One Hot Little Lady

First, I must say, you do not realize how much you will miss something until it is gone. Boy is that ever true! Little miss Ella woke up early, early Friday morning with a temperature of 103 and that is when it all began. She is still battling this supposed "virus" which means there is little we can do (other than pump her full of motrin). She went to the doctor Friday afternoon after waking from a nap with a temp of 106. Talk about hot! They ruled out ear infections, strep throat, a UTI, and strep throat, leaving us with the diagnosis of a viral infection.
It breaks my heart to see her this way. She was and has been so uncomfortable---little to no appetite, sleepier than ever, not wanting to play/interact, and not thrilled about drinking liquids. In fact, she would not even eat her all-time favorite food...CHEESE. Every time she hears that word she can be found hightailing it to the kitchen, saying "cheese" with such excitement, but not the past two days.
I just want my little Ella back. Although I do not mind the cuddles that accompany caring for a sick child, I miss her. I miss her smiles, her laughs, how quickly she will guzzle down a cup of water, her waiting by the fridge for cheese, getting into all of my cupboards, hearing the patter of her feet as she runs down the hall, feeding her in her highchair, seeing her big, bright blue eyes, etc.
We love and miss you Ella and hope you will fight off this nasty bug fast! It is no fun seeing you this way!

lights, CAMERA, action

At this very moment,
There is a package in the mail
There is a package in the mail, with my name on it
There is a package in the mail, with my name on it, and a camera inside

I cannot wait!

In April, we sold my camera to a relative as there had been talk about me wanting a smaller, point and shoot camera. All of which is true but it has taken until now to get one. Cameron read up on so many reviews trying to get me the best of the best for the best price. Last night I brought up "the camera" talk and was jumped on right then, read a few more reviews, and came to a decision.

I am so HAPPY to have a camera again! My blog is in great need of pictures.

You can bet once it arrives, pictures will be taken. And those pictures will be taken right away. Stay tuned!

Laugh of the Day

This morning the girls and I ventured over to the park for "Mommy & Me". First stop, the swings. Each time we go to the park, Cambri has requested that I give her an underdog on the swing. For those unaware, it is when you run under the swing as you push it up.

Here was Cambri's request:
"Mom, can you give me an under-wear dog?"

I could not control my laughter. It was just too dang cute. Perhaps we have been talking a bit too much about the potty and all that accompanies it. Regardless of the reasoning, I hope you found it just as humorous as I.

Public Potties Here We Come

We have got ourselves a potty trained two year old. Hallelujah! It took a great amount of effort and incredible patience on both ends to achieve success. Back around her second birthday (October) she was showing many of the signs of potty training readiness so we gave it a whirl. She did make it in the potty several times the first day so I thought we were off to a great start. Needless to say, we hit many bumps along the road, and using the potty became a battle. After dealing with a fighting two year old for quite some time the thought came to me that I needed to take a break from the potty. I was not thrilled about this option but decided to go along with the prompting. We took about two weeks break then jumped right back in to using the potty and VOILA! It worked, it stuck, and all are happy.

Now that we have mastered the obstacle of toilet training (other than nights), I have mixed feelings. I am SO grateful I do not need to buy nearly as many diapers and I do not need to clean dirty diapers from 2 children all day long...just one. However, on the down side it makes shopping all the more interesting. I encourage Cambri to use the bathroom before leaving our house but it is hit or miss on whether or not she will try. If she begins throwing a fit, I just let it go. I am finding somethings are not worth fighting over. To no avail she "needs" to use the bathroom just about everywhere we go. It is not an easy task as you may know. I have to hold Ella in one arm, lift Cambri onto the toilet and hold her there (public toilets= GERMY YUCK) so she does not touch the filth. Washing her hands is the exact same story. I suppose with some more potty usage and a few growth spurts she will be able to handle it all on her own.

But for now I will be content with my bicep workout each time I go shopping! Who would have thought shopping could be an exercise?!

Softball Stitching

Have you ever been hit by a softball?
Have you ever been hit by a softball, on the knee?
Have you ever been hit by a softball, on the knee, leaving an imprint of the stitching lines?

I have! And I have been laughing so hard about it. It was unbelievable!

After last weeks softball game, my legs had taken several beatings. Let's just say that before the start of this season it has been several years since I last played softball. And when I did play softball it was an all girls team, not coed. This year I was asked to play on Stockamp's (where Cameron works) team. For the past several games, I have been playing 3rd base. The combination of playing 3rd base and not having played in several years made me a bit timid to get down low and catch the low flying balls. I think my mentality was if I can not stop the ball in my glove why not use my body?! I knew if the ball made it past me it would stop somewhere in the middle of 3rd base and left field. Which if that held to be true, they opposing team may get several bases out of the hit, if not runs. Towards the end of the game, the batters were really putting on the heat and slamming them right up my alley. I feared of losing teeth or getting smacked in the face by the ball so I used my legs a few times to stop the ball. It has been 1 1/2 weeks since the game and two large bruises are still hanging around. Thank heavens I do not wear shorts often!

