Last Post of 2010

It has snowed at our house ALL day. It finally slowed down enough that I decided to shovel a path to the mailbox and take a picture of our BBQ. I think we must be the only spot left in the valley that still has snow falling. It's crazy. We went to Hires for our New Year's Eve Dinner and once we got past 4100 South, there was no more snow. What is "lake effect" anyway?

It's 8:30 p.m. and James and Molly are both sound asleep. Happy New Year came a bit early this year, I guess. James is exhausted. He really enjoys his job, but it is grueling - long hours, lots of phone calls once he gets home and tons of charting work. Lately, he falls asleep at his computer around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m., then gets up at 4:00 a.m. to finish his charting before his 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. appointment. It's this terrible cycle that never ends. I get on him a lot because he is such a grouch, but I am grateful for his efforts and I'm even more grateful that he put Molly to sleep and is now getting some much needed rest himself (even though he'll have to do his charting in the morning).

On to my year end wrap up . . .

Yesterday Willie had basketball games on his birthday. Unfortunately he was 0-3 on the day against Jordan, but oh well. While there, the Hunter girls were playing Taylorsville and we ran into Mr. Hymas who coaches that team. Mr. Hymas was my junior high math teacher and then my sophomore girls basketball coach. He remembered me and was asking me about some of the other girls on that team (most of whom I have no idea what happened to them). We were the first girls team he ever coached.

This got me thinking a little bit reflectively on this past year. When I was a sophomore in high school I never would have dreamed that I'd have a cute, curly haired little girl named Molly, been teaching school for 8 years, or be sitting watching my sophomore brother play Hunter basketball with my nephews running around the gym. Crazy! I guess I probably thought that I would be married and maybe have kids, but things like that are never a given (especially for anti-socials weirdos like me).

Anyway, it has been quite a year! Last year on New Year's Eve I was starting to get really fat and starting to get really swollen feet. We didn't even know if we were having a girl or boy because the modest little baby kept her legs crossed at the ankles during the ultrasound (which she still does, by the way). She was just a bump in my stomach and now she is this wriggling, crazy, yelling little girl. She finally has two teeth poking through. She was showing me earlier today, but then wouldn't cooperate when I got the camera out. (This is the best I got.)

She is starting to eat cheerios without choking, today had yogurt, and then ate some pieces of garlic bread at Hires. She kicks her feet when she gets excited and is, for the most part, a very pleasant and happy little girl. I am so glad she is a part of our family!

Happy New Year!!

You say its your BIRTHDAY!

You're 16 years old!!! Oh my goodness. My little brudda is 16! I can't believe it.

I know this sounds totally sappy, but I remember the day you were born and you have changed us all for the better. I can't imagine how boring the last 16 years would have been without you. Sniff. Sniff.

So, with that said, keep being a good boy. Keep getting good grades, keep practicing your free throws, keep being a good uncle. I'm watching you. Don't think you're THAT cool just because you're 16. Don't think that just because Ross says you got "date shirts" for Christmas that you can stop being a good boy. Don't think that just because your "projected ACT scores" are higher than your sister's that you're THAT smart. Remember, I can always take you!

Happy Birthday Little Brother! We love you!

Sippy success!

One of our holiday break projects has been to learn to use a cup. Here is some success!

Christmas Came!

Christmas 2010, though filled with bits and pieces of chaos, was probably one of the best Christmas Holidays James and I have had since being married. Of course adding a baby to the mix made it a lot more fun, but it also just seemed quite a bit more relaxed than Christmas' past. (Though as I write the events below, some were definitely not relaxing, but that's ok.)

Christmas Eve Eve

* Willie basketball game (finally a win! Yes!)

* Molly and I ran a million errands

* Wrapped a few of my mom's presents for her

* Finish wrapping all of my presents while watching the Jim Carey version of the Grinch on TV.

* Made a half batch of sugar cookies after midnight to frost at my mom's tomorrow

* James informed me that although he was supposed to work Christmas Eve, he really only had 2 appointments, basically had the day off, and was planning to work on my car. Great?!?

Christmas Eve

* Part of car wheel bearing won't come off - first trip to Autozone

* Quick trip to Layton in James' car to deliver name exchange gifts to Gregg and Barbara's family

* Second trip to Autozone, returned with new needed part, James quickly rushes to work in his car and Molly and I are stranded at home while my car sits up on jacks in the driveway. Grrr!!

* After a few stressful phone calls between me and James and me and my mom, my mom comes to the rescue and picks us up. She has Elliott and Wyatt in the car with her and is singing, "You better watch out. You better not cry..."

* Stopped at the store to buy rolls for Christmas Eve dinner. (I was supposed to make them, but I didn't.)

