This has been consuming my life for the past couple of months. Maybe I jumped on the bandwagon and became a Thunder fan because we live in the same state, so sue me. :) I'm still a Jazz fan at heart. I've come to love this team though, even through losses and all. Ok, so they really didn't lose a whole lot ;) ha ha I have to say that they really aren't much of a dirty team, unlike those Fakers, er, Lakers. This is a bright, young, talented team. Heck, practically all of them, or at least the starters, etc., are under the age of 25, AND they made it to the NBA Finals. That has got to say something. So what, they lost to the Heat. Their time will come :) Maybe I can catch one of their games before we move again from this state. I can tell you what, though, that if we ever moved to LA or whatever, I can guarantee you that I will NEVER be a Laker fan ;) HA HA No jumping the bandwagon on that one :) Here's to OKC Thunder's future . . . !!!!!!!
Father's day felt a little extra special this year. With Clay's wind project that he's on, he works long hours 6 days a week, so every spare time we get to spend with him is cherished. Clay had his rotation weekend, which meant a big whopping four day weekend!
I don't want to write a super long post about how fabulous Clay is of a father, because we all know that he is :) But instead I'll do a top 5 list.
1. He comes home after work and still helps me do chores. Even after a 14+ hour day.
2. Takes care of Kort on the weekends to give me a break - and to spend time with him.
3. Did I mention he works super hard to support our family and provide for our needs/wants?
4. He trusts me with our finances :) (had to throw that one in there)
5. He loves the Lord more which in turn draws us closer to Him.
I could go on, but those are some of my favorites about him.
These are some wonderful men that I have married into the family of. We sure do miss Grandpa Fenton though. Dave is such a hard worker to provide for his family and is so kind to others and thoughtful. I'm thankful to have a father-in-law like him.
And how could I forgot my papi - papanawa :) I always told myself I had to marry someone just like him, and I'm pretty sure I did :) He is intelligent, kind, smart, hilarious, and the list goes on. I guess you could say I'm daddy's little girl.
I'm glad there's a special day to celebrate all the fathers in our lives. I wish I did better at celebrating it like a holiday, but at least I tried more this year :) ha ha I made Clay breakfast, we went to church, I let him take a nap, and he had some friends over that night for a bbq and watch the Thunder basketball game. It was nice that he could at least relax, especially having the next day off of work.
Clay had already gotten a grill for an early father's day present, so this is what he got from me. Just something simple, thanks to Pinterest :)
In all of the almost five years that Clay and I have been married, we really haven't gone on a real vacation. Like, longer than a weekend vacation. So when Clay's family decided we should go somewhere for a type of family reunion, Barb, Brandon's wife, thought of Catalina Island. I hadn't really heard of it before, but I had seen it on one of the episodes of The Bachelor - it was some romantic getaway on an island off California. Yeahhhh! Sounded like a great idea :)
To make a story short, we already started planning months before we were going. We are going the end of June and bought our flight tickets clear back in March. Needless to say, I've been pretty psyched about it. We had also started a family weight loss competition with a pot of $350 for the winner. So to help Clay and I out, we decided to buy the workout DVD's of INSANITY!
We had gone through P90X, although we never made it through a month of that, and those are back in storage in Minnesota, so we needed something. It was a great motivation to get ourselves beach body ready for Catalina.
Well, with a month left of the competition and 3 weeks away from vacation, sadly, I've done nothing. Ok, so I can't really say that. I just haven't lost much. I have been working out. But within the last few weeks I've actually gained weight. I don't know how the heck that has happened. I haven't done anything differently. I have also been super, super tired and exhausted all the time. Ok, so you're probably thinking, are you pregnant?!?! NO! :) ha ha I have an under active thyroid and the only thing I can figure out the problem is that my dosage is not enough. Under active means it's contributing to a low metabolism rate which probably explains the weight gain. I haven't had my blood checked for about five months, so it's possible. My symptoms all relate back to when I first found out I had hypothyroidism - I was sleeping all.the.time. I never noticed anything with my weight though because I was always active, working out, working, going to school, etc. Ok, I'm just rambling on now.
