In The Nick of Time

The room is finally done! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Our own little froggy decided to join our family December 27th, so we are especially excited the room is done and ready to go. :)


I found this frog bedding online for $50, plus $20 shipping. It is a 13 piece set and is so cute! I am quite positive I could not have found a better deal and it is perfect!



This painting, if you can tell from the picture, is one of Christ with a child on his lap and one at his side. I love this painting. It is so beautiful and I feel one that is perfect for this room. I think it is important for kids to grow up knowing how much Christ and our Heavenly Father love them. There is no sweeter knowledge than that we are literal children of our Heavenly Father.


Don't you just love it?! I sure do! And this little guy is boy through and through, so I think it fits quite perfectly.

The Snow Forgot To Show...

But Christmas arrived all the same. It is amazing the difference from this year to last year. Last year we had tons and tons of snow. And this year, hardly a flake. I think that's a big part of why it didn't really seem like Christmas could really be here. Did any one else feel that way?

We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family on Thursday night since that is when the majority of us could be there. We had a fantastic time and enjoyed lots of great food, friends, and family. Here are some of my favorite traditions.

1. Ribbon Jello Salad. It's the only time of year we make it. It is so yummy! If you have never tried it, I definitely recommend it. :)

2. Twice Baked Potatoes. They are nearly exactly what they sound like. You bake the potato, cut it in half and scoop out the insides. Then you mash up the potato and add whatever flavoring you like. Finally, put the mashed potatoes back in their shells with a slice of cheese on top and toss them back in the oven until the cheese is melted. Divine!


3. Acting out the Nativity. This year my family tried very hard to convince me to play the roll of Mary, if only for the first few seconds, considering I fit the description, "being large with child" to a "T." But I didn't want to take the spotlight away from my niece, and I didn't want to risk breaking the donkey's back - my brother-in-law. The Nativity scene is always entertaining. This year when the angels arrived, one of them walked right up to the baby Jesus and tried to pick him up and hold him for a moment. For this she received a shove from either Mary or Joseph that sent her toppling backwards. She cried in anger for a moment, but then all was forgiven. We had one shepherd and one sheep. The sheep, who has just recently mastered walking, was much more interested in "grazing" and disappeared from the scene within seconds. The shepherd paid a quick visit to the baby Jesus and went to find his lost sheep. When the wise men appeared, the first one walked right passed the baby Jesus. He was grinning and so excited to play the part I think he missed the destination. The whole thing was priceless. I love watching the little kids act it out. And they love doing it. It's awesome.


We ended the night with my mom reading "The Story of the Christmas Cane." At least I think that's what it's called. It's a beautiful story about a candy store owner that introduces the candy cane to the town and teaches them all about the symbolism. Turn it upside down and it forms a "J" for Jesus. Turn it right-side up and and it looks like the shepherds crook. The color red for the blood that was shed. The color white for redemption. It really is pretty amazing.

It was a wonderful evening and I am really glad I did not have a baby yet so that we could be there.

It was also really nice because since we celebrated early with my family, that meant we could spend Christmas Eve with Ryan's family. We had a nice evening at their home eating pizza, opening presents, and playing games.

The big excitement for the evening was when the boys set up their Christmas present - a clay pigeon shooter. They set it up in the kitchen just to see how fast it would fling around. Don't worry, nothing was loaded in it... for long. It was simply too hard to resist, so we took it outside in the backyard, aimed it at the fence, and launched a sugar cookie at it. The cookie wasn't round, so we tried a blank CD next. Hahaha - it was amazing! That thing moved so fast it was almost hard to see it in the dark. But there was no doubt where it hit when we all heard a deciding "Smack!" against the fence and reflective pieces of CD broke off into the yard. It was hilarious.


It was really nice to be able to spend time with both families and we are really looking forward to Ryan's sister Jodi and her family coming out from Colorado sometime this week.

Today has been really nice. We woke up around 8 to open our presents.

We bought Dodger a couple new toys and Ryan wrapped them up in newspaper. Dodger didn't see him do this, but somehow he knew they were for him. He didn't care about our gifts, but he really went to town on his own. He shredded the newspaper and was ecstatic to find his new toys inside.


As for me and Ryan, he bought me a nice new winter coat which I totally love. He also gave me a handwritten coupon that read "Not one, but TWO massages!" I laughed and laughed. That was definitely my favorite. :)

I bought "him" some KitchenAid attachments. They included a shredder, food grinder, and fruit/veggie strainer. I figure that's really for the both of us. But what I really got him was the sausage stuffer attachment. He has been wanting to make his own sausage for a long time. The sausage stuffer didn't come with the other attachment kit mentioned above, but I used it as an excuse to get the kit anyway. Fred and Jari drew our names for Christmas, so I told Fred to get Ryan a book on sausage making. I think Fred must have found the perfect one because I couldn't get Ryan's nose out of the book for more than a few seconds after that. He even asked if we could take it to church. Haha.


Jari sent me a beautiful book on motherhood which I am super excited to read as well as a couple handmade burp cloths and outfits for the baby. They are so stinking cute! One has the Pillsbury Dough Boy on it and it says "Poke Me" and the other says "Stud" with a muffin underneath. I love it!
Thank you Fred and Jari!


After presents we got ready for church. Church was wonderful. Each member of the bishopric gave a short talk and the choir sung in between. It was fantastic.

After church we went to my parents for breakfast, which is as much tradition as is Christmas Eve dinner. My favorite part?

Aebleskivers!!! They are Danish apple pancakes. You can actually put whatever you want in them, but we like to stick with the traditional slice of apple in the middle. They are fantastic!


We also have sausage, scrambled eggs, juice, and new this year - hashbrowns. Breakfast food is my favorite anyway, but Christmas morning breakfast is definitely the best. :)

The rest of the day has been peaceful and quiet. Even with all the festivities over (yes, I have already taken down my tree) it's still hard to believe that it was really Christmas. It has been wonderful though. I am grateful for family and loved ones. And most of all, I am grateful for the reason we celebrate to begin with, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Merry Christmas everyone! And now that Christmas is over, it's safe for baby to come out so he can have his "own" day. ;)

Not In That Line

Perhaps surprisingly, this post title does not refer to a shopping line during the chaotic last minute shopping efforts many of us go through (myself included.) Instead, it's something we joke about in our family when it comes to talents and gifts that we came to earth with. Whenever we discover something we are not naturally good at, or did not inherit, we say, "See, I wasn't standing in that line in Heaven."

There are many things I have discovered I wasn't standing in line for before I came to earth. Some things I wish for more than others, some I feel I can live without, and others I am determined to learn that hard way - time and effort in the here and now.

One of those things is cooking. Baking really. My mom and mother-in-law are amazing with their homemade breads and rolls. There is nothing so wonderful as warm, fresh, homemade bread. To date, I have only semi successfully made homemade bread once - and I already posted about it. But to help with this desire, something I really really want to do to help my future family - Ryan and I purchased our Christmas gift early and put it to use.

A KitchenAid! We have both really wanted one for a long time, but those glorious machines are kind of expensive. Then, on whim one day about a month ago, I had a thought. I wonder if anyone would sell their KitchenAid on KSL... So I looked it up. To my surprise and delight, there were a handful of posts that were not very old (one being listed for only 20 minutes) and all being under $110. A new one costs $199 for a 4 quart. The latest and greatest are now 5 quart or stainless and they are $299. In fact, the original $199 one is getting harder and harder to find in stores. Most only carry the latest and greatest. We called the first few listings, but they either would not hold it for us long enough to drive to their location, or they had already sold it. I was definitely bummed, but at least hopeful knowing that we could get one for a decent price. Later that night I decided to text a seller that had had his KitchenAid posted for 4 days. It was a long shot considering the one listed for 20 minutes was snatched almost instantly. But amazingly, he hadn't sold it yet! This worried me at first wondering why no one had claimed it, but after we talked about it and the condition it was in, Ryan and I decided it sounded perfect. It is a few years old, but they have hardly used it at all. In fact, they decided they would rather have the money for Christmas presents for their kids than keep the machine. That's how often they used it. We took it home and immediately tried it out. It's in stellar condition and I couldn't be happier.

