California 2011

Yesterday we got back from a fun vacation to California.  We all had a really good time.  We went with all of Tony's family.  The only one who wasn't there was Tony's brother-in-law who is in Iraq.  Tony's brother, Nathan, will be going off to Optometry school soon so Tony's parents wanted to do a big family vacation before he leaves.
We left on Friday afternoon (just our little family) and drove to St. George.  We stayed at my Grandpa Willis and Anna's home that night.  On Saturday morning we visited my Aunt Connie and then we went to Tony's grandparents home.  After we stayed there a while the rest of Tony's family met up with us and we all headed down to Las Vegas for the night.  Then Sunday we headed down to Southern CA.  We went to Sacrament (in the Tongan ward), then headed to our hotel.

Then Monday started the fun at Disneyland.  We did Disneyland on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Tyler could go on a lot more rides this time, so it was tons of fun to take him for the first time.  He enjoyed all the rides (even the big scary ones).  He did say that some were scary, but he did them all more then once.  He even went on "Tower of Terror" and got his t-shirt from Grandma for going him first time. 

Josh also had a good time.  He seemed to enjoy all the rides he could go on and took pretty good naps in the stroller.  We pretty much pooped them out every day so they both slept really good at night.

On Tuesday morning Tyler woke up with an ear ache, so we took him to a clinic and they said that he had an ear infection.  So we got him some medicine and was on our way back to the park for more fun.  Tyler did get tired extra easy with being sick, and even fell asleep while I was holding him while waiting in line for "Peter Pan."  Then he took a pretty good nap sleeping on Tony and then we put him on the table.  It was a nice break for us all to sit in the shade while Tyler and Josh took their naps.  A couple things were closed, so we were sad about that but we all really enjoyed Disneyland and are excited to go back next year.

On Thursday we packed our bags and headed down to San Diego.  We visited Old Town and went to the Mormon Battalion.  It was really neat and they had a fun place for the kids to play at the end of the tour.  The kids loved playing in the water, especially Josh who got him self soaked.  After touring around Old Town, we headed back to the hotel for some pool time - always a good time at the pool and hot tube.
Then Friday it was Sea World.  A favorite of the whole family.  We got to see all the fun animals and see many different shows.  They changed the dolphin show from the last time Tony and I had seen it, and I really like it, but Tony was disappointed they didn't feature more of the dolphins. Josh decided he didn't feel good this day, and threw up a couple times.  Luckily I brought an extra outfit with me.
Saturday we headed back to Las Vegas.  We got into some really bad traffic that took us an extra two hours (at least) to get to Vegas.  But we made it and we were very happy about that.  Then Sunday we headed back home.  All in all it was a great trip and we all had a good time.  The weather was very nice and warm.  We all came back with nice tan (maybe a little red) skin.  We are very grateful to Tony's parents for sponsoring such a great trip and enjoyed spending more time with the family!

Weight Watchers Week #2

Last night I had my weigh in and I am down....5.2 pounds.  HOORAY!!!  My goal was three pounds so that it would be an even ten pound loss, but I will take 5.2 any day.  I am really happy with this program so far.  We do leave for vacation for a week this weekend, so we will see how well I do when I weight in in two weeks.  I might see if I can find a Weight Watchers location close to Disneyland so that I can do a weigh in while I am gone....I am not really counting on that because who really wants to do that while on vacation.  I guess we will see.  I am getting everything ready to get packed.  I am going to help Julie chaperon her DECA chapter tomorrow night and then I am going to judge on Friday morning.  After that I come home and then we leave for St. George.  It should be a busy day.  Then on Saturday we will meet up with Tony's family in St. George and then we will leave for Vegas.  Then Sunday we will go down to LA and then Monday starts the real fun at Disneyland.  I am very excited to see my kids at Disneyland.  I know that they will have a great time.  Thanks to Tony's parents for taking us all on a family trip.  We are all looking forward to some sweet family bonding time!

RSV again....

Well, maybe.  The doctor wasn't really sure what Josh has, but he has gotten a mean bug.  He started with a little cough on Wednesday and then a terrible night and then Thursday the poor kid had such a hard time breathing.  His little heart was going a mile a minute and so was his little tummy.  I got him into the doctor where she did a breathing treatment, gave him some drugs and still had us wait there for another half an hour so she could monitor Josh.  He got a little better and so she sent us home with an appointment to come back Friday to make sure that he was getting better.  Josh had another hard night on Thursday but did seem to be a little better on Friday.  So we don't have to do as many breathing treatments as we did before and hopefully if he is breathing better then we can stop tomorrow and then just do them as needed. It is so sad when your baby is sick and I am very thankful for doctors and modern medicine that can make us healthy again.

