Hurricane Sandy: Survived.

I loved the color of that tree.  Now all those leaves are on the ground!

For those of you who aren't local and aren't my Mom, we have survived our little hurricane just fine!  I guess it hit a lot harder in New Jersey, so I'm not trying to belittle Sandy, but here in Manassas, it sure wasn't a very big deal.  Basically, we had about 36 hours of rain, with the occasional big gusts of wind throughout.  A few people in the ward lost power for a couple hours, but we weren't one of them.  We had a big branch fall off the tree next to our driveway.  If we'd left the van parked there, it might have broken a window or something, but that tree loses branches EVERY time it gets windy, so we'd parked the car on the street.

So we're fine!

And I have been LOVING having my family all stuck at home with me for a couple days!  Yay for enforced vacations!

On a totally different note, our ward Halloween party was on Saturday, and I got second place in the chili cook-off!  First time my cooking has ever won a prize.  (Probably the first time it's ever been entered into a contest, too, but still!)  So, yeah, hurray for chipotle chicken chili!  My Grandpa Hansen used to always compete in chili cook-offs (and, if he didn't win, claim that the judges didn't know beans about chili), so I got to feel like a chip off the old block here.  It was nice.  AND, my big prize was a big plastic serving spoon, which was hilarious since the same night someone walked away with one of the ones we'd brought!  The Church giveth and the Church taketh away, I suppose. 

This isn't a particularly good picture, but it was the best we could get before Ryder ripped that hat off his head and refused to put it back on.  (No, I don't know why Kendra insisted on wearing her Minnie Mouse ears in the middle of her forehead.  No idea...)

Stay dry out there, everyone!

Bad Thoughts

In my darker moments, I think about showing up to the church Halloween party looking like this:

Thank you, Awkward Family Photos, for this little gem...!

And then I laugh and laugh and laugh.

And then I wonder who would be more embarrassed by it all-- all the poor ward members forced to see my stomach and fat rolls?  Or me for letting it be seen?

Then I thank my lucky stars that I have enough sense to never ever do this.

And then I realize that I'm kind of a jerk for thinking I'm better than these poor dopes.  And I feel sort of guilty about that, but not guilty enough to change my mind.

And then I wonder if I might be destined for hell for my arrogance.

Which, of course, leads me to wondering about what other awful Halloween costumes I could come up with, since I'm probably going to hell anyway.

Yes?  Maybe?  I bet Craig could do a WAY better job with the finger painting!

It's a vicious cycle.

I'm blaming it on the hormones.

A Quick Rant

I usually try to keep the ranting to a minimum.  Because being angry and annoyed at stuff starts to annoy everyone else after a while, you know?

But lately, it seems like everywhere I look, this one small thing is driving me crazy: people's refusal to use the sidewalks!  I don't know if this is just a Virginia thing, or if it's a spreading epidemic, but I keep seeing it.  Kendra and I often end up walking to Bentley's school behind a couple high schoolers who insist on walking in the middle of the road so that cars have to swerve to avoid them.  I think that's was pretty obnoxious, but I usually chalk it up to their age and try not to care.  But then the other day, I was driving on a long, straight stretch of road in a nice neighborhood, and had to avoid a woman walking her dog in the bicycle lane!  Why wasn't she using the sidewalk right next to it, which would have put a little more distance between herself (and her dog) and my speeding car?  In the same day, I went around a corner and had to avoid an older couple who was also walking in the road (and going even further into my driving space to walk around a parked car!), and there was a perfectly good sidewalk right there!  And every time I go to the temple, the last part of the drive through Rock Creek Park is an exercise in trying to not mow down all the cyclists riding side-by-side on a windy, narrow, shady road (all of which makes it pretty hard to even see them) that has a perfectly good paved bicycle trail right next to it!

And that's when I finally get annoyed and begin complaining.

Maybe it's because where I grew up, there aren't any sidewalks.  Bicyclers and pedestrians have less than a foot of grass between the white line on the road and a deep muddy ditch, but we usually try to stick to that foot of space when we see or hear a car coming.  So when you live in a neighborhood with lovely, smooth, wide paved sidewalks, why wouldn't you want to use them???

Hmmm...

...I worry about the the fact that I regularly get those "Prove You're Not a Robot" word thingies wrong.  Does that say something very, very bad about me?

