Kid Chat
Nothing really exciting has happened this week. We got all our Christmas mailed off and now we are just getting the house clean and organizing stuff for our big AZ trip on the 22nd.
Addie has been really sassy this past week--not playing well with other kids, talking back to her dad and me, throwing fits (like getting down on all fours and banging her forehead on the floor when she doesn't like what's going on)--weird phase we hope will pass. Or maybe this is what they mean by terrible two's.
She HAS been pretty funny at times, though, and so verbose. She calls her mittens/gloves her "gubs"--"Mom, it's cold. I wanna wear my gubs." When I made puppets for my niece and nephew for Christmas, I showed them to her and she said, "OH! Funny gubs!" She has also been watching Finding Nemo a lot. She was laying on her tummy in the tub the other day, swishing around. I said,
"What are you doing?"
"I swimmin'"
"Are you Nemo?"
"No! I shark! I swim fast--rraaaahrr!"
Funny punk.
Oh, I did find out my cousins, Aaron & Amy, are expecting a baby in August. They have been married for 4 years, so this will be an expected and anticipated event!
Friday, December 12, 2003
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Bummer
We had our ultrasound this morning with a grumpy man who thought our "finding out the gender with the whole family" idea was silly, and told me that the gender was not what's important in this ultrasound. So after he prodded and measured and determined that our baby is healthy and put together correctly, and that I am measuring 19 weeks and 5 days, he waved the wand around for a second and announced that the baby's bum was right up under my belly button and he couldn't see the gender--"sorry--but that's the least important thing anyway." Um, not for a shoppin' mamma!
I was so annoyed. I didn't even get a good look at the baby--the images were super fuzzy! Dang it. I was so spoiled by all the comforts and technology in SLC with Addie. In fact, our first ultrasound with her was at the super hi-definiton machine at the LDS Hospital high risk clinic, so we saw her ears and eyes and organs, and each little bone. This time around we could only see fuzzy outlines of everything and the tech was not the least bit excited for us.
So shucks. I'll have another peek in 2 weeks when my OBGYN tries out a machine in her office; until then, it'll stay a mystery. I AM grateful that it's all healthy and stuff. I try to focuson the positive and quit being a baby myself. *Sigh* When we asked Addie if she's having a brother or a sister, she said, "YEAH!" And she's right.
We had our ultrasound this morning with a grumpy man who thought our "finding out the gender with the whole family" idea was silly, and told me that the gender was not what's important in this ultrasound. So after he prodded and measured and determined that our baby is healthy and put together correctly, and that I am measuring 19 weeks and 5 days, he waved the wand around for a second and announced that the baby's bum was right up under my belly button and he couldn't see the gender--"sorry--but that's the least important thing anyway." Um, not for a shoppin' mamma!
I was so annoyed. I didn't even get a good look at the baby--the images were super fuzzy! Dang it. I was so spoiled by all the comforts and technology in SLC with Addie. In fact, our first ultrasound with her was at the super hi-definiton machine at the LDS Hospital high risk clinic, so we saw her ears and eyes and organs, and each little bone. This time around we could only see fuzzy outlines of everything and the tech was not the least bit excited for us.
So shucks. I'll have another peek in 2 weeks when my OBGYN tries out a machine in her office; until then, it'll stay a mystery. I AM grateful that it's all healthy and stuff. I try to focuson the positive and quit being a baby myself. *Sigh* When we asked Addie if she's having a brother or a sister, she said, "YEAH!" And she's right.
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
All About Adeline
I forgot to mention that Addie had her 2 -year checkup at the doctor yesterday. She is 37 inches tall and 31 pounds and very healthy, polite, and verbose. Dr. O’Hara loves her, and so does the nurse who gave her three shots after which she didn’t make even a peep. That’s my brave, happy girl!
She is saying “thank you “ and “you’re welcome” totally unprompted now, and she says, “I’m sorry” a lot, sometimes when she means, “Bless you.” And I am a fan of the spontaneous hugs and “I wuv eeeeyou”s.
Here is an exchange between my brother and me, trying to figure out what his son, Liam, would like for Christmas. It gives some fun little details about how our little cuties are developing:
Will to Jamie:
Liam’s favorite things are still trains, but he is starting to really like Bob the Builder and Buzz Light-year. We got him a big set of those wooden trains, the Brio/Thomas style, but generic, and a bunch of those mini Tonka cars from Costco. So whatever, I am sure he will love it. He plays with the strangest things, if you got him a funnel, he would be happy as can be. Right now he plays with a plastic bottle and a funnel and calls it “recycle, recycle, so cool, “ from the cyclone experiment on Blue’s Clues. Then he spends the rest of his time playing with Marley our dog.
Love ya, bye. Oh, and by the way, Addie’s room looks so cute, I want to get a little flower rug for Mel like that. Too bad you are stuck with brown splotch barf carpet, We had that exact same carpet in Idaho. What are people thinking when they lay that stuff?
Jamie to Will:
Those flower rugs are at Walmart for $9.99. I think they have them with the bathroom stuff now, but I know they have a purplish one because I was gonna buy it. Target has some too, but they are nicer, softer, and more expensive...around $20.
