Random Tidbits.

Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3 Joys

• Owen's crazy ramblings and him hugging me while saying "I love you!"
  
• Family Vacations
  
• A babysitter, a night out with my husband and friends, followed by a nightcap at Dairy Queen for a grasshopper milkshake.
  

3 Fears

• Getting eaten by a bear in the Tetons.
  
• Leaving the stove on. We have actually turned the car around to come home and check. Sorry Joe.
• Leaving the door unlocked, the window open, forgetting to cover Owen with a blanket, any nighttime routine left unchecked for the 50th time . . . OCD.
  

3 Goals

• To speak Portuguese fluently. I'd love to be able to yell at Joey in public with a smile on my face and no one would know.
  
• To convince Owen sleeping through the night on a consistent basis is fun!
  
• Start my own business. I have pages and pages of notes on the store design and layout. Someone even approached me last week about my business, but I haven't pursued it further. Does anyone want to invest (wink, wink)?
• I will get to the top of the Grand one day. We will make it without having to turn around because of snow, lightening, bears, etc.
  

3 Current Obsessions/Collections

• Checking Google reader for new posts.
  
• I should admit a tv show I love to watch, but it ended last week and I am still recovering.
  
• Getting enough sleep. I am not nice, healthy, optimistic, etc., etc., etc., on minimal amounts of sleep.
  

3 Surprising Facts

• I graduated Magna Cum Laude. Hopefully that isn't too surprising.
  
• (This isn't really about me, but surprising nonetheless.) Joey drove down to the BYU campus weekly when we were dating and spent the day in Provo. Can you believe it?
• If I had my college career to do over again, I would have become a statistician or an accountant. I love numbers.
  

If you knew me during the Show Choir years, consider yourself tagged. That's right, if you donned a burgundy jumper and sang under Mr. Noyce's direction, you are it!

Mistaken Identity

While standing in the checkout line of the grocery store on Saturday, Owen pointed to a bikini model and said "Katie!"

"No, Owen, that is not your aunt Katie," I replied. I was however very amused and Joey is concerned about what she is is doing when she is babysitting. Ha, ha.

Similarly, while browsing through a tennis magazine, Owen found this picture at right and screamed "Mommy." He even went to the closet, found my tennis racket and continued to chant, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy." I don't mind being confused with the highest grossing female tennis star. I just need to figure a way to start making the same amount of cash.

Spoiled Rotten

Mother's Day was good to me for a host of reasons:

• Sometime on Saturday night, Joey snuck away to 7-11 and bought me a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting. I guess I just had to eat dessert for breakfast, I mean, I couldn't let a perfectly good donut go to waste - that would be rude!
  
• I got to sit next to my husband during the last half of sacrament meeting. (Five minutes with Owen and I am sure he will look forward to sitting on the stand again next week, but I was happy to have him on the row.)
• Owen had a great day at church (i.e. no tears during nursery).
• Joey bought me a flat screen TV for our bedroom. Absolutely ridiculous, I know. Joey indulged my "dream" to lay in bed at the end of the night, watching TV while he brushes my hair. Yes, folks, you read that right. Joey has learned that the key to a happy wife is just a few brush strokes away.
• Joey even watched a chick-flick with me to top it all off.

Mother's day was clearly a license to be indulged and spoiled by my husband. It was wonderful. And, I have a crazy little boy, who loves me more than I deserve. Donuts and the two boys in my life - what could get better than that?

Easter in Palm Springs

Our Spring Break was phenomenal. I was completely exhausted when we got home, and needed a vacation to recover, but it was wonderful to be in such a beautiful place, with the people I love. We ate at great restaurants, enjoyed beautiful walks on the hotel property, and Owen could not get enough of the warm weather which allowed to him to go swimming daily. I wish I could go back. Here we are at Easter brunch. This hotel's food and ambiance were amazing. They even had a "kid bar" with gourmet chicken strips, macaroni and cheese and fries. Kid and adult heaven. It was one of the few times Owen actually sat down to eat. Not for very long . . . but he did eat. Also worthy of note: for all you Saved By the Bell fans, this hotel was featured in the episode where Jesse's dad gets married. Fun trivia, right?

