Miles's New Computer Skills

Jared took Miles to the gun show the other day. Miles was very excited to get a $5 airsoft gun with a laser on it.

But sadly, the next day it literally exploded. So Miles was very upset and he and Jared spent a few hours searching the internet for a replacement. They found an awesome one with a flashlight, laser, etc, on eBay.

Miles is really excited to get it. This is what I found in my google search bar today:

"wen is jaredwinger airsoftgun goeng here"

He is just a little bit excited for it to get here.

So funny.

Sibling Love

Does anything make a mom happier than seeing her kids love each other and getting along? I was at my sister's house last year when one of the kids was leaving and called to the other one, "Bye, I love you!"

I thought that was the cutest thing ever. I know growing up there was plenty of fighting in our house, but somehow we all ended up being very close.

So I am reassured when my kids are screaming at each other. I know there is still hope that they will someday be great friends! Those moments when they are so sweet to each other are ones that I like to remember.

Last week I brought Simone to the school with me while I "finished up" some reflections work. "Finishing up" ended up taking seven hours. So she went to eat lunch in the lunchroom with Monet before I ran her over to preschool. The two of them were so excited. Monet was so sweet to her little sister, and being in the lunchroom was such a wonder for Simone.

Miles was immediately wanting us to come back and eat lunch with him the next time. So yesterday Simone and I got to eat in the school cafeteria with him. His teacher said he was talking about it all morning. He saw Simone and gave her a big bear hug. Then put his arm around her and showed her exactly what to get and where to sit. It was sweet. I was impressed with how good their school lunch actually was. Tons of veggies, a pretty decent sandwich or Tortilla soup. Eased my conscience since we've been relying on school lunch a lot lately.

Next Miles wanted Simone to go to recess with him. He ran off with her holding hands and didn't seem to care at all about any of his other friends. It reminded me of how cute they were when I'd take them to the gym daycare. Miles was always holding Simone's hand the entire time. All the workers there would say how sweet he was with her and how well they got along.

They are really excited to share a room soon. It always ends up that one of them is sleeping in the other's room anyway because they get scared alone. So I figured we may as well put them in the same room. Looks like Simone is going to have a basketball room for a few years. Hopefully we'll figure out a way to make it look somewhat cute. I love her quilt and her girly room and don't really want to give it up just yet, but I guess this will work much better for everyone.

The other day, Miles was all excited because his new Lego set came. He was asking me what time it would be here all day. He and Monet were so excited to put it together. They make a great little Lego team. Monet is into Lego Atlantis and Harry Potter sets, and Miles loves the Star Wars and pirates. They love to look up the kid reviews on Youtube and see the movies kids have made with their Legos.

A few months ago some boys were bugging Monet at school, so Elise and her friends showed up and beat them in a mean game of soccer. I love that they stick together at least at school.

Miles's Flag Football Team

Miles was so excited to play football this year. He had a great time on his flag football team with some other kids in our area. He had some touchdowns and some great passes. He is a fast little runner.

Next up, Basketball! Jared is currently co-coaching Miles's team and Elise's AAU team too. Miles's team is really fun to watch. It is the first year any of them have played basketball, and it reminds me of when Elise started out. They are so excited to make that rare basket.

Monet's league will start up after Christmas and, as if that weren't enough, Jared is playing in his own league again too. There is a lot of basketball happening at our house. They love to go shoot around for a few hours at the neighbor's house. Monet made 450 shots the other day. I'm excited that she will play with her two cousins this year! Even Simone is in on the action. She can actually make a basket if she squats almost to the ground before launching the ball. It is pretty cute.

Baby Update

I'm 18 weeks along (cheesy, posed picture was from last week) with this little guy. It has been so fun to feel little kicks every once in awhile. I bought some cute little outfits for him for next summer. I keep seeing babies everywhere and just can't believe I'm really going to have one of those! It is surreal.

I was in Target and heard a baby crying and it was so cute it almost made me cry. Isn't it amazing how our bodies respond to babies physiologically? I remember just after I had Elise I was shopping and I heard a baby cry, and my milk started letting down for the first time ever. I didn't know what was going on. But it was amazing to me that my body would respond to someone else's baby. It just knew what to do when I heard that sound.

Pregnancy and labor are just amazing like that too. I think it is cool how our bodies just know when the baby is done in there and what needs to happen for it to be born.