We saw a fun little kid's tool set and I thought Liam might like it. If he likes Bob, then he'll probably have fun with it. Maybe that's what we'll do. Hmmm.
Will to Jamie:
He’s really into helping Daddy, its so funny, he says “I hellou daddy…I hellou plees”. He was handing me the lug nuts for the Jeep tires the other day while I was rotating the tires. It was really cute how important he felt, just handing me the nuts as I put them on. He also loves to hammer in nails. So he may like a tool set. But don’t go overboard, our kids have more toys in storage than you and I saw over our entire child hood. No kidding, we probably have 10 of those plastic bins just full of toys that we keep put away and alternate with the other 4 or 5 we let them have out.
Love ya bye
Jamie to Will:
That's so cute! Addie does the same thing! If I go in the kitchen, she makes a mad dash to get a chair and says, "Mommy, Addie hepyou." She also says "hepyou" when she means, "help Me"--asking us for help. She says, "I wanna cook" or "Addie do dishes" or "Keen up a mess."
I know what you mean about toys. We hardly ever get her toys because other people get them for her. I like to invest in DVDs and books. Actually, though, my friend whose youngest is in 1st grade just brought over these great Discovery toys that are counting, matching, sorting games and they are really fun to play with her. Usually though, we have to put new toys up in the closet and rotate them. Maybe we'll go with a book or movie or a poster.
Love ya!
-Maj
It’s fun to be parenting along with all my siblings. I am so glad Addie will grow up with a plethora of cousins to love and support each other the way we did with our Elrey and Mayberry cousins. Yay for extended family!
More tomorrow…
I forgot to mention that Addie had her 2 -year checkup at the doctor yesterday. She is 37 inches tall and 31 pounds and very healthy, polite, and verbose. Dr. O’Hara loves her, and so does the nurse who gave her three shots after which she didn’t make even a peep. That’s my brave, happy girl!
She is saying “thank you “ and “you’re welcome” totally unprompted now, and she says, “I’m sorry” a lot, sometimes when she means, “Bless you.” And I am a fan of the spontaneous hugs and “I wuv eeeeyou”s.
Here is an exchange between my brother and me, trying to figure out what his son, Liam, would like for Christmas. It gives some fun little details about how our little cuties are developing:
Will to Jamie:
Liam’s favorite things are still trains, but he is starting to really like Bob the Builder and Buzz Light-year. We got him a big set of those wooden trains, the Brio/Thomas style, but generic, and a bunch of those mini Tonka cars from Costco. So whatever, I am sure he will love it. He plays with the strangest things, if you got him a funnel, he would be happy as can be. Right now he plays with a plastic bottle and a funnel and calls it “recycle, recycle, so cool, “ from the cyclone experiment on Blue’s Clues. Then he spends the rest of his time playing with Marley our dog.
Love ya, bye. Oh, and by the way, Addie’s room looks so cute, I want to get a little flower rug for Mel like that. Too bad you are stuck with brown splotch barf carpet, We had that exact same carpet in Idaho. What are people thinking when they lay that stuff?
Jamie to Will:
Those flower rugs are at Walmart for $9.99. I think they have them with the bathroom stuff now, but I know they have a purplish one because I was gonna buy it. Target has some too, but they are nicer, softer, and more expensive...around $20.
We saw a fun little kid's tool set and I thought Liam might like it. If he likes Bob, then he'll probably have fun with it. Maybe that's what we'll do. Hmmm.
Will to Jamie:
He’s really into helping Daddy, its so funny, he says “I hellou daddy…I hellou plees”. He was handing me the lug nuts for the Jeep tires the other day while I was rotating the tires. It was really cute how important he felt, just handing me the nuts as I put them on. He also loves to hammer in nails. So he may like a tool set. But don’t go overboard, our kids have more toys in storage than you and I saw over our entire child hood. No kidding, we probably have 10 of those plastic bins just full of toys that we keep put away and alternate with the other 4 or 5 we let them have out.
Love ya bye
Jamie to Will:
That's so cute! Addie does the same thing! If I go in the kitchen, she makes a mad dash to get a chair and says, "Mommy, Addie hepyou." She also says "hepyou" when she means, "help Me"--asking us for help. She says, "I wanna cook" or "Addie do dishes" or "Keen up a mess."
I know what you mean about toys. We hardly ever get her toys because other people get them for her. I like to invest in DVDs and books. Actually, though, my friend whose youngest is in 1st grade just brought over these great Discovery toys that are counting, matching, sorting games and they are really fun to play with her. Usually though, we have to put new toys up in the closet and rotate them. Maybe we'll go with a book or movie or a poster.
Love ya!
-Maj
It’s fun to be parenting along with all my siblings. I am so glad Addie will grow up with a plethora of cousins to love and support each other the way we did with our Elrey and Mayberry cousins. Yay for extended family!
