Recurring Dream

I've been having this "dream" lately, and have felt like I should share it. The interpretation of which has been deep and rich and personal (so I hope you will understand my keeping it personal), but perhaps this dream is meant to be shared with some of you...

I am standing in a white emptiness, right before me water is slowing dripping, like from a badly leaking faucet, the source of the water I cannot see.
In my hand I am holding a little dixie cup.  I put my arm out before me to start catching the water, and soon, my little paper dixie cup is full. I bring the cup back to myself and drink.  It is clear and clean and delicious pure water.  I am thirsty and desire more.
I put my cup out again, and the water is beginning to come down more readily, like the tap has been turned on at a moderate size.  I barely notice that I must now fully extend my arm to reach the water flow. My cup, now a small teacup, is filled quickly to overflowing and as the water starts splashing out, I pull the cup back to myself and drink quickly. 
The water is coming down more quickly, like a kitchen sink tap opened fully. I reach my teacup forward, but the water is coming down heavily.  Most of it splashes out of my teacup.  It gets my hand wet, my shirt, I pull my cup back. It isn't full, and I've gotten wet, but I drink it anyway, and try again to receive more water. I am no more successful that the previous attempt.  Water is splashing everywhere and my cup cannot hold the water. There is so much, and yet, I can hardly collect any with my cup that I keep stretching out and trying to keep, but it never fills my cup.
I realize, I need a larger glass. And I look, now I am holding a large dinner glass.  I fill it almost to the rim when it begins to overflow before pulling it back to myself. I begin to drink, slowly and casually, watching the water begin to come down more forcefully, like out of a water hose a few steps out from before me, I am content to drink my larger glass of water, until I recognize it is almost empty.
I must walk forward a few paces to collect more water in my cup.  It is again difficult to fill the cup due to the force and abundance of water pouring down.  I don't fill the cup fully.  I'm scared of dropping the cup.  I'm scared of getting wet. I'm scared of spilling the water.
I am standing alone holding my cup that  is beginning to crack.  I look up again and see water gushing down as out of a fire-hose just a few more paces ahead of me. And far in the distance, I can just make out a waterfall and a large expanse of great water.

Also, a personal note, when I had this dream, I was diffusing Sandalwood essential oil. If you would like to know more about Sandalwood, or essential oils, check out my blog that chronicles my experiences using essential oils at eolearning.blogspot.com.

to remember

I've been making the effort to wake up early and workout the past week and a half. It has made a huge difference in my attitude throughout the day. For example, while trying to clean the kitchen today, my daughters ransacked the fridge and destroyed the dining room. While trying to sort dirty laundry and put a load in the washer, the children threw all the clean laundry on the floor. And instead of getting angry, I took a minute to breathe, pray, and either find a way for them to help our distract them. I was also more receptive to inspiration/revelation that perhaps my kids are making the mess to get my attention because I've been focusing on cleaning and helping Brad Neeley (healing from foot surgery), and not on paying with them. I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done, but instead of feeling depressed and defeated, I know I can do it. Thank you, heavenly Father!

This isn't much of a blog post, I know. But a few friends have noticed that I haven't posted much lately, so I'm trying, but my posts are more like a quick thought while I'm feeding the baby. This was what I wanted to remember today in case I ever need to remember why an early morning workout is so important to me.

Books I've Read Lately

Year of Learning Dangerously (Quinn Cummings)
Unschooling Handbook (Mary Griffith)
Homeschooling Handbook (Mary Griffith)
Real Life Homeschooling: Stories of 21 Families Making It Work (Rhonda Barfield)
Dumbing Us Down: the hidden curriculum of compulsory schooling (John Taylor Gatto)
How Children Learn (John Holt)
Divergent (Veronica Roth) *audiobook
Alligent (Veronica Roth) *audiobook, unfinished
The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling (Debra Bell) *unfinished
Moon Over Manifest (Clare Vanderpoole) *unfinished
The Hurried Child (David Elkind) *in progress
A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Education (John Taylor Gatto) *in progress
Story of the World, Volume 1 Ancient Times (Susan Wise Bauer) *audiobook, in progress

I might be a homeschool nerd?  Can you tell? I need some more non-fiction on this list!
What are you reading?

Update on Life

Samson is a happy baby.

Ruthe is obsessed with minions from Dispicable Me.  All minions known as "Bob." She's talking more, but leaves off the first syllable of most words, and invents many of her own.  some words are unmistakigly and perfectly enunciated, such as "yes" and "NO!" See translation guide below:
olo = water
oso = cereal
ik = milk
olor = i want to color a picture, give me crayons, etc.
ore = more
eese/peese = please
"ore oso peese" = more cereal please
tih = vitamin
ishy or ish-ish = fish
air = prayer

Naomi is my big girl 4 year old.  Man how time flies!

Fast and Furious: The Birth Story of Samson Alexander

Our little man made a surprising and FAST entry into the world! The short story goes something like this: I woke up shortly after 4am having contractions, before waking Brad at 4:45am.  He packed the bags frantically, called friends to watch our girls, and got everything in the car by 6am when I informed him that I thought it was time to push.  We sped to the nearest hospital ER, was raced to labor and delivery, and was holding my beautiful baby boy by 6:30am.  yeah... it was that fast.

