Mimi loves the Bumbo chair ("...sitting in the BUMBO, al rescate!"), and Em loves her baby sister.
Oh, look! A smile for Momma!Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sisters and a Smile
Mimi loves the Bumbo chair ("...sitting in the BUMBO, al rescate!"), and Em loves her baby sister.Oh, look! A smile for Momma!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Back in the Saddle Again
Since the accident, driving is something of an adventure.
A tense, stressful, anxious, sometimes amusing adventure.
Driving around town isn't that big of a deal, but two days ago we picked Bradley up from work and ran a few errands around Provo/Orem. I didn't take the freeway that time, but even driving on the surface streets wigged Em out a LOT. "Why are we going so fast?" "Watch out for that car, Momma!" The small screeches every time I touched the brake were my favorite part. And by favorite, I mean they made my head explode.
I was stressed out enough by the experience even without her additions. Before we left, I laid down the law: You Don't Bother Momma While She Is Driving. No talking to her, even. I found myself clutching the steering wheel with white-knuckled, sweaty hands, and I probably drove like an 80-year-old blue-haired great-grandma. Slow to accelerate, quick to slow down, and loooong following distances.
I suppose it isn't too surprising that Em picked up on my anxiety. I made Bradley drive for the rest of the trip.
Yesterday, we went up to Primary Children's during the afternoon. (We're embarking on toilet training for Gee, hooray-I'm-scared-to-death!) I picked Zee up from school a little early, and we drove up to get Daddy from work. This time I took the freeway from Spanish to Provo.
That freaked Em out even more. There were still many shrieks and screeches. At one point, I had moved carefully over to the middle lane, to allow merging traffic to get on the freeway. A large, double-trailer truck got on the freeway into the right hand lane, and, leaving his blinker on, immediately moved into my lane, in front of me. There was less than two car-lengths between us, so I took my foot off the accelerator. At the same time, another car from the on-ramp moved over into my lane, this time behind me, and still going at quite a fast clip. Em happened to be looking out the back window at that moment, and she shrieked, "MOM! That car is gaining speed toward us!"
(Aside: That's really what she said: "Gaining speed toward us!" Who says things like that? My daughter, I suppose.)
All was well, and the incident wasn't even anything I'd have noticed, before the accident. But it taught me that my older two children (Zee isn't as bad, but he's definitely more jumpy in the car recently) need a little time to get over the scare. Just like me.
A tense, stressful, anxious, sometimes amusing adventure.
Driving around town isn't that big of a deal, but two days ago we picked Bradley up from work and ran a few errands around Provo/Orem. I didn't take the freeway that time, but even driving on the surface streets wigged Em out a LOT. "Why are we going so fast?" "Watch out for that car, Momma!" The small screeches every time I touched the brake were my favorite part. And by favorite, I mean they made my head explode.
I was stressed out enough by the experience even without her additions. Before we left, I laid down the law: You Don't Bother Momma While She Is Driving. No talking to her, even. I found myself clutching the steering wheel with white-knuckled, sweaty hands, and I probably drove like an 80-year-old blue-haired great-grandma. Slow to accelerate, quick to slow down, and loooong following distances.
I suppose it isn't too surprising that Em picked up on my anxiety. I made Bradley drive for the rest of the trip.
Yesterday, we went up to Primary Children's during the afternoon. (We're embarking on toilet training for Gee, hooray-I'm-scared-to-death!) I picked Zee up from school a little early, and we drove up to get Daddy from work. This time I took the freeway from Spanish to Provo.
That freaked Em out even more. There were still many shrieks and screeches. At one point, I had moved carefully over to the middle lane, to allow merging traffic to get on the freeway. A large, double-trailer truck got on the freeway into the right hand lane, and, leaving his blinker on, immediately moved into my lane, in front of me. There was less than two car-lengths between us, so I took my foot off the accelerator. At the same time, another car from the on-ramp moved over into my lane, this time behind me, and still going at quite a fast clip. Em happened to be looking out the back window at that moment, and she shrieked, "MOM! That car is gaining speed toward us!"
(Aside: That's really what she said: "Gaining speed toward us!" Who says things like that? My daughter, I suppose.)
All was well, and the incident wasn't even anything I'd have noticed, before the accident. But it taught me that my older two children (Zee isn't as bad, but he's definitely more jumpy in the car recently) need a little time to get over the scare. Just like me.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Awareness Awesomeness
So, "awareness" weeks and months: What do you think about them?