You can just tell these two are up to something. At least they look cute.

Clearly, Owen is explaining something very detailed to Sydney. 10 to 1 odds it doesn't make a bit of sense.

Here is what we saw outside our hotel room's window.

The view from our patio.

Swimming. Owen couldn't get enough. It was the first thing he asked for when he woke up (which was usually around 4 am . . . but by 5 or 6, he was back in bed thankfully).

In the pool's lazy river.

The pool also had a "beach." Owen was dirty, safe and happy.

Sammie, my sister's little girl.

Love this picture. Owen is waiting for the singer to look away so he can climb on stage and grab some electrical equipment. We spent half the time trying to keep him off of the stage and the other time trying to keep him out of the water fountains just up the stairs. Also, Sammie (wearing the pink bow in the lower right-hand corner) is dancing with the little girl in the yellow. They don't know each other, but fell in love dancing to the music. Priceless.

Now, I just need to convince my dad to take us all back down there next week. I'll let you know if I'm successful.

A Word of Warning

Last Friday night, Owen and I had yet another late night rendezvous. I assumed his teeth were bothering him because I noticed blood around his gums where several teeth were poking through. I gave him some Tylenol and he returned to bed 30 minutes later. He was quiet for about 10 minutes and then I heard screams. I plopped down on his floor where I remained for 2 hours while I listened to him moan, thrash and throw his head into the side of his crib. He mentioned several times "bug" and "head." I assumed he was referring to a tick a friend noticed on his head several weeks ago. Thanks to her good eye, we were able to grab it and dispose of it before it burrowed anywhere.

I couldn't handle anymore, so I lifted him out of his crib and carried him to the couch. I quickly ran my fingers through his hair to reassure him that the bug was in fact "all gone" when my finger nicked something hard. I still get raised blood pressure thinking about it.

I laid Owen across my lap and began searching through his ridiculously thick hair when I spotted it: a tick burrowed deep inside my guy's head. I grabbed Owen, yelled (and I really mean yelled) for Joey and we began the process of ripping that tick out of his head. We had to pin Owen down while we seriously yanked that tick loose. I got it out with tweezers, but it took a good chunk of Owen's scalp with it. We are fortunate - we got the whole thing in one shot.

Owen was hysterical and shaking. Quite frankly, we all were. If the tick were a person, I would have punched him right then and there. Retaliation would be putting it mildly. I have never been so angry with another thing in my life. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night thinking about it. It makes me sick.

But, I've learned my lesson. Two ticks in one month's time. Check your kids when you come in from the playground. A quick inspection will save you pain and misery. (Oh, I was going to post a picture of the tick, but we flushed it down the toilet. I got too mad looking at pictures online, so you'll have to do a google search yourself.)

One more side note. When I told Joey's mom Kathy about the tick, she just chuckled. I think everyone of her children has had a tick in their lifetime. She's even had one herself. Joey's dad Ted had one burrowed in his leg, but he was too tired to get it out, so he hopped into bed. When he woke up, the tick was gone. It had found a new host - Kathy! I wonder if he found himself sleeping on the couch the following night . . .

Best Pool Ever

Yet again, I am going to promote the South Davis rec center. It is the most amazing indoor swimming pool. An indoor playground in two feet of water - what can get better than that? Not a lot for a four-year old's birthday and her little cousin Owen. Heaven.

The amazing playground behind Joey and Owen. As you can tell, the O-ball is having a good time.


This slide is humongous - and they let you hold your child on your lap. I wish you could see Owen's face - he is giggling. Before he made it to the bottom, he screamed "AGAIN!"

The birthday girl dumping buckets of water onto unsuspecting victims.

Her Ariel cake. I love doing cakes for little girls - they fight over the funniest things: the tail, the sea shell bikinis, her lips . . .

Pucker up!

My BFF

My new BFF is my boot and all its splendid glory! Yes, I have nothing good to say about my injury or how mad I am about it, but without this black beast, life would be very, very hard.

Congratulations Lorena on a very prompt and accurate guess. (Although I must confess that the backpack was a great guess. It is the only way I got anything done in my life at this time last year. As you can see.)


