What are you doing New Year's Eve?

In my former life (before marriage and kids) I worked for a wedding video company. I distinctly remember one couple who brought in some home video of their engagement. They were in Times Square on New Year's Eve and when the ball dropped, he pulled out the ring. She was shocked--- she laughed, cried, and said yes. To me, it seemed like the most romantic real-life drama I'd ever seen.
Unfortunately, New Year's Eve is the ultimate holiday for reminding me just how lame we are. It seems like the rest of the world sees this as a time for partying, staying up late, and eating tasty foods. For our family, New Year's Eve is pretty much the same as any other day of the year.
Here are some examples: before we got married, we took a little snowmobiling trip to Yellowstone with my family. We spent New Year's Eve driving to Yellowstone, so by the time we got there, we just wanted to sleep. I think we went to bed at 10. The next year, we were leaving on a road trip to California on New Year's Day, so we also went to bed at 10 on NYE. The following years were filled with similar experiences--- maybe watching a movie then calling it a night.
Kids have made it even trickier. They go nuts if we keep them up past 9, so what hope is there for a New Year's celebration? We did have a fun dinner with friends one year, but I'm pretty sure we left by 9. Not exactly ringing in the new year in style.
Our lameness is compounded by the fact that Trav's parents really party on New Year's Eve. They have a little group of friends they always get together with and play games until 4 am. It's really sad when your parents are bigger party animals than you are!!!
So the question I'm putting out to all of you is: How do you celebrate New Year's? I don't want to be a lame-o and I want to develop some fun traditions for my family. Suggestions wanted!

Merry Christmas Baby!

We love our little Eve. We've had some scares with her in the past week, but I think they are behind us and we are grateful that she is healthy.

She had a fairly high bilirubin count leaving the hospital, so we had to get her checked again on Monday. It was still pretty high, so they told us to bring her again the next day. I also had to take her into her pediatrician that day and when he saw her he immediately ordered a Bili Blanket (kind of like the light bed, but you can still hold the baby). He told me that once they got the test results back he'd call and give me more direction.

Somehow there was a mixup and the results got sent to a different pediatrician. The results were dangerously high, so that pediatrician called me and prescribed the actual Bili bed (light bed) for her and told me to be vigilant about feeding her every 2 hours. This is no easy feat because she was SO sleepy! She could not stay awake long enough to really get enough to eat, and that's pretty much the only way to get the yucky blirubin out of her body.

Well, the next day (Christmas Eve), my regular pediatrician called me at 6 am. He had just seen her results and wanted to get her tested right away. I went to the hospital and got her checked, but while we waited for the results, the Dr. wanted her on the lights, so she actually had to be hospitalized for a few hours. It was so scary, I just couldn't stop crying. Luckily after about 2 hours the Dr. told us her bili level had gone down enough that she could go home, but she needed to spend all day and night on the lights.

I was so grateful for this little Christmas miracle. What a blessing that she was going to be okay and that she could be with us for Christmas! This is how Eve spent her first Christmas:

Luckily she's very mellow and very cute.

By Christmas night she seemed to be doing well enough that we brought her downstairs to do some presents when my parents stopped by.

Then it was back on the lights for little Eve. We found out yesterday that her level is low enough that she doesn't need the lights any more, and we're so happy! We love being able to hold her anytime we want!

Introducing

EVE SOPHIA LARSEN

born December 19, 2008 10:51 pm

7 pounds 8 ounces 19 inches long

Our sweet little Eve was born last Friday, December 19. We went to the hospital at 8 am and they started me on Pitocin..... and she was born 14 hours later! It was a long and boring day waiting for her to come (I guess that's the beauty of the epidural, at least it wasn't a long and painful day!). There wasn't anything wrong, it just took her a while to decide to be born.

We're so happy that she is here. She is such a beautiful little baby and she is very mellow. We love to hold and cuddle her and her sisters can't get enough of her! What a sweet addition to our family!

Last day with only 2 kids

What would you do if it were your last day with only 2 kids? Play in the snow with Kate while Anna's at preschool, of course! I was really grateful for the chance to have some one on one with her doing something really fun. She loves the snow, and especially loves the swishing sound her snowpants make when she walks. I love Kate!!

Anna had her preschool Christmas program on Dec. 18. She sang songs with her class and then got to be Mary in the Christmas pageant. I was so proud of her for not being scared! I love my Anna!

After the program, my parents took the kids home with them and T and I cleaned our house like maniacs so it would be clean when we came home from the hospital. Good thing, too, because there's been no time since!

Disclaimer

I just feel like I should put a disclaimer out there. The post I published about my birthday was NOT intended to make anyone feel like they should have remembered my bday. I think I even posted it on another friend (Lisa)'s birthday and didn't do anything for her. My bad. Thanks to all, but seriously no guilt trips required.

Other news, today at Princess Playgroup I was sitting on the couch and could only see the top of Kate's head over the other couch. She started saying "Mom, mom" and all the other mommies started laughing. When I got up to check on her, she was completely naked! This girl loves taking off her clothes!

More news, being induced on Friday. A big thanks to all the friends who have offered their happy stories of how great their inductions have been. I am really worried/scared, so it's nice to know that you all like it! We'll post pictures of (insert name here) when we get home from the hospital.

Christmas Traditions

We went to see the lights at Temple Square on Sunday night. It was freezing, so we actually spent most of our time inside the visitor's centers, but it was still a lot of fun. Poor little Kate would just quake in the cold, but she still loved walking through all the crunchy snow. This is a fun Christmas tradition, but I think next year we'll need to bring the stroller and lots of blankets.

Last night we had a fun FHE with some neighbors to celebrate Christmas. It's a fun way to share our testimonies of the Savior and I hope that we can continue it as a tradition. We let the kids decorate sugar cookies afterward. They put so much frosting and candy on those cookies that there's no way anyone could really eat them! And of course, our little neighbor Jesse was caught with the packet of frosting in his mouth as he sucked it dry! Kids are the best!

