If you don't know the song, you need to get out a little more. Or just tune into Prairie Home Companion on PBS radio, and you'll hear it.
Around the Casper's the favorite dessert is Rhubarb pie. We both grew up on it. It was made from a big plant in the backyard with large leafs (that are poisonous as I was always told). The stalks below the leaves resemble celery, except for a slight pink color. Both of our families had a bush that lended many pies for summer parties over the years.
By Father's Day last year I was missing the farm, and was planning to suprise Brent with a rhubarb pie. But the only Rhubarb I could find was $6 a lb! I just couldn't do it. So, Instead I planned ahead for next year's father's day and bought a plant at Home Depot. Finally a year later for Mother's Day we had about 8 puny stalks and we picked about all of them for our first NY rhubarb pie. Unfortantely the timing was not so good. My no sugar diet meant that I couldn't have any, but I did slice a very small sliver just for a taste.
I am so pleased that even city folk like us can grow a garden! I didn't have to leave that hobby behind on the farm. Today I planted Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Zucchini, Cucumbers, and Pumpkins in my backyard. In the front yard Brent planted spinach, lettuce, peas, and carrots a couple weeks ago when I was in WA. Still have to plant our starts that we grew from seed like tomatoes, peppers, and onions this week. I've already had my first fresh spinach salad and am looking forward to another yummy summer of plenty of fresh veggies, and hopefully at least one or two rhubarb pies that I might just eat all by myself to make up for Mother's Day.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
My Mother's Day
Just one more post and then I will take a break, I promise. I realized that I never mentioned celebrating Mother's Day. I have a fabulous husband who . . . usually forgets to buy a gift. The trade-off is he tries to make up for it all day long and yesterday HE DEFINITELY DID.
Early morning foot rub, Washed all the dishes, cooked the meals, brushed, flossed, read the books and did all the tuck-ins, and plenty of other things just in case I forget to mention one and get in trouble, BUt best of all he Gave me Free Use of his Laptop All Afternoon. (Which explains the monster post yesterday.) This was the one that really killed him. Last night I was in bed still taking full advantage, his Mac on my lap. He kept looking over and I was starting to feel so guilty. The guy really is addicted to Craigslist, and he couldn't believe what boring stuff I did during my use of it-Blogging!
Also my girls wrote FOUR songs that they performed in a special mothers day program just for me right after church. They took some randomn karaoke music and wrote lyrics to the entire songs. It was a totally opposite melody than the artist sings it, since they don't even know the song they wrote to, but it was still real good. And of course there was choreography to go with it.
If my mom ever gets on here, I want her to know that she is the mother that I strive to be. She is my #1 Cheerleader even when I don't deserve it. That always has inspired me to be a little better since mom thinks so much of me. She is a beautiful, talented lady that is juggling so much right now along with being #1 Grandma.
I am so grateful to be a mom to these 5 happy and healthy children.
Early morning foot rub, Washed all the dishes, cooked the meals, brushed, flossed, read the books and did all the tuck-ins, and plenty of other things just in case I forget to mention one and get in trouble, BUt best of all he Gave me Free Use of his Laptop All Afternoon. (Which explains the monster post yesterday.) This was the one that really killed him. Last night I was in bed still taking full advantage, his Mac on my lap. He kept looking over and I was starting to feel so guilty. The guy really is addicted to Craigslist, and he couldn't believe what boring stuff I did during my use of it-Blogging!
Also my girls wrote FOUR songs that they performed in a special mothers day program just for me right after church. They took some randomn karaoke music and wrote lyrics to the entire songs. It was a totally opposite melody than the artist sings it, since they don't even know the song they wrote to, but it was still real good. And of course there was choreography to go with it.
If my mom ever gets on here, I want her to know that she is the mother that I strive to be. She is my #1 Cheerleader even when I don't deserve it. That always has inspired me to be a little better since mom thinks so much of me. She is a beautiful, talented lady that is juggling so much right now along with being #1 Grandma.
I am so grateful to be a mom to these 5 happy and healthy children.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Very Last Post about our Vacation
I have been so anxious to make a trip post, that I just dumped them all on at once and now I can't get them where I want them to write about them. 
These top pictures are glimpses of the Fielding Family Tradition of roasting the newlyweds. The kids are singing words written to "Fur Elise". Stephen Beus is a world famous piano player. Alainna is a BYU Opera famous soprano. Then my brothers and sister's and I sang a rewritten song from Sound of Music because like Maria, Alainna never stops singing, is spontaneous, and always late. This is our favorite part of the wedding. Writing the song the day before when we all get together. We think we are pretty hilarious.
These top pictures are glimpses of the Fielding Family Tradition of roasting the newlyweds. The kids are singing words written to "Fur Elise". Stephen Beus is a world famous piano player. Alainna is a BYU Opera famous soprano. Then my brothers and sister's and I sang a rewritten song from Sound of Music because like Maria, Alainna never stops singing, is spontaneous, and always late. This is our favorite part of the wedding. Writing the song the day before when we all get together. We think we are pretty hilarious.
The reception was held at my parents new mansion and these are some of the pictures I managed to take before the event. The orchard was in full bloom for the occasion. Kennon was so sick by then and the baby didn't like the wind so unfortunately I missed any pictures of the actual reception and no good pictures of the wedding. Later that night, when the guests were leaving I saw Caroline wandering around stripped of her dress and undies. I sent her upstairs to go to the bathroom and get ready for bed. Apparently she only got to the first half of her instructions. I found her like this in our bathroom 1/2 hour later. I had been searching all over the house frantically looking for her when I thought to check behind the closed door. How do you fall asleep next to the toilet. At least there was a nice soft rug to pillow her.