I must also say that I am extremely disappointed more people didn't comment and tell me what their favorite treat(s) is/are. I was secretly plotting to send you all treats at some given time throughout the year.

Last Man Standing

My cute friend, Allie, tagged me. Thank heavens! I was starting to think I would live my entire life without being tagged. I'm not sure what makes me a bigger loser - being the only one left "untagged" or being sad about it. But, thanks to Allie, I can finally sleep easy.

I have come to appreciate that I lived a crazy and exciting life as a child, but am rather dull now. So, most of the things I share, come from a much more thrilling time. Lastly, I am going to be brutally honest in this post - probably more information than most would care to know. As far as I am concerned, if I am going to document some of these things, I might as well tell the whole story.

1. I worked at Lagoon the summer before I turned 16. I worked with my sister and best friend Amy twice a week, 10 hour shifts, at a Kiosk just outside of the white roller coaster. We did hair wraps (think friendship bracelet for your hair). If I remember correctly it was $1 an inch plus more for beads or charms. One lady's hair fell out in Amy's hands. It was a disgusting but very entertaining job. Also worthy of note - my sister was very thin in high school and Amy and I ordered the same size of polyester blue shorts as her. We had to unbutton our pants if we ate anything and generously blouse our multi-colored shirts so you couldn't tell.

2. I have over two hours worth of homemade music videos. In most of them, I am wearing a leotard from 10 years of dance as a child (i.e. very tight hot pink sequin spandex). I have everything from New Kids on the Block, to Milli Vanilli, to a full episode of Baywatch Barbie. You've got to see it to believe it. It is amazing I had friends or a boyfriend in high school.

3. I would do anything to play soccer. I get ridiculously nostalgic (and a little depressed) when the fall comes around and I am not playing daily. I even miss two-a-days. My happiest high school memories are on a soccer field, despite having a coach who should have been put in a mental institution. I played sweeper and my friends called me "gonzalas" as in speedy. I ran track in high school and hold the 100 meter record. It worked to my advantage in soccer.

4. Sleep is extremely important to me, although I rarely get more than four hours of consecutive sleep. (Obviously, I worry too much and need to settle down, but until that happens, I will be a late night/early morning waker). Joey knows that I get tired around 9 pm and will often ask, "Are you mad because you are upset, or because you are cranky tired?" Note to all husbands, this question won't make your wife any less mad.

5. I am a fish at heart. I could spend hours in the pool. Every vacation my family took when I was growing up, I'd insist we go somewhere warm so I could swim. I would spend around eight hours each day in the ocean, in the pool or hot tub. I was fried to a crisp. I swam competitively throughout my life and coaching and teaching privately were how I earned my living when I was first married.

Here I am with my girls, the tot class.

6. If I didn't know better, I'd eat a mint OREO milkshake every night. I try to keep it to once a week, but let's be honest, sometimes it is hard. I saw this on another blog, and I couldn't relate more:



7. My favorite subject in school was math. In junior high, they didn't have a class for me to take, because I had finished the ones the school offered. During my math block I sat at the back of another class and had to teach myself. Once a month I had to take a test that Mr. Stott administered. It was great. If I had my college career to do over again, I would have become an accountant or statistician. One day, when Joey has completed his PhD and we are rolling in the big bucks (yes, I'm kidding), I will go back and get another degree. Either that or open up my bakery.

8. (I was only supposed to do 7, but I'm on a roll. Last one, I promise.) I love junk mail. Catalogs help me unwind. In kindergarten, I collected old wedding magazines. There is always a magazine shoved under my pillow or mattress. Don't worry, I recycle.

Snow Much Fun

Owen and I braved the falling snow early on Saturday morning. It would have been peaceful and calm, but Owen's squeals of frustration rang through the air. He was quite encumbered by the bulky snow-wear. He could no longer run everywhere and was reduced to a slow waddle. He did discover the taste of snow and was pleasantly surprised. This has created a bit of a problem since then however, because he doesn't quite appreciate that brown or yellow snow are off limits.

He was however happy as long as I was pushing him at a very fast speed (more squeals if I tried to walk, not run) in this car. His red cheeks however, made him look very cute and I indulged him until I ran out of gas.

