Both Hands Full

So, here’s some pictures for your entertainment.  I smashed my finger last week, and after 5 days of it throbbing and keeping me up at night I thought I should go see a Dr.  After seeing him I found out that I somehow caught an infection.  So 15 minutes later I’m lying on a bed in a well lit room, numbed up for a minor surgery.   Luckily the nurses were really nice and hung out with Noah for a little bit, while another nurse gave Kimi some Dora cookies.   He had to cut me open, slightly lift up my nail plate and drain out all the pus.   What a pain…..this stupid infection…..what a nuisance.  These photos were taken before I went in to see the dr.

On a lighter note, here’s Ninja Noah.

I got tagged about my 6 quirks.  Sorry that I didn’t tag anyone.  Whoever feels like exposing 6 quirking things you do, please do—it’s actually entertaining to read these about people.  It was sadly a little easy for me to think of 6 reasons why I’m kinda weird.  I am definitely convinced that everyone has some weirdness to them.

1. Apple snob: I refuse to eat a soft apple. If I bite into one that is soft, I will throw the whole thing away. How wasteful I am.

   2. Meat Germs: Whenever I handle/cook with raw meat, I am so OCD about whatever it touches. I will wash my hands about 12 times, sanitize the counter, the faucet where I touched, the sink, and then my hands again…it’s ridiculous.

   3. Fainting: Maybe this isn’t a quirk, but I can’t help myself. I faint every now and then. I’ve fainted in the temple a couple of times (almost the other day), twice on our high school missionary bike rides (that was two different years mind you), whenever my mom would put curlers in my hair when I was little…and I really don’t need to waste my time mentioning all of them. Mike is patient with me on this one.     

   4. Fear of Bees: I’m terrified of bees. Never been stung, and that probably aids this fear of mine. One time I was working out in the orchard, and one of those HUGE bees went down my shirt. I threw off my shirt and went crazy.

   5. Men taking their clothes off: I don’t know why it is, but men like to take their clothes off in front of me. I’ve been flashed twice, and actually it was so close to 3 times. Besides those friendly exhibitionists, another naked instance was when I was watching one of Mike’s softball games. The first baseman was directly in front of us (Wendi, Erin Andelin, Kendra Wright) decided to go commando . Well, he stretched too far and left a HUGE rip most of the way down the backside of his pants. That was equally as nasty as the flashers. Mike laughs at me about this one, and then reminds me that I need to carry my gun more.

   6. Bed must be made: I’m one of those people that can’t stand to not have their bed made. It bugs me so bad, that if I somehow have forgotten to make it and I’m ready for bed, I will make it two minutes before I go to bed, just so I can climb into a made bed. The straight sheets seem cleaner to me somehow. I don’t know if Mike will ever understand this one about me.

So, I’m trying out the new gallery feature that our WordPress offers.  I had a few fun pictures of the kids and wanted to show some of my favorite pictures of the Basin area in the summer.  The kids and I are going home for a visit next Tuesday for a week.  Wish me luck, I am flying with 2 kids by myself.  But I’ve decided I don’t need any pity or sympathy since my Wend(y)(i) sisters fly across country with their kids.  I should be able to handle a lap child and a 3 yr old for 2 hours in an airplane.

OK, Jen, I really did this JUST for you. I’m so timely—only 5 months late.

A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? attached—7  1/2 years
B. BEST FRIEND? Mike
C. CAKE OR PIE? Probably cake. However, since Mike definitely prefers pie, I hate to make a cake just for myself.
D. DAY OF CHOICE? Mondays—Mike’s day off.
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Cell phone
F. FAVORITE COLORS? green, brown.
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Neither. Not huge on candy. Chocolate? That’s a different story.
H. HOMETOWN? Good ol’ Basin City.
I. INDULGENCE? Homemade choc.chip cookies with a glass of milk.
J. JANUARY OR JULY? Definitely July. I love the summer evenings.
K. KIDS? Kimi 3, Noah almost 1
L. LIFE ISN’T COMPLETE WITHOUT? I agree with my sister in law–That’s such a cheesy question.
M. MARRIAGE DATE? May 18, 2001
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 4 sisters
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Apples, I grew up on an apple farm, which also makes me extremely picky about the quality of the apple.
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? By myself at night in a quiet house, or walking outside in the dark by myself.
Q. QUOTE? Coach Cliff said this every day in track: “That which does not kill makes us stronger.”
R. REASON TO SMILE? Mike singing to me in his falsetto voice.
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Neither of them. I was never into those cartoons. We were into way girly stuff in our house—5 girls, need I say more?
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE Pay attention! Wendy, Rachael, Sabrina, Melissa Drake, and Amy Wieseler (haha).
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I had a unibrow until the 6^th grade (don’t know why it took me that long to let it bother me).  I also have my concealed weapons permit.
V. VEGETABLES? anything but beets.

