Why me??

Yesterday Joseph couldn't hear and during our Sunday afternoon nap Peter woke up screaming because his ear hurt. I called early Monday morning to schedule a doctors appointment and sure enough, both of them had ear infections. While there I decided to get Eden checked as well because she sounded very similar to Joseph and Peter in terms of the cough and sounding clogged, I thought she might have an ear infection as well. Well, her ears were clear but after a weight check and discovering that she had lost weight, an x-ray, and a possible heart murmur, we got the news that they were going to admit her to the hospital.

Going back a little bit......Since she was two weeks old we have been going to the doctors for weight checks, at least every other day, because she has not wanted to gain weight. This completely boggled my mind because she has been a wonderful baby. She eats every 3-4 hours and is happy and content. Has many pee and poopy diapers, sleeps wonderfully and wakes up when she wants to eat. She was perfectly happy just being little. I have a friend who had a similar problem with her baby who is Joseph's age. She wondered if her breast milk was like Coke this time around, just empty calories. I wonder the same thing.....

Things that are lost

This Thanksgiving will be a day to remember! Peter lost his first tooth on Thanksgiving morning.

Side note: I know that this may sound funny, but I am so grateful that he is not like Hannah when it comes to losing teeth! She has loose teeth for months and months and even then it is a fight to get them out as they are roting away from lack of brushing.......because brushing hurts. I sometimes worry about her tolerance to pain. It is very, very, very low.

2nd side note: I am also very grateful that my children love the dentist. I didn't have a bad dental experience until I moved here to Maryland. We went twice to Dr. Pain (thinking the first time was just a fluke) and then switched. I am just super happy to have a nice, kind, and gentle dentist for me and my kids!

We were all so excited for Peter! The tooth fairy even remembered to come on the first night!! It seems like there is always some excuse for her not coming.

Pie First

Family traditions are one of those things that are hard to rid yourself of. One of these family traditions, though I couldn't tell you when it began, was started by my mom (the pie lady) and has been passed on to me, and as I found out my sister as well! Although my sister is more pure then I am, she makes her own pie crust. I don't, Pilsbury does a fantastic job at making them for me!


My mom loves to bake and has a sweet tooth as well. She would always ask us what our favorite pie was and then would make it for Thanksgiving. As we grew older, because of the size of our family, we often had 10 or more pies for our Thanksgiving feast. We usually had grandparents or other family come, as well as friends and neighbors over to enjoy these scrumptious pies, so it wasn't too far out there to need that many, but then she began to search for different pies, or pies she had never made before, and these pies were not replaced by others but just added to the ever-growing list. Some may say that her pie making has gotten a little out of hand, but all of those who partake would disagree.


For the past several years I have not been home (at mom's house) for Thanksgiving, I have had the pleasure of having it at MY house. Can I tell you how much I love it!! I love tripping over people in the kitchen, everyone snitching food, everyone's smiles and happy laughter, the beautifully set tables, the kids feeling big using the good china that they normally would not get to use. I find so much joy and satisfaction to gather around my table and overeat on yummy foods, especially pies!!


It's interesting how everyone has that certain food that it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without! This year we had a couple of friends over.....The Nichol family, the Perkes family, and Uncle Sly (a.k.a. Scott Livengood). We all pitched in and made our "must haves" or made sure that whomever made them, made that item to code!! But then when we started talking about pies I couldn't let any of them go.....why I ask? For starters Alan wouldn't let me, he wanted all those pies in our fridge to continue to eat for days after Thanksgiving. Secondly I didn't want to, me, myself, and I don't really like even 1/2 of the pies I make, but to give up making them was something that I couldn't do. Don't mess with TRADITION, man. What would I do the night before with only 2 or 3 pies to make? So instead of fighting over who was going to make which pies we agreed to just make whatever pies we wanted and then we would combine them all to devour. We ended up with a variety of 10 pies and multiples of a couple of them.


Pumpkin, Pecan, Cheesecake, Pumpkin Ice Cream, Banana Cream, Chocolate Cream, The "Green" Pie, Dutch Apple, Cherry, Lemon Meringue


We had a wonderful time, as you can imagine! Thanksgiving is such a delicous holiday!!

