Time Out for Women

I knew Time Out for Women was coming to Buffalo and I wanted to go, but didn't see how I could with Weston still nursing. You could take nursing babies, but that just didn't sound too relaxing. Well then all the drama happened with Weston's weight two days before the event. In hindsight, I almost believe it happened for a reason. The reason being, I needed to go to TOFW. Otherwise, I would have never left Weston, and I would have missed out on one of the best weekends ever. That sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not.

I've since heard that this sells out in places like Phoenix, the day the tickets go on sale. Well not in Rochester! I guess word hasn't quite spread about how amazing it is. I had been to the Friday night session in Phoenix, years ago, but I had never experienced {the whole enchilada}. I drove up with a couple of friends and we walked in right as it was starting... (and still got great seats thanks to some usher friends!). Dallyn Bayles was slated to sing and Sheri Dew was the main attraction. Well the person conducting got up and announced that Sheri was ill this week and wasn't able to make it! An audible groan went out across the crowd. My voice wasn't one of them, but I was still a little disappointed. Then she pacified everyone by saying they were able to snag John Byetheway!! Haha! I was stoked! Talk about a cheesy, Mormon legend... this guy leads the pack! I know he's easy to make fun of, but I love him! I used to listen to his tapes (saying tapes makes me feel old) on my bed, while crocheting. Seriously, this was a significant pastime of my 7th grade year. (I don't have to tell you I was pretty cool). So guess what I had brought along to work on while listening to the presentations???? That's right... crocheting!! Ironic?? I think yes! Especially since this is the first year I've crocheted since back in the good ol' junior high years.  I even told him all this when we went up to meet him, (regretting it right after... like he cares!) making me an even bigger nerd than when I was twelve. But I was in the presence of my prepubescent idol... I was stammering like a fool!

(I know it's completely lame of me to edit my face, but trust me, it may as well have been a drowned rat. HUGE motivation for me to cut that stringy hair!)

The evening was fantastic. John even did his Barney Fife impression. What a ham. :)

We got out about 9pm, made a quick Arby's run (where we were honored to hear Tasha's "excited laugh"... so funny), then pulled up to the palace... aka scary Days Inn. (This picture makes it look WAY more pleasant than it was... I just pulled it off google.) As we parked I thought about how similar it looked to a truck stop... then saw a "Truck Stop" sign on the north end. Hmmm. Natalie met us at the door since they'd already gotten the key and opened one of the rooms. If it was possible, the hallway was even worse than the outside. Run down carpet, smelley, prostiute-ish, if you will. The room was actually a step up from the hallway... although I still wouldn't have walked barefoot anywhere. Denyse immediately pulled back the sheets to inspect for bed bugs, while Natalie laughed about why we'd go looking for imaginary bugs that you only sing about. Haha, Natalie, jokes on  you! They're for realsies! But thankfully not anywhere near our mattresses for the night. Although after chatting for a bit, Denyse suddently squealed and jumped a mile because a spider had crawled on her. That spider must have had a death wish because it was squished almost instantaneously. Well then I realized I had left something in the car. I admonished everyone to send out a search party if I didn't return in 30 seconds then grabbed my mace and made my way outside. As I was coming back in, I noticed a bunch of girls (also from TOFW) huddled by a doorway and talking excitedly. When I heard "cops" and "guns", I paused and against my better judgement, asked, "Sooo, what's going on?" Their big, scared rabbit eyes lighted on me as they talked a mile a minute... "About half a dozen police cars just pulled in the front parking lot and and cops poured out wearing bullet proof vests and carrying guns and rushed inside the building and we don't know why!! (deep breath)". Oh.... crap. I went in our room to relay the bad news. Shortly after a few more girls in our group arrived to confirm what we'd just heard. Lynae was funny as she told us, "It was a BIG gun. Definitely a rifle." Lovin' it. Things just got better when the other girls separated to go to their room only to discover that while they should have had 2 queen beds to sleep 4 girls, there was only one King and apparently every room was booked for the night. One girl said she was going to sleep on the floor! I about died. Really, it was all I could handle. I called each girl's cell twice before someone finally picked up so I could try to convince someone to come make a threesome in our queen, but apparently a cot had just been delivered. Whew. Anyway, we made it through the night (me on my own pillow and sheet that I had brought from home, cuz remember... I'm paranoid like that). It was my first night away from the baby in 8 months, but I still woke up all through the night. I imagine it will take a while before my body realizes it can just sleep. We picked at the appetizing continental breakfast (housed in the out of business Rustler's Roost restaurant attached to the motel. I just had to pour my waffle batter and not think about where it came from.) then headed back to the convention center.

