Partially hydrogenated brain...

The problem with running a small business, being a lawyer and having a small family is that sometimes I forget things, because the ole' noggin is just too full. The one thing I do not forget is that I have family and friends who love and care about us. We really are blessed beyond measure.
To kinda fill y'all in on what's been up lately: I had a felony jury trial that I was preparing for (I kept thinking "this really is a case that shouldn't be tried" until, at the last possible moment, we settled on a misdemeanor). That preparation really takes it out of me, its on my mind all the time and generally I get unhinged a little (just ask my office staff, they thought I was gonna shoot someone!).
Olivia has been getting the hang of being a mom to two kids. She does a great job! She has a lot to put up with, as sometimes I am here but not available, mentally. She is really enjoying her time on the design team for Keepsake Cottage. I give her a lot of guff, but I really am glad that she does it. I didn't know that I had married such a creative woman. She brings a lot of class to my life. The other night I mentioned to her that we should take up a hobby that we could both do together. She replied "You should learn how to do art." My reply was "You should learn to head. Then we could rope together." Oh well...
Harrison has been learning and growing. What a cheese ball! He is really fun to hang out with. He watches Ice Age ("Aiseage"), Toy Story 3 ("Sory"), The Cowboys ("Kaabys"), Ratatouille ("Tooey"), Wally ("Waee") and Dan in Real Life ("Dan"). He loves hanging out with grandparents, and plays no favorites, which is nice, he goes to everyone equally. One of the neatest things I have seen so far was Harrison climbed into the chair with Grandpa Brent and both of them fell asleep. They where snoring in concert... Probably my favorite thing about being the father to Harrison is putting him to sleep: he'll snuggle up with me and say "Kaabys songs." Which means he wants me to sing some cowboy songs. "Little Joe the Wrangler" is one of his favorites, along with "Streets of Laredo," and "Git Along Little Doggies."
One thing he is doing that makes me chuckle is wearing a hat that is clearly too big for him. He runs all over the house with it, adjusting it as needed. It is probably hazardous, as he runs into the walls and other parts of the house, but it is funny.
Baby Sis is growing and starting the gyrations common to her age. She is getting the army shuffle down, she will scoot clear out of her blankets and into the corner of her crib. Once she is at the corner she will scream and holler because she can't go further. She is a people watcher! She will stare you down and watch every move. She watches Big Brother and Mommy from across the room, she's even stared at me on occasion. She really is a good baby, and according to Olivia, she sleeps about 7 to 8 hours a night. I sleep through most everything now, so I am not the one who knows.
Well, I hope all y'all are doing well and staying safe. Until next time: May the Sun shine on your face, the Wind be at your back, and may the Good Lord take a liking to ya!

Projects

I mentioned last Spring that I was chosen to be a designer for our local scrapbook stores Design Team. I also mentioned that my work would start to pop up on posts, but as we know, that hasn't happened. So I'm here to remedy that.

*I'm sorry for the poor lighting in most of the photos. I'm still trying to better my skills and understand all the lingo/settings, so please bear with me :)

The first 3 are the samples I submitted for the call.

A mini album created to fix inside an Apple iPhone box.

A cute little book with blank pages inside. The pages are sewn together in groups of three, and then adhered to the book cover.

 TWINE! 

Our Boy

Mr. Harrison is growing wildly. It must be this farming land. He loves it. He asks to go outside every morning, even if its freezing. And if the screen door is not locked (he can unlock the other door), he's out there. Boots on, no coat, and driving his trucks. Later in the afternoons we jump and play on the trampoline. Boots on, no coat, and chasing the bouncing trucks.

These photos are from a little photo contest my friend Summer put on FB. We didn't win but really appreciate everyone who voted! We could not get him to smile at all. He must have been in model mode :)  

 

Here's what the little stinkbug has been doing lately:

