A whole new year!

I can hear fireworks already going off as I sit all alone in my house... husbandless. He's been gone for three days at his Grandmother's funeral, I miss him like crazy! But he will be back around midnight to bring in the new year, so I will make good use of his absence and write a blog. It's been almost a whole month since I've written, but that doesn't mean I've had nothing to write about.
Christmas was absolutely wonderful. My entire family made it to town and we partied the heck out of the week. I was introduced to a new board game we will be buying soon, the craziest game I have ever played. To give you an idea of its contents, my brother had to construct a snorkel out of household items and wear it for the entire game or lose points, I had to write a haiku about a man with five arms, and write and read without laughing, a sentence about the person to the right of me using the words "exercise equipment, magestic snot, sunbeams, and ancient Greece". My sister-in-law couldn't make eye contact with anyone, and my other brother had to talk in the third person. Yeah... Crazy.
I didn't really ask for anything for Christmas, and was thoroughly surprised by the amazingness of my gifts. But that sort of relates to my next topic, soooo...
NEXT TOPIC:
My New Year Resolutions.
Bah, I hate that phrase, but here are my goals for the year.

1- Of course, lose weight. But to accomplish this I will be joining Weight Watcher's next week (And the crowd goes Wild!!!) I am super excited, and have great moral support from my husband and sister-in-law! The goal for the year is 35 lbs... HOT BODY... here I come!

2- My relationship with the Savior has gotten pretty lax lately. I would like to fix that, so super spiritual revamp... I'm coming!

3- My ultimate dream (one of three or so) is to publish a novel. I know... that's what everyone says, right? But it's true. My laptop of seven years has decided to break up with me, and my husband surprised me with a ***NEW NEW NEW LAPTOP LAPTOP LAPTOP** for Christmas! Not only that, but he got me "The Everything Guide to Writing a Novel" book. I've said it all along but, WHAT A STUDMUFFIN!
I think I have a really great idea for a story and have been working on it here and there, but here's the resolution... Finish the first draft by the end of the year. I'm really nervous about setting this one as a goal, but with my new computer in tow, there's nothing I can't accomplish! (Too melodramatic?)

4- Enjoy the year! Woo!

Of course, I'm still trying to find a way to make money out of being crafty, but I'm not quite crafty enough... that dream will just have to be on the back burners until I finish my story.

And there you have it, folks. A sneak peek at the inner desires of Krystle Ricks.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Peace.

I have had the opportunity of joining a 6 person women's choir in town. I was sort of skeptical at first, being that the other five women are at least double my age, but ages aside, we sound REALLY good together. It has been such a blessing, giving me that needed outlet from mommyhood.

In answer to my friend Emily, we are able to squeeze rehearsals in Fridays at four. Barry watches Grayson and I take Jaye for just an hour or so, and it has worked out swimmingly.

This past Sunday, we "debuted" at the First United Methodist Church Christmas Party. The woman who started the group belongs to that church and that is where we rehearse, so naturally that is where we performed. We are performing again for a city function the day before Valentine's Day, but the group is hoping to get our name out enough to have our very own concert some time in March.

Although I am sooooooo excited to be apart of the group which is undecidedly "Belle-issimo" or "LaBelle", the purpose for blogging this is this...

I was sooooooo grateful to attend the Methodist Church' Christmas Program. I don't know if you have noticed, but this world is an extremely scary place... and getting ever more scary. Sometimes, the challenge to raise my kids to be good people seems impossible. Like just mine and my husband's personal faith verses the ENTIRE world's "teachings". It was such a peaceful feeling to go to a church that was not my own and see them standing for the same things I believe in. To see the small children stand up and sing "This little light of mine" and the teenagers narrating the event, and the adults singing about the Christmas season. Or just seeing how many people filled the sanctuary (the chapel). Even though we aren't the same faith, I felt at home in their beautiful sanctuary, standing with others who are standing for something. My kids have a fighting chance afterall... :)

My poor back...

This morning I woke up, using every sore muscle in my back to stay on the three inches of mattress space I had... Jaye slept in our bed last night and some how, Grayson found a way to stuff himself in between the three of us this morning. I looked up and saw Him and Jaye sleeping peacefully, and poor Barry sleeping warily at the other side of our queen-size, practically dangling over the edge. And the discomfort made me happy. I LOVE those brief moments of quiet family togetherness.

Our first outing

Today was my very first day to take both of my children out in public... alone. Jaye had a checkup scheduled... and I was extremely confident. I brought an extra bag full of toys, activities, and goodies for Grayson's entertainment. We got to the Doctor's office and I got a huge stack of papers to fill out for the baby (this was her first appointment, because of certain circumstances, we didn't have the one week check up.) So I am trying to fill out papers... I have Jaye wrapped comfortably in her carseat with Grayson beside me coloring- things were great.

And then...

Jaye started crying, she decided she was hungry even though I fed her 45 minutes earlier. Then Grayson sees an empty cup in the garbage, pulls it out and tries to drink out of it- YUCK! So I tackle him down and get him a clean cup and visit the water cooler. We get back to our seats, and I pull out my nursing wrap and start feeding the baby while Grayson, I have yet to understand how he came to this conclusion, decides that a cone shaped cup will stand on it's own and tries to set it on the seat beside ours and it dumps out all over the place. So Jaye is put on hold while we clean up our mess. I get back to feeding Jaye, and Grayson goes back to the water cooler.

Now, I'm not being biased here, but I have an extremely smart child... which is why I was EXTREMELY surprised when he tried to set the cone shaped cup down again.... so that mess gets cleaned up and I get back to Jaye. THEN, Grayson sees that whomever had just walked in, didn't close the front door all the way so he swings the door wide open and tries to run outside. I snatched the sleeve of his jacket just before he made it out, so I am sitting there nursing Jaye and probably squishing her head the way I was leaned over holding on to Grayson's jacket while he is flailing on the ground, screaming and trying to unhand me, and I'm also trying to keep my nursing wrap straight so I don't expose myself to the FULL waiting room. A kind mother finally came to my aid, and closed the door... while all those other people just sat and stared at the circus.