A few days later, we were assigned bread/rolls for Sunday dinner. Aiming to impress I decided we should whip up some homemade bread. "Whip up" meaning the whole 2-3 hour process, but I was excited. We decided on Spudnuts, a family favorite recipe (made with mashed potatoes.) We followed the recipe exactly, but it didn't rise nearly as much as we thought it should.


We pressed on anyway, determined that they would still turn out. We didn't roll them out and fold them the way my family does it, but instead just rolled them into little balls. We figured they should still taste the same. They came out of the oven looking like biscuits. Cracked, dry, and smelling strange. I took a bite and almost gagged. Ryan gave it a go with the same result. What on earth? We went over the recipe step by step, analyzing everything. Was it the yeast? The yeast was still good and we proofed it just as it said. We did use potato pearls instead of mashed potatoes, but my family often does that and it shouldn't have caused a problem. They did smell a little funny, but we opened that #10 can for that very purpose. The flour wasn't old. It was a total mystery. Depressed, we threw the whole batch out.

Ryan decided we should just bring a regular loaf of bread for dinner, but I was too embarrassed to do so, so I went back to the recipe book and found a recipe for cranberry orange bread in the quick bread section. No yeast. No potato pearls. Foul proof.

Or so I thought. The bread turned out just as bitter and gross as the Sputnuts had. I hoped it was all in my mind and we took the bread to dinner anyway (as well as a regular store bought loaf of bread just in case). I told my mother-in-law all about it, and she seemed just as perplexed as I did. But when she tried the bread, she decided it was the flour. It was the only common link. Though rare, flour can go bad without warning. I threw out the rest of the bread. What a sad way to waste 9 cups of flour/other ingredients and an entire afternoon.

Baking. I was certainly not in that line. But I am determined to learn. And now that I have my handy dandy early Christmas present, I tend to put it to good use... Even if it is more often than not for something sinfully delicious instead of nutritious...

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Pie. This is the pie I made for Thanksgiving dinner. It was totally divine. I made one similar to it a few years ago and thought I got the recipe from Kraft, but when I looked it up on their website, this is the one that pulled up. It is not the same one, but similar, and easier. :) The end product doesn't necessarily look divine and it required many repeated answers to "What is this?" Maybe next time I would put a layer of chocolate or whip cream on it. Less likely to be questioned for edibility. But believe me - it is worth it.

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
3/4 bag mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
2 cups Cool Whip
1 graham cracker crust

Beat cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter. While mixture is mixing, put mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in food processor or chop up into bits and pieces. Fold the Cool Whip and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups bits and pieces into cream cheese mixture. Pour into crust. Freeze.

Delicious.

I have a feeling that my KitchenAid will get plenty of use in the dessert section, but I look forward to lots of baking as well. I just purchased new flour and hope to make bread again soon. And, there are so many awesome attachments for the KitchenAid, that it really makes me want to do more home cooking in general. We just have to save up to get a few of them.

Bake For 10 Months... Or Until Well Done

I am currently working on the "well done" part. Our little guy is now officially two days overdue, but don't worry. I am still in good spirits about it.

This last month has been a wild ride of expectations, hopes, and reality checks. I have always expected to go over my due date. I have always planned on an induction. That is largely because that's how my mom was and I take after her. I know, I know - everyone is different, but I figured it doesn't hurt to expect to go over my due date. If that's what I plan on, I won't be disappointed when it happens, and I will be pleasantly surprised if I go early or on time.

At 34 weeks, I was measuring 33. They said not to worry about it.


By 36 weeks I was measuring 35. Again, don't worry about it. It doesn't matter so much if they measure small as long as there is still growth. They said it was just more likely that I would have a 6-7 pound baby than an 8-9. I can deal with that.


At 37 weeks I was still measuring 35. No growth is not a good thing. So they sent me for an ultrasound to measure the fluid and a non-stress test to measure fetal heart beat and movement. Both came back squeaky clean. Plenty of fluid and a happy, thriving baby.


At 38 weeks I was still measuring 35 weeks. My sister-in-law had this same thing happen to her, and they induced on her due date because there was no sense in making her wait if baby wasn't going to grow any more. A small bud of hope started to blossom in my chest. I found myself hoping and praying that baby wouldn't grow - not in a dangerous way of course - but that he would just stay little and that maybe... with a little bit of luck... they might induce me on time. The doctor at my 38 week check up wasn't concerned because my test results looked good. So I held my breath for the next appointment.


39 weeks came along and baby suddenly measured 37 weeks. What the?!? Two weeks of growth in about 5 days?! (Granted I did feel like I was suddenly bigger, but I had hoped that it was all in my head.) I was naturally happy that baby was doing well and was still healthy - but I was a tad bit disappointed that he decided to go through such a big growth spurt right then because there went my chance of an on time induction. I still expressed my "concern" about it, even though in reality I really wasn't concerned at all. A happy, healthy baby is all that matters. They ordered another ultrasound to check on fluid levels again just to make sure. Again everything looked great. He was measuring exactly on time (not small) and we again confirmed that he is a boy. (Thank goodness!)


I had my 40 week appointment on Tuesday, baby's due date. The doctor didn't measure my belly - which I didn't think about later and was kind of bummed I forgot to ask. Granted, I was more concerned with other things and at this point, and it doesn't really matter what he was measuring. It was more a curiosity factor because I am pretty positive he went through another growth spurt. I have a feeling my 6 pound baby is closer to an 8 pound baby now. The main point of this appointment, for me, anyway, was to find out what the game plan was from here. The only argument I could come up with for not waiting an extra week or so was - "Hey, if I am not making progress now, and I have a family history saying I am not going to progress by next week, why bother waiting?" I knew what the answer would be, but it was worth a shot. Statistics show that most women will deliver on their own by 41 weeks. The risk of complication greatly increases at 42 weeks. So inductions are typically planned between the 41 and 42 week mark. I had made no progress previous to this visit, but I finally made it to a 1cm. Haha. Big progress!... NOT! (Again, I know plenty of people that weren't dilated at all either and then suddenly their water broke and they were in labor. I know it can happen. I just don't think it's going to happen for me.) But instead of feeling pouty as he told me I had to wait another week, I was at least happy to know there was going to be an end. Though it's physically impossible to be pregnant forever, sometimes it doesn't feel that way. And especially with this being my first and having no ability to comprehend what it will be like to have a baby, it's impossible to wrap my mind around what comes next.

So no baby yet. I have been amused at my own feelings regarding this. Because I have prepared myself for years that I would mostly likely never have a baby on my own on time, I think my emotions have been pretty smooth. That is... with the exception of this last Monday, the day before I was due. Something just snapped. I was angry and bitter and ready to be done. I pouted all day long just feeling frustrated that I was still pregnant. I hurt everywhere. Everyone kept making comments about how I was going to burst. Or how miserable I looked. Well, no duh! I found that my own reaction was surprising to me. I have been a pretty happy pregnant woman, and I knew all along that baby wasn't coming on time, so why be angry about it?

