My Little Scare

Last Thursday night, while I was preparing dinner, my heart started doing crazy things.  It started beating out of sync. Every few beats or so would be really hard and a little too quick, followed by several half-beats or something.  I don't know how to explain it, but it was freaking me out! I guess the best way to explain it is by saying that the hard beats feel like getting startled or frightened and the little catch-up half beats feel like a death in the family or a bad break-up or some other heart ache.  I wasn't in pain or lightheaded or anything, just distracted by the strange heart arrhythmia that was beating in my throat.  I have felt something like it occasionally whenever I am pregnant, but only for a few seconds - not sustained for several hours. 

I made David listen to my heart and he said it was indeed very distinct and abnormal.  He tried to help me stop it with deep breaths, but it didn't work.  In spite of my heart issues, I had a lot to do that evening.  I mean, heart or no heart, some things just can't wait!  So I headed off to swimming lessons and a soccer game.  When I came home at 9:00 pm, it was still going haywire.  Luckily, I was able to sleep through it, but every time I woke up, I could still feel it.

I called the doctor as soon as he opened in the morning and set an appointment.  What do you think happened then?  That's right - it stopped beating irregularly and became completely normal.  Leave it to my heart to have a 15 hour arrhythmia spell that lasts from the time the doctor office closes at night until it opens in the morning.  The doctor took an EKG and some blood tests (all of which were completely normal) but found nothing wrong with me.  In fact, he was impressed with my overall good health.  He prescribed me a mild beta blocker (that made me feel sick and too wired to sleep - yuck!)   I only took it once before reading the warnings that say you can't take them while nursing - oops!  So basically, I'm just waiting to see if I have another spell.  If I do, I have to get in to the doctor ASAP.  Of course, we all know that it will never happen again and even if it does, it will be over before I get in. 

I fully expected the doctor to say one of two things:  At first I thought he'd say it's likely that my episode was caused by stress and fatigue.  I was trying to figure out how to put my kids up for adoption.  He didn't say anything though, so I guess I can still be a stressed-out, tired mom.  My mom thinks if I would just get rid of the goat kids, not the human ones, all would be well.  The other thing I thought my doctor might say is that I needed to lose at least twenty or thirty pounds.  My heart can't take care of so much woman!  But since he didn't say a word, I interpret it as meaning, "go eat another burger or two! Maybe some ice cream and doughnuts as well"  and I think I will...

Summer Fun

We have been having such a busy summer!  I feel so tired, its almost like I have a newborn in the house again.  I'll save the work-related stuff for some other day - I want to talk about all the fun we've been having.

Earlier this month, we went to a customer appreciation picnic for our credit union.  It was held at Porter Park.  We intended to go to the splash park while we were there, but somehow Alison left the house without her swimming suit.  (We've tried to go to the splash park three separate times and each time, something goes wrong.)  That's okay, though.  We still had plenty of fun.

Bronson's very first carousel ride.

The kids each picked out a goldfish.  I'm sorry to say that they were all dead within a week.

Josh is proud of his fishy!  He really cried when it died, poor boy.

Nicki was dying to try the rock wall.  She only made it about 10 feet, but I was proud of her for even trying.

Nothing says "summer" around here like running through the sprinklers.  David says I'm a sucker for a fancy sprinkler.  He's probably right.  I wish I could run through them, but I usually just watch the kids.  I love watching them - they are so totally, squealingly happy.  A week or so ago, Shawn and Amy's kids came over to share in the joy.  It was so fun!

Isabelle and Josh watching from a safe distance.

Left to right: Nicki, Maddie, Ali, Caden, Kami, and Isabelle.

Caden squirting the kids and Kami throwing wet sponges.

Eating Otter Pops and cookies at "Ali's restaurant."
L to R:Nolan, Isabelle, Maddie, Josh, Nicki, Caden, Kami, Ali.

A cool action photo of Maddie jumping over the water.

Josh and Nolan playing with the water table.

