A Piece Of My Heart Boxed Up

Continuing on the deep cleaning checklist, I boxed up the rest of the baby stuff. Today I boxed up all the baby blankets, burp cloths, infant hats, bumbo, infant toys, bottles, nipples, pumping stuff, blessing outfit, etc. Man, it's amazing what these little 18" babies need! When I got to the blankets I had to pause and smell them, feel them, and look at them one last time. So many memories. So many precious firsts. Just so much preciousness altogether.

I rearranged Kimball's closet and stacked all five baby boxes in there and moved all the other stuff out and hopefully to the closet in the spare room. Which there probably isn't room so if it doesn't fit in that tiny closet I'm not sure where we are going to store it all. Hopefully we can figure it out.

 

This blanket I also boxed up. It's one I got when Grandpa sold his house and moved into his duplex. Mom speculated that either Great Grandma Stockdale or Grandma Pettingill made it. We think it was most likely Grandma Pettingill. I'm saving it to use for a baby girl one day and if I"m not blessed with a baby girl, then I'll give it to Christine.

Little Everyday MOMents

I've decided to post various and sporadic posts about motherhood called Little Everyday Moments. Because when someone asks me what I did today or what do you do all day or what did you do over the weekend, my usual response is nothing. But in reality, I do A LOT as a stay at home mom. All those diaper changes, feedings, nose wipings, naps, bathing, playing, reading, teaching, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. are the moments that make up my day. I would call them somewhat mundane and repetitive and perhaps even tedious at times. Like the other day I introduced Lance to a new family rule: Always put the lid down on the toilet. Because a certain someone now likes to put toys in the toilet bowl and then fish them out. This has become a rather fun game for him but not for mama. So here's to today's moment: Kimball searches the recyclables box on a daily basis to see what treasures he can scrounge up. Today he found an empty prescription bottle.

We're Ready

• All the christmas gifts are purchased and wrapped
• Christmas music is playing
• The tree isn't up yet but we're getting it tonight
• I've made and eaten my fair share of treats for the month (Remember those saltine cookies? Yeah, I've made them a couple times. The last time was saturday night because I was going to share them with my sunday school class. I just couldn't share those, they're too good and I ate the whole pan by  myself).
•  Delivered goodies to the neighbors
• The stockings and all other decor will be hung tomorrow
• Family pictures are taken (but not ready yet)

 Bring on the holidays!

What's Better Than Licking Brownie Batter Off The Spatula?

Snugly Wugly

This boy is starting to snuggle. His favorite thing to snuggle lately is any kind of stuffed animal. He always lifts it up to his face, and then lays on it on his stomach with his little legs kicking in pure delight. I told Santa he'd like one for christmas so we can take his pacifier away at night.

Bath Time

Ask In Faith

“Discerning and accepting the will of God in our lives are fundamental elements of asking in faith in meaningful prayer. However, simply saying the words ‘Thy will be done’ is not enough. Each of us needs God’s help in surrendering our will to Him.

“‘Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other’ (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 752-53). Humble, earnest, and persistent prayer enables us to recognize and align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father. And in this the Savior provided the perfect example as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, ‘saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done…. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly’ (Luke 22:42, 44).”

- Elder David A. Bednar

Little Darling Jayna

Mother Of The Year

Incident #1: I was debating whether or not to blog about this because it was very traumatic for me. But I guess I should since this is my journal. About two weeks ago Lance had the day off and slept in while Kimball and I cleaned the house. Later that afternoon he was leaving the house to run a few errands and I remembered that I needed him to get something for me. So I went upstairs to get my phone to text him and a certain little somebody followed me. I grabbed my phone to text Lance and turned around to go back downstairs but Kimball was already 3/4 the way up the stairs. He noticed that I saw him and he thought he was being a big boy and so sneaky being on the stairs, he was quite proud of himself. At that moment he turned to look behind him and I saw the whole thing; he fell down the stairs. My heart stopped and I ran after him. It was too late.

Have you seen our stairs? They're hard, wooden, steep, hard, tall, steep, hard, and very steep. Of course Kimball cried but I cried even harder. I called Lance and blubbered out that Kimball fell down the stairs and Lance immediately came back home. Kimball had four or five really good bumps on his head and he quit crying by the time Lance got there. The guilt was too much, I couldn't quit crying. At all. I bawled all afternoon and teared up every time I looked at him. I still feel guilty and tear up when I think about it. Especially because what I remember most is the sound of his head hitting every surface of the steps and seeing his little body tumble over and over.