Thankfully those feelings were all gone by the next day. One would argue it seems more logical to be upset on the due date, or even after that baby hasn't arrived yet, but that wasn't the case. I cancelled all my piano lessons this week and for the next month and half. So I actually had a totally free day. It was amazing. I went to the gym, did some shopping, showered, went to the temple with Ryan to do sealings, (which was really awesome by the way - our sealer made a comment about how he has had lots of couples come to celebrate their anniversary doing sealings, but he had never had a couple come on their baby's due date. I am sure the were nervous about me delivering right there, but I was confident no such thing would happen. And it was amazing to be able to participate in sealing families together. Especially being so close to having our own baby, it made me that much more grateful for my own temple marriage and the blessings of eternity) and then went to my doctor's appointment where I was reassured everything would come to an end... eventually.

The next day at work, even though everyone was surprised to see me there and made repeated comments saying as much, I found that I was in a rather happy mood. Grateful in fact, for the extra week or so alloted me. Raising a baby is scary! He is so much easier to take care of when he is on the inside!

I am now somewhere between a peaceful calm and a heart racing panic. Though I am happy to know that they will indeed induce - and before New Years so my insurance doesn't start over - now I have a definite count down. There is no avoiding it. I can't wait to actually meet this little boy and hold him in my arms. I know it will be the most amazing thing in the world. But I would be lying if I said that thought isn't as equally intimidating as it is exciting.

I have been extremely blessed to enjoy a relatively easy pregnancy. Please don't send me hate mail if you endured an awful pregnancy. I love and admire all women that can plow through this - especially when they are super sick. I had very limited morning sickness and have been able to keep doing pretty much everything I did before, including my spinning/elliptical work outs, and full time work and piano lessons. Pregnancy has been good. Though I do look forward to having my body back and being able to rotate in my sleep without waking up in vast amounts of pain and feeling like a beach whale frantically looking for something to help roll me over - it has been good. I love feeling him squirm around inside. Sure, it's uncomfortable and kind of hurts at times, it is amazing to think of this little child inside rolling around, stretching, kicking, punching, sucking his thumb... it is so humbling. I really can't wait to meet him!

Yesterday was my last schedule shift in the ER. I am really looking forward to a whole weekend off with no lessons, no work, and even a few extra days than I normally would have since I would typically be working. And it will be wonderful to have that time off to spend with family for Christmas. (I hope and pray the baby doesn't decide to make his debut Christmas Eve/Day. Although I would love to go into labor on my own, I would really love it if it happened before or after Christmas. That's a lot to ask, I know. It's going to stink for the little guy no matter what having his birthday so close to Christmas, but it would be a little better if it wasn't actually ON the holiday itself.)

With the bit of extra time I have, I plan on doing some additional cleaning, laundry, and shopping. Or just sleeping. That sounds great too. Thankfully, I think we have pretty much everything ready - or as ready as one can be never having been through this. The nursery is set up, and I am dying to take a picture of it, but there are still a few boxes and stacks of things that we are trying to determine storage for. So that picture will come eventually. For right now, I think the biggest concern with have is how our other son is going to handle this...

Poor Dodger. He is such a good sport, but this has been hard on him. I am positive he will be great with the baby, but I think he will have some jealousy issues at first. After all, he has been the only child for a while now and all this moving around and change has left him a little anxious.


This was during the crib setting up stage. He kept walking underneath it, looking up through the springs, and whimpering. If I tried to help Ryan, he kept pawing at my arm to get my attention, so I ended up holding him for most of it. Once we got it all set up and the bedding in, he grew extremely flustered because the bumper pad is just at the wrong height - for him, that is. It was just at the level where he could no longer see into the crib when he was up on his tip toes.


So I scooped him up and put him inside so he could sniff around and see we weren't hiding anything in there... yet.

A few days later, Ryan heard some ruckus coming from the baby's room, so Ryan went to investigate. He found Dodger up on the changing table, head ducked down because he knew he shouldn't have been up there, but also pleading with Ryan for help to get down because he had managed to get himself stuck. I don't know how he knew it, but he knew we had a couple baby rattles up there that he is particularly fond of. That was his goal before he got stuck. Thus - another reason we need to figure out storage.

But to give the little guy credit, he has done really well. He is still very curious about all that stuff that is just the right size for him in the spare bedroom, but he responds very quickly if you tell him no. I don't worry about him in the long run. I think the first little big will be a rough transition, but it will be okay. He is a fantastic dog - even if he gets into trouble sometimes. What child isn't like that?

In Gratitude

Today I decided to get up and bear my testimony. I had already felt the little stirrings telling me to do so, but when I glanced over at Ryan's open lesson manual with the title "Strengthening Testimonies By Bearing Them" well, it was game over. That and I figure it might be a while before I get that chance again.

I blubbered the whole time. I will admit that I do often cry a bit when bearing testimony, but this time was worse. I blame, in part, a man who stood a few minutes before I did and told a terribly tragic, but beautiful story that for me, in my weepy, emotional pregnant state, just could not bear. I had to sit there for a while after he sat down to try and let some of the tear spots on my dress dry out before trying to go up. I am not sure why I bothered. I was laughing from embarrassment on my way back to my seat because my poor belly was covered in tears. It's really great at catching things I don't want it too - like food and tears. Oh well.

This year I did not make a list of all the things that I am grateful for this Thanksgiving, though I think that it is a very humbling and good activity to do. We really are a blessed people. There is no end to the things that we could and should be thankful for. It's a bummer we only have one holiday devoted to the topic. But today in Fast and Testimony Meeting I felt the desire to talk about this.

The thing I am most grateful for is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What a great opportunity we have to spend a holiday with family, thinking about and saying thanks for the many amazing things we have been blessed with. And the most important of them all is Christ.

Ted Henniger

And how wonderful is it, that right after Thanksgiving, we have a whole month to be able to think about, talk about, and focus on the most amazing thing in the world. Christ! Yes, there is a battle for attention with commercialism, but the true meaning of Christmas is at it's very root, Christ.

Simon Dewey

I am humbled to think that everything we have, everything we are is because of this small infant... This miracle of miracles, born in the most humble of circumstances, so tiny and frail, and yet born to save the whole. No ordinary man indeed. Although for my own selfish reasons I desperately do not want my baby to come on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, it has been a neat experience thinking about another baby born some 2000 years ago. Whereas I have all the tools of modern science at my disposal where I will be warm, comfortable, safe, on a bed surrounded my knowledgeable staff and hopefully no pain (thank you anesthesia), Mary had nowhere to go but a stable. Those who attended the birth (that we know of) were Joseph and the animals sharing her quarters. And that precious baby, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords had nothing more than swaddling clothes and a manager to lay in. Although he is deserving of the finest birth surrounded by mounds of gold and every offering the earth has to offer it's King, his humble birth is most fitting for his nature, his mission, and his life.

Joseph Brickey

I found, while going through boxes of things, a project I had started one Thanksgiving many years ago. I cut tan pieces of paper into 2 inch strips and drew the outline of a scroll that would continue on and on when you lined it up. (Think of the classic Santa naughty or nice scroll that unrolls on the floor and continues across the room.) On these pieces of paper I had begun to write all the things I was thankful for. In the end I was going to cut them out, line them up, and post them along the top of my room as a constant reminder for the things that I had been blessed with. It started first, with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Without them, without the plan, nothing else would matter. Nothing. I fear there would be little left to be thankful for because we simply would not exist in this manner. But with them, everything is possible. Everything we have and are. As a basis, as the central point of meaning in our lives, everything else falls into place.

