Dear Tom,

I think it's time to come home now.

Caleb has stopped puking for an entire week, but we are now doing a therapressure program to stimulate him into eating. That sounds funny. But pretty much I think you'd be better at doing it than me. I'm suppose to brush his entire body down every two hours and then do joint compressions on him and then wipe the inside of his mouth with my finger and tap on his jaw.

Well I was thinking that if you did it first thing in the morning and in the evenings, I might follow through a little better and keep it up during the day. I mean we'll never know it works if we don't try it!

Anyway....

Talin needs help with his homework in the evenings, and Collin needs someone new to entertain, we've all grown tired of his antics.

October won't come soon enough.

Love,
Me

Evolution of Hair (in only 18 months time)

So last night I was going through old photos on the computer and reminiscing over the last year.
I mean it's been a crazy ride since Caleb was born.
Lot's of change.
Lot's of adjustment.
And apparently a lot of hairstyles.
In fact I found myself becoming more and more amused with the extremely different haircuts and colors I have done in only an eighteen month span. I know I like to change my look, but I've never been this versatile in such a short amount of time.
So for my own amusement (and yours) I'm posting the pictures.

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I neglected my appearance throughout the entire Caleb pregnancy, and this fine mess was the result.

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My attempt at sprucing up my hair and saving on money led me to dying it blond all by myself. It's not the worst job I've done, but definitely not great.

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The baby blues were hard, especially with a sick baby and lots of appointments and mountains of stress.

So when Cyndee came for a visit in July she treated me to a cut and color, and this was the result.

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Two months later I found myself wandering a Sally's Beauty Supply, trying to come up with another self beauty treatment to cover my dark roots. In the process I struck up a conversation with the lady working there and asked for advice.

Her advice?

"You need to go dark, because your blond hair shows all your blemishes and isn't very flattering for people, especially since it's fall, dark is in when it's fall."

I fell for her bullying and went dark.

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Another two months went by and I found myself approaching Caleb's heart surgery date.

Complete nerves.

So what did I do to calm them?

Of course, I cut my hair.

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I love short hair.

I kept telling myself that when I lost all the baby fat I would chop my hair off.

So when that day came I did it.
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The move to Arizona.

Every time I'm around my family and I have dark hair I get tons of mentions about how good I look with blond hair.

Well since I was getting crazily shaggy with my pixie cut I decided to trim it up and go blond.
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Last but not least.
The most current look to date.

More blond, more bangs. I could be five again.

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After writing this post I realize that I have no right to be irritated with people when they don't recognize me. Seriously. It's amazing my children aren't confused yet.

Long Afternoon. Short Post.

Turns out it's not blood. Whew!!
We figured out that the new antibiotic he's been on has turned his poo the blood color. Normally it turns "normal" kid's poo an orange color when the chemicals react. Not Caleb. But "normal" children eat food. Not Caleb.

And this evening was not fun. My fridge was seriously dying, and I was ready to pull out my hair at the grating/whining noise it was producing. So we switched it out (w/an old crusty fridge living in our garage). Well, Cyndee and I thought we could do it ourselves. Yeah, we're stupid. So I called Rachel in a freaky fashion (Sorry Rach) and her and Dan came over and we put Dan to work.
Long day.
Glad it's over.
Goodnight!

There's a poopy diaper in my fridge...

Did I get your attention?

No. Seriously. There really is a poopy diaper in my fridge; of course I've carefully wrapped it in a grocery bag, and then another grocery bag, and then another grocery bag, and then a garbage bag, just to be extra careful. And I was quite pleased this morning that my fridge didn't smell like poop when I reached in to grab the milk.

Grossed out yet?

I am.

Feel free to stop reading, cause it doesn't get any better.

And for those of you with strong stomachs...continue.

Last night Caleb did his little man thing and pooped his pants. To my shock and horror the poo was filled with blood, all throughout. It was crazy. I kept thinking, what has he eaten, this can't be blood. But the kid doesn't eat!

So I call the G.I. Specialist on call last night. We talked for awhile about everything going on with him, he's had strep since Tuesday, been on an antibiotic, had severe reflux, it's been pukeville at my home, changed the antibiotic and then pooped bloody craziness. She first thought I should take him to the ER, then changed her mind and told me to call first thing in the morning to get him in to run a bunch of tests, and to put the poopy diaper in the fridge and bring it in today for testing.