Last Wednesday, I took the kids to Rigby Lake (aka Jefferson County Lake) for the first time.  It was wonderful!  They've done a lot of work to make it nice.  There's a great play ground and lots of grass and a nice sandy beach (I'm pretty sure they trucked in the sand, but hey - it works)!  Ali was excited to go to the "beach" for the first time in her life.  We went on a day that was a little bit windy and only 80 degrees, so it wasn't busy at all!  I think I prefer going on a cooler, more windy day.  It was plenty hot, and the breeze made it bearable.  We wouldn't have lasted nearly as long on a scorching hot day.  We had a picnic and played for a few hours.  I forgot to worry about suncreening myself along with the kids, so my back got fried, but it was so totally fun, I can't wait to go again!

Nicki on the playground.

Joshy on the swings.

Ali on the playground.

Bronson and Mommy at the playground.

Josh (who threw rocks into the water the whole time) and Nicki.

So pretty, but I think I got sunscreen on the lens.

Bronson played happily on the blanket most of the time.  He kept taking his hat off - what a fun game!

I love those kids!

Even Bronson got his feet wet. 

This is war!

Did you know that the name Kelley means "Warior Woman"?  Well it does.  Explains a lot, doesn't it.

Fair warning to all you voles (mouse-like rodents with short tails and gigantic teeth) in our yard:  I know you're out there.  You have us outnumbered, but we will not give up!  You have the right to live, like any other of God's creatures, but if you encroach on my lifestyle, be prepared to suffer the consequences!  Two years ago, you obliterated our potato crop right under our noses. We didn't even know until we tried to dig them up.  David took that personally and he's been poisoning your holes and protecting his precious potatoes ever since.  I appreciate the fact that you've never actually entered our home, but right under our back door is too close for me!  BACK UP OR DIE!!!  Once, you visited our garage, but since Cookie sleeps there, you've found other places to dwell.  If you live in the pasture, so be it, but when I find your holes all around my year-old pear tree, that's where I draw the line! 

That's right!  When I saw the holes by my tree, I snapped!  I will not lose fruit trees to those disgusting pests!  So, armed with a garden hose and a shovel, I went to work flushing them out!  I got one, too!  Right at the base of the tree.  Boo-Ya!  Don't worry, I won't post pictures.  Nicki and Josh helped - they are happy that, as Josh put it, "you died it!  Maybe you'll die one again 'morrow!"  Ali is sad that I killed an animal, but even she said, "Yuck, mom!  I thought mice were cute.  That thing's ugly!"

One down, four hundred to go...

A Day In The Life

Last Saturday was a fun day that I want to remember, so I'd better write a few things down.  I meant to write about it sooner, but the boys have been sick, the girls are in swimming lessons, the goats are being milked and Nicole is in soccer so all my free time is pretty much spent.

The day started with me driving to Sugar City to pick up my Bountiful Basket of food. I was late ordering this week, so all the sites close to my house were gone.  I was so happy, though.  I happened to run into a friend of mine from high school, Carrie Schultz (I don't know her married name).  She lives in Driggs and decided to pick up her food in Sugar City because she wanted to go shopping in Rexburg.  What a huge coincidence and small world!  It was so fun to see her again and to meet her three boys(including 20 month old twins)!  She promised that she'd come visit some time when she's in town.  It was a great way to start my day.  I also saw Amy, Terry, and a few friends from the neighborhood.

Josh found our strawberry patch.  He'll eat anything remotely pink.

David spent much of the day working on building our goat shed.  It's quite a project!  In the mid-morning, Grandpa Gee came over and offered to mow our lawn for us while David used his pickup to get another load of wood for the shed.  Can you believe that?!??!  He must have saved David at least three hours of work (maybe four if you include the time that David would have spent driving to Sugar City to borrow the pick up).  The girls were thrilled to take turns riding on the mower with Grandpa.  Josh was offered a ride, but declined.  I spent the day working in the house, doing a little bit of yard work and grocery shopping.  I took three of  the kids with me to the store, but Nicole stayed home to help her dad.  She brought out a couple of ice cold cans of pop and they sat together enjoying a beautiful day for a little while.