Simon Dewey

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for Christmas. I am thankful for the chance that we have to celebrate the most important thing in the world. I am thankful for the Plan, for our Savior's willingness to come to earth, to live the perfect life and set the perfect example. I am thankful that He died for us - that He died for me. I am so thankful for the Atonement. I am thankful that He rose again from the grave and broke the bonds of death forever. I am thankful for Joseph Smith and for the restoration of the Gospel. I am thankful for the restoration of the keys of the Priesthood, for the temple and for the sealing ordinances that make "forever" not only a possibility, but a reality. I am thankful for the Book for Mormon, for the pioneers who paved the way, for the many sacrifices that were made. I am thankful to belong to a church with a living prophet. When I think of the stories of King Benjamin and how the people came from all over just to hear his words, and then I think of the fact that we have that opportunity every six months at a minimum. A minimum! We are constantly surrounded with opportunities to hear from our prophet and other leaders of the church. In fact, we are able to meet each Sunday to listen, to study, and to learn. We have the truth. We have the knowledge that this life is only a small moment in the grand picture. How grateful I am for that big picture. I am grateful to be here at this time in life. Yes, we have a lot of challenges as the Deceiver is fighting harder than ever to pull us away from where we should be. But this is also a miraculous time. I am grateful to know that because I am here, because I have a body, that shows who's side I chose in the beginning and makes me all the more determined to fight for that side to the very end. I am grateful for life, home, and family. Together with my family, I look forward to the day that we can kneel in front of our Savior and thank Him for making it possible. A simple thanks will never be enough, but I can start now by thanking our Father each and every day - not just on Thanksgiving - for this amazing life that we have, for without Him, we would have nothing at all.

A Weekend To Be Thankful For

I went into this Thanksgiving weekend without any real plans, but it ended up being a very steady and wonderful weekend.

The basic rundown including main points in bold for the quick read and regular print for details:

Thanksgiving Day:

1. Slept in. Cue the choirs. Ahhh! Ryan got up early and went shooting with the men on both sides of the family. From what I hear, they had a really great time. Ryan purchased several pumpkins and squash and loaded them with some explosive targets to make things even more exciting. They even helped my little brother Asa hold the gun and shoot. I think it probably made his day.
2. After waking up, I made a pie for Ryan's side of the family. But it was so quick and easy, and it looked so amazingly delicious, I decided to make one for my family too. I knew they didn't need an extra pie, but since it was more of a desert pie (Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Pie) some of my siblings would be pretty happy about it (mostly Sabrina who would do anything for Chocolate.)
3. After completing one pie and putting it in the freezer, I took Dodger for a 2.5 mile walk around the track by the high school. It was a beautiful day! So very different than last year! Last year Necia and I signed up for the "Earn Your Turkey 5K" but when my alarm went off that morning it was literally 3 degrees. Weather report said it would be 5 degrees by the time the race started. No thanks. This year the weather was absolutely perfect. I would have joined the run this year, but I can't really run and I didn't want to spend the money. So I just took Dodger for a walk of roughly the same distance and called it good.
4. Stopped by the grocery store to pick up more pie ingredients for the second pie.
5. Went home and made said pie. By then Ryan was home. When I finished the pie, we took the first one over to my parent's house to say hello to everyone and wish them all a happy Thanksgiving.
6. Ran back home and made a big tossed green salad for Ryan's side and headed over for dinner.
7. Ate said dinner. It was delicious, as always. My personal favorite? My brother-in-law's sweet potatoes. I never liked them growing up but whatever he does makes them taste like pumpkin pie - but better. It's awesome. It was a beautiful feast, but due to my 9 month pregnant belly, I only ate one plate of food, which is actually a good thing. I had a small slice of pie with ice cream. This was the celebrated ending of my sugar free month. So delicious!
8. The goal after dinner was to go play games with the in-laws, but once dinner was cleaned up and Ryan sat down on the couch, he was sound asleep and snoring within minutes.
9. We went home and I busied myself with cleaning and organizing projects. Ryan discovered a TV series on Netflix called "Jericho" that pulled some good attention. It was actually really good. I watched it here and there as I worked on things.
10. Getting ready for bed I had a great deal of anxiety because I had originally been scheduled to work 06-18 Black Friday but had decided earlier in the week to get rid of it. I have not wanted to get rid of any hours lately because I want every hour of PTO I have to be with the baby. But Ryan originally wanted to go to Cabela's at 3 am for Black Friday, and as "unfun" as that sounded, I wanted to go with him. But we decided not to go, so I was feeling a lot of anxiety about giving away my hours for "no good reason." As always... I am so glad I did.

Black Friday:

1. Slept in. Originally woke up around 5, not on purpose, and then again at 7:30. I thought about trying to go shopping then, and maybe going to work out. I spent some time pacing around trying to decide what to do. Ryan convinced me to come back to bed, and by 9:30 when I woke up again, my anxiety about giving up my shift and having "nothing to do" was gone.
2. Dragged Ryan to Burlington Coat Factory and Babies R Us. He was actually a very good sport about it. Our goal was just to see if we could find a decent deal on a diaper bag we both liked. I found one online that we both liked, but we still wanted to see it in person if possible and check out what else was out there. Burlington had the one I found online and we both agreed we liked it, but decided to go to Babies R Us just in case since Burlington wasn't having any special deals and I found that particular bag online for less. (Funny enough I think that bag was the one we registered for without even realizing it.) We did, however, buy a new winter coat for me. Sweet! Babies R Us happened to be having a 30% off all diaper bags sale and we found one there we liked even more. With the discount it was cheaper than the one I found online. Done deal! It is an Eddie Bauer bag, which Ryan was a little embarrassed by simply because he didn't want people thinking we were snooty and needing name brand stuff. All I care about is that it is well made and that we both like it.
3. Drove home and walked to the mall. I sent Ryan to Sport's Authority to see if they had any decent deals on tennis shoes for him while I went to The Children's Place to buy a few gifts for friends. We met back up shortly after and went back home. (No luck with the shoes. Their special "deal" was buy one, get one 1/2 off but all the shoes were regular priced so it was way too expensive. Better to wait until they have a real sale when the prices are much better.)
4. Went home and prepared Fred and Jari's Christmas present. I was afraid that the post office might be really busy with people trying to get things off in the mail, but it wasn't bad at all. It was a big relief to get it off well ahead of time. I sent them a text letting them know that it was coming and that they were more than welcome to open it since there was no reason to wait.
5. Went to Costco. I thought this would be the most daring thing I attempted that day. Costco is always insanely busy, and I figured with it being Black Friday that things would be even worse. But probably since I waited until the afternoon, it was smooth sailing. In fact, I think it may have been one of the smoothest trips I have even made. In and out with very little hassle and virtually no wait. That meant I got my favorite cereal with a coupon, frozen fruit for smoothies, and some stocking stuffers. Excellent.
6. More cleaning and organizing.
7. Dinner at Ryan's aunt's house with his family and my parents. This has become a Thanksgiving tradition as well for his side, but instead of it being a normal dinner, this is the infamous steak and crab night! His uncle's Christmas gift to the family is to bring up fresh Alaskan King Crab. It is the only time any of us eat it - mostly because it is so expensive in a restaurant and it's never as good. You would not believe the size of those crab legs! It is quite the feast and his family has been wonderful to invite my parent's and the other in-laws in the family.
8. Played games after dinner.
9. Went home and went to bed.