* Frost cookies for Santa at my mom's house with Elliott and Wyatt - Open Christmas Eve pajamas - Willie's have penguins on them and are big enough for 3-4 regular sized men. Oh well.

* Load up in my mom's car again and head to Grandma's to get ready for Christmas Eve Dinner.

* Molly got hysterically hysterical at Grandma's and my mom and I couldn't get her calmed down. We loaded back up in my mom's car and she took us home (Molly blessed her car seat, Christmas jammies, and blanket twice in the car on the ride home and then seemed to be doing better.)

* James finally finished putting my car back together, took it for a test drive out to my Grandma's, ate, brought me potatoes and rolls home, then took the car back apart again to adjust something

* Got Christmas morning stuff together and finally went to bed (well after midnight again)

Christmas Day!

* Molly woke up about 6:00, but we tried to be quiet to not wake up James. He got up around 7:00. We opened gifts at our house and started getting ready for the day. Molly was not quite sure what was going on, but certainly enjoyed eating the wrapping paper and ribbons. And, twice during the morning, I said, "Molly, where's the tree?," and she turned her head immediately and looked at the tree. Smart girl!

* While we were getting ready, James got a call to get on Skype and talk to his brothers - Jason in Germany and Jarrell in Seattle on a mission. After a while, all 6 Binggeli siblings and his mom and dad were all talking in the "same room." This hasn't happened for at least 2 or 3 years and James doesn't think his family has been all together for Christmas since 2003 or 2004. It was pretty cool. Molly and I listened in on the conversation for a little while, but then slipped out to head to my aunt Karen's house for breakfast. (Car is making weird noises, but James assures me that it's fine. Eventually the noise stopped, but I did notice James had put the fire extinguisher in the trunk of the car.)

* 10:30 a.m. - Karen's for a delicious breakfast of scones, ham, and eggs. Given our travel constraints, James and I haven't been able to do the Petersen Christmas breakfast for the last 2 years. It was tasty and a lot of fun! (We had some minor chaos during the gift exchange because 2 of the gifts my mom was giving were nowhere to be found. My mom was pretty stressed, but after 2 trips back home, she found the missing gifts.)

* 1:00 p.m. - My mom and dad's house for Christmas with them. My mom spoils us and all I got for her were 2 dumb sweaters. Oh well. Wyatt, Elliott, and Molly were all really cute!

* 3:00 p.m. - Grandma Huber's for Christmas at her house. Ate more! Opened more gifts!

* 5:00 p.m. - Headed home to unload, reload, and head out.

* 6:00 p.m. - Left home for Garland and Christmas with James' mom and dad.

* 7:30 p.m. - Arrived in Garland and Molly got to show off her latest sitting up and yelling talents to Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli. They spoiled her rotten, too! We stayed overnight, ate delicious apple pie and ice cream, and ate very tasty waffles and bacon in the morning. We had a great time!

Christmas Day +1!

* Molly woke up at 6:00 a.m., but I was tired, so after I gave her a bottle I just laid her down between me and James and she actually went back to sleep for an hour. Thanks, good girl!

* Around 11:00 a.m. we headed north some more. We not only needed to take Christmas gifts to RyAnn, Issac, and Morriah, but we needed to meet their 10 day old baby sister Elizza. Molly got to play with her cousins, Annie and Jared fed us dinner, and we had a nice visit. Elizza is really cute and is very awake and talkative for a tiny little baby.

* Around 6:00 p.m. we headed back for home, but not long after we were driving, James told me his stomach hurt and he was feeling nauseous. Great!?! Between Pocatello and the Utah border, he drove very fast. I was scared and kept watching the speedometer creep up, but didn't dare say anything because whenever I asked, "are you doing okay?," he just quickly shook his head no. Oh dear. We made a pit stop back in Garland and Grandma and Grandpa got to see Molly again for a little while, while her dad was blessing the toilet.

* Fog and slick roads made for an interesting ride home. I was trying to hurry and get James home, but thick fog when you can't hardly seen the front of your car requires some slowing down. We had to make 1 emergency pull-off-the-freeway near Centerville so James could make the shoulder of the road a bit more "slick," but after that we made it home safe and sound and James and Molly both went straight to bed.

* I unloaded the car, started a load of wash, and decided to look at our pictures and do a blog post.

*Merry Christmas to all and to all a good and pukeless night!

Christmas is Coming, an introspective.

Christmas is Saturday! I love Christmas. I am excited that Santa Claus will finally be making it to our house this weekend. I'm pretty confident that he is coming this year. He hasn't come to our house since I've been married. I think he forgot about us (or maybe we just didn't make it on the nice list, I don't know). But, with Molly now added to our family, he is coming!