Incident #2: Today while we were visiting at Lance's parent's house I was feeding Kimball in the high chair. I found some Reese's Puffs in the cupboard and thought to myself, "Oh man, Kimball will love these!" I'm such an idiot. I gave them to him which he ate right up. And then broke out in hives. Stupid! I totally forgot about his allergy and he immediately broke out in hives. I never even thought about Reese's Puffs having peanut butter or nuts. What an idiot!!

Just a few mothering moments of shame I wish I could forget about.

Going Ons

• It's been four months since I got my hair cut. I should've got it cut at the beginning of September to keep up the A-line but funds have been tight and I'd rather spend the $17 on food or diapers for Kimball. However, my cousin Michelle is in town so Trish and I got our hair cuts at the same time so we could watch each others kids. I love my cut. Wispy, short, and lots of character. It was definitely worth it!
• I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving time! The changing seasons always mean that time is passing and all too quickly. I'm anxious to spend time with Lance's family so Kimball can play with his cousins but mostly so I can hold Jayna. I call first dibs!!
• Christmas funds are also short this year so we are only doing stockings for each other, no gifts. Which means we'll get deodorant, toothpaste, and socks, haha. We are just about done shopping for everyone else on our list, I think there's only two more gifts to buy. I like the shopping season but I don't like the crowds. I could always do without the crowds. A lot of the ads on tv show that most of the big retail stores are opening Thanksgiving night for Black Friday. I think that just shows how desperate even the businesses are for money during this recession.
• Lance has had good things happening at work which makes him wonder if he should take risks with  any potential propositions or stay where things are comfortable and guaranteed. Right now we are so blessed to have a job and a warm home! (Even if funds are tight).
• Did I mention Lance got an award at work for the highest JD Power scores? Well, he did!
• Besides the feast and hanging out with family this week, we've also got family pictures coming! (Just our family. Not all the Cox's or Pettingill's). I'm really excited about that and hope the weather cooperates.
• For once, nothing new to report on about Kimball. He's still cute.  :)

In The Zone

I forgot how much I love making jewelry. Because of Kimball's needs I haven't made anything in quite a long time and it felt so great and relaxing to sit down and make something pretty. Just a little treat for a few neighbors...

Weekendings

Mom and I went to craft day today in Boise while Lance finally had (sort of) a day off. I was very excited for him because he works so hard to provide for our family, he deserves some time to himself. Everyone that knows Lance knows what a morning person he is (ha!) so he was rather anxious to sleep in and have the house to himself for a day. He still ended up working a service in the afternoon even though it wasn't his weekend on call because he didn't want to put the family off just because he had the day off. That just shows his thoughtfulness and integrity. (In my opinion anyway).

For craft day we went to three different bazaars and I found a few reasonably priced christmas gifts even though I'm already done shopping.  Most of them had lots of crocheted stuff but one in particular had quite a few different things. I'd say it but I don't want to give away secrets. On the way home we made two stops: one to Grandpa's and one to the mall. Grandpa graciously offered the wooden cars and animals that he makes for humanitarian donations for children, to us grandkids and great grandkids. I've always eyed mom's in her china hutch so when I got the text that Grandpa wanted to make sure everyone had one, I jumped on it right away. He gave me four, I guess that means I'm supposed to have at least three more children.

We stopped at the mall so mom could return/exchange a computer at Apple. While we were walking through Kohl's I saw a middle aged couple where the husband kept pointing out several things for the wife to buy so he could get out of the mall as quick as possible. "How about this one? Or what about that one?" As we passed by he pointed at a sequined sweater and she said, "Oh not even Grandma Beatrice would wear that!" I actually laughed out loud and they both chuckled that I overheard the comment. As we passed by The Deb a few teenage girls were perfectly posed in the window as mannequins, the girls must've been bored. It was pretty funny.

Kimball is getting to the point where he's starting to fuss about being in the car seat for long periods of time. He sat in there the whole way up, to/from bazaars, in the stroller, in my lap. He was very anxious to get out of it and crawl around. But he did so good! He's almost a pro drinking from a cup which means I'll probably take his bottle away on monday. He's mastered the high five and is just such a good boy. We just love him so much!