So finally we made it in to see the doctor. Things were great. Jaye is healthy. Grayson was mesmorized by all the doctor's tools and gadgets. We went back through the waiting room and he waves and says "HI!" to everyone and melts their hearts. Then he goes straight to the water cooler and just pushes the button so water is spilling out everywhere while I'm trying to schedule another appointment. Another little boy comes to join in the fun, but Grayson didn't appreciate the company and just shoves the poor sick kid over. The kid starts screaming so in front of everyone, I make Grayson say sorry and then I apologized to his mother... who was highly unappreciative.

And on that grand note, I hauled both my kiddos back to the car before we could give the waiting room more hilarious anecdotes to share.

The journey was rough. But I made it through! WOO! I am OFFICIALLY a mother of two!

More adventures in motherhood

Don't judge me... I know it's disgusting, but I haven't showered in almost a week. This is because

A) I'm flat out too tired.
B) Cleanliness is the last thing on my mind right now
C) Standing is about as comfortable as walking barefoot through gravel

And there are my excuses, but even I know it's time to shower when not even pulling my hair up can hide the "glossy shimmer" and a hat is my only option. So I showered. But Daddy wasn't home, and Grayson doesn't take naps so I had one option. He had to shower with me.

Here is my experience:

Grayson cried because he didn't like the water on his head... not in his face, just on the top of his head. As I shampooed, Grayson quickly nestled his back against the back of legs, so my rear end (which as we know has put on enough weight this pregnancy to act as a perfect umbrella) would shelter him. But while he was blissfully comfortable, I couldn't move or else I would knock over Grayson, or heaven forbid allow a few drops of water to wet his hair. So instead, I nearly drowned because my face was stuck right in the stream of water.

Toward the end, Grayson finally mustered the courage to stand, so in that moment I reached for the conditioner. In a tub full of bath toys (that could even keep me entertained) Grayson found joy in doing one thing: using my hiney as a set of drums. And he drummed... and drummed... and drummed. (I didn't realize my back end was so multi-functional.) As soon as the conditioner was rinsed out I hurriedly turned off the water and practically dove out of the bathroom.

Thus ended my first and LAST attempt to shower with my son.

But I learned something amidst this whole traumatizing ordeal... I think I will stick with wearing hats.

My poem

(I jotted this down at the doctor's office yesterday... if you can't tell, it was inspired by my wardrobe)

HELLO PEANUT BUTTER

Today I tried my hardest,
A fine look to achieve;
Coiffed hair, clean clothes, and make up…
But there’s peanut butter on my sleeve.

I just needed to do some shopping,
A quick run to the store,
But my child had it in his mind
We needed to do a little bit more.

I ran past an elegant woman
A true image of perfection,
With my hair flying out of place
As I chased my son in every direction.

They never tell you when motherhood starts,
The things you’re giving up.
Say “goodbye” to easy livin’,
And “Hello” to wearing lunch.

“Hello” to all those sleepless nights,
whining, “No!” Mine!” and “More!”
“Hello” to painful wounded feet
from stepping on those toys on the floor.

“Hello” to food smeared on the walls
and stains on all my clothes.
Goodbye to lids, toy parts, and keys,
Where they go… Nobody knows!

“Hello” to loves and snuggles,
giggling and constant fun,
dinner, bath time, family prayer,
and kisses when the day is done.

Goodbye to that elegant lady;
The one I passed as I ran down the street.
The one with jewels and Hollywood looks
And designer shoes on her feet.

I don’t wear fancy perfume
And I don’t own expensive clothes,
But the pearls of joy I string each day
Are more priceless than she knows.

Here I walk hand in hand with my child,
And really that’s all that I need.
Because I am a Mommy and I…
Am proud of the peanut butter on my sleeve.

Growing up....

In these past few weeks, Grayson has decided to grow up. He has officially retired his crib and only sleeps in his "Big Boy" bed (a twin mattress on the floor). Because of this new transition, he has also decided ONE WEEK BEFORE I HAVE ANOTHER BABY that he no longer needs to take naps!!! This is the worst stage he could possibly hit RIGHT NOW, but oh well... at least I have one week to adjust.

Grayson has also decided that he wants to go potty on the potty. Whenever he walks past the bathroom, he sees that gleaming porcelein reminder that "Hey, I don't have to wear pants!" and immediately strips down. (I don't think his desire to potty train has anything to do with going to the bathroom!) So, I spend my days with a clothes-less child (See video below). The other day he walked into my room while stripping off his diaper. I was still in bed, but attempted to talk him into keeping it on. He just looked at me and ripped it off. (Grayson loves to dance naked and combined with his speed and talent of ripping off a diaper, I'm beginning to worry about future career paths.)

Then I tried sweet-talking him into going to sit on the potty without my assistance (a desperate attempt to get five minutes more of rest). Grayson smiled at me sweetly as if he understood exactly what I was asking...

then peed in the garbage can.




...At least he has good aim.

Crazy kid!

This kid won't stop dancing for anything!

Our love food.

Last time I was pregnant I mentioned to my husband that I really wanted some doughnuts. The next day, he came home for lunch with his hand tucked behind his back and I was sooooooooooooo excited that my hubby would bring me flowers... until he unveiled the bag of doughnuts behind his back. Then I was mad. I wanted flowers. (Now, I can see how wonderful he was for listening to me, though. Don't judge me!)

Tonight I was in a bit of a sour mood because we had to cut our shopping trip short because of our whiney little boy. We stopped at Albertsons to buy bread and I sent Barry in by himself, because I was not going to try lugging Mr. Cranky-pants into another store. When Barry got back in the car, he surprised me with doughnuts. My favorite kinds of doughnuts. This time I didn't get mad.

So here I am eating my chocolate and maple covered doughnuts, and I realized something. I'd rather have doughnuts over flowers any day. Thank you husband... I love you.

And I. Love. Doughnuts.

Life....

When I was a senior in High School I was in a show called "Harvey" and our cast became close as family. We spent almost every night hanging out, including this tiny short little redheaded freshman boy. He was so full of life, and fun, and obnoxious because he wanted to be like all of us "cool" seniors.

I ran into him a year after I graduated and he was completely different... just running around the wrong crowd.

And I just found out yesterday that he died... something involving alcohol.

About the time I found out about my little freshman, I found out one of dearest friends is getting baptized.

She couldn't be happier and her outlook on life is so positive.

It just amazes me to see where our choices can take us.