Give Thanks

Now that the Christmas season is officially underway, I think it is about time to wrap up the Thanksgiving holiday.

A little Craft project I made with my sister.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my family headed up to the Silverado Lodge at the Canyons Resort to spend the night. It was fabulous if I do say so myself. My dad rented us each some fancy smanshy condos where we ate Chinese food, played games and hot-tubbed (it was more luke-warm than hot, but we still fun!).

Owen cried for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the night, which was mildly reminiscent of last year. I remember waking sometime between 4 and 5 am to walk the hotel halls with that boy. We finally banned ourselves in the hotel gym where we slobbered on equipment while I prepared for the upcoming feast. This year, he slept until 7 am at least, but I was still tired from the middle of the night wake-up call.

Thanksgiving day we drove back down the canyon to Joey's mom's house for quiche, sweet rolls and ham with Joey's family. As you can see, it was a full house:


What was I thankful for on Thanksgiving?

Above all, my family. I love being with my siblings and parents. They are my greatest friends and support. Owen keeps me on my toes and is constantly reminding me I don't have it all figured out. I probably would become pretty complacent without that boy and he loves me in spite of my many shortcomings. Joey is the best - without his humility, hard work and love we wouldn't be a family today. Enough said.

This particular Thanksgiving, I was thankful to be up and about and no longer hobbling around like an old man. I had kidney surgery the week before and felt like an invalid. It wasn't really surgery in the sense that no needles were used, but that is how the hospital and docs refer to it - and with a $5000 price tag, I'm calling it surgery. I am no longer walking hunched over and most of the stone fragments have left my body. The procedure went relatively well. I was even greeted at the hospital by my medical student neighbor who ended up being the "physician" who checked me in.

The biggest setback of the experience was that I responded poorly to the anesthesia. I couldn't move, turn from one side to the other, stand up or walk without vomiting. I became dehydrated pretty quickly, so we had to stay at the hospital a little longer than I would have liked. If the nurse had been smarter, she would have given me anti-nausea medicine, or fixed the kink in my IV as Joey had suggested, but instead she discharged us and sent us on our way. Lucky for Joey - he got to see me throw up at least 10 times before we made it home.

After a late-night call to the doctor, one anti-nausea suppository, a wonderful nights rest at my parents house, life started to look up.

I am now doing great and am thankful that the human body is resilient. Our family certainly has had a few exciting weeks, but isn't that what the holidays are about?

Competition

Owen loves watching me bake. He stands on a stool and does an excellent job of turning the mixer on and off at my request. While making my latest creation, I turned around from putting the pans in the oven to find Owen with his lips sealed on the mixer bowl and the spatula in his hand. Looks like I am going to have some competition for the best part of cake-baking.

Look at his sheepish face in this picture.

Happy 60th birthday mom!

A Roarin' and Rockin' Halloween

My boys were a lion and a skeleton rocker respectively. Owen, the lion, enjoyed chasing the children as our community walked through the apartment buildings. He thought that people opening the door to give a treat was actually an invitation to come in and play. He was a bit disappointed all he got was candy. Joey was a bit disappointed I never wore his wig (he settled for a few friends and the Bishop) and failed to follow through on my Shera costume. Maybe next year.

Owen more interested in his dad than the camera woman.

Howdy Mark!

Doug looking fabulous with the extra weight.

Addie and Owen

Sister Ayres and the Bishop sporting Joey's wig.

Isaac as Jack Sparrow.

The one picture of me that night - because I failed to wear a costume. What a disappointment.

Rockin' out - trying to win a prize for "budget" costume. Amazingly, he didn't win.
And yes, that is Marissa in the background dressed as a princess.

Convincing Brayden he looks good with a mullet.

Matt's turn.

Here we are on Halloween night trick-or-treating at Ted and Holly's house.

And you wonder where Joey's gets it . . . Nice wig Ted!

Happy Halloween!

