Moab and the Hospital

MOAB -

Our family (including extended family on my husband's side) all went down to Moab over the Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed camping, hiking, and hanging out. It rained - a lot! There was a flash flood warning and we were camped right next to the Colorado River. Fortunately, we didn't have any problems and the rain kept the temperature moderate. For a pregnant mommy, it was wonderful. I managed to go on one of the hikes, but mostly DH took the kids hiking without me. They had a fabulous time and little B proved to be quite the hiker. He is only 4 but kept up with everyone. In one day, we figured he hiked over 5 miles.

Here's little B leading his siblings along the trail -
I counted cairns with little B to keep him moving forward - Boo took this picture of DH carrying S in the kiddie pack -

One of the highlights of the trip was throwing a birthday party for my husband's mom. She turned 60 that week. There was a pinata, balloon and marshmallow games, and of course, ice cream! The grandkids all created quilt squares that my sister-in-law put together in a quilt. It was great to see the look on her face as she opened up that gift.

On the way home from Moab, we stopped off at Dead Horse Point. The view was gorgeous! I inadvertantly packed our camera in the suitcase so I couldn't get any pictures. We also stopped at a lookout point somewhere along the trip to dump out little B's throw up cup. He is no longer allowed to play Nintendo DS while the car is moving.

Before heading home, we stopped off at my folks house for the annual Memorial Day BBQ/head shaving tradition. Two of my boys and my DH got their hair buzzed off, and little S had a great time spraying his cousin with the hose.

We arrived home tired and happy. We didn't even unpack until the next day we were all so exhausted.

The HOSPITAL -

On Thursday I went in for my regular OB appointment. Without going into all the gory details, I was dilated to a 3. Now, before you all freak out, this is pretty common for me. I usually dilate early. Just in case, though, she sent me over to the hospital for a steroid shot to give the baby's lungs a jumpstart. The doctor told me to take it easy and not over do it. The next morning, I started having contractions every 4 minutes. Not the little contractions where your tummy is tight, but the ones that carry around to your back and you start to feel pressure. Having gone into labor at 33 weeks with a previous pregnancy (which ended in a two week stay at the hospital) I was in tears and pretty upset. DH gave me a priesthood blessing which calmed me down right away. We headed to the hospital and after a couple of hours they were able to get my contractions to settle down. They sent me home on bed rest. I'm not excited about being stuck at home in bed for the next three weeks especially after having been in bed for a month and a half at the beginning of this pregnancy, but I'm so glad that the baby is doing great and that my labor has stopped.

Misery Update

Despite our runny noses, coughs and headaches, we managed to have a nice weekend.

Thursday night, A received his Duty to God advancement. Great job son!

My DH and A went to see the new Star Trek movie. I think they had a good time male bonding.

On Saturday, the kids put the sprinkler under the trampoline and had a great time enjoying the nice warm weather.

Sunday afternoon, we took a family drive to Iosepa. Once home to over 200 Polynesian members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is now a Ghost Town.The gnats were almost unbearable even with bug spray. Who knew those tiny things could bite like that?!
We located a couple of Geocaches and spent a great deal of time trying to catch tadpoles at Horseshoe Springs. We brought home 5 of the little guys. Anyone know what tadpoles eat?

Girls Night In

Last weekend was the annual priesthood commemoration father/son campout. My DH took three of the boys with him, so Boo, myself and S stayed home and had a girls night in. We invited our friends and their daughters over and we watched "Emma" and gave the girls pedicures.

I think the guys had a good time on their campout as well. They made a dutch oven cherry chocolate cake and roasted marshmallows over the fire. Despite the cold, they slept well.

On Saturday we celebrated Grandma Edla's 90th birthday! Wow!

On Sunday, the kids and my DH made me breakfast in bed. It was a very nice day with church, visits to mom and to mom-in-law.

Great weekend.

Misery Loves Company

Here's how this goes - I'll tell you my woes and then you tell me yours. C'mon, it'll be fun. At least writing them down will be somewhat cathartic and then we can move on.

