March: In One Post

Three weeks. I can't believe I haven't posted anything in three weeks. A lot of things have happened in the past few weeks, and this afternoon I'm finally to the point where I can exhale. And post a few things.

If you happen to read my recipe blog, you might have noticed that I've been posting regularly there, despite neglecting this one. I've started generating some income from that little project (which we need right now), and it's become a kind of part-time job. Thus, what little time and energy I had for blogging went that way.

I'm partially brain-dead, so this is going to be a list. Some of it chronological. Some of it might not make some sense. It's the best I can do right now. :)

Ivy's favorite thing to wear is a hood on her head. No arms in the sleeves. Sophie does it, too. All attempts at hairstyling have been put on hold for a while. Unless it's Sunday.

I had hoped the last visit to the urgent care would be the only one for a while, but we weren't so lucky. Four minutes into a church basketball tourney and Steve had a broken nose. He hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

Here it is the day after. He was lucky to avoid excessive bruising and black eyes.

It was around this time that I was called to be Primary President (basically in charge of the children's organization in our congregation). I know, right? We've been here, like, two months. Oddly enough I didn't freak out. I felt peaceful about the calling and knew it was inspired and that it was something I could tackle. Over the next couple of weeks I worked with the Bishopric (the leadership of our congregation) on choosing the rest of the presidency -- something that was really difficult for me, not knowing many people and having no experience picking people for callings.

Meanwhile, my Grandpa Dean was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis or "farmer's lung" after a few months of breathing difficulty. Basically, the air sacs in the lungs begin to harden with scar tissue, preventing the absorption of oxygen. The disease was in its last stages with no form of treatment and Dean passed away a few days later.

Dean wasn't my grandpa, but married my grandma after my grandpa passed away in the early 90s. He's been a part of our family for a long time, he loved my grandmother very much, and he'll surely be missed. (Snagged the photo from my cousin Sarah who wrote a beautiful post about him. Thanks hon. :))

I really felt like I should be at the funeral, and I wanted to see my grandma since I hadn't seen her very much in the past few years. Steve couldn't take any time off of work, so I packed up the girls, and we made the 10-hour trip ourselves. Thank goodness for DVD players, snacks, and audiobooks.

Dad & Mom with baby Lydia (Hillie's little girl) at the luncheon after the funeral.

The funeral was beautiful. All of my family was there, and it was the first time that all of my dad's siblings were gathered together in over ten years. (I think.)

We spent a lot of time hanging out.

Lydia, Sophie, and Carter.

The kiddos played together pretty well.

We got some much needed R&R, which prepared us for the end of our trip.

Sophie had a fever at one point, but it didn't turn into anything serious.

Oh yeah, and Ivy threw up the bed after she woke up Sunday morning -- the bed that she was sharing with Sophie. Sophie told me that afternoon that she didn't like having pizza in her bed. She preferred to have it on a plate instead. (Yes, you could tell what it was.) Ivy was fine the rest of the day.

My mom's birthday happened to be the day after the funeral so we had a birthday dinner for her. And I made her a coconut cake.

Hillie (sis), Devin (bro), and Andrea (sil) made her this rockin' flower arrangement. Seriously, why do florists need a degree?

(I'm so joking.)

Devin hijacked my camera and took some Pioneer Woman-esque photos in the backyard. (And probably some of the other ones on this post, but I don't remember which ones. Like I said... I think part of my brain has died in the last few weeks, and I'm waiting for it to kick in.)

While we were in Idaho, I was sustained as Primary President in my ward, and was already accumulating a list of assignments that needed to be done when I got back.

We had planned on leaving Monday, but because of the weather we stayed an extra day, which happened to be the only day out of the next several days that would be safe enough to drive home.

Sigh....

Monday was the day that all the "fun" began. After the girls woke up from their nap we drove down to Johnny Carino's for dinner. While we were waiting for a table, I was holding Ivy on my lap when suddenly my hands were really warm and wet. Ivy had thrown up all over my hands, my pants, her clothes, and a little splashed on to Sophie's shoe (which she was very stressed about and talked nonstop about for the rest of the night).

We get in the car and head back to the house. I began to feel a bit nauseous, but blamed it on being in the backseat of a warm, stuffy car that smelled like vomit. After a few minutes at home the feeling hadn't gone away, and I figured I was just hungry. We all get cleaned up, eat dinner (even Ivy, who seemed to be feeling OK again). I felt better, but an hour or so later the feeling came back.

After I put the girls to bed, I spent the next couple of hours near the bathroom waiting for the inevitable to happen and feeling grateful that I don't get sick during my pregnancies. (I have so much respect for those of you who endure that for so long.) I wondered how I was going to drive home the next day, how I was going to take care of the girls by myself, if I'd have to stay an extra week because of the snow, if I would get home in time to prepare for Sunday (when we'd be in charge of the Primary)...

I like this picture. I think Devin took this one, too. Nice work, bro.

Then my dad gave me a Priesthood blessing, which I'm so grateful for. (Thanks, Dad :)) That didn't stop me from getting up multiples times during the night, but I hoped for the best the next day.

The next day we packed up the car. I felt pretty weak, but most of the nausea had passed. I grabbed a 2-liter bottle of 7-up and a package of saltines and headed down the road. The girls were happy the whole way, I never got sleepy (which was a miracle for me), and we made it home safely.

Steve was really happy to see us. :)

Ivy hasn't thrown up since Johnny's, but she's had the runs all week. I think we had a stomach bug at my parents' house (No one else got sick as far as I know... it's weird that someone is always sick when we visit my family. Ugh. That's not a tradition I want to keep going.) Now I think she's getting her 2nd set of molars. That would explain the extra dose of cranky she gave out in Idaho.

A few days after we get home I met with the previous Primary President, had a 2 1/2 hour meeting with my counselors, prepared for our first Sunday in the Primary and then...

Steve and I got assignments to speak in sacrament meeting on Sunday. (What the!?)

Talks went well. Primary was a bit bumpy (as expected), and now I'm relieved of assignments for the next couple of weeks. (Yay, Conference!)

And THAT is what we've been up to.