Saturday:

1. Cleaned the church. This was the first time that I can recall being able to participate in this. It's been our ward's turn before, but I always forget. It was really nice to be able to go and join other members and help get things cleaned up. It's interesting how you don't really think about it day to day. Each Sunday you come, you meet, you leave. But it does get pretty dirty with all the people coming and going and activities through the week. I was put in charge of dusting the chapel and the foyer. Ryan helped to vacuum. We had a pretty good group show up, so it went by quickly. It was a great experience.
2. Taught piano. I would have liked to have taken piano off and enjoy my truly "no work weekend" but earning some extra money is never a bad thing, especially when it only takes about an hour and a half of my time.
3. Went to Target to "re-register." The baby shower was over a month ago, but since then I received a 10% off coupon for items left on my registry. Truthfully, in the moment I had no idea what to register for. And now that the shower is over and I can see what things we still need - things I wouldn't have thought of beforehand - I wanted to go back to Target and see if I could add things to my registry. I tried it Friday night online, and sure enough, it let me do it. The coupon is great and all, but you can only use it once online and one day in store. There are still a ton of things on the registry that we don't want or need, but I figure it's better to be prepared if we get the chance to go in for our one-day shopping spree.
4. Went home for some more cleaning and organizing.
5. Went to Necia's to help take apart the crib. The moment had finally come for the crib to come down and the toddler bed to go up. Ryan, Bill, Joey, and Paxton all helped in taking the crib apart while I started to wipe it down. Isabel was a little confused when she saw pieces of her bed appearing at the bottom of the stairs. "My bed!" she kept exclaiming. Necia explained, "No, this is the bed for the new baby. This is Diana's baby's bed." Isabel responded, "Oh..." as she thought about it, then quickly added, "My bed!" Necia tell said, "We have a new bed for you. You get a big girl bed now." At that her face lit up and she was just fine to see her crib be taken out to the car.
6. Went to Lowe's and Wal-mart. Lowe's was mostly window shopping. But we did buy a nice little book shelf for the baby's room at Wal-mart. I love books (obviously) and inherited quite a few children's books from my parents. They have just been sitting in a box for the last several months, so I really wanted to get a shelf for them. And it gives me an excuse to keep my eye out for other great children's books. :)
7. Stopped by Burger King on the way home. Nothing like classic American crap food after a couple days of amazing real food. ;) However, I must admit, their fries have greatly improved in the last little bit. They are much bigger and thicker - like a real french fry. But I think they also went through a salt bath. I found myself scrapping them off because there was so much of it. You win some, you lose some.
8. Went to a concert with my mom, sisters, and niece. It was put on by my mom's good friend and daughter. He played the piano and sang a few songs, and then accompanied his daughter who has an incredible voice and was a delight to watch. She sang a mix of theatrical songs, which I absolutely loved. It was also priceless because this concert was at a retirement home, so most of the audience was elderly men and women. One woman in particular kept loudly asking us questions through the performance. She kept asking repeatedly if my mom was the mom of the girl performing. No matter how many times we said no and pointed out who the mother was, she only became more convinced that no, my mom was the mom and we simply didn't know what we were talking about.
9. Went to Jamba Juice.
10. Went home and put away all the newborn and 0-3 month clothing. Ryan in the mean time had put the bookshelf together and most of the crib frame. With these items in the room, we began trying to decide where to put things. It's a good size room, but it is difficult because ideally, I would have liked to have the crib along the east wall. However, that's where the window is and because we live in an old basement with single paned windows, it lets in a considerable draft. (Ryan has since put insulation board in the window and we will put that plastic sheeting stuff up to keep out the draft). But the crib couldn't go there. And again, ideally, I would have liked to put the glider rocking chair in the northwest corner, but that is a door to the man cave. Due to the fact that almost all the walls are concrete, in order to make the basement into a 3 bedroom apartment, they had to add a wall and keep the existing doorways, which means going through the baby room to get to Ryan's man cave. I stood in the room and debated and debated. Ryan, who was watching Jericho, came in and measured all the room and furniture, converted it into the metric system, drew the room to scale on a piece of paper, and cut out smaller pieces of colored paper for me to move around the paper and figure out. I decided on two options, but we didn't move anything else that night.

Sunday:

1. Did not sleep in.
2. Showered, got ready for church, ate breakfast, etc.
3. Went to church.
4. Ate lunch.
5. Went visiting teaching.
6. Took a nap.
7. Went to my parent's for dinner.
8. Decided to test out option A for baby room design. To my surprise, it fit much better than I thought it would. So well, in fact, there was no reason to try option B. Just like that, everything was in it's place. Not everything is completely organized. I still need some storage bins and things like that, but everything is set up. It looks awesome.
9. Went to bed.

It was a wonderful weekend. Busy, but not insanely so. Just steady. It felt so nice to get things done and to make real progress. It was really exciting. I am so thankful for Ryan and all of his help. He has been amazing. Dodger has been a great sport, though he has been anxious about the moving around. Each time we moved something in the baby's room he had to come inspect it. In fact, when I came home from the concert, all he wanted was for me to hold him. If I tried to help Ryan he would whine and cry and paw at my leg or arm until I picked him up. Poor thing. But now that things are more settled, he seems to be doing just fine.

Only 2 weeks and 2 days until due date. Crazy!

Another Book Report

I have lots to blog about, but for time's sake, I am going to start with one of the more simple ones.

Book review time!

The Warrior Heir: by Cinda Williams Chima


This is the story about a teenage boy that learns he is actually a warrior connected with thousands of years of magical history. It's really easy to get into the book. The characters are great. It actually reminded me a bit of The Hunger Games in some thematic elements, but it's certainly not as gory. I really liked it.

The Wizard Heir: by Cinda Williams Chima



Next in the series, the wizard heir follows a similar outline for the story as the warrior one, only this time the character is a wizard. It's a totally new set of characters, though the old ones do reappear towards the latter half of the story. I actually liked this story a little better than the first, but it is a bummer that you spend the whole first book getting to know and care about the first characters and then they have very little role in the next one. But still a great book.

The Dragon Heir: by Cinda Williams Chima

This is the last in the series... for now. This one for me was the culmination of the story that had developed so far. It had all the main characters, each taking a more even role this time, but also focused a lot on on a new character. But at least this time everyone was involved. There is a lot going on in this one building up to a major magical battle. And thankfully something actually happens in this one, unlike the Twilight saga books. There is more than just a vampirely stare down across an open field. It wrapped up really well. As a whole I would give the series a 8 out of 10. I think I would have enjoyed it more if all the main characters were present throughout the whole series. It's hard to go from book to book changing story and characters. It would have been hard to do in this series since each story really is quite involved, but it's still a bit of a let down when you get through one book and are really attached to the characters and then they are just background pieces in the next. I still highly recommend the books though. Chima is a great author and has inspired me in many ways.

The author is actually working on a fourth book for the series that will focus on the Enchanter group. I don't really see myself reading it. Mostly because I felt that the series wrapped up really well and I don't know how she would incorporate another magical group - unless it's like the others where it's a totally different story that somewhere down the road kind of works its way back to the others. As it is, I am fine with moving on.

Next up...

The Raging Quiet: by Sherryl Jordan

I like the cover of this one more than the one I had. The one I picked up from the library was kind of creepy. I think the only thing that made me pick it up (kind of funny now that I think about it) was a Celtic design in the background. This was on the "Staff Picks" at the library like so many of the others I have read. It is set in an unspecified time and location, but it is reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trial days. It is the story of a young woman who moves to a new home with her much older husband. Shortly thereafter he dies, and she is left on her own. She becomes friends with the local "crazy" and is subsequently branded a witch herself. It is fascinating to get into the mindset of the time and people and to experience some of her thoughts and feelings. Although it's not a "true" story, it is humbling to think that things like this happened all the time. I really enjoyed it. I would give it a 9 out of 10.