Ali and Grandpa Gee.

Nicki and Grandpa Gee.

In the afternoon, Alison went to a friend's house.  About twenty minutes later, I got a call from her friend's mom.  Apparently, Ali was running and she tripped.  She fell on her arm in some weird way, but didn't get too hurt.  She jumped right up, said, "ow," and passed out.  She didn't cry or anything, just fell over and had a little seizure-like thing.  It only lasted a couple of seconds and when she woke up, she acted totally fine.  The mom was way more shook up than Ali was.  Crazy, huh?  Who knows what that was all about.   I guess she just needed to go to her "happy place" for a while.  Since then, Ali cries out in pain, saying that her arm is killing her every once in a while, but the rest of the time she acts totally normal and she hasn't passed out again. Hmm.  One of life's mysteries.

That evening, David stayed home with the boys while I took the girls to the college for a concert.  We met lots of family there.  It was called "Patriots and Pioneers."  It was put on by the campus choirs and symphony.  I was excited to see the girls' reaction to their first concert, and I have to say - I was not disappointed.  They LOVED it.  After the first song, Nicki whispered, "My heart feels like it's burning - that was so good!"  She wanted to discuss everything she saw, heard, and felt with me.  After a while, I had to ask her to wait until the end to whisper to me because she was probably bothering the people around us.  She tired hard to keep the running commentary to herself, but she was so thrilled.  Alison explained that she liked to close her eyes and let the music take over her other senses.  I tried it - it really does make a difference.  Watching the people is distracting.  Anyway, she spent much of the concert with her eyes closed swaying to the music.  When it was over, she said that it was the best day of her life!!! (or at least one of the best days.)  It really was a great concert!  I was so glad we were able to attend.  It's fun to have the girls growing old enough to enjoy those kinds of things.  There's so much I want to show them in this world!

34 and counting...

I had a nice birthday this year, thanks to many people whom I love.  I opened my presents in the morning (mostly candy).  My favorite gift was from Alison.  She had spent some time making me a special card that said, (the spelling is hers) "I love my momy cause she did'nt name me Tommy.  Happy B Day.  Thank you for being my mom and not nameing me Tommy.  Happy Brithday Mom!  Roses are red, Violits are blue.  Brithday cack (cake) is sweet and so are you!"  Attached to the card was a small package.  In the package was a tiny note that read, "I can't do much, but I can give hugs and kisses."  As I read it, she came up behind me and gave me a big hug and kiss.  Very thoughtful.

We straightened up the house a little, then headed out for play time.  We went to the school lunch program at a local elementary school.  We had a nice time playing on the toys there.  Even I got on the monkey bars and did a flip.  The only "damper" on the whole thing was when the sprinklers turned on.  The kids were all playing by that time.  Just Bronson and I got wet.

I looked a lot thinner and younger in my mind...

We went over to Porter Park and rode the carousel next.  Hooray!  The kids love that carousel.  I was surprised that Josh didn't want to ride a horse.  He felt more comfortable on the bench.  We would have played at the splash park, but it was too windy. 

I think she got in trouble for sitting side-saddle right after I took this picture.

She's been riding that same horse since she was a baby!

Happy to be right where he's at.

When we got home from the park there was a bright, beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me.  They were from my folks.  The note read, "Surprise!  Since we can't babysit, take you out to eat, or make your cake - we can send flowers.  Love, Mom and Dad."  Isn't that so nice?  I love flowers! 

While the boys took their afternoon naps, the girls and I laid in my bed and I read to them from a fun book called "The Fairy Tale Detectives" for a couple of hours.  I should have been doing laundry or something, but I didn't want to and it was my birthday, for pity's sake!  I had such a nice time just relaxing with my girls.  Dave's mom came to visit and I had several phone calls throughout the afternoon.  It was nice to know how many people thought of me.