Dear Marilynn....

My mother-in-law had six kids and I have a question for her.

"HOW IN THE HECK DID YOU DO IT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Don't get me wrong. I was EXTREMELY excited to have a second baby... then I got scared... then I got really scared... and now I'm starting to get excited again. But PREGNANCY... if I didn't love kids so much I would announce to the world right now:

"I'M FINISHED!!! NO MORE KIDS FOR THIS FAMILY!!!"

Here are my excuses:
Morning sickness, not wanting to eat anything but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the painful carpal tunnels I get only when pregnant, swollen feet and hands, itchy belly, waking up every 20 minutes just to roll over, extreme exhaustion, terrible anemia, back pain, pubic bone stretching pain, constipation, crying ALL the time, wishing Grayson would just sleep all day, the way it hurts just to pick Grayson up, the waddling, the way I get nauseous when I kiss my husband, the excess 40 lbs. that always find their way solely to my rear end....

It gets old.

But it's almost over.

Until next time....

Motherhood....

The other day I was crying because Motherhood has officially gotten hard. (And I know, it only gets harder, but bear with me, I'm new at this!) My sweet little boy who used to only want to be with Mommy and give hugs and kisses is now a punk. He loves to scream, his favorite word is "NO!" Everything is "Mine!" and he is just plain ol' stubborn (but that's might just be a Ricks' trait, haha). The other day I was visiting teaching, and the girl I teach was telling me about her "Monster Nephew" and compared him to Grayson. I was Mortified and embarrassed and felt like a complete failure. Being a stay at home Mom or SAHM (thanks for the acronym, Em) can feel pretty dissatisfying, stressful, and miserable sometimes.

(For the record, I truly do love being a SAHM, but for this blog, the focus won't be about that!)

Well, I laughed because about a day after I finally laid out all my frustrations to my hubby, a close friend wrote a blog about basically the same thing. And then today, another close friend wrote THE SAME EXACT thing. All of our kids are about the same age, so obviously it's not our parenting that is the problem... it's just a horrifically common stage that all kids go through, even if we feel it's all our fault.

To my friends (you know who you are), I just wanted to say, that something which gives me peace and perspective about our situation is to not only read the scriptures every day, but to read talks and articles from church leaders about the importance of family. It doesn't make the day easier (well, sometimes it does) but it helps remind me that it's all worth it.

I was reading this month's issue of the Ensign (that would be a magazine published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and two quotes stood out to me, since I've been thinking about this topic all day...

"Not only has the Savior suffered, but so have most of the prophets and other great men and women recorded in the scriptures. The point is this: if you are having a bad day, you've got a lot of good company- very, very good company." -Jeffrey R. Holland (Lessons from Liberty Prison)

And...

"Don't feel guilty or dwell on thoughts of failure. Don't compare yourself to others. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (The Influence of Righteous Women, Sept. 09)

I know that we are all doing the best that we can... so Keep the faith and we've been promised miracles! Even though, right now a miracle might be just making it through the day!

3 YEARS OF WEDDED BLISS! :D

It seems to be the tradition to write a little blog about your spouse for Anniversaries so I thought I would jump on the band wagon and do the same since we just celebrated our anniversary two days ago.

I know, I am a procrastinator.

So, Barry is a stud muffin. That's really the best way to describe him. He is amazing, and hilarious, and extremely geeky. He is the perfect person for me... to sum it up, my mom at least once a month asks me "Where did he come from?!" whenever I tell her another amazing, wonderful and thoughtful thing that he has done for me.

STORY:
Last Christmas, I decided very last minute that I wanted to be in our church's Christmas party Talent Show. About two days before the party, we were driving with my mom who happened to be listening to "High School Musical" and her CD just happened to come with the karaoke version. Since Barry and I both work with the youth of our church we thought a Disney Hit would be perfect. That night we rented the movie and memorized the choreography to "What I've been Looking For", and the next night we put the song on repeat and sang along over and over, belting at the top of our lungs in the middle of the night, while painting our new house. And then in front of all our peers, friends, and adults... we busted out High School Musical. (I wanted to post the video but that might have to come later.)

That's my husband in a nutshell. He would do anything for me (and has), he has the courage to sing cheesy Disney songs with me in public, he treats me better than a princess, he ignores the giant pregnant belly (and the giant un-pregnant belly after the baby's born), he is willing to go to work and school full-time just to take care of us. He has a gorgeous singing voice, since we've been married we've had the chance to work on four musicals together, AND... he does the dishes.

Like I said... A stud muffin.

Random pics

A happy family picture at Grayson's Birthday




Grayson loving his new bug pajamas




Riding his new Spiderman Scooter


Just being cute at Barry's office BBQ

The big 1+1!!!

My Baby is Two!!!! HOLY COW, TIME GOES BY WAY TOO FAST!!! This Friday, we had a small get together with Grandma and Grandpa Kramer, Uncle Christopher, and our good friends the Folsoms. The kids played in the sprinkler while the parents all got to eat dinner in quiet, then we opened presents, and ended the night with cake and icecream.

(You know you are a parent when the party ends by 8:30 because you're exhausted!)

So here is Grayson out in the sprinkler with his friends and Bubba (Uncle Chris)... but none of them are in the picture. Sorry.

This is the bug cake, and Grayson holding up a bug he "caught" from the cake.

Grayson is pointing at one of the bugs on his card, and looking at the Leapster his Great Grandma bought him.

So Grayson is two and I can hardly believe it. We've been having so much fun now that he is getting older. He loves dancing... and I mean LOVES it! This morning, while we were all getting ready for church, Barry put in "Mozart" and Grayson started jamming out. I guess he can find a dancing beat in any type of music! He is so smart, is starting to say a bunch more words, and his most recent fascination is bugs. He's kind of obsessed with them, as you can tell from his birthday pictures. We had a bug party, He can find the bug in any story we read, and he LOVES real bugs... (Mommy, not so much.) The other day he saw a beetle on our floor so he picked it up and turned on the music and danced with it. It must of been quite an exciting dance because the bug didn't come out alive... but even though I have to stiffle my groans and screeches anytime he shows me some new bug he picked up, I love how curious he is about them. I love everything about him!

But we will see if I am still gushing about my child when he becomes a BIG brother!