Many have commented on how "easy" and "nice" it must have been to have such a short labor.  And if 2 1/2 hours of intense labor is "nice," then I guess they are right.  I gotta admit though, I've really had to spend some quality time contemplating this birth experience to find peace.  When I try to tell the story with details, I still notice my heart starts racing, my breathing becomes rapid, I feel tense and anxious. So it's taking me some time to actually want to write the story.  At the same time, I'm sure doing so will help.

I'll preface this with-- baby Samson and I are both doing well. As far as all things physically concerned, we are perfectly healthy and the delivery, while exciting (?), was actually smooth and perfect. No complications.

Brad and I had been praying and trying every old wives tale we knew to encourage our little boy (who was officially due Jan 9) to come in December.  The biggest reasons were so Brad would be on holiday vacation from work and could stay home for a few days to help out without using all his vacation days at the beginning of the year, Brad's mom would be on winter break (she's a teacher) and could help out, we had already met our high deductible for insurance for 2013, etc. The hospital and my OB wouldn't consider an induction for those reasons before Jan 2, and I really hate pitocin and didn't want to be medically induced anyway. I had been taking evening primrose oil and drinking mother's milk tea for a couple weeks.  At my 38 week appointment (Friday. Dec 27), the OB checked me and informed me I was 3 cm and 50% effaced.  This was disheartening because I was that far along with my previous 2 girls at 37 weeks, and they were born 1 day late (being induced) and 1 day early (spontaneous). I was pretty convinced my little boy would be born after his due date at this point. I may have cried on my way home from my appointment that day, but by the time I got home had prayed and felt peace about the situation.  Everything would work out, even if I didn't know HOW. We went to Brad's family's that evening for his cousin's wedding reception and 10 year high school reunion and had fun.

Saturday, Dec 28 we came back home and worked on cleaning the house from Christmas and making our list of things to finish before Samson was born, and sorting baby clothes we'd received from friends.  that evening we decided that I would try castor oil.  I had spent HOURS researching it, asking friends, reading personal stories of those who had tried it and contemplating the pros/cons. I had decided that I wouldn't even try it if I wasn't already AT LEAST 3cm and 50% effaced (funny, that's exactly what I was...); my body had to be already preparing and ready for labor to consider taking it.  And I even mentally prepared myself for what many people said castor oil does-- cleans you out. a lot. I took 1 1/2 Tbsp at 3pm on Saturday, Dec 28.  And waited for my date with the bathroom... and waited... and waited.  Took a relaxing bath... By 12:30am, I went to bed with nothing happening.

Sunday, Dec 29 I woke up to get ready for church and thought I was having contractions.  Brad recommended I time them, even though I told him they didn't feel strong, consistant, or regular, and I had no other signs of labor starting (this may be TMI for some... no loss of mucus plug, no bloody show, no water breaking, etc.).  They were coming roughly 8-6 minutes apart. So we went to church and decided that if they got closer, stronger, or I had any other signs of labor, I'd call the dr.  At church, if I was up and walking contractions were every 6 minutes; if I was sitting they could vary between 12-24 minutes. And they were seriously mild.  Half the time I sat there wondering if I was having a contraction, or if I just had gas. A couple were stronger and distracted me (while conducting music in Primary I'd have to stop singing but I could keep conducting... the kids didn't notice, but one of the teachers did).  We went home and I tried climbing stairs for a while-- contractions got to be 4 minutes apart, and then just got tired and decided to take a nap around 4pm.  When I woke up, all contractions had stopped and nothing could seem to get them started again.  Brad and I knew that I'd have to go into labor by the 29th to have a December baby, and well, the day was almost over. After dinner Brad somehow had talked me into trying castor oil again... something along the lines of "it didn't do anything last time so what can it hurt" and "this is the last chance; the worst that could happen is you spend some time on the toilet and don't get a baby, which you had already psyched yourself up for anyway, so what's the difference" and "it could still work... maybe." So at 7:30pm I took 2 Tbsp castor oil and waited for another date with the bathroom.  We ate some of our Christmas candy, talked, planned to start our "baby prep" list in the morning.  Around midnight I took an hour-long relaxing bath with essential oils.  At 1am, it seemed the castor oil decided to do it's job of cleaning out my bowels. Not terrible, not pleasant, just a fact.  By 1:30am I was in bed reading and hoping for contractions/waiting to see if I needed a 2nd bathroom date. I fell asleep around 2:30am after a very uneventful hour of reading.

Monday Dec 30 I woke up shortly after 4am.  Not unusual... I wake up middle of the night all the time.  I felt uncomfortable so I moved around.  Got uncomfortable, so I moved some more. After 8-10 minutes of tossing and turning, I get up to go to the bathroom.  Come back to bed and think, "are these contractions?" (remember, I'm in a sleep fog after only 1 1/2 hours of sleep...) so i try to time them, but I'm dozing off in between and keep forgetting when I had the last one until they start getting strong and I want Brad to start applying counter pressure to my back.  At 4:45am I start trying to wake up Brad to rub my back; he whines about me poking him until I tell him I'm having contractions. He quickly perks up at that point and asks how often.  "I don't know... every few minutes, I guess." So he grabs pen and paper to start timing.  We realize by 5am that it's every 2 minutes, and they are getting pretty strong.  CRUD.