When David got home from work, we had a quick birthday cake ceremony.  I made a Peaches and Cream cake this year.  It was delicious.  Layer of cake, layer of peaches, layer of cream cheese, layer of cinnamon sugar.  Wow!  After that, the girls and I took off for the ward mother-daughter camp out.  David took the boys to McDonald's and rented a movie he'd been wanting to watch for a while.  Of course, it wasn't all fun and games for him.  He had to put the boys to bed and milk the goats. 

The camp out was near Ashton at the family property of a lady in our ward.  I'm sure we were within a few miles of the very place where my Grandpa Smith grew up.  I thought of him the whole time we were up there, wishing I had listened to his stories more closely when I was a kid.  Anyway, we had a great time eating and playing near the campfire.  They had a short program - Nicki had a small part, but she totally stole the show.  Alison got a really bad tummy ache and spent a lot of time resting in the car, but she perked up just in time for s'mores.  It was very fun.  We all wished we could have stayed overnight, but with a little baby at home who still wakes up to eat once per night, it just wasn't in the cards.  We got home after 10:30 pm and got the kids to bed. 

Look at that view! 

What a fun birthday.  I say if you've got to get old, it's best to do it surrounded by the people you love.

Fourth of July

We had a very fun, busy Fourth of July this year.  It started bright and early with a 6:00 am flag raising and breakfast at our church.  We actually had to wake the kids up - something we rarely do because they are such early risers.

Ward breakfast.

The kids loved to run around the building.

Later that morning, we met David's family in town for the parade. I love Rexburg's parade.  It's just long enough (Ogden's parade was too long and way too hot!) and the kids get tons of candy.  It's even more fun when the cousins are all together.  You should see the swarms of kids dashing over each little salt water taffy on the ground - it's like hungry sharks.  Alison had to help Josh because he just wasn't fast enough to swoop in on the candy.  They all got more than they needed. 

Bronson's not a real parade fan yet.  He slept through a big chunk of it.

Just some guy walking through the street with his pet boa.  He let the kids touch it.

Sam (in stripes) Nicki, Nolan, Isaac, Josh, Ali, Abby

The best part of the parade was the military tank that blasted the kids with water.

In the afternoon, David worked on building the goat shed and I cleaned the house.  Then, I took the kids to the firework stand, the grocery store and the park.  We had a great time. 

It was Nicole's turn to teach Family Home Evening.  She wanted to do it on her own, so we let her.  I think in the future, we'll have to be a little bit more involved in the planning, but it sure was cute.  Nicki taught us about "Adventure."  She said, "Now, some adventures can be dangerous. Like if you went on an adventure in the jungle, you might get eaten by a tiger.  Or, someone might try to get you and kill you or marry you!"  That was about it for the lesson part.  Then, we went on and actual adventure.  We got in the van and started driving.  At each intersection, David would ask one of us to choose a direction.  We took turns deciding where to go.  We ended up out in Burton somewhere.  The cool thing was, we ended up driving right next to a wild deer.  She let us get quite close to her before bounding away.  It was neat.  Nicole said that she gave a silent prayer of thanks to Heavenly Father for letting her see the deer and for letting us not kill it.

Which way should we turn, kids?

After a half hour or so, we stopped "adventuring" and just drove over to Kristi and Terry's house.  They hosted a hot dog roast.  Can you believe it!?!?!  They just moved in last week!  Amazing!  Anyway, the food was yummy and we ate until we were stuffed. Then we went home and had our annual driveway firework show.  We were up way past usual, but we had a great time.

The only picture I took at the hot dog roast.  I didn't take any of the firework show.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Shirley

On Friday, July 1st, Grandma Shirley turned 89 years old.  We had a family gathering at the Gee's house that evening to celebrate. 

Opening presents.  She put the flower from the box in her hair.  We all know what she likes - she got 3 pounds of Florence's Chocolates. 