More tomorrow…
Monday, December 01, 2003
Take Time to Make Time
It’s been way too long since I blogged here, I’m surprised I haven’t been unsubscribed or something. I have to blame it all on the first trimester. September and most of October crept by at a snail’s pace and I thought I might be pregnant and sick forever. My first pregnancy went fast until the last trimester; this one seems eternal.
I was also kinda mad because I was hoping all those things that people say about the second pregnancy being easier would be true. Psychologically, yes, it’s easier, knowing what to expect and all. But physically I was just as exhausted and barfy as with Addie even though I didn’t have to get up and go to work at 7 am.
That said, the nausea has pretty much let up since the first week of November, which IS a lot earlier than with Addie. But I cheated—my chiropractor suggested some homeopathy. I usually scoff at such things, but I was desperate after an especially violently-ill weekend. I took a bunch of little lactose pellets with magic herbs inside (they looked and tasted like Nerds candy) and I woke up the next day feeling pretty normal, and I haven’t been morning sick since. One dose. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t done it my self.
So there have been a lot of things I have wanted to say here—stuff like cute things Addie has been saying and doing, annoyances, observations, etc., but I haven’t felt well enough to sit down and think straight until now. I’ll just narrow it down to this:
§ Addie turned two on Nov. 21st. Every time someone told her “Happy Birthday,” she would say, “I blowed out the candles!” The candles were her favorite part of the whole celebration. She got lots of cool things like big girl panties, a big girl bed, and fun DVDs (which will go with her Christmas present—a car DVD player). She totally sleeps in her bed without our having to put her there more than once at bedtime. Isn’t that cool? It’s about time SOMETHING about parenting be easy!
§ We found out the day before Thanksgiving that we will be building a house starting in May in a new Dept. of Agriculture development. Trying to bring real residents out to the boon docks, I guess--there are way more old houses here than new ones. It’s a lot just down the hill from our church and about 8 blocks from the Melin Agency office. Good stuff.
§ I love that Hewlett-Packard is using that Cure song, “Pictures of You” on their digital photography commercials. I haven’t listened to the Cure in ages, and that commercial was so unexpected, it drew me out of the kitchen in a sudden flood of late-adolescent emotion. I suppose I should listen more often so it won’t take me by surprise. It reminds me of when Cacharel used a This Mortal Coil song on their Noa commercial about 3 years ago and it woke me from a couch nap—I was so shocked to hear Liz Fraser singing from the television in the year 2001! Shocking but very effective, I guess.
That's all for now. I'll be back on Wednesday to announce the gender of the fetus--we have an ultrasound at 11am. So far, this is how the baby score is going amongst my pregnant sisters: Will & Audrey: Boy in Feb.; Erin: Girl in March; Matt & Amie: Boy in March; just today Jill found out she's having a boy on or around May 1st; I find out Wednesday and Kelli Melin finds out on the 9th. Rock on with the gestation, sistas.
It’s been way too long since I blogged here, I’m surprised I haven’t been unsubscribed or something. I have to blame it all on the first trimester. September and most of October crept by at a snail’s pace and I thought I might be pregnant and sick forever. My first pregnancy went fast until the last trimester; this one seems eternal.
I was also kinda mad because I was hoping all those things that people say about the second pregnancy being easier would be true. Psychologically, yes, it’s easier, knowing what to expect and all. But physically I was just as exhausted and barfy as with Addie even though I didn’t have to get up and go to work at 7 am.
That said, the nausea has pretty much let up since the first week of November, which IS a lot earlier than with Addie. But I cheated—my chiropractor suggested some homeopathy. I usually scoff at such things, but I was desperate after an especially violently-ill weekend. I took a bunch of little lactose pellets with magic herbs inside (they looked and tasted like Nerds candy) and I woke up the next day feeling pretty normal, and I haven’t been morning sick since. One dose. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t done it my self.
So there have been a lot of things I have wanted to say here—stuff like cute things Addie has been saying and doing, annoyances, observations, etc., but I haven’t felt well enough to sit down and think straight until now. I’ll just narrow it down to this:
§ Addie turned two on Nov. 21st. Every time someone told her “Happy Birthday,” she would say, “I blowed out the candles!” The candles were her favorite part of the whole celebration. She got lots of cool things like big girl panties, a big girl bed, and fun DVDs (which will go with her Christmas present—a car DVD player). She totally sleeps in her bed without our having to put her there more than once at bedtime. Isn’t that cool? It’s about time SOMETHING about parenting be easy!
§ We found out the day before Thanksgiving that we will be building a house starting in May in a new Dept. of Agriculture development. Trying to bring real residents out to the boon docks, I guess--there are way more old houses here than new ones. It’s a lot just down the hill from our church and about 8 blocks from the Melin Agency office. Good stuff.
§ I love that Hewlett-Packard is using that Cure song, “Pictures of You” on their digital photography commercials. I haven’t listened to the Cure in ages, and that commercial was so unexpected, it drew me out of the kitchen in a sudden flood of late-adolescent emotion. I suppose I should listen more often so it won’t take me by surprise. It reminds me of when Cacharel used a This Mortal Coil song on their Noa commercial about 3 years ago and it woke me from a couch nap—I was so shocked to hear Liz Fraser singing from the television in the year 2001! Shocking but very effective, I guess.