Reporting Back

I met with Kaiser's Head OB yesterday, and since I've mentioned this upcoming appointment approximately 37 times on this blog, I may as well tell you how it all went.

The short answer is that the doctor said No to me, but he managed to do so with enough explanations that at least I understand the answer.  So while I don't love it, at least I get it now.

The long version (yes, this is me, of COURSE there's a long version!) is that we sat and discussed everything for about 45 minutes.  And I'll just say right off the bat that any doctor who is willing to talk for 45 minutes until his patient is satisfied gets oodles of gold stars in my book.

What it really all came down to is the way my insurance policy works: Kaiser covers everything, and only if there's something that they medically CANNOT do, will they outsource it so someone else.  So, for example, when Ryder needed physical therapy, they were happy to refer me to a place that specialized in that (and pay for most of it, too).  But, as the doctor pointed out, they are very capable of helping me deliver VBAC, and are even fine with me doing so (which is not the case with a lot of insurance companies, so I really am very thankful that Kaiser is reasonable in this area).  So there's no medical necessity for me to go to a birthing center.  I can understand that.  Even though I feel very strongly that it might be better/cheaper to go to a birthing center, I can see that my situation does not constitute a necessity.  But the bigger problem, according the doctor, is simply the fact that Kaiser does not currently outsource to any midwives or birthing centers.  (They used to, but that birthing center decided to stop working with Kaiser.  I contacted them when I was pregnant with Kendra and when they did still work with Kaiser, but they didn't allow VBAC,  so that place was never an option for me anyway.)  So even if I could somehow persuade my doctor to sign a referral for me, there would be no one that they have approved to send me to.  (All this begs the question of why my original doctor suggested I go to a birthing center in the first place?  Apparently she needs to be better versed in Kaiser's policies!  I guess I could tell her a thing or two now!)

So that's that.  We then spent a long time discussing my treatment at the hospital and what measures I could take so that that wouldn't happen again.  Basically, he suggested writing a birth plan with my doctor (he emphasized not just using one that I'd found on-line, since most doctors assume you are crazy and uninformed if that's what you bring in), but to write it with my doctor and include information so that it was obvious that I had done actual research and knew what I was talking about and that I understood any risks associated with my requests (such as having intermittent fetal monitoring instead of constant monitoring).  And then he suggested that I ask the doctor on call to discuss it with me when he/she had time, but while I was still in early labor and able to carry on such a conversation.  (Rather than, say, waiting until I'm pushing to find out that the doctor is uncomfortable with me not laying on my back for this event.)  Anyway, it seemed like good advice.  He also said that I was welcome to call the four hospitals where I can deliver and see which doctors are at each place when the time comes and choose which one I'd rather go with.  That's still a shot in the dark, since there are 20 OBs in the area, so I'd be hard pressed to meet all of them!  But at least if the two I really hated are working that night, I could avoid them!

Anyway.  Now that I am fully armed with all of this information, I have to figure out what I'm actually going to do.  But I feel like I have a good handle on all my options and can truly make an informed decision.  So even though it would have been nice if he'd just said Yes and signed the referral, at least I felt like I was heard, like we had a good discussion, and the ball is simply in my court to do what I think is best now.

Craig and I have a lot of thinking-- and praying-- to do...

And the Newest Little Pumpkin

...is a boy!!!

Our family as represented by pumpkins.  I don't know why this is so fun to do, I just know that I love doing it.

We had our ultrasound Monday and there was no mistaking it!  I have to admit that I am totally excited-- I really do think boys are a lot of fun.  And it turns out that I suck at doing anything with Kendra's hair, so that's one less thing for me to have to hassle with as we try to herd everyone out the door each morning!  (And I'll be honest-- I sort of hate those huge headbands with ginormous flowers that people keep insisting on sticking on their baby girls' heads.  But then I feel like some smug snarky brat for refusing to bother with them, so the whole situation makes me feel uncomfortable.  I'd rather just not bother with it at all!)

