Valentine's Day

I am so in love with this man.
He is absolutely perfect for me.
He waits on me hand and foot.
He laughs at my stupid jokes.
He makes me laugh every day.
He creates balance in my life.
He is full of great ideas.
He always tells me how much he loves me.
He works hard to support our little family.
He can answer nearly any question I have.
He is going to be the best father.
I am the luckiest girl I know.


Our Valentine's Day was about as mellow as they come this year. I went to two doctor's appointments and then spent the rest of the day trying to give myself a french manicure and pedicure! haha. It seriously took the rest of the day! My toes are just so. far. away these days! But I made it, and they looked decent enough so I called it success!

Jesse worked all day and then brought us home dinner. We then spent the evening eating, watching TV, laughing, and playing with our babies.

We had to coax them a little bit to get them to perform because they are camera shy but it is so crazy to watch them move! And I apologize for all the skin, but it's so much easier to see them wiggle this way!

This is the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day if you ask me.

The Gang Cooks a Turkey: Follow up

While the delicious turkey hopeful cooked, we wondered what the end result would be. We had followed my mother's directions as closely as possible, including wrapping him up like a "present" and figured only time would tell. Of course being the unprepared folks that we are, we lacked a couple of important tools, such as a turkey baster and a meat thermometer. But alas, that won't stop us from cooking a random turkey in February! 

Our first attempt at basting, we pulled our friend out of the oven, and tried to brush the juices over him. It went about as well as you'd expect. On round two, Jesse had a stroke of ingenuity when he decided to use a 10 cc syringe I had (still wrapped up in the sterile package). It was a decent yet somewhat slow solution. We decided we'd just forgo future basting times and hope our tin foil wrapping would hold in the juices.

Next it was time to work on the rest of the fixins. We whipped up some stuffing, gravy, and sweet potatoes and guessed that our turkey should be close to finished so we pulled him out. Jesse went to work carving and we both giggled when he asked where you find the dark meat! We were so out of our element it was hilarious! My handsome husband assumed that if a few marshmallows are good on sweet potatoes then a lot is always better so he buried our sweet potatoes, broiled them, and we stuck everything out on the table. Then we took a bite of our precious turkey.....

Low and behold, it was amazing! It was tender, juicy, and delicious enough that we could have even shared it without worrying if we would ever be seeing those friends again! Had we only known, we would have actually invited some friends over!

Speaking of friends, we were already running late for a desert night that our ward coordinated when we started our meal so we devoured our food, quickly cleaned up, and vowed to not tell these people that we were 30 minutes late solely because we had decided to cook a turkey in February for no good reason.

Lessons we learned:

1. Turkeys are fool proof, as long as you are able to locate the giblets.

2. Never assume that more marshmallows would be good on sweet potatoes. Less is more when it comes to sweet potatoes.

3. Thanksgiving food is delicious and should be made way more often than once a year. 

4. You should always invite friends over when cooking a turkey. Always.

5. You will eat turkey sandwiches for MANY MANY days if you do not.

And Happy Thanksebruary to all, and to all a good night!

My Dad Sneeze

When do I get my Dad Sneeze?

You know the one. That sneeze that all dads have. It's the one that scares the dog, wakes up the baby, and makes you wonder if he still has a face afterwards. I have yet to meet a dad that doesn't have his sneeze. It's a rite of passage, a mark of distinction. It's one thing that all dads have in common. I've met some new dads that are just growing into their sneeze, but you can always tell it's in the works.

Sometimes, if you listen carefully, you can even tell how many progeny a father has by the number of syllables in his sneeze. That's why some Grandpa Sneezes go on for hours.

"A-choo!"
Loudly enough, this marks the beginning of a Dad Sneeze. This sneezer may have a child, but also may just have allergies.

"Augh-bla-ptchoo!"
This sneeze is generally found in the fathers of budding families. Perhaps a toddler and a couple of elementary schoolers. It's born of the reflex necessary to clear the diaper-stench out of the nose in order to lead a normal life among humans.

"Uh-a-guh-blab-krtssssss-schtnoooooo!"
This Dad Sneeze is in full bloom. This guy has at least one teenager as well as a total disregard for the proper volume of bodily functions.

"Herg-flaughba-abububububu-gaha-gaha-gaha-scprtrschooooooo!"
This guy's a pro. He's either sending his last kid off to college, or welcoming his grandchildren into the world. At this point a sneeze isn't a physiological necessity, it's a territory marker. This sneeze tells the world "Don't screw with me cuz my belt ain't just fer holdin' up my pants."

