altAred plans

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i had just finished reading angels & demons.

definitely nothing "light" about angels & demons.

great book.

i was feeling not so super.

not so super in an, "i have to eat every 2 hours or i'll vomit" kind of way.

in an, "i'm so tired i go to bed at 8pm" kind of way.

the way where if you normally read a few chapters before bed that you skip your reading for a few weeks no matter what you're reading kind of way.

do you remember my post about

mother goose? click here.

rebecca knew mother goose in high school.

she is a popular LDS novelist and children's author now.

she sent me her latest book.

i'm FINALLY reviewing it.

be on the look out for the return of

emilisq's bloggin' bookies!

...

altAred plans.

it took me back to college.

it made me remember how fun it was to live with roommates.

and how exhausting it was to live with roommates.

it made me remember the feelings i had dating the scout master, in his pre-scout master days.

and the other boys i tried to date, but couldn't stop thinking about the scout master when i was with them.

i loved that Caitlyn did not fit the "norm" of mormon culture.

how she opened her feelings and heart to you, but protected it from everyone else.

how she went from hating men (when her fiance left her the day they were to be married for another girl) to loving men...well, ONE man.

and how that man sometimes made her feel like

"her bonnet was on backwards."

how some parts of her reminded me of myself.

the parts that i don't consider my finer qualities in some cases;-)

and the parts that i rather like about myself.

like being strong willed and knowing what you want for your life.

not being afraid to live what you believe.

knowing that staying home with children is NOT a waste of my college degree.

don't get me started on that one.

this book is definitely for a specific audience, and i really enjoyed the stroll down memory lane.

so here you have it folks,

click here to have your copy in "5-10 business days."

now, there's just one more thing i've GOT to know...

was it a true story?????

birds & bees

i grew up in a home that was very open about sex education.
our family dinner discussions would make many a person blush.
we had sex education in school as well.
despite ms. macintosh's 7th grade science class, and all of those books and conversations with my parents, i still seemed to miss quite a bit.
call me naive, but i thought a woman could get pregnant any day of the month.
man and woman "lalalala" and "tada" baby made!
oh how i have learned;-)
i even believed that the worst thing that could happen to you being sexually active was getting pregnant.
it seems like there are many other life altering/fatal outcomes that can come with being a sexually active teen, although being a teen mother would be life altering (and i obviously don't have any experience to really have an opinion about this).
just saying: aids, chlamydia, herpes, etc, and the emotional stresses that come with moving a youthful relationship to that level.
is it really only 9am?
this might be too intense for 9am...
as we struggled to have our first child (no jokes, my dad reads this!) i began to realize that we were not going to be one of those couples to look at each other and "tada" baby made.
if you've been on this ride you know.
no romance.
no spontaneity.
planned.
scheduled.
emotional roller coaster.
and we were the lucky ones that actually have a success story.
the more i've talked about our story i've found friend after friend going through their version of infertility.
i might even dare say that every person reading this knows someone who has had problems or is currently having problems with infertility?
or at least will meet someone at some point who has had or is having problems with infertility.
so why are so many couples struggling with infertility?
there's always the birth control controversy.
that it somehow alters the body from being able to conceive.
there's pollution, pesticides, sleep, stress, age, and the list goes on.
what do you think?
personal experiences?
...
on a completely unrelated topic,
if you are ready for something inspiring,
click here to read about "the comparing disease."

teeth

i may not know much about cleaning tubs,
but i know a lot about cleaning teeth.
this young buck is my grandfather ryan. DDS.
(and yes, that's me, age 3?)
grandfather was my dentist every summer.
in addition to my bi-annual cleanings at home.
we spent 10 days in ottumwa, iowa every summer.
i LOVED getting my teeth cleaned.
and who wouldn't if this was the strapping guy cleaning your teeth?!
he used to give us our pick of any small rubber shaped animal.
animals of all sorts and colors were lined neatly up on the window sill.
i wish i still had one...
i'd like to think some kid somewhere bought it at goodwill store and is still enjoying it.
i floss daily.
except while pregnant.
let's be honest goddesses,
just getting the toothbrush in without "ehem-ing" in the sink is a glorious feat the first few months.
(except for those choice few of you that DON'T get sick. bless you, you lucky dogs.)
so the 2nd trimester brings a dentist visit for me.
and the pork loin's first check up!
we start oral health early in our family:-)
the dentist is FUN!
at least that's how we see it;-)

they brushed his pearly whites.

gave him a toy car and a snazzy tooth brush.

and then let him watch curious george with grandma gibson while my beauts were cleaned and checked.

i'm happy to report the following:

NO CAVITIES!!!
in fact, as usual, i'm brushing too hard.

gum fillings were ordered for mid-september to protect my roots.

yes, i brush that well.

fluoride given.

