ethan went as he thundered around downstairs, following his cousins. Maybe when he's older he'll run like a more graceful animal, but for now he's quite content sounding like a whole herd of elephants.

Just a Few of the Reasons

I just have to say that I love my family so much! So many wonderful things happened today.

Alyssa and Ethan helped clean the toy room and their bedroom, and they played outside together so I could work on the laundry and cleaning the rest of the house. Brian came home from class early and I was feeling pretty sick, so he watched Alyssa while Ethan and I took a nap. (I know, a nap two days in a row!)


Brian went grocery shopping for me (yea!) and was very adamant that I be the one to unpack the grocery sacks. I found a Motherhood Maternity gift card on top of the eggs! While I was happily putting the groceries away (and dancing around the kitchen, rejoicing over the gift card), Brian took the kids out on the deck to throw those popper/snapper/firework things on the ground. Every time one popped, Ethan would giggle uncontrollably. It was adorable.










I asked Brian if he could make up a batch of Ranch dressing for dinner. Pretty soon Alyssa and Ethan decided to help him, and I turned around to see the whole family making dinner together. That was so fun!






And last, but not least, Alyssa and Ethan both helped me clean out the dishwasher. (Yes, I realize Ethan is not wearing any pants. He sat in the swimming pool today.) Ethan normally helps me clean out the dishwasher by standing on the door and handing me the cups. I thought he just enjoyed handing me things, but it turns out that he really knows that he's helping. He grabbed some silverware, headed to the drawer (which is over his head), pulled it open, and threw them in. What a helper!

Needless to say, it's been a wonderful day. I'd say that I want another one just like it tomorrow, but we don't have the money to be giving Carrie gift cards every day. I'll gladly take some help with dinner and Ethan's giggles as often as they're given to me, though.

A Most Welcome Surprise

I usually go grocery shopping on Mondays, but this weekend I made an emergency run to Safeway for milk and butter on Saturday night, and the chicken salad sandwiches that were planned for Sundays dinner were replaced with Brian taking a nap and the kids and I snacking on banana bread. So I got up this morning and decided that with dinner taken care of, we didn't need to go grocery shopping until tomorrow. But then I discovered that Brian didn't have class until one o'clock, and I ended up making the chicken salad sandwiches for lunch.

When Brian came home from his one o'clock class (shortly after two o'clock, talk about your easy day) we sat in the living room to discuss what to make for dinner. I mentally went through our cupboards and the freezer, but I couldn't come up with anything but spaghetti, which is a risky thing to make in our family. Alyssa only likes spaghetti half of the time.

To our surprise there was a knock on the door, and Debbi Burtlow stood on our porch with an uncooked casserole. She handed it to Brian, and I stood there with my mouth hanging open. None of us are sick. We're not in the hospital. Could she be delivering dinner to the wrong house? She explained that someone brought her dinner a while back and told her to pass along the pan by bringing dinner to someone else. Hallelujah! Dinner was on!

I decided that since all I had to do for dinner was to pop it in the oven, and since Brian was home to watch the kids, that I would take an afternoon nap. The nap was wonderful, and dinner was so yummy! Now we just have to figure out who to take dinner to once the pan is clean.

* * *

This next picture is just me bragging about the beautiful pie that Ethan and I made for Family Home Evening. I was going to make a pie using a jell-o salad recipe with cool whip and vanilla yogurt and raspberry jell-o, but halfway through mixing it together Ethan and I (oh, and my mom too, I was on the phone with her) decided to add chocolate pudding instead of jell-o. I was afraid that the raspberries on top would be too tart for the pudding, but it turned out delicious. I wish I would have added more raspberries!

I Am Turning Into a Blogger Nerd

I admit it. I am turning into a blogger nerd. I am so glad that Brooke showed me her wonderful blog last October, which inspired me to create my own. I love blogging!

I love looking at every one's blogs. I love keeping in touch with my friends and family, whether they're in Forest Grove or all the way across the country. Some days when I'm bored or lonely or just don't want to start the housework, I start looking at all my friends' blogs, and then I click on the links to their friends' blogs, until I'm reading about the lives of people I've never even heard of. Last night I didn't want to go to bed, so I clicked and scrolled my way down to the beginning of Tiffany Harker's blog and read the story of her blogging life. The only reasons I know of her is that she's Brooke's sister-in-law, and I've seen her in passing a couple of times at church while visiting Pasco. But even though I don't really know this lady, I really enjoyed reading what she had to say about her life and her family.

