doctors everywhere

Hey there,

Thanks so the tips re:Google storage.

We are still here and plugging along. The biggest news in the house is I AM DONE WITH MY VEIN TREATMENTS!!!!!!!!! If I am counting correctly, I have had 16 appointments from the initial evaluation to the final follow-up today. This included 4 laser treatments and probably 150-200 injections - ouch. My legs are feeling lots better and my nasty inherited veins are zapped good. I have the best, BEST, BEEEEST friends and family who have watched my kids over and over and over the last few months for which I am truly grateful, I know I have way over-stepped the normal bounds of trading baby sitting with this one.

On top of my legs, the doctor ordered some tests for Diana so we have had multiple appointments for her on top of the normal orthodontist, well visits, etc for everyone else. I am tuckered out with doctor's offices (not that I want to appear ungrateful, I am sosososososo grateful for good medical care, but it has been a bit much these past weeks and I am glad it is tapering down).

On to Christmas break - hoooooray!

problem

Hey blogger people,

My blog has reached it's limit for photo storage and they tell me I need to buy more storage. Has this happened to you? What did you do?

love, Marian

big man 5

Isaac turned FIVE today - officially big. We feasted on calazones and brownies and he got good 5 year old stuff like books, and candy, and army men so life is sweet. Isaac has grown a lot this year; his speech delay is 97% gone (just a few funny grammar quirks persist), and when he is cheerful he is the world's greatest kid - kind, helpful, funny, and loving. His Mr. Hyde (aka, Mr.Grumpy) is pretty impressive, but we see less and less of that side of Issac. In short, he is a pretty darn great kid and we really love him. Another perk of growing up and becoming less volatile is getting to go on adventures and errands with Dad. Dad is sure glad to have such a five year old to take along on camp outs, YM flag mornings, service project etc.

Happy birthday dude!

garage sale (sort of)

Our neighborhood is having a garage sale tomorrow.

The girls want mini American Girl dolls, so are motivated to be sellers.

We have the world's most pathetic offerings for our garage sale (40ish pieces of clothes, maybe 10 toys and 5 or 6 movies - I purge too often to be a good garage sale girl).

We decided we would add homemade cinnamon rolls to the offering (jumbo size, Aunt Sylvia's recipe, $1 a roll).

Wish us luck.

Gotta go bake.

halloween (more)

I know Halloween was eons ago, but I had to share these pictures of the kids waiting with baited breath for trick or treaters to come to our door; it was more fun than actually collecting candy! They would watch, wait and as soon as someone came into view they would lose it with excitement and clamber to be the first to get the door open and hand out starbursts.

if you voted

Then good for YOU! Thanks for helping make America work like it's supposed to!

big day on tuesday

OK people, buckle your seat belts because Tuesday is going to be a big, BIG day. BIG, I tell you.

Do you need a reminder about what is happening on Tuesday???? Here is a hint - over 800 musicians and Christmas music. Got it now???? That's right, on Tuesday Mormon Choral Organizations is releasing a CHRISTMAS ALBUM!!! CHRISTMAS - you hear me people?????? We are talking "O Holy Night". "What Child is This?", "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", an incredible "Riu, Riu Chiu" and on and on - over 80 minutes of Christmas gorgeousness!

Feast your eyes (yep, I got an advance copy).

"Where can I get my pretty paws on that?" you ask. Let me tell you. CD baby, iTunes (all available on Tuesday, search O Holy Night MCO), or Amazon (If you want to pre order). If you want to buy one at real live record store (what's that??) head down to Phoenix to Stinkweeds - Address: 12 West Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ 85013 Phone: (602) 248-9461 - and they will have lots and you will be stimulating the local economy too so you will feel great about yourself.

Seriously, this is the perfect album to add to your Christmas collection, I know it sounds like shameless self promotion but it is that good and you will love it.

So as I said, Tuesday is a BIG, BIG day! Don't miss it.

Oh yea, and you better vote (for whom ever you want) or we can't be friends anymore. Remember, you aren't allowed to complain about the government unless you voted.

Think Christmas music! fa la la la la, la, la, la, LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

One last thing - Christmas concert coming up too and tickets are flying. Mesa Art Center, Dec 1st. Make your man take you on a date he will thank you and you will thank me and we will all be happy. If you need more temptation two more words - bag pipes - yea we will have them!

happy halloween

Well, after several parties, the day is finally here! K-3rd get to dress up for a parade at our school. So here you have Emily the Indian and Nora the angel.

