A picture update

The two boys in the buff being buff. Look at the definition on that double chin Nate's got going on there. Besides that, look at the precious smiles both have... oh man, just looking at them makes me melt.

He's got the kid potty, the reading material, a positive attitude... but no poop on the potty yet.

Oh man, I just can't get over how cute this kid is. Especially when he has "I love mommy" plastered on his chest.

And that smile... it melts my heart just as much if not more that the little boys' smiles. Life is so good because of that smile. Wow, what a hotty!!!

This is one of Jeff's favorite hats (aka a tub toy). He has started a stage that whenever we go somewhere, he has to wear a hat. It has been tricky to convince him that we don't wear hats to church. The other day he tried to go outside with his shoes, a diaper, and a hat. It didn't happen. He got stuck with a few other items of clothing too.

I realize that my kids are naked in 99% of the photos I have posted here. Just know that we are doing okay financially and we do have clothes for our kids, we just choose to live life a natural.

Memories

This sounded like fun. Play along if you like!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, if you feel inspired, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

New Post

So, I just can't have that spider post up anymore... but I don't have anything to post about really. So, what should one do in a predicament like this one? I guess all you can really do is blab on and on about nothing until there is enough text to justify a post. I don't think I have quite reached the required quota so I will tell you more useless and uninteresting things for a bit longer. Ah, that just might be enough. Hope you are all doing well and that you had a great weekend.

I hate spiders

My entire life, back to as young as I can remember I have been afraid of spiders. I blame it mostly on my sissy sister (she's not really a sissy, she had four babies without an epidural) because she would always make me go down in the root cellar to get bottle food because she was too afraid of the spiders.

Over the years I have wondered how much I really am afraid of spiders. Mostly, I thought I kept up the attitude I was afraid to give my darling husband a way to protect me. It was fun to let him take the lead on taking care of any of our eight legged, not so much friends.

Well, last night I learned that my fear of spiders is alive and well. As I was sitting on the futon in the spare bedroom feeding Nathan at 3:30 in the morning, I noticed a big bug crawling around on the floor. I thought it could be a spider, but the lights were down low so I wasn't sure. Once I got done feeding Nate I decided I could handle this guy. As I got close, I realized that it was a big hairy spider. I thought, "I'll be a toughy and kill this thing". I tried, but thankfully he got away. I was a little freaked out that I didn't know where he was so I told Scott when I went back to bed that he would have to get Nate if he started to cry.

Not too long later Nate needed help so Scott got up to take care of him. I could see into the hallway from my bed and I kept an eye out for that big nasty thing. He came out! I yelled to Scott and he grabbed a shoe to squish it. I came closer to make sure he killed it real good. He nailed with the shoe, and then the thing EXPLODED into millions of baby spiders. At this point, I gracefully sprinted back to my bed, jumped in, curled into the fetal position and began bawling my eyes out.

It was more than an hour later before I was able to calm down enough to go back to sleep. Before I got out of bed this morning Scott swept up the spider carcases (he killed all the babies he could), threw away the broom, used pine sol and a sponge the clean up the floor, threw away the sponge, and took out the garbage.

So I figure out that it was a wolf spider and they are unique in that they carry their young on their abdomen. NASTY!!! I think I can recover with time and lots of therapy.

Here is a picture so you can see how hideous this thing is. I hate spiders.

Pioneer Day

For the 24th of July Scott took the day off work to celebrate our pioneer heritage. We took a little family trip to the Delaware Water Gap. It is on the boarder of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Simply beautiful! We want to go back soon.

"Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked." He hiked up these stairs all by himself and even used the handrail.

"Here comes the ox cart oh so slow" We found a trail that worked great for our jogger. Nate is the little lump of blankets on the right side. :) He is such a trooper to go on all these adventures with us as such a young age. He never complains.

Scott and I are trying to learn how to do the self-photo thing. This is the best one after many attempts to not cut off the top of Scott's head. We'll keep trying.

This is about as pioneer as we get. We have a garden this year... It is so fun to watch it grow. Jeff loves to water it. He also enjoys eating suckers. We put the two together and it is a great combination.

For Christine

My friend Christine loves to wash her car. She probably does so once or twice a week. She even believes that she gets better gas mileage when her car is clean so she never goes on a trip without first washing her car.

I washed my car on Saturday. Our car has not been "technically" washed in about a year. But, let me just say that it rains so much here that you don't have to wash your car so much. So, I don't feel like I have been losing out on better gas mileage.

Christine, this post is for you. You can be proud that I am on the road to washing my car twice a year. :) All in your honor.

Hill Cumorah

The boys and the campfire.

The amazing stage from the third row (yep we were spoiled, our friends hooked us up)

Jeff loved the pageant. He got so excited he would clap with joy. He stayed awake through the whole thing.

This is a great photo Katie took of the Sacred Grove. I only wish I could get it to rotate so it isn't sideways... but you can still appreciate the beauty. :) Just turn your head ever so slightly (read 90 degrees) to the left.

All in all, we had a great trip to Palmyra. It was our first camping trip with Nathan... and Jeff for that matter. It went so well, we might go camping for the 24th of July too. We are determined that even with little kids, we will enjoy the great outdoors and anything else that would be fun.

Jeff's Birthday

Jeff turned two years old on July 10th. We had a little family party for him. Nothing like the parties most easterners have for their kids, but at least he got a cake... right. :)

This is my first attempt at doing a "cute" cake for a birthday. I used Jeff's Elmo as my inspiration. You can't really tell in this picture, but the eyes and nose are 3D. Yay for me and trying to become a cutesy mom. :)

We went to Central Park and had a picnic. Cousin Kate had never been yet, so it was a fun little trip into the city.