I'm at that great easy stage of pregnancy. I'm not sick or craving anything anymore. I am not too big and can still run and move around well. I get very few braxton hicks. I am ready to order some maternity clothes. I figured I'd wait as long as possible since I know I'll want to burn them by the time I deliver. The worst is the end of pregnancy when you don't even fit in the maternity clothes anymore.

I came downstairs last week in a little t-shirt after drinking over a gallon of water that day, and Jared saw my little belly and got all excited that it is protruding more now. He was so cute. It makes me happy that he thinks it's cute, and that he is so excited to have another baby. I need that reassurance sometimes.

I saw a cute little family in the checkout line at Costco today. The dad was trying to get the baby in the infant carrier to smile at him. It was a very cute moment. And I thought of how different it would be to not have a supportive spouse to be there during pregnancy and afterwards when you are exhausted and need help. How lonely. I am very grateful this season for a husband who loves babies, loves me, and is such a good dad.

We have a few names that we are mulling over. The first one we like is Emerson Jude. I've always kinda liked Jude. And Emerson seems to fit with our last name.

I really like one syllable names though. And Emerson seems a little fussy to me. Another one we love is Nash. But finding out that my favorite basketball player, Steve Nash, just left his pregnant wife for a 22-year-old girlfriend, has kinda bothered me. I know we aren't naming our baby after a basketball player, but it is still disappointing.

What I'd really love to name this kid is Dash. But I don't know about naming my kid after a cartoon character. I just think it is a cool name. Dash. Miles. Good runner names.

Another one on my list is Tate. Tate Emerson is cute I think. It just might be a little too common for our taste. But I like that it isn't fussy and it is a little more normal.

Any suggestions? I'd love some more one syllable names. I like last names for first names. They can't start or end with a W, or end in an -ER.

Amazon Mom

I love Amazon.com. And I REALLY love the free 2-day shipping. Last year someone told me about Amazon mom. Whoever it was, THANK YOU!

Basically it is free 2-day shipping for three months after you sign up. Sign up is free. Any caregiver, mom, dad, grandma, basically anyone who knows a kid can sign up. When you spend $25 in the baby department you another month of free 2-day shipping plus a discount. So diapers, wipes, etc. You can get up to a year for free.

I used up my free months last Christmas and beyond. But I remembered the other day that Jared can sign up too. Yipee! Three more months of free 2-day shipping please. And I'm sure with our new baby coming, we'll be buying lots of diapers and wipes and earning even more months of free shipping.

You don't have to remember to cancel or anything. Once your months are up, they'll just start charging you normal shipping charges again.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/info

Flu Prevention

When I was a kid, I remember being really excited that I threw up one day. I'd never remembered being sick before, and it was fun to get so much attention. I got to lay in bed and watch tv as much as I wanted, and I didn't even feel sick.

As I got older and started eating out and buying more of my own food, I definitely had a few bouts of illness. Once in Jr. High I probably had the flu but didn't know what to call it because I thought the flu was a 24 hour deal, not fever, chills, and a week of misery. The next time I got the flu was in 2003, right after I ran my first marathon, and the only year I've ever had a flu shot. Elise, Monet and I all had the shot and we all got the flu because that year it just wasn't effective. It was miserable. I do remember that I ate nachos every day for about a week before I got sick. I'm pretty sure that having a worn out body and not replenishing the nutrients I needed contributed.

I read a recent article on KSL the other day about how there is a genetic link to flu prevention. I thought the title was awfully misleading, but it was published by a Genetics journal, so maybe the title needed to reflect something genetic. Basically, 17 people were injected with the flu virus. Only half of those people actually got the flu. The other half did not. When comparing the blood of those who got the flu, and those who didn't, it was found that the ones who did not get it had high levels of antioxidants in their blood. I believe the title is misleading because the amount antioxidants in blood may vary slightly by genetics, but it is very heavily influenced by diet. We've experienced this firsthand in our family as we've had our antioxidants scanned numerous times and the numbers go up dramatically when we are eating more fruits and veggies. When I was little, my siblings and I ate tons of veggies and fruits, and I think our diets helped us keep strong immune systems so that we rarely got sick. My mom didn't even worry about taking us around other people who were sick because she knew we wouldn't get it.

This finding of antioxidants preventing flu corroborates what has been found by other scientists. WebMD also has done a piece on antioxidants and colds/flu as well. I've noticed that our family tends to get sick around the holidays. Which is when we are consuming the most junk, eating fewer fruits/veggies, etc.