Originally we were going to do brown for Emily's costume, but then she found an American Girl doll Pow Wow outfit that sent her imagination reeling and I think it's lovely. I was also reminded how forgiving and easy knits are for costumes - no fraying! We found her spiffy boots/mocs at the thrift store - way better than flip flops.

For school thety were not allowed to have face paint, so you will have to imagine red and purple face paint.

Nora's costume was something I made in about 45 minutes last Christmas for our annual nativity. For Trunk or Treat she had glittery/angelic make-up and super fluffy hair, but alas, we do our best at 7am. Nora's also got a cold and just not feeling 100% up to snuff.

three, 3, tres, san, etc

Yep, our Sarah turned THREE! She wanted a PINK cake with PINK frosting and pizza. She has been enjoying her birthday bike for weeks and received pretty clothes and 3 new books. Hooray for the Bear!

Today was the Halloween party at Isaac's pre school, so we did make up all over again to get picures.

Sarah the butterfly - you can learn anything on you tube (including face painting).

Isaac as the Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker.

Nelson as Hobbes

I'm ready for to move on from the candy but the kids are having a great Halloween season.

arggggggg

Drat, dang, and curses. I had Halloween pictures to share (fluffy hair, beautiful make-up, butterfly face paint, whiskers on Nelson) and they did not transfer when I thought they had and I permanently deleted them from the camera and they are gone FOREVER!!! I am bummed, frustrated, and angry.

In that camera batch was also Nelson's first birthday, my psycho infected finger, and Ryan's grass crop.

Sad, sad, sad!!!

uncle stephen and aunt rosie are TOUGH

Aunt Rosie and Uncle Stephen did the Tough Mudder last week and Uncle Michael filmed. Eek!

happiness is. . .

The first hours after a successful library trip!

little more

Hey Joyce, I do not have a current email for you - BAD!! So the rest of you get more info than you wanted.

Veins are treated in the doctor's office and then you need to exercise daily to help healing (no down time) except for the removal of the puffy vein at the end I will need to be flat for 3 hours and rest for 24 hours. Apparently this used to be MUCH worse and recovery was horrid and painful - hip hooray for lasers!

vein info

Just some more vein info for Joyce. I will wear compressions after each procedure for 2-5 days then no more. The purpose of the procedures is so I won't have to wear them forever.

I also wondered  how my legs would work with zapped veins. Since the veins are already damaged they aren't pumping blood back up to heart as it is. Veins have valves kind of like locks on the Panama canal - my valves are broken (don't meet in the middle) so blood just pools back down and other veins have been compensating all along so actually having the damaged ones gone will take stress off of the remaining veins since they can just do their job and not have to deal with the pooling blood from the damaged ones.

Hope that's all clear.

nefertiti the varicose vein

This is Isaac.

This is brand new Isaac.

This is yet to be born Isaac.

It was when Isaac was yet to be born that Nefertiti came to be. Nefertiti is my varicose vein - big, puffy and when pregnant, painful - Thanks Isaac. Anyhow, after Isaac and after Sarah the pain went away so I figured Nefertiti was just fine and I would ignore her. By the way, her name is Nefertiti after the Ancient Egyptian queen because my vein looks like the Nile and her tributaries.

This is new Nelson with Isaac. After Nelson was born Nefertiti kept on hurting, so I finally decided to have my leg looked at. 

Come to find out, there are 2 main veins in each leg that when damaged cause the visible varicose veins. I thought maybe one of my veins in my right leg must be bad (thus causing Nefertiti). Lo and behold and 30 minutes of ultrasounds later, all 4 of my veins are damaged and need to be obliterated.

So, starting on the 18th I will have all 4 veins lasered, the secondary veins will recieve injections and Nefertiti will be completely removed. I'll be all done by the middle of December. I talked to the office today and usually it takes 6 months to do both legs so I'm grateful they are willing to accelerate my treatment. It does make for 1-3 appointments a week for 2 months but then it will be done - HOORAY! So be looking for me in spiffy compression stockings soon.

october break

Saints preserve us, October break is here. It's 9:08 and I've already lost it once (over piano practicing - aughhhhh). We had a great week planned with a S.Utah adventure but many factors squashed our plan. Despite my yelling this morning, I really hope for a good week. The weather is supposed to be lovely (90's and even 80') and I KNOW we can have fun (and practice our piano too). Must dash, Diana is in tears on the piano - sheesh!

sewing, boats, hats and headphones

This may be the most random sharing in the world, but so be it.