The Secret Garden: by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I have grown up with both the movie and the musical and have always dearly loved both. If you have never seen or heard the musical, you definitely should! The movie is really well done as well. And though I was well familiar with the story, I have never actually read the book. I loved it! It is charming, witty, beautiful, and innocent. It was a breath of fresh air. This is one of those classics that I want to keep around for years to come. 10 out of 10.

I have my coworker to both blame and thank for the "Heir" series and the next one, "The Seven Realm" series.

The Demon King and The Exhiled Queen: by Cinda Williams Chima



This series also involves wizards, but unlike the "Heir" series, it is not set in every day life. The characters are totally different, and in my opinion, much richer. Unlike the "Heir" series, this series sticks with the same characters and follows them from book to book, developing the plot, personalities, and conflicts along the way. I have really really enjoyed it. So much so in fact that I have expressed an unfair amount of "anger" towards my friend Mike who lent me the first two books. He had the first two, but then bought the third one on his Nook. As I don't have one, that left me impatiently waiting in line with a dozen other people at the library for the third book. I finally got a library card for the Provo library as well since they always have a much larger quantity of popular books than Orem and put myself on the wait list there as well. If I am lucky, I will get a hold of a copy before I go into labor. But as much as I want to read the third, I was totally dismayed to learn that there is a fourth book coming out. Blast it all, Mike! I threw a dramatic little tantrum at work blaming him for getting me hooked on the series. That's why I wait years to read series. That's one of the reasons it took me 10 years before I read Harry Potter. All the books were out by then. No waiting. And now, here I am, deeply curious about this series and I find out there is another book yet to be written. I thought there were only three! Ugh. Of course it's really not Mike's fault and I apologized and laughed in that freaky - She's pregnant, so I don't know if she means it or not - sort of way. Haha. I am really looking forward to reading both the third - and someday the fourth. This is an excellent series and I highly recommend it. I have enjoyed it quite a bit more than the "Heir" series and those were pretty good. So if you aren't cheap like me, go out and buy them. If you find yourself in the same boat as myself, put yourself on the wait list now. So far, 9 out of 10 stars. Maybe even 9.5.

Lastly, for now...

The Wind in the Willows: by Kenneth Grahame


I actually inherited this one, as well as The Secret Garden from my mom as she was getting rid of books that are no longer being read. I grew up with this movie too, though I can't say I ever saw the whole thing. So while waiting for my next book to become available at the library, I picked up this one.

This is a delightful little book. The characters are hilarious. I think one of my favorite things about it was the way the author would say things like "and as everyone knows, proper animal etiquite dictates that..." I found myself giggling every time, because no one really knows what proper animal etiquite is, and yet if it exists, it certainly makes sense. It is by no means a high adventure book. Not a whole lot happens. Toad is the main source of excitement and trouble. I love his character. It's a simple read, and though sometimes boring, it was cute and simple. A nice break from books that involve more energy and thought. :) I think of it as a children's book, but some of the wording is not very simple and the characters periodically call each other an "ass" which I found a little shocking. So it's hard to know where the book really lies as far as audience. But I still enjoyed it. 6.5-7 out of 10 stars.

And that about wraps it up for now. Go find a good book!

3...0... And Counting

It's official. As of today, I have 30 days left. That thought it both exciting and terrifying! Bit by bit things are finally coming together. I feel kind of silly always posting baby updates when baby isn't here yet, but ya know - that's kind of my life right now.

We survived our prenatal couple class. It wasn't one of those breathing and birthing technique classes. Just the ones that teach you all about what to expect and that sort of thing. Most of it wasn't new, but it was still good to just talk about it. And listen to other people's questions. Sometimes it's frightening the things that people don't know. Of course as first time parents there are lots of things we don't know ourselves, but then there are some basics... Oh well. At least no one asked how this whole thing happened! Haha

Along with the prenatal classes came my first birthing dreams. The first one was hilarious. At least to me. I dreamed the baby started coming on it's own - feet first - which miraculously didn't hurt. Ryan and I yelled to the techs nearby to go get the doctor. One by one the techs disappeared, but none ever returned. So finally I just gave birth on my own - again, totally painless. (Wouldn't that be nice!) Moments afterwards a doctor came around the corner, but it was one of the heart docs at the hospital that I have seen maybe twice in my life. I looked up at him and said, "What are you doing here?" He looked confused and responded, "The techs said you were having chest pain!" What the heck?! I told Ryan that I refused to pay any doctor bills because none of them ever showed up and I definitely wasn't paying the heart doctor! Next thing I knew I was with my mom and Ryan and asking about the baby. They informed me that baby was fine and that it was time to go home. I thought that was impossible because I just had the baby. They told me I had actually been sedated for the last week. They had tried to stop the nurses, but to no avail. When I woke up and told Ryan about it he laughed and said they must have been hoping that by sedating me I would forget that no one came to help with the baby. Hahaha. Dreams are so weird. Good thing I don't really look into them or I might be worried!

Bit by bit things are coming together. My sister gave us her bassinet which sat on our couch for a while during all the shifting around. Dodger wasted no time taking advantage of this... even though he was sleeping on the side where it couldn't have been comfortable at all.


We went to Lowe's and bought some shelving for the baby room. Ryan had it up right away, and it's great to have a place to put some of the bigger boxes. Dodger also tested the view for us. He didn't like it so much.

We had a great baby shower a few weeks ago with lots of wonderful support from family and friends. It's hard to say whether we are actually ready or not now, but I do feel much more prepared than we did before. My sister is planning on taking apart her crib and bringing it over soon, so that will be great. We have been trying to decide what to do for a dresser and/or changing table for quite a while. We were hoping to get a dresser that is waist high so we could put a changing pad on that and use the dresser for years to come. We found some good deals on KSL, but we were undersold a few times and we were growing really frustrated. Then just this last week, a couple in our ward told Ryan that they had a bunch of baby stuff they didn't need any more and that we were welcome to it... including a changing table. :) What a huge relief! We picked it up yesterday and last night we went to work rearranging furniture. I cleared out my current chest of drawers and transferred most of it into a different one we had and we brought my old one into the baby's room. So in combo with the changing table, he should be set! I will take a picture when things are totally set up. Especially with the cute bedding. :)

But we did get the bassinet all set up in our room! That really makes it feel more real!


Isn't it cute?! While it was on the floor, Dodger pawed and pawed at the little animals on the mobile. He couldn't understand why they wouldn't just come off so he could run away with them. They are just his size after all. I am quite certain that if he could jump up there, he would sleep in that little thing like a little baby himself. Good thing he can't! There might be some jealousy issues...

So things are really coming together. I still don't know what to do about a stroller. I know it's winter, but I want to be able to go walk around the track with him indoors at the rec center and things like that. We do have a car seat, but I don't know whether to just buy a stroller that will fit with it (Graco) or buy one of those combos. I don't mind used at all and there are a ton of awesome deals on KSL, but at the same time - I don't know if it's better to buy something that is new now knowing that we will need to use it for years to come. Parents - what do you think?

And that pesky diaper bag. I thought it would be the easiest thing on our list. Not so much.

Even though we have 30 days left, I guess it's not a bad idea to start packing our hospital bag. But, with my family history, he won't be here for another 37 or so. Oh well. It doesn't hurt them to bake for while. The longer the better! (Although I wouldn't complain if he came a few days early.)

Our Funny Farm

For living in a basement apartment for 5 years, Ryan and I have had quite a variety of pets/family members. Some certainly qualify as one more than the other, but it has been an adventure non-the-less, one which I don't see ending any time soon. And I can honestly say I wouldn't want it to anyway.