W. WORST HABIT? Mike would say me leaving things on the floor.

X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Weird question, but I’ve had both. The ultrasounds were of course way more exciting.
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Sagittarius

So, one week ago from today, some stupid boys stole one of my wheels off my jogging stroller.  I was so annoyed not only because it’s mine and I use it almost daily, but also because they can’t use a jogging stroller wheel for their bikes—they’re most likely going to just chuck it anyway.  My neighbor saw who took it and talked to them, but they keep lying saying that it was their friends’ tire.  So that night we knocked on neighbors’ doors to see if they knew of two boys about 10 or 12 who had taken the wheel.  One of the funny things is that at one of the doors we knocked at, was my neighbor’s kid’s scooter, and the boy that lived there lied and said that his mom bought it a while ago.  My neighbor said, “yeah, that’s actually mine, so I’ll go ahead and take it back, thank-you.”  For all we knew they were just lying to us.  It ended up being a bunch of hopeless tries and searching.  I gave up after a few days. I found out from the manufacturer that it would be $50 to get a replacement.  The police never returned my calls.  They probably thought, “a stroller tire? yeah, I’ve got better more important things to do.”

Today,  my neighbor saw those same two boys across the street, and ran to my door so we could approach the boys.  As we were walking toward them, the boys saw us coming and took off on their bikes.  We found out one if their names from their friends (the boys were saying, “I don’t know who they are,” and a bunch of other nonsense.  I said, “No, you tell me who they are or we’ll get the cops.  One boy quickly answered one of their names).  I explained that it was a jogging stroller wheel, and they couldn’t even use it for their bikes if they wanted to.  We said we didn’t want to get them in trouble if they brought it back,  yet sternly added if they didn’t we’d call the cops.

Apparently we scared them because an hour and a half later my wheel showed up at my front door.   Guess when it comes to game time, I can put on a mean face.

To preface my scary story, I have to tell some of you that I have come across 3 exhibitionists in the last 5 years here in Provo.  The first time I was flashed we lived in Wymount, and it was a stupid high school kid–still very bothersome.  The next time I was a little more frightened because I was out jogging on the Provo River trail by myself with Kimi, and a guy that looked about mid 30’s, passed us on the trail and stopped a little ahead and whipped out his stuff.  That was 2 years ago this December.  The 3rd time happened last Friday.

I decided that I was done with running on the Provo River trail by myself, because although it is very beautiful and peaceful, it is definitely wooded in some areas and a perfect place for weirdos to go.  So I instead jog in only neighborhood areas.  There’s this one route I like to take that goes past a horse pasture, and the kids love to see the horses.  There’s still a lot of houses out here though, and it’s very close to an elementary school and our stake center.  Still very safe.  And last Friday, as we were jogging past the horses, on the other side of the road, we ODDLY ENOUGH run into THE SAME WEIRDO I ran into 2 years ago!!!  He was jogging toward us on the other side of the road, and was jogging at a good speed.  When he got close to us, he STOPPED!  A huge red flag came up to me, and I got a glance and realized, “Oh my gosh, he’s going to do it again….time to jet.”  So I took off running.  I noticed that he started fiddling with his drawstring of his shorts and turned around and CAME AFTER US!!! I’m a little terrified at this point, and so I was just praying and praying that I could keep up this pace and get the heck out of here.  Ironically enough, this was the only day I didn’t bring my cell phone because it was about to die.  I turn around a while later, and he is a bit far back now, but still on the road.  I went past the school and the church, and looked back.  I must of outrun him, because he was gone.  I don’t know if I was supposed to react the way I did, but the only thing I am thinking of is, “I am way too close to a weirdo, and he is way to close to my kids, and I want to get as far away from his as I possibly can.”  Cell phones apparently don’t bother him, because the first time I ran into this guy I was on the phone with my sister and he showed his stuff.  As soon as I got home, I reported this same freak for the 2nd time, but they still have not found him.  What I really wished I could have done, was to have brought my gun and shot his thing off and kept him on the ground until the cops got there.  But I didn’t have my gun, and I couldn’t have threatened him with it anyway.  Sheesh……the WORLD WE LIVE IN.

P.S.  So, if I could give any of you girls a word of advice, DON’T go jogging BY YOURSELF, especially at NIGHT, and especially in areas that don’t feel safe.  Don’t be STUPID, it could happen to anyone. And if you’re really smart, get a concealed weapons permit before the elections next month.

So, Kimi turned 3 last Tuesday.  She had the TIME OF HER LIFE.  That day she was so pleasant to be around, no whining, no crying, no complaining….it was GREAT.  Why can’t every day be like these?  Sorry, lots of pictures—you had to get the whole effect.  However, the best was the video I got of her opening her gifts.  I love the excitement of Kimi.

She LOVES butterflies–so that was the theme.

She wanted “Cinderella hotdogs” at her party.

She wouldn’t be a true girl without her shoe fetish.

Her big present from Grandma and Grandpa Empey.

Noah bored with all the girly presents.

Another obsession of hers: putting all of her dolls/toys to bed.  It’s actually annoying because she gets out all of my kitchen towels every single day to use as blankets for all of her toys.