The Two reasons we went to WA
1. To see youngest sis Alainna tie the knot with Stephen
2. So Camille could get a pretty pink new dress and be a Flower Girl. She was so excited before the fact . . . a little dissapointed after the fact. (She didn't even get to go to the wedding!)
2. So Camille could get a pretty pink new dress and be a Flower Girl. She was so excited before the fact . . . a little dissapointed after the fact. (She didn't even get to go to the wedding!)
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
We found some fellow westerners who miss mexican food as much as we do. The Smith and Cundick's came over to experience some of Brent's homemade tortillas and other stuff that we think are way better than what is available at the so called mexican restaurants here in town. 
Our baby is blessed
Finally Marcus got a baby blessing. He is well over 2 months now and didn't fit into the fancy outfit that his Grandma bought for the occasion. :( After church we went to Delaware Park (one of my favorite places here) just to take a few pictures of his big day.
A couple other BIG things happened at church. Brent started his new calling teaching prospective elders during priesthood, and I was released as Relief Society President. I feel like I am entering a new chapter in my life. Being RSP has been such a huge part of my buffalo experience. I have learned so much.Like
how to navigate around a city with a map, an undependable car, and countless new addresses. . .
And,
how to have a little more empathy as I have worked with women that have completely different challenges than anything I have ever faced. . .
Also,
How I have to rely on the Lord to feel in for my inadequecies
And finally I have learned to love so many women all over this city!
I am so grateful that our church emphasizes strengthening families and I have a bishop who understands my need to have a little more time for my 5 children. I will miss the blessings that have come into my life leading in the ward relief society and appreciate the close associations I have had while serving with so many different women that have taught me so much. I wonder what will be next?
Friday, May 9, 2008
Losing Camille
Last night Brent and I planned to go out to celebrate another year down. After the usual kid's date night fare of mac and cheese, Brent told me he was going to ride down to the corner store and get them each a $.25 ice cream bars. The corner store is 4 blocks away- 2 blocks north, then another 2 blocks east. I heard some of the kids asking to go on my way upstairs to get ready for our date.
In a couple minutes the house got quiet and Caroline came up to join me. Ten or 15 minutes went by and we heard them come home. As they came in I saw Kennon and Savannah but NO 6 year old Camille.
"Where's Camille?" I said.
"Huh? Camille didn't come with us," they both said while I insisted in an increasing panic that "Yes she did, because she definitely hadn't been here with me!"
I hollered out at Brent who was putting bikes away the same question, "Where's Camille!!!!"
He didn't know. She had been in the living room when he left.
Ten seconds after that we had already interrogated the neighborhood and heard from a 12 year old boy that he had seen her race off toward the river, in the opposite direction of the store, right after they had left. ( Apparently they had pedaled in that direction initially to turn around.)
So Brent raced off down the block on his bike, toward the busy road that runs along 190. He was relatively calm, compared to my hysteria, figuring he would find her somewhere between there and the store. He found her a couple blocks later racing back home headed straight for him. She was smiling and hollering, "I went all the way to the corner store all by myself! Where were you?"
In the course of the rigorous pedaling in the cold wind, a large drop of water had begun descending out of her father's eye. As soon as Camille got close enough to see her "Crying" Father, obviously overcome to tears, who was hollering out, "Camille, we were so worried about you!", she immediately stopped bragging about her incredible journey, and began bawling.
This is when I came on the scene, driving up in the van. I picked her up and brought her home while she cried and cried. She had been "Jumped on by a big dog, and Why did Dad leave her?, and Why weren't they at the store when she got there?".
Finally she stopped crying and talking so I could explain to her to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! And then I explained to my husband to PLEASE tell me next time which children he was taking so I knew which children I was keeping.
None of my other children would've have ever done this, though I should've known this was coming with this girl. I lost her twice during the airport when she disappeared out of the bathroom as soon as she was done even though the rest of us were still in there. I couldn't get through to her then but maybe Dad's "tears" will do the trick.
We still went on the date and tried out a new restaurant, "Taste of Thai" on Hertel avenue. We shared the "Pud Thai" dish. I didn't want to blow my diet the first couple days and figured that sharing was a good way to at least portion control, since I was sure they weren't whole wheat noodles, and the sauce was definitely sweet. It was yummy food but then I have never tasted any Thai food that I didn't love. The service and presentation were also excellent. I told the waiter we would definitely be back. He said, "Next time order more food." What he meant was SPEND more then $11 dollars. Everyone around us had multiple dishes, and all were sipping something considerably more expensive than lemon water. But we left him a $4 tip, and how can he complain about that on a slow Thursday evening.
A couple blocks down on Hertel we joined friends at Cafe Allegro to listen to Kristen and Jonas perform. Jonas is a dental student and Kristen is a classmates wife and also my friend. They really are talented, I love the music, and we would never be going out to listen to music at night with friends if it weren't for them. We haven't ever participated in the "hanging out on the town scene" before so it is nice to have a reason to go chill at a cafe and enjoy their wonderful talent. So thanks, guys and keep it up. But stay out of the bars. We like the cafe gigs best so we can bring our baby.
In a couple minutes the house got quiet and Caroline came up to join me. Ten or 15 minutes went by and we heard them come home. As they came in I saw Kennon and Savannah but NO 6 year old Camille.
"Where's Camille?" I said.
"Huh? Camille didn't come with us," they both said while I insisted in an increasing panic that "Yes she did, because she definitely hadn't been here with me!"
I hollered out at Brent who was putting bikes away the same question, "Where's Camille!!!!"