Brad frantically begins throwing together the hospital bag (it had been packed, but we unpacked it on friday for spending the night at his parents' house and planned to repack that day) and a bag for the girls to stay with friends while I had the baby. He wakes the girls while I go potty before we leaving. I notice that I finally lose the mucus plug and have "bloody show" and I think-- "hey, I really might have a baby today... this means it's real labor!" (somehow strong contractions every 2 minutes didn't clue me in??? i must have been tired!) As I stood up, my water broke.  (Seriously... how lucky is that?! no mess!) By 6am, everything and the girls are in the car ready to go; I'm laying on the floor of the bedroom crying and wanting Brad with me to support me through contractions but I know he can't. He's busy trying to get us to the hospital.

Brad finds me and we start downstairs to the car, at which point I tell Brad, "I don't think we'll make it to Canton.  We need to go to Alliance." He says ok. We were going to drop the girls at a friend's house, but next contraction as we are pulling out of the driveway, I announce, "I think I need to push..." Brad FLOORS the gas and we start speeding to the nearest hospital (about 1.5 miles away) and calming repeating, "don't push! we're almost there." We squeal into the ER bay; Brad runs in yelling, "My wife needs to push!" and a nurse runs out with a wheelchair and rushes me to labor & delivery. The L&D nurses are madly prepping a room as I get wheeled in and they begin reminding me, "don't push, the dr is on his way. try not to push. you're doing great. keep breathing." I started crying and wondering where Brad was and wanting to push and trying not to.  I just wanted Brad by my side so badly.  One of the nurses let me hold her hand and was really great... but she wasn't Brad, who was about to miss the birth of his son and I felt alone and vulnerable.

Brad runs in 5 minutes later. (After I was whisked away, he parked the car and brought the girls up with him, who were missing their shoes and it was snowing. He left them in the hallway outside my door with a nurse.) He's finally holding my hand and everything seems better, though my body is starting to push and I can't stop it anymore. The dr walks in a couple minutes later, and I'm finally encouraged to push.  Samson is born 2 pushes/1 contraction later at 6:30am on Monday, December 30, 2013. He weighed 7 lbs 13 oz, and was 20 inches long. His APGAR scores were 9 both times. A perfectly healthy little boy!

 We came home the next evening and I enjoyed New Years Eve snuggling with my little boy at home. :-)

Christmas Letter 2013

Dear family and friends,

We pray this Christmas season finds you joyful and well.  It has been a blessed year for our family! 

Brad still works for In The Round as a web programmer.  His company was bought out, downsized, and still going through some restructuring currently; through it all he has kept his position and enjoys what he does.  His job continues to be a great blessing to our family. He went on his first official business trip in early December as part of the changes happening at work. He was released as the Young Men’s President at church after serving for 2 years, and is excited to be a Family History Technology Consultant.  In his spare time, he enjoys hanging with the guys, catching a movie, and playing racquetball or basketball. In June, Brad embarked on writing his first piano piece—a medley of Away in a Manger and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, which he performed at church in December. His next goal is to write an entirely original piece.  He’s learning how to be a “handy-man” in various household emergencies like unclogging the flooding garbage disposal.

From our 5 year Anniversary trip to D.C. in May 2013

Marie just keeps getting busier!  She started homeschooling Naomi this year for her first year of Preschool as a “test drive year.”  So far, there are some issues to work through but it seems to be successful and home preschool year 2 is in the works. Marie was pleasantly surprised on Mother’s Day to find out she is will a mother to a 3^rd little one who is due … well, pretty much any time now.  Baby boy Samson Alexander Neeley is officially due January 9, 2014, though his family is very much praying for a late-December arrival. In October, Marie also started working part time as a babysitter at the local YMCA two nights per week.  She enjoys working with kids and being able to take her kids to work and earn a small bit of money. At church, Marie was released as the Primary teacher for the 8-9 year olds and called as the Assistant Primary Music Leader—one month before the annual Primary program because the Music Leader was due to have a baby that week.  Despite her feelings of inadequacy to the calling, she has felt the Lord inspire her and strengthen her to fulfill this special calling to teach music to the children at church.

Naomi is becoming a big girl.  She started her first year of home preschool, took her first swimming lessons, and participated in a daddy-daughter soccer class at the YMCA.  She really enjoys “doing school.” Her favorite subject for school seems to be science/biology.  She is interested in all things related to the human body—especially the immune, circulatory, and skeletal systems.  She has been asking mommy for a microscope so she can look at her red blood cells. She also really likes ocean creatures like echinoderms (commonly known as starfish to most people), octopus, fish, and seahorses.  She knows all the letters of the alphabet and most of their respective sounds and recently asked to learn to read—an adventure we’re diving headfirst into for school after the holidays are over.  She is a great big sister and very excited to have a little brother.

Ruthe has grown so much this year, though she is still quite little.  Early in the year her doctors expressed concern about her height, but it seems all for naught because she has gone through multiple growth spurts lately and is growing and eating a ton with her slowly acquired 8 little teeth.  She took her first steps this summer while at the Neeley family reunion in Bozeman, Montana.  Her vocabulary is rapidly expanding, and she’s even learning her manners! When she really wants something she puts her hands together, palms up and says, “’Eese!” with a big cheesey grin.  She loves reading with mommy; her favorite books include, “A Plump and Perky Turkey” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”  She’s not sure about this “brother” everyone keeps talking about, but she LOVES to shake mommy’s tummy and watch/feel it move in response.  She loves playing basketball and hockey.

