Ice Cream and Learning to Roll

Any chocolate lovers out there?? (If you are being good/healthy, don't read on)

Well, it's your lucky night! I happened to stop by Coldstone last night and they have a new yummy flavor. It's Ghiradelli Chocolate and it's to die for! It is so much better than their regular chocolate. It's only in stores for a limited time- until April- which works out perfect for me, since I won't be pregnant anymore- and Coldstone will have to be a faint, fond memory!

The above picture just happens to be my favorite flavor- German Chocolate Cake.

Good thing I got to indulge last night, because the first bad news about our remodel came today. Well, the first of a few "bad news's." We got some bad info and come to find out, the floor is supposed to be laid after the cabinet's, not before. So my well laid plan was blown to pieces. Then we got a call from Home Depot and the wood floor we special ordered is in China somewhere and won't be here until Feb. 9th. Excuse me, but that little sign on the display specifically says "Will Arrive in Your Store in 7-10 Days!" Hmm- but since we ordered it on Jan. 21st, that equals 20 days, not 10!! You can bet I was on the phone with the HD manager- of course pulling the pregnant card, and using words like "unacceptable" and "disapointed" and "you need to fix this right now!" Long story, short- he's working on it. Then when we were finalizing our plans for the cabinetry tonight we found out that the window needs to be in before anything else. Not good since it's going to be another 7-10 days before the window arrives. Ahh- this is not going as planned. I finally decided to stop trying to control and calendar everything and just roll with the punches. Let's just say that I'm not very good at "rolling". I like to have everything written down and planned. So- I'm going to practice my patience and wait for some phone calls tomorrow. I am going to roll!

Extreme Home Makeover: Edmonds Style

Let me preface my post by saying this: my computer is dead. It passed away last Wed. night as I was innocently writing an email. I'm very sad and still in mourning. Luckily, Aaron has a laptop at work that he brings home at night and on the weekends for me. It's not the same though. There is a small chance that we may be able to bring my little friend back to life. Preliminary reports are saying that it's not the hard drive- just the motherboard. Please oh please- I have hundreds of pictures stored on that baby. Back up your stuff, ladies!

Back to business. . . when we moved into our house a little over 2 years ago- we were super motivated and did lots of remodel stuff. (the house was built in 1989) Here is a list of the things we had done:
*scrape yucky acoustic stuff from ceilings
*repaint entire inside- walls and ceilings
*new doors and hardware
*got rid of old square lights and installed new can lights
*some landscaping
*installed wainscoting in Addie's room
*installed chair rail in the boys room

After we (I use that term loosely, it wasn't really me) finished those projects- we took a very long break and haven't really done anything for a year or so. I guess we kinda burned ourselves out. Since Christmas though- it's another story around here. Maybe it's nesting, but whatever it is, Aaron and I have both caught the bug! It's great! We have been getting so much done. In the last few weeks we (again, not ALL projects included me) have completely emptied out the garage and reorganized everything, installed new shelving system in the garage, installed new cabinets in the playroom, cleaned out and organized playroom, cleaned out Addie's closet and rounded up all the baby stuff. (I haven't gone through it yet, but at least I know where it all is) So- the doozy is coming in exactly 7 days. We are having our kitchen remodeled and downstairs flooring replaced. I am beginning to think I am a little crazy for embarking on this journey at this late stage in my pregnancy. We will be "kitchen-less" for 3 weeks or so. (I'm being very optimistic with that estimate) But if each person does their job in the time they promised, then I am hoping we will be back to normal shortly. Here's the plan:

*Aaron and Jose demolition the kitchen on Saturday, Feb. 2nd.
*Floor guy tears out floor and installs new hardwood floors starting on M0n.- should take 4 days.
*Manuel (cabinet and granite guy) begin install of cabinets on the next Monday.
*After cabinet frames are in- United Builders come to install new kitchen windows.
*Manuel returns to lay granite and finished cabinet doors.
*Somebody?? will come and do some tile work on the backsplash and behind stove.
*Clean up work: touch up paint, etc.

Yikes- that's a lot of work to be done. Wish me luck. We are going to be setting up a little "kitchenette" in the dining room (not until the floors are done, though) with paper goods, microwave and luckily our fridge in the garage will come in handy. Hopefully, I will update with pictures- if the computer is back up and running. I just read this and realized it doesn't sound very happy. Don't get me wrong, I am WAY excited. I love the cabinet color I picked out and the granite and wood floors are beautiful. I am just really nervous about the mess and no kitchen thing. It's going to be tough, but I know it will be way worth it!!

P.S.- If anyone feels sorry for us and wants to invite us to dinner, I would like to formally announce that the Edmonds family is open to dinner invitations from Monday, 2/4 through the last week of February.

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to my cute, pregnant sister. . . Ani!