Nelson makes sewing very hard - he likes to play with the petal and there is nothing freakier than a sewing machine suddenly and unexpectedly roaring to life - aug!

Check out the AWESOME striped pants I picked up at Epic (my thrift store). They were super long and super flared with a huge cuff so I took them in and up and now they are super cute - hooray! Thanks Mom for teaching me how to sew.

Halloween is coming and Diana is going to be Mary Poppins. I am pretty pleased with the hat (and yes, I was tired that day, thanks for asking).

Boats. Needless to say the kitchen floor ended up wet. Oh well.

Sarah is irresistable.

talent show

We were very brave this year and did the MacArthur talent show! The girls, along with 3 great friends performed "I Won't Grow Up!" from Peter Pan and were great performers. I was proud of them.

Here they are all dolled up (curlers and make-up, what more could a little girl want??).

Nora, Faith, Taylor, Emily, Sage and Diana

one more

Just had to share one more of this man.

laughing

Nelson was super grumpy when he woke up from a WAY too short nap on Sunday afternoon. He didn't want snuggles, bottles, love or any of the regular stuff. No, he wanted Nora to flip play dishes out of a play frying pan! Of course!

I find baby chortles irresistible.

new stuff

We have a few new "things" hereabouts that make me smile.

#1 - Emily's drawers were BARE BARE BARE since she pretty much misses the had-me-down's, Diana being a slow grower. So she and I hit the clearance rack at Old Navy and found some very cute shirts and leggings. Emily kept gravitating toward the (in my opinion) hideous graphic t's of horses, but I told her we were only shopping clearance (thinking it would keep us safe from horses). Lo and behold she pulled this beauty from the rack! Yep, those are sparkles in the horses mane - she LOEVES it! I'm just grateful it was $3.

#2 - Keeping with the livestock theme, Isaac chose this fantastic cow watch from the treasure box at pre-school for finishing his reading chart.

#3 - Sarah and I found this too good to be true doll house at Epic and wow has it been fun! As a bonus, Isaac got to tighten ALL the screws - very manly.

#4 - Epic also supplied a headboard and footboard for Nora whose bed always looked ungrounded without something at the head and foot. She loves it.

 #5 - Finally, meet Diana's cello! She is extremely excited. I told her it is not uncommon to name your instrument so she is thinking up names. I like Auburn. We'll see. My mom is going to lend us her cello too so Diana can "teach" me as she learns.

monsoon

We had a really lovely monsoon the other day and with nowhere to go and nothing to do we decided to play. Sarah especially loved it.

After playing in clothes for a bit she decided swimming suits were more the order of the day.

Only Isaac is manly enough to pull off Hello Kitty boots.

Yep, LOVE monsoons. We would take more (hint hint weather man).

sleepy

This picture has nothing to do with my story - it's just cute.

Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday an alarm goes off at 12:25 to remind us to go outside for Isaac's pre-school bus. When it went off today I went outside and sat in the chair to wait so I could peel Isaac away from Martha Speaks when it showed up. I fell asleep! I don't think I slept very long, but when I woke up the bus was patiently waiting. I felt a little sheepish. Sigh - we have had a couple rough night's sleep. Two nights ago our new neighbors were out on their back patio smoking and talking until after midnight. I've told them before that we can hear them very clearly but they seem to think they are just fine until 2 or 3 in the morning! Then last night was choir. Brandon had me take the rehearsal twice (eek 200 plus great singers and I inevitably make a stupid mistake or say the wrong thing - stress). I'm grateful for their kindness and patience and I'm truly happy to help, but it is stressful and takes a while to settle down to sleep after a busy rehearsal. To top it off, Nelson needed a bottle at 4am. Ah the life of a mommy.

rolling with rolls

We had a fine McKay party last night to celebrate Aunt Joan's b-day. Much delicious food was spread and shared and requests for recipes went out. Here is the one I need to share. I got this recipe from a ward cookbook from our Cambridge, MA years. It is from 2 wards so I don't even know the girl who submitted it (her name is Heather Shull), but these are my go-to tasty rolls. They are not only delicious, but easy, non-temperamental, perfect for funeral luncheons, pot-lucks, dinner, and they are super yummy cut in 2, buttered and toasted under the broiler for breakfast. I make these for car trips as well because they stay good and soft for 2-3 days.