Everyone knows about Breast Cancer Awareness month (October), but did you know that there is a National Ground Water Awareness week (March 6-12, 2011), a Brain Awareness week (March 14-20, 2011), and--my new favorite--a Handwashing Awareness week (December 5-11, 2010)? (My friend just told me on Facebook that yesterday was National Spaghetti Day. Which is a bummer because we would have had spaghetti last night, except I didn't have the noodles. So I used my boiling water for mac'n'cheese.)
(And did you know that I can't type "awareness" without first accidentally typing "awesomeness"? You have to admit that's pretty, well, awesome.)
(And can we have a "Keryn Has Gorgeous Hair, So Let's Teach Her How to Do It Awareness Week?")
Anyway, apparently this week is Folic Acid Awareness week. Are you all aware of folic acid?
Folic acid (vitamin B6) is an important nutrient during early pregnancy, because low levels of folic acid can lead to neural tube defects (spina bifida and anencephaly) in the embryo. (Now you see why I care about folic acid.) One study has shown that "women who take folic acid supplements during the course of pregnancy can dramatically reduce the prevalence of infant neural tube defects by 74%" (Milunsky, 1989).
You shouldn't wait until you know you are pregnant to take the vitamins, either. Neural tube defects occur in the first four weeks of fetal development, so if you are planning on becoming pregnant, you should just start taking them. (Plus, your hair and nails are healthier when you take prenatals, have you noticed?) The cheap, over-the-counter type are just as effective at getting you the folic acid as anything else, so don't worry about cost.
Prenatal vitamins don't stop every occurrence of spina bifida (I took prenatal vitamins while pregnant with Gee), but they definitely reduce the numbers. Because most of the time spina bifida shows up in families with no previous history of it (like ours), you never know what might happen. Taking the vitamins is a pretty simple preventative step!
And that is your PSA for the year from Keryn!
Everyone knows about Breast Cancer Awareness month (October), but did you know that there is a National Ground Water Awareness week (March 6-12, 2011), a Brain Awareness week (March 14-20, 2011), and--my new favorite--a Handwashing Awareness week (December 5-11, 2010)? (My friend just told me on Facebook that yesterday was National Spaghetti Day. Which is a bummer because we would have had spaghetti last night, except I didn't have the noodles. So I used my boiling water for mac'n'cheese.)
(And did you know that I can't type "awareness" without first accidentally typing "awesomeness"? You have to admit that's pretty, well, awesome.)
(And can we have a "Keryn Has Gorgeous Hair, So Let's Teach Her How to Do It Awareness Week?")
Anyway, apparently this week is Folic Acid Awareness week. Are you all aware of folic acid?
Folic acid (vitamin B6) is an important nutrient during early pregnancy, because low levels of folic acid can lead to neural tube defects (spina bifida and anencephaly) in the embryo. (Now you see why I care about folic acid.) One study has shown that "women who take folic acid supplements during the course of pregnancy can dramatically reduce the prevalence of infant neural tube defects by 74%" (Milunsky, 1989).
You shouldn't wait until you know you are pregnant to take the vitamins, either. Neural tube defects occur in the first four weeks of fetal development, so if you are planning on becoming pregnant, you should just start taking them. (Plus, your hair and nails are healthier when you take prenatals, have you noticed?) The cheap, over-the-counter type are just as effective at getting you the folic acid as anything else, so don't worry about cost.
Prenatal vitamins don't stop every occurrence of spina bifida (I took prenatal vitamins while pregnant with Gee), but they definitely reduce the numbers. Because most of the time spina bifida shows up in families with no previous history of it (like ours), you never know what might happen. Taking the vitamins is a pretty simple preventative step!
And that is your PSA for the year from Keryn!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
We'll just call this our New Year's Eve present.
The New Ride:
We are the proud owners of a "new, NEW car" (as Gee puts it)--an 2003 Honda Odyssey. We loved our last van so much, so we stayed with the same make and model. Our old car was a 2002, though, so we're moving on up!
And how! Check out the gorgeous leather seats:
And it has seat warmers for the front two seats. Oooooh-la-la! (Bradley is unconvinced by the warmers. I love them. Leather, you see, is a LOT colder than cloth in the wintertime, at least when your sit-upon first sits upon it. I'm a big fan.)
It also has the all-important power sliding doors, and a lovely little DVD player. The children adore everything about it--the white color (not my favorite, but whatever), the shiny seats, the different type of DVD player. It's very exciting.