Hence the poopy diaper sitting in my fridge.

I can't wait to get it out, but I still haven't heard from the doctor. I have this fear of hospitalization and long waits for scary tests or scarier results. This could be a fluke right? My mind is going a hundred miles a minute with different scenarios. Hopefully it will be figured out today and everything will be fine.

I'll be a good blogger and update. :)

Tonoto Natural Bridge

Today we escaped the heat, and went to the Tonto Natural Bridge.

Caleb got loaded and we were off.

Prepare yourself for a picture overload.

The boys were worn out, as you can see!

We've been really blessed to have Tom home on the weekends this past month while he's been in Tucson. This weekend is kind of our last hurrah since next weekend he'll be driving to Ohio and gone for a month. It's painful. I hate separation. Yes it makes the heart grow fonder, but it freakin sucks! We have vowed to never do something like this again, not like we had a whole lotta choice this year though.

Angry baby in castle.

I tried not to cry.

Off to School on the Bus this Morning

I had to fight the urge to follow in my car just to make sure they got there.

We're Alive!

This summer has definitely topped the charts at the shortest most stressful/emotional summer of my life. A few things that made it crazier than normal.
1. getting Caleb on insurance
2. being a single mother
3. living in a two bedroom condo with three boys and me and my mom.
4. figuring out all of Caleb's doctors.
5. spending hours and hours on telephone calls to transfer medical records, schedule appointment and out and out fight for this little boy to get everything he needs.
6. Finding a rental.
7. Moving into the rental with no husband around.
8. Saying goodbye to a husband, and then hello, and then goodbye, and then hello, and then goodbye, you get the picture. exhausting.

Today was the first time I felt almost normal. I love routine. We started routine this morning.
Up at seven.
Breakfast.
Off to school.
Talin ready for the first day. No jitters, just excitement.

Collin practically jumping out of his pants excited. This is the most normal picture I got of him all morning.

I drove them for the first day, but they took the school bus home. And I was surprised to see both of them jump off the bus this afternoon. They made it home. I like the whole school bus thing.

And the little boy who got left behind.

This is actually the result of Grandma walking out the door this morning.

I think life is going to get a little easier now that we're settled and somewhat acclimated to the sweltering heat.

By the way, I miss Iowa.

I miss my Iowa people.

This Past Month

We cried at the airport saying goodbye to Tom as he went to Wisconsin for a month.
And then we sobbed in the car, all three of us (this includes Tal & Col).
Then we loaded up and drove to Cedar City to visit family.

We celebrated many birthdays.

Made fondant for the first time.

Went blond.

Let Caleb ride a quad with the assistance of Madee.

Listened to stories of Africa the night Uncle Shane returned from the big hunting trip.
And forgot to take very many pictures of the fun week.

Then we went back to Arizona, living with Cyndee, looking for a rental. Oh the stress of looking for a rental!! If any valley residents know of a lovely 3/4 bedroom home that's under $1000, please contact me. I'm starting to feel desperate. I do require that the home is clean.

After two weeks of swimming, helping Mandi move and house hunting, we loaded up again and headed to the Cabin just outside of Payson. Where I took NO pictures, and relied solely on the camera skills of my sisters. Hopefully pictures and details will come in a later post.

After a week at the cabin I was joyfully reunited with my husband.

And it was joyful.

And a little uncomfortable when your blissful reunion evening is shared in a two bedroom cabin surrounded by tents, housing eight adults and sixteen kids.

Then yesterday we drove to the lodge to spend a week together here until Tom goes to New Mexico for a month. I can't speak of that day just yet.

Today we decided to go on a family outing and consequently torture our children.

Caleb enjoyed the free ride.

Talin and Collin suffered terribly. Little legs are not meant to walk four miles.
Tom and I went crazy walking at a snails pace to accommodate them.

We lost this one on the way back, he was exhausted.

And since being at Pinetop for only two days, I've officially decided I want to live here.

After residency of course.

This Sucks

Tomorrow we load up the moving van, clean out the house and prepare for the 22 hour drive to Arizona. Where I hear it's been over a hundred degrees already. Talin keeps passionately crying out, "I'm going to die in Arizona, it's too hot!" This from a boy who is dying on days that the temp reaches 85 degrees here. Yeah, maybe he will die.
This is all too surreal, to think we'll be in Arizona by Sunday. Wow.
And to top it all off, Collin currently has a nose bleed that is running like a faucet. How did that happen?
Anyway...

