Men and Being sick

I will start with the great love that I have for my husband of 4 1/2 years, Stephen. He is a great man that provides for us, pays the bills, pays for my car and gas, tries to be patient in raising our kids, looks out for our future, makes sure that I don't spend too much money, and plans lots of vacations for us. Now I am going to go into the next phase of my post.

Have you ever felt really crappy? I mean so crappy that it hurts to lift up your glass of Sprite, and let's not talk about trying to sip it through a straw! I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat, I was going to go to church anyway because sometimes my throat is just sore and dry, but then the headache set in and the shakes and the fever. By the time Beck and Stephen made it home from church I was exhausted and hurting. It's so hard to nap! I had been taking only Tylenol because I am nursing Paisley, but Tylenol doesn't do much. The day wore on and I knew that I had to go to the walk in clinic in the morning because we are headed out on our trip to Wyoming for a Sims Family Reunion (Stephen's dad's side) and then driving to southern Oregon to stay in the treehouses with my family, so after a very sleepless night and a lot of eyerolls from Stephen I made it into the Clinic at 8:30 and yep, Postive for Strep Throat, yeah! Okay, no not really excited about that, but excited to know that it is treatable. Really, I just want to sleep and I am having a hard time at it. So Strep throat it is, but I am wondering if everyone's hubby out there is like mine, bless their hearts...

Out of the mouth of a friend's hubby when they both had gotten strep right after one another, "Oh, I am so much sicker than you were." I laugh because when Stephen gets sick, bless his heart yet again, he lays in bed or on the couch all day and then magically the next day he is healed. I know that there have been numerous times where he has tried to work, but came home early and just crashed. I am not saying that I have ever been SICKER than him, all I am saying is that when I am sick, I don't really get to just CRASH and let it pass. Stephen helped out yesterday because it was Sunday, but this morning he says, "if you're going to the DR hurry and go already because I need to get to work." (He is saying this as he is asleep on the couch because Beck woke up early.) So I grab my purse and head out, Beck opens the door and follows me. I noticed him as I was backing out and took him bac

k in and asked Stephen (thru his snores) if he knew that Beck was outside. ... Hmmmm. So in short I got a sitter for Beck and poor Paisley just doesn't get much interaction today. Poor girl. I am just upset because I could do without the eye rolls as I ask for a drink of water, or maybe help pick up, so that I didn't have to do it because if I don't do it now I will just have to do it when I am feeling better and the mess will be twice as big. But no, the mess is just sitting downstairs waiting for me, along with the stinky dishes...

On a happier note, here are some pictures of my adorable, patient Paisley

Cameraless

Well, as you can tell I am cameraless. Stephen took the Teacher's Quorum up to the cabin, he left Wednesday morning and he took my camera with him! Argh! Me and my babies have just been hanging out. I worked in the yard a bunch on Wednesday and then Thursday I spent most of the day until 9 PM trying to figure out and then do Payroll for AIM gymnastics (and School). I tell ya, those accountants and all other types of "number" people are smart. My brain hurt so bad along with my sore calves from doing aerobics and my throbbing headache from the no DEW! I also went to aerobics again today and I plan on continuing, I kinda like it! We are headed out in a minute to go watch Hanna do her presentaion at Science Camp and then we are off to the Aquatic Center for some swimming. Beck can't wait, he's been carrying around his water toys since we went on Monday!

Aerobics

Yeah, so I went to an aerobics class today. My friend Bethany said to go early, so that I could get the big step, so I went at 8:30 and Beck and Paisley went to the day care that they have there, and I got my big step and set it up and then went and did the elliptical machine for like 10 minutes. So I think that I did okay in this class. I have never done aerobics, and I only tripped over my step once! I missed a few steps, it makes my brain hurt trying to decifer what a "walk away Joe" is compared to a oh, I don't even know what else she was saying and I sweated a lot, but I kept up and I had a major heart rate thing going on and I felt good. About half way through I was like, "Yeah, I can do this, working out, drinking water, staying away from the Dew." Then she kept going, I'm talking we went on forever! 43 minutes of per cardio! Now I don't know what that really means, but I do know that it crossed my mind to give up! Then we finished and did some abs for a minute, and my stomach was hurting and we only did like 50 altogether. If I keep this up, maybe there is hope that the pancake stomach will go away. There is hope right? Anyone? Just tell me there's hope, that would just make Stephen's day! ;)