Cake time!

My attempt at a butterfly cake.

Normal cheesy Kimi.

She thinks her doll bed is big enough for her.

Dad had fun decorating the living room.

Yeahoooo!!! She did it! She’s been trained for about 2 weeks now. Kimi is pretty stubborn, so I knew she wouldn’t do it until she decided herself that it was time. She’s still not dry during the night, but during the day she’s got it down! And she hasn’t entirely perfected the #2 part, but she at least tells me she has to before hand, and she knows where it is and isn’t supposed to go. When she does poop in the toilet, I can’t help but smile and think, “Ahhhh, I didn’t have to change THAT diaper.” Two Sundays ago Kimi asked if she could play at her friends’ house, and we told her she couldn’t until she stopped peeing in her diaper. So after church she wanted to use the toilet and she stayed dry ever since! (minus of a couple of accidents) I’ve decided her being strong-willed can be a very positive thing, as long as we get it to work for us in doing what we want her to! Once she sets her mind to something, she does it!

Here’s one of her birthday presents that she was very excited to get—princess underwear! (I’ll get to posting pictures of her birthday party soon)

Today we went to the doctor for well check-ups for both kids.  Besides the little colds they have, both are healthy and happy children.  Noah only had one shot, and Kimi didn’t have to have any.  Gotta love that!  We hadn’t weighed Kimi in a while, and she pretty much is still the 26 lbs she was before.  BUT, she have moved up from the 2nd percentile to the 10th percentile!!!  Noah on the other hand, seems to be slimming down a little bit (LITTLE is the key word).  He’s now 22.5 lbs: 70% for weight, 90% for height, and 90% for head.  We got a big boy!

I just love my little boy–he’s such a pleasure to be around.  I’m so lucky to be his mom!

Lately I have had, for some strange reason, this renewed desire to do some things I’ve always been scared of doing. And I have come to realize that what may seem difficult are not that way when you have a desire and put your mind to it. If you have the attitude, “Why not try?”, you’ll be amazed at what you can do.

Fear #1

I don’t know why, but I have always had a fear of doing any kind of home canning by myself. Growing up, my mom did canning, but I remember for a bit there my mom struggled with getting her jars to seal. I decided that I should give it a shot. My freezer apricot jam really sucked this spring, and so I decided to bottle it instead (btw, apricot strawberry makes great jam).  And I was pleasantly surprised at how easy canning really is! I don’t know why I was so scared to do it in the first place. And I did some tomatoes the other day and they turned out too! Each one of my jars sealed! (knock on wood) Maybe this is something that most people know how to do, but I am SO proud of myself for this one.

Fear #2

I have always wanted to sew, but it’s been something that I have always thought, “that’ll be a hobby I’ll pick up some other day.” Sewing is not the easiest thing to do, but I know that the more you do it, the better you get. I decided that I should pick up on another hobby and decided I should make Kimi a quilt for her bed. I am SO EXCITED to get going on this–it’s going to be so cute! I of course chose a difficult pattern with applique flowers. It’s going to be Mary Engelbreit style. My goal is to finish the top by the end of October so that it can be quilted for her and finished by Christmas.  She has a black wrought-iron bed, and so I think it will look cute with the fabric I chose.

This is the pattern:

This is the fabric I chose:

Fear #3

I love going boating, and learned how to double ski a long time ago when our family owned a boat. My dad told us girls when we were little that we had to learn how to slalum ski before we could get our driver’s license. Yeah, that didn’t last. Life got busy and the boat died and never got repaired. Since I’ve married Mike, I’ve had more chances to go boating. We go out to the Snake every summer during their family reunion. I always getting a little nervous before I ski (kinda silly….I know), but 2 years ago I got bored with double skis. Skiing with one seemed near impossible. So I tried dropping a ski the last day we were out on the River, and never got the hang of it. The next summer I was pregnant with Noah, and then this last summer I decided to try again. The last day we went out, the weather was MARGINAL—the water was rocky and lightning was in the distance. I still decided to give it a try before the weather got too bad—probably not the best place to be in a thunderstorm. I was so close to staying up. One more try and I would have done it. I stayed up for probably 12 seconds, and then lost my balance. So, next summer I’m way excited to go again!

Fear #4

Ok, this one I am almost embarrassed to share with you. I got my first speeding ticket two years ago while I was visiting my family in WA, and I annoyingly got another speeding ticket earlier this summer here in UT. I was worried about how it would affect our insurance, and so I opted to go to traffic court to see if the judge would drop my ticket. I had never been to court before, and so I didn’t know what to expect. I was so nervous when I appeared, and didn’t exactly know what to do. I knew what I was going to say when I was to testify in front of the judge, but didn’t exactly know the process. Sadly enough, it was not worth it to me for going to court. He didn’t drop my ticket, and my bail I paid 2 months earlier was just applied to my ticket fee. I guess I at least know what to expect if Mike or I have to appear again in traffic court in the future.