Jeff got a trampoline from us for his birthday. I thought since he was constantly jumping off the couch, he would love it. Today he has spent most of his time jumping on and off the couch, so we'll see if he starts jumping more on his tramp soon.

Jeff got tagged

Okay, so this will be fun. My friend Dallas tagged Jeff (really me) to write eleven things about him. So, here we go.

1. Jeff naturally attracts people to him. At church he has a following of other kids that just love to play with him. Young men in the ward will pick him up and play with him, kids just older than him will play with him. They all love him. I am still trying to figure out exactly what it is that Jeff has or does that attracts so many people to him. I have had many people tell me they would watch Jeff anytime because he is such an easy going kid to have around. I hope to one day bottle whatever it is that Jeff is doing to sell to business professionals who want to do networking or something.

2. Everyone thinks Jeff has an unusually sized head for his age, but I just want to set the record strait and let you all know that he is in the 50th percentile for head size... which equates to perfectly normal. :)

3. Jeff had the be the cutest baby ever born. He had a full head of long hair that was light brown with blond ends. It was sticky out in every direction. He looked like a little surfer boy.

4. Jeff is my Grandpa Cheney's 76th decedent. He keeps track of his numbers pretty closely. We were hoping to get the 75th slot, but we missed it by one. Jeff even tried to do his part to get the number 75 by coming a month early, but it didn't quite cut it.

5. Jeff absolutely loves being a big brother. Every morning he comes out of his room and looks for Baby Nate. He looks in all the spots he could be to see if he can find Nate. He also tries to nurse Nathan. A little worrisome, but I think he has stopped. He has never shown any amount of hostility toward Nathan. Once, I thought Jeff tried to hit Nate, but then I realized that he was giving his bro a high five.

6. Jeff eats like crazy!!! I will feed him his breakfast and then when I get mine, he wants to eat part of mine too. Then Scott will come out and eat his breakfast and Jeff will want part of his too. He just loves to eat. Thankfully he has his dad's metabolism so he isn't too chunky. ;)

7. Jeff loves to run and play and jump. He is pretty fearless and very capable. He loves to throw balls, kick balls, and play catch. Sometimes he doesn't wait for others to catch and that causes a few problems. Especially for unsuspecting kiddos in nursery.

8. Jeff doesn't like to have dirty hands. He hates weird textures on his skin. I hope he outgrows it because beach going is a little crazy when he wont play in the sand.

9. Everyone says that Jeff looks just like Scott. EVERYONE!!! Sometimes I feel like I had nothing to do with getting the kid here because he is "all Scott". I only really see it when he smiles, but apparently he is a mini Scott.

10. In his two short years Jeff has lived on the west coast (California) and the east coast (New Jersey). He also had a 10 month stint in Utah. Poor kid is almost a military brat.

11. Jeff (and now Nathan too) is the light of our lives. He brings so much joy and happiness to us. We are so grateful that he is a part of our family.

Nathan's Blessing

Scott blessed Nathan today in church. It was a beautiful blessing. Here are some pictures of Nate in his blessing outfit provided by Grandma Goddard. He looked pretty handsome in his white baby tux. Everyone was disappointed Scott didn't lift Nate up to show him off after the blessing.


And, here are some pictures of our little family that is growing so much. I can't believe I am the mother of two incredible little boys.

Saturday at the Lake

We spent Saturday at a really fun lake about 40 minutes from our house. Its called Greenwood Lake. It is partway in New York and partway in New Jersey. It almost felt like we were at Bear Lake in Idaho/Utah. It was awesome. It had the small town feel that we miss so much being here so close to NYC. We went to the beach, dinner, ice cream, and then fireworks. It was a great day to spend as a family and I am pretty sure we will go back because the creamery we got ice cream at was awesome.

Jeff took a while to decide it was okay to get some sand on his feet.

Our little family, with our addition. Nathan loved the beach... actually, he slept right through the whole visit to the beach part of the day.

This was just a cute picture of Jeff. Man, he has the cutest little smile.

Jeff putting his feet in the "big foot" tracks that Katie and Scott made in the sand. By this point he was okay with getting a little gritty in between his toes.

Jeff loves his daddy, but this picture doesn't show it so much. :) He is gripping onto Scott's nose so he doesn't fall when Scott leans back.

My Scott

I just don't post enough about my Scotty. He does so many incredible things and since he is too humble to tell anyone about them, I get to. :)

So, as many of you know, Scott has to take these grueling exams for his profession as an actuary Between work, family, church, and studying for exams... he doesn't have too much free time. For a while, this was Scott's schedule.

7 a.m. leave for work
7 p.m. get home from work and eat dinner
8 p.m. start studying
11 p.m. stop studying and go to bed

As you can see, it was a tough time for all of us. So, we were pretty excited for the day when Scott took his exam and didn't have to study any more. It has been awesome to have him all to myself (except for work and church). So, we were a little disappointed when Scott felt pretty certain he had not passed his test. But, all that disappointment vanished a few days ago when Scott found out HE PASSED!!! So, all those hours without him paid off.

I asked Scott if I could tell everyone how smart my husband is, but he only gave me permission to tell people he passed. So that's all I'm going to do. :)

The boys

We had our pediatrician appointments for the boys today. Here are the stats on the boys and their growth.

Jeff
Weight: 50th percentile
Height: 90th percentile
Head: 50th percentile (for all of you who have ever seen Jeff's head, this may surprise you)

Nate
Weight: 95th percentile
Height: 95th percentile
Official doctor's comment: "Wow, this kid is growing like crazy".