We took a little drive on Saturday, and the kids enjoyed themselves very much. There was one point, when we went over a couple of bumps (you would not believe the potholes around here right now), that Zee asked anxiously, "What was THAT?" But otherwise, they seem completely fine.
I'm a trifle more nervous than usual, but I suppose that is for the best. I'm certainly far more cautious right now. You can bet my following distance is going to be MUCH greater than in times past.
New car, old carseats. Don't worry, we were driving right then to the store for new carseats.
We are the proud owners of a "new, NEW car" (as Gee puts it)--an 2003 Honda Odyssey. We loved our last van so much, so we stayed with the same make and model. Our old car was a 2002, though, so we're moving on up!And how! Check out the gorgeous leather seats:
And it has seat warmers for the front two seats. Oooooh-la-la! (Bradley is unconvinced by the warmers. I love them. Leather, you see, is a LOT colder than cloth in the wintertime, at least when your sit-upon first sits upon it. I'm a big fan.)It also has the all-important power sliding doors, and a lovely little DVD player. The children adore everything about it--the white color (not my favorite, but whatever), the shiny seats, the different type of DVD player. It's very exciting.
We took a little drive on Saturday, and the kids enjoyed themselves very much. There was one point, when we went over a couple of bumps (you would not believe the potholes around here right now), that Zee asked anxiously, "What was THAT?" But otherwise, they seem completely fine.
I'm a trifle more nervous than usual, but I suppose that is for the best. I'm certainly far more cautious right now. You can bet my following distance is going to be MUCH greater than in times past.
New car, old carseats. Don't worry, we were driving right then to the store for new carseats.Sunday, January 2, 2011
Big Brother
Tonight, as I was trying to get everyone ready for bed, Gee's stubbornness bumped into my exhaustion.
Me: "Time to put on your pajamas, Gee."
Gee: "No! Not pajamas!"
Me: "Yes, Gee. Now."
Gee: "No!"
Me: "Please?"
Gee: "No!"
Me: "Fine. I guess you're sleeping in your clothes tonight."
Two minutes later:
Gee: "Momma! Put my pajamas on!"
Me: "No. I gave you three chances. You're sleeping in your clothes tonight."
Gee: Much wailing and gnashing of teeth
Zee: "Don't cry, Gee! I'll help you!"
Gee, sniffling: "Okay."
And so he did. It was very funny to listen to, from my perch in the other room, taking care of the baby. The sweater vest and Sunday shirt gave them some trouble, as did the smallish neck hole of the pajama top. But they figured it out, giggling and laughing the whole time. It was a sweet moment on the last day of winter break.
Me: "Time to put on your pajamas, Gee."
Gee: "No! Not pajamas!"
Me: "Yes, Gee. Now."
Gee: "No!"
Me: "Please?"
Gee: "No!"
Me: "Fine. I guess you're sleeping in your clothes tonight."
Two minutes later:
Gee: "Momma! Put my pajamas on!"
Me: "No. I gave you three chances. You're sleeping in your clothes tonight."
Gee: Much wailing and gnashing of teeth
Zee: "Don't cry, Gee! I'll help you!"
Gee, sniffling: "Okay."
And so he did. It was very funny to listen to, from my perch in the other room, taking care of the baby. The sweater vest and Sunday shirt gave them some trouble, as did the smallish neck hole of the pajama top. But they figured it out, giggling and laughing the whole time. It was a sweet moment on the last day of winter break.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
A Christmas Letter, sort of
This year has been good to us. We've lost teeth (Zee, Gee), started school (Em, Gee), learned to read (Em), learned to love reading (Zee), been in a "giant accident" (Keryn and kids), broken bones (Hebs), learned to walk (Hebs), birthed a baby (Keryn), learned to smile and giggle (Mimi), changed job responsibilities (Bradley), and laughed a lot. There have been some tough times, but they have served to make the good times even better.We have a lot of great plans for the new year: Building a new shed, taking an RV trip, learning new things and laughing and playing and growing.
Hopes for the new year:
Mimi would like to learn to roll over, crawl, and walk. Tackling solid foods and getting into everything is on the agenda as well.
Hebs would like to lose the cast, start walking again, watch lots more Wonder Pets, and go swimming.
Gee would like to paint, learn to walk up and down stairs without help, and give lots and lots of hugs.
Em would like to make snow angels, play at the park, go swimming, and have lunch at school (in first grade).
Zee would like to take piano lessons, spend lots of time playing with friends, and is looking forward to being baptized in November.
From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