But for now.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAYSON!!!

Just thinking...

I just found out today about two middle-aged couples in my church who are seperated and/or getting a divorce. It reminded me that marriage is a never-ending process, you can't just get married, and BAM- instant eternal happiness! Sometimes, it seems unbelievable to me that a couple can stay together for years and years, just to end it. I just hope I never stop dating my husband and I hope he never stops flirting with me. What are your opinions? What do you do to keep your marriages strong?


P.S. I guess I never officially announced that we FINALLY got air conditioning!!!!!! WOO!!!! It is HEAVEN.

Another long, drawn-out sigh from me.

Every once in a while, I just have to lay all my gripes about the world down on the table... here goes.

The other day, a girl in our musical showed up wearing a "Rolling Stones" tee shirt. My husband asked her if she even really liked the Rolling Stones. The girl blushed and admitted that she had never really heard any of their music. She was just wearing it because it's trendy right now to wear classic band shirts.

The other night, I was in the dressing room with the women of our cast when I over heard a group of high school girls making fun of another high school girl in the show because she didn't drink alcohol. One of the girls actually said she was going to be "the forty-year old virgin". That blew my mind. I had to stand up for the girl so I told them that I had never in my life tasted alcohol. Before they could say anything, the GROWN-UP women gasped and asked if I was serious. Then told me how neat they thought that was... everyone was so shocked!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but still- I am. It's just hard for me to fathom that A) fashion and media is strong enough to get people to wear clothes they don't even like and B) that not drinking is such a shock. What is wrong with the world! Is it really that hard to enjoy life without the assistance of alcohol? Hmmmm...

And my last gripe for the night..... I hate laundry.

what's been going on

Soooo... we still haven't gotten our wiring put in for air conditioning. My parents went out of town this weekend, so Barry and I moved into their deliciously cold house. For the past week, all I've wanted is for Barry to call the air conditioning company and give them a great big piece of my angry pregnant mind. But, if you know my husband, he would never consider such a thing unless he had proof that the company was intentionally trying to fry the bun in my oven. So he called for the umpteeth time, trying to get information and was a polite as ever. The company owner finally spoke to him and apologized, saying that their electrician has some kind of life-threatening disease and has to leave to get treatments. They have to use another company's electrician when this happens so their schedule never gets top priority. Talk about a slap in the face! I am so grateful that I have such a calm and logical husband! I can't even imagine how terrible I would feel if he did chew them out only to find out we're frustrated because their electrician is dying!

And speaking of being grateful for my husband, I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Barry was put on a waiting list to the nursing program here. We've been waiting for months, with no clue what would be happening to our lives in the upcoming future. But we got the call a week ago, and Barry was ACCEPTED! He starts at the end of August so we are frantically trying to get all his paperwork and medical examinations finished. He is determined to go to school full time and work full time, so I am sort of freaking out! I'm going to be a completely single mom as of August, and a single mom of TWO in October! But, I'll be a single mom with the GREATEST HUSBAND in the world!

My excuse.

I've had several people ask me if my computer is broken because I've been a pitiful blogger lately. In answer to this query- Nope. My computer is fine and dandy (for the moment). The main reason I haven't been blogging is this: I am hot! Ever since we got back from Alabama, our house has been sweltering, even with the swamp cooler on its highest setting. The lowest temperature our house has been in two weeks is 86 degrees. That doesn't exactly make a pregnant lady very happy. So I have spent my days as a hobo, bouncing between my mom's house and friends' houses... using them all for the sweet cool of refrigerated air.

After months of discussion, Barry and I finally agreed it was time to pay the pretty penny and get real A.C. for ourselves. We justify the massive cost by our recent decision to stay in Carlsbad a little longer than we had originally planned. So, this last Wednesday, "Dynamic Heating and Cooling" came to our house, ripped out the beastly furnace (the original furnace from the '50s) and also ripped out part of our wall in the process... sigh. On Thursday, I asked them if they would be done that day, and the foreman assured me they were definitely going to be done. YAY!!!!! BUT.... (there always seems to be a "but") their electrician just happens to be on vacation for the next two weeks! They have a substitute electrician but it would take days for them to get all the proper permits, but he said they would come on Monday.

Monday. No electrician. Barry called the company and now they have decided the electrician might be here Wednesday or Thursday... "might be"- my favorite phrase. So it's Wednesday, it's in the high 80s, and I' m still waiting... I have to say, amidst this whole predicament, I've developed the greatest empathy for the Wicked Witch of the West. I know exactly how she feels!

Hmmm...

Tonight, someone asked if a fifteen year old boy was my son.


Being mistaken for an older woman is not as flattering as people make it out to be.

Another motherhood moment...

So, Barry and I are involved in the community theatre's summer musical, "Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat". Fortunately for us, Grayson's bedtime falls right about the time that rehearsal starts, so for the last few weeks we have just carted him and his portable bed with us. We set up the bed in a back room and baddabing... Instant bedtime. It has worked out so well, and no one in the cast has been bothered by our home-away-from-home-ing.

Well....

Tonight, Grayson cried for about half an hour. When he realized that no one was coming to his rescue, he climbed out of his crib to find us. (It's a really small theatre, so hold back your gasps. We could hear him open the door kind of small theatre.) So he runs over to me and.... he's poopy. Like the find a gas mask and run for your life, kind of poopy.

And......

We forgot his diaper bag.

Sooooo....

Barry and I had to hold him for the entire rehearsal which ran 40 minutes later than it usually does.

And now........

we all smell like find the gas mask and run for your life poop.

My deepest apologies go out to the cast who had to be near us tonight. I apologize. I'm a mommy. And I stink.

THE SCOOP!

Well, it's official! Barry and I are having a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO!!! I am sooooo excited!

And we are officially scheduled to have my C-section (I have to have a C-section. They don't allow VBAC's in Carlsbad) on October 6th! I don't know what time yet, but that's the News! YAY for babies!

This is the most innappropriate picture I will ever post of my little girl. When the doctor was checking the sex, he said, "Oh, I see a little hamburger!" I said, "did you just call it a hamburger?" and he points at it and says, "Well, that's what it looks like!" haha! So there you go. With Grayson they said they saw his "little floater" and now we have a "little hamburger"! Do you think they teach those terms in medical school? hahaha!