I love documenting special events from our lives, or even just writing about things that happen every day. I used to get email updates from one of my friends, and every time I read an email from her I would think about how boring my life is compared to hers. I thought that I never did anything fun and that nothing exciting ever happened to me. I was complaining to Brian about this when he said, "Carrie, we just had a party three days ago! That's not exciting enough for you?" After starting my blog I realized that everything is more exciting in print. When I blog about cleaning my house or spending time with my kids, those activities become a little more exciting for me.

I love posting pictures. For a long time I was hesitant to put pictures on my blog, because I thought it would take away the literary value of it, but I've found that pictures make blogging much more fun. I've even caught myself thinking, "Oh, I should take a picture of Alyssa getting her mouth washed out with soap so I can put it on my blog." I love showing the world how cute my kids are and how cute they look when they do the crazy tings they do.

I love publishing my posts. There's something about the word "publish" that makes a blog so official, and it makes me feel like an author. It's fun to think that my pictures, my thoughts, and my life are on the Internet for anyone to see (provided that they're not weirdos). I think Brian is probably tired of me constantly begging him to check out my newest post or asking him what he thinks of my new color scheme. I love scrolling through my published posts and I usually find myself thinking, "Hey, I wrote that" or "Isn't that picture so sweet?" I check my blog quite a few times each day, not only to see who's commented, but just to look at my published piece of work and marvel at the great hobby that blogging is.

"I'm Going to Look so Beautiful on the Blog!"

Today we played "Salon." We put a garbage sack around Alyssa (I couldn't find our smock) and chopped off about four inches of her hair. I had her call me Delilah and I talked to her as if she was a customer in the salon. I asked if that was her dad waiting in the other room and she told me a bit about him. It distracted her enough to keep her in the chair, but she still didn't hold still nearly as much as when we took her in to a real salon.


She loves her new haircut! She says she looks just like Abby from her Primary class, and she thinks that Abby is so pretty. She spent about five minutes primping in front of the mirror before she went to show Brian.

A Bouncing Baby

Yesterday we went in for our ultrasound. Everything looks great, and we're having a boy! Alyssa's been hoping for a girl, so she's a little disappointed, but she says she'll love a brother anyway. Ethan just had a great time sitting on Brian's shoulders and throwing himself backward.

We're excited to have another little boy! They can sing together for Ethan's missionary farewell, and then they probably won't see each other for four years until the younger one comes home from his mission, and then they'll sing for the homecoming. They can wrestle together and share a room and play sports together. It'll be so much fun!

Crunch! Crunch!

This picture is documented proof that Alyssa's hair is never done and that Ethan lives in either a Onesie or his pajamas until we go out in public. But it is also very cute proof that today we made snowcones!

Every time I'm pregnant Brian gets me a new ice crushing device. It's great because now I have an ice cream maker and an ice crusher and I used to have a super cool smoothie maker that broke after just a couple of times using it.

Well, Alyssa heard about snow cones from her babysitter and she's been asking for them ever since. Today we finally bit the bullet (or shall I say, crunched the ice?) and made them.

They were great! Here's the recipe I used for the syrup:

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 package of Kool Aid

The instructions said to bring the sugar and water to a boil, and then add the Kool Aid, but I added the Kool Aid right away before I could read that far. For a Red Robin size cup we used about 1/4 cup of syrup.

Anyway, here's to summer fun and many more days of snow cones!

Happy Father's Day!

There’s a man in our house with brown hair and blue eyes.
He’s tall and good lookin’ and just the right size
For hugging and playing and all the fun stuff,
Like rough-housing a bit, until he’s had enough.

He likes to cook, but it doesn’t happen much.
His favorites are meats, like prime rib and such.
He also makes caramels around Christmas-time
His omelets are great and his crepes, so divine.

He’s a man with a passion for computer-type games
Whether online or offline, it’s all just the same.
He plays Kingdom of Loathing ‘cause he likes the puns
He “escapes” from rooms faster than almost anyone.

He loves to fish. Whenever we go home
He’s out on the boat, but he’s not alone.
With other men he grunts and he shouts
And brings us home fish that we refuse to clean out.

He’s as smart as a whistle and works hard all day
Learning ‘bout eyes, and if you ask him he’ll say
That he loves optometry and optometry school,
But when graduation comes, he thinks that’ll be cool.

This man in our house is a wonderful man.
He spends time with us and we’re happy he can.
He loves his family, which makes us all glad
And makes us very proud to call him our dad.

Happy Fathers Day Brian!