While Ryan and I were dating before his mission, he went on a family trip and to my surprise, returned home with a bunch of tadpoles he had caught in the wild. He set up a terrarium and we went to work trying to keep them alive. It wasn't terribly hard at first. They mostly take care of themselves, so long as they have some food to eat. (Which I learned during this process, was sometimes each other. Yes, tadpoles can be cannibals.)

I don't remember how many survived, but it was a good amount! We changed the terrarium as the tadpoles grew into frogs, converting more water area into solid (well soil) ground. Once they reached this stage, it was time for live food. Crickets! Most of the time they did just fine on their own - but I think the captivity factor bred out some of their wits because they were never very good at catching the little hoping creatures. There were many times we would have to scoop up a cricket on a spoon, hold it in front of their faces, and then they could grab them. Special little amphibians. This went on throughout the entire duration of Ryan's mission. It was a great excuse to go over to his parents and hang out for a while. I am positive that we extended the frog's mortality rate 10 fold by not being out in the wild.

When Ryan came home, there were a couple still alive. 2+ years is along time! We continued to buy them crickets and keep them going. Every night the frogs would burrow down into the soil to sleep, and slowly creep out the next morning. It wasn't very often we knew where exactly they were. One day, however, the two remaining frogs did not come out from hiding. We waited and waited, but they simply never appeared. We determined that they must have "gone the way of the earth" and decided to investigate (after a few days). Sure enough, they had burrowed down about an inch apart from each other and just died. I like to think it was a male and female and that they were old in their froggy years and decided to go out together. (Yes, even frogs can be romantic.)

While the frogs were still alive, but before we got married, Ryan wanted to see if he could breed guppies. I don't remember if he had any use for them in mind if he succeeded. I think we were thinking maybe the frogs would eat them since they still spent some time in the water, but I don't recall.

Ryan purchased several little guppies, put them in a small tank, fed them, and waited. We all teased him and said it wouldn't work... but one day, to our surprise and Ryan's triumph, we noticed tons of tiny little guppies swimming around. Nature will do it's thing I guess. We never fed them to the frogs. In fact I don't think we did much of anything with them. Guppies don't last very long anyway.

About 7 months after we got married, we purchased our first real pet - one that fits more appropriately into the "family member" category. Again, being in a basement apt, we are kind of limited on animals we could have. I love cats, but Ryan isn't a fan. And I wouldn't want one to be couped up in a basement all day anyway. I do have a thing for small, cuddly looking animals. Ryan, knowing this, told me in passing that if I ever found anything that was a cross between a bunny and squirrel I could have it. Well - I found it. Actually I don't remember how we came across these delightful creatures, but I am glad we did.

Meet "Gus" the Chinchilla.

If you have never heard of a chinchilla, my most common way of describing them is a bunny-mouse-squirrel. Appropriate, no? Face of a mouse, body of a bunny, and tail like a squirrel - though none of these pictures actually show his tail. Sad day. They are often used for their fur, which is the softest thing you will ever feel, but it takes something like 300 to make a single coat. That breaks my heart. Especially when you get to know one personally.

A few days before Valentine's, after leaving the Dr's office with a very sick Ryan, we decided to drive to Animal Ark in American Fork where we had heard they had baby chinchillas. Google "baby chinchillas." They are the cutest things alive. The lady working there asked if we had a preference on boy or girl, to which we answered no. We just wanted a good natured one. She pulled Gus out of the cage and handed him to us, not based on temperament, but based on looks. He certainly was the prettiest. Most chinchillas in his coloring category are a much darker gray. Gus was a light gray with white undercoat. We played with him for a while and then decided to bring him home with us - the ultimate "this will make you feel better" treat after going to the Dr.

Gus was a total blast. After you have googled "baby chinchillas," google videos of chinchillas. Common ones have key phrases like "Matrix Chinchilla" and things like that. They are amazing creatures. They hop like a bunny, but can get going really fast and bounce of multiple walls and do all sorts of tricks. It is amazing to watch. We had a smaller cage for him, but we eventually made a giant "castle" for him. It was slightly taller than I am, and a few feet wide and deep - complete with multi-level shelving, pegs, and toys, all made from wood so he could chew all day long. They also don't take real baths as the water would ruin their fur. They take "dust baths" in special dust. They love their baths! That's another fun thing to google.

One of my favorite things about them is their tiny front paws, which they use like real hands. They can pick up almost anything. It is so cute to watch them feed themselves - just like a squirrel. They live for dried fruit. Raisins and dried apples were some of Gus's favorites, though I also learned that he liked banana (and would even eat it fresh) as well as popcorn (unsalted and buttered). He had quite the personality. He really didn't love being held, which was a tragic thing for me since all I wanted to do was cuddle him, but he was a lot of fun. Certainly very entertaining.


We bought Dodger the following year. We let them play in the hall together (under close supervision) to see what they would do. Gus was no fan of Dodger and would run down the hall and sideways kangaroo kick Dodger as he ran by. Dodger was so young and so very puppy uncoordinated that he would march down the hall, his front legs flailing about as he tried to catch up with Gus and bite that big poofy tail of his. He weren't worried about this, since Dodger stood no chance against Gus's speed and agility. The few times he did corner him he didn't know what to do with him and Gus would simply jump over his head and keep going. However, as Dodger grew, play time ended. Instead they would face off - Gus in his cage, and Dodger on the outside. Gus would run along the bottom of the cage, bounce against it to get Dodger's attention, then turn his back to him with his fluffy tail tantalizingly close-egging Dodger on. Dodger couldn't resist for long and would lunge into bark mode, pouncing up and down and running along the edge of the cage in frustration until we would firmly tell him "NO" (for barking) and make him stop, all while Gus would be watching from his top shelf laughing inside. It was the perfect glimpse into what it will be like with real siblings - one egging the other on and then trying to look innocent when the hammer falls. We knew Gus was often the instigator of these little spats, but how can you discipline a mouse?

Gus met a tragic end last year (much earlier than their average 10-15 year life span) when we returned home from our annual Uinta camping trip. We had our upstairs in-laws feed and water him while we were gone. When we returned home, we discovered that Gus was out of his cage. The cage itself was closed, but the bottom would sometimes get stuck and expose a tiny gap, but Gus had been working on making this whole much bigger for a long time. It wasn't the in-laws fault. They closed the cage. It was our fault for not telling them about the gap at the bottom and how you had to kind of kick it in to close it. At first I was terrified we would never find him, as we had left all the doors in the apt open to allow for good air flow. To my vast relief, I actually found him right next to his cage. I am positive he could have gotten back in the cage, but I think by that time he was too sick. I could tell right away something was wrong. His ears were pinned back against his head and his eyes were nearly closed. He let me scoop him up without any resistance - the biggest sign that things just weren't right. He was very lethargic. We couldn't get him to eat or drink. We walked around the house looking for things he might have gotten into. We found nothing. However, we did notice little Gus teeth marks running the entire length of the hallway along the baseboard. That little guy loved to chew on anything wood - and especially with paint. I am sure ingesting any paint would have been toxic, but we live in an old house and it's possible that the stuff he ingested had lead in it.

We did get him to drink a little electrolyte mix from a syringe, but things weren't looking good. I called the vet, but they said our best bet was to drive to Sandy to see an exotic pet vet at the emergency center. I loved that little guy enough I would have done it, but I knew there was absolutely nothing they could do for him. We spent the rest of that day and most of the next just holding him and letting him lay by us on the couch. It was horrific to watch. Ryan brought him to me early Monday morning. He died during his sleep. I bawled and bawled. I know it sounds silly. He was a rodent after all, but he was family. We took him to his parents to bury him where there wasn't such a risk of Dodger or the dog upstairs trying to unearth him. My biggest consolation was that the 24 hrs or so he was out of his cage was probably the biggest highlight of his life. He has the whole place to himself - no pesky dog chasing after him, and all the paint he could possibly want. I imagine that chinchilla heaven is much the same.