Tonight we went on a Petersen Family Outing to Smash Burger and then to see the lights on temple

square. It was fun.

I love Molly and I can't imagine life without her, but it has been a huge adjustment this year trying to do stuff for Christmas while taking care of her. I feel like I only have one arm and I haven't been nearly as helpful to my Grandma as I usually try to be.

On Sunday we had several talks in church about the "real" meaning of Christmas. The essences of the talks were that we need to remember the birth of the Savior and not focus so much on the commercial side of things. I agree with this, of course, but I also think that people tend to be a lot more Christ-like during Christmas than during other times of the year. Is it possible to balance the giving of gifts with being Christ-like? I think as long as we are in the "giving" frame of mind and not the "getting" frame of mind, we DO have the real spirit of Christmas. I don't know.

Several people I know have had close relatives die in the last few days. I was just reading my

cousins Melanie's and Jodi's blog about how their Grandpa Hardcastle who just passed away yesterday. My friend and visiting teacher partner, Beverly, called me Friday night to tell me her brother passed away (and we had 2 other deaths in our ward announced on Sunday).

I think old people are really cool and I have been fortunate to have great relationships with my grandparents. I worry about my Grandma Huber. She keeps plugging along, but her engine is running out of steam. She literally turns blue a lot lately. My Grandpa won't turn up the oxygen. She fell a week or so ago because she passed out. She's had a couple of episodes at night (at least only a couple that I know of) where she knocks the the air hose off and gets lightheaded and probably almost passes out, but my Grandpa's able to get it back on. Usually when I go out there lately (and even while I'm there) she just puts her head down on the kitchen table, like it's too heavy to hold up.

My Grandma is amazing, though! Despite the fact that she can't

breathe and can hardly walk, she just finished purchasing Christmas gifts for 52 people. She doesn't just buy 1 gift, but 2, 3, or 4 for each person. My cousin Melinda and Annie and I got them all wrapped in one afternoon plus one evening. That was a record. It is usually a week-long process. Plus, all of these gifts don't include the gifts she gets for her neighbor kids as well as larger gifts for less-fortunate people in her neighborhood (usually sent out by random unidentifiable grandchildren with specific instructions to say "this gift basket is from Santa").

One of my uncles told my Grandma that she shouldn't do all this Christmas stuff anymore because she's too old. I think this really upset her because she's told me about it twice. What does he know? I don't think he has any idea how important this is to her. We had a couple of confusing present moments over the last few weeks when she said, "Maybe he's right," but all in all it's actually been a much smoother Christmas preparation for my Grandma than it has in years. The list of "things we forgot" or "things we still need to buy" was much shorter than in previous years. And, thanks to my mom and sister, I think it was all taken care of pretty quickly.

Here's an e-mail I sent to my cousin, my mom, and my sister in October after a hectic day of setting up "the boxes" or present collectors in my grandma's back bedroom/office.

***********

Christmas projects that may or may not need attention:

*Packages. Many of them. Grandma can't really shop anymore. She and Grandpa will venture to Sam's and Shopko on their own. Occasionally she'll let my mom take her to Kohl's. Everything else comes from catalog orders. If you see packages on the porch, near the front door, or in the tv room, ask if you can open them, and put them in the big boxes in the office. Make sure she writes everything down in her notebook.

*Decorating. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is usually decorating day. Do you have any idea how many Christmas decorations Grandma has? Tons!!! They are stored in the basement cupboards in a gazillion plastic tubs. It's a full day event and help is much appreciated! There are a few things Grandma likes to do herself to contribute - put out the Christmas village on the china hutch and the nativity on the sofa table. She can sit in a chair and do that if you give her the box, but everything else is more than she can move.

*Wrapping. This is the biggest feat of them all! Consider that there are 3-4 gifts (or more) per person and times that by 52 of us (actually 50 since she doesn't buy anything for herself and usually doesn't wrap Grandpa's gifts). It all has to be finished by the Sunday before Christmas (grandma's deadline). It takes 1-2 weeks. The house can't accommodate too many wrappers at once and you have to be careful about who's stuff you are looking at. Go slow and be patient to do what Grandma asks you to do. Pull one box out of the room at a time. Lay out every item in the box on the table to get a pile for each person, then wrap one person's at a time. Grandma checks her notebook for each person to make sure nothing is missing. This is a bit crazy because for the last couple of years, Grandma can hardly read her own handwriting, sizes are wrong, items are lost (her throwing aim can be a bit off in the box room), etc. JUST BE PATIENT. Help her talk through problems and sometimes just bite your lip and wrap it anyway! Again, make sure she writes down everything in her notebook. Or, if she needs to make a list of "things that are lost" or "things still need to buy" maybe offer to write it for her. These "rules" are not mine, they're Grandma's and by telling you all this, hopefully you can help her and neither of you will get too stressed out!