So we will be a 3 boys and 1 girl family.  I can think of at least three other families in our ward with the exact same ratio-- one of them even has the same order with their kids, so I sent that friend a text pointing out that we were just copying them.  She offered to have another kid so I would know what to expect next time around.  :)

The actual appointment was a bit crazy-- I'd been looking forward to this ever since it was scheduled a month ago, and barely even slept the night before.  I was so excited to see my baby!  So naturally, as we're driving to Reston, I get a phone call informing me that the ultrasound machine broke, and they would have to reschedule me for later in the week.  I stammered something about already being on my way and having babysitters, and shot Craig that "What do I do???" look.  He shot back, "Whatever.  I got the day off work for this.  You're getting your ultrasound."  So I relayed that information back to the guy on the phone.  I told him I was sure one of the other offices that did ultrasounds could fit me in today, or they could use one of their other machines and squeeze me in.  He said he'd see what he could do.

When we arrived, I asked him (same guy) if he had any guesses as to how long we'd have to wait.  My appointment was for 10:30.  "Well," he said, "We're here until 4:00, so I guess we'll get you in before then..."  Obnoxious.  I waved my book at him and told him I would be just fine and proceeded to sit down and read.

They saw us ten minutes later.

All that worrying for nothing!

But I'm glad for the experience-- it gave me more practice saying No.  And my meeting with the doctor is tomorrow, so I'm going to have to be tough (but also polite and friendly, well informed without being bratty or like I'm trying to tell the OB how to do his job...  you know, easy stuff!).  So wish me lots and lots of luck tomorrow!!!!


Oh, and one last note-- that blog that I like, Mama Birth, just posted about how difficult it is to get your way in a hospital.  Reading her post was almost spooky, it's like she was in the room with me while I was delivering Ryder!  If you still don't understand why I'm reluctant to go to a hospital this time around (and I know some of you out there think I'm nuts, even though you've refrained from saying so directly), read this.  Maybe you'll understand where I'm coming from better then.


And not to repeat myself too much or anything, but, YAY FOR MY LITTLE BABY BOY!!!  I'm so excited about him!

My First Ever Photodynamic

As I uploaded these pictures, I was texting my cousin (Hi, Anne!) and telling her that I was working on a photo dump.  But autocorrect changed my wording to "photodynamic" instead.  Which, you have to admit, sounds WAY cooler.  So that's what I'll call this.  No, I'm not just dumping a random hodge-podge of pictures on my blog with no particular nod to story or chronology!  I'm creating something unique and beautiful: a photodynamic!  Tell me you're not impressed!

Anyway, you may have noticed, but it took me forever to upload all the pictures from Bentley's birthday onto the computer.  Probably because they were scattered around on three different cameras, so it seemed like a lot of work to gather them all together.  And in the process of uploading those, I found oodles more pictures that never got posted.  So that is all being remedied in one fat blog post photodynamic, right here.

Captions will provide explanations where necessary.  And-- who am I kidding?-- probably where not necessary, too.  Enjoy!



In August, we went to a Mitt Romney rally held right here in Manassas!  There were so many people there that we weren't even close to getting inside the Pavilion where it was held.  But it's hard to be angry that there were too many people who uphold your own political beliefs, so rather than being annoyed about that, we just found the jumbo-screen where they were broadcasting it and partied there

Ryder was very good about clapping every time everyone else started clapping.  I guess that shows some sort of skill set, right?  Like being a team player or something?

It turned out that half the ward was there, too, which was awesome!  AND, we dragged our friends Jeff & Juliana, who were visiting from Seattle/Provo along with us, so that made it even more fun!  This picture was actually taken by my friend Andrea

Here is Ryder sleeping through Sunday School.  He gets that from his Daddy...

Shortly before the pool closed at the end of the summer

Bentley being a goof-- he makes me laugh!

Also in August, we went camping and I got to see my first ever WILD BEAR!!!  I have to admit that I was totally excited by that.  It was definitely the highlight of the trip for me:

He was just a small thing, and we were still in the car.  The rangers chased him away right after that, so we slept without worrying about him (although I was even more careful than usual about putting all our food in the car!).

Kendra at the campsite. 
The week before, she had managed to fall down and slam her cheek into Ryder's highchair, leaving her poor face a bit lopsided and bruised looking.  My poor sweet girl!

A bunch of us all took our kids hiking.  It turned out to be about four times longer than we were expecting, really hilly, and also really rocky.  So we were all beyond exhausted by the time we got back.  This was taken in the first half and the poor kids were already tired!