My bday was last Friday. I have spent my life complaining about a December birthday because I've always felt it was overshadowed by all the hoopla of the holidays. I usually just get birthday presents at our family Christmas party on Christmas Eve. You would think that this selfish attitude would have lessened as I became an adult, but it's actually gotten worse. The first 5 years of our marriage, Travis had a final on my birthday. Then last year when he was finally done with school, we spent my bday painting our house before moving in. And this year, his firm thought they needed to send him to the British Virgin Islands (!!!!) on my birthday to take care of a transaction. I was not pleased, and spent a lot of time wallowing in self pity about the whole thing.

The good news was that he did not have to leave town. And, it turns out, I did not have to wallow in self pity. This was actually one of the best birthdays I can remember, and although it wasn't full of surprises, it was a day where I felt a lot of love. Every time Anna prayed that day she asked that I would have a good birthday. And lots of friends and family called/emailed/sent cards to wish me happy birthday. Of course Trav and I went out on a date that night to our favorite restaurant Bombay House and then to see Twilight.

The best part of all was when my cute visiting teacher stopped by and brought these cupcakes. How thoughtful is that!

The lesson of this birthday is that it's not about gifts or parties or surprises, it's just about being remembered. What if every day at least one person called just to let me know they were thinking of me? I have a stronger resolve to remember others and to seek ways to uplift them, because even if you can't see the hurt a person is going through, or even if they aren't hurting right now, everyone could use a friend! Everyone needs to feel remembered and needed. Thanks to all of you who do that for me!

Happy List

To make up for my post on depression, I want to make a list of things that make me happy. I've been meaning to do it for a while now, just because there are lots of random things that make me feel happy every day.

1. The price of gas. I can't even remember the last time it was this low, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't in Anna's lifetime.

2. Hobby Lobby. Have you been there? Holy cow, it's like every craft store rolled into one, and they have super great prices. I could spend a lot of time there (and a lot of money).

3. Christmas Lights. Kate loves to see all the lights on the houses. From the backseat we hear a constant commentary "Look Mom. Lights. Blue." So cute!
6:30/.
4. Our baby's nursery. We painted it green (Apple #4 to be exact) and it has turned out so cute!! Once I get it all cleaned up I'll post pictures.

5. Anna in the bathroom. She can't stand to be quiet for even one minute, so the whole time she's going potty I can hear her singing to herself or talking to herself. Last night she was pretending to be Tigress from Kung Fu Panda and carried it with her.

6. My kids slept till 8 am today. This is literally a miracle. Kate ALWAYS gets up by 6:30.

7. My so nice husband. Every night just before bed he heads downstairs to heat up my "warm bag" so I can feel nice and cozy in bed. I love having it, but would never take the effort to walk all the way down the stairs to do it myself.

8. Sunday Game Night. This is our new tradition. Every Sunday after dinner (which Travis always cooks, I love Sunday!), we get out a game like Memory or Candyland and play as a family. I thought Kate would be too little, but we actually always have fun.

9. The chiropractor. I was having the worst back pain and my midwife recommended seeing a chiropractor. It has brought so much relief to me!!! I can walk up the stairs without tons of pain, hurray!

Have you ever....

I'm feeling a little depressed today. I think it's because I'm sick of being pregnant. I know that the last month is the hardest for everyone, and it's certainly the case with me! Probably the cause of today's depression is that I had contractions all day yesterday and really thought I'd be at the hospital by now, but instead I haven't had a single contraction all day! And my feet are so swollen that I couldn't fit them in my shoes for church this morning.
Which leads me to ask..... Have you ever tried castor oil? Or any other labor inducing tricks? What were the results? Would you recommend it?

A little disturbing

I got this email forwarded to me. Whether you are a fan of Walmart or not (and honestly, none of us will admit to being a fan yet we still shop there at least once a month), this is staggering.

HOW BIG IS WAL-MART?
1 .At Wal-Mart,Americans spend $36,000,000 every hour Of every day.
2 .This works out to $20,928 profitEvery minute!
3.Wal-Mart will sell moreFrom January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th)Than Target sells all year.
4.Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot +Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco +K-Mart combined.
5.Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million peopleAnd is the largest private employer. And most can't speak English
6.Wal-Mart is the largest companyIn the history of the World.
7.Wal-Mart now sells more foodThan Kroger & Safeway combined,And keep in mind they did thisIn only 15 years.
8.During this same period,31 Supermarket chains sought bankruptcy(including Winn-Dixie).
9.Wal-Mart now sells more foodThan any other store in the world.
10.Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 storesIn the USA of which 1,906 are SuperCenters;This is 1,000 more than it had 5 years ago.
11.This year, 7.2 billion differentPurchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store.(Earth's population is approximately6.5 billion.)
12. 90% of all Americans liveWithin 15 miles of a Wal-Mart
13Let Wal Mart bail out Wall Street

Photo Shoot

Once there was a budding young artist with creativity to spare. Somehow she got hold of her mother's camera. Somehow she got her sister to pose for her.

Are you looking at me?

The extreme closeup.

I only look sweet. You should see me at bedtime.

There's a good chance I might explode.



Grumpy face. I actually heard Anna ask for this one.

Rescue Mission

We had a tragedy on our hands this weekend. Anna is absolutely attached to her little duck blanket (probably any of you who know her know which blanket I am talking about). This ragged little blanket has been a part of our family since before Anna could walk, and she continues to use it for comfort and protection. Not only does she sleep with it at night, but she always makes sure she has it when she goes to time out to console herself. It's actually kind of nice that there is an object that she can turn to when she's feeling sad.
Except when we lose the duck blanket. Then there's no consoling her, no comfort, no protection against the dangers of the night. We couldn't find it last night before bed, and though she was sad, she tried to be brave and use a different blanket. That lasted until 10:00 when she woke up in tears because she missed her blanket. I got her to go back to bed, but she was up several times during the night looking for it.
So today we had a Rescue Mission for the blanket. (Anna is into Diego right now). We combed over and cleaned every single room in our house, but could not find it. In a way, it was good because I went through boxes of clothes and toys that haven't been touched for a while and washed all the linens in our house (if you have to take the bed apart to look for something, you might as well wash the sheets, right?). But still, no blanket. Travis spent more than two hours lookingin cupboards, the cars, even the crawl space. Nothing.
Finally, just before bed, he re-checked under the cover on our couch. Magically, the duck blanket appeared. Anna was ecstatic and so were we. Here's hoping for a good night's rest tonight!