* Sam's Club. She and Grandpa buy people things from Sam's. This can't happen until all of the gifts are wrapped because they have to have a place to put it all. It will all go in the office after everything is wrapped (hence the wrapping needs to be done the weekend before Christmas). I used to help with this, but I think Lori has kind of taken on this part. Just be aware.

* Christmas Sacks. You remember when someone used to leave gifts on the porch (I still think it was Jackie and John by the way)? Well, ever since then, Grandma has prepared Christmas sacks to give out on Christmas Eve because she didn't want the little kids to be disappointed if no one left anything on the porch (which hasn't happened since we got out of high school, but that's ok). She orders a big box of stuff from Oriental Trading and divvies it out in bags for each of the kids younger than Parker (and a bunch of neighbor kids who she'll send someone to secretly deliver to their houses on Christmas Eve). The sacks are usually done a day or two before Christmas Eve. Willie, James, and I did it last year. Meranda has done it before, too. It's also crazy. You just have to be patient and do what Grandma says as she methodically decides which toys go in which bag.

* Christmas Eve Dinner. Needs lots of set up and preparation. Plan to help that day.

* Christmas Eve Gifts. Before everyone leaves on Christmas Eve, we sort the presents into family piles around the living room.

* Christmas Day Food. Grandma is usually wiped out and just sits in her chair on Christmas Day. There is usually a ham and stuff for sandwiches, as well as lots of other fixins'. People are usually helpful to get it out, but just be aware.

*************

My grandma loves Christmas. I love my grandma. I can honestly say that not only is she the best grandma that anyone can ask for, but she is probably one of my best friends. That doesn't mean she is the sweet, cookie baking grandma because she's actually the drive-up window, put you in your place grandma. I can't imagine a Christmas without her and when that day comes, it will be a sad one.

Mega Update!

Blogging just hasn't happened lately, but there are a few things to talk about.

On Sunday, Molly got her first hair cut. Her hair was getting so long and scraggily. It was a hundred different lengths and hard to keep out of her eyes. So, on Sunday night, my mom said she would trim it. It's shorter now, but looks really cute. All of the curls are still there, but any chance at strawberry blonde/red is gone now. Oh well. No, I didn't keep the hair. I'm just not

that kind of mom.

The last two weeks has officially been "baby season." James' cousin Stephanie had a new little baby boy named Tyler (#4 to their family). My cousin Melanie added a new baby girl named Kate (#2 to their family). And, James' sister Annie had a new little girl named Elizza Noelle (#4 to their family). We haven't met any of them, but we hope they and their moms are all healthy and doing well. Hopefully we will meet Elizza after Christmas and maybe the other two at some point in time. What did these three babies have in common besides being related to us? None of their parents chose to find out the babies' genders until they were born. Interesting.

James is trying to join the Air Force. He's not trying to get out of being deployed in June, but he's trying to get out of being deployed as a grunt mechanic on prison guard duty. There is absolutely no possibility for advancement as a nurse in the Utah National Guard at the moment, and that's what he'd like to do to finish out the next 6 years until his retirement. What are the benefits of being in the Air Force? He says they treat you better, deployments are only 6 months instead of 12, he gets to be an officer, would fly to Tacoma, WA for drill, and would not have to sleep in a tent ever again. There is a lot of paperwork to fill out and several fiery hoops to jump through, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.

I just finished another semester of my master's classes at USU. I am behind by 1 class, so even though next spring should be my last semester, I'll have 1 more class to do in the summer. Oh well.

Annie, Melinda, and I got all of my Grandma's Christmas presents wrapped in 1 afternoon and 1 night. That was a record!!! My grandma buys gifts (at least 2 or 3 things, if not more) for all 52 members of our family. That means that we wrapped at least 200 gifts or more. Crazy!! Christmas keeps Grandma going, though, so its a good thing.

My dad got a job!! Well actually, it's an internship, but it is still a job. He'll be doing some type of medical parts management something or other for Stryker Medical. It has been over a year since he stopped working for Ottowear and we are so proud of him for what he's done since. He's gone back to school and has re-emerged as our smart-intellectual-life-is-good-and-I-am-with-it dad again. He's just finished up a 6 month part-time job reorganizing the biology lab at SLCC and now will start this new adventure in January. Good luck!

I had each of my ESL History students do a project called "My Immigration Story." Oh my goodness! If you ever want to be humbled and meet some amazing kids with some amazing stories, I can introduce you to a few of my students. Our country may not be as strong or as perfect as it may seem to have been on greener pastures, but it is still good.