Emergency!

Tuesday for our RS meeting we had a Sweet Is The Work night including a candy bar bar. I always look forward to RS activities so I can get to know more people but when Tuesday rolls around, I'm usually so busy during the day that I just want to stay home in the evening. But I went anyway and really enjoyed it. So the candy bar bar was excellent and they gave specific instructions not to be bashful about it. The presidency should know better than to say something like that to someone like me - a sweet freak. I loaded up my bowl and took it all home so I could enjoy it after Kimball went to bed.

My favorite sweet of the night were these delicious saltine cookies that had a butter toffee and chocolate coating, aka: heaven on a square. They were SOOOO good and I can't believe I've never had them before! I only took home two of them but I should have taken home 20, they're so addicting!

I soon found that I had an emergency on my hands. I needed those saltines cookies and I needed them now. I called the bishop's wife in a panic (I always call the bishop's wife on days like this, she doesn't have anything better to do than worry about me since she's the one who brought the cookie to share in RS) and left a message. Gasp! What if she's out of town?! What am I going to do??? So I googled it and here's the recipe that I used. It really is heaven on a square, only I was out of saltines so I used Ritz crackers, lol. They're still just as good!! They are super easy and super quick to make. A note for next time: grease up the wax paper, my cookies still stuck to the wax paper.

Fall Cleaning

I've been on a deep cleaning kick since Halloween and it's taking me forever to finish up, mostly because I have to break so many times to take care of Kimball. I finally got the Halloween stuff taken down, boxed up, and stored in the basement. I've taken two boxes of junk to the DI, boxed up lots of baby stuff, shampooed the area rugs, dusted, vacuumed everything on the main floor including all the walls, ceilings, and baseboards, and finally got the fake blood cleaned up in the main floor shower. (Note to self: don't use ketchup next year, it's a pain to clean up once it's dried). I cleaned out the car and put away all the stuff from summer and Grandpa's house (it only took me two months).

Left to do:

• Vacuum and shampoo the car
• Box up/store more baby stuff
• Vacuum and shampoo the carpet upstairs
• Clean the walls and ceilings upstairs
• Dust upstairs
• Mop all the floors on the main floor
• Shampoo all the couches
• Clean up the porch and get it ready for winter

You'll Miss It If You Blink

We are so in love with this little guy. I wish I could explain how funny he is but there really aren't words. Just his mannerisms and the way he's starting to "talk" and his facial expressions and the look in his eyes. He seriously cracks us up.

Last night was a typical night: I was cleaning and Lance was on the computer. Our PC died so he was setting up the used new one. Kimball was following me around the house "helping" me clean but I finally just took a break to play with him. He's such a little ham and has the most contagious laugh. Lance was getting a little irritated with us laughing and such because we were being loud but he finally gave in and came to play. Kimball figured out how to do the fake sneeze. HILARIOUS!!

I apologized to Lance that we were being noisy and distracting but he said, "No, I came in because I realized he was growing up right in front of me and I didn't want to miss it." Melt my heart.

Deep Breaths

..............Sigh.........................insurance.............ugh...........................sigh...............................

Our health insurance premiums are going up $200 in January! Seriously?! A whole $200???????? Starting in January we'll be paying about $580 for health insurance. Yep. No joke and no laughing matter. I have no idea why and it's been quite the burden. Lance has been oozing stress from every pore in his body. We have both literally lost hours of sleep over it and we have no idea what to do.

We met with an insurance broker yesterday to see what our options are. The best option yet? Lance should quit his job so we can live off food stamps and medicaid. I think that's the best because we wouldn't have to worry about going hungry or whether we can afford to take Kimball or ourselves to the doctor. Of course that isn't an option. But we seriously don't know what to do.

SO frustrating.................sigh.........................

Weening

Since Kimball is one and is able to drink cow's milk, I figured what a better time than now to ween him off formula and the bottle. He still doesn't hold his own bottle or cup so I was a little hesitant and wasn't sure how it would go. Turns out he likes a regular glass better than a sippy cup so those were a waste of money.  He's still not sure about milk because it has a different flavor but mostly because it's cold.  I've only got enough formula for one more day, here's to saving at least $100-150 a month! I wouldn't say it's going bad and I wouldn't say it's going good. I would say the whole weening process is average because I don't really know what I'm doing and it's change for both of us.

