Workin'

Lexi's most used phrase of late: "Daddy's workin'!" She sure hit the nail on the head with that one (no pun intended). Allen has had the forms set for the sidewalk leading from the house to the pasture done for a few weeks now. However, we've had rain everyday for the last month and that is not a great recipe for concrete. With monsoon season coming to a close, Allen has mapped out a new schedule for the lawn that gets us done by the last weekend in September.

Saturday morning I gave a lesson at 8 and ran to another at 9:30. I got home around 10:30 so Allen could get his part of the day started. He rented this 100 lb. whacker (yep, that is the official term and it looks like one of those carpet cleaners you rent from Safeway or Walmart) pounded the dirt inside the frames so that this Thursday, he can pour. Late afternoon, after he took the whacker back, we went for a long swim next door. That was a really nice reprieve. We were expecting hay to be delivered around 6:30 so we pitter-pattered around outside waiting for the delivery. We had already bathed Lexi, but as you'll see, that was a totally pointless endeavor. At 8:30 that night, the 20 bales of hay finally showed up so Allen helped unload that. Lexi and I stayed inside to eat some long overdue dinner while Allen helped unload.

The frames before the whacker.

Lexi tells us: I'm pullin' da weeds! Thanks, Lexi.

We also finally finished the bathroom. We painted and installed a new toilet. We would have been done last weekend, but as Allen was cutting the bolts to put the little plastic caps on the bottom (the absolute last step), the entire seal gave way underneath the toilet. So, he had to buy the parts, take the toilet off, put a new metal seal and wax ring on, and re-install the toilet. We finally got that all wrapped up. The finished product was worth the work!

This was moments before the big fallout on the first installation.

The new-and-improved method for cutting bolts (when you don't have a bolt cutter).

Lexi was helping Allen work all afternoon.

Ta Da!

The Great Finale

I've been searching for these clips for a week now. Allen and I loved watching So You Think You Can Dance this season. There were lots of great performances, but this one featuring two guest dancers just blew our minds. You'll have to click on the link since I can't copy the video (click on video to see), but it's amazing. Another one of my favorites was this number (click on number to see).

I have to say, my favorite dancer was Will and he was voted off a few weeks ago. I thought he had great talent and versatility. So what if he seemed aloof? He obviously had a little personality 'cause his James Brown solo (click on solo to see) was pretty good. He was amazing, I thought. Behind him, I was pretty impressed with Katee. Here's Will and Katee together. (click on together to see)

Of course, Joshua and Twitch were very fun to watch and did really well with the different genres despite their individual focus as hip hop dancers. You have to admit that Joshua is one of the most athletic guys considering he's as wide as he is tall. All in all, we had a great time watching the show and will probably be addicted next year too.

Sick House

The cold that Lexi had 2 weeks ago has come back to haunt us. This time, all 3 of us are sick. She came down with it super fast in the night again and the next day I had it too. Now Allen has it as well. Lexi seems to feel pretty good today, but her nose is like a leaky, green faucet. I usually ask her if she'd like to blow her nose. Sometimes, she runs over because she is clearly uncomfortable. Most of the time when I ask, "Would you like to blow your nose?" I get: "No, I'm allright. Thank you momma."

My energy level is like 2 on a 1-10 scale. Our ward was in charge of decorations for the stake dance last night and I stayed to chaperone. This morning, it caught up with me in a big way. Allen is able to take stuff to feel better so he's doing the best out of all of us, but he's not feeling 100%. He's worked the last two weekends with 12 hour days each day. He's still trying to make some dents in our work at home, too. Plus, we've become addicted to the Olympics this week and have been staying up late to watch. So, we are stretching ourselves just enough to be vulnerable to this summer bug. This weekend, we're trying to take it easy by doing some weed pulling and painting in the house rather than trenching the sprinkler lines.

Lexi can climb up into our bed by herself and has been spending some time there these last few days. She usually says, "I wanna lay down." After she gets settled, she says, "Come on, Daddy. Come on, Momma. Come and lay down with me." Considering how yucky we feel, we've been pretty quick to take her up on her offers.

A Boy and His Horse

Allen feeds I Be Streakin' in the morning and sometimes at night. They have developed quite the relationship. I Be Streakin' is like a dog and loves any amount of attention you'll give him and has so much personality. I went out to feed tonight and he chased me around a bit. Usually, after his feed is in the stall, he's quick to go eat and leave us alone. However, he followed me to the gate and whinnied when Allen walked toward him. I told Allen he better jog the horse to his stall. If Allen runs towards the barn, the horse runs behind him. Before he did that though, he ran up and down along the fence line and I Be Streakin' loved it. He would run the length of the fence and then run over to the barn. He would turn and look at Allen. Allen would jump up and down and I Be Streakin' would charge the fence and they would run back the other way together. I got a quick video of them after they had done this about 10 times. They were both a little winded!