Festivus Photos

Molly Update

Hi everyone,
It's Molly! My mom told me I needed to write a blog post. (She's so demanding. It's way past my bedtime.) So, what's been going on lately?

• I've been sick. My mom talked about my bad day Wednesday, but that was only the beginning. I got worse before it got better and then I just didn't want to eat or drink anything for the whole weekend. My mom was so worried about me that she took a day off and made me stay home on Monday. Since I didn't want to drink out of a bottle, she kept giving me juice, water, and Pedialyte through my medicine syringe. It was kind of fun and I liked to drink it that way.
• My face is really sore. The doctor says it's eczema, but it's really only on my face and it drives me crazy. Well, actually, I really don't notice it except that my mom is always putting stuff on my face to help it and that gets annoying.
  
• I'm excited for Christmas. My mom's been telling me about this guy, Santa. She said he hasn't really come around our house for the last couple of years because she and my dad are too boring for him, but this year, he is coming! Good thing I sleep in my mom and dad's room so I won't be scared.
• I like basketball! I like the noise in the gym and all of the people cheering. I go to Utah games and have now been to one of Uncle Willie's high school games. It's a lot of fun.
• I am growing like crazy. I have almost grown out of ALL of my 12 month clothes and I'm moving into the 18 months. I've noticed that some of the things my mom has bought lately to put in my clothes bin are 24 months. HOLY COW! That's what my cousin Wyatt wears and he's much older than me.

Stories of Poo!

So, I guess this is what my blog has come down to. I have nothing else to write about except Molly's bodily functions. She had two clothes changes at school today. On her board it just said "11:00 BM Blow Out," then a little further down it said "1:00 BM Blow Out, Major :)." Oh dear. This happens, you know, she is a baby after all. She's had poop explosion issues since the day she was born. In fact, the day after she was born, the pediatrician in the hospital made the comment that "she could clear a room" and then there was that one instance when she was a month old or less that the lamp on her changing table got splattered upon (it now sits at the head of her changing table instead of the end).

Unfortunately, her terrible mother, who according to school day care rules should supply 2 spare outfits for infants, forgot to take a new outfit back after the last blowout. You do the math.

2 blowouts in one day - only 1 clean outfit = . . . the daycare's spare field trip t-shirt.



Other things worth mentioning . . .

She ate really well at school today (probably because of all the spare room in her stomach), but she wasn't too hungry tonight. I tried to keep feeding her even though I was thinking, "I think she's full." She eventually had a major spit up, too, which led right to the bathtub. Not counting the pj's that went on next, I think that made 4 outfits for the day! Way to go Molly!

Molly also threw her first temper tantrum tonight. I laid her down on my bed while I was folding some clothes and she grabbed a wire hanger that was left on the bed. Oops. I immediately took it from her, but she screamed bloody murder! Oh well.

One of these days I might actually figure out how to be a good mom, while being a good teacher . . . and a good wife, a good stake primary person, a good sister, a good daughter, good granddaughter, good house cleaner, good bill payer, good dinner fixer . . . you get the idea. Right now I am just very mediocre at all of those things. Oh well, again. Maybe I should stop blogging and get back to work!

Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving came and went yesterday. Molly was a trooper and even with only 2 short half hour naps, she managed to be pleasant most of the day. She's a good girl. I love her!

We started Thanksgiving on Wednesday afternoon at Grandma Huber's. We just went to visit, but ended up helping cousin Peter set up some things for Thursday. For the actual Turkey Day, we started at my mom's (with my Dad's family, minus a few) and ended at Alicia's house in Ogden (with James' family and some of Ina and Rex's family.) I made sugar cookies. They were good, but I used almond extract instead of vanilla. Did any of you out there who tasted them notice a difference? Better or worse? (I forgot to ask anyone yesterday.)

Today, James had a few visits for work and Molly slept in until 7:00 and then had a good nap later. After her nap, we went to do some black friday shopping. We went to Kohls, Sears, and Walgreens. My mom met us a Kohl's. The line was long, but moved pretty quickly.

Tonight, James, Molly, and I headed to Old Navy and Target to get a few more things. Doh! I just realized as I wrote that, that I had a gift card I was going to use at Target. Crap! I forgot I had put it in my wallet. That's why we went there. Duh, me, spells dummy!

On a side note, you may know I have this guilty pleasure for bad country music. Driving around over the course of the last few days, I've heard this song a lot. It's kind of a pretty song, but it is a little depressing and weird. I have absolutely no idea what it's talking about. Do any of you know? Does she think her life is at risk? Is she planning to take her own life?

Here is your latest Nursing minute

Please view this site. We have several new babies and more to come. This is especially important since there is a lot of family gathering in the next couple months. This is about the dangers of
Pertussis. Don't know what is it is? Take a look at the site and see.

