Crazy Times!

So not that any of you really check everyday waiting for my latest blog, but I realized its been almost two weeks since the last one. Just wanted everyone to know I am alive, and crazy busy. I have a couple witty posts in my head and hopefully I will get to write them out this weekend!

-C

Weighed Down...

You know that feeling, after a long day you just feel really weighed down. Tired, spent- and then you put your purse down and Wa-La - not so heavy anymore! I recently thunked my purse on the counter and decided to find out just what made it so dang heavy! The contents were as follows- in no particular order of discovery...

• 4 Matchbox Cars
• 17 restaurant crayons (I save them and melt them into those cute round crayons we made as kids)
• 1 bouncy ball
• 1 'Pidermah' action figure
• $3ish dollars in loose change
• Extra camera battery and memory card
• Notepad
• Denim patches to fix Braden's pants
• A bottle of Tums
• Kids Tylenol
• A wide variety of my meds (Zofran, Tylenol, ect ect)
• 2 pens
• 1 broken pencil
• Packet of fruit snacks
• Random wrappers of various color and size
• 1 lip gloss, 2 chapsticks (girly and non), and 6 lipsticks (remember I used to be a makeup artist, old habits ad all)

Oh and then the 'essentials'

• Wallet
• Check book
• Spare diaper w/ small wet ones packet
• Ridiculously old receipts- I didn't even TRY to count those!
• Gum
• Mace

Seriously! No wonder I feel like I need a forklift every time I go somewhere! SO I have dug out an old favorite purse that is MUCH smaller. Only the 'essentials' and 1 toy car are going in it- from now on. 

Or until tomorrow when real life happens again...Obviously my OCD-ness does not apply to my handbags.

Easter 2009...

We had a nice Easter morning that started with a visit from the Easter Bunny and brunch at Noni & Pops. Ron Beck's family was also in town for a brief visit so we got to see them too. It was such a beautiful day- you would never know that it had been raining like crazy just 24 hours earlier. After brunch we went to church dressed in our Easter best. 

Our Sunday bestest- with the one kid who would let us take photos...

Some of my handsome men

Proof of Berk's super cute outfit- after he sobbed for it to be taken off! (Oh and the vest was already in the washer with spray n wash trying to get the RED candy stains out)

The Easter Egg Hunt- I was a bit lazy when it came to hiding the eggs this year. Let's face it, I more or less stood in one spot and chucked them. I did manage to get some under the rocks and in the plants. So it all worked out. 

Berk and his basket- I can't believe he actually sat still for a photo!

Braden and his loot!

After dinner with the Becks and Solomons, we did the egg hunt. Berk didn't get it at first and just 'found' the eggs and then dropped them again. Eventually, he got it and then it was a race to get eggs! We made it a little tougher by assigning the bigger kids a color to hunt. After dessert we headed out to the Rasmussen's to visit with my parents and my siblings. Rhonda's girls looked so adorable- I am sure there will be photos on her blog.

And just cause I can- here are a few photos of Baby Beck from my Level II U/S.  His profile and waving Hi! I am 20+ weeks now and feel like a whale, but I am really enjoying this pregnancy. Now if we could just narrow down a name...

CATS...

Last night Rusty and I got to go see CATS at Gammage. It was opening night so there was a lot of extra press and things there- and of course the house was full.  Neither of us had seen it before so I was pretty excited. I have seen most all the major Broadway plays- Phantom, Wicked, Les Mes, Beauty & the Beast-but CATS had eluded me. 

The costumes and dancing were amazing. Those actors really took on cat qualities! I was a little lost the first act until I got the program and read that is based on a collection of poems by TS Elliot. Once I realized it was not one story line but a bunch of stories about cats, it made WAY more sense to me.  

Of course, being a fan of the song Memories made it amazing to hear it live on stage. It was so cool to have so many members of the company on stage at the same time. There was always so much to see and watch. The big finale with a giant tire lifting off the stage-it was cool. The actors came on and off stage leaving through side doors and by the audience a lot so you could really see them up close. 

A big thanks to Mer & Berg for watching the two trouble makers so we could go-- and to Rusty's Dad for having neck surgery so we could take the tickets!  Next up for us-- WICKED in July!!!

Decontamination in Progress...

I popped my last day of a 'Z pack' this morning, then turned to give Berk his day 3 dose. Then I went over and wiped Braden's nose, before answering the phone to hear Rusty sounding all raspy.  Enough already!  I have not been this sick in a very long time. What is this super bug that hit Gilbert this month?