And as for the no Mountain Dew, the fact that I've started this, I have to finish it, but I'm telling you, my head hurts, I'm irritable, and I want a cold refreshing, bad for my body Mountain Dew. I am really going to try and just shake it, I mean it can't be good to NEED something that bad, but man, it sure does taste good and make my mouth water just to think of it. But there is also one up side, all I do is drink water all day. :)

An encounter with an aggressive creature....

You see this calm, collected, wonderful woman?? This is my mother-in-law, Ann. The day I met her she was nothing but sincere and generous, and maybe a little excited that her son might get married! hehe. Anyways, as I stated in the cabin post, she was bitten by a dog as she was calmly minding her own business on a serene walk next to their cabin.

I was not with Ann, but this is what I imagine the dog looked like....

And these my friends are pictures of the after math.....Brave little chica, huh? She didn't even cry! AND she was wearing jeans, he ripped right through them!

Goodbye!

Paisley has a projectile vomit problem... (I don't really know if that's what it is, but I've heard people call it that after she spits up all over me) After she eats it just comes right back up. Remember my trip to Mexico? Well, I didn't have one Mountain Dew while there and she still spit up everywhere, so I was convinced that the Dew wasn't the problem. Last week I went without any milk, and still the spit up flows freely, so in order to silence the well wishers, one more time I shall try the no Moutain Dew. I finished my last one off yesterday and today is the first day of no Mountain Dew for a long time! It's 11:33 AM and I don't think that I am going to make it. :) Just seeing the picture on the blog is killing me. :) So I am going to try this for a week or two and see if it helps poor Paisley and my laundry and if not then on to no Dairy, then no wheat and hopefully we find the culprit. At least if it's wheat or dairy I'll have my Dew to calm my nerves... ;)

Cabin

So we're back and we had a great time at the cabin and can't wait to go back! It was pretty nice, although I am not really one to get in the water. We hung around lazily. Ann and I tried to get some cleaning done before everyone else got up there. We had a run in with some very large moths that I was trying to vacuum up and my mother-in-law Ann had a run in with a dog that bit her leg while her and Tiffanni were out on a walk. It really did sink his teeth right into the back of her leg! She was a trooper and walked all the way back to the cabin and they took her into the hospital to get some shots and antibiotic. It was pretty weird. Stephen made it up on Friday morning and him and Beck went on a hike, but they didn't get to where they wanted to go because of snow. Paisley and I took a nap while they were gone, so if that was all that happened, I'd say that my cabin trip was a success! Stephen is headed up again on Wednesday thru the weekend to take some of the boys from the church on a campout. Bob and Ann have done a lot of work and the cabin is looking so good! I can't wait for Ashton Family week in August! Oh yes, and can you tell that Stephen shaved off all his hair??? Much to my sadness of course. He didn't tell me that he was going to do it, he sent me an e-mail with pictures that said, "surprise!" What a booger if ya ask me.....

Beck riding his trike

We got Beck this tricycle for Christmas this last year and we had been keeping it in the house and he'd sit on it, or use it as a table or something, but now that he's figured out what it's for he loves riding it up and down the sidewalk in front of our house. He tries to take off around the corner and it takes me a minute to catch him. He says, "my bike." Then he points to mine and says, "mommy bike." Then he points to Stephen's motorcycle and says, "daddy bike." Good to know he has his ownership correct. :) He can't quite reach the peddals to his liking, so he resorts to pushing with his feet on the ground, he has actually gotten quite fast!

Headed out!

Paisley at Bethany's baby shower, Rischel is making her smile big!

We are headed to the cabin tomorrow. We are heading up to go help clean up and then Stephen will meet us there this weekend. I am excited because I haven't been there in a long time and there have been a lot of changes. So if I don't post until next Monday then you will know why. :) Hopefully I can get some great pictures! This will be Paisley's first time at the cabin.