Just so you all know, Nate has already gained a pound. I mentioned to the doctor that he hardly ever poops. She said it looks like he is absorbing just about EVERYTHING he can to be growing as fast as he is.

Other things we learned... Jeff has a slight heart murmur but the doctor said not to worry too much about it. She also said Jeff is a little delayed in his speaking but way ahead of the game for his fine and gross motor skills. She also mentioned that he is a pretty good flirt too. As far as the speech delay, we are planning on ignoring it for a little bit longer. I am going to work on talking to him more and narrating my day to him. I'm also supposed to read to him. I know I should read to him... but the kid wont sit still long enough to get through a small board book, let alone 20 minutes a day of reading.

So, that is the update on the boys. They are healthy and happy for the most part. I am so thankful they are such healthy kids. I know it isn't always like this, so I am very grateful for a good doctor's appointment.

P.S. Jeff got three shots. He cried until they brought the lollipops and then he was all smiles. Its amazing what a little sugar will do for a kid.

Nate

Here is a cute photo of Nate. He is such a good baby! He only cries when he's hungry or if he pees on his own face. He has successfully caused diaper changing drama three times. The kind of drama that ends up in a washer full of messy pillows, clothes, sheets, and blankets. It is pretty comical. But look at that face... he can pee and poop all he wants with a face like that.

Two boys

This morning, I was sitting on the couch looking at my new beautiful son when my other beautiful son came to talk. He patted his little brother on the head, put his blanket on him, whispered in his ear, talked to him, and kissed him three trillion times.

As I got up to eat a scrumptious breakfast that my hubby made for me I mentioned to him that I didn't know what people were talking about when they said it was such a big step to have two kids instead of one. I think these were my exact words, "having two is fun".

While I still think this is true, I have to say that after making that comment the morning changed. Nathan struggled with his next feeding which made him fussy. Jeff seemed to react to a sad brother and started wailing and was inconsolable. It seemed my entire blissful morning was completely shattered.

But, after a good feeding for Nate and a long nap for Jeff, the blissfulness of two came back. It is wonderful! I know there will be frustrating times when two will seem really tough, but I also know that there will be many sweet moments when I can look at my boys (Scott included) and be thankful for how lucky I am to be sealed to them forever. As I sit here writing this, I can't believe how I could have stepped into such a wonderful situation. Saying "yes" to Scott has made my life incredible.

I just have to add this, because I feel when you feel grateful you should express it. Scott was and has been incredible through this whole delivery/recovery experience. He was my rock during the delivery. He was the perfect support team all by himself. I could never have done it without him. All week he has been cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, and waking up in the middle of the night to take care of Nathan and up in the early morning to take care of Jeff... I could tell you more and more, but I don't want to brag too much. :) Lets just say Scott is my hero, and I get to have him be my hero forever.

So, now that the pregnancy posts are over, you get some fun post-pregnancy posts. :)

Big Brother

Jeff is enamoured with his new brother. He is gentle and loves to give him kisses. He knows it is his baby and says it over and over again. Scott and I were both surprised because we didn't know if he really understood that he was getting a new buddy.

This is the first kiss from big brother to little brother. We caught it on camera by some stroke of luck. I'm sure there will be many more kisses between these two who are fast becoming best friends. :)

Here is my cute niece Katie, who is here in New Jersey with us playing nanny... without much pay. :) She is holding down the fort with Jeff back home and is doing a splendid job at it too. She is so awesome to come out here and help us. We also have lots of plans for her while she is here. All of which involve having fun!!

Oh yeah, the official name is Nathan Klyn Goddard!!!

Baby Boy Arrival

Well, we had our baby boy this morning. Here are all the details...

1:00 a.m. I woke up to a contraction, but I wasn't sure.

1:30 a.m. I nudged Scott, I nudged Scott a little harder, and he did wake up eventually. :)

2:30 a.m. We called the doctor to tell him that I had been having contractions for an hour, four minutes apart.

3:00 a.m. We got to the hospital. I was dilated to a 4 and 90% effaced.

5:00 a.m. I got my first epidural.

5: 15 a.m. My water broke.

6:00 a.m. I got my second epidural because the first didn't quite work.

6:47 a.m. Our little boy joined us after I pushed for 17 minutes.

He is:

20 1/2 inches long

8 lbs 9 oz

healthy

blessed with a full head of hair (thanks Scott)

So, there are all the details I can think of so far. Scott was an incredible coach. I could have never done it without him. Really, he was incredible. He could coach labor and delivery with the best of them. I almost forgot, as soon as the baby was born he peed all over the doctor. I think that means he will either be a Doctor or a Lawyer. Either way, it was pretty comical. :)

We will try to keep the blog posted. Thanks for all the support and prayers from our family and friends. We feel very blessed!

Tummy Talk

People have begged and pleaded for this photo... so here it is. :) Okay, so maybe begged and pleaded is an overstatement, but nonetheless you get a glam shot of me at more than nine months pregnant. I haven't seen myself from this angle really, so it is probably as much a shock to me as it is to you. I

can't believe how big I am. It must be the black shirt against the white wall. But then... isn't black the slimming color. Oh man... I guess I will just have to face the music and realize that I am just big. As a side note to some who have not seen me in a while. This pregnancy not only added an enormous bump to be front side, but also turned my hair more red and curly too. Pregnancy does weird stuff.