He didn't know. She had been in the living room when he left.
Ten seconds after that we had already interrogated the neighborhood and heard from a 12 year old boy that he had seen her race off toward the river, in the opposite direction of the store, right after they had left. ( Apparently they had pedaled in that direction initially to turn around.)
So Brent raced off down the block on his bike, toward the busy road that runs along 190. He was relatively calm, compared to my hysteria, figuring he would find her somewhere between there and the store. He found her a couple blocks later racing back home headed straight for him. She was smiling and hollering, "I went all the way to the corner store all by myself! Where were you?"
In the course of the rigorous pedaling in the cold wind, a large drop of water had begun descending out of her father's eye. As soon as Camille got close enough to see her "Crying" Father, obviously overcome to tears, who was hollering out, "Camille, we were so worried about you!", she immediately stopped bragging about her incredible journey, and began bawling.
This is when I came on the scene, driving up in the van. I picked her up and brought her home while she cried and cried. She had been "Jumped on by a big dog, and Why did Dad leave her?, and Why weren't they at the store when she got there?".
Finally she stopped crying and talking so I could explain to her to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! And then I explained to my husband to PLEASE tell me next time which children he was taking so I knew which children I was keeping.
None of my other children would've have ever done this, though I should've known this was coming with this girl. I lost her twice during the airport when she disappeared out of the bathroom as soon as she was done even though the rest of us were still in there. I couldn't get through to her then but maybe Dad's "tears" will do the trick.
We still went on the date and tried out a new restaurant, "Taste of Thai" on Hertel avenue. We shared the "Pud Thai" dish. I didn't want to blow my diet the first couple days and figured that sharing was a good way to at least portion control, since I was sure they weren't whole wheat noodles, and the sauce was definitely sweet. It was yummy food but then I have never tasted any Thai food that I didn't love. The service and presentation were also excellent. I told the waiter we would definitely be back. He said, "Next time order more food." What he meant was SPEND more then $11 dollars. Everyone around us had multiple dishes, and all were sipping something considerably more expensive than lemon water. But we left him a $4 tip, and how can he complain about that on a slow Thursday evening.
A couple blocks down on Hertel we joined friends at Cafe Allegro to listen to Kristen and Jonas perform. Jonas is a dental student and Kristen is a classmates wife and also my friend. They really are talented, I love the music, and we would never be going out to listen to music at night with friends if it weren't for them. We haven't ever participated in the "hanging out on the town scene" before so it is nice to have a reason to go chill at a cafe and enjoy their wonderful talent. So thanks, guys and keep it up. But stay out of the bars. We like the cafe gigs best so we can bring our baby.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
What's going on?
In Breaking news
As I write Brent is taking his FINAL final of 2nd Year!
Next week - on to third year with a short spring semester of clinics. Meanwhile he'll be studying for the boards coming up at the end of June. So happy to be done with ONE MORE YEAR!
He'll be so relieved if he passes all his classes, and I will be so relieved to not hear "I don't know if I am going to pass Removable" Ever Again. Good luck, Brent!
And after the boards. . . . . We have 6 weeks till he starts up again.
It is looking quite possible that the head of this family is finally turning into a FAMILY MAN. First . . .He eventually broke and bought the minivan.
And now he seems to have given up his dream of being a Harley owner while in dental school. He finally stopped looking at them online, deciding his Puch would do for a couple more years.
Now he's looking at . . .
SAIL BOATS! The kind BIG enough for a small family of 7 and OLD enough that they are in our price range. We all thought we might spend the summer cruising the Erie Canal.
MINOR PROBLEMS- Where does one store a sailboat? And how does one get it back to Washington in a couple years.
One other question? Can you get seasick sailing the Canal or Great Lakes? His wife once spent the entire day throwing up aboard a snorkel boat off the coast of Hawaii.
But he might just throw caution to the wind and get the sail boat. When else in life might he have the time and access to the Erie Canal?
In other news:
I've started my post baby diet. First I celebrated Cinco de Mayo in a big way with homemade tortillas and all the other stuff we have learned to make to go along with a fiesta because you simply can't find the good mexican stuff here in Western NY. But once that was over with I was ready to begin. I decided blogging about it was a wonderful idea. Then I am committed and know that everyone will notice what I put on my plate the next time we all get together. My goal is a loss of 12 lbs. so I can be back to pre-pregnancy weight. Sounds like a lot to me. Brent said, "That's great! But doesn't 130 sound a lot better than 140?" I made the stupid mistake of getting down to 130 once in married life and he has never forgot it. Get over it, Brent.
Here's the low down on the diet:
No sugar or honey
No refined starches like white rice, white flour , regular pasta
No potatoes
I will be eating lots of grains, brown rice, ww pasta etc. and fruits ,veggies, and nuts
I can eat all I want of dairy, oils, and meat but I don't concentrate much on that. I am not a big meat eater, and I won't be eating too many fats since I can't have the above ingredients that they are all in.
My goal is one pound a week so that means I'll be ready for a swimsuit by August. I know, I should've started a little earlier, but I was kind of hoping that the pounds would just drop off on their own like the first 17 did.
Exercise plan:
Take the kids to the park near my house. Run around for 30-45 min, giving Caroline an "Underdoggie" on the swing every time I go by and pushing Marcus in his car seat/stroller when ever I hear him peep. The last two days it has worked perfect. Today it's raining.
And the whole family is on the diet because I don't want to be cooking 2 meals every night.
On Tuesday night: We had homemade 100% whole wheat pizza with ham and lots of veggies, very light on the mozzarella. Everyone ate at least one piece without complaint. I thought it tasted fabulous.