Running the fence.

This is their routine when Allen has time to play at feeding time.

Diaper woes continued

If you think you're sick of reading about this, imagine how sick I am of dealing with it. Last night, I put a plus size, super long, extra absorbent maxi pad in Lexi's overnight diaper. The poor thing thought she had pooped her pants and was walking around bow legged and pulling at her shorts. But, she was dry this morning.

This afternoon, I changed her right before her nap. She woke up early because her diaper had leaked yet again. She was in her diaper a total of 1.5 hours and her shorts were soaked and her sheets too.

I've had at least 2 leaky diapers a day for the last 7 days. So far I've confirmed my hatred for Huggies diapers, pondered the notion that she may have a health condition since she pees so much, and have mastered making the crib in about 20 seconds flat.

Up For the Vote

Now that we know we're having a girl, the name game begins. Allen and I have very different tastes. I'm going to put our latest contenders up for vote. Of course, the votes won't actually determine the name, but it might be fun to see what you all think.

Jenna
Bree
Gracie
Lilly
Laurel
Carly
Cayla/Kayla
Colette
Sophie
Lisette
Rayna
Tessa
Emma
Natalie
Reagan
Avery
Emerson

Stop the Madness!

Well, I thought they had worked. We had one leak-free night. Since then, every morning, a load of wash is now part of our routine. Aaahhh! I'm so frustrated. I mean, really, there are kids that are way bigger than Lexi who don't have leaky diapers all of the time.

We've tried every brand, different sizes, and even the super duper overnight ones. I hear they sell liners and I guess that will be our next step. If those don't work then what? Besides pushing her into potty training, what else am I to do? Just get used to the laundry? (The idea of her sleeping in urine is too much for me, though.) Put two diapers on? Buy adult Depends and hope that they might contain the overflow? How do I stop the madness?

More Lexi-isms

I just bought a new CD for Lexi's room for naps and night time. The first song is a woman and the first line says the word "sea". That song is now the "Ariel" (or Arl) song as Lexi calls it. She sings along in the highest pitched voice she can but only through the word sea because she doesn't know the rest.

The next song on the CD is "Jesus Once Was a Little Child". That's the "J'sus" song. "I ant the J'sus song" she tells me.

She throws her baby and tells me the baby is jumping. Then she runs over and asks the baby, "Whaaaat happened? You ok?" and proceeds to cuddle, pat and then kiss the baby.

She'll go in the bathroom and say,"Wanna see Wexi." That means she wants to look at herself in the mirror.

The other night at dinner she told me her tummy hurt. I asked her why. "There's a baby in there." Oh, you have a baby in there? "Yeeesss. It's the pink one. You have the blue one (as she points to my tummy)." Oh, ok.

While we were playing on the swing set, she found her pink cowgirl hat. She put it on and said, "I wanna ride the horse." I asked her if she was ready to ride now that she had her hat on. "Yeesss. I'm gonna go ride the horse. Om on, mommy (come on, mommy)."

She was helping me put clothes in the laundry basket one day. I would toss the clothes out of the closet and onto the floor near the basket. Each time I threw the a piece of clothing out she would say, "Thank you mommy (she had to say it pretty fast 'cause I was tossing clothes out one right after another)." I said, "No, Lexi, thank you!" "You're welcome, mommy."

We were coming in from the swing set and she tripped on the walkway. She hit pretty hard so I asked her if she was ok. Her response: "I'm sad. I'm crying. I'm all right." She then walked into the house like nothing happened.

Make sure you have the songlist paused and the volume up when you watch this video.

One Thing After Another

There have been a few little things that have happened over the last few days that add up quick and make for exhausting work.

I found out Monday night that I was in charge of the all girl mutual activity for Wednesday. My counselor was supposed to have it, but she had been gone helping with her new grandbaby and forgot. It's really not that hard to do, and I found a great activity, but it took some extra time I wasn't planning on dedicating to YW Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday morning when I went in to get Lexi, her diaper had leaked and her bed was soaked. I stripped it all and proceeded to put everything in the wash. Of course, she wants pink. Pink, however, is covered with pee. I tell her pink needs to be washed and she starts crying. She wants her babies, too, but they need to go in the wash with pink. It's just too much for her to handle. We get through it, but she is a little weepy all morning. At one point, she runs up to me and is way distraught. She says her diaper is broken and she is tugging at her pants. Before I can grab her to see what is wrong, she turns around and runs as fast as she can to the bathroom and I quickly see the problem. I grabbed the camera and took this picture before setting it all to rights.