(oh and by the way I cut the boys hair. the whole missionary haircut manipulation totally worked, thanks Amy.)

Mounting Frustrations

Here is Tom's solution to making Talin use a spoon to eat his cereal.
Yes, that is tape around his hand.
He taped the spoon into Talin's hand.
It worked.

And I have a dilemma, Talin needs a haircut.
Every time I bring it up, these big crocodile tears well up in his eyes and he starts begging me to let his hair grow out.

Please comment.
I'm taking votes.
Keep the long hair that wisps into his eyes, or cut it.
Talin would appreciate the long haired votes.
Tom would appreciate the buzz cut.

Stuff on my mind

Ten more days until we move. I feel like the energizer bunny trying to get everything done. You never realize how much stuff you really have until you try to put it all in boxes. And you never realize how much stuff you’re reliant on until something you need is in one of those boxes. Moving is a frustrating endeavor. I feel like I should be a pro by now. By the time I was eighteen I had moved fifteen different times, granted I probably didn’t do a whole lot on those moves, but shouldn’t I have gotten more skilled through osmosis? And in my almost nine years of marriage we’ve moved five different times, still doesn’t get any easier. Why do I have so much stuff? And why has my husband seemed to accumulate every single cord and extension known to man?

Talin and Collin have informed me that living with Grandma Cyndee is going to be the good life for them. I’ve heard things out of their mouths such as, “When we live with Grandma, she’ll let us do whatever we like”, or “If you tell Grandma to spank us she won’t listen to you, she’s nice”. Seriously? I thought I was an awesome mom, I don’t spank! I say that and hope they can’t remember their toddler years, where swatting their bums seemed to be the only form of discipline that sunk into their little man heads.

This morning I’m in the kitchen, the boys are off at school, Caleb had just woken up and was sitting in the family room in a sleepy state, so I thought I was safe. I thought I could take two minutes to load up the meds into the syringes. No. No faith in this child to stay still, not even for two minutes! I turn around, he’s gone. I hear diabolical giggling. Where is he?? Sitting at the top of my long flight of stairs. Holy Crap!! This child is the death of me. As soon as he sees me he knows. The smile vanishes and he takes off crawling at Superman speed, not kidding.

While I was enjoying the Tulip Festival on Saturday, I guess the boys had an interesting experience at the golf course. Well, I guess interesting isn’t the right word. Tom had a cart and he went golfing with a friend of his that took his little girl as well. While Tom was driving he had Collin next to him and then Talin. I guess the two boys were talking; well at least Collin was, when Tom took a corner really sharp and Talin fell out rolling. Collin’s still talking to Talin this whole time, has no idea that Talin has fallen out. Neither does Tom. Until his friends yells at him and Tom turns around to see Talin crying and running after the golf cart. The poor kid had a headache the rest of the day.

And Talin has taken up casual swearing. And before anyone laughs and wonders where he gets it from I would like to inform you all that I have not casually sworn in a very, very, very long time. He DID NOT learn the d.a.m.n. word from me. And although it’s been quite alarming, it’s also hard not to hide my snickering when he does swear.

Some Examples:

“Collin, put the damn food in your mouth”

“Throw the damn Frisbee”

Playing at UNO with the family, “damn!”

He uses it in the correct context and all. This is like my perfect future prophet child. Life is full of surprises.

Pella

I have less than two weeks before the big move. Two weeks from right now, Saturday 4:04 pm, I will be driving to Arizona! Holy crap. So in making the most of my time I spent the day in Pella for the Tulip Festival. Packing your house is so overrated anyway....

Beautiful Tulips!

It was crowded, and I went with two friends and we got away with only three babies between us, I left the older boys behind to play golf with dad today, it was a lot of fun. I just wish there weren't so many people there. Three strollers made it impossible to go in and out of the crowded little shops. But at least I can say I finally made it down to Pella in the three years we were here.

Me and my boy, isn't he a chunk? I love it!

Now I'm off to our sixth dinner appointment this week (you get really popular when you're moving away). And I have to prep for a talk in church tomorrow. Is it not a complete crime that I'm speaking on Mother's Day!!!?