 Saturday was phenomenal. I can't do it justice with words. I had heard of Hillarie Weeks before, but never really listened to her music. Wow. Her voice just blows you away. And she's funny and creative and cute... she told stories and focused on how we can keep our thoughts positive. She did this experiment once for a week where she carried around a "clicker" and clicked it every time she had a negative thought. By the end of the day, she would have upwards of 100 +clicks. By the end of the week she noticed how depressed she had become, giving extra attention to all that negativity. So the next week she tried the opposite, and clicked for positive thoughts. She said it was amazing to feel the difference it made to look and notice positive thoughts. That really hit home for me! I am such a complainer! I complain plenty out loud, but more especially in my head.When Trav gets home, all I do is complain about my day. It's a wonder he likes coming home at all! It was a sad realization for me, especially considering how much I've been blessed and how little I really do have to complain about. I have a wonderful husband, a happy marriage, two healthy kids, the gospel, and great friends. The whining needs to stop! I thought what she said went well with what John Bytheway talked about... paying attention to what we "marinate in". Listening to the music on the radio and viewing popular media and TV isn't always the best for our spirits. After listening to Hillarie sing, it made me want to turn off the radio and make an effort to listen to better music. It really makes such a difference in your mood! And hopefully encourages those positive thoughts.

As I flipped through the booklet of all their presenters for the year, I was a little disappointed because they had people like Dean Hughes, Merrilee Boyack, Linda Eyre &Shawni Eyre Pothier... all people whose books I've read! But none of them were at our conference. :( However, I wasn't disappointed after listening to the people who DID make it to Rochester, Mary Ellen Edmunds (hilarious! I want her as a 3rd Grandma), DeAnne Flynn, Anthony Sweat (pronounced as it sounds... poor wife), Wendy Ulrich, and Kris Belcher. Kris was an amazing example of positivity admist trials. She lost sight out of her one good eye about 8 years ago, making her completely blind. She had a 4 year old and 1 year old at the time! She admitted it was hard to want to live for a long time afterward, but now she has fully embraced her life and is even able to laugh about it. She was hysterical! Best story was when she was at a family reunion up at a cabin, was led to the bathroom, pulled down her drawers, started to lower herself as she felt behind for the toilet and touched a head of hair!!!! A child... obviously scared to death to speak up and now scarred for life. She said she went back outside and told the adults she would pay for counseling. Haha.

DeAnne Flynn told a story that was relatively simple, but it hit me pretty hard. She grew up in a small town with a Mom that stayed home with the kids and would wear these fluffy, blue houseslippers while cleaning. I guess they had a lot of rugs and she would vacuum them often. So as a girl, she remembers standing on those blue houseslippers and going along for the ride or maybe feeling like she was "helping" her mom vacuum. Later she realized how little she was probably "helpling", but how patient her mom always was to let her do that all the many hours she spent vacuuming their rugs. Lately, Collin has totally been into "helping" me, and I've had fairly little patience for it. I can't so much as open a cupboard door without him racing in and exclaiming "Help with dinner! Help with dinner!" He wants to push the vacuum, wash the dishes, put the laundry in the washing machine, mop the floor, etc. And I let myself get so frustrated with his assistance. After hearing her story it finally really hit me how pointless it's been to stress getting through my "to do" list or to finish a chore quickly. What does it really matter how fast something is done? I need to simplify and relax. I liked a quote she used that goes, "Please excuse the mess, we're making memories here." It's time to let Collin help and to do so without sighing and being exhasperated (OK, well at least not TOO much sighing :) 

And the last thing I wanted to remember, probably stuck home the hardest. Hillarie said that one day she had the thought, "I will spend all of eternity knowing my children as adults, but this is the only time I will get to have them as children." Wow. I've never thought about it that way. This is the one and only time I get to have Collin as a two year old. The only time that Weston will be 8 months. I need to soak this time up! I need to treasure it. It will not last forever and these are special, special years. Ever since hearing this I have felt so much more love for my two, sweet boys. I have felt like I can be more patient. And it's time to cut out lots of this TV watching! Why am I letting the TV take away these limited hours with my son when I should be the one enjoying him!