My question now is, when do I get mine? My wife is pregnant with twins, so do I have to wait till they're born? I've been practicing, but to be honest it still feels forced. I've got a few different Sneezes I'm working on for the various situations in life. There's the polite, yet forceful Corporate Sneeze. The near-silent Prayer Sneeze. The full-body devil-may-care Outside Sneeze. I'm working on a new Airplane Sneeze that will both deter chatterboxes and claim that shared armrest. All these Sneezes, and yet I still don't have my Dad Sneeze.

Any fathers out there are welcome to share any advice they may have. For now, I guess I'll just keep practicing.

The Gang Cooks a Turkey

Danielle & Jesse Cook a Turkey

OR

Next Step Down the Road to Adventure!

Dear reader I’m going to be honest with you (though I have never been otherwise): I have no idea what I’m doing. My skill set would put me in the “Jack of All Trades and a Master of None” camp, though I like to think it’s “Oftentimes better than a Master of One.” I’ve done some music, some computer programming, some Boy Scouting, some language training, some event planning, some sports, some management, some hot-air ballooning, some minor construction, and so on. I like to think of myself as the type who could carry a conversation with just about anyone and lend a hand just about anywhere. Today, though, I’ve met my match. And her name is Jenny-O.

Danielle’s work as a nurse has several benefits including good pay, flexible hours, practical skills application, and (apparently) the occasional turkey. Without boring you with the details Danielle returned home from work one day as a +1; she brought us a friend in a green wrapper.

“Where’d you get the turkey?” says I.

“From work!” says she.

Me: “They give out turkeys at hospitals now? Maybe I should have read Obamacare.”

Danielle: “No, silly. Just this once.”

Well! I’ve never been one to turn down free things, so we happily pushed aside the Hot Pockets and toaster waffles to make room for it in our freezer, promising ourselves we would both educate and prepare ourselves for the day when we wanted not just to eat, but also to prepare an entire 13 pound turkey.

Fast forward to last night: I’m at work and Danielle texts me asking about sweet potatoes, stuffing, or some other delicious nonsense. Being as busy as I am, I don’t have time to properly process what she means. By the end of the night it’s largely forgotten. Until today.

We get home from church around 12:15pm and Danielle asks me to get the turkey ready to cook. Uh… Ok. So I check the freezer.

Any mother reading this who’s hosted Thanksgiving should now be laughing and realize I’m in over my head. Fortunately my wife has been blessed not only with good looks and intelligence, but also incredible foresight. She had the turkey in the fridge several days ago in preparation for today. Golly do I love that gal.

The instructions on the wrapper offer a meager table of cooking times and little else. I want food, and I’m presented with math. You’re a terrible person, Jenny-O. Nowhere am I instructed as to the handling of giblets or turkey necks. To The Oracle!

Google, how do you cook a turkey? Also (in text), Mom, how do you cook a turkey? It’s a one-two punch to ignorance. Ba-bam!

Oh sweet nectar of the internet (nectarnet?), which nourishes our feeble minds and builds us up where we are lacking. We’re saved by countless recipes and pieces of advice for how exactly to cook our bird. Mom’s advice was priceless as well, though necessarily brief and intermittent as she was attending her own church services 1,000 miles away.

Step one is to remove the neck and the giblets. Giblets, for those of you who don’t know, is a euphemism for “bag of nasty bits.” Possibly also an acronym for “Gosh, I Bet Lucifer Enjoys This Stuff.” We remove the neck, which spurs a discussion on the various attributes of avian spinal anatomy and tempted us with the prospect of an impromptu post-mortem examination on our upcoming meal. We decided to forego the autopsy and continue with the task at hand. Giblets. Hmmm… giblets, giblets, giblets…

Me: “Honey, I can’t find the giblets.”

Wife: “Aren’t they in the big hole?”

Me: “I checked and they weren’t in there.”

Both: “Mom, we can’t find the giblets.”

{The "big hole"}

While waiting for a reply we held a surprising conversation on the possibility of a preemptive, factory-supplied giblet removal. Is it possible to have a turkey with no giblets? Maybe ours has been degibletized. Un-gibbelated. He received an unexpected gibblectomy late in life. Perhaps he was born gibless.

Momma Dorius: “Did you check the other end?”

Pause.

Classic sitcom look-reaction as we both stare in consternation at the bird.

Me: “There’s another end?”

So we dive into a hesitant probing of this “other end.” I see the point from which the neck was severed, I see a sad little skin flap, and I see turkey shoulders. Why would she think anything would be in the other end? Good thing Danielle has the eyes of an eagle and the stomach of a sword-swallower because without wasting a moment she dug into "the other end" and properly identified the “sad little skin flap” as the gate to the city of New Gibbleton. We chuck the offending bag-o-bits post haste because, let’s be honest, we simply aren’t up for the double adventure of cooking a turkey and learning to make giblet gravy. We have packets for that. Happy little 2 for $1 packets of gravy that even I would be hard-pressed to screw up. Out with the giblets and on with the show!