Tonight we had a baby shower for my friend Bethany Jenks. She is having a little girl, her due date is July 18th and I am so excited for her! I had some great help getting everything together; some great food by Jenica and Rischel ( my little shout out for all!) and Amber helped with decor along with Bethany's mother-in-law, Ellen. Rischel's mom, Kathy Turner, let us have it at her house and all ran smoothly. Jenica made a lime punch that I might as well just start refilling my Mountain Dew bottles with it was so good. Bethany is actually going to be moving here shortly, just across town, so still in Moses Lake. I am excited for her, but also bummed. I remember just 2 years ago knocking on her front door and welcoming her to 10th ward. I was pregnant with Beck and she was pregnant a little bit after with her little guy Roman. I threw her a surprise baby shower at my house, I can't believe that was 2 years ago! I had high hopes for our little guys riding the bus together or doing a parent pickup together, and although my dreams may be dashed we are still in the same town and I am going to use her for her huge basement that she is going to have! Yippee! So I can't walk to her house anymore, well I could, but it would sure take me a bit! But hopefully we stay close friends....

On another note, I had to include a picture of Paisley in this pijamas nightgown that I bought from Jenica's yard sale stuff, she looks like a little pioneer! so cute! I also bought a little Harley jacket/outfit that Stephen can'tt wait until she fits into it and a few other girly clothes, I know that I don't NEED anymore, but I WANT to always get more! :)

Cousin Cox's Pond

Rylee following Beck around as he sprayed everyone with his water gun tube
Our neice McKenna got a fish hook stuck in her finger! Ouch!

We got invited out to cousin Cox's pond in Warden on Saturday and we headed out after our recovery from our yard sale. We had a lot of fun fishing, playing in the water, and eating good food! Beck loved the water tubes that sprayed water out and playing in the dirt. He got in trouble few times for pushing kids down, and I got this on video of Stephen's "punishment" for him. It's so hard not to smile at him when you have to make him sit on the stairs or "take a timeout" because he starts saying, "I dory, I dory" (I'm sorry) and it's so cute and he is so funny! I hope that you can hear it on this video because I think that it is so precious! He is really starting to talk a lot more and now repeats things that I say. But I still think that Beck's sorry is the cutest thing I have ever heard! Other people probably don't think so because he is usually saying it right after he bit/slapped/pinched/pushed their kid.

Happy Father's Day!

To the Father of my children; Happy Father's Day to you! Thank you for providing for us and keeping us happy and heathly! Your children love you and I adore you! Today we joined you as you spoke in the 10th ward and gave a wonderful talk on families. I didn't get to hear much of it because I was in and out with Beck. Our sacrament meeting reminded me a lot of the Dr appointment from H-E double hockey sticks with Beck a little bit ago, but the parts of the talk that I did hear were great. And afterwaards people kept coming up to me and telling me to tell you how great you did. You are so great with Beck and I love how careful you are and the concern that you have for Paisley. I love to hear the garage door opening at the end of the day, it means you're home! My reinforcements have arrived and you usually come in with a smile on your face and you are excited to see your kids. Stephen Nephi Ashton, you are a wonderful father and I am so happy that you are OURS!Us making Breakfast for Dad on Father's Day morning....

My dad and me and my twin sister Jakobi on our first birthday.

To my other Dad and my first one. Thanks for always being there. Always knowing what to say and how to say it to get a smile. Thanks for all of your hard work and honesty. Thanks for taking care of us and giving me lunch money. For teaching me how to snow ski and water ski. For taking us car hooding and for showing me how to work hard, drive a tractor, set a syphon tube with one hand, and brand cows. Thanks for paying my cell phone bill that first year in high school and then cutting me free. :) (When the bill got higher and higher) And thank you for the phone calls and the e-mails. It's always good to know that I've got a daddy like you to back me up!Papa Goose and Baby Paisley June 2008

I love it

I LOVE it when this happens at the same time....

Then I get to do this....and this....

and THIS!

Let's just say that I have become a VERY fast scrapbooker.... (This is 2 days worth of naps that fell at the same time!) Yeah! Beck usually doesn't nap unless I time our walk right and then he will fall asleep in the stroller. But Paisley was whiny most of the day, so I had to keep walking, but then I came home and she fell asleep and I got some me time. I probably should have been napping, but this is more fun.