We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! –The Neeleys

Ugly Days of Motherhood

I love my kids.  With all my heart. Always.

But some days I don't like being a mom very much... Raising a 3 year old and 18 months old while 8+ months pregnant is ... ?... exhausting just isn't a strong enough word to convey how tired I feel emotionally and physically.

Today is testing my limits. It's an ugly mom day. As I type this, I hear my daughters upstairs pulling the dresser drawers out and throwing their clothes all over their bedroom, crying and occasionally banging on the door.  But I'm not going to go upstairs and stop them right now because I've had enough moments of walking into a destroyed room today. Today... the day before our housewarming party.

I just wanted to clean and decorate for Christmas so our home felt warm and festive for our friends and guests tomorrow, and because I just love a warm and festive home for Christmas.  Today the universe, or maybe just my children, have decided to make that goal as impossible as they can.

Ruthe woke up with a leaking diaper. No big deal.  New diaper, wipe the baby, throw pajamas in the wash, put on clothes for the day.
Have breakfast-- we go with yogurt, and I tell the kids to finish up while I go try and trade out dishes from the dishwasher and clean last nights pots and pans that I left soaking.  Naomi cleans up fine, Ruthe washes the table and her hair with yogurt, and gets it all over her clothes. Again.  Ugh... change Ruthe's clothes again, wipe her down again. Go to school room, read a couple stories, tell kids to play puzzles and "read" while I clean the kitchen.

While cleaning kitchen, hear lots of thuds and falling, followed by crying.  All the books are on the floor. No one hurt, just startled. Every puzzle piece is mixed together in a giant pile in the middle of the room, our puzzles plus the library puzzles we have checked out. Along with some other library toys.  (I have paid too much in fines for losing library toy parts due "incidents" just like this that I don't take care of right away, so I MUST clean this up ASAP and count every piece of every puzzle and toy.) I ask the kids to help, but they keep taking apart the puzzles I'm checking the pieces for, so I send them to their room.

They don't go to their room.  They go to the kitchen because, apparently, they want more yogurt.  Refrigerator and floor of kitchen get "mopped" with yogurt, and kids recycle the yogurt as shampoo.  Yell.

Take kids to bathroom and tell them to get undressed while I wipe up the excess yogurt.  Just damage control; I will have to mop and wipe clean later, but for now I don't want massive dried yogurt all over the place.  Return to bathroom for mid-day bathtime, and half the toilet paper is shredded and sticking to my yogurt covered Ruthe.

Baths.
Lock clean, dried, clothed children in bedroom and tell them it's nap time.

Go downstairs and cry.
Write therapeutic blog entry about ugly mom day.
Re-read said blog post.
Laugh.
Regret not taking a picture.
Publish blog post.

To Do Next
Pray.
Go apologize to screaming children banging on their bedroom door for locking them in their room, and help them clean their room. Give hugs and kisses and remember that I really do love them.

A mother's work is messy and never ends.

Baby Loss Awareness Week

Did you know that October 9-15 this year is considered National Baby Loss Awareness Week?
I just found out a little bit ago.

Secret: I've been terrified most of my current pregnancy that I will lose my little boy... (maybe this is totally normal? there's a few reason's why, but posting them here seems inappropriate because it will only make me rant about a pet peeve, and that's not what I want to do in this post.)

I've never suffered the pain of miscarriage or losing a baby, and I hope I never do.
I don't/can't fully understand losing a baby, but ... I just wanted to make a small post in memory of those dear little ones and honoring my friends and family who've had to go through losing a baby. I have had so many friends who have suffered this loss recently, and my heart breaks for them. I won't share their names because I know it's incredibly personal, but I have cried for each of them when they've opened up to me about it.

To my friends and family who have lost a little one, I'm thinking of you this week.  You are in my thoughts and prayers, this week and often. You and your little ones are so loved.

Pajama Mondays

We've started a new tradition in the Neeley House-- Pajama Monday!

ok, ok, so Pajama Monday is really just accepting the fact that the kids and I often don't get out of our jammies on Monday... but now, we're making it an official tradition because we are combining it with Breakfast for Dinner Day (which used to be any night when I didn't feel like making a big dinner).

So now, Mondays are Officially Pajama Monday.  We wear our pj's all day, eat breakfast food for dinner, and may or may not make blanket forts in the living room to read in for story time. :-)

From pajama day last week while making pumpkin lanterns.

Fun Fridays

Since starting homeschool for Munchkin, I've fiddled and read about a million different ways to organize the school day/week/month/etc.

For now, Fridays are our "fun days."   Which means we play games all day: Memory, Candy Land, Go Fish, Uno is in our collection right now, but I'm hoping that expands quickly (to get list: Yahtzee, Shoots and Ladders, Connect 4.... any other suggestions?) Or we go to the park, or play tic-tac-toe in the driveway with sidewalk chalk.

(Though after reading "The Unschooling Handbook" (by Mary Griffith), I'm beginning to wonder if any day really needs the designation "fun day" outside of "real learning school days." More of my thoughts on this are forthcoming in another blog post where I review the handbook and my developing thoughts on the unschooling philosophy.)