Wednesday: Bean and Ham soup with modified corn bread (whole wheat, less oil, applesauce, and a little Splenda) Once again a success with the whole family.
Kennon asked me to make cookies for her class party today. I politely refused. There is no way I can make cookies and not eat cookies. My homemade cookie dough is just too tempting.
I went to Wegman's yesterday and got all the emergency items for when I feel a cookie baking urge coming on. I have them frequently. Diet soda, and a little sugar free this and that. Hopefully I won't need them to often because I know they are just empty things to eat but I need to be prepared so just in case.
I am really enjoying focusing on eating healthy. So far I haven't had any emergencies. But we are still only in the first 48 hours. I can't help beaming with pride so far though.
Yesterday In the Principal's office:
Camille had to visit the principal yesterday to register a complaint that the boys in her class keep trying to kiss her. She is really concerned about it because it keeps happening. She turns around to find them puckered up in her face. When she turned two of them down yesterday they decided to slap her instead. Poor girl. Parent teacher conferences are tonight and I am looking forward to hearing the whole story.
Next week Performing on Stage:
Savannah will be singing her famous, "Clawence" for the school talent show next week. It's a song about a girl who can't pronounce her R's and has a boyfriend name Clarence. She has been performing it since she was 4 and really couldn't pronounce her R's. It was much easier to rehearse with her then and so cute. Now it is all just a farce, but takes a lot more talent I guess.
Kennon had a hard time deciding which of her many talents she would exhibit but finally tried out with a piano piece, and easily made the cut.
The Hungry and Oppressed
Our hungry little girl recently thought she was going to starve to death at her Grandma Casper's. Grandma, noticing she was one of the chubbier ones of the bunch, decided that it might be due to a snacking habit, (where did she come up with that?) It might have had something to due with hearing, "I'm hungry Grandma" a zillion times a day. So we all ate 3 square (and quite small) meals a day. I was pretty famished myself. She came to get me one time after Grandma turned her down once again and said, "I wish I was a mom so I could cook food!"
And finally
What is there to report about Marcus? He will finally be blessed Sunday. Apparently the RS president has been too busy to attend Buffalo Ward the last two months. He no longer fits in the blessing outfit Grandma gave him so we will be making do with something else less traditional, but guaranteed he will be plenty cute either way. He just can't help it.
As I write Brent is taking his FINAL final of 2nd Year!
Next week - on to third year with a short spring semester of clinics. Meanwhile he'll be studying for the boards coming up at the end of June. So happy to be done with ONE MORE YEAR!
He'll be so relieved if he passes all his classes, and I will be so relieved to not hear "I don't know if I am going to pass Removable" Ever Again. Good luck, Brent!
And after the boards. . . . . We have 6 weeks till he starts up again.
It is looking quite possible that the head of this family is finally turning into a FAMILY MAN. First . . .He eventually broke and bought the minivan.
And now he seems to have given up his dream of being a Harley owner while in dental school. He finally stopped looking at them online, deciding his Puch would do for a couple more years.
Now he's looking at . . .
SAIL BOATS! The kind BIG enough for a small family of 7 and OLD enough that they are in our price range. We all thought we might spend the summer cruising the Erie Canal.
MINOR PROBLEMS- Where does one store a sailboat? And how does one get it back to Washington in a couple years.
One other question? Can you get seasick sailing the Canal or Great Lakes? His wife once spent the entire day throwing up aboard a snorkel boat off the coast of Hawaii.
But he might just throw caution to the wind and get the sail boat. When else in life might he have the time and access to the Erie Canal?
In other news:
I've started my post baby diet. First I celebrated Cinco de Mayo in a big way with homemade tortillas and all the other stuff we have learned to make to go along with a fiesta because you simply can't find the good mexican stuff here in Western NY. But once that was over with I was ready to begin. I decided blogging about it was a wonderful idea. Then I am committed and know that everyone will notice what I put on my plate the next time we all get together. My goal is a loss of 12 lbs. so I can be back to pre-pregnancy weight. Sounds like a lot to me. Brent said, "That's great! But doesn't 130 sound a lot better than 140?" I made the stupid mistake of getting down to 130 once in married life and he has never forgot it. Get over it, Brent.
Here's the low down on the diet:
No sugar or honey
No refined starches like white rice, white flour , regular pasta
No potatoes
I will be eating lots of grains, brown rice, ww pasta etc. and fruits ,veggies, and nuts
I can eat all I want of dairy, oils, and meat but I don't concentrate much on that. I am not a big meat eater, and I won't be eating too many fats since I can't have the above ingredients that they are all in.
My goal is one pound a week so that means I'll be ready for a swimsuit by August. I know, I should've started a little earlier, but I was kind of hoping that the pounds would just drop off on their own like the first 17 did.
Exercise plan:
Take the kids to the park near my house. Run around for 30-45 min, giving Caroline an "Underdoggie" on the swing every time I go by and pushing Marcus in his car seat/stroller when ever I hear him peep. The last two days it has worked perfect. Today it's raining.
And the whole family is on the diet because I don't want to be cooking 2 meals every night.
On Tuesday night: We had homemade 100% whole wheat pizza with ham and lots of veggies, very light on the mozzarella. Everyone ate at least one piece without complaint. I thought it tasted fabulous.
Wednesday: Bean and Ham soup with modified corn bread (whole wheat, less oil, applesauce, and a little Splenda) Once again a success with the whole family.
Kennon asked me to make cookies for her class party today. I politely refused. There is no way I can make cookies and not eat cookies. My homemade cookie dough is just too tempting.