Along with Insanity, I've tried to incorporate their meal plans and kind of count calories and be better about healthy eating. So I have come to a conclusion, which you've heard before, but it's like a light finally clicked on in my head - exercising more leads to better eating habits. It's so funny, you would think you wouldn't have energy for the rest of the day if you work out and "use" all your energy with a workout. It's just the opposite. I find myself making bad food choices when I don't workout, and then I never want to make dinner, do chores, and clean up the house. And so even with my energy level low because of my medication (of what I'm blaming it on right now until I go see a doctor) right now, I still find myself with more energy throughout the day when I get a workout in, even if I only survive ten minutes on the treadmill. Oh, and the Insanity workouts? Really, I've only done like five days of it! HA HA If you've ever done it, or know someone who has, they'll say the warm up is a workout itself. It's SO TRUE! You're literally dripping sweat. It's nasty. So that's my justification some days that at least I raised my heart rate for
ten minutes during the warm up :)
I'm sure you all enjoyed reading my post, that is if you're still reading. Guess I just wanted to remember this moment so I have no excuses in the future saying I won't have energy afterwards if I workout, etc. and yadda yadda yadda :) One thing I do miss? Nursing. Never thought I'd say that. BUT. . . I miss it for the reason that I could keep my weight down :) ha ha Agree? I won't tell you how much I've gained after I stopped, but I'm glad I made it through the hard times to nurse as long as I could and did.
Ok, the end . . . for now. Until Catalina . . . :)
I could not wait for Memorial weekend to get here! With Clay's job, he usually works 6 days a week and 14-16 hour days, meaning he leaves before 6 and gets home around 8, if I'm lucky. So this creates lonnnng weeks. They have a weekend (Friday thru Monday) off every 3 weeks. Well, it was his weekend the weekend before memorial weekend. But he got gipped and had to move it to memorial weekend. Lame. Oh well, we lived.
He got off Thursday and noon and took our car in to get serviced. I had Visiting Teachers come over for the first time in literally years. It felt so good and I felt loved. Friday morning, we left bright and early for the OKC Temple. We were actually able to do an Endowment session together! The Relief Society had someone there to help babysit and so they watched Kort. It was so nice to be able to be in the same room with Clay, and be the witness couple. I hadn't done a session since before Kort was born and when my brother was about to go on his mission. It had been long before that that Clay and I went together as well. Guess that's what kids do to you, and when you move around so much that you don't really get to know anyone enough to trust to watch your kid (or I was too much of an emotional wreck and with the baby blues that I couldn't leave Kort :).
We were going to meet up with some neighbor friends and stay at a hotel together and go to either Frontier City or White Water Bay (amusement and water park), but that fell through so we just booked a hotel for the WWB package and went swimsuit shopping. We were in absolutely no rush. It was so nice. It did take Kort 2 hours to fall asleep that night because the front desk never brought us a crib like they said they would.
It was a pretty nice Saturday, cloudy, but hot. The water park was huge, probably as big as Lagoon-a-Beach (you Idahoans and Utards Utahans know what I'm talking about). To make a story short, it was breezy so Kort was cold most of the time. I guess he doesn't like a lot of water, other than his baths. They had a bunch of fountains that we tried to get him into, but he'd just scream when he got wet. So we ended up in the lazy river most of the time, which was fine by all of us. We both got sunburned, me on my back where Clay supposedly applied sunscreen, thighs that never see light, and that stupid hair part that I always forget about and then end up peeling and it looks like dandruff. I guess I did bad on putting sunscreen on Clay's back as well and he had a strip on the bottom. He forgot the top of one foot which burned really bad. You live, you learn.
Obviously I'm not going to show you my swimsuit body :S ha ha However, a big step for me was that I didn't wear swim shorts, but rather the boy cut swim bottoms. I'm conscious of my legs, ok, upper thighs, and I have been trying to get back into shape for when we go to California this summer. I'll admit, I'm jealous of those moms who lucked out and didn't get any stretch marks during pregnancy and can go back to lookin' hot in a bathing suit post baby. I'm not one of them. You probably didn't need to know any of this though. Just for my own journaling.
Oh, did I mention that Friday night we found a TEXAS ROADHOUSE to go eat at?!!! Oh, I was absolutely ecstatic! We didn't have any around us in Minnesota or Washington and we only got to eat at one once in Boise when we visited family, so I was dying to eat some rolls! It was heaven!