Oh yeah, with all this tummy talk, I almost forgot to say that I went to the doctor today and he told me I am dilated to 3 cm and am 50% effaced. It made me happy. The best part, I haven't felt anything. Nothing like progress without pain. :)

These are a few pictures of Jeff and his beloved measuring tape. He doesn't leave home without it. He doesn't go to bed without it either. He has had it in his little paws for the past two weeks and the only time I can pry it out of his fingers is to give him a bath. (I don't want it to rust). I'm not sure which he is more attached to, his tape measure, or his blanket his Grandma Goddard made for him.

Jeff loves the missionaries. Here is a fun video of him sharing a piece of cake with one of our favorite Elders serving in the ward. Elder Rodriguez is awesome, he is from Brazil and has only been a member for a few years. He is the hardest working missionary and will knock doors all day long because he knows how much people need the gospel from his own changes. He and Jeff have a special bond. They better if he will share his cake with Jeff.

This is a video of Jeff being a little Brett (my little brother who is on a mission in Belize). He is measuring stuff with Karen (my landlord) and then has to take a phone call on his cell. If any of you know my little brother... this is him to the "T". He is a farmer who spends most of his earnings paying his cell phone bill each month. It just cracks me up. Those farmer genes are strong.

I have started going to the grocery store on Saturday mornings at about 7:30. This way, I can get there before it gets too crazy with Saturday shoppers and I can go without Jeff thus avoiding the huge bumper car shopping cart that is all but impossible to maneuver without taking out a few cute grandmas.

Last week was the first week and it was great! This week... was not so great. The problem really doesn't have anything to do with grocery shopping at all. It has to do with me.

It all started in the dairy isle. I decided to get a bunch of the single serving cups of yogurt instead of a one of the big cartons. There was one fatality as I was putting them in my cart. The employee who had to clean up the mess kind of glared at me as he scooped up all the strawberry yogurt from the floor. It was like in slow motion watching the yogurt slip out of my hands onto the floor.

Then, as I was leaving the store somehow my grape tomato packages slipped out of my cart and spilled all over the floor too. Okay, so now in one morning I have successfully dropped two things on the floor. You would think I had filled my dropping quota... not so.

At home, I was emptying the dishwasher and dropped one our plates to its shattering death on our tile floor. I almost started to scream because I was so tired of dropping things. Scott quickly made me feel better by explaining that I am pregnant and it isn't my fault.

So, along with getting a baby within the next week or so, I am really excited to get back my ability to hold onto things and stop dropping everything and anything that gets into my hands. Hopefully this transition takes place before I hold the baby for the first time.

Just in case any of you are skeptical about it not being my fault... the paragraph below is from BabyCenter.com which is as reliable as The Bible. :)

Is it normal to feel clumsy during pregnancy?

Yes. Many women feel ungainly when they're pregnant, particularly in their last few months.Clumsiness comes as no surprise when you consider what your body's going through: You're carrying more weight, your center of gravity has shifted with your growing uterus, and hormonal changes can cause your joints to loosen, including those in your fingers and toes. You'll get your balance and dexterity back after you give birth.In the meantime, protect yourself by remembering that you're not at the top of your game when it comes to muscle control and coordination. Try not to put yourself in situations where you have a high risk of falling — like climbing a ladder or standing on a chair to change a light bulb.Put your high heels away for now and wear stable, comfortable shoes. Take special care when walking on wet, icy, or uneven surfaces and when going up or down steep steps. Take it slow and use handrails whenever possible.

It's amazing that a kid can go from this...

To this...

In as little as a year and a half.

I am continually amazed by the human body and all that it can do. I remember sitting in my anatomy and physiology class in college and just being completely in awe at what the body is capable of... in fact, I was so in awe that I pretty much didn't understand 50% of it. Incredibly, I still passed the class. As I think about having another baby and all that takes place to make that possible, it just gets even more magnificent. It is another testimony to me that there is a God. We are created by him in His image. It really is amazing!

Random Pictures

Here are just some random pictures to give you a taste of our lives this past week.

Jeff stretching with Scott before Scott went for a run. I realize this is a bad picture because you can't see anyone's faces... but I have to be sneaky when I try to catch anything Jeff does on camera. He likes playing with the camera more than posing for pictures.

Jeff wearing his favorite outfit.

Scott and Jeff sitting on the steps of NYU after we ate at PB&J and Co. It is a crazy gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich place in the city.

Me, Jeff, and the big belly. It is hiding behind Jeff mostly, but you can still see it.

Here is Jeff doing some more stretches with Scott. He cracks me up. Such cute boys I have. :)

My babies

So, I decided we needed a post that wasn't about pregnancy. :) So, you get to hear all about my babies.

I decided to plant a garden this year. I started my little seedlings inside the house and watered them. And talked to them. And put them in the sun when it was out. And did all I could to help them become big and strong.

Then came the day to put them in the garden... outside. I have to say that I think this will be a big preparation for me when it comes to sending my boys (or girls) on missions. It was one of the hardest things to do. Putting my sweet pampered little seedlings out into the cold cruel world.

Some of them died. Some of them are still alive. I hope some will grow up big and strong and bring me lots of (I almost wrote grandchildren) produce. I will probably post some pictures later. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you don't get to see pictures of Jeff for a while because my life will be consumed with my babies (the plants that is).

So, there is my non-pregnancy post. :)

Thoughts of the prego

I know you have all probably been anxiously awaiting the next "pregnant lady vent" post. And now you can rest easy, because its coming your way. :) Let me forewarn you that you might want to skip this post. It really is just me thinking and typing all at the same time. Its not so much a vent as it is... well, I guess it is a vent. I just have to talk about my thoughts and feelings relating to the new addition we will have soon.