- he loves chicken nuggets and frequently wants them for breakfast and lunch
- he also asks for ice cream at breakfast. We instead have an egg. He cracks them for me to put in the pan, and gets the bread into the toaster.
- loves apples and grapes with honey roasted peanut butter. I leave prepped servings in the fridge and he can get them whenever, although he still asks me to get them.
- loves to count and sing his version of the alphabet. Neither are correct, but the concept is growing.
- points out all the tractors, trucks, trailers, horses, and cows as we drive
- lines up all the toy trucks, trailers, and cars as he plays with them, resorting to throwing everything on the couches and beds to the floor
- will not wear anything but his cowboy boots
- and must wear a belt
- wears 2T clothes, mostly
- bites us or blows raspberries to get our attention
 - he also grabs our hands to guide us or pushes our feet and legs to 'help' us get where he wants us to be
- watches 15 minutes of a video before taking it out to watch 15 minutes of another. Repeat 10 times with ten movies
- loves to brush his teeth with everyone's toothbrushes and comb his hair forward with a brush while trying to shave with McCord's electric razor
- does this fake 'hah hah' laugh when he thinks we should be laughing, usually at the end of one of his stories
- has come to be much more concerned about Madelyn's well being
- loves to snuggle and be swaddled. He'll bring us a blanket and say 'harson taco'.
- As he watches sports with Grandpa Brent he'll say 'C'mon C'mon' when the action gets exciting. It's hilarious!
- will identify family members in pictures. He gets especially excited about seeing mom :)

His clarity and vocabulary are starting to blossom, which has been awesome! He will often repeat something we'll say without prompting, so I know things are finally clicking in the speech department. I've finally come to realize he needs LOTS (as in more than the average child) of constant repetition in order to understand the concept I'm trying to teach. I don't think he's challenged or slow in any way, just needs that extra encouragement and security.

We love him so so much! And I am especially grateful for his love and patience with me. Being a momma to two is not all that difficult, but balancing time and priorities has been so hard. I always feel like some one is being neglected; Harrison, Madelyn, McCord, me, the laundry, dinner, craft time, quiet time, nap time, etc. I know it takes time, but I am seriously ready for that time to be now.

Harrison is such a blessing to our family and I am so excited to see what else his little character will bring!

Newborn photos and an Unwilling Harrison

These are a few photos from Madelyn's newborn session:

He would not smile for us.

He finally decided to work with us at the very end.

His reward for being patient and mostly cooperative.

No, he did not get a brand new saddle for being good. We were going to use it as a prop, but Madelyn was done.

We took a few of Harrison to help him feel included.

As promised, Pictures :)

Madelyn is now 2 months old and I can't believe it! She is such a good baby.

She sleeps for 7 hour stretches at night, and naps and eats really well during the day. She only cries when she's hungry or tired. And when she's awake, she is very alert to her surroundings.

Meeting Madelyn for the 1st time

Middle of the night cuteness

Harrison trying to hold her hand :)

Sweet little sleeper

Giving me 'the business'

Harrison has had trouble adjusting to having her in our lives. He often tells me 'Baby, Down!' or 'Bed!' in a deep angry voice. He tries to smother her with pillows, pull her off my lap, and generally despise her existence with mean attention. He yells and screams and flails on the floor until he is the center of attention and Madelyn is out of sight. One time he even threw himself on hot asphalt because he didn't want her to come in the store with us. I was blessed however by a sweet lady who offered to carry Madelyn in so I could take care of Harrison.

This is a normal and frequent occasion in our home

Although that has been the norm for the past eight weeks, I think we are finally turning a new page. His tantrums and all around disgust for her are diminishing, even to the point that he occasionally gives her kind attention. The other morning I found him climbing onto her bouncy seat to help soothe her. No it wasn't the best way to help, but I found the act endearing. He calls her baby sis instead of growling 'baby!'. And this morning he tried to give her a bottle when she was crying.

I have felt my love grow sooo much in these short weeks. It's absolutely insane! But I am extremely happy and feel sure that being a mother is my most important role. My heart leaps when I see my babies, and knowing that we will be a family for eternity gives me the butterflies times ten. I love these little stinkers so much!

Chubby cheeks and a double chin

This is a bassinet a neighbor gave us. Harrison has claimed it and 'sleeps' in it quite often.

Cheesy excited smile :)

She actually smiles more with her eyes (which I LOVE) than her mouth. And it's becoming more frequent - yay!

Madelyn's Birth and the Name Game

It's one o'clock in the morning. I'm getting up to use the bathroom. Upon returning to my bed, I noticed a slight leak.

"Aww crap. Really?! I just went!" I silently said.

Trying to hold it in I attempt to roll out of bed when GUSH! my water broke. Within the next five minutes contractions had started. Knowing that the first stage of labor is forever long for me, I laid a pile of towels over the wet spot and went back to sleep. I woke about an hour later and decided my time would probably be better spent waiting for everything to drain. Back to the bathroom.