Have you heard of this?

I'm basically going to copy this verbatim from my friend Kristi's blog. If you haven't heard of or used ebates.com, you really should.

It's an especially wise idea today because you would get $10 just for signing up and I would get $15, and that would make me like you even more than I already do.Also it is an EXTRA good idea today because www.restaurant.com is having an 80% off sale, with the coupon code "surprise". And if you click on restuarant.com from ebates you get 15% cash back (not to mention the $10 for signing up). So really you can get a $25 gift cirtificate today for $2 with the coupon code, plus you are getting 15% back, so that is $ 0.30, so really it's only $1.70. Hello Christmas shopping. Then if you count the free $10, then it is like they are paying YOU $8.30. Tis the season folks. Tis the season.


So, if you log onto ebates.com and look up restaurants.com, you can find a link to restaurant gift certificates. With the "surprise" code, I got $100 of gift certificates to a fancy Italian restaurant in SLC (Tuscany) for $8. You just can't beat that. Guess what the inlaws are getting for Christmas....

And, if you sign up with ebates and use me as your referring friend, we'll both benefit. You get $10 and i get $15. It's a sweet setup. Use my email laurielarsen2000@yahoo.com.
Happy shopping!

A good point

While trimming Anna's fingernails last night, she made this observation:
"Mom, when you cut my fingernails short it makes it really hard to pick my nose."

Consequences, consequences.

Halloween

Two princesses:Aurora and Belle. Neither would let me do anything fancy with their hair.... so here we are. And who taught these girls how to smile for the camera anyway?

Halloween lasted for an entire week in our family. Our ward did a trunk or treat on the 24th, where I sadly ran out of candy after about 5 minutes. Who knew that one bag is not enough?

The next Monday we decorated pumpkins for FHE. As usual, the adults were a little more into it than the kids, but we all had fun. Anna painted hers pink (of course), Kate painted hers green and called it a planet, I painted mine to look like Cookie Monster, but when that didn't work out I just called it a Monster, and Trav carved his. I had considered being a Halloween grinch and not doing pumpkins this year, but it actually was really fun to do and the kids loved showing their pumpkins off to the neighbors.

Anna had her preschool Halloween party on the 30th. Kate was so sad she didn't get to go too, so she dressed up at home. I was in charge of providing sugar cookies for the preschool party. Let me just tell you that there is nothing messier than 2 kids "helping" with sugar cookies! Anna had a great time at her preschool party, then all the kids loved jumping in the big pile of leaves outside preschool and getting costumes totally dirty.

Friday was actual Halloween. We went trick-or-treating on Provo Center St. with some old friends in the afternoon, then up to Trav's mom's house for the family Halloween party. Let me just tell you, the adult costumes beat the kids this year. Trav's sisters were Catwoman (with pleather pants), Madonna, and Athena. Our new brother in law, Rhett, was Nacho Libre-- complete with blue stretchy pants, red women's underwear, the cape, and the mask. If only my camera hadn't died. It was incredible. The kids also looked great, but they always do.

Anna with her cousins Bailee and Gates

Where did October go?

My main project for October was putting together a little scrapbook for my mom, so most of my free time was filled with that. On top of that, I accidentally left my camera at my mother-in-law's house for 2 weeks which was terrible. So much happens the last part of October!!

Here are some of the pictures from Anna's birthday party, not in order because Blogger is having struggles.

This is how real princesses eat birthday cake!

All the princesses: Kaitlyn, Kate, Paige, Raia, Kyla (Anna's best friend at preschool), Anna, and Callie (Kate's best friend. Anna told her she could invite one little girl to play with at the party. Unfortunately, Kate was kind of sick and ended up taking a nap for most of the party.)

Princess Anna
My mom came down and helped do makeup, paint fingernails, etc. for all the little girls.
I don't know what the deal is, but my kids cannot open their eyes for pictures.

The difference between men and women (or at least Laur and Trav)

Trav is really into trivia. So today he came home and said, "Guess how many players have played for the Utah Jazz since the franchise began." The answer was 214. Then came the challenge: "Can you name 20?"
Of course I can, I thought. I easily got to 8, but then it was really a struggle. Finally, after more than a half an hour, I came up with 20. He thought it was pretty hilarious b/c most of the ones I knew don't actually play for the team now, but did back when we were engaged and I would join him in watching the games more than I do now. They're pretty much no-names like Raul Lopez-- the people who never really made it big. But at least I got my 20.
Now it was my turn to challenge him. What should it be? Name 20 of the Stampin Up ink colors, 20 songs by the Dixie Chicks, 20 blogs I check frequently? I finally decided to have him name 20 stores in the University Mall, restaurants not included. It took him a half an hour to come up with those!
The double challenge was for him to name an additional 20 Jazz players after I finished, and for me to name an additional 20 stores. We each were able to do it in 5 minutes.
We each have our strengths, I suppose.