Also, this means I get to put more stuff in storage; bottles, nipples, rings, caps, burp rags, pacifiers, sippy cups, etc. However, this also means that I no longer have a baby. How sad is that?! Oh I don't think I can handle Kimball turning into a toddler, where has the last year gone? Where's my baby???

Mr. Wonderful

Bored Much?

Nope. He's not sleeping. Just bored and likes to look at the ceiling while we stroll the aisles.

Anchored By Faith And Commitment

"One never gives a crust to the Lord without receiving a loaf in return."
- Elder Melvin J. Ballard

Goings On

• I voted today which only took about 20 minutes including registration.
• We are working on finding a new tenant for our little 500 sqft house behind ours. Liz was awesome but accepted a job for amazon.com in Phoenix. I am on the hunt for someone equally as good as she was. I showed the house four times yesterday and five times today (so far) with five more tonight and tomorrow. It's actually exhausting because I have to plan my day around the showings. Yesterday I spent the entire day on the phone answering texts, phone calls, voice mails, etc.
• The halloween stuff is still out. Sigh. I did manage to move it all into the spare room though. It's on my to-do list to put it away but the rental house takes priority because it actually brings in money.
• Kimball is having a hard time with the time change. And because it's hard for him, it is also hard for me.
• Kimball has three new teeth and I think two more that are trying to cut through. We also found he has an allergy. For dinner I gave him a waffle with peanut butter and the next time I looked at him he had hives all around his mouth. They went away within 30 minutes or so but I was freaking out and didn't know what it was from. I guess no nuts for him.
• Lance's company bought him new work shoes which is nice because it saved me $120. Yep, he needs the high quality soles. Anyway, he brought them home to show me and I told him they make his feet look small and feminine and a style that an old lady would wear. He didn't like that comment. He wore them to work today and everybody said they look like grandpa shoes. He promptly took them back.
• I am looking quite shabby lately. I desperately need a haircut and haven't had time to straighten my hair. Last night at Scott's fhe, dad asked me why I didn't do my hair for the day. I really just need to schedule a cut but then I have to get a babysitter and pay $17. I'd rather have $17 worth of food or some other priority other than myself.

Sigh.....Handsome.....

Kimball loves playing in the leaves in the yard so I thought I'd snap a few pictures. (Yes, there are a lot. But he's my baby and this is my blog).

 LOVE this expression!!

Funny Stuff

This boy seriously cracks me up! These few videos are various things, he finds the fake sneeze hilarious, his attempt at "scaring" me, and his little chipmunk laugh that he does constantly (just ignore the cottage cheese lunch). Funny and endearing to me, probably boring to everyone else.

Bonkers

 Kimball had a little run in with the edge of the wall. He cried for quite a while and I was scared it was going to crack open or give him a concussion. Poor baby! At least he got a sucker.

Kimball's First Birthday

Kimball's first birthday was on the 26th of October. I can't believe he's one year old! He's no longer my baby and it makes me so sad but I love to see him develop into his own person and I love the stage he's at right now. I made him a rubber duck cake and invited family to come celebrate. I assumed just the grandparents would come but Brad, Tim, and Kempton's families all came which was nice. I don't have time to put the pictures in order so here's Kimball being sung to, opening presents, and eating the head off the duck cake. 

His reactions to everything were very subdued. He didn't get excited about anything, mostly because there were so many other little cousins around he didn't quite know what to do. I made the cake out of a funfetti box cake and a butter cream frosting. I didn't love the frosting at all so I didn't think the cake tasted very good but at least Kimball ate it.

One tradition I decided to start was to give Kimball a book every year for his birthday includinge a note to him inside the front cover from his mom and dad. We hope this starts a love of reading and learning throughout his life.

He got a pirate ship toy from Grandma and Grandpa Pettingill, puff snacks from Brad, soap and wipes and snacks from Tim, clothes and a set of Disney books from Grandma and Grandpa Cox, a shirt from Ann, a toy phone from Steph, and a quiet book from Kempton and Bonnie. Lance and I got him a book and a set of three toy vehicles (hand me downs from Trish's kids). It was all so generous of everyone, thank you!