Library Lessons to be Learned

1. Library books are fun to read
2. Library books are not to be ripped
3. Library books cost money to replace
4. Library books are expensive
5. Library books are replaced with money from my "Money Jar"

These are lessons Cambri has most recently learned about the library. We have had a great many struggles with Cambri lately, one of which is the way she treats her library books. It baffles me to no end because checking out books from the library is no new thing around this house. We have been taking Cambri to the library to check out books for TWO years and NOW we are having problems?! Little Miss Cambri loves and has always loved reading books. Going to the library is a highlight for her. Why she is having issues now, we are unsure, but we do hope she has learned a lesson.

Here is the story:
It has been routine to read two books at nap time as well as bedtime each day. We keep her library books, in a book bag, in her bedroom. Following one of our routine readings, when she should have been sleeping, she apparently went through one of her library books and made about 5-6 tears on the bottom of each and every page. She did not rip any pages out, thankfully, but the book was basically destroyed. I made a phone call to the library asking what the process is to replace a book as we have never had to do so. I was told to meet up with a Librarian in the children's section to let them assess the damage because perhaps, it does not need to be fully replaced. I very well knew that they would want to replace the book but to help Cambri learn a lesson and to be accountable for what she had done we went in to the library. She walked with me up to the counter, carrying the damaged book, as we told the librarian what happened. As I expected, she did want the book replaced. When Cambri's library books were due we went in to the library to return her books and then carried her damaged book as well as Cambri's jar of money up to the counter. (*Note: You are not allowed to replace the book and bring the new copy into the library, it has to be ordered through their system so you will pay the cost of the book plus a processing fee) The sweet woman behind the desk pulled up the book in her system to request a new copy and gave us our total to replace the book.
$16.95 (book) + $5.00 (processing) = $21.95
At that moment I experienced, in a very small way, how our Savior and Heavenly Father must feel when we make mistakes and have to suffer the consequences. As a mother, I was heartbroken. I wanted so much to pay for the replacement but what lesson, if any, would Cambri learn? I knelt down beside her, as she and I pulled out the money necessary to pay for the damage. All the while, she said, "Don't take all of it, just one, two, three, four!" After we gathered enough money from her jar I had Cambri hand it to the librarian. I wanted this experience and learning opportunity to be as real as possible to her. I wanted her to play an active role in making right what she had done. The cost of the book ended up wiping out half of the money she had saved in her jar. Even though she is still so young I hope she will remember this experience and will be able to gain strength from having done the right thing, even though it was not easy.

Just as I love my daughter and want what is best for her. I know our Father in Heaven loves each of us, his children, and wants what is best for us. What is best for us is not always what is easy. At times in life we will have to watch our children suffer from their decisions just as our Heavenly Father but we must continue to love unconditionally regardless of their choices. I am so grateful for Cambri and the wonderful teaching opportunity this experience provided for the both of us.

Bally or Belly?

After a year of debating whether or not I should join a gym, the decision has been made. A couple of weeks ago Cameron heard about a promotion Bally Total Fitness was running. That very evening we ran over to the gym to tour the facility and to get a few questions answered. Before long the paper work had been completed and I was an official member of Bally.

Getting exercise has always been important to me, even if it is just walking and pushing the stroller. However, on those bad weather days you need to have an alternative plan. I refuse to let the weather interfere with my ability or inability to get my heart pumping. The indoor plan left me with three options: 1) Use my community's fitness center 2) Do at home dvd workouts 3) Join a gym.

First, the community fitness center. To use my community's fitness center I would need to wake up early enough to get over there and back before my girl's awoke so as not to stall Cameron as he gets ready for his work day. For a few mornings, I set my alarm for 5am. My alarm did go off as a good little alarm should but I was just not ready to roll out of bed. I then decided that I was either not motivated enough to exercise or my sleep was much too important---both of which were true at 5am. The other possibility was to go in the evenings once the girls were down for the night. I was successful at doing this many times but I came home jittery and it took sometime before I was able to fall asleep.

Second, the dvd workouts. Cameron and I have attempted Billy Blanks Boot Camp but due to lack of space and having to watch the dvd on a laptop screen, it did not last for long.

Third, the gym. I really struggled with this option/decision because joining a gym involves money AND we already have free access to a fitness center which has enough equipment to get a decent workout. I would ask myself, "Why would anyone pay for a gym membership when they have one just 100 yds from their house?" The answer is......CHILD CARE. I love my girls to bits and pieces but lets face it, having young ones makes exercising more challenging.

For the past couple weeks it has worked out wonderfully. The girls and I get up, have breakfast, and are at the gym right when the child care center opens. I get in my workout, pick up the girls, and we are out of there before things get too crazy. I have LOVED working up a good sweat. There seems to be something about gyms that drives me and encourages me to perform and do my best. Is anyone else that way? I know some are a bit self conscious in settings like a gym but for me it motivates. I am trying my best to make exercising a daily routine in my life. As I make the time to exercise, I know my children will see it is a priority for me and will one day want that for themselves.

A special thanks to Bally and the childcare staff for bringing out the best in me! I leave feeling a more patient, loving, energized, and a healthier mother and wife.