But it was a gorgeous view once we finally got there!

Yeah, next time I'll wear actual shoes for the rough terrain.  And Craig won't bring (carry!) Ryder...

On the way home everyone slept but the driver!

Ryder discovers the joy of playing in the laundry basket

Love that smile!

Kendra is busy being a mommy to her penguins

Here she demonstrates her excellent curry-combing techniques

Our friend the groundhog is still alive and well and digging under our porch!

Because he wasn't busy enough, Craig volunteered to be Bentley's scoutmaster.

Here they are getting ready for a pack meeting or a den meeting or something-- I get it all confused...

The big kids napping with Daddy (you can barely see Bentley's head peaking out from under the green blanket)

And now for a bunch of Ryder pictures:

I went upstairs one day to find that Kendra had tucked Ryder in for a nap!  He was quite cozy on her bed-- she'd even let him borrow her light-saber!

Ryder also tried out napping at the top of the stairs, which seems like a terrible idea...

...And wearing Daddy's shoes

...AND wearing Mr. Potato Head's glasses!

He likes to call Daddy at work, using his calculator...

And never gets tired of letting me push him on the swings

Playgroup yesterday was at a pumpkin patch-- it was a gorgeous crisp fall day!  And it was fun to spend some time with just my little Ryder!

I picked out this tiny little pumpkin for him.  I think I was more excited about it than he was-- isn't it just so cute?!?!

Bentley liked Ryder's pumpkin, too...

And last, but not least.  This was what Craig sent me when I was in the middle of a presidency meeting.  And we were discussing how we could get the young women to stop using their phones during class and be more respectful.  So I heard my text message "ding," whipped out my phone, saw this, and had to try my darnedest to not bust up laughing in the middle of this discussion.  

Apparently I am no better than the girls.

But can you blame me?

Thus we conclude this photodynamic!  May there be many more to come!

Bentley Had a Birthday!

It actually happened a couple weeks ago, but Bentley turned 6! What a great age to be! This year we threw him more of a real party than last year (where the "party" just meant that I invited over a few friends to eat cake with us). Or at least, there was a theme to the party, so that means it was organized, right?

Now, me throwing a "themed party" is not exactly anything to brag about. I do hardly any work or preparation and just hope for the best.  Because I am both cheap AND lazy.  I spent a few minutes on-line looking for ideas, but when I came across things like "hire character actors!" and "build an ewok hut!" I knew I was completely out of my depth. So I closed all those windows on the computer and just bought some cheap glow-in-the-dark swords, called them light-sabers, and was done. Let the party begin!

Craig and I decorated the night before his party (which was not on his actual birthday), so the kids were excited to wake up and find decorations.  Ryder especially was so excited that I finally just carried him down the stairs, since he was so busy looking, pointing, and squawking about the whole thing that I was pretty sure he would fall down.

Nothing more exciting than waking up to balloons to play with!

Craig's decorating skills here

Hey, YOU try drawing R2-D2 free-hand with gel frosting!

All the friends came by a little after school got out.  It was a bit crazy:

Playing Hot Lava (I mean, pretending we're on Mustafar) with most of the party guests

First they had to complete an obstacle course.  When everyone passed that with flying colors, they were given their light-sabers and Jedi Training began:

Rule #1 for light-sabers: Absolutely NO hitting your fellow Jedis with one!

But attacking the fence (and trees, and one girl's older brother who inexplicably showed up) is totally okay

That is one determined look on Bentley's face.  It's only a little bit scary...  Right?

Opening presents from friends

On his actual birthday, we had another celebration with Grandma and Grandpa.  It was also a very happy day:

A very cool glow-in-the-dark and makes-all-the-appropriate-noises light-saber

Buried in toys and wrapping paper

After all the presents were opened, we went to dinner at Red Robin (which is the perfect combo of making the kids happy AND having real food!), and then Bentley and Kendra watched his new movie (Puss in Boots) while Ryder played with all the presents.

Ryder was almost as excited as Bentley was about these Batman gloves

And he REALLY got excited about the mask!

Ryder was gleeful as he practiced whacking Grandpa with a light-saber

Yeah, it's almost scary how much he loved this...!

I may not throw the coolest parties ever, but we still had a very fun birthday for my little boy.

Happy Birthday, Bentley!