Here's her face. (We only have a 2D Sonogram machine here) She sort of looks like an japanese anime character... haha

Another day...

Well, today was MORTIFYING!!!! The worst moment of Mommyhood, thus far. We just got back from Alabama, so our fridge was completely empty. Grayson and I decided to do a harmless shopping trip to Walmart. Now, Grayson is WILD. RAMBUNCTIOUS. ANTSY. (Insert your own word here). He WILL NOT sit in the basket with a seat belt, so I let him ride in the cart (ignoring the warning sign they place on all shopping carts) but it has worked out well so far.

Today, I was simply reaching for a loaf of bread, turning my back for five brief seconds, just to turn around in time to see my son nose dive out of the shopping cart and hit his head on the floor. (It looked awful, I honestly thought he broke his neck for a few seconds.) But, two Walmart workers just happened to be walking by when it happened so they jump on their walkie-talkies and call a bunch of people over with a first aid kit and paper work. The store manager comes and makes me fill out a statement paper, and then she kept asking me, "Now you DIDN'T have him strapped in, correct?" She asked me that like five times, as if making sure I knew the whole incident was my fault. I was so grateful though, a passerby just happened to be an EMT so she came over and checked out Grayson and she actually snapped at the manager, pointing out that their shopping cart didn't even have a seat belt on it. Finally, they warned me about the signs of concussions, brought me a new cart with a seat belt, then told me they would be calling tomorrow and left after asking me if I was sure Grayson didn't need an icepack. I was just waiting for her to give me the "worst mother of the year" award, the way she was treating me. After they left, the EMT lady said, "Don't let them bother you, they're just worried about getting sued. All three of my kids have had broken noses and arms by falling off of stuff... that's just what kids do. "
It was nice to have someone there be a little understanding or sympathetic. I KNOW it was my fault (and partially my wild child's fault) for falling out of the cart. But still... it was so embarrassing. I guess I am officially inducted into the Motherhood club. Luckily Grayson didn't even get a bruise. I won't be stepping foot in a store for a while.

Photo shoot...

You can judge me or call me a bad mother, but you're wrong. It was a brilliant plan.

I've always wanted to take pictures of Grayson by our tree. Don't ask me why... I just love those pictures of little kids on or by trees. Unfortunately, Grayson has a mind of his own now and refuses to pose or smile for any kind of photo. Well, he was climbing this very tree the other day and his little foot slipped and was caught in a Y part at the bottom. Instead of helping my poor stuck child, I saw an opportunity. Fate was playing its part so I ran inside to get the camera (Don't gasp too loudly, the camera was right by the door!) My little boy was trapped, glued to the tree I've always wanted to capture on film and I got to snap all the pictures I wanted! He couldn't move! (Insert evil laugh here.) In most of them, he is shouting, "MA!" (That's Mom in Grayson talk) and trying to break free, but I got a few cute ones. No smiles, but cute. And in the end, he finally sat for five seconds so I could take one last picture... So I'll take that as a sign that he wasn't too traumatized.

GRRRR....

I don't have anything fun and exciting to blog about so here is a gripe, because people love listening to other people complain right? RIGHT??? Anyway, Here are things that drive me crazy.
1- TEXTING in the movie theatre. Seriously, if you honestly think people won't notice and become irritated by the constant little flashing light of your phone screen... you're probably not bright enough to be using a cell phone.

2- Teenagers who talk CONSTANTLY during movies. (Can you tell I recently went to the movies?) There was a group of about ten teenagers who talked during our entire ACTION movie... WHO DOES THAT?!?!? I can understand maybe wanting to chat during a sappy drama, but this was WOLVERINE! There were explosions, slashings, fight scenes, sexy men... YOU JUST DON'T chat DURING ALL OF THAT!!!!

3- Teenagers in general. (and children) OK, I know a lot of great teenagers BUT... I feel like the majority of youth nowadays are simply not being taught respect... and yes I blame the parents. My good friend is a second grade teacher and she already has bratty kids talking back to her. I heard of a kindergartener (I think I massacred the spelling of that) that yelled at the teacher using the Mother of all Swear words!!! Teenagers crack jokes about things I consider entirely sacred. AND... THEY TALK DURING MOVIES!! What is WRONG!?!?! Where are the parents and WHAT THE HECK are they teaching these poor kids!?!

4- It's hot!!!

That's it. That's my gripe. Maybe I shouldn't go to the movie theatre anymore. I think the stress it causes might be bad for the baby!

Kids do the darndest things...

I guess this is my 100th post! YAY!!! But that's not what I'm here to write about. Our house isn't that big, but it is mostly (fake) wood floors, so it takes a while to sweep it. The other day I was sweeping, and my "wonderful" little boy followed me around the entire time with his recorder, blasting the only note he could play. Usually, I would be pulling my hair out but typically, he tries to grab the broom or dustpan and then cries when he doesn't get it... so that one, close-to-a-dog-whistle-pitched recorder note was beautiful music. I actually finished sweeping. What a great day!

Yesterday, I was also trying to clean. The recorder was no where to be found. But what was found was this huge spiderman alarm clock my little brother passed down to Grayson. Its batteries are almost dead so very mumbled, Spiderman would say "I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman" followed by some bizarre dying crunchy noises. Well, the button to that little phrase was easy to push so that's what followed me around as I was cleaning. Over and over and over and over and over. "I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman" crunch crunch crunch.

Next time, I think I'll dig out the recorder before I start cleaning.

Things.

Mommy and Grayson and Daddy in their matching shirts; Easter Sunday.


Grayson doesn't smile for the camera anymore, so this is genuine. And my favorite pic in the world. HE got a little frog that does flips and this was the first time we wound it for him. haha



Still watching the frog...




If you haven't noticed, I haven't blogged in a while. Our computer crashed... again. BUT, my amazing tech brother fixed it... again. So he will be mailing our hard drive back today so we should have a computer up and running in a few days. YAY!!!!!! SO I thought I would just fill you in on the few things that have happened over the span of this time.



#1- nothing exciting.



#2- my husband turned 25... and for your information says that he is NOT old, and won't be old until he is really old. It bothers us when young people say they are old... haha.