That's all for now. I'll be back on Wednesday to announce the gender of the fetus--we have an ultrasound at 11am. So far, this is how the baby score is going amongst my pregnant sisters: Will & Audrey: Boy in Feb.; Erin: Girl in March; Matt & Amie: Boy in March; just today Jill found out she's having a boy on or around May 1st; I find out Wednesday and Kelli Melin finds out on the 9th. Rock on with the gestation, sistas.
Monday, September 15, 2003
"Johhny Cash was the perfect blend of Saturday night and Sunday morning..."--somebody on NPR
While I was in a TV-less and internet-less void last week, Johnny Cash and John Ritter died. Sad. But still not as sad as when I was all post-partum-y and I cried and cried when George Harrison died. They kept playing "Here Comes the Sun" and I just kept crying. Ah, hormones.
Feeling better today. Gotta love the unisom and vitamin B6 cocktail!
While I was in a TV-less and internet-less void last week, Johnny Cash and John Ritter died. Sad. But still not as sad as when I was all post-partum-y and I cried and cried when George Harrison died. They kept playing "Here Comes the Sun" and I just kept crying. Ah, hormones.
Feeling better today. Gotta love the unisom and vitamin B6 cocktail!
Saturday, September 13, 2003
So Tired
Once again, the wee embryo is sucking the life outta me, just like with Addie. The sickness part started this week, just like it did with Addie. We are 7 weeks along and feeling pretty run-over-by-a-truck. But in a good way. I am not as barfy this time around--just as nauseated, but not actually getting sick, but that may be because of some experience and preventative measures (like getting up at 7am and eating something then going back to sleep until 9am! I sure couldn't do that before, and I can't always do it now, but it does seem to curb the throwing up). It's all much less stressful this time, too. I suppose it helps to know what to expect.
So I don't have many tales to tell aside from the minutiae of daily pregnant living. Adeline has been as sweet and loving as she knows how to be--she has her 2-year-old moments, but she is mostly very sweet to me and tolerant of my laying around and being listless. Rich, too, is pitching in, knowing exactly what to do--I love that he cleans up his dishes and takes the trash out wihtout being asked because he knows the smells can send me running for the porcelain. And I have discovered the miracle of Oust air sanitizer--the outdoor fresh scent makes my house livable, even in the face of a rotting bumper crop of squash and tomates and Ad's diapers.
We had a wonderful trip to SLC to visit with my sister Jill and her family, and my brothers Willy and Matthew and their families. We all stayed at Jill's with 5 kids between us and 4 due in the spring and had a wonderful time together. We were rejoicing because Matt was coming home from his Army Reserves assignment this month and Will was interviewing for a job in Pocatello. Since that weekend, though, we have learned that Matt will be retained (leaving is poor new pregnant wife at home in Utah alone) and Willy didn't get the job and will have to stay is lame ol' Palm Desert, CA. At least we still have new babies to look forward to, and five smart, beautiful kids to raise. I stayed through the whole week with Jill, coming home the 6th, but it wasn't as fun as we had hoped because we were so exhausted. Our daughters had a lot of fun together, though.
Well--that's the update. I am too tired and busy with Addie right now to write more, but I'll try to get around to it more often and not do too much pregnant-whining.
Oh, PS--my Melin sister in law, Kelli, is expecting her 2nd baby the same week as me. Rack up 5 cousins and a sibling for Adeline!
Once again, the wee embryo is sucking the life outta me, just like with Addie. The sickness part started this week, just like it did with Addie. We are 7 weeks along and feeling pretty run-over-by-a-truck. But in a good way. I am not as barfy this time around--just as nauseated, but not actually getting sick, but that may be because of some experience and preventative measures (like getting up at 7am and eating something then going back to sleep until 9am! I sure couldn't do that before, and I can't always do it now, but it does seem to curb the throwing up). It's all much less stressful this time, too. I suppose it helps to know what to expect.
So I don't have many tales to tell aside from the minutiae of daily pregnant living. Adeline has been as sweet and loving as she knows how to be--she has her 2-year-old moments, but she is mostly very sweet to me and tolerant of my laying around and being listless. Rich, too, is pitching in, knowing exactly what to do--I love that he cleans up his dishes and takes the trash out wihtout being asked because he knows the smells can send me running for the porcelain. And I have discovered the miracle of Oust air sanitizer--the outdoor fresh scent makes my house livable, even in the face of a rotting bumper crop of squash and tomates and Ad's diapers.
We had a wonderful trip to SLC to visit with my sister Jill and her family, and my brothers Willy and Matthew and their families. We all stayed at Jill's with 5 kids between us and 4 due in the spring and had a wonderful time together. We were rejoicing because Matt was coming home from his Army Reserves assignment this month and Will was interviewing for a job in Pocatello. Since that weekend, though, we have learned that Matt will be retained (leaving is poor new pregnant wife at home in Utah alone) and Willy didn't get the job and will have to stay is lame ol' Palm Desert, CA. At least we still have new babies to look forward to, and five smart, beautiful kids to raise. I stayed through the whole week with Jill, coming home the 6th, but it wasn't as fun as we had hoped because we were so exhausted. Our daughters had a lot of fun together, though.