The Gift of ... Hands?

I've always been a bit fascinated by sign language.  My mom taught me the alphabet when I was younger, and just a very small handful of useful words. In college, I took a couple American Sign Language (ASL) classes, and to be honest, I didn't do very well. (I averaged a B- or C+, and even failed ASL 202 because I missed the final exam.)

After Munchkin was born, I really wanted to do baby sign with her because I knew of so much research that confirmed signing to babies helps with language development.  She was a signing-pro by 15 months.  So much so that she was better than I was and creating her own signs! I quit signing to her because I was afraid I couldn't keep up with her, and that she'd make up signs that weren't real (kind of silly now that I think about it...).

Late last year, I felt a prompting, if you will, that I should brush up and learn more sign.  My favorite way to learn signs when in college was by watching songs performed in ASL; so, I downloaded many of the Primary Children's Songs in ASL to my kindle and during Sharing Time (since I was a Primary teacher and just sitting with my kids during this time) I would watch the songs that the kids were learning.  I would try to practice very small in my seat, trying not to attract attention.  No one ever said anything, and I figured no one noticed (or they just thought I was an inconsiderate jerk to be watching my kindle all through Singing Time).

Until, one fateful day, the Stake Primary Presidency was visiting during a Ward Conference.  The Singing Time leader asked me to come up and sign "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" to the kids.  (NO warning!  Not even before Singing Time started... just out of the blue, "Hey, Sister Neeley, I know I've seen you signing.  Can you come up now and teach the kids the first verse in sign?")  Now, this is one that I had not practiced in sign... the kids had not even learned the song yet, and I didn't know the song well (I'm a convert, and did not learn the songs as a child). I couldn't say no, though.  I knew what they were doing: trying to impress the Stake Primary Presidency.  So, I got up and ...

I made most of it up.
No lie.
I just made up signs, assuming one else knew ASL, no one would notice.  I felt humiliated, but tried to not let on.  I mean, the key to making people believe you is to just act like you know what you're doing, right???

No one noticed that I was making stuff up.  I knew about 1/3 of the words, and pantomimed the rest.  After Primary, the Stake Primary President found me and asked where I learned sign.

BUSTED!
Or so I thought... I mentioned that I had taken a couple classes at BYU, but was very rusty, not fluent at all, and quietly admitted that I had "made some of it up because I forgot some of it."  She laughed and told me, "oh, I'm sure you're just being modest.  You learned at BYU!" I politely thanked her for the compliment, and mentioned that I had to go pick up Munchkin from Nursery.  That was it.  I thought I'd escaped.

A few months later, shortly after putting the kids to sleep, this kind Primary President called me and told me of her plans for the primary children to sing and sign "I Am a Child of God" during Stake Conference in a few weeks, and she wanted me to lead the children in sign and sign to the congregation at Stake Conference! I hadn't been practicing during Singing Time at church anymore (didn't want another surprise request, and figured I had been rude to watch the sign videos and should pay attention to the leader, set a good example to my kids, etc), so I was even more rusty.  Terrified, I told her, "I think you and Heavenly Father trust my signing abilities far more than I do.  But if Heavenly Father thinks I can do it, and calls me to it, then I can and will sign at Conference."

Six weeks later, after watching and practicing "I am a Child of God" in ASL almost everyday, I stood at the front of Stake Conference and signed with 2 Primary children who had taken the challenge to learn the whole song and sign with me, facing the congregation where all the Primary children stood and signed the 1st verse and chorus to the song.  It was incredibly beautiful.  I couldn't sing the words without my voice cracking as I teared up, so I could only sign.

I know Heavenly Father helped me to learn the song in sign.  It was not something I could have done without divine help.  He blessed my efforts and gave me power to communicate through the Spirit to those at Conference.  The gift of tongues... only for my hands.  It was an incredible experience.

The next week, I was released as a Primary teacher for the 8-9 year olds and called as the Assistant Ward Primary Music Leader (the regular music leader is about to have a baby and the Primary Sacrament Program is in 10 days!). It's now my new goal to learn all the Primary songs in ASL, and use signs to help teach the songs to the primary children.  My current songs that I'm learning are "A Child's Prayer" and "My Heavenly Father Loves Me."

Also, it seems Munchkin never forgot what she knew in sign either, and she is voraciously learning as many new signs as possible.  She asks me to teach her new signs everyday, and asks to watch videos from the library of books performed in ASL. She uses signs frequently throughout the day, too.  Papoose, I'm hoping will catch on soon.  I've already noticed that Munchkin's language abilities are far advanced for her age, and Papoose is perfectly average.  Papoose is slowly catching on, but she's already over 1 year, so she's not picking it us as quickly as Munchkin. As I learn more, I try to sign the books I read to them, as well.

Family Camping Trip

We went on a mini-camping trip with the girls and Brad's parents a few weeks ago.  It was just over 1 night, but it was a good test camping trip to see how the girls would do.  (They did awesome! We're going to try making this an annual family tradition with Nana and Grandpa.)

 On our way to Ohiopyle State Park in Pensylvania, we stopped to eat sandwiches and visit a petting zoo of sorts, called Living Treasures Animal Park.