Because of the rain, my lessons from Tuesday morning cancelled, but I had to make one of them up that evening. My client has a show coming up so we try really hard not to miss any scheduled lessons. Tuesday, I made dinner and ran out the door as Allen got home so I could be back by 7 to help with the bedtime routine. Allen also wanted to spray and take care of weeds. The bishop ended up coming by around 6:30 to ask Allen how he felt about being called to teach seminary (we both had mild heart attacks at the thought of him teaching semiary and me staying in YW - no, they wouldn't release me). Lexi was doing pretty well, but after about 35 minutes of taking care of herself, she got into some mischief. She opened the cabinet under the fish tank and pulled out liquid ammonia that is bright red. She dumped it out going from the fish tank all around the back of the couch to the center of the family room where she greeted Allen - with red stains on her legs, feet and the carpet. Of course, it permanently stained everything. I get home to a scowling Allen and screaming Lexi. Aaaah, love at home.

Wednesday morning, I have a riding lesson so I'm preparing for a young woman to come over and watch Lexi for a few hours since my regular sitter is out of town. I go in to get Lexi first thing and her diaper has leaked, yet again. We go through the same routine. I checked some posts online to see what people recommend for heavy wetter, get some ideas, and plan to run some errands before my lesson. My lesson is 1/2 an hour away but near a Walmart so if I leave a little early, I can get stuff for YW and new diapers. I had to wait a little longer than I wanted to change the wash out so that her stuff would be dry when I got home so she could go down for a nap. When I get home from my lesson (about 2 hours later), I pick her up to take the sitter home and she is all wet - with pee. What is the deal with these diapers?!? (The sitter had changed her at least once in the 2 hours I was gone so I can't assign blame there, you know?) I change Lexi, load up and take our sitter home. Thank goodness I got the new diapers.

I get Lexi fed, changed (in the new diapers) and put down for her nap about 1. When she wakes up, I head in there to see that the new diapers have leaked too. This time, Lexi looks at me and says, "Pink wash? Babies wash?" before I even get her out of the crib. I tell her yes, get her fixed and head to the laundry room again - this is the 3rd time in 2 days. I've had this awful migraine for 3 days and it is making me even more frustrated, too. Clearly, the remedy isn't working and I'll return some unopened diapers and buy new ones after mutual.

Mutual turned out great. We played "For the Strength of Youth" Jeopardy and had white chocolate covered popcorn for snack. At 8:30 when we were done, I went over to Walmart. I got overnight diapers in a bigger size and regular diapers in a bigger size. I got home at 9:30 p.m. Allen had mopped the kitchen and done the dinner dishes. He was out the door and spraying weeds before I got to say "Hi, how did things go?" Did I mention, I hadn't had dinner because I ran out the door as he got home so I could set up for mutual? I put the groceries away, changed Lexi into the new overnight diapers, and sat down for some yogurt and Cheez-its. At least I had recorded So You Think You Can Dance. I watched a few minutes before Allen came back in and went to painting in the guest bath. I asked him if I could help, but he said no. So, I finished my elaborate meal and he came out shortly. We watched the show together and went to bed around 11:30. (This morning, she was completely dry! The overnights in size bigger worked!)

A Lazy Morning

Today was a little different for Lexi and I. We've had rain since about 2 a.m. so my lessons were cancelled. I decided to cancel with the sitter, too, and we just hung out at home. Usually, we're up and gone by 7:30 so I can drop her at the sitters and get to my lessons by 8 a.m.

She slept in until almost 8 a.m. which is a nice break from me having to get her up most of the time. We lazed around a bit. Lexi isn't a big breakfast eater, but I offered her Mickey Mouse pancakes and she actually said yes. I'm not a very good cook with the breakfast menu so I've been working on making perfect MM pancakes. I added some cinnamon and sugar to the batter and she ate a whole MM pancake herself. I always make lots and freeze them in baggies so when she will eat, I can pull them out quick and have a fun breakfast.

Sometimes, Lexi pretends she is Cookie Monster. The syrup makes for a little extra clean up, and we don't usually let her do this with regular food, but I let it go this time and she had fun.

Who's that girl?