When I decided it was safe, I went to wake McCord. I shook his shoulder and told him to wake up; my water had broke. His groggy and surprised response was "Did I pee the bed?"

Yes hun, you peed the bed.

And it stinks.

Bahaha not really, but it was pretty funny to hear him so concerned about peeing the bed :)

And he must not of listened to the part about my water breaking.

Anyway, he got up and I began packing our hospital bag. I was not prepared for her early arrival, you see. He showered and then ran me a hot bath in the jet tub. It was glorious. But then I began to wonder if she would be alright without amniotic fluid and of course then the mommy worry set in. I got out, dressed, and put my makeup on. Can't be going in to have a baby looking like frumpy old maid. Mac called the hospital to let them know we would be there in a few hours. Oh, and I packed a bag for Harrison's stay with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen.

McCord called his parents to ask if they would take Harrison. They never answered. I called my mom and informed her of the impending birth. By this time it was 5 am. We pack the truck, wake Harrison and off we go! My contractions were pretty regular, coming every five-eight minutes and lasting nearly a minute. Not too painful, just slow and regular. We drop Harrison off at the granny's. Holly is just checking our messages as we walk in the door. Brent and McCord give me a blessing and let me tell ya, it was one of the most comforting blessings thus far. I really felt calm and confident about whatever would happen. It was all going to be ok, no matter the circumstance.

Around 5:30 the nurses hook me up to the monitors, and about thirty minutes later I am admitted. We hadn't pre-registered yet; that was on the to-do list the following week. So after a lot of business talk and paper work, I was left to rest until the doctor came around 7:30. I wasn't making much progress, maybe a two. So I was started on pitocin and given permission to walk around for a hour. We went and visited Aunt Sally. She was in for gall bladder surgery, but recovering well. Half way through our excursion we ran into my mom and sister! So they joined us in our small, but cozy delivery suite. By then I had dilated to almost a five!

We went back to the room and I laid down for a while after the nurse turned up the pit. I tried to mentally prepare for the increasing pain, but my contractions had started coupling (and that is exhausting!). Around noon the nurse came in and said it was my last chance for an epidural as the anethesiologist was headed into surgery for the next two hours. So I agreed and he came and hooked me up with the drugs. It was heavenly! My first epidural was not good, but this one completely changed my view! I slept for about two hours until I felt something fall out. I asked Mac to look and all he said was "Wow... that's a lot of blood... we better get the nurse." Come to find out, she was actually crowning. The nurse came in, checked, and ran to call the doctor. A minute later Dr. came running in and I started pushing. After about five pushes she was out!

She was born posterior (face up) and wasn't breathing well. She went into the warmer and called a respiration specialist. Mac was seriously concerned. I haven't seen him that scared in, well, ever... I think. Oddly, I was still smiling and confident she was just fine. The nurses also failed to tell us she wouldn't cry on the respirator. After 15 minutes she was good to go. She was weighed and measured, then brought to me. We snuggled skin to skin. Let me tell ya, that is the *best* way to bond after birth! Even six weeks later I can strip her down, snuggle skin to skin and she calms right down.

I'm hesitant to post photos other than what's on FB. She really was so bruised, smashed, and swollen its scary. Mac describes her as a jar of mushed grape jelly covered in a slimy white film. Poor thing was ugly, even from an unconditional mothers love point of view. As soon as everything smoothes out, I'll post lots :)

Now for the name game. We had talked about it for months, but nothing really felt 'right'. So we decided to wait until we saw her. And even after her birth, whenever I called her those various names, they still didn't fit. Five days later, she still remained Baby Girl. So after incessant talking and brainstorming, we settled on Madelyn Rosalie (pronounced like Rosalee). It's my grandmothers middle name. And I've loved the name Madelyn since my youth.

Sorry to bore you all with the details, but I need them because I know I'll forget nearly everything in a few months. If ya made it this far, Thanks!

Good Morning All

So, it has been an awful long time since I have posted, but I am doing so to let y'all know that we are at Cassia Regional Medical Center. Olivia is okay. Her water broke at 1:00 am. She woke me at 3:00 am (I thought I had wet the bed...).

We are all checked in, the nurse, Linda, has put the monitors on. Baby Girl, herein referred to as "BG," has a good heartbeat and the contractions are about 5 minutes apart. Olivia just got her IV. She took it like a champ.

I will try to keep y'all updated, likely I will use both this blog and FB.