I feel so much better about this delivery as apposed to Jeff's. I know I have mentioned before that the first delivery was hard. I have to say that a lot of it had to do with circumstances unrelated the actual arrival of Jeff.

Here are a few:

1. We had to change Doctors and hospitals last minute because of communication errors about where our insurance would work. As Jeff came early, we didn't have a Dr. that delivered at the hospital we had to go to. Thus, we ended up with a Dr. I had never met who was pretty ticked that he had to deliver my baby.

2. We didn't understand that we could say "no" if we didn't want a certain procedure done. We basically did what we were told and therefor had a few procedures that we plan on avoiding at all costs this time. I will spare the details just in case I have a male cousin or someone reading. :)

3. I don't want to trash on the care I received, but let me just say that about five days after I had Jeff and I was recovering at home, I discovered that the nurses/doctors forgot to remove some gauze from inside of me.

4. I was also pumped full of drugs to induce me because my water broke and had to deliver within 24 hours. I hear that contractions can be much harder when pit is introduced and when your water breaks.

Okay, so enough of the complaints. I have to say there were a lot of great things about my past delivery. As I said my water broke in the middle of the night. When Scott and I got home with our baby from the hospital. We found our apartment completely cleaned. Yep, my visiting teacher and dear friend and come over and washed my "water broken on" sheets as well as done all my dishes and turned on the AC a few hours before we arrived. How amazing it was to feel so loved.

Also, I was able to get some great help from a breast feeding clinic that didn't charge a thing. It was incredible. They did jaundice tests, weighed Jeff before and after I fed him to make sure he was getting enough to eat, and helped me learn how to nurse. They were also the ones that made the call to my pediatrician to tell her that Jeff probably needed to be readmitted to the hospital.

And I can't leave out that we got the cutest little boy on the planet. I still can't believe he has any of my genes. He is just too cute!!!

So... all that being said. I have to again say that I feel this time is going to be a much smoother ride. I have a good Doctor. I have a great hospital that has complimentary valet parking. I have a great husband who is the best birthing partner I could ask for. I have experience from the past that will help me plan a better birth this time. And I just feel good about it. I am also focusing on having a positive outlook because I think it can make a difference rather than expecting the worst.

Okay, this is a super long post. You don't have to read it. I will try to avoid future vents as a pregnant lady. Just lots of thoughts going on in my head and I had to type them out. Its therapeutic.

I wonder if some therapists recommend people blogging (even if no one reads it) to work things out in their minds. Huh... I'm feeling a new book I could write. "Baby steps to Blogging" (If you have ever seen "What about Bob" this will make more sense. :)

Logger Jeff

This is Karen (our landlady) who Jeff absolutely adores. Karen doesn't have any kids of her own and she is wrapped around Jeff's little finger. He watches out the window for her every day. He never lets her leave after her visits until he gives her a kiss. She is great. I have to say we have the very best landlords anyone could ask for. They have been doing tons of fixing up in the back yard. Sawing down trees, digging post holes, and planting grass have been a big part of our lives these past few weeks. Jeff loved wearing the saw helmet and ear protection. The best part of all this backyard renovation is that we get a fully fenced in yard for Jeff to play in. I have a feeling he is going to be spending many hours outside this summer. He is such an outdoors kid.

The Winner!!!

Well, Daija, you are the official winner of the bread recipe, but I couldn't only give it to you because this recipe is just that good. I think that you are the type that would like to share the wealth.

Amie, you lucked out, but just an FYI this isn't my mom's recipe, but it will become one no doubt.

Christine, your confidence just didn't bring in the winning answer, but you can still have the great bread.

Okay, so here is the best bread you will ever eat.


Oatmeal Wheat Bread

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup oatmeal (old fashioned or quick, it doesn't matter)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 or more cups all purpose or bread flour

Combine ingredients in order and add the flour until the consistency is just right (not sticky, but still all together in one clump). Then let cover it with a warm damp cloth and let it rise until it is double in size (about a 1/2 an hour). Then squish all the air bubbles out of it and shape it to fit your bread pan. Place it in a greased bread pan and let it rise again covered with the damp cloth until it doubles (again, about a 1/2 and hour). Then bake it at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

I have found that if I let it get just a little too dark, then it has a better consistency. If you can keep in in the house long enough, and you want to soften up the crust over night, just put it in a plastic bag after it has cooled and by morning it will be nice and soft.

Scott's Exam

So I was going to do a post giving you an example of one of Scott's problems from the actuary exam he will take on the 15th. I was also going to offer a TI 89 (code for super cool calculator) to anyone who could come up with the right answer. I ran into two problems.

1. I don't have a TI 89 to give out to the winner.

2. Apparently the computer doesn't have any way to do math equation symbols that I need to be able to type to give you the problem.

...Oh boy, oh boy! Are you in luck. We found one without funny looking lines and Greek symbols that I can post. Here we go. And since I have already admitted I don't have a TI 89, I will give out the most amazing bread recipe to the person who gets the right answer. Good luck. Oh, and trusts me, you will at least want to take a stab at it cause this is seriously the best bread EVER... and its healthy.


CRAZY ACTUARY EXAM QUESTION SAMPLE

Which of the following statements in incorrect?

1. The Sharpe ratio will increase if the risk-free rate decreases.
2. The Sharpe ratio will decrease if the expected rate of return decreases.
3. Assets whose prices are not perfectly correlated cannot have the same Sharpe ratio.
4. The Sharpe ratio equals the risk premium of an asset divided by the volatility of that asset.
5. The Sharpe ratio will decrease if the volatility of the asset increases.

Hint: this has to do with option prices (like with stocks).