I guess this is how Beck and I look when we are sleeping. Stephen thought that it was funny enough that when he left this morning he took a picture! Haha! I didn't think that it was very funny because I told him last night in the middle of the night that he had to get up with the babies this morning because I was spent. Both my kids didn't have very good nights last night. I know, right after I posted the other day about my angel Paisley she throws this one at me. I know that moms deal with it all the time because I am still dealing with it with Beck, but when you're not expecting it, that's the worst! Beck has been doing really well staying in his own bed all night, but last night he was like screaming bloody murder and I hate to go in his room because then I fall asleep and then I don't hear Paisley wake up until she's screaming and then Stephen's yelling at me. Heaven forbid he get his bum out of bed and BRING her to me, nope, just start yelling my name, I'll come. :)
And then came bath time and my little babies were so cute and smelling so fresh and clean! Then Beck realized that I wanted to take pictures. I think that that kid has had a camera in his face his whole life because he's starting to put his foot down. This is the face that I have been getting a lot lately. I get that face from him after I say, "no, Beck, no movie," or "after I feed the baby Beck" or "no yummy, you gotta eat your breakfast first." Yeah, he's got that look down pretty good. :)




I also wanted to post some pictures of my house. We have worked a lot in the yard, it feels like that's all we ever do, like I've stated before, but we love it and Beck loves being outside. It's not a very good picture of all my flowers, I'll have to take some more some other time. This is my garden and path that Stephen has worked so hard on. As you can tell there is no gate yet on this side, hopefully soon. This is why I am so hesitant to take Beck outside by myself because all I do is follow him around because he wants to go to his friend Roman's house or walk across the street.

Why he would want to play in the back on the swing set or dig in the dirt is beyond me. (read sarcasm please) :) Well, tomorrow is the big yard sale, wish us luck! I just want all this crap out of my garage with maybe 50 bucks in my pocket to save for my new vacuum. (I spent my vacuum money on a new sewing machine, oops)

Sad

It's sad that there are no pictures on this post because I have taken pictures, but I left my camera in my sister, Kortni's, car.
We have recovered fully from our Idaho trip and went to Spokane for Beck's eye appointment where we were in and out in about 15 minutes and everything is fine we just have to go back in 3 months to check again and then schedule an appointment a few months later to get the tubes out. But yes, everything is good!
We got back later Tuesday night and worked in the yard for a bit. It seems like we are always working in the yard. I should take some pictures, so that I can measure our progress. Stephen built me a great pathway in my garden while I was gone and it looks pretty good. There are still no sprouted seeds and I fear that there may never be until next summer when I can try again. We've had some very windy days with no moist soil because of some drip line mishaps and then this morning a water blow out that may have washed any hopes of a garden away and flooded my little foot path. Hopefully we have a lot of the kinks worked out, but I can guarantee that our trips to Home Depot have not ceased. Stephen is probably happy that they are building a Lowe's down the street, so he won't have to drive all the way across town. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a Target because usually when there is a Lowes there is a Target close by, so I am hoping that they are following suit. (Does that make sense? Suit? I hear people say it all the time...)
I got my prints back that I ordered from Paisley's photo shoot when she was 2 weeks old and I have been pouring over them all night. I love how beautiful my little angel is! Yes, she is the most gorgeous little girl out there and so wonderful! (Knock on wood) Stephen asked me last night when Paisley woke up to eat and I said oh, I dunno, about 1 am and then 4 am. And he says, "why is she not sleeping through the night yet? Beck slept through the night at 3 weeks old didn't he?" I told him that just because Stephen started sleeping through the night that it doesn't mean that the rest of us did! ha! I think that Beck slept through the night for the first time about 4 months ago! ahah! I know that I bring most of it upon myself, so I am not complaining, I am only stating that my husband is pretty weird sometimes.
I started getting my yard sale stuff together for this Saturday's "2nd Annual AHO yard sale." I don't have as much as last year because my sister-in-law and sister had brought over some stuff, but I have quite a bit and I can't wait to get rid of it all. My sister is still going to bring over more stuff, but I am pretty ready as of now. I am not as organized as I have been on the past and my house still looks as full as before, but I am getting rid of a bit and every little bit counts right?
Well, my angel just fell asleep, so I am going to try and scrapbook a few pages before I hit the sack. Hopefully I will have some pictures tomorrow or the next day.