In the mean time if anyone has any good girl names, let us know. We have some ideas, but we're not too sure. Maybe when BG gets here, we'll know.

Very Quickly...

We're alive and doing well. Since April we have:

• Celebrated Harrison's 2nd Birthday
• Gone to the library and (indoor) pool 4 days of the week
• Taken lots of short weekend trips, mostly for family occasions
• Visited Moscow for a day and ate the best BBQ in the world
• Continually been amused and baffled by peoples stupidity
• Been extremely blessed with good health and safety
• Felt and experienced lots of changes with the new baby

I am exactly 30 weeks today and can hardly stand it! My hands and feet swell on and off, but continuously feel like fire all. the. time. I sleep without covers with the fan on high while Mac is wrapped in the quilt.

Harrison's vocal vocabulary is finally exploding and I am so happy that he is better learning to communicate with us. He's not forming short phrases or sentences often which concerns me, and he often talks just through his lips without moving the rest of his jaw and mouth. He also no longer cries when I set him on the potty. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Mac stays busy with work. Because of the (finally) warm weather, he's been roping a lot more. He also went to Reno with his Dad and friend Clint for the Reno Rodeo and Bob Fiest Invitational (200 of the Worlds Best Team Ropers) for Fathers Day. We're glad he had a great time, but also very glad to have him home even though he was only gone for three days :)

The View From Above....

... Is getting quite large. At least I feel that way.



It's also a girl! YAY!!!!



We are very excited to have one of each. I'm still trying to get my head to believe it, but it will happen soon enough. I am also very excited for all the clothes! There are a few families in our ward that had baby girls last year, and each family is done with having babies. So they've asked me to be the recipient of tons of clothes! I am, however, still going to be shopping :)
Just don't tell McCord...

I ain't as young as I used to be.

I realize that I am still pretty young, but, crud I don't feel young right now. It will be midnight before I finish this post. Olivia and Harrison are fast asleep, but I can't sleep. I had a couple of good wrecks today while riding Forrest and roping. One involved some good bucking and my untimely exit from the saddle. The other involved a steer being underneath us then Forrest being on top of me, particularly my left leg. Nothing is broken, I am pretty sure, but my left calf is sore enough to make me limp a bit. The first incident put me down on my right shoulder and the second I came down on my left leg, so I think all of me will be pretty stiff and sore tomorrow.
I ate some food so I can take some pain medication that I had left over from Law Skool, don't remind me of the hazards of taking old medicine, this stuff works great on pain and knocks me out.
The words of my dad kinda made me think: "You know, when those wrecks are happening, you can't say anything, but if a guy can walk away, its pretty easy to joke about." I am really glad I walked away. Dad promptly asked me why I didn't fill in my divot. Uncle Reed was there too and he had some wise cracks to offer. Its just amazing that no one in our family has made a career as a stand up comedian...
For those of you who don't know, I practice law with a gentleman who is 83 years old. He and I were talking about life insurance one day and he told me I better have a good plan if I keep riding "those damn horses." At one point we joked about me dying before him because of my desire to ride.
Well, here in a while I am going to have to get up from bed and I will, but I might be rolling out of bed and onto the floor instead of my usual "hopping out of bed." Lets just hope I can still do the roll...

Four Years! - The Celebration

On February 24th, 2011 McCord and I celebrated our anniversary. It goes by so fast! I know four years seems simple, and for most, it is. But considering societies stance on marriage, I think every anniversary is something to be celebrated and cherished. I watched my parents marriage fall apart and disintegrate, and therefore, my family. I vowed to myself long before I considered marriage that that would never happen to me. I also vowed that my spouse would absolutely agree with my standards. Luckily, I found and married that person. It has never been an issue, and we continue to make sure that divorce will never be an option.

So anyway, we decided to take the weekend off and spend some child free time together. In a small, nearby out-in-the-boonies town called Almo, there is a little hotel, restaurant, and hot springs. They had a Love package for the month of February (ya know, Valentines Day) and we scooped it up for our anniversary. Harrison stayed with McCord's parents. Of course, the weather was awful. Snowing, blowing, drifting and COLD. We almost didn't make it out the driveway. But we made it to Almo just 40 minutes before the restaurant closed. Hallelujah! I was starving. We enjoyed a meal of salmon, steak sandwich, dutch oven potatoes, and pioneer puddin'. What the heck is that?
Pioneed Puddin' consists of spice cake, raisins, walnuts, and some type of caramel-y puddin' sauce. Topped with ice cream. Gross as is sounds, its actually quite tasty.