James. Your local Nurse

My latest faces

6 Month Update

Holy Cow! Molly is 6 months old already. We went to the doctor today and here is the report:

• Name: Molly Ardith
• Age: 6.1 Months
• Height: 28.25 inches (99th percentile, same as last visit)
  
• Weight: 17 lbs 13 oz (83rd percentile, down from last visit)
• Head: 16.9 in (66th percentile, up from last visit)

• Wearing a wet diaper at beginning of appointment that weighed 3 oz. (that could have accounted for the weight percentile drop)
  

• More vaccinations, including the flu shot
• No signs of any teeth
• Passed all the development questions except that she doesn't like to roll. She has successfully rolled over twice, I think, but chooses not to do it anymore.
  
• Scraped ear wax out of ears and noticed she has ear infections in both ears. (I probably should have taken her back since her ear infections a month ago, but she is rarely fussy, hasn't had trouble sleeping, and has never had a fever. I didn't think a runny nose and a cough meant ear infections, but maybe they do.)
• Dr. Havlik suggested feeding her baby food 3 times per day instead of just twice.
• She has to go back to check her ears in 2 weeks, to get the 2nd half of the flu shot in 1 month, and for a 9 month visit in February.

• Dr. Havlik was a little goofy today. He is growing a beard. He asked if Molly could say any vowel sounds like BBB or MMM . . . vowel sounds? He asked if the day care she goes to is mostly teacher's kids or student's kids . . . student's kids? like a teen parent program? Huh? He then asked about my brother and then went on some rant about West High sports and a kid from Rwanda. He also forgot to give us Molly's prescription and we had to ask for it. Weird. Maybe it was just an off day. Oh, he also (for the first time) DID NOT tell me to make sure I don't leave Molly alone on high surfaces that she could roll off of. I guess it's ok to do that now. Phew!

In other news, we thought Molly had grown out of her car seat, so we bought a new one. My mom saw it and said, "it's huge." It's actually pretty middle-of-the-road. They get much bigger.

James and Molly went on a field trip Saturday to get it, but when we tried it out, she hated it. So, we went back to the bucket for now, but we've tried out the seat in the living room and she seems to be getting used to it. After today's doctor visit measurements, she has .25 inches to grow before needing to be in the new seat (and 4 lbs).


Little baby in a little seat (2 weeks old).

Big baby in a little seat (she's slouching, her head really brushes the top)
Big baby looks like little baby in a big seat.

Uncle Blaine

My Great Uncle Blaine passed away on Thursday at the VA Hospital. He was 82. He's my Grandma's brother and one of the last couple of "greats" left in my family. Though Uncle Blaine had his own family, he always had a special place in our family.

He's always been very tall and I've thought he was always a very good-looking man and closely resembled my great Grandpa, as well as his sister, my Grandma Huber. I always thought Blaine would live longer than my Grandpa did (a month shy of 93). He's always been a lot healthier and a lot more spunky than my Grandma, but a quick battle with cancer and an infection took him fast. I saw him twice this summer, most recently at my cousin Preston's wedding in August and then at Molly's baby blessing in June. He's the son of my Great Grandpa Stewart Bingham Eccles and the older brother to my Grandma, Geraldine Eccles Huber.

Though my Grandma (just like my Great Grandpa Eccles) can often be very curt and not always that friendly (yes I love her, but she is especially this way in her older age), I've always thought Uncle Blaine was the opposite. He liked to give hugs, always smiled, and seemed to be genuinely pleasant most of the time.

• Uncle Blaine used to work the concessions at the Utah Basketball games and we would always say hi to him there. Once he was honored at a basketball half time for being a Utes "Superfan." They don't do that anymore.
  
• Uncle Blaine always attended the Wood's sporting events. I didn't go to nearly as many SLCC softball games as I should have to watch Meranda play, but the few I did go to, Blaine was there.
• He came to a Murray Girls Basketball Game a couple of years ago while I was selling tickets. We were, of course, surprised to see one another. Blaine explained that he was an avid supporter of Olympus girls sports. Several people in the hallway called him by name (as he kept coming out to see if the snack bar was open yet). He also asked about my family and didn't know I was teaching at Murray. He said he thought I was still a Tooele Buffalo.
• Uncle Blaine came to most Huber functions that he was invited to, except 1 . . . his Surprise 80th Birthday Party! Grandma and Cindy (and others) put it together and it was at Cindy's house. I don't remember all of the circumstances, but someone had nonchalantly invited him to dinner for his birthday and then we were supposed to surprise him with all of us there. Unfortunately, the nonchalant invite did not require an RSVP and Blaine didn't come. Someone finally got a hold of him and I think he'd said that he'd gone to bed early (or something like that).
• I remember Grandpa Eccles once telling about Blaine's name. (I tried to verify this in Grandpa's History book, but could only find that "Blaine" was chosen by Stewart and Fern, and "Stewart" was chosen by my Great Great Grandpa Stewart Eccles.) Anyway, it's seems there is a story about some disagreement about whether to name him Blaine Stewart or Stewart Blaine, but somebody (my mom said probably Grandma Fern) said it didn't matter because he was either going to be an SoB or full of BS.
  
