Quiet as a Mouse

My mother-in-law graciously asked if she could take the girls up to Idaho for a few days, so I could get some rest. A few days....meaning nine!
What am I going to do without my girls?? I guess I could try and take a few extra naps. And maybe clean some of the house that wasn't going to get touched until kids were back in school. And maybe cry a little.
I really do appreciate this time by myself (plus baby), but oh, I miss my girls. They left last night. Around 10:00pm I went to do my usual check—to make sure everyone was sleeping well and hand out a few last kisses—and of course all the beds were empty (sob).
Funny how when they are here, all you can think of is a few moments of peace. But the minute they are gone, the silence is consuming. I had to turn the radio on for most of the day. Then Daisy filled the void with some choice crying (turns out the kid has lungs after all).
I can already tell that I won't be a good empty-nester. Sorry Tyler.


p.s. I feel I owe an apology to some neighbors. Turns out over the last two days, my mother and Daisy were both throwing up (both of which did not eat any of the food brought in), so maybe it was viral after all. All parties are absolved of any suspicion, and I am sorry if I ever made you question your cooking. Bake on neighbors...bake on.

When it Rains, it Pours

There is the headline.

Tyler's work was offering free tickets to an Owlz game. We thought it would be nice to take Mom and Tim while they were here. My mom really enjoys baseball, and Tim would enjoy playing with the girls at the playground. I of course was not going to go because Daisy is still a bit young to take out in a crowd. Tyler felt bad leaving me at home, but I told him I would be fine snuggling with my little one.
I settled in for an evening alone, content to crosstitch when she was sleeping and play with her when she wasn't. I turned on The Sting which I haven't seen in ages (totally worth the view if you haven't seen it) and was thoroughly enjoying myself.
Half way through the movie, I paused to go upstairs and change thread colors. While strolling past the loft, I looked out the window and noticed that it was a bit wet. Hmmm, I wonder if it rained on the family at all?? This thought barely passed through my mind when the front door opened and six sopping people came into the house. They all seemed to be in high spirits despite their rather damp clothing. My evening alone ended rather abruptly, but I didn't mind.

It was really fun to have my mom and nephew here for the week.

They are safely back in Washington now, but they will be missed. Thanks again for coming you two. Next time you see us, Daisy won't be the same at all. I am already worried about how fast time will go. She is already two weeks old today. Where is my pause button? Or at least could I turn off the fast-forward?

Love is in the air

I feel with this baby, we have had so much love poured on us. Dinners were brought in, people watched my children at the drop of a hat. People are still offering to help out whenever we need it. Some have dropped off gifts (one anonymously) and shown support in so many ways. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who have taken care of us. I am trying diligently to get thank you cards out, but I already feel I am going to miss someone important. I am also thankful to those who have offered help that has not been needed yet. It really calms me to know that if I DO need something, there are plenty of people willing to help.
Just last night a sweet sister in my ward brought by a cake (she heard someone had a birthday). It was just one more thoughtful thing that filled my cup to overflowing.

Thank you everyone! My family and I feel so loved and blessed.

What a man, what a man, what a man...

...What a mighty good man!

Yesterday my shoulders felt so tense. I had so much pain in them that I actually considered a massage. Something many people don't know about me...I don't really like massages. But I was sore enough that if a massage could help, I was willing to get one (I know, you are all thinking...what a sacrifice Maleen).
I called Tyler and mentioned that my shoulders ached and he jumped right on it. He told me to call a sister in my ward who does massage, but when she wasn't home, he immediately scheduled a massage for me at another place.
So, I found myself getting a massage this morning. It wasn't terrible. In fact, the lady giving the massage turned out to be an old friend, Jenn, from Pizza Factory (where I worked a million years ago). It was so great catching up with her and just passing the time listening to Dido and getting some knots out of my shoulders. I do feel much better after the whole thing...but I am still not a massage fan in general.
I talked with Jenn a bit afterwards and I heard how she had narrowly escaped a bad marriage and I had to thank my lucky stars once again for the amazing man I have married. Here he is watching his four kids (one of them a new born) and practically forcing his wife to go get a massage so she can feel better. Why am I so lucky? What did I do to deserve such a mighty good man?
One thing is for sure...I'm holdin' on to this one, he ain't gettin' away easy.

* If you'd like to know, I went to Wasatch Therapeutic Massage and Acupressure. If you chose to go with an apprentice, they have very reasonable prices. I recommend them.

Holy Chunks Batman, I Poisoned My Nephew

So, double crossing your fingers may not have the effect I was looking for. Monday night I was walking around with Daisy saying goodnight to the girls. I heard Ivory make some noise from her room so I walked in to check on her. As I entered the room, she stood up by the rails and I walked closer to see what she needed. A little too close maybe, since I had to jump away to avoid the fountain of vomit that proceeded forth. Poor little thing, you could practically see the whole grapes coming back up from dinner. I let out a shriek and yelled, "Tyler come quick, Ivory just hurled all over the place." From the other room I heard June say, "What is hurl?" It is her new favorite word for throwing up because the next morning when Tim and G'ma came over she kept telling them that Ivory 'hurled' all over her bed. Like the other girls, Ivory got over it quickly and by the morning she was herself again.

Now, let's rewind to Monday afternoon. My mother and nephew came over that morning and they are staying for a week (in a hotel) to help out. We originally thought we would have Daisy late which is why they planned for this week, but it all worked out in the end. I feel great and I don't need as much help, so my mom can relax a little and we can both cook and clean as we need to. My mother was kind enough to do the shopping on Monday, and I had most of the kids as lunch time rolled around. Tim especially was getting hungry and I had plenty of leftovers on hand...

*This is where I need to put my disclaimer. Although all of us had been sick (except Ivory at the time) and it seemed to be food related, I still wasn't positive that it was food that was brought in. And plus, I hate to waste stuff. So...

I fed Tim some of the leftovers. I won't disclose which ones because I don't want neighbors to feel badly. I promise that I don't blame anyone for our bout with the porcelain. I never would have fed him bad food on purpose (and I myself ate some of the leftovers--just not the same ones). I might have given him something else but we were short on groceries and my mom wasn't back yet. Can you see that I am really trying to justify my position here?

I'm sure the end of this story is painfully clear. I got a call bright and early this morning from the hotel. Tim was throwing up! There is no one to blame but littl' ol' me. I officially poisoned my nephew.

I threw out all the leftovers this morning. Or should I save some for mom?

The Sabbath: Day of Rest

I can't even tell you the last time we had the WHOLE family settle down for a nap, altogether. This Sunday afternoon, we managed to get everyone asleep.
Of course, it helped that two of us had been throwing up and another two had diarrhea. The things that I have to do to my children to make them take a nap. Not really...I would much rather have them awake than throwing up on my carpets (which really need a good cleaning now, blat!) Daisy and Ivory seem to be the only ones unaffected (fingers crossed and then crossed again—does that take away the first crossing?)
I couldn't help snapping this picture because Daisy is so cute folded into the crook of his arm. Please excuse the partial nudity. We'll rate this post PG-13.

Happy Blogaversary to Me!

In all the excitement, I almost missed my own blogaversary. It has been exactly one year since my very first post. I have now logged a year of memories and you have been here to share them with me. So whether you are an old reader, or a new reader or my most faithful reader (my husband, since I MAKE him read everything) please pause a moment and celebrate with me. You know how the song goes.

Happy Blogaversary to me...