#3- We officially have tickets to fly to Alabama in June!!! I will be meeting Barry's oldest brother and family for the first time, and although I know them relatively well and I already love them, I'm kind of nervous. haha! It's like I'll have to impress his family all over again, like I did so they would let him marry me!!! But seriously... I AM SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!



#4- I am already 13 weeks and 4 days along, and today they couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. I freaked out a little bit, but they found it on the sonogram. The doctor said the baby was hiding behind my pelvic bone. So everything is great, I am healthy, baby is healthy...



#5- I found out I have only gained one pound thus far. Which should be really exciting news, but it's not. It's like being told... "You're just fat." haha. Oh well, it will give me a resolution for the new year right?

#6- Barry's almost done with all his pre-reqs and will be applying for the nursing program soon. I am so proud of him and can't wait to have him home for the evenings this summer.

So there you go... I could only come up with six things for an entire month's span. Oh well, life is good! Hope you all had great Easters... sorry I haven't been able to keep up on your blogs!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARRY!!!!

Barry's birthday happened to fall on Easter this year but I tried to make it his birthday anyway. On Friday, we went bowling with some great friends of ours (don't ask our scores, they were pathetic haha) then we went to another friend's house for cake and ice cream. Next comes Easter. I was supposed to sing in Sacrament meeting, but go extremely sick the Friday before (Don't worry, I am fine now) so the night before, I taught Barry a new song and he ended up singing in my place. My Grandparents were in town, and by the end of the song they were both bawling... oh yeah, he's that good! For those of you who don't know, my husband pretty much has the most gorgeous voice ever, and you should all be jealous :). So after church, we had Barry's birthday BEFORE we celebrated Easter. So we opened his presents: two cards from my parents and grandparents, and then I got him a new frisbee golf set and I also gave him a bag that he lost about four years ago. It was his favorite bag and my dad found it a month ago in their garage so I wrapped it up and he was soooooooo excited! So then we had MORE cake and icecream and that was Barry's Great birthday. I love my 25 year old stud!

Luck o' the Irish!

A while ago, I mentioned to someone that I wanted to get Grayson a Happy Saint Patty's day shirt and the person informed me that I was not Irish, therefore should not celebrate the Holiday! That's just absurd! I have always decked out in full-green attire for the day so as not to get pinched (Why that is the tradition... anyone know?). And ever since I can remember, my parents made Brinner (Breakfast for dinner) for the Holiday and dyed everything Green. And I mean everything. Green Eggs and pancakes all the way down to green milk. Green milk is actually very hard to swallow, it just seems so wrong.

This is a tradition I have wanted to pass on to my family, but Tuesdays just happen to be Barry's early class. On Tuesdays, I pick him up from work at five, we hurry home so he can change, and then he's off to a 5:30 class. I wanted to make Brinner, but that's a timely meal, and I didn't want to wait till he got home from class because Grayson would be asleep so I decided to go with sandwiches. GREEN chicken salad sandwiches. It looked so gross... almost worse than green milk. But I served it all on green dinnerware and we drank green Koolaid and had green jello for dessert. It was fun. But seeing green chicken may not be the best thing for a pregnant person... ICK. I love Holidays!

My apologies!

After reading certain comments, I need to apologize. I guess I never made an official announcement to my blogging friends... For those of you who are confused about my last few blogs: I am pregnant! My first doctor's appointment is this Friday (ABOUT TIME!) but without the official sonogram, I am due October 16th. That might change after Friday! So right now, I am about eight weeks along, and this pregnancy is a billion times easier than the last one. There's no screaming at Barry to pull over so I can decorate some random parking lot with my recycled lunch (or breakfast, or dinner), there's no awfulness at all! I just have to dive for the garbage can as soon as I wake up in the morning and if I eat right afterward, I'm great... until I start feeling hungry again. The only thing that's been rough is I feel incredibly lethargic. Like, Mono lethargic. I'm active for maybe an hour (active can be anything from sitting and playing ball with Grayson to real active) and then I have to fight to stay awake for the rest of the day. I have to take a nap every single day when Grayson does, and even though all other women who have suffered through what I'm going through support taking naps, I feel so lazy. Soooooooooooooooooo Lazy. So that's where I am right now. Oh and for all those who are wondering, this one was 1oo% planned as well! And I don't care what I'm having, as long as it is male or female! haha! So there you go.... IT'S OFFICIAL!

Masculinity at its best

From the day he was born, Grayson was one hundred percent ALL boy. He already knows how to "shoot" toy guns, make car noises when he plays with hot wheels, and grunt when he fights with action figures. He loves football, basketball, hitting us with his fake sword and light saber, and sit in the driver's seat and twist the steering wheel while making car sounds. I never even had a single person mistake him for a girl (except once when I put him in a yellow, polkadot outfit... never again). There is just one little thing that my tough guy does that just doesn't fit:

He loves that silly green bead necklace. From the day he found it, he's loved it. He puts it on and wears it for hours at a time... even while grunting and fighting with action figures. We call it "Bling" because for some reason, that just makes it sound more manly. Or maybe just more gangster. Anyway, I haven't let him wear his "bling" out in public yet... but I'm sure I'll be forced to let him some day. Or maybe I'll go buy him a big gold chain with a diamond money sign... That's a little tougher than beads.

Seven minutes in heaven... or two hours.

Tonight was fabulous! After hurling my guts out and breaking the blood vessels in my face from doing so, Barry and I ended having ice cream and popcorn for dinner! I didn't really feel like eating real food, and of course Barry wasn't complaining, so we busted out our individual cartons of Ben and Jerry's "Everything but the..." If you haven't tried it... You just haven't lived. Vanilla and chocolate icecream with heath bar chunks, peanut butter cups, white chocolate chunks, and chocolate covered almonds... heaven in a pint. ANYWAY, so we ate "dinner" while snuggling up on the couch watching a cheesy romance movie. It felt like we were dating again... minus being pregnant! So fun. I married the perfect man... for me, at least.