Oh, and just for the record... I don't have a clue what any of that I just typed out means. I guess if I truly were a supportive wife I would try to understand what my husband is spending so much time doing. Sadly, I only know he is taking a test, and I am jealous of all the attention those books are getting.

My favorite four

places I go
1. the library
2. the grocery store
3. the church
4. the doctor's

people who email me
1. brett
2. my mother-in-law
3. my RS president
4. the primary president

favorite foods
1. cafe rio (there is not in jersey... so sad)
2. steak
3. fresh fruit
4. smoothies

places i'd rather be
1. visiting friends and family in idaho and utah
2. wherever scotty is
3. hanging out on the farm
4. in a home that i own

movies i could watch over and over
1. return to me
2. the princess bride
3. home videos of jeff and scott
4. home videos of me when i was little (i know, i'm so vain)

people i think will respond
1. amie
2...
3...
4... i don't think there are too many bloggers out there that haven't already done this.

The update...

So, thank you to everyone who was worried about me. At about 5 a.m. things slowed down and I was able to go back to sleep. I went to the doctor and he said I was not dilated and that if I were to go into labor, it would be okay. He seemed to think the baby would be fine.

When I had Jeff my water broke and I missed the whole "going to the hospital" dilemma. Now I am scared to death of going too late, and scared to death of going too soon. I voiced my concern to the doctor and he told me that I should go to the hospital when the contractions are about four minutes apart for more than an hour... which is exactly what happened last night. So... his explanation didn't help at all. I called my well seasoned mother of four (not my mother, but a friend who is a mother) and asked her what she thought. She said to wait until I couldn't talk through a contraction to go. My hospital if 15 minutes away so we should be able to make it okay. My other friend is "on call" to meet us at the hospital to get Jeff when the big moment arrives.

I still need to pack my special little hospital bag. Last night I was frantically writing down all the things I should throw together in case we ended up heading the the childbirth center. You would think that I would have packed that silly bag this morning... nope. I mostly slept. :)

So, anything you would recommend I pack in my little bag of tricks? Any advice on when to go to the hospital? Any tricks of the trade that any of you are willing to share with me would be greatly appreciated. I know this is my second time around and I should know what the heck is going on... but alas... I don't.

Okay, I'm done now. This poor blog has become less of a brag blog of Jeff and more of a place to share with the world all of my craziness. I will shape up soon enough, I promise.

Why am I awake?

So, its 2:30 a.m and I am wide awake writing a blog. "Why", you may ask. Well, I'll tell you...

I am having contractions. I'm still trying to decide if they are real or just braxton hicks. I have been having braxton hicks since about 25 weeks. The difference is these are more frequent, and they are accompanied by lower back pain. I got online to find out what kinds of things to do to stop/slow down contractions and I came up with, "drink water". So, I'm sitting here, monitoring my contractions, drinking water, and writing a on my blog.

I'm not too super concerned right now. I'm 33 weeks. That is right at the point when it could be okay to go into labor. Mostly I am just relieved that if this is "real" that my water hasn't broken like last time. That was an abrupt beginning to labor. I would prefer for a nice slow entrance. I was 36 weeks when that happened. I'm not sure if I just come early or if this is just a little bump in the road on the way to a regular full-term delivery.

I'm going to take a little trip to visit the doctor in the morning if nothing else happens tonight. Just to check in and make sure everything is on the up and up.

So, thanks for listening to me. I know it is super exciting to listen to every ache and pain of a pregnant lady. Oh, and since I have you here. I will also share with you how often I have had a contraction.

2:06
2:10
2:15
2:17
2:20
2:25
2:27
2:31
2:35...

I know, you're thinking... those are pretty close together. That's what I'm thinking too. But, I also think might just be dehydrated. I think... I'll keep you posted. :) For now, I'll wait to see if my little stomach cramps get longer, stronger, and closer together.

Have a great day!

Without

So, our home computer crashed a few weeks ago and I am trying to get by using Scott's work laptop at night while he studies. It was going okay until we discovered that it took four hours just to check my email. For some reason his computer would act perfectly at work and then throw a temper tantrum when he brought it home. It has been driving me crazy. I had no idea how much I have come to depend on these little gadgets of modern miracles.

So, today Scott told one of his coworkers about it. His name is Joe. I know I shouldn't say this... but I could just kiss Joe right now. For some reason he knew that you had to write some DOS program to tell the computer that it didn't have to search for the drives that he has to use for work. Mostly because when he is home the computer can't find them and that is what was prompting the tantrums.

So, I am back online and happier than ever. I think I will forgo kissing Joe, for many reasons... but I will probably send him a little thank you through Scott.

Farm boy

The neighbors were having some work done on their yard. This meant that we had huge backhoes and dump trucks right out our back door. Jeff absolutely loved it! He watched them out the window for a solid half hour. He didn't even look back at me after the camera made the flash noise. That is truly a miracle. I think some of those farmer genes from my side of the family must have made into him. I think we will have to plan to send him to farm with my dad each summer. But not until he is big enough to drive a backhoe of his own. If he is anything like my little brother, give him two more years. Yep, four years old. CRAZY!!! That's just what farmers do when they need a helping hand. They put a child/toddler behind the wheel of a huge piece of machinery. I think I was more around the age of 10 before I started into all that. I must not have the gene as strongly as my little bro... or Jeff it looks like.

Just a side note, these pj's look to be that same John Deere green. He is so stinkin' cute in those things. I wish I could let him wear them every day for the next year.

Last Summer

This is a picture of us hiking as a family last summer. A friend of mine just sent it to me and it made me happy... so I wanted to share it. We have had the worst luck with losing pictures. It was nice to get these. Thanks Brandon!

