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