We had our 21 week ultrasound today. I got there 10 minutes early at 8:50, with an extremely full bladder, waited until 9:10 when I was told I was at the wrong location (even though they had instructed me to go this certain spot). Thankfully, when I got to the OB area they said there was really no reason for a full bladder and I was off the hook. I got back in and we started at 9:30 a.m.

We had to go a location that we don't usually go to so we got a tech we didn't know and he had an intern with him. They made the comment they weren't getting very good images. He explained that the baby was still small (but normal for our age), the machine was not the one he preferred, and that "you know, there's a little extra here" as he pats my stomach and causes the vision blurring fat to ripple around for about 20 seconds. I then asked, "Did you just say I'm too fat for us to be able to see the baby?" He laughed and said no. But, I'm pretty sure that was what he meant. (In my own defense, I've only gained 2 lbs. through the whole pregnancy!)

Fat or no fat, we still got some great pics. Everything looks great. The baby is measuring right on for our due date of December 15, 2008. Super active. I think they chased the baby for most of the exam. We were in there for an hour and a half! The intern was grateful for the chance to do some hands on stuff and they thanked us a bunch for being so patient.

The heels are together, and the toes pointing out.

This is the baby yawning. The big black space is her mouth. Her nose and eyes disappeared while she was telling us how bored she was with the whole thing.

Ok, for those of you who aren't used to looking at blurry black and whites...look for the "hamburger" (it's sideways). The baby's bottom is on the left with the thigh bones pointing towards the right. In the middle of the sideways V, you'll see 2 bright white lines and one thin line. I'm sure you get the picture by now. So, girl #2 is on the way! (Sorry if the details offended anyone, but she's just a baby!)

ENTHUSIASM!!!!

Give me an E! Give me a N! Give me a T-H-U! Give me a S! Give me an I! Give me an A-S-M! What's that spell? ENTHUSIASM! What's the spell? ENTHUSIASM! I can't hear you!! What's the spell? ENTHUSIASM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is why I am exhausted as a parent. I was pondering why it is that being with a 2 year old person is so tiring. It's not really the chores, or dragging along an extra person everywhere you go. No, for me it's the ongoing effort to be excited about doing the most mundane things.

For example: it's not "Hey, Lexi, go put your toys away" and I can leave it at that. It's "Why don't we pick up our toys so we can go outside and swing? Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up (in sing songy voice). Great job! Ok! Let's go swing!" Times 100 all day long.

Since I'm not an overly enthusiastic person, pulling that to the surface all day, everyday takes a little bit of work on my part. Lexi responds well and we avoid lots of frustration when I respond that way rather than just yelling at her all of the time (shocking, I'm sure), but by the end of the day I'm pretty ready to be my old cynical self.

A Quick Testimony

We've always been very blessed financially. We don't have gobs of loose cash, but we have more than enough to meet our needs and have some nice wants taken care of, too. We've always been faithful tithe payers and have tried to give a very generous fast offering. Sometimes, when you simply look at the number, it can seem like a lot of money to part with. However, the rich blessings that follow obedience to a principle are well worth the sacrifice.

There have been many examples of Heavenly Father's promise to pour out blessings to those who are obedient. Today, was one of those experiences for our family. As you know, the well has been an unexpected expense. We got the professional out here who charges $95 an hour. That can add up pretty quick. Because we try very hard not to carry any debt, we're very aware of the amount of actual cash in the checking account. Allen asks him for an estimate of sorts explaining we don't have lots of give this month. First, he says, he'll only charge $85 an hour. He looks at our well, drops a rock down in there and SPLASH! There's water. Yippee. He says it'll be $200 flat and he'll have us up and running within the week. (By the way, he adds, his fee to come out and put a new well is $750. Remember our estimate of $2000 that drove us to do it ourselves. We didn't know whether to laugh or cry.)

We feel really lucky that the amount is only $200. I head out to give a riding lesson to find out that a horse we've been trying to sell for about 6 months finally sold! This horse has a certain vice that lots of people don't want to put up with so he's been really hard to move. He's very valuable, but we had to drop the price by $2000 to finally get him off the feed bill. (For example, his daddy's stud fee alone was $15,000.) We've had all sorts of people try to jerk us around and waste our time. This last guy wasn't too promising, the horse hadn't been ridden in a month, but they worked perfectly together. He bought him outright. The commission: $200.

So, minus tithing, this unexpected gift pays for almost all of the work we'll need to get the well fixed. Considering we also chose to invest a few hundred dollars into paint, pictures and professional framing, this is a nice surprise and will make it just a little easier to stay true to our no debt goal.