I was fine Wednesday, and bam Thursday hit me like a ton of bricks. I think being pregnant only compounded it because my gag reflex is so sensitive. Coughing too hard, sneezing too hard or crying too hard are all bad ideas since they result in me puking...So by mid morning that day I was in tears, pawning my kids off on a neighbor (I Love you M!) and praying for some magical cupboard to open and have the medicine I needed...I ate solid food again for the first time 4 days later. We had Pops do a quick ultrasound to see baby and make sure he was doing good. Baby Beck looks great-although I think he is mad his diet has been so bland lately (or because we still haven't thought of a name)...But, me on the other hand, I lost all the weight I had gained so far this pregnancy-plus some. Not so good. But Poweraide,Popsicles and water only have so many calories!

Honestly, Braden had a pretty bad cough last week, but nothing major. So when I got it I was floored. I went through 4 boxes of kleenex in 2 days and didn't leave my house until Sunday evening. And by no means am I anywhere near 100%, I would say I am working at about 30% still, but at least I was not in jammies today! Progress! 

So I am eradicating this plague from my house. I have cleaners coming tomorrow, I have new linens ready to be put on all the beds, I have Lysol for the door handles, and trash cans. I have Clorox wipes for the toys that have kept my poor kids entertained and I have new DVD's for Braden to watch- because he has been pretty patient with me this last week.  I have a HUGE bottle of Vit. C out for Rusty and I and I have kudos for Netflix for keeping me entertained over the weekend. Oh, and nothing but the highest of praises for my Mom and my Hubby who did all the laundry for me- even put it away! I am thinking I may have to bust out my Spring Cleaning post from last year and scrub this place from top to bottom, but I will have to get some energy in me for that first.

Spring Break...

For most of Spring Break my house looked like this... It was either Little People, Lego's or Mr Potato Head pieces spread from corner to corner.
We have spent a lot of time with all our cousins. Berk and Jaci are pretty funny together. I realized most of my photos are of Berk, because Braden wanted to be anywhere but here last week...
The funnest time for me was watching the boys play in the sprinklers. Berkley refused to wear a diaper and Braden refused to change into a swim suit, so this is what we had. Berk kept picking up the sprayers on the sprinkler and trying to get me wet. The resulting pictures made me laugh and laugh... That is water, not pee he is aiming, promise.

We had a fun break with Kelcie down from BYU for a few days, Jill & Jaci are here, and the Solomon's from Texas were here for the week. We spent Monday in the desert, all day. It was so nice, and I ended up with a pretty great farmers tan.

Jaci and Berkley love the Rhino. Paci's were a must to keep the dust out of their mouths.

Taking the family for a nice slow, uneventful ride. The boys were much happier to go with their cousin Brock because he drove crazy.

Berk & Jaci had a fun time playing in the dirt and eating at their own table when they weren't beggin' for rides on the Rhino or Braden's quad. Scarily enough, Berkley can pretty much drive Braden's quad on his own. If we used the governor to make it a little slower, and had a wide open space I think he would do great.

We fed the ducks one afternoon, at least we tried but the HUGE fish in the lake scared them off. SO really, we fed the fish.

The weather was so nice last week. And the winds we have now are perfect for kite flying, so we may try that out tomorrow!

One Down, Three to Go...

So you know that mental checklist you start as soon as you find out you are having a baby? Well before I can even start that checklist (new bedding, sort/organize the clothes, ect ect) I still have my "Berkley is a Toddler, practically a Preschooler and not a Baby" checklist.

The list was as follows...

1. Stop giving him bottles
2. Take Paci away
3. Put him in a big boy bed
4. Potty training

Well, I dreaded taking away his precious "babas" so I did it kinda sneaky. After he went to bed I put them all in a bag and hid them. And when ever he would ask for one I would give him cold milk in a sippie.  He wasn't so sure until I called them "big babas". Now it has been almost two weeks and he really hasn't even noticed the babas are gone! Yeah!

I am working on my next goal, #3 right now. Instead of giving up the other room upstairs, my office, to the baby I decided to put Braden and Berk together and keep the nursery a nursery. So that meant in addition to learning to sleep in a big boy bed, he (and Braden) would have to learn to share a bed and a room! Last night was the first night of it. There was only about 30 trips upand down the stairs between the boys and Rusty & I. Berk just couldn't seem to fathom that he gets to sleep in "Baden bed." But by 9 they were both out, and Berk slept till 6 before wanting to come in our bed. I pray that by summer this will be the norm!

The paci thing is tricky. We have a lot of long car trips this summer, but I also refuse to have two kids with paci's at the same time, so it is low on my priority list right now. And as far as potty training, while he thinks the potty is a fun place to sit, he has zero desire to do more than just sit. Unless he can have a drink and a sucker, that's fine too. So I figure I have until October when he starts preschool to really work on this. But I do feel really hopeful that I have at least ONE of the things checked off my list! 

Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails...

That's what the Beck kids are made of...

We did another ultrasound tonight and it confirmed what two other u/s had us guessing... Our THIRD boy is on his way! I was pretty sure it was a girl since this pregnancy had been so different, but I guess I was wrong!! I am glad to finally know so we can figure out room situations, and all the other things my little OCD brain thinks about. Braden asked as we were leaving if we can have another baby so he can have a sister...we'll see.

A Chip Off the Ole Block...

Well we are five days into our three week "No fun for Braden outside on bikes, scooters or anything else fun" restriction stint. It has been going okay so far. He missed school until Friday, but he is finally NOT walking like a little old man. He feels pretty good but has a nice bruise on his belly. 

The hardest thing has been keeping Berk from attacking him, or reminding him that he can't run away when he is mad, irritated at me, in trouble, breathing...(he runs around A LOT). But he is doing as well as a 6 year old should.

So we have been playing Playdough (am I the only one who tosses it once the kids mix it?), Legos (Braden previously told me "I'm not a Lego kinda guy"), new toys (lots and lots o' new toys) and board games. 

Aside from his three minute attention span, and/or interruptions by Berkley he plays pretty well indoors. He likes games so tonight we opened a new one, Hi Ho Cherry-O. I liked how easy it was and the simple math he got to practice. But after schooling him and my two year old twice I learned that Braden is a little (lot) like me when it comes to playing games.  

I noticed he spun a 2, but put 3 apples away. Next time he had to take 2 out but only took one. 

After a very mature "Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater" from moi, I have to admit I was a little proud.  You see, I may in the past have been flexible with the rules of certain games. Only like when I play Nertz, War, most any card game, Monopoly, Chutes & Ladders, and of course Bunco.  Other than that I am never inclined to help the odds in my favor.  Ever.  

At least I am coming clean, and you can consider yourself warned. But you can't blame me, I learned to cheat from my one of my grandparents at a very young age. Throw in a brother who can more or less count cards and I had awesome mentors.

Oh and don't worry, my Bunco group is well aware of my need to 'take 'advantage' of people chatting when they should be rolling. And they often try to call me out. Just watch out if I sub for you...

An Innie, No Longer an Outie...

Well we are home and we made it through a VERY long day. Braden was NPO (couldn't eat or drink) after 6 am for his 2pm surgery. So I woke him at 5:30, gave him water and a granola bar and let him sleep more. The morning went good. He was distracted with shopping by his Noni.

We got to BCH at Noon and got checked in. By 12:30 we were in our PreOp room. Braden did so good with me until it came time to change into the gown and socks. Pretty sure I was going to have a black eye today, but thankfully I don't. Let's just say I am forever grateful to a ChildLife worker "Miss Jessica" for distracting the smack down I got by offering to bring in a Wii if he changed. So we waited and waited. And of course the one thing they tell you to bring is a 'friend' from home, but do I remember? No. Daddy to the rescue. He stopped and got B a new Webkinz. Which I have to give him props for- B has accumulated over 20 of those dang things and Rusty picked one he doesn't already have. I was QUITE impressed!

Well by 1:30 we decided to give Braden something to calm his nerves. But we had to wait for the Anesthesiologist to come and give the order. By 2 we were told they were behind and it would be 3:30 before they started his case. Finally about 4 his OR nurse came in and did the final prep. 

He was such a trooper. He was getting really hungry and the wait  was annoying. We played Go Fish, War, did puzzles, I SPy, played Connect 4. Plus the Wii, and his DS and the I Phone came in handy.  They told us once they gave him the Versed that he would probably fall asleep, so when the Doc came back into to check on him he laughed that we were sitting up playing cards. His exact words were "He's no cheap date, huh?"  Pretty funny. 

When it was time to go back he cried for his Daddy which made it easier on me. The Anesthesiologist ended up carrying him down the hall. Less than an hour later the surgeon came to talk to us. It had gone well. The stitches are internal and will dissolve in a few months. They also removed a mole on his leg that looked suspicious to them. 

We were in the PACU (post anesthesia care unit) for over an hour while he woke up and tried to get some fluids down.  Last night was rough, he was in a lot of pain. This morning too. He is finally able to walk on his own-they gave him an epidural so he couldn't feel his feet for 8 hours post op! Now the fun begins- I have to think of ways to keep this kid from running, riding bikes or scooters ect for THREE WEEKS! EEK! I have invested in some new Lego's, board games and I pray he cooperates! Thanks for all the love and support!