Prenatal Bonding

If we're going to be honest, this third baby has been a bit of a trial for me. First of all, I've felt worse through the whole pregnancy than any before. My freakishly low iron levels are a subject of concern to everyone involved in this baby. Second, our insurance (which I must add, we pay $400 a month for) has a $5000 maternity deductible, so every time I go to the midwife, have my blood drawn, get an ultrasound, etc. I am always thinking about how much it's costing me in the back of my mind.
It has been so stressful, and I think in some ways it has gotten in the way of me getting excited about the baby. I have had a difficult time picking a name, decorating the room, even getting out the baby clothes. Not that there were any there....
That all changed last week. I went to my typical midwife appt. and after another round of the "how can we get your iron levels up?" she measured me. Those of you who have had a baby know what I'm talking about, she takes the measuring tape and puts it at the top of my belly and stretches it down to the bottom of my belly. The number (in cm I think) is supposed to correspond with how many weeks along you are. Well, in spite of the fact that I look enormous, when she measured me I was 4 cm too small. Immediately she ordered an ultrasound to see if the baby is growing, but it was twenty minutes before the ultrasound tech could squeeze me in.
Those 20 minutes were agony. Every resentful feeling I've had about this baby flew out the window when I was presented with the chance that she might not be okay. I cried and cried as I thought about all the liver I haven't eaten and all the Take 5 bars I have. Take 5 bars do not grow healthy babies!!!! In my mind I saw this picture of a preemie baby only weighing 2 pounds that would be mine. I felt like a meth mom or something. It really was tortuous.
It was also life altering. I felt such a strong, protective urge take over me. I would do anything to make sure this baby gets all she needs to be healthy and strong when she is born. It was like the two of us united in a cause, mother and prenatal daughter. I felt that no matter what it costs, or how uncomfortable I may feel, this sweet little one is worth it and I need to fight for her. Suddenly I bonded with my baby.
The good news is that the ultrasound showed she's actually measuring about 2 weeks ahead of schedule (possibly not born Christmas day after all?). She is still healthy and growing just right. She just has chosen to mostly recline on my back (that explains a lot of the discomfort), so my measurements were off. I'm recommitted to making more baby-friendly choices, and I am so grateful that she's doing alright.
Since that day I have grown more and more excited about her than ever. Sure, she's definitely our most expensive child, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. I can't wait till I get to hold her in my arms and feel her sweet baby skin against my cheek, to see her eyes, nose, and face and determine if she'll follow our blond hair/blue eye tradition, and most of all, to get to know her little spirit. I already know she's going to be great.

What's in a Name?

Our baby will likely be named one of the following:
Abby, Sage, Ruby, Eve, Elizabeth, Marley, Maylee, Brynn, Eva, Ava, Ada, Jocelyn, Gabrielle, Michelle, Megan, Sarah, Meleah, Sophia, Lily, Whitney, Jane, Maeve

I've decided it's not that we don't have any names that we like, it's that we have lots of names that we like. Which is the bigger problem?

Congrats Trav!

My husband is so great. Really, I just don't know what I would do without him. Here's a little chance for me to brag about the good news of the week for him.

He won his first case!

I know that some of you are probably thinking, "Hasn't he been an attorney for a year already? And this is the first case that he won?" Let me correct you. See, at most firms, first year attorneys are basically research slaves. They never even get to try a case on their own. So, the fact that T's firm let him do this case on his own when he's so young is a big deal. He has actually been given a lot of responsibility and is doing an amazing job. So, this week he recieved the judgment for his first case that he tried completely on his own and it was a success! Yeah Trav!

As a side note, he's also been playing in a softball league this fall and we had to get a picture of Dad in his uniform with the girls. He's had a great time playing, but I consider the chief accomplishment that Anna is actually interested in playing Tball now. I say that anything that does not involve a princess toy for her is progress! Also, check out Poor Kate's forehead. She won't allow the bandaid to come off, so this is the most gruesome photo I can take of her carnage.

Snapfish Deal

Here's another www.snapfish.com deal. 50 prints for 50 cents. I only ordered 50 this time, and my total was 3.97 with shipping. It's awesome!
The coupon code is FALLPENNY08. Use it at checkout.

Poor Kate

Oh, man. I hope that we don't have a weekend like this one for a long time.

Saturday morning we were moving things from the Camry into the new minivan. The girls love the van, so they were just playing around in there. Somehow, Anna pushed the button that closes the doors and it shut poor Kate's thumb in there. We got it out right away, but it was a mess-- all mangled and purple. Immediately she and I set off for the Instacare. She stopped crying by the time we got there, and then started crying again as soon as she saw the doctor. She has a major fear of medical personnel. They did some Xrays (her first), but since I'm pregnant I couldn't be in there to hold her on my lap. So, for the sweet little thing's first Xray she had to go it alone, with mom giving her a thumbs up from the window! I felt so bad for her, but it turned out that she was fine. Apparently, children's fingers have an amazing resiliency to getting shut in things.

Then on Sunday we were getting ready to go watch the afternoon session of conference at Trav's mom's house. we had just gotten Kate's shoes on her and she took off running. (Have I mentioned that she runs everywhere she goes?) Anyway, she tripped and fell smack into the corner of our wall. Trav picked her up quickly. She was gushing blood from her forehead. Luckily we were ready to go, so we jumped in the car and went to the Instacare again. But, on the way to the Instacare we got stopped at a train (curses on trains!!!). I couldn't handle waiting, so I turned around and went to the ER in Provo instead. This actually turned out to be a blessing, as the ER told us the Instacare would have sent her over anyway. (Just in case this ever happens to you, Instacare can do stitches, but not really for little children like Kate. And, if it happens on the face, you should probably go to the ER anyway because they have doctors that are really practiced at stitches.)

The ER was amazingly wonderful. They got us in right away, gave her a little sedative. This was optional, but since I know that Kate freaks out just seeing a doctor walk in the room, I knew she'd never sit still for him to stitch up her face. The sedative was fast acting and effective and the doctor completed the stitches relatively painlessly. She has 2 internal stitches (the cut went all the way to her skull!) and 8 external. So far she is not too concerned about it, and if you ask how her owie is feeling, she shows you the hurt thumb from Saturday and says "Good."

Watching Kate come out of the anesthesia was pretty hilarious. She was VERY concerned about the oxygen monitor on her toe and kept saying "light off toe." She was tipsy like a little drunkard, but when Travis asked her if she was loopy she said, "No, I Kate." She was a little wobbly for a few hours, but other than that, she did great.

I'm so grateful that everything went as well as it could have for her this weekend. I know accidents happen to kids, and I am glad that these were relatively minor. it was scary when it happened, but it's over now and we're no worse for wear. Except for our wall. It has a permanent cave-in mark from her head.

The End of an Era

This post is a farewell to our dear Jeep. It has been a part of my life for the last 16 years-- first as my mom's car, then as my teenage car, then as Trav's car since his blew up like 2 days before we got married. The Jeep has been good to us, it's had few problems and lots of memories. But with another baby coming, we just can't fit in our car anymore, so the Jeep has to go. We actually feel pretty good about the trade-in value considering the water pump is broken, the AC doesn't work, and there's no stereo.