Life and Love... :)

Life is so boring right now. Hardly anyone has posted a blog in a while, so I'm wondering maybe February is just a slow month for everyone. You people need to start writing more because I need something to read! These last few weeks have been rough. I am so incredibly un-busy right now, I am going crazy! But it's not like I can leave the house, because walking too much induces the "up-chuck" effect.
But besides a mysterious rash in a place I can't mention, Grayson is healed from all other ailments (ABOUT TIME!). I'm slightly worried because the staph infection left little scars under his eye... I just hope they go away as he gets bigger. BUT, now that's he's feeling better, he's back to entertaining himself. "Who needs Mommy when I've got my car to scoot around the house?" So with a healthy boy, and a busy-with-work-and-school husband, I'm stuck sitting on the couch twiddling my thumbs. Yesterday, I sat and watched like a three-hour version of "Anne of Green Gables" while Grayson played around my feet. I've practically lived on the couch, and I am getting soooooooo sick of it!

Couch Potato Me is not only affecting me, but everyone. My lack of living has created the most boring conversations. When Barry gets home from school all I have to talk about is Grayson (which of course will never get old) and whatever news I dug up on the internet. Because I have been bored, I've become a boring person. YIKES! I've got to get out, get some fresh air... go to Walmart!

As a side note, I never mentioned Valentine's Day. Like I said, Barry has been extremely busy. He told me he was worried that he wouldn't be able to get me anything for V-Day because of that fact, so jokingly I told him he'd just have to pick another day to be my special day. So Valentine's rolls around and my parents LOVINGLY agreed to watch Grayson so Barry and I could make the hour drive up to Roswell. We got to have dinner at a restaurant that WASN'T Chili's (the only good restaurant in our town) and we got to go to an actually nice movie theatre where you didn't have to squint your eyes because the screen was blurry and covered in tears and spit wads. It was a perfect day.

The Monday after comes and Barry is late for lunch... an unusual happenstance. So he walks in the door carrying a huge bouquet of bright happy flowers, a pack of snickers bars (my favorite) and a receipt to a movie I wanted which he purchased online. I opened the card and he had crossed out the "Happy Valentine's Day" and wrote above it, "Happy I love Krystle Day!" So he gave me my special day after all! My husband is so thoughtful. I love him so much!!!

Can't teach an old dog new tricks...

Very recently, I have learned something about myself. I just do not learn from my mistakes. On Valentine's Day I baked like four or five dozen cookies. I had some friends and their little kids come over to decorate cookies. But as I was baking, I did something. Over and over and over. I melted my eyelashes! More specifically, the mascara on my eyelashes. After EVERY SINGLE batch of cookies beeped, I would open the door, lean into it to check the coloring... and every time a waft of heat would melt my face! I realize that I do this whenever I use my oven, be it casserole or dessert! Which mean I go through a great deal of my life with five giant eyelashes, because all of them have melted into this giant tarantala look! I'm telling you this, because some day I am going to go blind. And when you hear this news, you can shake your head at me and say, "She never learned..."

Sharing the Love...

This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to receive the gift you need to leave a comment on my blog and you have to post this on your blog. (That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones!

(Alright Rachel... let's see how this works!)

A sign...

I was shuffling around the house, trying to get ready to pick Daddy up from work. Grayson was quiet so I went looking for him. I found him laying on his tummy in the kitchen, his favorite dinosaur in hand, and what was he doing? He was shoving a medicine dropper in the dinosaur's mouth. I'd say that's a good sign that it's time to stop getting sick!

Guess what?

We all got the stomach flu.

Tis' the Season...

I guess this is the season for Ricks icks! We just finished off Grayson's antiobiotics and for two whole days he was happy and well and things were good and life was normal and the house was clean and Mommy was happy and then BAM! Grayson woke up on Monday morning with this weird red spot on his eyelid. Later on in the day I noticed another little red dot appearing next to the first one on his eyelid. two days later, two more bumps appeared underneath his eye. Today, Grayson got out of bed and I noticed there was a third bump under his eye equaling five. And now, all the bumps looked kind of "juicy" and scabby. I had been thinking this might be Pink Eye all week but after today I knew it was something else. Barry and took him to the doctor and sure enough: Our son has a Staph Infection and a Sty (Inflammation of one or more sebaceous glands of an eyelid, I looked it up). THANKFULLY, it's not contagious but now I'm starting to wonder where in the world Grayson is getting all of this stuff!

Well, for the strong stomached, here is picture for all you Moms. Now if your child gets it you'll know what it looks like! (It looks worse in person but this is the best photo I could get)

The saddest part is that my Mom refused to take him to my Dad's office today because

no one at his work has seen his grandson yet, but Grayson wasn't "Cute enough to show off" hahahahaha! Isn't that terrible! (Don't judge her, haha)

Random facts of life

~Today was great! Apparently, Denny's did a "Feed America" thing where from the morning until two p.m. they were giving everyone a free grand slam breakfast. Barry called me around 10:30 and said, "Be dressed by 11:30 (his lunch hour) We are goin' out!" So we went with his co-worker and spouse to free lunch! How awesome is that!



~The Superbowl was awesome. We once again went to Maryanne Williamson's (my second mother) to watch the game on her big screen. The food was better than the game if I may say so, and the company was even better! GREAT GAME STEELERS! (the pic is my football cake)



~Saturday was also Awesome! We've been having a difficult time making time for friends with the move and school and everything but we finally had a game night with our friends the Kiltons! We played this new game calle Rigamarole and it is the most intimidating board game I have ever played! We also made new friends at the party! THANKS CHRISTINA AND DAVE!!! Oh and I LOVED your dessert!



~Grayson is finally feeling better!!!!!!! YAY!!! I kind of miss him sleeping all day, haha! I forgot just how energetic he is! But now that he is feeling better I noticed a weird pink mark on his eye and I'm worried he might be getting pink eye! PLEASE PRAY THAT THAT'S NOT THE CASE!!!



Well that sums up my week! Sorry it was so choppy! After not having the internet for two months, it's hard getting back into the swing of blogging!

MY MOM SAVED MY LIFE!

Poor little Grayson was very sick. In the last nearly 18 months of his life, I've never seen him this bad, not even when he had pneumonia (sp?)! This whole last week he's slept in until 10:30 (wake up time is usually 7:30) and then was ready for a nap around 11, and then pretty much slept the entire day away, or just wallowed in misery. The only problem was he refused to sleep in his bed, and he refused to be anywhere aside from Mommy's arms. I was been pretty sick too so we both just wallowed on the couch, sick, dirty, and smelly. After two days, I just couldn't take it anymore so I tried something...