Grandma is an amazing person.  She's an example to me in many ways.  She is quiet and reserved, happy to let others stand in the spotlight.  She works very hard, usually behind the scenes of most parties.  She's also very funny and spunky.  I love talking to her one-on-one.  She always brightens my day.  And of course, she's a true food lover.  A woman after my heart in that respect.  We love to talk about and share food with others.

Lighting the candles.  Grandma Gee always puts the right number of candles in our birthday cakes.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Shirley!  We love you!

By the way, July 1st also marked the one year anniversary of Grandma and Grandpa Gee returning from their mission.  To celebrate, we fed the missionaries at our house.

All's Well That Ends Well

Wednesday, July 6th 2011 is a day that will go down in history (my family history that is) as one that should have been spent in bed. 

Bronson has been sick. His nose and eyes are a constant yellow gooey mess.  He's not his happy self, either.  The eye drops his doctor gave him last time he had this problem aren't working.  The ones that did work were gone without a refill and his doctor was not in the office.  Oh well, we were meaning to switch doctors anyway.  We set an appointment with the new doc... at 4:15 pm.

We ran a bunch of errands with the kids in the morning. I told the kids that if they were good, we'd go to the carousel and splash park.  Our stops were as follows:

1. Valley wide to get some goat supplies.  They didn't have what I needed, of course.  So we made an extra stop at CAL Ranch.  They did have what I needed (basically) but at a more expensive price. They also had another thing I needed, but the cashier forgot to ring it up, so I said I'd come back some other day.  I couldn't stay any longer with Josh screaming for candy and the girls fighting about something or another.
2. Last week I bought a very cute necklace at an amazing sale price.  I wore it once and Bronson broke it.  I went back to that store to replace the necklace while it was on sale.  Guess what - it was sold out.
3. The library.  In all fairness to this day, there were no problems at the library. 
4. The splash park.  Changed the kids into their suits in the van, and fed the baby.  Discovered that the splash park was broken.  A splash park with no water.  Oh well, we could at least ride the carousel, right?  Wrong.  It wasn't going to be open for another hour or so.  Went home for lunch.

After lunch, the girls had a play date with some children down the road.  They are from Utah, just visiting their grandparents who live down the road.  I didn't know until they came home that the kids they were supposed to play with weren't there.  The grandma said they had gone shopping, but might be home soon so the girls could play in the back yard until they got home.  An hour and a half later, our girls came back without ever seeing their friends.  I guess they still had fun playing in their yard by themselves.

Meanwhile, I intended to use the time that the boys were napping and the girls were playing to get some things done.  At least I got the kitchen straightened up and took a shower.  But that's it!  I called a goat expert in Minnesota to get a few questions answered.  I really don't know exactly what I'm doing and the stuff I read sometimes conflicts itself or is confusing, so I called this amazing goat lady for help.  She may be great with goats, but I don't think she likes people much.  I basically got lectured very sternly for my stupidity.  Her main cause of anger was that I dared ask how to pasteurize.  It is NOT okay to pasteurize fresh goat milk (in her opinion, but she didnt' say that)  and if I am going to ruin it, I might as well buy that disgusting stuff they sell at the grocery store.  Am I a filthy person who contaminates the milk with my poor barn hygiene or some sort of germ-o phobic freak?!?  Also, only fools let their kids nurse.  Once you let them do that, they'll never stop and you'll have to keep them completely separated from the moms until after they're weaned.  I'm only paraphrasing here.  She didn't actually call me names, but they were implied.  She went on and on about everything I've totally messed up and acted like I should have known better.  I guess I learned a lot, but I could have gone this whole day without that conversation.

Bronson woke up too early from his nap and started crying.  He went from crying to screaming to hyperventilating in a matter of minutes.  I tried to calm him, but he wasn't interested.  After a certain point, I could have probably fed him or something, but it had become a battle of wills.  Real mature, I know - battling with a 9 month old.  I take very little comfort in the fact that I won in the end and he eventually calmed down and fell asleep for 10 minutes.  By then, the girls were home from their non-play date and all hope of quiet time vanished. 