But really, this post is a memory post. Today I feel nostalgic for the days gone by, and the cute little Jeep that was part of so many memories.

Memories in my Jeep:

1. Road trips. Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, river rafting in Colorado, boating in Lake Powell. What was better than sitting in the backseat with a bunch of snacks and pillows and your best friend?

2. Driving it for the first time on some remote road in Southern Utah. Do you remember how scared we were? We wouldn't go over 15 mph!

3. Really learning to drive in it, taking it to the DMV for my driver's test. I was so nervous. I remember my dad taking me to the DMV and then on a daddy daughter date after I passed the test.

4. It was my high school car. there was a day that poor Jeep got 2 parking tickets within 4 hours b/c I was too lazy to park on the range when I was late for school. So, I parked by the seminary building, and when I went out to get it I noticed a ticket. Then there were still no spots in the regular parking lot, so I parked in faculty parking and got another ticket!

5. I was driving the Jeep the first time I got pulled over, right in front of the high school. How I heard about that from friends the next day!

6. I had a super fun road trip to Cedar City with friends right after graduation. Probably none of those guys even check my blog, but I remember our good time Jeremy, Ashlee, and John!

7. I started college with this car. I remember packing all my worldly possessions into it and moving into my first apartment. I love everyone from Hogle Hall!

8. Seriously, two days before we got married, Travis's car died on the freeway. My nice parents gave him the Jeep to use, which saved us from having to make a car payment until now. (I had since moved on to the ill-fated Jetta).

9. We've always taken the Jeep on our little family campouts b/c more stuff fits. I love camping with my kids because everything is an adventure to them. My kids love the "Jeepie" because anytime they ride in it, it's because we're going to do something fun.

Hopefully the minivan will have as many good times with our family.

Check out my huge belly!

Doh!

I swear, I am getting stupider every day. I don't know if it's pregnancy, motherhood, or just that I really am losing my mind. But nearly every day I find myself saying, "That was so dumb! I can't believe I did that!"
Here are some examples:
1. I had to buy a new cell phone and I chose a Juke b/c it would only be 10 bucks after the rebate. Well, I was so careful to save the receipt for the rebate, but totally threw the box away the second I got home, even though the guy at the store told me I needed the box for the rebate about 5 times. There goes $50.
2. I bought a little kid picnic table at a garage sale. It didn't exactly fit in my trunk, but with a little shoving I got it to go in. But when we got home, no luck. I tried for 1/2 hour to get it out, but eventually had to take it apart while in the trunk and then put it back together. Sheesh. Like it would have been a big deal to just drive with my trunk open.
3. I bought a bunch of plants on clearance last week for our yard. My mom and I worked hard all day to get them planted, and then I nearly killed them b/c I didn't water enough. I think they are on the mend though, and I'll post pictures soon since it makes me feel like our yard is coming along.
4. This one is the killer. Today I got out all the baby/toddler clothes from our storage because I wanted to see what would fit Kate this winter and get an idea of what we still need for the baby. Well, Kate's all set, but our baby has like 3 sleepers and that's it!! I remember before we moved I went on a get-rid-of-junk spree and went through the baby clothes. I remember being so sure that there was no way we could have ANOTHER girl, so I gave a bunch of stuff to a friend who had just had a girl. I mean, boxes and boxes of stuff. Anyway, wish I could take that back now. This baby officially has fewer clothes than any of her sisters and I could just kill myself. Plus everything I kept is yellow, since I just KNEW it would be a boy next. GRRRR.

Liver

I have iron deficiency anemia. You might sometimes read about it in women's magazines, with a little checklist that says something like "Do you often feel tired? Do you have difficulty maintaining a regular body temperature? Do you have strange cravings like chewing ice?" If you answer yes, then maybe you are anemic. I answered yes to all 26 questions on the last test I took.
But I ask you this, wouldn't you? Seriously, it's like 90 degrees outside, so I have trouble controlling my body temperature and I want to chew ice so I can cool off. And as for feeling tired, I cannot even think of a day in the last 4 years since Anna was born that I haven't felt tired. Don't the rest of you moms agree? I'm telling you, it's not unusual.
Anyway, every pregnancy so far they have tested my iron and have had a little freakout about how low it is and how I need to get it up so I can have a healthy baby. A healthy iron level is 36. At my last appointment, I was at a 24, which technically qualifies for a blood transfusion. So, I must go about increasing my iron intake.
I already take 2 iron supplements in addition to my prenatal. And I drink prune juice, which is sick, but is high in iron. So what does the midwife tell me to do? Eat liver, every day. No better source of iron than calf liver.
Have you ever eaten liver? Have you ever even seen liver? It's beyond Disgusting. But, in an effort to be good to my baby, I went to allrecipes.com and tried finding a liver recipe worth trying. It was tricky because if you type in "liver" at allrecipes.com, you end up with results like "Squirrel and Liver Stew". No matter what, I am not eating squirrel. Anyway, I found a recipe that was rated four stars by Aunt Mamie.
It was not rated four stars by me or my family. In fact, I just gave my family chicken and kept the liver for me. It was horrible. HORRIBLE. I choked down five bites, only because we had made a deal for Coldstone (thanks Jen!) if I did that many. But, ew, it was awful. And my house smelled like it for a few days.....
I guess that I am posting this asking for recipes if any of you know of some way to make liver okay. But don't be offended if I can't get up the courage to try them.

Red Shirt Day

Today I became the mother I never wanted to be. I dropped Anna off at preschool this morning and noticed that the other two kids already there were wearing red shirts. I made some stupid comment like, "Red shirt day, huh?" to the teacher.
It turns out, it really WAS red shirt day. They were getting their class picture taken. As all the other kids showed up, they were decked out in red shirts with cute hairstyles. But not my Anna. She was wearing a pink shirt with her hair still kinky from the braid she had yesterday.
I couldn't believe I'd failed her like this. I had my mom pick Anna up from preschool on Tuesday b/c I had a dr. appt. and apparently she failed to pass along the note that all the other kids got. I would have sent her in a red shirt if only I'd known! I remember being the odd one at various times when I was a kid, and I vowed I wouldn't let it happen to my kids.
I seriously got in the car and bawled. I felt like a failure as a mother. For crying out loud, how hard is it to dress your kid the right way once a year? Not that Anna even owns a red shirt b/c she basically refuses to wear that color. In fact, Kate was wearing a red shirt and I offered Anna to trade with her sister but she had none of that. Her teacher was really cute about it, telling Anna that pink was just a light shade of red. Anna didn't seem to care, but I'm sure that when she's 14 she'll look at that class picture and say "Why am I the only one not wearing red in my class? What kind of mother are you anyway?"
Maybe homeschool really is the way to go. At least your kids can show up for school in pajamas/princess outfits/PINK shirts and nobody's worried about it.