I just can't put a price on this weekend. It was SO incredibly nice to be able to sit and be uplifted and feel the spirit. And laugh! I laughed while I cried, and cried while I laughed. It was just so amazing. I kept thinking how fun it would be to go with my mom and sisters. We've got to figure that out for next year, girls!

So in case I haven't gotten my point across very well... I'd highly recommend TOFW. :) I'm so grateful for Travis and his suggesting I go... wait, I mean his insisting I go! He wouldn't take no for an answer. And he did that fully expecting to have a crazed baby the whole time I was gone. I sure got myself a good one.

And when I got home, everyone was still alive. Weston didn't starve, although he didn't exactly take to formula either. Trav said at night when he woke up and cried, he'd try to feed him... Weston wouldn't take it, then he'd eventually give up the fight, close his eyes and turn his head away like, go away, I'm done with you. And he'd go back to sleep! And apparently that's how the story went most of Saturday. I guess he slept tons. We joked that he decided if he couldn't have his momma, he'd just hibernate til I got back. That, or he was conserving energy since he wasn't getting any nutrition.

 Oh my! I almost wrapped up my weekend without telling about the amazing BBQ restaurant we got lunch at! It was like Phils in SanDiego.. but possibly better. I got the Carolina pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw on top with the most amazing side of mac and cheese and a bottle of old fashioned root beer. Wowzers. Go Rochester. You rock my world.

Happy Birthday Liam!

A couple of weeks ago my good friend, Rachel, went in to the hospital to have her second baby so we got to have Gavin for the day! Collin and Gavin are best buds... they are also known to fight like cats and dogs. Well... the real story usually goes that Collin does whatever he possibly can to annoy Gavin and Gavin will in turn shriek at the top of his lungs, which then causes me to lose my mind. They're quite the duo! :)

Here they are watching the beloved, Dora!

(I did Gavin's hair up in matching mo-hawk... awww, such cute twinners!)

 Side note: Why do kids eat sandwiches this way?! And then he is ticked off when he eats through it and ends up with two pieces! Seems like a no brainer, but then...

 So I didn't think 3 car seats would fit in my car, but what do you know?! We had to take Weston's base out and just strap him in with the seat belt, then undo Collin's seat and move it farther against the door. The first time I tried to shut the door, it slammed Weston's seat pretty hard and made him scream. The look on his face was like, "what the heck, lady?!" Basically I think they could have just held eachother in by shear force if there was an accident. I really don't know how safe it all was, but I attempted to take them to a playdate that day. It was a {craft and chat} sort of playdate. Let me tell you, I got all sorts of crafting done. Not! :) I wasn't really planning on it anyway.

It really was nice having Gavin over and Collin sure loved having a friend to play with all day! Now ask me if I'm ready for another one.... Heck to the no! :) Really, 3 is not too big a deal just at home, but trying to go anywhere is a trick! I think if Collin was a twin, I'd just stay home every day. We also took Gavin to church with us on Sunday and I kind of wish our row was tape recorded for parts of sacrament meeting. At one point, Trav had taken Weston out and I had a 2 year old in each arm, with them fighting like mad to get away. It was kind of funny. Oh boys!

Well Liam Robert was born that afternoon and I was so hoping we would get to visit him that night since it was babysitting swap and we'd have a couple of free hours.

(Oh and don't you worry... that is my child diggin' for gold over there. Worst part is, when we're at home and he finds {gold} he runs to the wall or ME to wipe it! How many time do I have to teach him... flick it! :) Betcha want to come to our house now.)