So this year, we are going heavy on the antioxidant rich foods, lots of salads, green smoothies, oranges and pomegranates (my kids favorite treat). Last year I spent Christmas with a cold/ruptured ear drum. I was miserable. With being pregnant now, I am especially concerned with how awful it would be to spend the holidays sick once again and unable to take painkillers, so I'd like to boost my natural immunity.

Some great foods to boost antioxidants are listed in the WebMD article, and I'll copy them here:

Beta-carotene and other carotenoids: Apricots, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, green peppers, kale, mangoes, turnip and collard greens, nectarines, peaches, pink grapefruit, pumpkin, squash, spinach, sweet potato, tangerines, tomatoes, and watermelon.

Vitamin C: Berries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit, honeydew, kale, kiwi, mangoes, nectarines, orange, papaya, red, green or yellow peppers, snow peas, sweet potato, strawberries, and tomatoes.

Vitamin E: Broccoli, carrots, chard, mustard and turnip greens, mangoes, nuts, papaya, pumpkin, red peppers, spinach, and sunflower seeds.

What I liked most about this finding is that it empowers people to take charge of their own health by being proactive. It would be nice if everyone who was contagious just stayed home, but we know that we can't rely on that. And even flu shots, as I learned, are not all that effective. Fruits and veggies have far more lasting benefits than simply preventing illness.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/antioxidants-your-immune-system-super-foods-optimal-health

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/20-common-foods-most-antioxidants

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029125538.htm

Halloween 2011

We had a great Halloween! Perfect weather, soup party with the neighbors, handed out 350 glow necklaces. Miles and Simone loved helping me answer the door when they got back from trick or treating. Notice Simone is a witch again. I think her favorite part of the night was getting make-up on. Elise was an NBA player. I loved the gold tooth--too bad you can't see it as well in the pictures. Monet refused to wear anything but the jersey from Knott's. I kinda wish we had Jared's old basketball uniforms with those tiny shorts. ;) Miles is a cowboy. His hat has real buffalo nickels on it. He was very excited about that hat from the DI.

One of these days Jared and I are actually going to dress-up.

doTerra Gala

Jared has worked so hard this year training his down line all over the country and teaching classes, doing trade shows, etc. This week was the convention and gala, and Jared received an award for reaching Platinum rank.

I was a little nervous when he decided to work doTerra full-time last November. He'd been doing it part-time for a couple of years, but was really focused on his job at SEO, and just wasn't putting much time into it at all, even though he knew that it was something he eventually wanted to do. I loved having it as a second source of income, and loved how it just kept increasing each month, but of course doing it full-time would mean replacing his other income completely, and that worried me a little.

His other job was a great opportunity, but he wasn't as excited about it as he was with the essential oils. He gets a lot of satisfaction from knowing that there are so many people whose lives are being completely changed by what they are learning about the oils.

By May he was able to completely replace his other income, and we've been pretty excited about what that means for our family as far as flexibility. I have always wanted to live somewhere else for a few months, and with this job, we can work from wherever we have internet. I absolutely love having him working from home. He is always available to coach the kids teams, or spend a weekend away, and that is nice.

It was so fun to see our friends Megan and Mike from Spokane. They started doTerra in June when we came to visit and have done phenomenally since then. It was fun to be at the convention with them and their group.

Motivating Miles to Read

All it took was Captain Underpants series. I brought them home one day from the library, and suddenly he is eager to read each night. : )

Not sure if it is worth encouraging the diaper/potty humor, but at this point, I guess we'll take it.

My favorite moment was a few days ago when Jared and I were sleeping in on a lazy Sunday morning, and Miles comes in to tell us that he's been researching lego sets on the internet and he found a Star Wars Lego ship he wants on Amazon for 56.99 and it even has free 2-day shipping. He is suddenly very motivated to earn money and do chores.

Date Night

October is crazy. I'm sure moms everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief when October is finally over. I had put the Sundance Full Moon Lift ride into my google calendar months ago, and then when the day arrived, I just looked at Jared and said mournfully that I wished we could go because I really wanted to do that. But things had been so busy, it was the only day in a couple of weeks that we weren't scheduled out, and I was sure he'd just want to chill at home.

Surprisingly, he was all for it. So we headed up through AF canyon for a nice drive and got to see some beautiful fall colors against the new snow up on Timp. It was beautiful! I think it was the perfect date with lots of time to talk, and I want to go back every year.

Crazy Hair Day 2011

Elise and her friend Skye are twinners. They created their own crazy styles.

Monet is the toilet paper princess, and Miles got an M carved out of his buzz. Then we spray painted it, but I didn't get a picture that day, so we took one at his football game.