Well--that's the update. I am too tired and busy with Addie right now to write more, but I'll try to get around to it more often and not do too much pregnant-whining.
Oh, PS--my Melin sister in law, Kelli, is expecting her 2nd baby the same week as me. Rack up 5 cousins and a sibling for Adeline!
Monday, August 25, 2003
Two Pink Lines
What a kooky month. The Grandma and Grandpa saga continued, culminating last week in a Bonnie-n-Clyde run from the law (they hid from the family and drove up to Butte to avoid being served guardianship papers; they spent nearly $2k there on a lawyer who reversed the guardianship the next day). They held an estate auction and sold everything in their house and are staying with a friend until the official guardianship/conservatorship hearing in September, after which they plan to go live in Hemet California. But considering the recent antics, I doubt they will be able to legally retain their autonomy (which mean they’ll be in assisted living in Billings).
We were so concerned with that family drama and my being released form Young Women, the days of August just flew by. Before I knew it, I was 3 days “late.” So yesterday, Rich suggested I take a pregnancy test before our Melin family dinner. So we came home from church—I “took the test” and then all 3 of us changed clothes and went back to look at the stick, which was hidden under a tissue. Addie got up on her footstool at the bathroom counter and we looked on as she pulled off the tissue and yelled, “Surprise!” (as if she knew what was coming). The two pink lines told us that our Wee Melin #2 was on the way—ETA=April 28, 2004. We began jumping and telling Addie, “Your baby’s on the way!” I hugged Rich and Addie waved the stick around going, “My Baby, my baby!” Then we sanitized the stick, wrapped it up and put it in a gift bag.
Addie carried the gift bag in to the family dinner with a gift tag saying something like, “Dear Gramma: I know you’ve had a hard week, so we got you something to cheer you up.” Grandma Melin whooped and hollered and so did our other family members, and we sat happily down to dinner. After we ate, I called my family and learned that my sister, Jill, had just found out (same day!) that she is pregnant and due May 2nd! How cool is that!?! For anyone keeping track of me and my fertile sisters, that’s Audrey in February, Amie and Erin in March, me in April, and Jill in May.
I’m glad there’s a reason I have been so tired. It will be a challenge keeping up with Addie while my energy is so sapped, but hey—only 7 weeks until the second trimester and a little boost of energy, right? We can hope.
What a kooky month. The Grandma and Grandpa saga continued, culminating last week in a Bonnie-n-Clyde run from the law (they hid from the family and drove up to Butte to avoid being served guardianship papers; they spent nearly $2k there on a lawyer who reversed the guardianship the next day). They held an estate auction and sold everything in their house and are staying with a friend until the official guardianship/conservatorship hearing in September, after which they plan to go live in Hemet California. But considering the recent antics, I doubt they will be able to legally retain their autonomy (which mean they’ll be in assisted living in Billings).
We were so concerned with that family drama and my being released form Young Women, the days of August just flew by. Before I knew it, I was 3 days “late.” So yesterday, Rich suggested I take a pregnancy test before our Melin family dinner. So we came home from church—I “took the test” and then all 3 of us changed clothes and went back to look at the stick, which was hidden under a tissue. Addie got up on her footstool at the bathroom counter and we looked on as she pulled off the tissue and yelled, “Surprise!” (as if she knew what was coming). The two pink lines told us that our Wee Melin #2 was on the way—ETA=April 28, 2004. We began jumping and telling Addie, “Your baby’s on the way!” I hugged Rich and Addie waved the stick around going, “My Baby, my baby!” Then we sanitized the stick, wrapped it up and put it in a gift bag.
Addie carried the gift bag in to the family dinner with a gift tag saying something like, “Dear Gramma: I know you’ve had a hard week, so we got you something to cheer you up.” Grandma Melin whooped and hollered and so did our other family members, and we sat happily down to dinner. After we ate, I called my family and learned that my sister, Jill, had just found out (same day!) that she is pregnant and due May 2nd! How cool is that!?! For anyone keeping track of me and my fertile sisters, that’s Audrey in February, Amie and Erin in March, me in April, and Jill in May.
I’m glad there’s a reason I have been so tired. It will be a challenge keeping up with Addie while my energy is so sapped, but hey—only 7 weeks until the second trimester and a little boost of energy, right? We can hope.
Friday, August 08, 2003
This week seems to have creeped along--it seems months since I wrote a post here. After the Grampa drama I wrote about below, some dear Melin family friends (the Hites) arrived form Colorado and we all took a much-needed hike to Pine Creek Falls and shared a delicious dinner. I spent August 1st with Mom Hite--we took a digital cd to get photos printed at Costco and had a yummy lunch at Livingston's Depot cafe. Saturday was a very hot day. I spent it at a Young Women's Fundraiser car wash while Rich and his Dad went to help out some friends. These friends live far away and have a rental trailer here which was trashed and abandoned a few months ago. Rich, Dad, and a few otheres literally shoveled out old food, dishes, papers, toys, etc. scattered knee deep througout the trailer house--11 dumpsters worth! YUCK! At least my job mostly consisted of soap, water, and funny girls!