I went to the doctor today. I'm sick. I'm coughing and it hurts every time I cough. It hurts my chest, my throat, and the muscles in my very pregnant belly! My DH is sick (strep throat) and several of my kids are sick too. It's hard to be sympathetic and care for them when I feel so miserable and just want to hide in my bed for the next few days.

Add to this my visit to the OB/GYN on Tuesday. I hate that scale! I don't have a scale at home (because I would obsess about it) and weighing myself every two weeks is just more than I can handle. For those of you sitting there saying "Oh, Julie, you do not need to worry about gaining weight" I say, I feel like a big fat cow! I've already surpassed my weight gain from the last 4 pregnancies! Also, my feet, ankles, and hands have begun swelling. On Tuesday it hurt so bad I couldn't stand up to cook dinner. Luckily it hasn't gotten that bad since.

You'd think that the last few weeks of school would be relaxing and fun, but nooooo! My 13 year old is working hard to finish up home school, my daughter Boo has a project due next week that is worth 50% of her grade, then there's "Author's Night" next week the kids are writing books for, and with all of these colds going around, they've missed some of their state standardized testing which will have to be made up next week as well. Enough already!

Thanks for listening (reading). My kids have a book about a mouse who has a really bad day and is complaining to his mother about it. His mother tells him that "It could have been worse" and the illustrations show that the mouse was in mortal danger from a snake, a fox, and an owl and the bad things that happened that day actually saved him from being eaten. I know that things could be worse, I just needed to vent.

Your turn -

BYU Women's Conference

I headed South on Wednesday night and joined my Colorado friends (Cheri and Shari) and their friends (Angie, Cozette, Kris, Becky, and Robin) for a little R&R. My DH took Thursday and Friday off of work to stay at home with the kids. Us girls stayed in a hotel in Provo and spent two days attending classes at BYU Women's Conference, shopping, eating, playing, shopping, and did I mention shopping? Truth be told, I didn't spend much, just bought a couple of CD's (this and this) for my DH and got a few gifts for the kids (this and that). Mostly, I filled myself with enlightening presentations aimed at giving me a deeper spiritual base from which I might draw on.

Adriane Gil presented ideas on how to talk to your teenager. This was one of the most informative lectures I attended. I'm going to try to reiterate her thoughts to better cement them in my brain.

Number 1 - Do your homework;
She quoted D&C 9:7-8 which reads - Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

We as parents should be prepared (take time to think about and prepare) to ask our teenagers pertinent individual questions. Utilize resources -internet to check on grades, or be aware of school events; text message about an upcoming test, etc...

Number 2 - Be quick to show compassion and slow to judge;
She quoted President Monson as saying "refrain from judging others." She talked about how we as parents should not pass judgement on our teenager's friends. In doing so, we may cut off communication with our teen. When issues or concerns arise and our teenager needs to talk with us concerning thier friends, they will do so unless we have already closed that door.

Number 3 - Demonstrate patience and respect;
She said that sometimes we send a barage of advice and/or demands to our teens. How much interaction do you have during the day that doesn't include a demand or advice? In the book "The Good Teen" by Lerner, research showed that when parents stepped in to help their teen with a school project or homework, the teens grades may or may not have improved, but always their confidence went down. Sister Gil pointed out that in 2 Nephi 25:26 - (And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ ...) the word "talk" appears first and seperately from the word "preach."

And if that weren't enough, following Adriane Gil's presentation, John Bytheway also spoke on communicating with your teen. One thing that really stuck out for me was when he said that we as parents should ask ourselves, "What is it like to be parented by me?" Do you begin a sentence with the following phrases: "You should" or "you must" or "Don't forget to.."? What incentive are you giving your teenager to talk with you? In my case - NOT A LOT!

I hope to take their advice to heart and more carefully prepare for future conversations even with my preteens. Anyone out there with teenagers? Does this stuff jive with you? I'd love to hear your thoughts.