I went to Wegman's yesterday and got all the emergency items for when I feel a cookie baking urge coming on. I have them frequently. Diet soda, and a little sugar free this and that. Hopefully I won't need them to often because I know they are just empty things to eat but I need to be prepared so just in case.
I am really enjoying focusing on eating healthy. So far I haven't had any emergencies. But we are still only in the first 48 hours. I can't help beaming with pride so far though.
Yesterday In the Principal's office:
Camille had to visit the principal yesterday to register a complaint that the boys in her class keep trying to kiss her. She is really concerned about it because it keeps happening. She turns around to find them puckered up in her face. When she turned two of them down yesterday they decided to slap her instead. Poor girl. Parent teacher conferences are tonight and I am looking forward to hearing the whole story.
Next week Performing on Stage:
Savannah will be singing her famous, "Clawence" for the school talent show next week. It's a song about a girl who can't pronounce her R's and has a boyfriend name Clarence. She has been performing it since she was 4 and really couldn't pronounce her R's. It was much easier to rehearse with her then and so cute. Now it is all just a farce, but takes a lot more talent I guess.
Kennon had a hard time deciding which of her many talents she would exhibit but finally tried out with a piano piece, and easily made the cut.
The Hungry and Oppressed
Our hungry little girl recently thought she was going to starve to death at her Grandma Casper's. Grandma, noticing she was one of the chubbier ones of the bunch, decided that it might be due to a snacking habit, (where did she come up with that?) It might have had something to due with hearing, "I'm hungry Grandma" a zillion times a day. So we all ate 3 square (and quite small) meals a day. I was pretty famished myself. She came to get me one time after Grandma turned her down once again and said, "I wish I was a mom so I could cook food!"
And finally
What is there to report about Marcus? He will finally be blessed Sunday. Apparently the RS president has been too busy to attend Buffalo Ward the last two months. He no longer fits in the blessing outfit Grandma gave him so we will be making do with something else less traditional, but guaranteed he will be plenty cute either way. He just can't help it.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
A tidbit from the trip
"I hate the new pool!"
I kept saying it over and over again the whole time we were staying at my mom's new house. I'd just get the kids bathed, hair fixed, etc. and they were pretty for the next event. Then I'd sit down and relax and feed the baby when suddenly there goes my soaked children running by in their swimsuit after an uncle or aunt had said, "Hey kids, who wants to go swimming!" (These adults either have no kids or only short haired boys and have no idea about blow drying and tangles.) So the whole week they were a ratty mess because I gave up on hair brushing. Not to mention the 6 pairs of underwear each everyday because I can't stand to put a used pair back on a kid. Then they always needed another hot bath after coming in. And you can't just run the water for 3 minutes in a tub that size. Ten minutes and it is still only up to their ankles.
But it wasn't until the Swimmer's Ear, started that I had a really good reason to hate the pool.
After 3 full days swimming in the 80 degree water Kennon came down with this the day before the wedding. She was feverish and did nothing but lay there Saturday through Tuesday. Her ear was so swollen inside the antibiotic drops couldn't even drip their way in to do any good. Finally the oral antibiotics kicked in and she was well enough to get out of bed and fly home on Wednesday.
What I learned? No matter whose wedding it is, and how inconvenient or costly it is to take your kid to the doctor out of state- just do it. I thought I was handling it because I talked to no less than 3 Doc's at the wedding and they all told me it would clear up on its own. One doc said I needed to rinse it out using a bulb syringe, another said to clean out the wax. . All of these remedies exacerbated the problem and maybe even created it in the first place. I really missed having my husband there to make the call on what to do.
This final episode of our vacation really wore me out. All I did for three nights it seemed was feed the baby, burp the baby, change the baby, get Kennon medicine, a drink, and drops for her ear, AND then . . . start the whole thing over again.
And this is all the time I have to write now, unfortunately. I am forced to do things in short spurts the last couple months. Life with a baby is so good, but sooooo different.
I kept saying it over and over again the whole time we were staying at my mom's new house. I'd just get the kids bathed, hair fixed, etc. and they were pretty for the next event. Then I'd sit down and relax and feed the baby when suddenly there goes my soaked children running by in their swimsuit after an uncle or aunt had said, "Hey kids, who wants to go swimming!" (These adults either have no kids or only short haired boys and have no idea about blow drying and tangles.) So the whole week they were a ratty mess because I gave up on hair brushing. Not to mention the 6 pairs of underwear each everyday because I can't stand to put a used pair back on a kid. Then they always needed another hot bath after coming in. And you can't just run the water for 3 minutes in a tub that size. Ten minutes and it is still only up to their ankles.
But it wasn't until the Swimmer's Ear, started that I had a really good reason to hate the pool.
After 3 full days swimming in the 80 degree water Kennon came down with this the day before the wedding. She was feverish and did nothing but lay there Saturday through Tuesday. Her ear was so swollen inside the antibiotic drops couldn't even drip their way in to do any good. Finally the oral antibiotics kicked in and she was well enough to get out of bed and fly home on Wednesday.
What I learned? No matter whose wedding it is, and how inconvenient or costly it is to take your kid to the doctor out of state- just do it. I thought I was handling it because I talked to no less than 3 Doc's at the wedding and they all told me it would clear up on its own. One doc said I needed to rinse it out using a bulb syringe, another said to clean out the wax. . All of these remedies exacerbated the problem and maybe even created it in the first place. I really missed having my husband there to make the call on what to do.
This final episode of our vacation really wore me out. All I did for three nights it seemed was feed the baby, burp the baby, change the baby, get Kennon medicine, a drink, and drops for her ear, AND then . . . start the whole thing over again.