On our way back to Enid, we stopped at Home Depot and bought a grill. Clay couldn't go throughout the summer without one since ours is in storage, in Minnesota. I even used it for the first time last night grilling chicken! Go me!
Monday was a chillax day and we grilled steaks and went swimming in our pool. A little bit more success with Kort in the water. We'll get there. We've got some splash pads in town that I'm hoping to take him to and get him used to getting wet. It was such a great weekend to be able to see Clay for more than 2 hours every night :)
But once again, I need to take the time to ponder on the importance of Memorial Day. I've had many family members fight for our freedom. My grandpa was a medic in one of the world wars. He had so many bad dreams that I remember him saying was the reason why he and my grandma couldn't sleep in the same bed. I miss them. My mom and dad both served in the military. My older brothers grew up in foreign lands because of that. My two brothers, Jeremy and Jordan, served in the military and were in Afghanistan and cities in that country to serve our country. Clay's brother, Justin, is fighting overseas as we speak. He's been in Afghanistan and is stationed in Germany right now. That's just my immediate family. I'm so grateful for their service. We are able to live in the land of the free because of them. THANK YOU!
So I'm a little behind on posting and since I'm trying to keep up and use this as my journal, I will bore you with the details of Mother's day :) that is, if you end up reading past this.
The Friday evening of that weekend, Clay told me to make sure and have the house clean. Well, if that isn't enough of a hint that we would have someone over. ;) He got one of his work buddies to come over and stay here while Kort was asleep and we could go to dinner. The last time we went out without Kort was last summer back in good ol' Austin, MN. It was so weird to be without Kort. We went to an Italian restaurant, which really wasn't all that great. Oh well. It was nice to get out and just be the two of us.
The rest of the weekend wasn't really all that spectacular. Clay had to work Saturday, like most of the weeks, and so Sunday he took care of Kort like most of the time also. I did, however, get to enjoy a nap without Kort pulling at my hair, and Clay made dinner.
Clay had kept it a secret on what he was making me for the day. I had an idea when he bought play-doh, but it was the best mother's day gift :)
He also let me get a new Scentsy burner!
We were in need of some good smells in our home.
I was just looking through my old posts from last year and realized that I didn't even have one for mother's day. But I suppose I already wrote about that in my last post or so.
I've been thinking lately about how my life has changed by becoming a mother. I get so caught up reminiscing about the past, of the things I would do while being single. There's times that I miss High School, the sports part of it, and being part of a team and competing. Then there's college. I had my moments that I slipped, wasn't as close to my Father in Heaven as I hoped to be, but I had other moments that lifted me up so much that I wish I wouldn't have to come back to reality. Being an EFY counselor was one of those moments. Moving to Rexburg and attending BYU-Idaho was another.
However, it was getting to the point where I was lonely, thinking something was missing from my life, which in turn, missionary work kept popping in my head. Was I supposed to serve a mission? I decided to go to the missionary training class in church, study Preach My Gospel, and meet with my Bishop to find what I all needed to do to prepare if this was to be my next step in life.
I met with him. He told me to continue preparing to serve and go on our ward temple trip the following week and that I would get my answer soon enough. The temple trip was on a Thursday. The next day, Friday afternoon, I received a text from a friend asking if I wanted to go on a blind date that night. Eh. I was sick of blind dates and hated them. I guess I just needed to put myself out there though, and try to meet new people. To make a story short, I met my future husband that night. I'm so thankful for that decision I made.
Flash forward 3 and half years later, we welcomed our first child into the world. I expected to be flooded with this overwhelming love for this newborn. However, hormones got the best of me for quite some time. With the lack of sleep, Kort's bad sleeping habits, and short naps, it was hard for me to look forward and be positive and optimistic.
I don't know when it happened, but I can say without a doubt in my mind, that I love this little boy with every ounce of my body, and then some. I love his smiles, his laughs, his craziness, random facial expressions, and much, much more. I am starting to understand the importance of being a mother, that this little being is dependent upon me. I am the key to his survival.
No matter the ups and downs, there's no reason to get mad at him. He is perfect. He knows no better than to explore and destroy the house, to throw his food on the floor, to want to stay up and play with daddy when he should be asleep.