Fun Quizzes

I love taking these quizzes, especially when they turn out perfect!!

Your Scent is Lemon

Vivacious, tangy, and lively You are one gigantic ball of energy!

What's Your Girl Smell?

You Are a Brownie

Decadent and intense, you aren't for the weakhearted. Those who can deal with your strong flavor find out how sweet you really are.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

You Are a Golden Blonde

Men see you as flirty and fun, yet deep and thoughtful You've got all the pizzazz of a blonde... With the intensity of a brunette

How Blonde Are You?

Time flies.......

when your sleepy!! Today Eden is 2 weeks old, AMAZING!

I thought in commemoration I should post more pictures and tell her story of coming to live in this crazy house.

Saturday October 27th was quite the day. It started with a wonderful baby shower given by Gwyn Nichol and Debbie Perkes. It was fun to receive such cute things. I have many wonderful friends. At the shower I was telling Becca Tippets, being the sitter for my other three no matter the time, how the evening was going to go. I told her that I was going to pick up a sitter at 6:30 so that I could go to the adult session of Stake Conference. During the conference I would time my contractions and then call her and ask her to pick up the sitter and drop her off and take my children to her house. She jokingly said "Are you serious?" I laughed and told her that it was wishful thinking because the stake center is 1/2 way to the hospital and it would just be convenient. I went home and that afternoon lost my plug. I knew that the time was drawing nigh and was very excited.

I continued to have mild contractions the rest of the afternoon and during the adult session of stake conference. I timed the contractions. Just like with my other kids my contractions were never consistent. But they weren't growing with intensity, so I didn't even tell Alan because I thought maybe it was just my wishful thinking and that it would end up being nothing. But I did mention to a couple people that I was timing contractions throughout the session of conference.
On our way home I had decided that maybe I should go to the hospital because of the contractions and having lost my plug. My reasoning was that if they had already admitted me and my contractions stopped that maybe they would help me out, but I wasn't sure that was what I wanted to do. Alan asked if we had enough time to stop for ice cream. While stopped at Baskin Robbins the contractions got stronger. We decided that Alan would drive the babysitter home and shortly after he left I called Becca to have her come pick up the kids.

We were on our way to the hospital about 11 and I knew that I wouldn't be sent home! We were almost there when Alan told me that wasn't to sure of the name of Miriam Eden Boss that we had already decided on. I couldn't believe it and asked what he had in mind. His response, "I don't know." Stress!!

I was dilated to a 5 and still smiling.....In fact I was laughing so hard they were having a hard time monitoring me. Alan was just being his humorous self and I would laugh and the monitor sounded like a rapper and then I would laugh harder. Anywho, we were having a great time and I wish I could remember half of what Alan said, but one comment almost made me cry. The nurse was asking questions and one of the questions was when was the last time you had intercourse. My response 2 nights ago. A little while later the nurse asked if we were usually like this at home (meaning cracking jokes and laughing). Alan's response was: no we actually don't usually talk to each other or see very much of each other......well except two nights ago... I was dieing! She was looking at us as though we were very strange. But I am sure that it made her night more enjoyable.

I was admitted, contractions got worse. At about 3:00 a.m. I thought for sure that it was time. The doctor checked me I was dilated to a 7.5. I asked her to break my water, she said that she would like to wait at least a 1/2 hour more because they were giving me antibiotic for Strep B. Upon saying "no," my water broke!! (Someone loves me.) They immediately started to prepare for the birth. It was a very painful 16 minutes but it could have been worse I am sure. The Doctor was holding the baby in while she finished getting ready and then with one contraction and 2 pushes she was here!! She was covered in a thick layer of that cheese-like substance, but she was beautiful!

Growing UP

What does "grown up" mean to a 8 year old?

Hannah and I had the opportunity to spend an hour together, just the two of us. We went to the Library!! Thrills a minute, but for two people who love to read it was wonderful. I asked Hannah on the way there "What makes you a grown up?" Her response actually surprised me. She said:

1. When I can leave the kids home with a baby sitter and go to the temple.
I asked, "Who's kids?" Her response, "Mine"

2. Being able to drive.

3. When I can go on a mission.

They grow up too fast!