30 minutes waited.

and lunch was served.

my new favorite in fact.

whole wheat tacos.

stats:

whole wheat tortilla, warmed

taco meat

melted cheese

sour cream

avocado (my favorite part)

tomatoes (my keri AND grandma gibson's garden)

chopped greens

lime

indulging ourselves with strawberries on the side.

now a nap.

embarrassingly PROUD.

my mother is an immaculate cleaner.
i don't remember ever "cleaning" as a child, other than picking up my toys and clothes.
i think she even made my bed most mornings.
my step mother used to tell us stories of being in college and scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush.
bless her for having ari, our house keeper.
in college i lived in the dorms freshmen year where a cleaner did our bathrooms & showers.
my roommate and i traded off vacuuming duties and always tried to keep things tidy and smelling lovely.
throughout the rest of college i lived in apts and learned to clean my toilet and sink.
this sounds awful.
it sounds spoiled.
there, i said it for you.
i don't think i cleaned the tub until i was married.
even then, the scout master did the bathroom most weeks.
i remember moving out of our first married apt in rexburg, telling the manager that the tub just changed colors over time.
i really believed that it did.
the scout master cleaned growing up.
lots.
the other day he told me he used to have to clean his parents bathroom.
yuck!
he told me our children would clean our bathroom.
"oh no, that's gross honey. i'll do it. they can do their own. or we can get a house keeper."
why this story?
can you nest at 15 weeks pregnant???
i think i did.
i looked at my tub the other day and thought,
"that can't be right. i've seen too many scrubbing bubbles commercials where some smiling housewife sprays the said spray and wipes it away."
look for yourself.
i warn you, you may think less of me after this...sigh.
now i want you to know that i clean that tub once a week.
okay, every other week.
at LEAST once a month.
we are not filthy people, but that tub is filthy.
my child bathes in there!
i cringe.
so i got out my KABOOM.
i know, not environmentally safe, but my environmentally safe products made this problem!
they just weren't getting it clean.
they are great for touch ups, but not getting the dirt and grime.
is this a mr. clean commercial?
after an hour and a half of scrubbing and learning what "elbow grease" actually means....
TA-DA!

and trust me, there was
NO "spray and wipe it away" going on!
i walked around my house the rest of the day with my chin held high.
i was so embarrassed that my tub had been so disgusting, but amazingly proud at what i had accomplished.
i'm sure there are many of you that think this is quite trivial.
and possibly pathetic.
but i couldn't help myself from running into my bathroom throughout the day to pull open the curtain for a peek at what my hard work had accomplished.
a shiny, sparkling, WHITE, tub.
i'm still smiling.
now, do i really have to do that every week???

no more vacations

our last summer trip.
we drove.
we went to see these two get hitched.

in here.

(oh dear, just noticed the bug splatter on the windshield...is that sacrilegious???)

lunch, a luncheon, and one nap later...

we made our way back to idaho falls for one last night.

woke up the next morning.

pork loin fell down two cement stairs.

then he puked.

a lot.

never a good sign.

pediatrician nurse said, "you'll need to go to primary children's immediately."
"um, we're in idaho."

"then you need to take him to the nearest emergency room for a CT scan."

"um, we're in idaho" (pregnant woman now tearing up, when i would normally be calm in stress)

"you'll need take him in."

"did i mention we're in idaho??? our insurance doesn't work here."

silence...

i'm thinking we have NO money. like zero. enough to get gas for home and figure out how to not spend a dime over the next week until the student loans come in. more thinking...of course we'll take him. we'll figure it out, but are we sure this is what we need to do?

i hang up. i think i mumbled "thank you" through a few sobs.

called nurse natalie in AZ, called nurse jess in UT, called cousin pediatrician David in IA.

all agreed a happy pork loin playing in the tub and laughing just needed to be monitored throughout the day.

we all ate lunch.

i started puking.

a lot.

more than ever.

realized it was probably NOT pregnancy making me lose my lunch.

thought i was upset over pork loin's fall.

scout master starts puking.

nope, wasn't the fall.

friend's daughter starts puking.

uh oh.

6 hours later and one call to my OB we rule out pregnancy and call it food poisoning.

stay an extra night.

too sick to drive.

come home.

grandma & grandpa gibson drop off our most important order.

this year's byu shirts.

i got a large.

hoping it will hold the bun in the oven and wear the "Y" well.

find out our friend's other child we stayed with was puking all day.

lots of puking on this trip.

ruling out food poisoning now.

calling it stomach flu.

if there is such a thing.

no fevers.

just puking.

but i think i mentioned that...

Food poisoning. I don't recommend it.