So now I look back in my past differently. Although I may miss playing sports, working, and socializing, I wouldn't change things for the world. I am so grateful that I get to stay home and raise our child, to watch him grow up. I have definitely become more of a homebody. I still love being in large crowds, but I fear running into people I know. Like you know how awesome it is being at the Cassia County Fair? Yeah, I miss that, but the other part of me fears ever going back just so I don't have to run into old schoolmates, ya know. Kind of pathetic. I considered myself to be outgoing in high school, but I think I'm just the opposite now. Looks like Clay and I have switched roles. But I got my little buddy to hang out with :)
Anyway, along with the hardships and trials, being a mother is a step in life that I wanted to take, and I'm so glad that I have been blessed with that chance.
This video is by Kenneth Cope (one of my favorite LDS singers). I hope you enjoy it like I do.
Last weekend, Kort had a fever of about 102 for a couple of days. We couldn't take him to urgent care, as it was 2 hours away for the closest one that our insurance took. So I tried to schedule an appt. with a Pediatrician this week. Come to find out, the office said since we were new patients, we had to fax over Kort's medical records from Minnesota before we could even get an appointment scheduled. Then, one of the doctors would have to review it beforehand and then they would get back to us to get a time for him to come in. Well, I called MN to have them fax it over, but due to HIPPA stuff, I needed to sign a release form. Ok, I can do that. However, I didn't have ink in the printer so I couldn't print it and then sign it, so I tried getting a hold of Clay to have him use the office fax machine. To make a long story short, I finally got a hold of Clay to get that all worked out, he sent the records to the OK doctor's office. Now about 4 days later, they still haven't gotten back to me. Grr, I was absolutely fed up with them.
In the end, Kort hasn't been to the doctor's office. His fever went away on Monday, but he was still being needy and fussy all day long. Even though he wasn't feeling well, he was still taking 30 minute cat naps. We went for a walk that afternoon to hopefully get him feeling better or happy while being outside. Tuesday, he was feeling the same. I thought he had been teething, hence the fever. He would crawl up on my lap and fall asleep for an hour or so. The last time that happened was when he ended up with a double ear infection. That's why I was wanting to get him in to the doctor. That morning, while he was falling asleep on me, I noticed a brown speck on the back of his neck. I thought it was some dirt or piece of food or whatever and brushed it off. Later that afternoon, I saw it again. Maybe I didn't get it off or it was a new mole I hadn't seen. Tried getting it off, but no such luck. I looked closer at it and it had LEGS! I was completely freaking out! I studied it for a minute and rushed to the bathroom to get the tweezers. Oh.my.gosh! It was a tick. I quickly pricked it out, making sure I got it all out. I put it in a place where Kort wouldn't get to it. I wanted to hurry and look online to make sure that's what it was. Oh my heck, our network was down. Annoying! After putting Kort to sleep for the night, Clay got home and we fixed the internet and I looked up to find out it was most likely a tick, just like I thought. We took Kort out of his bed and hurried and changed his sheets and put him back to bed. I didn't find anymore on him or on me. The only place I can think he got it was behind our complex when we walked through the brush/weeds/grass to get to the golf cart path. We had actually done that the day before. We hadn't been outside Tuesday. So that means that he probably had that thing on him for a whole day. Talk about scaring a mom out! That was another reason why I wanted to get him into the doctor. CDC says that a fever could show up a couple weeks after having a tick, so I'll have to keep a close eye on him.
About the middle of the week Kort had gone back to himself. Friday and Saturday he went back to taking his hour and a half naps!!! I don't know if it's because he was getting sick before so he went to his 30 minute, but whatever, I'm just happy for each long nap. Has anyone else had a freak out like this with their kid? Finding a tick or something like that on their child?!!? Absolutely disgusting. It just gives me the heebie jeebies. This is what Kort was like for most of the time he was down with the fever.
He ended up falling asleep like this a few minutes later. So unlike him. I loved his snuggles,
but I'm glad he's back to his wild self :)
Going on 7 years of a wonderful marriage, we have grown with 2 handsome boys, moved more than a handful of times, changed jobs, but are finally about to settle down where the wind blows!