We had such a great weekend! We went to Teasdale, just outside of Capitol Reef, with Trav's parents and his sister and her family. It was so fun to do a little family vacation, and I hope that next year all the brothers and sisters can come. Anna and Kate love their cousins so much, and it's so good for them to spend time together, since we live a little further away from everyone.
Worth the hike, for sure. This is an area where Butch Cassidy hid his treasures, and I can imagine why. First off, who could ever find it? Who would ever even try with the heat and the lack of water? Plus, no matter how you try, it's impossible to figure out which way is north. Easy to get lost. Luckily we had a trail. :)
Our little fam at Goblin Valley. This place is cool, although it's in the middle of nowhere. We loved that the park ranger told us we could climb on the goblins and to not worry about staying on trails. Hooray for adventure! We played chase and hide and seek all over these things till Anna decided she had to go potty. She's not so much for squatting behind a rock....
Is there anything better to wake up to than this?
These three were inseparable all weekend! Anna, Bailee, and Gates
Kate rides in style!
It was so hot!!!! We put wet wipes on the kids' foreheads to help cool them off. When we got done with the hike, I asked Anna what her favorite part was, and she said "When we taked breaks." That's my girl! Thanks to Uncle Jason for carrying her practically the whole way back.

First Day of School

Anna started preschool last week. What a big girl she is becoming!!! There were a few parental tears shed, but none from her. She was so excited to go and loves it. I love hearing about it each time she comes home..... she always tells me they read a story, what snack they ate, what she played, etc. Thursday she had some fun news: "we were playing outside and Aliyah got stinged." Bee stings are a big deal for her ever since she got stung earlier this summer.

Anyway, I love that she is so happy, although I miss her and so does Kate. We considered doing preschool at home this year and just putting her in gymnastics or dance since it would be less expensive, but this was her response: "I NEVER NEVER NEVER want to go to DANCE class!" (followed by much thrashing about and huge tears) Holy cow, point well taken sweetheart. Enjoy preschool.

REAL LIFE picture tag

I thought this was one of the best tags I've seen. The rules are that you take a picture, right now, of the following 10 things. No straightening, touching up, cleaning first. Just take the picture and post it.

1. The Fridge

I wish I could say it usually looks better, but it's just not true.

2. the Closet

This is the picture that makes my closet look kind of clean.

This is the pile of clothes I got mad at this morning because they don't fit my pregnant self anymore. Doesn't look so clean now, does it?

3. The Pantry

We actually use our pantry as a mud room for shoes/coats/miscellaneous stuff. It seemed like a good idea when we moved in, but now all my food storage is in my front closet.

4. My favorite room

This room is my favorite because I love the DI armoire I found and refinished. I think it makes the room!

5. Laundry room

Nothing too interesting

6. Self portrait. Am I always this shiny?

7. What kids are doing

Anna, watching the new Ariel movie. She watches it every day while Kate naps. Kate is napping, and no matter how fun this tag is, I am not waking her up to take her picture!

8. Bathroom. This is our master bath. I envision a day where I paint it, but for now it's pretty dull.

9. My favorite pair of shoes. These are my favorites for many reasons: they're comfortable, cute, easy to get on, and most of all, because I bought them in Paris.

10. The kitchen sink. I never think of it as too gross, but the picture doesn't make it look that great.

Amazing Deal

I don't actually know how many people read my blog that live in the Provo area, but I found an amazing deal that I have to share.
http://provo.craigslist.org/bab/816713185.html
This woman is selling a roomful of kids' clothes. Literally the size of most of my downstairs area of my house. She used to sell it on ebay but has become too busy. Great deals! I went last Friday and bought a ton of stuff for Anna for the winter. (and subsequently Kate for the winter, and subsequently BABY GIRL #3 for the winter). :) A lot of stuff she bought at Savers or DI, but it's still great condition and name brands. It just saves me the headache of looking through all those places, I figure. Some of the stuff is new from the stores too.

Just in case you don't have enough to worry about

Last week our stake had an Emergency Preparedness fair. The keynote speaker was this doctor who works for the Church doing Pandemic Preparedness. Now, in case you have no clue what that might be..... it's essentially some sort of disease that spreads across the entire world and causes much death and sickness. The current thinking is that the Avian Flu will mutate into a worldwide pandemic.
Here are some scary statistics:
The world is due for some sort of pandemic. There was a major flu in 1918, 1957, and 1968. Tens of millions of people died from them. Apparently the time is here for another major pandemic to hit.
World health officials sort of assume that Avian Flu will warp into a disease that is spreadable from human to human contact. Once that happens, they believe 40% of the population will be infected. Right now the mortality rate is between 60-80%. That means most people that get it will die. It also means that we will probably have shortages on everything-- farmers too sick to grow crops, truckers to sick to transport food, etc. Gas will like quadruple in price.
And you'll basically be quarantined to your house. You won't want to go to the grocery stores anyway because you'll get sick if you're not already sick. Churches, schools, government offices will all close.
Yikes!! So, stock up on food storage. And check this from Provident Living. It has information and tips about how to keep your family safe. One major tip is washing hands. I've become a handwashing Nazi. My hands are seriously peeling from how dry they've gotten from all the washing.

Broken Hearted

The other day we watched Lily and Sophie and the girls had a great time. It amazes me how well they all get along together. Anyway, these friends live more than an hour away, so it's not like we see them all the time, but Anna always claims Lily as her best friend.