Before Gus died, but before Dodger arrived, we decided to try our hand at chicken raising. Yes... that's right. Chickens. It was still early spring when we got them and it was too cold for them outside, so we had to raise them for a while in our back room. It wasn't so bad, except that it really triggered my asthma. Probably not so much the chickens as it was the hay. I am not sure.


We had six altogether. Two white Leghorns,

Two Barred Rock,

and two Americanas. The biggest reason for the variety was because each type of bird lays a different color of egg. I don't think there is a nutritional value difference, but the color variety seemed pretty fun. There is some debate remaining about whether the two Americanas we got were the same - since the looked similar, and yet very different. We think one of them might have been an Araucana. One was tall with very red feathers while the other was shorter and had more of the dark feathers around her neck. We did not intend to give any of them names, especially seeing as the other two types were impossible to tell apart from the other. However, because the Americana/Araucanas did look different, the red one became "Red" and the other... "Sissy." This was because once Ryan made the move from apt to outside, Sissy stood on a single brick for hours, too afraid to move, while the others went right to work looking around their surroundings and getting used to the fresh air.

Ryan's parents were kind enough to let us house them in a corner of their garden area. We had them in a dog run. Their coup (though we had intentions of making a nice one for them) was an old dog house. It actually worked really well. It took a few months, but before long, they started producing eggs. It was only one or two to start with, but before long, we couldn't keep up and we were giving them away to family on a weekly basis.


This picture is pretty accurate for what we would get from our birds. The white ones lay white eggs. The black and white ones lay brown eggs, Red's eggs were an olive green, and Sissy's were a pastel green like the ones pictured above. Yes, we were able to figure out which green egg belonged to who when Ryan awkwardly "walked in" on Red "birthing" her egg. I was nearly in tears I was laughing so hard when Ryan told me about it. You should definitely ask him to act it out for you some time.

The birds were super easy to take care of and the eggs were delicious. The birds eat pretty much anything, which was a great thing for the in-laws when getting rid of left overs. They were also wonderful for garden fertilization. During the winter they would open the dog run up and create a much bigger space for them to wander. Then when spring came around, the ground was ready to bill tilled. And I might add, the last two years have been monster years for the garden!

Though I was never attached to the birds, it was fun to go over and see them and bring them food. They would run to the front of the kennel and softly cluck (or sometimes loudly squawk) when they saw us coming. I loved playing Cinderella and feeding them "scratch" - the little ground up corn stuff from the movie.

Red was the first to leave us. I went to collect eggs from the dog house one day and jumped back startled when I saw Red, quite dead, inside. I called to Ryan, "Uh Ryan... Red is dead!" He didn't believe me at first, but when he came to see for himself, there was no doubt about it. There was no clear cause of death. It was actually quite strange. She was a big, beautiful bird as far as chickens go. I am sure she would have made a tasty meal, but since we didn't know cause of death, she was thrown away rather unceremoniously.

In the last month or two we lost one white and one "salt and pepper" chicken in a similar manner. The other three have been holding on for a while, but their egg production has been nearly non-existent. They don't produce forever - just a few good years - and we have had them for just about that. Ryan made the decision that since they weren't producing any more it wasn't worth the money to feed them. I told Ryan that if he wanted to kill them and eat them, that was fine. I just didn't want to know when it happened and I didn't want to know when we ate them. He would have been fine doing it, but the guys from the "bachelor pad" across the street from his parents volunteered to take them off our hands. I guess it happened within the last couple of days. I am glad they went to good use, but I did cry thinking about Sissy. See - that's why you don't name things like chickens. I certainly wasn't in love with her, but I felt so horrible about it ending that way. I wish she had just mysteriously flopped over like the others.

It has been a lot of fun having chickens and I am bummed they are gone. But I believe we are planning on starting over with a new bunch this spring. The eggs are totally worth it. And they are definitely cost effective! But if we do, they won't be raised in our apt any more. That room is now baby's room and they aren't sharing. They can live in the garage.

This is my parent's dog, Abby, laying amongst the corn stalks, peering in at the chickens. We couldn't get her to leave for the longest time. I think we actually had to drag her out. Dodger loved the chickens too. His favorite were the white ones because they would always squawk and run away from him, which is exactly what he wanted. Reaction! He never tried to bite them. Just chased and chased them- until he ran into a black and white one. They were much stockier than the white ones and came with more attitude than the others too. They would stand their ground and peck him if he tried anything. So wisely, he learned to avoid them.

Another short-lived, (thankfully,) enterprise of Ryan's was mealworms. These do not fall into the category of pet or family member. They were simply things living in a box for Ryan's educational experience.


He purchased them with the intent of seeing if he would get them to turn into beetles, which he could then breed and feed the chickens. The guy at the store told him it couldn't be done with these types of mealworms and that they wouldn't turn into anything, but much like our experience with guppies, he proved them wrong. They did indeed turn into beetles. (I didn't know that's where they came from... That wasn't part of the birds and bees talk growing up.) Although the worm to beetle phase was successful, the beetle to larva stage was not. They simply did not reproduce, or were unable, or a combo. So when the beetles died, so did that enterprise.

Following the beetles, and still a current undertaking at our home, is red worms. Red worms are much smaller than your typical night crawler and their purpose is compost. I would guess we have several hundred of these wiggly things living in a bin right now. They will eat almost anything that was/is fresh like apples, watermelon, cucumbers, peaches, carrot peels, etc. Anything that is rotting or you would toss (like egg shells) these guys will happily gobble up and thank you with the best compost you can get. It's quite amazing actually. Ryan used it on our garden this year and it was awesome. Now that the weather is turning cold they have been moved inside to the storage room. The plus side is now they won't freeze. The negative side is that now they will be more hungry because it's warmer. So keep the scraps coming.

Of course, the true family member of this post is our little Dodger. I talk about him a lot, so I won't give a long dialogue about him other than to say I feel like he was one of the best investments we ever made. We never wanted a small dog. In fact, we weren't going to get a dog until we had a house of our own. But after dog sitting a co-workers Shih Tzu, we fell in love and here we are - almost three years later. Dodger is perfect for us because he is a great apartment dog, but he does well outside and loves to participate in all our out door adventures. He is good with kids and I really don't worry about him with the baby. I think he will certainly be jealous of the attention, but I don't blame him. He is great though. We are lucky to have him.

And lastly - the biggest pet of them all... that squirming 4 lbs child doing somersaults in my tummy. He is still nameless at 33 weeks, but he knows we love him... even if Ryan does think he resembles a giant "worm" of some sort. I had Ryan's hand on my tummy the other day while baby was doing his acrobatics, and Ryan began to pull faces and squirm almost as much as baby. "I'm sorry," he explained, "maybe I have just done too much studying in school on parasites and worms." I just laughed. If only he could feel that from his insides!


Not too many people can say that in five years of marriage they have literally had hundreds of pets. :) And I am sure the variety is a challenge to keep up with too!

We still have several other pets/"things" on our wish list, but they will have to wait until we have a house of our own - with hopefully enough land to accommodate at least two goats, several bunnies, maybe some ducks, Ryan's dream pond stocked with lots of fish, and 50 lbs turkeys. (Of those, I can say I genuinely want the goats and maybe the bunnies. The rest is Ryan. I think a 50 lbs turkey would eat me alive.)

So if anyone knows of a job that pays well enough to allow us to move a little outside of the "city" - we would love to hear about it! Cause I promise you as soon as we find one that will allow for it - this little family of circus pets is moving to hills.