 Well, first we stopped at JoAnne's to get these buttons, then I spent dinner trying to sew them on like mad! When the waitress came to take our order I felt a bit sheepish, or maybe that was Trav. :)  Finally we get in the car to go to the hospital and it doesn't start! We'd had issues with it in the past, so after a jump we decided it would be safter to go pick up the kids instead of risking it dying in the hospital parking lot. Darn the luck!

(If you're wondering about the diaper cover, it's really just a prop for newborn pictures... and it matches a hat another friend made for her. It's so fun learning these new little projects.)

 So the next day Trav and Ryan spent 5-6 hours putting in a new alternator. What a friend! I was pretty impressed at their handiwork, however it now squeals to high heaven whenever you turn it on. Something about the new belts. It goes away after you drive it down the road (most times), but it's sure a head turner until then. We are now {that car}.

 No matter, cuz it got us to the hospital that night to meet sweet, new Liam! Congrats Doug and Rach!



Anti-bully day

Last Wednesday, I got the boys dressed and we went about our daily business... playgroup, grocery store, etc. Later that evening I found out it was "Wear Orange Day" across the country to support the anti-bullying efforts. Ha! Well how 'bout that intuition?! I mean.... we very much so keep up on all that and dressed accordingly. :)

(Love their matching, squinty eyes... definitely their father's sons. :)

Today was a hard one for me. I took Weston in for some shots, but since he had a cough, the doctor was going to take a look at him first. I put him on the scale and was shocked when it read 14lbs 7oz. He hadn't gained any weight since the last time he was in. I was beside myself when the nurse started to berate me about his immunizations, telling me he was behind and scolding me for not keeping up on them. I've never been so short with someone before. I'm all of 2 weeks behind on his shots!! And if it weren't for all his therapy and helmet appointments, I'd probably be up to date. I feel like all I do is take this kid to the doctor. I was on the verge of walking out and never going back, but I think she realized she'd picked the wrong day to harp on me. Once we were roomed, Collin wanted me to read to him, but all I could do was cry. The doctor ended up telling me that it was time to stop nursing and force him to take formula. I feel like I've tried everything short of completely cutting him off... but I guess it's come to that now. I've tried different bottles, different nipples, different sippy cups, drinking straight from a cup and using a spoon. I've tried yogurt, cereal mixed with formula, mashing avacado and bananas, baby food, etc. Two nights ago I tried coconut milk and he loved it! He was actually opening up his mouth for it! I was over the moon. Just ask Trav, I was giddy with excitement. That's when I took this picture.

It was going to be his "before" picture... when he was skinny. And a month down the road I was going to post his "after" picture, all chubbed up! Well it was a short lived dream when the next two nights he was completely not interested in the coconut milk.

I came home from the appointment and it was about time for him to eat. I again fixed a bottle and tried to give it to him. He tolerated it for about point two seconds (meaning he chewed on it and batted at it) then screamed bloody murder. I caved and nursed him again. But that's the trouble... he loves nursing! And he's completely content inbetween feedings. I just don't get it. It's going to be so hard breaking him of nursing. I hate to see him scream when I know I can fix it! But I guess that's the bigger problem... it's doing him more harm than good.

It's all such a huge let down. When I think of all the hours nursing! Seriously, hundreds of hours! And these are supposed to be the pay off months. When they eat in a jiffy and are chubby rolls of cuteness. I saw a commercial today with the cutest, chubby baby taking a bath and it about broke my heart. I want a fat, tubby baby! I know there are worse things to have to worry about, but I guess it just makes it a personal blow when you've put so much time, effort, and really love, into something, to have it fail. It's interesting the emotions that get tied up in nursing. You almost don't realize they're there until you have to stop doing it. I look at that picture and I just love him so much! And I feel like it's all my fault he's so skinny. Why on earth do I have to make skim milk?

Our Neighborhood

My camera frustrates me! I think it's because it seems like everyone and their dog has a nice SLR and amazing pics. And I have..... the worst point and shoot. Anyway... mini vent session over. Just want you to know, these trees are SO much more amazing than they look! This first one in particular is my favorite. I'm sad it's the last fall I get to enjoy it. We went on a walk this evening and the second I walked down the driveway it caught my eye and I gasped. It changed color overnight! It almost didn't seem natural, how brilliant red it was. So in love.