Lick N' Switch

Last Saturday, we attended the free Halloween activity at Officer's circle put on by the U's College of Social Work and the Bennion Service Center. I attempted to help Owen decorate a cookie, but he snacked more than decorated. Joey attempted to help Owen with the fishing pond, but Owen lost interest the minute his line was cast. He'd much rather eat junk or dance by himself to scary Halloween music.

Owen is still to young to appreciate all the hard work that went into the themed houses and games, but he was very excited for the candy. He'd grab a piece, enjoy it (wrapper included) until the next house, then deposit the used piece of candy into the bowl in exchange for a new one. Fortunately, most people were amused, or at least humored us.

Owen's first piece and favorite - a sucker.

Not really sure what all the hype is about.

Trick or Treat!

Meatless Main Dishes

Call for meatless main dish recipes! Due to the large number of kidney stones hanging out inside of me, the doctor has prescribed a low animal protein diet. Fortunately, this is not a lifetime diet, but just until I get all of my blood work/lab work done that will hopefully indicate the cause of the tiny rocks.

Consequently, I need yummy, filling dinner ideas. If you have any suggestions or ideas please leave a comment - I could use all the help I can get (and I think Joey would agree).

Grandma's Cookie Jar

My Grandma Beck's house was synonymous with night games, Grandpa's big blue chair, blue shag carpet and of course a kitchen filled to the brim with sweets and processed foods we were rarely fed at home.

Like many, we were only allowed sugar cereal on special occasions, i.e. Christmas and birthdays. Consequently, I went crazy when I stayed at my grandma's house. I remember one afternoon methodically eating one bowl of each of the sugar cereals she had stored on top of her refrigerator: Captain Crunch, Cocoa Krispies, Cocoa Puffs, Captain Crunch Berries, Lucky Charms . . . and the list goes on and on. I topped out at 13 bowls. I was long and lean as a child so I am not quite sure where it all went.

In addition to the stash on top of the refrigerator, she had a particularly large cart that housed a dozen different types of candies, cookies and sodas. Mother's pink and white circus animal cookies and OREO cookies were always staples. Without fail I would ask my grandma if I could have a "couple" cookies within five minutes of walking in the door. She would happily smile and I would head to the OREO cookie jar - cream with a navy lid. I loaded up my pockets and every 30 minutes or so I would sneak back inside to refill my pocket. I always left her house on a sugar high.

Owen has found the same spot in his Grandmas house (my mom). While she does not have quite the horde my Grandma had, she consistently has the cookie jar filled with OREO cookies. Owen is starting to take after his mother in many ways. He knows exactly where the cookie jar is and will stand and point (and occasionally squawk) until the nearest adult will lower the jar for him to grab the goods.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Life has been crazy this month with all that has gone on with our family and for me personally. I wanted to document my birthday, although a month late.

Just under a month ago, I celebrated my 26th birthday. I must admit it was a week of fun. I only have one picture of the day, but if I had it on video, I would have been holding a fork in my hand the entire time. My brother took me out to eat at Cucina's two days before. He was a perfect gentleman, most of the time. He is one of my favorite people in the world. The night before my birthday, I enjoyed take-out with my sister and we let our kids go crazy in her house. It was fabulous.

On my actual birthday, I was greeted in the parking lot at 10 am by my brother holding a box of 2 dozen mint chocolate cookies from Schmidt's bakery. A nice little mid-morning snack I'd say. I then met my parents and siblings for lunch at Paradise Bakery. Their fire roasted garlic tomato soup is to die for and you get a free cookie with every lunch - in addition to the chippers you can sample while waiting in line. No one ever complained about being given a cookie, at least not me.

Joey arranged for some fabulous babysitters (Ted and Holly) who took excellent care of Owen so I could enjoy a night on the town sans baby. We went with some good friends to Happy Sumo to enjoy Vegas and California rolls and miso soup. As if I hadn't had enough to eat yet that day, we topped it off with chocolate from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Their apples are to die for and their ice cream isn't too bad either. We each found the treat that was calling our name. A couple of us then went to the Bourne Ultimatum the third installment of the Bourne series. Absolutely fabulous - intense, but a must see.