We then commenced to our hotel.

P.S. The couch was so fluffy! We just sorta sank into the pillows, and it consumed all desire to ever move again. Also, the sheepskin blankets hanging over the chair and arm rest are soooo soft!! I wanted to take one home.

The wood on the table and chairs were just beautiful. Standing on the table is a book/journal for guests to write about their adventures during their stay. Some were very interesting.

This tub was huge! And it was jetted :) Saturday morning I spent a good hour in there. I was feeling really sick, and the most comforting thing for me is a hot bath. I also didn't sleep well, so again, the hot bath is relaxing.

The only disappointing thing about our room was there was no Bible. It was the first thing I expected to see in the drawer, but no such luck. Just about all cowboys acknowledge the existence of a higher power, not all, but a lot. I just found it strange, that's all. *EDITED: Ok, nevermind. McCord says cowboys didn't read the Bible, just had faith and belief in a higher power.
I love the detail on this ottoman! Plus, it was huge and very soft.
They had some gorgeous artwork, and the books are real (in the basket on the floor). Interesting old western stories.

By now it sounds like I'm an advertising ad, but seriously, this is a great little stop in Southern Idaho. I would love to just spend a week there. The food is home grown fantastic, the rooms are comfy and again, very home-like, and the springs are fabulous. We didn't go to the springs because I was still fight an UTI. We've been several times before, and it is always enjoyable. If anyone is looking for a quick weekend getaway, this is it!

Some things that we learned: Make plans to be in Almo four hours before your intended ETA. Especially if there's snow.

Take food/snacks with you. Each room has a microwave and mini fridge, plates, silverware and cups. We had to leave a day early because I was so sick, partly from the infection and pregnancy, and partly from a lack of nutrition. The gas stations are sparsely prepared for meals.

Don't go unless you can absolutely get in the hot springs. That was a huge bummer.

We were also thinking that it might be fun to get a group of us a go together. The hotel set up is like an old 1800's building. There are 11 rooms, two of which are 2 story, and there are three separate cabins. The cabins have just one bed (queen) and a cast iron tub. I think the two stories have 5 or 6 beds.

So, who's in?

Conference Saturday

Truthfully, I wasn't much looking forward to this weekend. Not because of Conference. Heavens no! I love listening to Conference. But it was because there are so many items on my honey-do list. Silly, little, insignificant tasks that were just crawling under my skin to be done. I don't like housework and chores to interfere with Conference. Since both require a substantial bit of time, one had to be sacrificed. Guess who won. And, the wind picked up and the clouds began looming. We had two beautiful days, and now, the gloom has returned. Blah.

On a happier note, we are starting to help Harrison handle his aggression and anger. He still bangs his head (which resulted in a black eye), and scratches his face, but we are learning what best helps to calm him. And unfortunately, we are also learning about discipline methods. I really thought that talking things through would be the best way to help him understand his actions and consequences. This time, experience is really the best teacher. Go ahead and laugh at my naivety. I still am. I also am giving him two options and letting him make the choice, but I think sometimes it confuses him.

The little stink bug LOVES to watch his 'truck' movie (Hatari!). It's a John Wayne film. Surprised? You shouldn't be. It's a good film. Go watch it.

His speech is also coming along. He won't speak in phrases, just a one word, or sometimes syllable mumble. He will say whatever word we ask him to, but somehow we never hear them unless we ask. But he certainly likes to tell stories about cars and trucks and Ba-BOOM BOOM!! Your dead. Then, car, truck BA-BOOM!!

At bedtime he loves to hear the story of Noah and the Ark. I partially believe it's because I cannot accurately and completely tell any other Old Testament story. I tried Joseph and Moses, but I still became a stuttering mess. Shame on me.

Harrison loves to help me cook. Every morning he stirs the egg and milk for scrabbled eggs, and puts the bread in the toaster. Any time I stand near the sink and oven he needs to be sitting on the counter, watching and helping. I really hope this transforms into a life long love for cooking; heaven knows I certainly did not obtain it. And the best part? I can cook a full meal with about three square feet of counter space. I thought the counters were slim in our first Moscow appt, but these are even worse! Actually, I would have more space if Harrison could 'cook' at the table, but really, that's no fun.

Well, Mac's home from the Priesthood Session. Night, y'all.