And this is all the time I have to write now, unfortunately. I am forced to do things in short spurts the last couple months. Life with a baby is so good, but sooooo different.
Monday, April 21, 2008
VACATION
Last Wednesday I loaded the 6 of us on a plane to WA state. Brent bought us all tickets to go home so he could pass his 2nd year finals. I made sure to have a serious nervous break down the night before we left so he would be plenty glad to have us gone the next 2 weeks. I think so far it is working and he is enjoying his peace and quiet. Right Brent?
(I asked him to blog for me since I was unable to for the last few days. I just got to my mother's house tonight. The first 4 days I was at his elderly mother's with the full time job of keeping HER from having a nervous breakdown. No time to stop to use her dial up to blog when you are constantly herding kids downstairs or outdoors. Well, apparently Brent has been too busy too and we have had a boooring blog lately. Sorry!) .
Everyone keeps sympathizing with me over the long plane ride with 5 children. I tell them that it was a breeze! The last time I flew my kids across the country we had no tickets and were hoping to catch all our planes standby. I spent most of the day running back and forth across the SLC airport hauling the maximum amount of luggage for each of us before I finally found 5 seats on a plane. I didn't even care that it didn't fly us to Buffalo. Cleveland was a heck of lot closer than Utah! Brent picked me up there when I refused to attempt to catch any more flights.
Tonight was interesting. Earlier this afernoon we checked into the Cameo Heights Mansion, http://cameoheightsmansion.com - a luxury bed and breakfast, for a 7 day stay. Amenities include a huge jet tub, fireplace, large flat screen TV with cable . . . all in our private suite. And a pool, hot tub, theatre and workout room on the premises.
Not to mention my kids favorite part -the hospitality bar in the basement stocked with ice cold sodas . . . and Grandpa says they can have one whenever they want! Yes, We are all enjoying the new and improved Grandma and Grandpa Fieldings. There are some serious perks to your parents opening a bed and breakfast. Too bad we have to work all week preparing for my sister Alainna's wedding and just can't simply relax enjoying the free room and board that would cost YOU $250 a night. For dinner we ate a yummy roast beef dinner with 4 other paying guests in the dining room. They were very cool about the family reunion we had going on at the same time. And we were very cool about the bottle of wine they enjoyed with their meal. That was a first for our dinner table.
This was the first time my kids had been here since it was finished. They were running around taking it all in when I noticed Caroline kept running by every few seconds becoming a bit frantic. She kept saying, "I can't get back, I can't get back"! It is taking her awhile to get her bearings in a home that is over 10x the home she is used to. I keep having to lead her back to our bedroom so she "can get back". We got the pretty pink room up in the very top of the house since we have all the girls and I guess also because I need lots of exercise. I hope we can all come back to earth after our spoiling this week. Thanks Mom and Dad!
(I asked him to blog for me since I was unable to for the last few days. I just got to my mother's house tonight. The first 4 days I was at his elderly mother's with the full time job of keeping HER from having a nervous breakdown. No time to stop to use her dial up to blog when you are constantly herding kids downstairs or outdoors. Well, apparently Brent has been too busy too and we have had a boooring blog lately. Sorry!) .
Everyone keeps sympathizing with me over the long plane ride with 5 children. I tell them that it was a breeze! The last time I flew my kids across the country we had no tickets and were hoping to catch all our planes standby. I spent most of the day running back and forth across the SLC airport hauling the maximum amount of luggage for each of us before I finally found 5 seats on a plane. I didn't even care that it didn't fly us to Buffalo. Cleveland was a heck of lot closer than Utah! Brent picked me up there when I refused to attempt to catch any more flights.
Tonight was interesting. Earlier this afernoon we checked into the Cameo Heights Mansion, http://cameoheightsmansion.com - a luxury bed and breakfast, for a 7 day stay. Amenities include a huge jet tub, fireplace, large flat screen TV with cable . . . all in our private suite. And a pool, hot tub, theatre and workout room on the premises.
Not to mention my kids favorite part -the hospitality bar in the basement stocked with ice cold sodas . . . and Grandpa says they can have one whenever they want! Yes, We are all enjoying the new and improved Grandma and Grandpa Fieldings. There are some serious perks to your parents opening a bed and breakfast. Too bad we have to work all week preparing for my sister Alainna's wedding and just can't simply relax enjoying the free room and board that would cost YOU $250 a night. For dinner we ate a yummy roast beef dinner with 4 other paying guests in the dining room. They were very cool about the family reunion we had going on at the same time. And we were very cool about the bottle of wine they enjoyed with their meal. That was a first for our dinner table.
This was the first time my kids had been here since it was finished. They were running around taking it all in when I noticed Caroline kept running by every few seconds becoming a bit frantic. She kept saying, "I can't get back, I can't get back"! It is taking her awhile to get her bearings in a home that is over 10x the home she is used to. I keep having to lead her back to our bedroom so she "can get back". We got the pretty pink room up in the very top of the house since we have all the girls and I guess also because I need lots of exercise. I hope we can all come back to earth after our spoiling this week. Thanks Mom and Dad!
Friday, April 11, 2008
This little girl
Ten minutes after breakfast, lunch and dinner, this little girl says, "I'm hungry". Two minutes after we drop by your house for a visit this little girl says, "I'm hungry!"I hate it when kids come to my house and start begging so I keep trying to shush this habit. The problem is all of you who immediately bring out the treats whenever she starts up on her dying of hunger speeches. And so this smart little girl keeps it up. Everywhere we go she comes out with suckers, pretzels, chewing gum, and lifesavers.