BROWN OATMEAL ROLLS

2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats (not quick - yuck)
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 TBS yeast
5 cups white flour
3 TBS oil
2 tsp salt
Pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and let sit until it's not scalding hot anymore (so you don't kill your yeast). Add brown sugar, the additional 1/3 cup water, yeast, flour, oil and salt. Mix until a smooth elastic dough forms and place in an oiled bowl, cover with saran wrap and let double in size. Punch down and roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until about an inch thick. Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter and place rolls on a greased coolie sheet (it should make 24-30 rolls). Let rolls rise once again and bake for 12-15 minutes at 425 degrees.

simple thanks

Ryan called at lunch today (as he usually does) and asked what was up. I gave a brief report of the morning and mentioned I had cleaned the bathrooms. He said, "Thanks" and we were off on another topic. I am struck how a simple word of gratitude from someone I love for something I do routinely as part opf my "job" made me feel so good and loved. I am so greatful for a husband who values what I do and thanks me for it.

How much easier is it to trudge on in our work, whatever our responsibilities are, if we feel valued, loved, and thanked.

I need to express gratitude more often to those I love.

looking for some help

Hey there Mesa-ites, I'm looking for some help here. It is time (OK, past time) for me to stop being the family piano teacher, but by golly I am striking out in the piano teacher search. I am looking for reasonable rates and a teacher who is confident in his or her abilities to take a student through several levels of piano instruction. Any suggestions (I've already tried the Seamans and Hannah Petersen).

Who wouldn't want to teach Nora the piano - I ask you????

feeling sad

Ryan called yesterday after lunch to tell me our friend Brian Layton (age 37) passed away from a heart attack. It was a total shock and one of those things that makes you sad for you, really sad for his wife Paula and 2 little boys and forces you to think about your own mortality (never fun).

I have known Brian since elementary school (his family lived down the street) and Ryan and he became friends and climbing buddies when Ryan moved to AZ in 1999. I was surprised when I started dating Ryan that we already shared a friend. Brian was even so kind as to sing in the ward choir I directed (a true friend, if ever there was one to sing in a ward choir just because your friend/director asked you to).

Ryan will miss having a friend who is always up for an adventure (Mt., Whitney anyone? Rim to rim Grand Canyon anyone?, Our wives are so mean they won't let us climb Denali, but it sounds like fun anyway). Ryan will miss him.

I was reading the conference issue yesterday and came across Elder Maxwell "We cannot do all the sums or make it all add up because we do not have all the numbers." It is times like this when I am so grateful to have at least a testimony that Heavenly Father is in charge and even though it stinks I know the numbers all add up somewhere (I never liked math anyway) and in the end it will all make sense.

views from our house

School is in full swing, we get to go swimming almost every day (if the girls practice the piano on the morning), and Diana got her braces removed and has only misplaced her retainer once (she left it on the piano this morning).

Hey Grandma - I'm 10 months old now.

discoveries

This Summer marks 22 years for my parents in Sandpoint and yet we still discover new places every year. This year Mel and Michael "discovered" Pack River. We have driven over the bridge a bazillion times and knew people jumped off and played at the river, but we never had, so we we did and it was fantastic. The sand was soft (not full of rocks like city beach) there was a section of slow shallow water and a section of faster deeper water and the water temp was divine. We made a whole afternoon of it (complete with treat as you will see).

Aunt Mel insists we have fun every day even when we are feeling lazy and would rather veg and stay home doing laundry.

Diana, Nora and Katie floating the current.

Nelson and I hung out on a tube anchored to a log and tried to keep Nelson from getting burned. I am excited for years to come when Nelson can walk and won't be so inclined to eat sand, rocks and sticks.

Aunt Mel also insists on treats - choc peanut butter rice crispy treats - they were a MESS but so very tasty.

More floating.

See you next Summer Pack River - stay sweet!