• While trying to verify the last story, I found this one from Grandpa's book - "Blaine was born at Bluffdale, Utah at his grandmother Jones' home. Blaine was blessed by Father [Great Great Grandpa] who named him Blaine Stewart Eccles, Fern and I had selected the name Blaine, he added the Stewart and we were up set. Blaine's birth was a terrifying experience, one I shall never forget. Fern after many hours of labor could not have him so Doctor Sorensen took the baby by instruments. He warned us he many not be successful, but thank the Lord he was successful. However he told us after Blaine was born that he may not last thru the day."
• Other things from the book . . . Blaine turned 8 while my Grandma's family was living in Boulder, Nevada. Blaine was baptized in Lake Mead while it was still filling up. . . . At age 10 he was hit by a car and broke his leg. He was in a cast "from his arm pits to his toes."

Today we celebrated Blaine's life with his family at a luncheon, then a brief graveside service (which I missed most of because Molly was cold, tired, and grumpy), and then an open house thing tonight.

We will miss you, Uncle Blaine! Thanks for being such a nice man!

Go Utes!

James decided to buy season tickets to the Utes basketball games this year. We usually go to several, but now we have the whole season. Thanks, James! Last night was game #2. The Utes actually looked like they might know how to play this year. (Let's hope so.) Molly likes the noise, lights on the big screen, and being able to move between mom, dad, and Grandma. Last night, though, she was tired.



Basketball season is upon us! We have intermittent Utah games for the next couple of weeks, but come December first, Hunter basketball starts and then we'll have Uncle Willie games every Tuesday and Friday through February. Stress! Excitement! Basketball Hearts of Love! I'm getting tired just thinking about it. Football is ok, you know, but basketball is so much better! Plus, now that we have little Molly Wolly, it is so much easier to take a kid inside to a game then bundle up for an outside game.

Willie made the Hunter High varsity team this week. He's pretty excited. We just hope he gets to play (sophomore or JV is fine) rather than sit the varsity bench. He's still super excited, though, and definitely the most handsome and the smartest kid on the team, I'm sure.

** We may have some Utah tickets to give away, though, if we can't make it to some games. Blog readers, let us know if you're interested.

Thank a Veteran!

If you don't know one, thank one of mine! Here are just a few!

SSG James Binggeli, Utah Army National Guard

Iraq 2005 (scheduled to deploy to Iraq, June 2011)

SSgt Alicia Binggeli, Air Force

Iraq 2008 (scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan 2011)

SPC Jason Binggeli, Army

Iraq 2008

SPC Colton Maughan, Army
Afghanistan 2009 (scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan 2011)


Edward Huber, Army
New Jersey, U.S. (Korean Conflict), 1952

I posted some of these pictures without permission. If it's not ok or if you need to correct the information, please let me know!

Happy Veterans Day!
Thank you for serving our country!

Is the Cover Better?

Disclaimer: The following post was created by a guest blogger who was hanging out at my residence. After viewing the post, I told him I would need to write a disclaimer. He said, "no one can know it is me" and then he said, "it was done by the ghost of Christmas Future."

Original



Cover




Original



Cover




Original



Cover

Stories

Tonight during Sunday dinner, Annie was asking us to help her brainstorm ideas that she could post on her blog since it is Noproblempomo Month. Unfortunately Willie came up with a few stories that didn't involve his Sister Golden Hair, but only his Sister in Zion (me!), so maybe I should blog them. However, as I sit to do that . . . . I don't really remember them all. Oh well.

• Haley Swears at the Bacon - One day I was cooking bacon for Willie in the microwave. Something went wrong and the plate was extraordinarily hot and when I grabbed it I burned my thumb really bad. I think I said the Hoover Dam word and Willie has never let me forget it. (A similar incident happened the other morning with my toe, but I resisted.)
  