{The "other end"}

After a little salt & pepper followed by an oil rub, our bird is finally relaxed enough to go into the oven. And that’s where we stand: a couple of hours into this whole process with a totally unknown outcome. Will we have turkey tonight? Will it be dry? What if the gravy doesn’t complement the flavor of our main dish? Will it be edible at all?

Next time, I’m voting for Hot Pockets. Hot Pockets don't have giblets.

Pregnancy: Week 29

Week 29 Highlights

1. I actually called in sick to work one day this week. That is so not me but I had one rough day and was ready to throw in the towel and quit working a few weeks early. I just didn't know if I could handle it. I am pretty sure I was having braxton hicks all day, I had no appetite, my stomach kept cramping, and I ran out of a patient's room at one point because I thought I was going to throw up! I have felt so good up until this point so I didn't know if that was third trimester just hitting or if I was jumping to conclusions and maybe I was just sick. So I took it really easy and slept a lot for a few days and tried another day of work that went much better than I anticipated. I think I'll keep going for now but am definitely taking it one day at a time because I'm pretty sure my OB is ready to write the order to quit work as soon as I say the words. 

2. I felt both babies have the hiccups this week! I had wondered a few times if I was feeling hiccups but it never seemed to last long enough to really be. These two times were definitely hiccups. 

3. I've tried off and on during my pregnancy to catch the babies' heartbeats with my stethoscope but to no avail. I hadn't tried in awhile though and busted out my stethoscope today and low and behold I found Baby A's heartbeat immediately! It took a little while longer to find Baby B's but we listened to both of them! It's pretty fun to find those little hearts with my stethoscope, but it can be rather tricky!

4. I've been so tired this week. Pregnancy is definitely catching up with me and I am feeling these little guys draining all my energy. One day we had woken up at 7am so of course I went to the bathroom then crawled back into bed and slept until 9:45am! I then decided it was high time to get up. So of course getting up meant I'd go soak in the bath. I enjoyed that and then crawled back into bed and took another nap! I had taken essentially two naps all before 1:00! Who does that?!

5. My doctor's office called me this week to tell me I passed the glucose test that I took last week. (Speaking of, I forgot to meant that last week. That glucose drink everyone complains about really wasn't bad. Just tasted like an extra sugary power drink. Seriously can't complain) So no gestational diabetes for this gal. Which is fortunate because I have definitely had a sweet tooth while I've been pregnant! I was also told however that my blood work showed that I was low on iron so I was started on a prescription iron supplement. That might explain why I've been so darn tired this week though! I'm hoping it helps a little bit.

6. We started talking names a little more seriously this week. Nothing is set in stone though and we won't be revealing until they're born. Just so you know. :)

7. I sleep with so many pillows! I have my wonder pillow that I got for Christmas but I've also started using a little one under my belly to help relieve pressure, one rolled up behind my back, and sometimes an extra one between my knees. It's quite hilarious. And also frustrating when they start falling off the bed in the middle of the night!

8. I've become a much lighter sleeper. I wake up when Jesse gets home from work, when Jesse snores (which he only has ever seemed to do this week), when there is a big rainstorm, etc. It makes it hard to get enough sleep and I know my body desperately needs it. I guess I'm being prepared for motherhood.

9. I am constantly pushing babies out of my ribs. My ribs and back continue to hurt but I've found that if I push downward on my ribs it can move the babies long enough to be comfortable for a little bit.

10. I am still in shock that these babies are going to be here in 8 weeks or less. I am feeling just fine with keeping them in the full 8 weeks although people like to remind me that they usually come earlier. My charge nurse who was a NICU nurse for many years said I could very easily have them at 34-35 weeks and that they'd be just fine. I obviously want to keep them in as long as possible because A) they are much easier to care for inside me and B) I want them to be big enough to come home with us. 

Pregnancy: Week 28

Highlights of this week:

1. Eating {veggie only/no raw fish of course} Sushi. Oh man it was amazing! I hadn't had any since finding out I was pregnant and I've seriously missed it. 

2. Dr. appointments. Everything still looks good with the babies. The perinatologist says they are small (Baby A is coming in at the 10% percentile at 2lbs 8oz and Baby B is even smaller at 2lbs 1oz) but the doctor says blood flow looks good to each of them and they are still growing so we're not going to intervene. We saw the babies in 3D this week which is quite the experience. I never fully understood why people went so crazy over the 3D pictures but now I understand. When you just see the pictures all you see is creepiness but when you actually get to see how your babies are living inside with that 3D view it has a whole new perspective. We walked out with those pictures and were in awe. Baby A's face was pushed up against the membrane separating the two of them and then he decided to put his hand up in front of his face so his pictures didn't turn out quite as clear but still adorable. Baby B had his legs clear up next to his head with his arms wrapped around them and it was so cute! We decided he takes after his momma because I was rolled up in a ball in utero plus the 3 months following birth!