Yesterday I was checking out of TJMax and she saw the pricey large bags of Jelly Belly's and other gourmet candies at the checkout counter. She asked and I said no. "Too much sugar and we just had lunch." "But I'm Hungry, Mom!" The lady behind us overheard and after we bought our stuff, she tore the tag off the jelly belly's so she could buy them after we left, then handed the treat to a now smiling Caroline to tote out of the store with her.
Could everyone please stop nourishing my child? She really is fed three square meals a day and lots of other stuff in between. I can't imagine that she really is hungry. So please quit contributing to her expectations. She'll only want more and more and more.
Brent is worried that we need to set some limits for our almost 4 year old to gaurd her teeth and figure. This morning she came down at 8 a.m after her egg breakfast at 7:45 and said, "I'm hungry".
Brent told her we just ate and that "You can have some carrot sticks in a couple hours." As soon she dissapeared upstairs he went in the kitchen and brought out a bag of Fire Cheeto's for himself and proceeded to down the entire bag.
Are there any other hypocrites out there? I am always after my kids to not have any cookies before dinner when often I help myself to 2 0r 3 before and 4 or 5 after. I just keep reading about the rising childhood obesity in America, Brent keeps finding cavities in the clinic and so we keep cracking down to keep them healthy . . yet sneaking our own treats whenever we get a chance.
All in the family
One of the ways a dental student family can save money is by Using What You Got. Last week
I visited my dentist (Brent) for a cleaning and my hairdresser(also Brent) for a highlighting. Isn't he diverse? During the Sat. morning conference session we opened the box to get started. It's kind of a tradition now. I get my hair highlighted every six months (Don't most other blonds go every six WEEKS?) during Saturday General Conference. After dumping the contents of the box out though we noticed it didn't contain the cap it usually does. For the first time I actually read the box and discovered that it read, "All over bleach blond look".
Whoops! I usually get a highlighting kit. Well, that was that. I myself was ready to call the whole thing off.
But, Brent . . . asked me if I had any aluminum foil. Then armed with my pastry brush, kitchen shears, and a narrow screwdriver he spent the next 2 hours foiling my hair. I thought it was a very bad idea since it was completely experimental.
Now I have to say- "Wow!"
I couldn't be much happier with the results. And it only cost $5 dollars for a box of bleach, plus a small roll of aluminum foil. Savannah even got to use the leftovers, so we wouldn't waste a penny. Hers was done in about 5 min.by just dumping what's left on her head. She had a little different results- horizontal streaks rather than vertical. But she's happy. She's been complaining that her hair has gone brown ever since we moved to a city that hardly sees the sun.
I visited my dentist (Brent) for a cleaning and my hairdresser(also Brent) for a highlighting. Isn't he diverse? During the Sat. morning conference session we opened the box to get started. It's kind of a tradition now. I get my hair highlighted every six months (Don't most other blonds go every six WEEKS?) during Saturday General Conference. After dumping the contents of the box out though we noticed it didn't contain the cap it usually does. For the first time I actually read the box and discovered that it read, "All over bleach blond look".Whoops! I usually get a highlighting kit. Well, that was that. I myself was ready to call the whole thing off.
But, Brent . . . asked me if I had any aluminum foil. Then armed with my pastry brush, kitchen shears, and a narrow screwdriver he spent the next 2 hours foiling my hair. I thought it was a very bad idea since it was completely experimental.
Now I have to say- "Wow!"
I couldn't be much happier with the results. And it only cost $5 dollars for a box of bleach, plus a small roll of aluminum foil. Savannah even got to use the leftovers, so we wouldn't waste a penny. Hers was done in about 5 min.by just dumping what's left on her head. She had a little different results- horizontal streaks rather than vertical. But she's happy. She's been complaining that her hair has gone brown ever since we moved to a city that hardly sees the sun.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
One very nice dental student family, Rachel and Ryan Nielson,
delivered us a homemade meal sometime in the last month. We talked them into staying and enjoying the delicious chicken pot pie, poppy seed salad and strawberry shortcake with us. Here we are enjoying their dessert along with some of Brent's homemade ice cream.
Then we roped them into staying and participating in a rousing game of Jeapordy for family home evening. It was so noisy! Everyone yelling at once. We were pretty sure they went home glad that they are going to dental school without the 5 kids.
delivered us a homemade meal sometime in the last month. We talked them into staying and enjoying the delicious chicken pot pie, poppy seed salad and strawberry shortcake with us. Here we are enjoying their dessert along with some of Brent's homemade ice cream. Then we roped them into staying and participating in a rousing game of Jeapordy for family home evening. It was so noisy! Everyone yelling at once. We were pretty sure they went home glad that they are going to dental school without the 5 kids.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Marcus's One Month Birthday
Caroline thinks that Marcus is the "Beautiful Sun" that her father expressed his gratitude for in family prayer one bright sunny morning this week. She came over and kissed him right after greeting her brother "Hey Beautiful Son!"
Caroline insists on being called the babysitter. Her duties include throwing away every single dirty diaper (a full time job with this kid) and fetching everything else a mother might need while sitting on the couch ALL DAY LONG! A drink, burp clothes, telephone, remote, book, etc.
It is wonderful to have 4 full time babysitters.
He's our first baby that likes a pacifier! Which translates to way less crying! Even
Camille can keep him happy for over an hour sitting by him and popping it back in his mouth over and over and over. . .
And they all beg me to take him to bed with them every night so they can lay by him for an hour and hold his paci in his mouth.
Savannah is especially good at this and sometimes it really is great to be able to go brush teeth, change, etc and then go get the baby after she has been snuggling him in her bed.
This has probably been one of my happiest months as a mom ever.