Week #1 of Weight Watchers

Week one of Weight Watchers has come and gone.  I had my first regular meeting last night and my second weigh in.  From last Wednesday night to Tuesday night I lost .....

7 pounds!!!

I was very glad when they said that.  I was glad to see a big number.  The meeting was pretty fun and I was able to ask some questions, so it was good.  I went with my friend Natalie from my ward.  After the meeting we went to Subway for dinner.  I am really liking the program.  I really don't feel like I am on a diet because I can eat whatever I want, I just watch portions and if I choose to eat something then I may have to choose not to eat something else.  I personally am staying away from all soda pop and most sweets, but if I wanted to have those things I could.  I think that this is a good program and I am glad that I decided to do it.

In other news: Josh still has an ear infection.  He still had a runny nose after he was done with his antibiotic, so I called his doctor and she said to bring him back in.  She found that his ear was still infected and prescribed a different antibiotic (the yucky white stuff that gives his really bad diarrhea).  I sure hope that this one works.  I am glad that I got him in when I did because we are going to California next weekend and this way he will be done with the medicine by then and hopefully the diarrhea too.  Lets hope that those three teeth that are waiting to come in, come in before we go too...well at least one of them.

I did it...

I joined Weight Watchers on Wednesday.  I have been wasting so much time trying to decided what I wanted to do, that I finally decided to just do something.  I figure if I don't like it I can always do something else, but I had to stop wasting time waiting for the perfect program to come to me.  So officially I am only on day two of watching what I eat and giving everything a point value.  It is kind of hard at first, but I am sure within a couple of weeks I will feel a lot more confident and enjoy it more.  I guess we will see how I do.  I need to do something so that I can be a healthier person and so my family can be more healthy as well, so that is good for that.  I am pretty self conscious about my weight and such, so I don't know how much I will actually post...but I do plan on posting weight loss (at least it better be a loss) each week.  I can do this, right?  I can do hard things.  I can do hard things...I deserve to be the healthiest and happiest me!

Visit to the Ogden Cannery

This morning we decided to go and see daddy's work again.  This time they are make Beef Stew so their were different machines running then we saw last time.  Tyler loves the machines and I really enjoy seeing how different products are made.  It is amazing what machines can do and how quickly products get made, labeled, and packaged.  We had a good time.  Both boys feel asleep on the way home and then took almost 3 hour naps.  It was nice to just hang out and watch my "silly" shows that I don't get to watch very often.  But now they are awake and Josh is screaming at me, so I better go see what he wants...gotta love that.

"Because I like to"

I went into the boys room a couple nights ago and this is what I found.  Tyler told me that he likes having everything on the floor to play with.  At least Tyler and Josh had fun for a while...and I got to enjoy some peace too.  Sometimes a big mess is worth a little peace and quiet.

Yet another ear infection

Josh has had a little cold for the past week and yesterday he started playing with his ears a bit, so I decided to take him to see the doctor.  She said that one year is borderline and the other is pretty red, so we are treating him for an ear infection.  It seem like when Josh gets a cold it goes straight to his ears.  This is the third ear infection he has had this winter season.  But, the good news is that he isn't wheezing with these colds.  That means that his lungs are healthy and I don't need to worry so much about him having asthma from getting RSV last winter. That was the worst.  Josh had a hard time breathing and then we had to do the inhaler with the nebulizer thingy.  So glad that is over with.  That was very scary.
Josh has been screaming a lot more lately.  I hope that it is just because he isn't feeling well.  The screaming drives me crazy and I have a hard time being patient with Josh when he screams so much.  He really needs to learn to talk.  I am sure that he will still scream, but hopefully not as much.
I am feeling very blah tonight.  I feel like I am at a crossroad - but I don't know why.  I want to get healthier, but I am still not sure what is the best thing for me.  Maybe I am just wasting time by trying to find "the best thing" and instead I should just pick something and do it.  For some reason I feel like I have to find something that I will want to do forever.  I am having a hard time just deciding to do something, even if it is for only a couple weeks or months.  Maybe I am scared...scared that it will be hard...so out of fear I do nothing?  What am I so afraid of?  Success...failure?  Am I really afraid to do something that is hard?  I have done hard things before, I went on a mission - that was hard.  I came home from my mission early because of illness - that was really really hard.  But that was doing something for someone else, not myself.  I was serving the Lord, maybe that is the difference.  Am I really afraid of doing something hard for myself?  Don't I deserve to be the happiest, healthiest me?  Why do I feel like I don't deserve that?  Why do I feel like by taking big steps towards that I would be letting down my family by taking me away from them, even just for an hour a day?  Are these all just excuses because I am lazy?  I don't think that I am lazy.  I work hard in my home for my family...but I don't work hard on me.  How can I get motivated?  Do I need motivation...or do I just need to stop being afraid?  Afraid to try...it's easier to just do nothing...but doing nothing has gotten me where I am...and that is not a good place.  Maybe I need a shrink?  Some how I need to get into my head that getting healthy can be hard, but I can do hard things...I CAN DO HARD THINGS!!!  Easier said then done...I am afraid.