 There were a few animal statues and Munchkin insisted on taking a picture with each one.  Grandpa has most of the pictures on his camera, but we got this one on Brad's phone.

 After setting up camp, we made dinner-- hot dogs and corn on the cob-- and Papoose enjoyed lounging in the little camp chair.

 That is what pure joy looks like, my friends!

 Munchkin had been asking for Grandpa to take her fishing for weeks, so he finally made good on his promise to take her someday.  She helped put the bait on the hook, and then Grandpa helped her cast the line.

Then she reeled in a few times.  Didn't catch anything, and after about 15 minutes, decided it was more fun to play in the mud on the bank.
A week later, Munchkin came to me and said, "Mommy, I want YOU to take me fishing.  Then I'll catch a fish. I didn't catch any fish with Grandpa." (I've been fishing once in my life, when I was 10, and I didn't catch anything. And didn't want to catch any.)  Grandpa took this as quite a blow to his ego, and promised to take her to a good lake to go fishing soon. Admittedly, the location we were at was terrible for fishing when we were camping-- in a busy river with lots of people.  Mostly this particular "fishing trip" was to let Munchkin reel in a line a few times, thinking that would satisfy her desire to "go fishing." As it turns out, Munchkin really does want to catch some fish and spend time with Grandpa, and she realized our weak attempts to pacify her curiosity.  (She is way smarter than we give her credit for most of the time!)

We had lots of fun camping with the girls for the first time and look forward to our next family camping trip-- hopefully next year, but then we'll have a little baby boy, too. :-)

5th Anniversary

For our 5th Anniversary, Brad's parents agreed to watch the girls for us while we went on a weekend trip to visit our nation's capital, Washington D.C. It was so much fun to just spend time together alone!  It's very rare, and something we both realized that we needed very much.

We arrived late on a Thursday night, and just checked into our hotel. Our tours started early Friday morning: first the Printing and Engraving Building. Brad collects coins and some smattering of other currencies, so it was high on the list of places to go. Our next tour was 30 minutes after the end of the engraving tour on the other end of the capital mall (a mile walk or more) at the Capital Building.  We asked an officer directing traffic for the quickest route and he told us we would never make it in time. We speed walked and made it with 12 minutes to spare!  Go us!

Marie is as tall as $1,537,800 in $100 bills.

Brad is as tall as $1,631,000 in $100 bills.

In front of the capital building.  Our White House tour was cancelled because of stupid political posturing related to the sequester.  One day, we will get to visit the White House... just means we'll have to go back again someday. We didn't even bother walking over to the White House since it was out the the way for the other sights we wanted to see.

We didn't get a Stanley Cupcake... but they looked awesome!

We had lunch at a Hawaiian food truck.  It wasn't the best, but it was still pretty good.  (Man, I miss Polynesian food!)

After the lunch (which we actually ran around trying to find that Hawaiian food truck because it parks in different places everyday and we really wanted poly food) we rested for a bit and planned to go see the Library of Congress (which, interesting fact about Marie: I have a poem I wrote in 7th or 8th grade that was published in some youth poetry anthology that's kept at the Library of Congress) and the founding documents at the National Archives building.  I have always wanted to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States in person.  And I did.  I was so filled with reverence as I read the original documents. I really do believe in the principles those documents stand for, and hope I can teach my children to live those principles and we can all defend them. I truly am grateful to live in the United States and for the freedoms it brings me.  Those documents reminded me that the freedom we enjoy today was bought at a precious price many years ago, and I hope to pass those teachings down to my own children. For dinner we took the metro to the Cheesecake Factory-- I had never been there, ad Brad's parents gave us a gift card for there before we left.  I got in touch with my inner child and enjoyed a delicious, artery clogging mac'n'cheese burger, and we split a mint chocolate oreo cheesecake slice for dessert.

 The second day, we visited the Holocaust Museum.  I think we were there for 4-5 hours.  We got there an hour early and waited in line for 2 hours before going inside.  It was emotionally and physically exhausting, or I just felt physically exhausted because I was so far emotionally spent.  I highly recommend going, but be mindful that it will take time and LOTS of energy to fully appreciate this place.

One of the neat things they do to help you "go there" is give you a little book about a person who lived during the Holocaust and you read their story as you go through each level of the museum. My person's story just got more and more horrific.  Brad's person had a pretty quick story, and we found out early that he survived.  By the last level, when I was supposed to read the last page of my person's book, I was absolutely convinced that she died.  I sat down and told Brad I didn't want to read the last page.  He put his arm around me and encouraged me to read it anyway.  I read that she did NOT die from the Holocaust.  She somehow miraculously survived and went on to become a teacher.  I lost it. Full on bawling.  In public.  That's what this place is capable of doing to a person.  So just, be prepared.

Cuddle time while walking around DC.

I really want to go back someday, but take the kids with as part of a homeschool adventure.  I really wanted to check out the American History Museum, and the Natural History Museum, but we didn't have time and/or energy.  After the Holocaust Museum, we checked out of the hotel, rode the metro to Brad's cousin's (where our car was parked), and met her for lunch at Cafe Rio. Then we headed to our next hotel, which was closer to the DC temple. Checked in, then went to the temple. Visiting the DC temple and doing work inside has always been on my "bucket list," so I made it a major priority to go there.  It was a very special experience, and one that was met after overcoming many obstacles (like forgetting my wallet at Brad's parents' house, in the diaper bag, when we dropped off the girls for the weekend, which had my temple recommend in it, so we had to call our bishop and the temple president in DC). I think we just had a fast food dinner on the way back to the hotel that night... I don't remember, it was late.