Well, now it turns out Lily is moving, even further away. We talked about it during the day and she was sad, but was easily distracted by a grasshopper or something. But that night while T was putting her in bed, she started to cry. Real tears!! She just kept saying, "I don't want Lily to move away. How will I ever play with her?" Her poor little girl heart was broken.

I really have no words of advice to offer her. It's just one of those life things, sometimes friends move away. Poor thing.

Utah County: the greatest place on earth

I love living in Utah county. This is surprising to me, because I grew up thinking that living in Utah county was basically the same thing as living in Parowan-- not a lot going on but farming. How wrong I was!

Last week we met Trav after work and went to dinner at Cafe Rio (yum!) in Orem, which is much less packed than the one in Provo. Then we headed up Provo Canyon for some family fun. I love the canyon!!! The girls loved rolling down the small hill in the park.

Then on Saturday Travis scored us some tickets to dinner and a play at Sundance. It was so fun, and it was probably one of our best dates this year. The play was A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was hilarious! Who knew that Shakespeare was entertaining? We had a blast and it was so beautiful to be up in the mountains watching the play.

I just love how close we are to nature. We also love Spanish Fork and Hobble Creek Canyons, and we have a beautiful river trail right next to our house. I love this place!

A recipe worth trying

I found this recipe for cookie playdough through the blog of my friend. It was easy and tasty. Plus, the whole website is dedicated to using your food storage, and I know so many of my granola buddies would love that!

Sports Nut

I've really never been incredibly athletic. Or athletic at all. I'm intimidated by girls that are good at sports because they could easily beat me up. I did dance, and sometimes I run, but I've never really been into team sports or contact sports. Gym class was just an exercise in humility as the volleyball always seemed to come at my head or the softball landed just beyond my glove.
Then I married Travis. What he carefully hid from me the entire time we dated was the fact that he is really into sports. I'm not complaining at all, because he's not one of those guys who spends a lot of time watching sports or even playing sports. It's just that he really likes them, so if someone says, "Let's play volleyball," he jumps up to play while I try to slowly sink under the table.
I am the sort of person that likes to have fun, but sports have just never been fun for me. However, when Trav and I play together, I have a lot of fun.... until I start feeling guilty that he is absolutely not being challenged at all. This generally motivates me to push myself beyond my limits and then I stop having fun period.
An example of this happened yesterday. We were at a family birthday party and everyone else was kind of doing their own thing, so Trav and I started kicking a ball around like we were playing soccer. I was having a great time, we were both laughing our heads off as we tried to steal it from each other. All was well until I tried to steal and ended up kicking Travis's leg. It pretty much broke my big toe. (Did I mention we were playing barefoot?) Actually, Trav says I just jammed it, but for the pain it's caused me it may as well be broken.
That must be another reason I don't really do sports. Low pain tolerance. Call me crazy, but "jamming" my toe yesterday hurt more than natural childbirth. I slept with a bag of frozen corn on my foot. (I just gave all my ice packs to my grandma last week after she had surgery). I've been taking all the pain killers being pregnant allows. And, still, the pain of it all!
The lesson learned here is that I am not only a clumsy non-athlete, but a huge wimp as well! Maybe this is the reason I only have baby girls....

Three of a Kind

We found out yesterday that our new baby is a GIRL! The ultrasound was great and she is healthy and has all the limbs and organs she's supposed to. We even got some fun 3d pictures of her and she has a beautiful little face.
I was oddly disappointed. After all, wasn't it me that was so worried about how wild boys are? But, after a day to get used to it, I'm feeling good about my little angel inside of me. My girls are so sweet and it will be wonderful to have another. I think I was just really looking forward to all the shopping I'd have to do if it were a boy.
It does leave us in a kind of difficult position as far as names go. We've exhausted our list. Here are the current favorites: Abby, Elizabeth, Brynn, and Maeve (Maeve is Celtic and is really a cool name. Just don't go looking for the meaning.). Trav really wants a different sort of name, because he doesn't want this baby to just disappear in the Larsen line up of girls. He came up with Sapphire. :l
Let me know if you have suggestions. Or if you want to contribute to the wedding fund. We figure we'd better start saving now.

Which Team are you on?

Just wanted to mention that I was at the mall today and saw T shirts hanging in the candy store (of all places). One said Team Jacob and the other said Team Edward. :) I'm on Team Jacob.

I really think it's great that this is a craze, and that I am in on the craze. I'm usually not much for mainstream culture. I've never seen an episode of American Idol, Survivor, 24, the office..... whatever else may be popular. I just got my first ipod and it took me forever to figure out how to use it. I only cheer for sports because either 1)My husband has taken me to the game. or 2) we're watching the game with a bunch of other fans or 3) They're in the playoffs. Seriously, how do you not cheer for anyone that is in the playoffs? I'm kind of lame in that I just like to see people achieve their dreams.... I also listen to country music or FM100 because I am too easily offended by the other stuff. Basically this makes me an outcast when it comes to starting up conversations with new people.
But how great is it that it's a book that people (okay, women and teen girls) are excited about? I can't say enough for reading!! I went to this literacy conference a few months ago and the presenter (a famous high school English teacher) was like, " I don't have required reading lists in my class. " The reason: because she believes in letting people choose what they like to read and then reading TONS of it. Gobbling it up. What better way to improve your reading skills/vocabulary than by reading a lot? And, I've found that the more I read the more my interest in/awareness of other things has increased.
so, mock me if you must, (Travis does) but I am thrilled for this new book.

Counting Down

Only two days left! I feel silly about it, but I am so excited. Not enough to go to the all night party with my teenage cousin, though. I did ask T if he would take the kids for me on Saturday so I could spend the day reading, but he didn't think that was a great plan. Something about family togetherness time. Whatever.

Also, in case you didn't know the Twilight movie comes out in December. On my birthday, which is probably the only way I could ever convince Trav to see it with me.