On Sunday, we finally received the rainfall we've been needing. It just let loose after church and it was so nice to take a nap to the sound of rain. I also confronted some of the issues that were bugging me back in my May 21 entry. They mostly had to do with my assignment to work with the YW at church. Mostly I guess my ideas about being an LDS teenager don't gel with the leadership or even the general culture here. After trying to adjust for 5 months, I think I might just not be the best person for the job, at least right now. So I just had to let the Bishop and some other people involved know that. It was kind of hard because I have been raised to do my best, 100%, no complaining, etc. until I am released. But I had to say something because it has really been eating me up inside and affecting my family life. I just don't feel like we are focused on our Young Women and what's best for them, so the conflict has not been good (and it's not with the girls--they're great--it's just the leadership and the culture, really).
Anywhooo--that was a weight off in some ways. Now I am just rying to get all the other facets of my life and my health back up to par. I'm trying to be more clean and organized and HAPPY. I am trying to get in better shape and have another baby at some point. I am trying to stop being so sleepy and grumpy and be a better wife and mom--to make the most important relationships in my life the best they can be.
No small task. Speaking of, it's time to get ready for our Friday night date, so more later.
On Sunday, we finally received the rainfall we've been needing. It just let loose after church and it was so nice to take a nap to the sound of rain. I also confronted some of the issues that were bugging me back in my May 21 entry. They mostly had to do with my assignment to work with the YW at church. Mostly I guess my ideas about being an LDS teenager don't gel with the leadership or even the general culture here. After trying to adjust for 5 months, I think I might just not be the best person for the job, at least right now. So I just had to let the Bishop and some other people involved know that. It was kind of hard because I have been raised to do my best, 100%, no complaining, etc. until I am released. But I had to say something because it has really been eating me up inside and affecting my family life. I just don't feel like we are focused on our Young Women and what's best for them, so the conflict has not been good (and it's not with the girls--they're great--it's just the leadership and the culture, really).
Anywhooo--that was a weight off in some ways. Now I am just rying to get all the other facets of my life and my health back up to par. I'm trying to be more clean and organized and HAPPY. I am trying to get in better shape and have another baby at some point. I am trying to stop being so sleepy and grumpy and be a better wife and mom--to make the most important relationships in my life the best they can be.
No small task. Speaking of, it's time to get ready for our Friday night date, so more later.
OH, THE DRAMA
I should have posted this last week when it happened. Here is some text from an email to my brother, written on July 31st.
You would not believe our day! Rich's cousin and her family are here (they have a daughter exactly one month older than Addie--so cute--and a son Ally's age). They are moving from SLC to Boston and wanted to come and see Grandpa (Rich's mom's dad) one last time in case he dies while they are in Boston. We had a family BBQ last night and she brought Grampa over and we had fun, photos, etc.
The back story is this: Grampa's wife, Adeline, died about 15 years ago and he remarried an ol' lady named A.L. , but we'll just call her "Marsha-at-80." A.L. has alienated all her own kids and recently started in on Grampa's family. Her whole purpose for living is to get to Grampa's money and assets and spend them before anyone can catch her (they are still married, adn they spend 6 months her and 6 months in Hemet). Trouble is that (a) most of grampa's stuff is in a trust, meaning all 3 of his kids plus himself have to sign for any spending of money, reallocation of funds, transfer of property, etc. and (b) grampa is way-senile. Grampa's kids are just trying to save as much of his money as possible for his long-term care and funeral because they know A.L. would spend or hide it all and leave him if he got in one of those situations.
SO--Rich's cousin also wanted to pick up her dad's boat (she has the title, etc.) that Grampa gave him a while back. She told A.L. when she picked up Gramp last night that she'd be back in the morning to pick up the boat and say good bye. Well, turns out, while Grampa was over here for the BBQ (AL won't come--she hates us), AL called the police and told them someone would be trying to steal the boat at 9am the next morning. The police are so used to her kookiness that they told her they'd send someone over, but who ever has the title gets the boat.
SO--Rich and his cousin went over this morning with a sheriff guy and Gramp and Annalee were gone. They couldn't break and enter, so we had to hunt them down (they were at the Senior Center where I occasionally do meals on wheels) and the police had to make an appointment with AL to escort Rich, cousin, Dad, and some trucks out there to try to get not just the boat, but all the stuff that Gramma Adeline and Grampa promised to the family. What was supposed to be a little half hour errand at 9am has taken until 2 or 3 pm and involved the whole family and the police. CRAZY OL' BAG!
Luckily, we talked to one her daughters today and her kids are so sick of her antics, they just filed for legal guardianship over her because she's driving everyone nuts. They will probably find her a nice assisted living apartment and get her some psychiatric medication. We'll probably do the same for Grampa because he said last night if he knew how to get away from her he would. Poor Papa--he hardly remembers his own name.