Just for the record, Jeff did have a good time. I think by this point he was getting tired. If I remember right, he fell asleep in his backpack on the hike back to the car.

We hope to have some fun events this summer too. It will be a little tough with a newborn, but we are determined to still do fun things even when our kids are small. I just can't give up all the years that we will have small kids to sitting in the house.

One thing on our list to do is go camping and go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It should be awesome! I just hope that I can do it. We will have a one-month-old by that time. Scott let me plan it with the understanding that I might not be able to go if I have a hard recovery or if the baby has any problems or stuff like that. This just might be a good way to kick-start my pioneer spirit. :) At least I'll have a month instead of a few hours.

This website needs more Jeff

Bath time... the little red spot on his shoulder is a birthmark. The doctor assures me it wont effect his abilities be a productive member of society.

Jeff is showing off his newly acquired funny face.
Here is some more funny face. It is hard to catch those little expressions on camera.

Jeff showing off his speaking skills. Even with a mouth full of Cheerios and a cartoon to distract him. :)

Tracting (is that spelled right?)

So, I went tracting yesterday with one of the sisters serving in our ward. Can I just say that I have a lot more respect for missionaries now. We were only out a little over an hour and by the time we were done, I was content to know that I would go back to my everyday life of playing with Jeff, watching Opera, and eating Bon Bon's. Okay, so maybe my life isn't that posh, but seriously, these girls work hard.

I don't think it was so much the physical part of walking around, but lets be honest... I don't walk all that quick these days. Pregnancy has a way of making my sciatic nerve hurt and now I usually amble along at a nice leisurely pace. I think it was more the fact the some people can be so rude, and I just don't like being around rude people.

When someone comes to my door, I usually invite them inside. Not so for us. We never got invited into any houses. In fact some would just talk through the screen door and one lady even talked through her little mailbox hole.

One lady yelled at us and told us she didn't want it. I could see she was elderly and I really wanted her to know about the health fair we were promoting... so I offered again. She got pretty ticked and yelled at me some more. I walked away and decided I wasn't going to let myself cry. This lady just didn't know how to treat people. Thankfully, I didn't cry, but only because I was with a sweet little sister missionary who was totally tough about it and we also had a 10 year old girl with us from the ward and it didn't even phase her. So, I put on my game face and we went for the next door.

I was also really impressed by how bold this sister was. She was so diligent to give out cards and share her testimony even when it was obvious people were annoyed. You would never think her to be so bold. She is so quiet at church and has a tiny voice that I am surprised that people can hear her.

So, to all of you sisters and elders out there... or once were. I just have to say I have a new found respect for you. Thanks for being so diligent and working hard, because I now see how hard it really can be.

He's got skills

My son is learning some new and exciting things these days. Like how to hit. How to pull all of the cushions off the couch. How to scream when he doesn't get his way.

I can't say I like all this one bit. He is at such a "copy cat" stage that anything he sees once he does all the time.

I am pretty sure the hitting came about after he had a Kong Fu (I don't know how to spell that) lesson from one of the boys in the ward. While its a cute idea, it hurts my face. The kid keeps telling me I need to enlist Jeff in a Karate class... no way.

The couch cushion incident came about because Scott built Jeff a fort and now everyday is a fort day. I really don't mind this one as much, it is just a kid being kid.

The screaming. Oh, the screaming. It is more like a high pitched grunt. If you were here, I would demonstrate, but since you aren't and I have no idea how I would put an audio clip on the blog, you will just have to imagine. This one came from a little girl in our ward who is just three months older than Jeff. She is a sweet little girl, until Jeff comes around and then she feels it her duty to be the alpha female.

So, now that my son has these really cool talents... I'm wondering what to do. How do I teach him not to hit? How do I teach him not to scream? And how do I teach him that the couch makes a great fort... every once in a while but not every single morning?

So, I am soliciting your parenting advice. I can't guarantee that I will use it all. But feel free to tell me what has and hasn't worked for you.

Oh and just so you know, my boy really is a gem. He gives the best kisses and loves to sing himself to sleep. He never stays out past his curfew and uses clean language that I still can't understand. He has begun to say "Day doo" and "Dah doo" which are obviously "thank you" and "love you". So, all things said, I think we will still keep him. We just need to tweak a few things.

He's coming...

It hit me yesterday... I only have 12 weeks left before the our baby boy will be here. 12 WEEKS!!! Folks that is not a long time at all. And if this little boy is anything like Jeff I only have 8 weeks before he will make his entrance.

We are excited for this little guy to join our family, but I have to say that this pregnancy and all the feelings that come with it are definitely different than the first time. I think that now that I know what I am getting myself into, it's a lot more intimidating. I keep thinking about all of the amazing women out there who have had like six kids, with no epidural. That leads me to think about all those women who had babies in some one room cabin with the neighbor lady there to help her out.

And then I ask myself this question... Why am I such a pansy? Women have been doing this for years with a lot less luxury than I will have in my warm hospital room with pain killers, and epidurals, and ice chips. What happened to that firefighter girl who was so tough and not afraid of anything? What happened to that basketball player who broke her finger and kept playing? What happened to that little girl on the farm who was so tough she ate ants? (thanks to my brother who taught me that it was cool) What happened to her? Where is she now, when I really need her?

Sorry to any of you first time moms out there. This post is not to scare you away from ever bringing life into this world. But to all of you seasoned (read: had a baby and survived) moms out there, any advice on how to get over my fears? Any tips on how to make labor and delivery painless? If you've got it, send it on!!! And do it quick, because like I said before... He is coming...