I want to make you aware that I have a friend who just named her baby girl Bella because she loves these books so much. I feel good that I haven't reached that level yet.

busy month

So much for using this blog as a way to keep family history. I've been such a slacker this summer!
July was a super busy, super fun month for us. We always love to do the 4th of July in Provo. We started at the hot air balloon festival, which the girls loved; then went to the parade, the carnival, a picnic in the canyon with family, and to the fireworks that night! Busy day, but fun for sure!
Kate also had her second birthday. She is getting big so fast!!! We had a little party here with her friends and then had a family party the next day. She has been attached to the idea of an Elmo birthday party for a long time, and we made sure not to disappoint her. I can't believe it's already been two years since she joined our family, she still feels like a baby to me.
We also took a family vacation to San Francisco to visit my uncle and his family. The girls loved every minute-- staying up late, cousins and a dog to play with, tons of treats, etc. The only down side was that we stopped in the Sierra Nevada mountains on our drive in to California and Anna got poison oak. She was covered in a rash for a couple days, but it didn't slow her down a bit! The girls loved going to Six Flags, which also has marine shows like Sea World. Kate was super excited to see the "sharkies". We went to Santa Cruz to the beach and they loved playing in the sand. The water was a little cold, so they hardly got in that at all. We spent time in the city, riding trolley cars and eating clam chowder on Pier 39, and went to Muir Woods to see the California Redwoods. It was amazing and I think our kids wish that we lived in California too!
One of the funniest memories I have from the past few weeks is this: I was downstairs making lunch and the girls were upstairs playing happily. Then I heard yelling and went upstairs. Anna and Kate were standing in their closet next to a little toy baby crib. Anna's shirt was up and their was a huge bite mark (including blood) on her chest. They're both crying, so I say, "Anna, what happened?"
"Kate had her puppy in the crib and I wanted it for my puppy. So I asked nice but she said no. I only hit her a couple times and she bited me!"
I about died laughing. How do you respond to that, honestly?
Here's pictures from our month, if you're interested http://picasaweb.google.com/lntlarsen/July2008

Good Deal

In case you're like me and never print off your digital pictures, here's a deal that will motivate you. www.Snapfish.com is having a deal that ends TOMORROW where your first 50 prints are only 1 penny! Everything after that is 9 cents a print, which is still a deal. Of course, shipping is pricey, so I ordered a lot more than that--- to the tune of everything from the last 2 years!! Don't worry, it still only came to 20 bucks.
The code is JUL4PENNY08. Again, offer expires 7-15-08. Happy memories!

I'll go where you want me to go

Yesterday they split our ward. We knew it was coming, because our ward was gigantic, and growing all the time. Have I mentioned the 80 kids in nursery? Anyway, they took the two wards that were in our development and made 3 wards of them. Things for us mostly stay the same; same bishop, RS president, EQ president, etc. We just lost 1/2 the people.
What was great was the humor of the stake president while doing this. It's the 4th split in 2 years in this development. Here are some of the highlights:
1. The opening hymn was "I'll go where you want me to go." After he announced it, he paused because everyone was laughing.
2. He talked about how our stake really needs some new buildings to meet in. Four of the wards in our stake actually meet in buildings that belong to other stakes because ours are too full. I guess it has been pretty tough getting the land and permits, because they have been working on it for a long time. He told us that there are two peices of land that are under contract right now, but with the way it's been, he's not sure how it will work out. He said, "Do I think they will be done in the next 12 months? No. But I prophesy that during your lifetime, you will see these buildings completed." It was awesome.
3. He also talked about how our stake needs to split. There are 14 wards in the stake right now. I guess that the Church likes to have 3000 people per stake, and in our stake we have 5650. Once we reach 6000 they'll divide us into 2 stakes. Anyway, he said, "The River Trails ward currently has 27 pregnant women. They are doing their part. I encourage all the other 12 wards to do the same. We do have one singles ward and we don't want any pregnancies there! But if all 13 of the other wards would help out, I believe we will have a new stake in 9 months."
Little does he know that in our ward there were 40+ pregnant women before the split. We're making up for the singles ward for sure! Have I mentioned that every member on my street is pregnant? It's only like 5 houses, but still, it's pretty good odds over here!
We were sad to lose some of our dear friends to the other ward, but we really do feel that this is for the best and that the Lord's hand was in it. And what a blessing to have a stake president who is able to see humor in life's situations!

Habla espagnol?

On Saturday I went to the temple by myself while T stayed home with the kids. As I was leaving, a woman who I recognized from inside the temple came up to me. She asked me something, what I heard was "... habla espagnol.... pequito?"
Well, I do habla espagnol pequito. Mucho pequito. I took one semester of Spanish in college, but was constantly getting it muddled with my 5 years of French previous to that. So, of course I dumbly respond that I can speak Spanish, and suddenly she launches into some discourse that I totally didn't get. After a while, with many hand signals and talking S-L-O-W-L-Y, I figured out she needed a ride to the bus stop at the University Mall. It really clicked when she said, "su caro, vroom vroom. University Mall. Bus."
So, I gave her a ride. I tried with all my might to recall my Spanish and absolutely nothing came back to me. Everything was in French!! I couldn't even remember how to say "My name is Laurie." It was so humiliating for me, but she was as nice as could be and I was grateful to have a chance to help her out.
I think her name was Consuela. I think she was from Mexico. Unfortunately, she didn't even get that much from me.
Mental note: must learn Spanish. Obviously it would be very useful.

Twice in a year? Not fair!

It's not like I ask much out of life. Actually that's a lie. I ask for, and get, more than I deserve. But, I still feel a little jealous of Travis right now. He is being forced to go to Europe next week for work. What rotten luck for him, eh? He's going for some crazy James Bond adventure type thing. He assures me it won't be much fun.
Meanwhile, I'll be here looking for friends. Let me know if anyone wants to go to the zoo, the children's museum, the park, etc. We're in for sure!
PS-- If you're some sicko that lurked onto my blog and now wants to attack me, forget it. My next door neighbor is a police man and he assures me I'll be safe.

Green grass is not for walking on...

That title is especially fun for my Oakcrest friends.

So, our lawn is growing! Don't worry about the bald patches or the weeds. We'll take care of that later. At least it's growing. I think we may even be ready to mow this weekend. Hooray!

This one is to illustrate that some things at our house are pretty. My flowers on the porch, for example.

This one is to illustrate how poor Kate has to play in the driveway because we can't use the lawn. She is not one bit bothered by it, though. Kate loves to play, especially in water!