Anyway...just when I thought my family was way too dramatic! It's time we started having kookiness on the Melin side!
[I'm still having the same concerns with my church job... ]What more can I do?!? This quote from Raising Arizona sounds good: "Did y'all bust out [of prison]?" "Uhhh--we've released ourselves on our own recognizance--we no longer felt the institution had anything to offer us."--that might just be me soon. :)
SO. I made about 2/3 of Melanie's Chirstmas gift today, and about 1/2 of Liam's. I am having so much fun, despite being surrounded by psychiatric-patients-on-the-lam.
Well, thanks for letting me ramble. I do miss you so.
Love ya!--Maj
I should have posted this last week when it happened. Here is some text from an email to my brother, written on July 31st.
You would not believe our day! Rich's cousin and her family are here (they have a daughter exactly one month older than Addie--so cute--and a son Ally's age). They are moving from SLC to Boston and wanted to come and see Grandpa (Rich's mom's dad) one last time in case he dies while they are in Boston. We had a family BBQ last night and she brought Grampa over and we had fun, photos, etc.
The back story is this: Grampa's wife, Adeline, died about 15 years ago and he remarried an ol' lady named A.L. , but we'll just call her "Marsha-at-80." A.L. has alienated all her own kids and recently started in on Grampa's family. Her whole purpose for living is to get to Grampa's money and assets and spend them before anyone can catch her (they are still married, adn they spend 6 months her and 6 months in Hemet). Trouble is that (a) most of grampa's stuff is in a trust, meaning all 3 of his kids plus himself have to sign for any spending of money, reallocation of funds, transfer of property, etc. and (b) grampa is way-senile. Grampa's kids are just trying to save as much of his money as possible for his long-term care and funeral because they know A.L. would spend or hide it all and leave him if he got in one of those situations.
SO--Rich's cousin also wanted to pick up her dad's boat (she has the title, etc.) that Grampa gave him a while back. She told A.L. when she picked up Gramp last night that she'd be back in the morning to pick up the boat and say good bye. Well, turns out, while Grampa was over here for the BBQ (AL won't come--she hates us), AL called the police and told them someone would be trying to steal the boat at 9am the next morning. The police are so used to her kookiness that they told her they'd send someone over, but who ever has the title gets the boat.
SO--Rich and his cousin went over this morning with a sheriff guy and Gramp and Annalee were gone. They couldn't break and enter, so we had to hunt them down (they were at the Senior Center where I occasionally do meals on wheels) and the police had to make an appointment with AL to escort Rich, cousin, Dad, and some trucks out there to try to get not just the boat, but all the stuff that Gramma Adeline and Grampa promised to the family. What was supposed to be a little half hour errand at 9am has taken until 2 or 3 pm and involved the whole family and the police. CRAZY OL' BAG!
Luckily, we talked to one her daughters today and her kids are so sick of her antics, they just filed for legal guardianship over her because she's driving everyone nuts. They will probably find her a nice assisted living apartment and get her some psychiatric medication. We'll probably do the same for Grampa because he said last night if he knew how to get away from her he would. Poor Papa--he hardly remembers his own name.
Anyway...just when I thought my family was way too dramatic! It's time we started having kookiness on the Melin side!
[I'm still having the same concerns with my church job... ]What more can I do?!? This quote from Raising Arizona sounds good: "Did y'all bust out [of prison]?" "Uhhh--we've released ourselves on our own recognizance--we no longer felt the institution had anything to offer us."--that might just be me soon. :)
SO. I made about 2/3 of Melanie's Chirstmas gift today, and about 1/2 of Liam's. I am having so much fun, despite being surrounded by psychiatric-patients-on-the-lam.
Well, thanks for letting me ramble. I do miss you so.
Love ya!--Maj
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Entertaining Grampa
My dad came to visit this weekend with my half sister and two step nephews. We had a lot of fun, although the weekend was quite exhausting--I am just now recovering! We camped at Pine Creek Friday night, then enjoyed Livingston's Summerfest on Saturday (even though it was close to 100 degrees outside). Our nephew Mason caught a really big cutthroat trout in the Lagoon while we took Addie and my sister Erin to the wading pool to cool off. Saturday night we went to a barbecue in Cokedale, then watched movies in Melins' basement (it was so hot at our house). Sunday was a busy day with my teaching two classes and hosting dinner for 10 right after church (crock pot rost and potatoes--delicious!).
While I was cooking, Addie was playing babies with my dad. She brought out a yarn doll that has no facial features. My dad sais, "Addie, where are this baby's eyes?" Addie pointed to her own eye, then thought for a minute. Dad asked her again and she pointed at her bedroom. Intrigued, Dad told her to go get them. Well, turns out she had seen him dump his change into his suitcase earlier, so she went and dug out a penny and brought it to grandpa, happily announcing, "Eyes!" Dad thought this was so clever, he came and told me about it in the kitchen. We laughed, and then I remembered something--when we made snowmen last winter, I would always give her pennies for the eyes. She remembered! What a smartypants.