All about Scott!

HOW OLD IS HE? 26.

WHO EATS MORE? Scott.

SAID "I LOVE YOU' FIRST? Scott, I just said "thank you". A few weeks later I got up to courage and mumbled it under my breath when my face was smashed up against his chest. Amazingly, he heard it.

WHO SINGS BETTER? Scott for sure. He has all he talent in the family.

WHO DOES THE LAUNDRY? Me.

WHO DOES THE DISHES? Both of us. I usually do, because I am the one home, but he does them whenever he is home and has time. Sometimes I would rather do them myself when Scott is at work so I can have the time. I am a super high maintenance wife, I want all of his time.

WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? Me, is that weird?

WHO PAYS THE BILLS? Me, but most of them are direct debit.

WHO MOWS THE LAWN? Neither of us, we have never had to.

WHO COOKS DINNER? Me, but Scott is the Jello man. He does the Jello every Sunday.

MORE STUBBORN? We are both pretty laid back on most things.

KISSED WHO FIRST? Scott laid one on me after we had only been dating a few weeks, I was shocked, but it was nice and I didn't resist one bit.

WHO ASKED WHO OUT FIRST? This is a heated debate. I just happened to have an extra ticket to a Jim Brickman concert. I told him he could have it. We ended up going to dinner and sitting next to each other at the concert. But I did not, I repeat, did not ask him out. :) Just an FYI, this is the night Scott decided I was datable, before he had felt like I was too much like a sister.

WHO PROPOSED? Scott surprised me like crazy and gave me a ring three minutes before he left for a cruise to Alaska for ten days. I had told him a few days before that I thought we should date for another six months so I could get over my fears. He had none of that and got a ring the next day.

WHO IS MORE SENSITIVE? Scott is super in tune with my feelings, but he isn't a sensitive femmy type at all. He is pretty stoic in sad situations and can handle hard things better than me. Especially when I am pregnant. Whew, talk about emotional. :)

WHO HAS MORE FRIENDS: We share all of our friends.

WHO WEARS THE PANTS: Neither of us, we base our relationship on mutual respect and concern for each other.

WHAT IS YOUR SONG? The theme song from "The Man from Snowy River". I told him I loved the song once when we were dating. He went out, secretly bought the music, and memorized it on the piano. He randomly played it for me one day when we were just playing around on the piano. Seriously, this guy is too good to be true.

Look what I'm driving now...

So we made a little trade and I've been seen around Jersey driving this beauty! Seriously! I can't believe I am parking this "little" guy next to my house. It has been way fun to have have it, and I didn't think I would, but I like it a lot. The downside is that I have to return in on Saturday. Sad day.

So, the story is that our car has this issue with turning on its own headlights in the middle of the night. Our mechanic is a guy from our ward and insisted that instead of sitting in the shop waiting for it to be fixed we trade cars when we were both at the church on Wednesday. We were going to drive down to the shop to trade back, but he insisted that it was too far to drive all the way down and just to trade back when we got together for a party on Saturday night.'

I'm sure my landlord was a little surprised to see the beast in the driveway when he came out to warm up his car. So, we may be converted to the Hummer series of cars even if we will never buy one. I just can't cough up that much dough for gas, especially with the prices the way they are.

So, I guess this post is just to show you how amazingly wonderful and kind our ward members are. They are just incredible! I mean, if I really did own that baby, I wouldn't just hand it out to others to take for a half a week. And the funny thing is, we aren't the first family he has done this for. Super nice people in Jersey.

Charity after the dance

I am not a night owl. I never have been. I remember the time in high school I invited over some friends to watch a movie and my little brother ended up entertaining them because I fell asleep about five minutes into the thing. In college I would often fall asleep on the ride home from a date. I always tried to tell my date not to take it personally, that it really wasn't them... it was me. With that background I can proceed to tell you the story.

It was my junior year in college. A guy from church, who I wasn't interested in but was a nice guy, asked me to one of the many dances at BYU-Idaho. I got all ready with the dress, shoes, makeup, and insane amount of bobby pins in my hair. We went to dinner and it was fun. We went to the dance, and it was fun. We went to watch a movie afterwords... and it was not fun. I got carsick on the way there, and then my head started hurting (probably from the plethora of bobby pins in my hair). Not just your typical headache, but the hurting where you can't even lay your head down because the pressure of it touching anything hurts.

Finally, he took me home. I said good night and walked in my apartment door thankful that the night was finally over and I could go to bed. Oh... my wonderful bed that always welcomes me home with a nice pillow on the side. The problem was that I first had to take off the shoes, take off the dress, take off the makeup, and pull out every stinking bobby pin... oh I was beginning to hate those bobby pins.

I stumbled into the bathroom and began the task of first finding and then pulling out all of those metal wonders of being beautiful. I started... and then all of the carsickness, headache, and late night got to be too much. I handled it the way any grown up girl would... I started bawling and cursing the man who invented bobby pins (knowing it must have been a man with sadistic motives). I plopped down on the floor big dress and all and sobbed.

Then, she came. My roommate and best friend growing up. Amie carefully pulled out each pin without ripping out too much of my over hair sprayed, matted hair. She undid my shoes (which were also causing problems because my finger dexterity had severely suffered from all the trauma thus far). She helped me get my PJ's and even pulled back the covers on my bed so I could climb in without too much effort. She sweetly and carefully took care of her toddler of a roommate.

What did she expect in return? Nothing. And that is the beauty of true friendship and the charity that develops in one. She took care of me and hopefully someday I can return the favor, even if she doesn't expect it of me.