 Sunday was a special stake/regional conference, so we just drove home Sunday morning, and made it back to Brad's parents and were reunited with our little girls that afternoon feeling very much refreshed after a long weekend away.  It was a wonderful anniversary trip!  Thank you to Brad's parents for making it possible!

Happy 1st Birthday, Papoose!

Papoose is officially over 1 year old! (Another post very late in posting...)

Munchkin had a big 3rd birthday, but we don't really go all out for all birthdays.  We reserve 1st brithdays for just family.  Really, Brad and I are just too lazy/cheep to go all-out on a birthday the child won't remember.  So, 1st birthdays are a family only celebration.

Brad's parents and sister came over for dinner and cake.  We ended up inviting the missionaries, too, at the last minute because they didn't have anyone feeding them that evening.

After dinner we sang "Happy Birthday" and brought Papoose her smash cake.  She wasn't interested.  We tried to get her to eat some of it, but she refused.  Then someone got the bright idea of sprinkling mini-M&Ms on top because earlier in the day, Nana had introduced her to M&Ms and they were a big hit.  She dug in for the chocolate right away, got some frosting in the process, and decided she would explore the cake.  Not much made it to her mouth, but she did finally make the expected mess for traditional 1st birthday pictures.

I for one won't complain that my baby preferred to not overindulge in the sugary goodness, unlike the rest of us...

Because we were awful at capturing the first birthday on camera, here are some pictures of the Papoose.

Ready, Set, Go: Happy 3rd Birthday to Munchkin!

Ok, so this is being posted MONTHS late. Sorry!

Munchkin began asking for a CARS birthday just days after her 2nd birthday. Consequently, I always knew her 3rd birthday would be Cars themed.

We had such a blast!

We had planned on making an outdoor track in the backyard and having the kids all make their own "race cars" from cardboard boxes and some creative odds and ends, and having races in the yard.  The weather was beautiful all week (for April in Northeast Ohio, anyway), but the day of her birthday it was supposed to SNOW!  and snow it did.  :-(

Brad and I got creative the night before after looking at the weather forecast.  We bought some masking tape and black trash bags, cut up the bags into long strips, and taped them to the floor to make it look like a road.  Then we taped red, yellow, and green balloons together to look like traffic lights along the road.  When Munchkin woke up the next morning to discover her "road" she happily exclaimed, "Santa brought me my Cars, birthday!"  She followed it through the house all day.  It was a big hit with the party guests, too.

These are the best pictures of the "road" we built through the house.  I thought we had better ones, but they must be on a different camera... darn.

And we tried to serve themed snacks... which is really just my way of saying we tried to think of cool names to label the snacks to make them fit the Cars theme in true Pinterest fashion. ;-)

(apparently, the food pictures are lost on some other device, also!  bug bummer.  I was pretty proud of them.)

Overall, it was a great party, even if I learned that I have no clue how to handle a house full of children from age 11 years down to 11 months.  Wonder what Munchkin will ask for next year???

Her birthday presents from Mom and Dad. Mom tied the Cars quilt, Dad wanted to pass down love for one of his favorite sports.  We also finally fixed the tires on a bike that was handed down to us by a family friend (Thanks, Natalie Saxey), so she got a bike, and helmet from another family friend (Thanks, Melinda!), too.

Munchkin with her red and yellow traffic balloons stuck to her hair.  She was SO excited when she woke up, declaring, "Santa brought me my Cars birthday!!!"

For dinner, Munchkin's Nana and Grandpa and aunt Sam came over.  And we invited the missionaries, too.  Munchkin's favorite dinner is burritos, so we went out to a local restaurant that has delicious "Mexican" food.

 Munchkin got to wear a sombrero and the hosts and servers sang happy birthday to her.

 Oh, and the free dessert that she shared with everyone.  She's so sweet!

At the end of the day, she used her birthday money to get a new jacket and a Cars umbrella.  It was such a fun birthday.  We left the "road" taped to the floor for about a week or so.

Family Reunion Adventures

This will mostly be just a photo review of the Family Reunion, as it was back in July, and we finally just uploaded the pictures to the computer from the camera (aka: Brad's phone).

Friday, July 12, we flew out of Canton/Akron airport straight to Denver, Co.  Papoose did not fly well.  the flight was smack in the middle of her nap time, and she is one who only likes to sleep in her bed and on her tummy, NEVER in anyone's arms.  A large chunk of the flight out was spent trying to muffle her tired crying. Luckily, we were literally surrounded by other families with little ones close to Papoose's age or younger, so they were either (a) not bothered because they were used to it, (b) just glad it wasn't them, (c) or understanding enough despite their irritation that they didn't say anything. Either way, we were grateful, adn so glad when the flight was over. 