Since dad left Monday morning, we've mostly been trying to clean up, get laundry done, etc., and stay cool. We are having a terrible heatwave--I can't sleep until it cools off around 1am. We celebrated Dad Melin's birthday (7/22) by giving him a personalized ceramic popcorn bowl decorated with the hand and foot prints of his grandkids. My Young Women went up to camp on Tuesday morning--they'll be there until Friday, and I am going up for the afternoon today. I did meals on wheels this week, too, and Addie is big enough to carry in the drinks now--that was a hit with the ol'folks. I feel bad for them because many of them don't have air conditioning (or even a cooler like we have), so they have to sit there sweltering. I made sure everyone at least had a fan and a beverage when I delivered their lunches. We did get a little tiny rain storm last night and some clouds today, so we'll keep praying for relief!
My dad came to visit this weekend with my half sister and two step nephews. We had a lot of fun, although the weekend was quite exhausting--I am just now recovering! We camped at Pine Creek Friday night, then enjoyed Livingston's Summerfest on Saturday (even though it was close to 100 degrees outside). Our nephew Mason caught a really big cutthroat trout in the Lagoon while we took Addie and my sister Erin to the wading pool to cool off. Saturday night we went to a barbecue in Cokedale, then watched movies in Melins' basement (it was so hot at our house). Sunday was a busy day with my teaching two classes and hosting dinner for 10 right after church (crock pot rost and potatoes--delicious!).
While I was cooking, Addie was playing babies with my dad. She brought out a yarn doll that has no facial features. My dad sais, "Addie, where are this baby's eyes?" Addie pointed to her own eye, then thought for a minute. Dad asked her again and she pointed at her bedroom. Intrigued, Dad told her to go get them. Well, turns out she had seen him dump his change into his suitcase earlier, so she went and dug out a penny and brought it to grandpa, happily announcing, "Eyes!" Dad thought this was so clever, he came and told me about it in the kitchen. We laughed, and then I remembered something--when we made snowmen last winter, I would always give her pennies for the eyes. She remembered! What a smartypants.
Since dad left Monday morning, we've mostly been trying to clean up, get laundry done, etc., and stay cool. We are having a terrible heatwave--I can't sleep until it cools off around 1am. We celebrated Dad Melin's birthday (7/22) by giving him a personalized ceramic popcorn bowl decorated with the hand and foot prints of his grandkids. My Young Women went up to camp on Tuesday morning--they'll be there until Friday, and I am going up for the afternoon today. I did meals on wheels this week, too, and Addie is big enough to carry in the drinks now--that was a hit with the ol'folks. I feel bad for them because many of them don't have air conditioning (or even a cooler like we have), so they have to sit there sweltering. I made sure everyone at least had a fan and a beverage when I delivered their lunches. We did get a little tiny rain storm last night and some clouds today, so we'll keep praying for relief!
Monday, July 14, 2003
My Funny Adeline
It took us a while to understand why, but Addie quite enjoys stashing precious (to a toddler) things in her shirt (she wears undershirts with a snap crotch, so we usually find this stuff perched precariously on the edge of her diapers during a changing). She went on a 250-mile road trip with a glue stick in her shirt. The other day it was mardi gras beads and a rock (she calls rocks "Gwocks," by the way). Last night (actually at 3am), she came and slept in our bed and all I was wearing was a camisole-type top and pj bottoms. She snuggled up to me and tucked her hands right in my cleavage, and went back to sleep. I started to laugh and said to Rich, "Now she has her hands in MY shirt." Then she groggily murmured, "Pocket....pocket...mommy's pocket..."
She is a riot, I'm telling you.
Speaking of exceedingly cute kids, my brother Matt and his wife, Amie announced yesterday that they've got a bun in the oven. That's 2 more cousins (for a total of 14 on my side)---we hope to add to the tally soon. By the way, Matt has been home from his mission to NYC for 1 year and 2 weeks. Just call him Action Jackson.
It took us a while to understand why, but Addie quite enjoys stashing precious (to a toddler) things in her shirt (she wears undershirts with a snap crotch, so we usually find this stuff perched precariously on the edge of her diapers during a changing). She went on a 250-mile road trip with a glue stick in her shirt. The other day it was mardi gras beads and a rock (she calls rocks "Gwocks," by the way). Last night (actually at 3am), she came and slept in our bed and all I was wearing was a camisole-type top and pj bottoms. She snuggled up to me and tucked her hands right in my cleavage, and went back to sleep. I started to laugh and said to Rich, "Now she has her hands in MY shirt." Then she groggily murmured, "Pocket....pocket...mommy's pocket..."
She is a riot, I'm telling you.
Speaking of exceedingly cute kids, my brother Matt and his wife, Amie announced yesterday that they've got a bun in the oven. That's 2 more cousins (for a total of 14 on my side)---we hope to add to the tally soon. By the way, Matt has been home from his mission to NYC for 1 year and 2 weeks. Just call him Action Jackson.
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