I have a very strong testimony of the principle of tithing. It has never been a struggle for me to be obedient to this principle and I'm really grateful for that. We all have our own crosses to bear; this one isn't mine, though. We have been abundantly blessed, more so than we ever thought for ourselves. I had a friend say once, "Whatever Heavenly Father has planned for you is so much more than you could ever hope for yourself." That is completely true. He knows our needs, our wants, our hurts, loves and our true potential. He gives so much more than we expect and usually, than we really need. I'm grateful for this knowledge and to see his hand working in my own little life so often.

Under Construction

Well, we've had enough. Our house was in dire need of some attention - on the inside. This last weekend, Allen helped me do a major deep clean and finally find places for stuff that has been homeless since we moved in. I had pictures printed, bought frames, and arranged the photos so they would be ready to hang. I have two photos in with the art and frame place and should get them back at the end of next week. I've still got to get some frames for a few pictures I had printed, but we hung most of what we've got. You'll see from the pics, there are some places that need pictures and they should be done pretty quick. We got paint for Lexi's bedroom, the family room and hallways, and the guest bath and laundry room. What else would we want to do from 8-10 p.m. during the week?

This is the contractor white that is in everyroom, on every door and all the base.

The pictures alone have made a huge difference in the feel of the house. We have lots of remodeling to do, but that will probably be a few years out. In the mean time, we're doing the few things we can to make the home ours. We ordered a really cool bookshelf for Lexi's room and a toy box for the family room, too. They should be here this week. I've bought some cute stuff for the laundry room since we won't be doing much in there to change the layout.

Allen and I got a start tonight on the hall bath since it will be the easiest to paint. The color is called something-or other-beige, but has a strong green base, we think. It goes great with her current motif, but is neutral enough to carry a different decor as the kids age. The family room and hall ways will be a butter cream color. It's really subtle, but very warm and cozy. We're just proud of ourselves for doing something more bold than khaki everywhere.

This is a swatch of the color we'll be putting in the family room and hallways.

Guest bath before.

Guest bath after tonight.

Of course, this doesn't mean we're slowing down on the outside at all. The well guy comes tomorrow morning, Allen sets forms for concrete walkways and lawn curb on Friday and hopefully, we pour cement on Saturday. He chopped down the weeds in the front and sprayed everywhere last night.

Lexi and I had Monday off, I had 2 lessons today, 2 tomorrow, run to Albuquerque for her haircut and errands on Thursday, have Friday off, and give a lesson super early Saturday morning. Youth conference runs Thursday - Saturday, too. We're in charge of food for Saturday lunch so I'll be there to feed about 100 people and help chaperone.

We're hoping that if we work hard now, when the baby comes, we won't feel bad if the home improvements are on hold for a few months. It's tiring, and sometimes we want to throw up our hands, but we both know if we work hard while we both can, come December we'll be really happy to spend the winter indoors and see our new lawn flourish in the spring.

Wagons and Dress Up

Lexi loved her wagon ride with Aunt Rachel and Nolan so much, we decided to get her one when we got home. Because of the sun here, we opted for the canopy edition. She loves it! This is the order of things: "waggin?" Ok, we'll go in the wagon. "Babies?" You may take one baby. "Pink. I wanna take pink." Ok, get your pink baby. "Juice?" Yes, we'll take juice. "Thank you mama." Would you like a snack, too? "Snack?" We proceed to round everyone up and go out to the garage. Lexi tells her baby, "sit here baby. Sit down!" She puts the baby on the opposite seat, gets her juice and sits down herself. As soon as we start moving, she holds the baby and the juice. She doesn't let go for the entire ride. Then, on the way home she always asks to pull the wagon. She makes it about 15 ft. then abandons the whole thing. She gets back inside and resumes the holding of the baby. Most people who drive or walk by get a good laugh and Lexi really enjoys looking at the goats, ducks, trees, and flowers we pass on our way.

Lexi has really been enjoying pretend play with her babies. I wondered if she might like dress up games, now, too. While at the store, she picked out a purple dress and a few necklaces. We even

got a tupperware container to store all of our dress up things. She didn't like the dress at first because I made her wear it with clothes underneath (it's way itchy). I played up how pretty it was and now she wears it for 4 or 5 hours a day if we're home. I also got a full length mirror for our bedroom. I set it in the hallway when we got home and she sits in front of it almost all day. I caught her showing herself her belly button. She was also going through the parts of her face saying, "Eyebow, nose, eyes" to her reflection. She acts a little embarrassed and runs away when I come down the hall, but I snapped a quick picture of her in her dress talking to herself.