We spent Friday night at Brad's Papa DeShazer's home; this is his AWESOME backyard that the kids were exploring.  You can see Munchkin and one of Brad's cousins' kids (can't remember which one). Enjoyed dinner with the local DeShazer families; Munchkin had the BEST time playing with her 2nd-cousins.  It's rare she has lots of playmates close to her age, and this was a house full of 11 kids, most within 2-3 years of Munchkin's age. We drove the 10-ish hours to Bozeman, MT the next morning.

We stopped to see a temple on the way. Didn't do any work, just enjoyed some good stretching time on temple grounds.

Brad's aunt June opened her home to us during the reunion.  This is where Papoose perfected the art of going downstairs by crawling backwards.

We spent 2 of the 6 days of the reunion visiting nearby Yellowstone National Park.  Such an interesting place!  I'd love to go back again someday when the kids are older and do some fun homeschool adventures, and really learn more about the history, geology, and natural features at the Park.  

Some neat hot springs, you can see the steam rising up from the boiling water.

More neat hot pools and such.  Seriously, I need to get a book on Yellowstone geology!

It was pretty chilly in the mornings, by the afternoon most days, it was pretty warm.  Munchkin and I by the cool hot water/rock features.  (Seriously, I'm embarrassed I don't remember the name of this place. It was one of the first we visited, and one of the neatest!)

Munchkin and her closest-in-age 2nd-cousin at the Neeley reunion. (Munchkin is actually sitting here next to me as I type crying that her cousin is too far away to visit. They played every chance they got.  

Like father, like son.  Brad and his dad carrying Munchkin and Papoose on the boardwalk.  Love that I captured this moment!

Papoose liked the little details.  She's shaking hands with a tree while on a short walk to see the paint pots.

Thanks to Brad's cousin Traci, we had the use of this awesome stroller!  The girls were a bit cold that morning. :-)

This place was breath-taking. (Literally! I was having massive asthma problems while there; combination of out-of-control allergies, high elevation, lots of hiking, and pregnancy. I felt physically awful, but still so glad I went!)  And so happy to get some time with Brad. :-)

The girls were pooped!  Again, SO glad to have a good stroller!

We saw LOTS of buffalo, this one got really close to the car.

Traffic completely stopped for this herd of 200+ buffalo to cross the river.  Once on the other side, the young buffalo started chasing Canada geese.  We saw so many buffalo!  Everytime we saw one, Munchkin would point and shout, "Buffalo! Buffalo!" I think it was her favorite part.  She still talks about all the buffalo she saw; it may be among her favorite animals.

Dancing on a stump with her 2nd cousin.  Traci's olsest daughter was such a fun helper and so kind to Munchkin!  We love her.

Momma and Papoose, trying to remove Mom's attempt at keeping hair out of her face.

Papoose loves her grandpa!  This was taken at one of the many waterfalls.

Some elk causing a traffic backup because everyone wanted to take a picture. We could almost touch them, they were so close!

If i remember correctly, this was along a trail near Old Faithful. Our 2nd day in Yellowstone we saw Old Faithful and took a long walk to see the Morning Glory pool, and a few other geysers along the way.

 Just enjoying the ride...

Daddy and Munchkin as Old Faithful errupts.  It was much warmer the second day.

We never did get to see the mama grizzly with her cubs.  But maybe that's a good thing?

At the Morning Glory hot pool.  The colors are different types of algae that thrive at various temperatures.  The water is VERY hot!

Just some adorableness.  These girls had a great deal: get to see all the awesome sights without having to do all the walking.

Munchkin and her 2nd cousin playing outside.

Picking "wildflowers" for their mommies.  What sweethearts!

Playing inside a basketball, and with some blocks.

One of Papoose's favorite things to do is crawl on top of someone's head and lay there, laughing.  Having some good sister fun!

Papoose's favorite toy is a ball, any kind. Give her a ball, and she is a happy baby.

After the reunion, we drove the 10-sh hours back to the Denver area to stay the weekend with Papa DeShazer again and spend more time with the DeShazer cousins.  Also, to our great pleasure, our best friends the Hofmann's were making a trip to the Denver area that weekend, so we were able to see them for the first time in nearly 2 years and meet their adorable little boy, fondly called Tank.  

Tank and Papoose.  Tank is a fitting name for this boy!  I think he's about 5 months younger than Papoose, and he's bigger than her.  LOVE Papoose's face in this picture as the two of them jump on the couch together! :-)  

Papoose didn't explore the backyard much the first night we stayed at Papa's house, since she was completely exhausted after the plane experience.  This time, we had trouble keeping her from wandering out alone in the yard.
Also, important to note: Papoose took her first timid steps while on the reunion, shortly before turning 14 months.  4 little steps in Bozeman.  About 6 in Denver.  Then NOTHING for 2 weeks after we returned home. (Now's she's a walking champ!) This picture captured a rare moment when she was standing all by herself and clapping for herself at this amazing achievement. :-)

With our best friends, the Hofmanns!  Love and miss you guys! (oh, and Tami, if you're reading this, I have like 5 more shots of this pictures, some less blurry but not everyone looking at the camera.  Remind me to email you all the originals.)

Not sure how we managed it, but we never got full family pictures, or the Neeleys or the DeShazers!!!  (or if someone did, I don't have copies...) We had such a blast!  The plane home was a bit earlier in the day, so Papoose wasn't as cranky and only cried intermittantly the last 30-ish minutes.  Much nicer.