We took Bronson to the doctor at 4:15 pm.  Yes, that's right.  All five of us went.  Need I say more?  The doctor prescribed some eye drops for the baby.  Of course, when we went to the pharmacy to pick them up, we discovered that the pharmacy didn't have that kind of medicine.  We had to go to Wal Mart's pharmacy (a place I generally avoid like the plague).  I didn't need anything from Wal Mart and I needed to kill twenty minutes so we went to see the fish tanks in the pet section.  Thank heavens for them!

We got home from that fiasco around 6:15 pm.  David (aka my hero) had set the table and mixed up some chicken salad sandwiches for dinner.  I was so grateful for his help.  He could tell that I needed to lean on him that night and he really stepped up.  I wonder what gave my mental state away...perhaps the fact that I burst into tears when he called in the afternoon.  Did I mention that it was the worst possible day of the month for this kind of day to happen? 

Anyway...after dinner, David stayed home with the kids while I went to see "Jane Eyre" with my friend, Laura.   I was sure that the power would go out or the movie would be canceled, but it wasn't!  It was such a beautiful movie.  I loved it.  That was all I needed to set my day perfectly right.  When I got home, I walked up to David, dipped him and gave him a big, Bronte-esque kiss.

Three Stories And Some Desitin

Summer is in full swing around here.  My life is a constant parade of picnics, play dates, weeding, running through the sprinkler, library visits, snow cones, and soccer.   Just a few of the things that keep our lives busy.  Also, Bronson is crawling!  Hooray for him and for me!  Of course, there's nothing like a baby who'll eat everything he touches to point out how many little death traps like small toys and wrappers get left on your floor at any given moment.  Amidst all the daily adventures, a few stories stand out:

1.  The most exciting news of the week is that Kristi and Terry moved to Rexburg!!  We are so excited!  David and I went to visit them in St. Louis back before we were officially engaged and we had a wonderful time.  Ellie was the first Gee grandchild I ever met (she was such a beautiful baby!)  Both Kristi and Terry are some of the funniest, coolest people I know.  They are very fun to be around!

When Terry finished PA school in St. Louis, we were excited that he got a job in Oregon.  At least it was a little closer to us.  Then, they moved to Pocatello and we thought we were in heaven.  We saw them at least once a month or so.  Now, they live in the same town as us!  Maybe next, they'll move next door! 

I watched their kids for them for a few hours on Monday while the movers were unloading stuff.  It was so fun, but I forgot to take pictures.  Bummer!  You'll have to imagine eight kids (Bronson was asleep) crammed on a blanket in front of the TV eating lunch and watching "Megamind."  It was a total Kodak moment.  That evening, we brought pizza over and got to see their new house.  It's awesome!  I can't wait for all these cousins to grow up together.  What fun!

2.  A family in our ward hosted a neighborhood pig roast last week.  They held it at the old pioneer schoolhouse down the street from us.  It was one heck of a party!  There was a better turn out than our ward's parties.  We ate the most delicious pork I've ever had, along with a lot of other good food.  I'm trying to figure out a reason to have them cater a roast for us just so I can eat that pork again.  The kids loved exploring the old schoolyard, chasing and being chased by friends, and playing with dirt (does that EVER get old?) 

The old schoolhouse. 

This cute girl, Briley loves Josh.  A lot.  Together, they would fill up Bronson's stroller with dirt, then dump it out. 

3.  I made these adorable dresses for our girls.  Wal Mart sells the cutest fabric in a ton of styles that's already gathered in at the top.  All I did was let the girls pick something out, then sew it into a cylinder and slap a couple of straps on.  It took about an hour.  So fun!  I may have to make some more.

4.  The other day I was getting the boys out of the tub and putting Bronson's diaper on when Josh announced that he was going to "pee."  I quickly turned my attention to him and put his diaper on first.  In the 15 seconds it took to take care of that emergency, Bronson got a hold of the Desitin and thought he'd give it a little taste.  Yuck!  Now that he's mobile, he can get into trouble quicker than Ali can say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." (which is pretty fast, by the way!)