Burley Trip

It started out good enough, armed with my Mountain Dews, a DVD player for Beck and Paisley's binky we headed out at 2 PM on Wednesday. The first 2 hours were pretty uneventful until my stomach started to hurt and I knew that I needed a restroom. Both kids were asleep, so I drove for as far as my stomach would allow. An exit came into view and my stomach decided maybe I could go a little further until I passed the exit and I realized that I had guessed wrong. I prayed earnestly for the urge to pass or a rest area to appear and believe it or not I looked up and one of those little green signs said, "rest area 2 miles" I was so happy and plowed into the parking lot and hit the parking stop thing pretty hard, so hard that it woke Beck up, but I grabbed some "yummy's" from Beck's yummy bag, the diaper bag, Paisley's car seat and a groggy Beck and raced for the bathroom. I made it just in time and then Paisley started crying and I had to nurse a baby while I was going to the bathroom (gross I know, but it's all for the journal writing right?) and I ended up giving Beck my camera to take pictures and keep him busy after he dropped his cheese and crackers "yummy" on the floor and tried to lick the cheese off the floor! (Hence the picture in the slide show of my feet) After that he hung out at the rest area for about 30 minutes to make sure that my stomach sickness had passed. And it's a good thing we waited because I got sick again. But Beck had a fun time playing with the hand dryer in the bathroom and I think that Paisley was just happy to be out of the car.
After that we made it to Caldwell in good time and pulled into Jake's house about 9 PM. We had a great 2 days there filled with shopping and picture taking, oh and Jake cut an inch or 2 off my hair, just for fun. :) Then we headed to Burley for the big surprise. (PS. I can fit 3 car seats in my car!) Jax, Beck, and Paisley were well behaved on the ride to Burley and we made it to the house and totally surprised Britni, so much so that she cried! (Admit it, Brit, you DID cry!) We had some fun watching Bridger play baseball in the freezing wind and my brother-in-law, Chad was in a Triathalon for the Scandinavian Festival (He is AMAZING! 1.3 mile swim in freezing water, 56 mile bike, and then 13 mile run) I was so emotional watching all these people do this triathalon thing, I seriously did cry. Beck got to ride a choo-choo at the festival with cousins Bridger and Branson. He was so excited and played with all these boys the whole time we were in Burley. He couldn't get enough of them. And they were so nice to include him. He was free to be a rough and tumble boy!
For Britni's birthday we went to breakfast with Grandma Mimi and then we had a BBQ that night and she had a cute cake, I put a Dr Pepper on top. My mom did a great job getting everything together. She only had 26 candles, but she really is 30!! haha! Grandpa Beck and Aunt Diane came to her party too along with Grandma Mimi. It was so fun to see everyone and we were crazy busy. After the party died down Britni, Jake and I went to Dairy Queen. I had to have my swirl cone dipped in cherry because only the Burley DQ has cherry dipped cones, crazy Washingtonians! Argh! Anyways, we got hit on by a young kid showing off to his friends, so we gave him a fake number for laughs then while we were driving home we drove past a field that had the old tractor in it and I commented that I couldn't believe that it wasn't dead yet, so of course we had to go get pictures of it with us in the field.
I think that we are all exhausted, but I did have so much fun! Mom had great food, Collin can BBQ a mean piece of chicken, and Grandma Mimi and Grandpa Beck finally got to meet Paisley. I think that Beck misses the boys and all the action, but we stopped in Othello on the way home for a bit and he got to see his Othello cousins and run around for a bit and after we had been home for a bit later this evening his girls came over. He was so excited to see Piper, Alizah, Hanna, and Aunt Kortni that he wanted to go home with them. I am so happy that my kids have so much great family. So all in all, I have learned a few things from this trip;
#1 Never ever again will I travel without a DVD player
#2 I will put Imodium AD in my jockey box
#3 A navigational system is a must
#4 Don't pack a suitcase full of shorts when I am going to Burley in June, it's freezing!
#5 I can travel with 2 kids by myself on an 8 hour drive, but it's really smart to break it up and then you have a chance of surviving! :)

Check out my Slide Show!