Caroline insists on being called the babysitter. Her duties include throwing away every single dirty diaper (a full time job with this kid) and fetching everything else a mother might need while sitting on the couch ALL DAY LONG! A drink, burp clothes, telephone, remote, book, etc.
It is wonderful to have 4 full time babysitters.
He's our first baby that likes a pacifier! Which translates to way less crying! Even
Camille can keep him happy for over an hour sitting by him and popping it back in his mouth over and over and over. . .
And they all beg me to take him to bed with them every night so they can lay by him for an hour and hold his paci in his mouth. Savannah is especially good at this and sometimes it really is great to be able to go brush teeth, change, etc and then go get the baby after she has been snuggling him in her bed.
I think we really did it right, having our kids the way we did. Thank Heaven 4 little girls. And also for a beautiful "sun" !
This has probably been one of my happiest months as a mom ever.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Almost a week
Almost. . . But I just heard from an uncle living in Brazil that he actually logs onto my blog regularly and I thought I better catch up and not disappoint loyal viewers -especially important international ones.
I forgot to mention this before . . . (and forgot about it for a second myself just now when I sat down rather to quickly to play with the kiddos on the wood floor and had a very nasty greeting to remind me.) I didn't even bother to comment on it before because after giving birth in the fashion I did recently I now consider myself an extremely tough woman - one that wouldn't bother mentioning that she did a little thing like crack a tailbone. ( Who really knows if a tailbone is really cracked anyway- has anyone ever had that kind of injury x-rayed? I think it is mostly just self diagnosis.)
2 weeks to the day of giving birth last month I took a big fall in our basement - and smack right on the tail! (Kennon thought she would rearrange the basement the day before and turned what was once my walkway into a surprise -an obstacle course!) With a basket of laundry in my hands there was no way of breaking a very hard fall once my legs went out from under me. I laid on the cold ground screaming until my husband came down to rescue me. By the intensity of my screams he figured I must have pulled the washing machine over on myself. He was confused to find me merely covered with soiled laundry and wondered what the emergency was.
Let me just say that the tailbone is one of the last things you want injure right after delivering an almost 9 lb.er. It has extended my usual swift recovery.
Another headlice update:
Kennon had a long dark haired school friend over for Sunday lunch. She volunteered to make brownies for dessert with blond haired Camille. We all enjoyed them with ice cream for dessert.
Then, the friend went home and Camille and I had brownie seconds to reward ourselves after doing the dishes. Camille suddenly screamed out and started pulling out a long dark hair from her mouth. Seeing me in mid bite she cried out, "Mom be careful! HEAD LICE!
I think I am okay though since I heard in Indonesia mothers pull them from their children's hair, and then bite them in half to kill the little buggers.
Last night we celebrated April 1st in traditional buffalo style -Pizza and Wings! First time we have ordered buffalo wings as a family actually since we moved here. I was feeling like a big greaseball after enjoying the tasty meal. About 10 p.m. just as Marcus should be winding down for the night he started getting really crazy. Up until he was fed a diet of straight grease he has been an excellent night sleeper. Last night he was up grunting, burping, spitting, and tooting till 4 a.m. The poor little guy was seriously uncomfortable. It had to be my dinner, don't you think? I have never noticed my diet affecting my nursing baby before, but after missing almost an entire night of sleep I am a believer. Good incentive to trim the fat and lose some pounds.
I forgot to mention this before . . . (and forgot about it for a second myself just now when I sat down rather to quickly to play with the kiddos on the wood floor and had a very nasty greeting to remind me.) I didn't even bother to comment on it before because after giving birth in the fashion I did recently I now consider myself an extremely tough woman - one that wouldn't bother mentioning that she did a little thing like crack a tailbone. ( Who really knows if a tailbone is really cracked anyway- has anyone ever had that kind of injury x-rayed? I think it is mostly just self diagnosis.)
2 weeks to the day of giving birth last month I took a big fall in our basement - and smack right on the tail! (Kennon thought she would rearrange the basement the day before and turned what was once my walkway into a surprise -an obstacle course!) With a basket of laundry in my hands there was no way of breaking a very hard fall once my legs went out from under me. I laid on the cold ground screaming until my husband came down to rescue me. By the intensity of my screams he figured I must have pulled the washing machine over on myself. He was confused to find me merely covered with soiled laundry and wondered what the emergency was.
Let me just say that the tailbone is one of the last things you want injure right after delivering an almost 9 lb.er. It has extended my usual swift recovery.
Another headlice update:
Kennon had a long dark haired school friend over for Sunday lunch. She volunteered to make brownies for dessert with blond haired Camille. We all enjoyed them with ice cream for dessert.
Then, the friend went home and Camille and I had brownie seconds to reward ourselves after doing the dishes. Camille suddenly screamed out and started pulling out a long dark hair from her mouth. Seeing me in mid bite she cried out, "Mom be careful! HEAD LICE!
I think I am okay though since I heard in Indonesia mothers pull them from their children's hair, and then bite them in half to kill the little buggers.
Last night we celebrated April 1st in traditional buffalo style -Pizza and Wings! First time we have ordered buffalo wings as a family actually since we moved here. I was feeling like a big greaseball after enjoying the tasty meal. About 10 p.m. just as Marcus should be winding down for the night he started getting really crazy. Up until he was fed a diet of straight grease he has been an excellent night sleeper. Last night he was up grunting, burping, spitting, and tooting till 4 a.m. The poor little guy was seriously uncomfortable. It had to be my dinner, don't you think? I have never noticed my diet affecting my nursing baby before, but after missing almost an entire night of sleep I am a believer. Good incentive to trim the fat and lose some pounds.
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