 I've been wanting to do this blog post for a while now.... you see, we have some "winner" houses around here. I remember when Marcie visited, she was so taken by all the cute, "doll" houses... and I have to agree. I love the variety and how unique so many are. Whenever we go on walks, I feel like I see a "new" one for the first time, even though we've probably walked by it dozens of times. With that said, there are also quite a few...shall we say... {special} houses....

Take Exhibit A, for example...

see anything weird... out of place???

Look again, on the bottom right. Maybe you were thrown off by all the Halloween decor, but that my friends is a shrine. Pretty sure it's the Virgin Mary. But what gets me, is that it matches the house! The siding is the same and the roof matches. It's like she's on a cloud, but don't worry, there is glass on the front so the snow won't get her. I mean, really???

 One afternoon, walking down Oehman (it's got a great selection! In fact, I believe all these abodes are on Oehman), we started talking like we were the houses... you know, like if the house could talk, this is what it would say....

"I just love housing the temple president..."

 "You can catch me on Hoarders, 8/7 central."

(It's not real clear, but there is a TON of junk on the porch and piled up in the window)

 "So I have back hair... leave me alone."

 "I miss Mexico."

 "Whattya think YOU'RE looking at?! Nothing to see here... move along."

(What I loved about this one, was, we always thought the owners must be very private people.. you know? Well when I was taking the picture, there was a man in nothing but his skivvies, wrapping up the hose. You can even kind of see him. Maybe we were wrong about these ones...)

 Boy, we just crack ourselves up. :)

To end on a good note... I can't walk by these houses without wishing I lived in them. They are by far my favorite. And they are right next to each other. I can never decide which I like more, but they for sure seem to fit in some sort of {doll house 5th dimension}.



Some Fall Activities

Last week Trav was out mowing the lawn so we joined him. I'm still beyond thrilled about all this nice weather! Collin is getting to be quite the climber. This was the first time I've seen him make any progress climbing our tree. Of course I had to help him down. At the park, during playgroup, he made it all the way to the top of one of those rainbow ladder things.... and then needed help down. I'm really pretty surprised he hasn't broken his arms yet.

 I was lying on the grass on my back and Weston was sitting on my neck (sounds weird, but you've done that right?). And the light was hitting the trees and all sorts of pretty colors were in the background, so I had to try to capture it in a picture. Real life is just so much better.

 Tried out a new {do} on Collin. What do we think of the side part?!

 Last Friday for our date night, we finally cashed in on a Groupon I bought over a year ago. We went to a cooking class at a place called Delish, sort of downtown. I know husbands everywhere are sooo jealous. I had actually thought we would be cooking together when I bought it, but it turned out to be a demonstration type thing. The night was centered around chicken recipes so she made about 5 different things and we got to eat a bit of all of them. We had ideal seats and our wine glasses kept a steady flow of Diet Pepsi, so I was a happy camper! Trav had a good attitude about the whole situation so that helped! He probably figures that since I'm putting time and effort into planning these nights he better be a good date, right?! :) And we couldn't help but buy a couple of the {Sprinkle-esk} gourmet cupcakes from their pastry shop to take home! Not too shabby!

 On Saturday, we headed to Clarence to go to the Great Pumpkin Farm with some friends. I was reminded that it's really more of a carnival/fair with pumpkins in the front and a hay ride in the back. It's really a big let down compared to Becker Farms. Anyway, Collin had fun getting his face painted (Batman) and we did the hay ride.

 Because I just don't take enough {sleeping baby} pictures....

 Is there really anything sweeter than a sleeping babe?!

 And I love that even when I have to wake him up, the first thing he does is smile at me.. (whilst squinting at the bright light).

Have to admit that when I catch him like this, it scares me a bit. Apparently the helmet gives him just enough space to get air, even laying flat on his face. He better not get too used to that.

 Every night we sneak a peak at Collin, he seems so big. And yet, he's still got that darn pac. Trav's on a mission to put a hole in it then gradually make the hole bigger til he doesn't want the pac anymore. Trouble is, he keeps forgetting to make the hole bigger.