Drag mouse over picture and it will give you the description.

Long Time No Post..

I drove to Idaho with my kids for my sister, Britni's, 30th, yes, I said 3oth!!! Birthday on Saturday. I am in Boise (Caldwell) right now (stayed here last night) at my twin sister's house getting ready for the drive back. I am not sure when we will be taking off, but hopefully soon. Of course when I get home I will have a big post and some fun pictures of my time here in Idaho. But I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still alive, well, barely after some eventful stuff that happened to us on our way to Burley last Wednesday! Let's just say that I have a new found faith in prayer.

It's always fun at Aunt Kortni's House

Poor Kortni. She has these 3 great girls, yes, they do throw some major hissy fits, but all in all, they sit during church, they ask to do things, they stick together. And then she gets these nephews...... Bridger, Branson, and Beck, crazy kids AND little Broxton will more than likely be the same. They throw things, oh no! They write on things, yikes! They think that glitter glue goes on the walls or at least you should be able to dump out the whole bottle at once right? The sage brush across the street is not a play ground? What? Snakes stay OUTSIDE? Cleaning supplies aren't toys??? You can't run with scissors or use a razor to cut your lip and pretend to shave? Kortni's girls are quite creative, but these are all things that Beck has done at her house. She's never had to lock up cleaning supplies or put away scissors, or heaven forbid throw the tub of butter away in the OUTSIDE garbage!!! Nope, she threw it away in the INSIDE garbage and Beck saw her do it, so he went and got it then proceeded to show Piper how to paint the window and Kortni's lovely expensive curtains with it.... Oh Beck, thanks for sharing you imagination with Piper and Kortni's poor house and sanity.

And thanks to Aunt Kortni for watching Beck, so I could go take Paisley to her Dr appt without the nurse having to enter the room in fear! haha!

Speaking of, today Paisley turns 2 months! Wow! She weighs 10 lbs 2.3 ounces, is 22 inches long and her head measures 15 1/4 inches. She is between the 25-50 percentile. She's my little petite angel. So patient, sweet, and darn is she CUTE! I think that she really is an angel baby. And I always knock on wood after I say this, but really, she is so sweet! She is starting to coo and reach and hold onto my hand. She likes her swing and she lays in her craddle and falls asleep by herself, unless her binky falls out, whoa! You better run and get it back in before she gets too worked up over it. She likes to be wrapped up tight in a blanket to fall asleep and I am getting pretty good at reading her cues. Wake, eat, sleep, awake, eat sleep, major blow out, awake, eat, sleep, fuss a minute. That's about it. :) She is so sweet to let her older brother torture her and poke her in her eyes. She likes to suck on her hand and she sleeps 3 hrs straight at night eats, then back to bed. She smiles a lot and has a beautiful smile. I take all these pictures of her, but it is so hard to catch a good one because they just don't show her personality. Yesterday morning I went to work out at 6 am and that is the first time that I have left her. We've always been in the same buidling before at least, like at church, Stephen has taken her to Priesthood before or someone has held her, but I'd always been right there. I was gone for about an hour and it was weird, but we both survived. I came home and Stephen had her in bed and they were both knocked out. If I can't get her back to sleep in the night I lay her down with us and she stops fussin. I know bad habits start small, then Beck crawls in about 6 am or so, we need a bigger bed! I love my sleep, but my babies are only small once! (remind me of this in 6 months when I am sleep deprived and you can refer me to this post and say, "you said it yourself, it's all your fault") So it's hard to say it, but my baby is 2 months old and growing fast. Now I am waiting for my friend Bethany to have her little girl, so I can hold a newborn again! I know, Paisley is still a newborn, but when I had Beck, the only thing I was doing was watching him grow, and now that I have Paisley too, I am so busy raising a toddler as well, that all of a sudden she's 2 months old and I don't remember being able to just sit and watch her grow!