I'm now starting appointments every two weeks with my regular OB and am moving into weekly appointments with the perinatologist to continue monitoring though.which is just one more reminder of how soon these peanuts are going to get here!

3. Still no stretch marks. But I'm sure the minute I say that I'll get some! 

4. We keep trying to catch the babies moving on camera. I have finally gotten them to perform a little bit but it's still a work in progress. Hopefully one of these days I'll get a better video and can post it. These babies are a little shy.

5. I've entered into the realm of random people touching my belly without permission. Weird. I don't know why people think that just because I'm pregnant and my belly is in other people's personal space that it makes it ok to touch. I try to not let it bother me, and most of the time it doesn't, but it's been a little weird when guys touch my belly.... Seriously, don't you think my husband minds a little bit?!

I feel like my belly doesn't look too much different this week but I also have ruffles on my shirt that kind of throw off the look of my belly so it makes it hard to tell. Either way, the belly is still there and growing.

Christmas 2012

Yes I'm way behind the times, but our Christmas is worth documenting no matter how late I am!

{Dec. 24}

I worked, of course. Fortunately it was a good day. I ended up discharging ALL of my patients and we shut down our floor. Of course this didn't happen until 7pm anyway, but I was at least out of the hospital right at 7pm instead of later like it usually is. I was heading home and Jesse had told me earlier that the power was out in our apartment which eliminated the option of cooking dinner. I thought Sonic sounded pretty good so I swung by on my way home and get us a romantic and greasy Sonic dinner. 

I pulled into our complex and saw that lights were on in all the apartments but ours but I didn't ask questions because the minute I walked in I saw a sparkling clean house and candles EVERYWHERE! It was seriously awesome! We ate our Sonic dinner by candlelight and finally afterwards I learned the secret behind the power. It had been shut off earlier in the day but had come back on much sooner than Jesse had been told it would be. But he decided to have a Candlelight Christmas anyway. And honestly having the power on was perfect because we plugged in our Christmas tree and had all the candles and it was beautiful! 

 

This was the first Christmas we spent with just the two of us since we were dating and since next year will be a whole different story we really enjoyed it! We opened our gifts and spent the evening enjoying one another's company. And then, we kicked it into gear. We packed up suitcases and prepared for a 6am flight the next morning for a surprise visit to Utah!

(I'm kind of in love with the fact that there were two extra little stockings this year! Even if it's just for show.... still so cute!)

(Best Jesse gift. Guitar with two little guitar onsies! Yes I'm awesome. :) )

(Best Danielle gift. This pillow is magical. I have it curl up around me and I sleep great! Score for Jesse!)

Jesse's family was doing Christmas all together at his sister's house and they had asked us multiple times if we could come and spend it together with all of them but we just didn't think it was feasible with my new job and Jesse's work. But about two weeks before Christmas the stars aligned and we bought plane tickets and didn't tell a soul. 

{Dec. 25}

We caught our early flight Christmas morning and began our journey to Utah. We were slightly delayed in Denver and tried to postpone our skype time we were supposedly having with Jesse's family but apparently they didn't get the memo, because as soon as we had landed in SLC Jesse was getting phone calls wondering how come they couldn't find us on skype. We made up some lame excuse about being out with friends and that we'd call them soon and then grabbed our luggage, hurried to the shuttle, and got our rental car as quickly as we could. 

(Yes, that was our rental car. We laughed pretty hard when we realized the keys we were holding went to THAT!)

We pulled up at his sister's house and we tried to just walk in but some people actually lock their doors apparently, so we knocked and our niece answered. We told her to stay quiet and we walked into the house. Then when we rounded the corner and saw everyone there were lots of shocked faces and tears. 

 We had successfully surprised them! 

It took quite awhile for the reality to sink in with everyone and Jesse's dad declared it the best Christmas ever! We were so lucky we were able to come out and spend time with Jesse's family and know it meant a lot to them. My mom told us that they're never going to trust us with anything again since we didn't tell we were pregnant for so long and then pull stunts like just showing up in UT unexpectedly, but what can I say, that's who we are!

It really made for the best Christmas! We had no plans except hang out with family and they were more than accommodating so we could see everyone as much as possible. We were only able to stay for about 3 days but we made the most of them. We spent l;ts of time with family, saw Les Mis, slept in, saw snow, and honestly didn't take very many pictures! Here's the portions that were documented:

We saw Jesse's grandma

We even were able to squeeze in a quick visit with the Shelton's who happened to be in Northern Utah from California!

Had an adults only dinner

And this is me trying to be as crazy as Jesse

Once again, Best Christmas Ever. So far.