• The Responsibility Fort - When Willie had bunk beds and we still lived at Mildred, he and I built a blanket fort on the bottom bunk (I think he was probably 3 or 4). When we went to get the parentals to show them our masterpiece, they asked, "Willie what is this?" He replied, "It's a big responsibilty."
• Yellowstone Pickle Puke - I thought for sure that Annie was with us on this one, but it must have been just after she got married. We rented a van and took Grandma Petersen with us to Yellowstone. I shared a room with Grandma and she was embarrassed because she forgot her robe. Whatever. I was a dork and forgot my PJ's, so we traded down the line. My dad wore his regular mormon pajamas, my mom wore my dad's, and I wore my mom's. I think I also forgot my toothbrush that trip (no, I don't think we traded for that one). I also remember Grandma telling me in the morning that I must have a cold and be really congested. No Grandma, I think I just snore. Sorry. Anyway, we went to eat at Trapper's Restaurant in West Yellowstone. Willie got french fries, but you know how sometimes restaurants will garnish a plate with a pickle slice, well they did. The pickle was, of course, long taken off his plate, but he ate a fry at some point during the meal and it was tainted with "pickle juice." Willie gagged and puked. My mom caught it in her hand/napkin/who-knows-what and Grandma told her, "Nice catch!"
• Bob the Dog Goes in the Toilet - One day Willie and I went to the zoo. It was in the winter, the animals were all indoors, and we were bundled up. He was just little and needed to go to the bathroom. We hurried to the bathroom near the elephants and monkey house. I set my favorite soft brown mittens on the back of the toilet while I helped him. We called those mittens "Bob the Dog" from Mr. Rogers. (Why? Because we are strange.) Somehow in the course of Willie using the bathroom and being excited to flush, he threw my favorite mittens in the toilet. I know he didn't do it on purpose, but I don't remember how it happened. They were too fluffy to go down the toilet, so I hurried and grabbed them out of the bowl. They were soaked, though, and I didn't know what to do with them. So, Willie and I threw them in the trash. Oh well.
  

That's all I can think of right now.

Some days are just crappy.

Today was just one of those days . . .

I woke up at the kitchen table last night at 11:45. I have no idea what time James came to bed.

Molly woke up at 4:30 this morning and would not go back to sleep. Plus, she kept yelling at me all morning (not crying, just hollering). I kept trying to give her things to stick in her mouth because I didn't want her to wake James up, but nothing worked.

The wall attacked my baby toe this morning, too, and I think I may have broken it (my toe that is . . . the wall is fine). It's not extremely purple or dangling off my foot like that time my sister ran me into my mom and dad's bed post and my ring finger toe was dangling and purple), so it's probably not broken, but it is bruised and hurts. Tonight I asked James for some sympathy, but all he said was, "I've seen worse. It's not a deep tissue injury." Thanks.

Even though we were up at 4:30, by the time I gently put my shoes on and gathered up all my things (bags can't be packed the night before when you wake up in a stupor at the kitchen table), we were late as usual.

Molly conked out in the car on the way to school. I wanted to take a nap with her, but that is probably not safe to do while driving (though I think I did that often when I was driving to Tooele. Thank goodness my car knew the way).

She also conked out in her swing while I was feeding her dinner tonight. That was weird. Maybe she is having a growth spurt or something. I don't have any idea.

It was just a crappy day. I don't think my students understood anything I taught them and they were extra misbehaved today. Why is the slope formula so difficult? Why does Erwin try to make every discussion, even the Civil War, about immigration? Why do my team kids talk while I'm trying to give them the announcements? Why did I crash into the table and now have a bruise on my leg to match my toe? Why does the girl who I haven't seen for 2 1/2 weeks have the nerve to tell me she is bored in my class and doesn't understand what we are doing?

My lunch consisted of a coke and some pringles since the bread at our house was stale. Dinner was macaroni & cheese and blueberry muffins. Um . . . yum?!? James was fixing something on his car, so I was going to just fix him a can of soup when he came in (it was getting late and I was starving, thus the mac & cheese) . By the time I got around to it, I told him to just fix something himself. He ate the rest of the mac & cheese. He hates macaroni and cheese. Why did he do that? Oh yeah, because I told him he had to fix himself something. (It probably would have otherwise been a grilled cheese night for both of us, but you know, the bread was bad.)

Why do dishes have to be done every stinkin' night? Why is my house always a disaster? Why am I always so tired even when Molly doesn't get up at 4:30? Why did no one I voted for win on Tuesday (oh wait . . . Sherrie Swenson and anice Fisher won. Oh yeah, and I decided to vote of Jason Chaffetz and he won). Why does my car make weird noises? Why does my toe hurt?

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Don't Forget to Vote!

Tuesday is election day! Vote!
Practice using your constitutional right to express your opinion.
If you're still not sure what's going on and you live in Salt Lake County, you can find a copy of your ballot here by simply typing in your address.

Vote!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is our favorite holiday . . . um yeah . . .
We're trying to show Molly how much fun Halloween can be by dressing her up in these very elaborate costumes.

Costume #1.

Costume #2 (or Christmas present #1).

Costume #3.