Cold Night

During the night our furnace stopped working.  It got mighty cold.  Josh and Tyler woke up and ended up in bed with Tony and me about 3:30 am.  So Tony brought the heater that we put in the boys room in with us and we were all nice and cozy.  The furnace repair people came about noon and said that it was the gas valve.  So $450 later, we now have a working furnace.  It is a lot of money, but it could have been much worse so I will count my blessings.  Our furnace is old, so we never know when it is going to just die on us.  Hopefully it will last until we move to a new house...some day far away.
I also had the chair cleaner come and clean the recliner and the large couch and half the front room carpet.  It is nice having those things all clean, at least for a little while.  I am sure it wont last long with my two dirty making boys.
My birthday is in a week.  I can't believe that I will be 30.  Not like I am freaking out that I am going to be so old, it just seems weird to be 30.  As far as I know we don't have any plans.  We usually go to my parents for dinner and cake and ice cream on my birthday, but they are dieting, so they won't be doing that for me this year.  Maybe I will just make my own cake and me and my little family will enjoy it.  My mom did take me out and buy my sewing stuff to go with my new sewing machine.  I have already started using some of it and am having a good time.  I have wanted to learn to sew better for a while now, so it has been good for me.  Maybe someday I will be able to make really fun things, until then I will stick with making burp cloths.

Top 10 in 2010

I wanted to do this post in January, but it never happened, so I am going to do it now.  I thought it would be a good idea to recap last year with all the highlights (and possible low lights) of our happenings in 2010. In no particular order...

1. Awesome family trip to California with just our little family and Margie.  It literally was one of the best vacations that I have ever had.  The boys were good, the weather was nice. We did a lot of activities, but it never felt rushed or hurried.  It was so nice having Grandma Margie all to our selves.  That doesn't happen very often and we drank in every second. 

2. Tyler turned 3.  I can't believe how big Tyler has gotten.  He is such a little man.  He says some of the funniest things.  He is such a joy to have around.  He is super friendly and says "Hi" to everyone.  He is, usually, really good to his brother.  We love Tyler so much.

3. Tyler got potty trained.  This was super hard.  It sure didn't happen over night, but he is officially potty trained.  He got it down near perfect right before he started preschool in September.  Hardly any accidents during the day and none at night.  He is a champ.

4.  Tyler started preschool...and he LOVES it.  I couldn't ask for a better teacher, my high school friend Kim.  Tyler loves going twice a week and likes almost all the kids in his .class (except for the little boy who hits and kicks - he's not too fond of him). 

5. Joshua turned 1.  My baby is no longer a baby.  He learned to crawl about 9 months and was walking by one.  He is a fast learner and wants to do things just like his big brother.  He is so funny.  Loves to put the towel on his head and walk around the house "getting" people.  Generally he just gets him self with a bump on the head from the wall.  He is a good climber and loves to be outside.  We love having him in our family, he is a hoot.

6. Josh got a big boy bed.  He used to love his crib, but around 11 months decided he didn't like it anymore, so we decided to just get him his own bed at about 15 months.  He does really good with it and has only fallen out once.  He is simply wonderful.

7. Tony got a new job.  This happened towards the end of the year (November).  He is now at the Ogden Cannery and loving it completely.  He likes his boss and his co-workers.  He likes working with the missionaries and the volunteers.  The commute isn't great, but doable.  It is worth it for him.  It was a step up for him to then go on to become a Manager one of these days.  We only can hope for sooner rather then later.  He is a great worker and they are really noticing that up there.

8. We put in a new fence.  And we love it.  It is so nice being able to just let the kids go out and play without worrying about them getting out.  Added to this I got a new back door for Christmas, so it is perfect to let the kids play while I can still have my eye of them...and my ear.

9. Michelle lost her job.  Bummer.  It was the best job ever and I truly miss it, but it has been so very nice being able to stay home without worrying about getting work done.  I miss the Tuesdays at work, the money, and my work friends, but I hope that I am a better wife and mother now that my main focus is just my amazing family.

10. Celebrated 7 years of marriage.  7 WONDERFUL years with Tony.  I am so blessed to have Tony in my life.  He is a great dad and husband.  He teaches me so much all the time.  He would do anything for me at anytime.  I know that he loves me.  We had a great anniversary weekend downtown.  I wish that we could do that again every month.  I love you Tony!