For Christmas, Grandma Kramer bought Grayson this cute little batman tent. I set it up in our living room and stuffed it full of blankets, stuffed animals, and toys and laid Grayson in it thinking he'd like it for just a few minutes. I set him in the tent around 3 p.m. and he refused to get out of it. HE fell asleep in the thing at six, Daddy got home from school at 8 and we watched T.V. - Grayson slept through everything! This was the best he slept since getting sick! We finally pulled him out at 10:30 to sleep with us, but he just went right back in the tent when he got up in morning. I think he likes it so much because the whole back of it is mesh, so he can always see me even when he's laying down. So, Batman REALLY is the GREATEST Super Hero! haha

THANK YOU GRANDMA KRAMER!

Wow.

What a week!!! My entire last week has been filled with babysitting for a lady I know. She has been dropping her kids off at nine and picking them up around 11 or one p.m. depending on the day. So all of my mornings have been BUSY BUSY BUSY with three kids, but then on Thursday... late on Thursday we get a reminder phone call that Barry's uncle and cousin will be dropping by early the next day and spending the night. Well, if you know me at all... this is the time where the snakes pop out of my hair, I start breathing fire, and one look from my eyes can turn you to stone. In other words... Look out Barry, Krystle is stressed!

We just moved! So I spend all of Thursday night fretting about getting the house clean and all of Friday finding clever ways to hide our moving boxes (like stacking them out in the back yard) and stuffing whatever dishes I didn't manage to clean (since we don't have a dishwasher anymore) into our oven. So that leaves my mind COMPLETELY full so I forget for the millionth time to go to my friend's Stampin Up Party which I have never been to and made a goal to do! SORRY CHRISTINA!

So on Friday, the house finally became presentable but Grayson became completely UNPRESENTABLE. He woke up with this hacking-cough and super runny nose and about midday he starts sweating, turns completely red and shaking and his temperature sky rockets to around 104. And then my nose starts running... and then I start getting all achey... which does not add to my charming Medusa personality at the moment.

Grayson is so sick that my typically table and piano scaling little man can do nothing but sit and watch T.V. as he moans softly. It has been painful to listen to his suffering. But Kerry and Brittany come and it turned out to be a fun night! We spent the night watching Supernatural (THANKS JEANNETTE!) and talking about how we met the loves of our lives. It was fun.

Then I spent the rest of the night up with our crying and in pain boy. OH AND THANK YOU MAREN FOR BRINGING ME A THERMOMETER!!! Anyway, so ALSO on Friday my friend and I started talking about starting an in-home business so HOPEFULLY I'll be announcing that sometime soon. But we wanted to do some research on our business idea today (Monday) but Grayson has gotten significantly worse so I got up early to call the doctor only to discover that the phone service is down. So I sit in bed and craddle my little boy for two hours before the phone service kicks in and FINALLY got Grayson into the doctor.

SHEESH!!! What a week! But we started him on some antibiotics. Turns out he has an ear infection in both ears and the flu. So, HOPEFULLY, he will return to his monkey-man self very soon, I'll get over my either cold or allergy ickyness and life can revert back to our version of normalcy!

ABOUT TIME!!!

SHEESH! I never realized just how addicted I am to the internet until I didn't have it in my home for nearly three months! That is just crazy! But we finally ordered it yesterday and I am so excited! I've tried to catch up on all the blogs, but I APOLOGIZE anyone who has yet to receive a comment from me! I'll try to get better!

The new year has begun, and nothing has really happened or changed. Well, except that I got all the boxes out of our dining room and we actually ate dinner... at the table! That is a near miracle! Barry has also started school up again... YEAH! He wasn't able to last semester because they weren't offering the night classes he needs but my hubby is officially a full-time student! This is a bit of a downer for me because his classes were at the same time as the ones I needed and the one class I could take on the internet was full so now I unfortunately have to take the semester off. Oh well, I will do anything to get my husband through school! But I am very grateful for the time off because it's giving me time to work on some projects that have been hanging in the air. I wrote a couple songs a while ago for a Christmas musical but haven't found the time to finish it so now I do! I would really like to finish my musical and maybe see if the community theatre will perform it this next Christmas or so. That would be so awesome. I'm also trying to write a couple songs for my Young Women but we'll see how that goes. And when I'm not doing that, I have a huge list of books I want to read. I just finished "The Looking Glass Wars". It's a spin on Alice in Wonderland and I liked it, didn't love it but it's fun. And now I'm reading "Treasure Island" because I'm trying to read a classic for every modern book.

As for New Year's Resolutions time, we officially had our first family Home Evening last night!!!! YEAH! WOW! WOO HOO! It was cute. Well, we spent about 45 minutes organizing Grayson's new room. It is soooooooooooooo cute! His room is bright canary yellow but everything else is the primary colors and the Justice League. But then we sat on his clean floor, and sang "I am like a star shining brightly" but neither of us could remember all the words so it was... interesting. Then Barry read a story from our "My first Book of Mormon" hard back books (THANKS MAMA RICKS!) We read the story of Nephi and then had Grayson point at everything from the story: Nephi, the Brass Plates, etc. Then we said prayer and that was it. Simple, but wonderful.

I love my family and I LOVE being able to blog again! haha! So, here we go. My first official entry in my new home! WOO!

Sad times.

Christmas was a little rough for me this year. The holidays started with a family friend's little brother dying from a faulty inhaler. There was a recall on the inhaler and the doctor didn't think to tell the family. He had an asthma attack. It was such a tragedy. This was followed by one of my best college friends passing away from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Then one of my favorite people was hospitalized right before Christmas with a severe case of Meningitis. THEN, I found out that one of the women I admire so much (my college Branch President's wife) had a few more days to live, she was dying of breast Cancer.

I cried a lot.

I don't know how to word this tastefully, but I'm grateful that this all happened around the Christmas season. This Christmas, things were really put into perspective. I think I realized more than ever what Christmas should mean to me. I found myself praying for others more than myself, I found myself reflecting on my beliefs, and pondering my faith. I felt more appreciation toward my family. I am so grateful that we are given a chance to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ as a nation, and throughout the world. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. I really did enjoy the time I had with my family. I'll post pictures later.

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Can you believe it?