At the risk of looking completely glutenous, my family went to Ruth's Diner the following Saturday morning for breakfast and presents. The celebrations continued Sunday evening at Joey's mom's house for dinner with the Wilson's. This is where the one picture surfaces - blowing out the 26 candles on my Baskin Robbin's mint chocolate chip fudge cake.

I know, this is starting to look ridiculous, but in my defense, I loved every minute of it.

Goodies and thoughtful notes contined to trickle in the following week. It sounds like I was "treated" well on my birthday. I feel fortunate to be one year older and blessed with such great friends and family who made me feel like a queen for over a week. Birthdays are the best.

As Good As it Gets

Saturday night was as good as it gets.

I was able to attend the General Relief Society Meeting with my mom and sister. This meeting was wonderful for all of the obvious reasons in addition to the fact that this was the first time in over a year I have been able to attend a church meeting without a distraction. Yes, I love my child, but I was tremendously grateful to sit quietly and be spiritually fed. I cried through half the meeting; clearly I needed this.

My dad picked us up outside the conference center and we drove to Bountiful to enjoy an ice cream at Nielsen's. An OREO concrete at Nielsen's in good company - what could possibly be any better than that?

The icing on the cake (as if you need more after Nielsen's) was that I got to play soccer Saturday night as well. With a very full belly, I headed to Kaysville to play indoor with some friends. I was subbing for some teammates and loved every minute. The facility is great, the people are nice and I played pretty well (don't ask me how with 2 lbs. of custard in my stomach). I owe any goals I scored to my friend - he is so good he makes you look better. It was heaven.

I couldn't have asked for a better night. It was bliss.

1 Down, 4 to Go

I will spare you all the wonderful details, but I just passed a kidney stone. They are surprising hard little buggers.

I have felt nauseous the past day and half, but I have not been in pain. Slightly uncomfortable, but not pain. This must have been one of the smaller of the two stones in my right kidney. The last X-ray indicated at least three 4 + mm in my left kidney. I could definitely feel it leaving my body and am glad one is out. Now I just need to get the big ones blasted and we can start the countdown for the rest to leave my body.

Back Among the Living

Last Tuesday night was not a good night for the Wilson household for a number of reasons. Owen and I ate out with my parents before heading to Jenny's campaign party to wait for election results. After an hour of Owen jumping off the walls and trying to pop a million balloons, we returned home while the rest of the family watched the results slowly filter in.

After putting Owen to bed, I settled in front of the computer to watch for any election updates. My stomach began to feel queezy and I couldn't decide if it was indigestion or nerves.

By 2 am, it was clear the pain I was experiencing was not nerves and I found myself running to the bathroom. I spent most of the night throwing up and rolling on the floor in pain. By 8 am the pain became extremely intense and Joey left with Owen so I could be alone. I called my dad and Joey in tears at 10 unable to cope. Joey dropped Owen off with his mom and we headed for the hospital (fortunately we remembered a bucket which proved very useful).

We were quickly admitted and I have never felt such sweet relief which came by way of IV and morphine/phenergan drip. A CT scan was done that indicated I had several kidney stones which the ER doctor attributed to the pain. She said it was also possible I had food poisoning. I was discharged a few hours later with a handful of prescriptions and we returned home.

The next few days had many ups and downs and we returned to the hospital Sunday night where I was given another IV for dehydration. This doctor's visit was more successful - we brought our own doctor, a urologist who read over the x-rays and clarified the findings.

While it was possible I passed a kidney stone, the pain I was experiencing was most likely due to food poisoning and severe dehydration and the kidney stones were something I had yet to face (lucky me!). I still have three rather large stones in my left kidney and two smaller stones in my right kidney. I plan to have those babies blasted later this month.

One week later, I am up and about and finally getting back to much needed household duties. Owen finally has his mom back and Joey has a more pleasant spouse.

Mariah and Memories

I was listening to a song while Owen and I were on a run Saturday that perfectly sums up the way music can take you to places and times long forgotten:

We all have a song that somehow stamped our lives
Takes us to another place and time

Everytime I hear that song, I go back

Mariah Carey's song Always Be My Baby, takes me to 8th grade summers: water fights, chasing boys, swimming at the Fort (the JCC), and late night music videos - one of the happiest times of my life.

What song does it for you?