We had a fun morning together. We met at the Corner Bakery for a tasty breakfast with the kids and then did a little shopping at the Spectrum. I headed home with the kids and she enjoyed the rest of the day with my parents and her husband. Ani is about 22 weeks along and I couldn't be happier! She will finally bless my children with some cousins from our side of the family. She is going to be a wonderful mom and I can barely wait to meet the new Taylor!

The top 10 reasons I love Ani:
*she is a great sister
*she loves and plays with my kids like they were her own
*I can talk to her about anything (and I do!)
*we have so much fun together
* she's a great photographer in the delivery room and has been there for all my babies
*she tells me the truth about anything I ask her
*she's younger and more "in-tune" so I can always ask her for fashion advice
*when Jacob was a newborn and Aaron was not living with us (he head to live up North for business) she slept on the floor and helped me take care of Jake at night
*she's seen me at my absolute worst and she still loves me
*she married a great guy- and now we have so much fun all together!

I love you Ani and hope you had a great day yesterday!
I'm so glad we're sisters, I am blessed to have you as my best friend and sister!

Voter Help

Friends,

I have a voter registration question. I thought I would throw it out there before trying to call and actually talk to a real person. I was registered to vote when we lived in N. CA, but since we've moved I have not voted in my new county. What do I need to do to switch my residency? I know the deadline is Tuesday the 22nd- so I need to get going! Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!!

Hoo-rah!

The army party was a success! Everyone had fun and no one got hurt- perfect! We played some games: obstacle course, pinata (and a special mission to rescue the captured pinata), army crawl- then we opened presents and had cupcakes and ice cream.

Aaron found an army surplus store and bought full fatigues for him to wear. He painted his face and the boys were absolutely amazed when he walked downstairs in full combat wear. Of course, the boys wanted their face painted, too. After the party was over, my dad, brother-in-law and my 3 boys headed down to the monster truck show in Anaheim. They had a blast and still haven't stopped talking about it. The next day we built monster truck tracks and jumps, with blocks and books and then we had races, with Optimus Prime and Addie's doll as the announcers. I never knew how much fun monster truck races could be!

The 3 soldiers.Above: army crawl in our front yard- the boys loved this!

Below: Salute the captain!
Daddy and the birthday boy.
Uncle Matt and Jake (not a very good picture of Jakey)

Oh Yummy!

As I was browsing for a recipe for book club last week-I came upon this recipe. Thank goodness I did! I gave 'em a whirl yesterday while all the little ones were outside playing- and they did not disappoint. I did follow the advice of many "reviewers" and substituted the butter for oil. They were moist, tasty and the crumb topping was very delicious. The kids really like them, too! A nice change from regular banana bread and perfect when you have a few extra ripe bananas sitting around. Try it!

It happened, again.

Remember this post?

Well, it happened again. Last night at 2 am, Jacob woke up barking/coughing like a seal and struggling for air. He hasn't been sick, just has had a little cold for the last couple weeks, no biggy. We tried to treat it at home for about an hour (albuterol treatment, cold air outside), but we was still really struggling. If you've never dealt with croup before, it's hard to explain, but it's very frightening for the child and the parent! I decided to not take any chances and took him to the ER. That was at about 3:00. By the time we got there, he definitely was sounding better. The ER staff were a bunch of knuckleheads and didn't do a darn thing for me. They told me he had bronchitits- huh? He's not sick. He's barely had a stuffy nose and hasn't coughed except for tonight. By the time we got home he was much better and talking and acting like normal. We put him to bed at 5:15 and at 6:30 he had another attack and ended up back in our bed. After laying awake this morning thinking about it, I decided I was not happy with the "bronchitis" diagnosis. So I pushed it and I am glad I did. I paged my Dr. and he agreed that the ER Dr. was lame and that he definitely has croup. He gave me a prescription for a steroid to open his airway and told me to put a humidifier in his room. Anyway, he seemed pretty good today, kind of hoarse and coughing occasionally, but overall he acted fine. He enjoyed Tyler's party and is now at a monster truck show with the boys. (g-pa, uncle, dad and brother)

BUT, I am totally freaked out about tonight. It was so awful watching him struggle for air last night and I am scared to death that it is going to happen tonight. I have been doing a lot of reading and found that croup usually gets worse at night and last 2-3 nights. AHH!! I gave him the steroids and have the humidifier on high- but I am so worried that he is going to wake up with the same problem! Have any of you had dealt with croup before? Do you have any tips for me? I am so worried about my little guy, that I know I will have trouble sleeping, but I am SO tired from not sleeping last night. I need to sleep tonight!

ps- now I know that he got much better on the way to/from the ER because the cool night air helps reduce the swelling in the airway.

Some random observations from my adventure:
(I'm usually not out at 3:30 am, so I learned some new things. . .)

*My strange, renter, neighbors were still awake when I left for the ER and still going strong when I got home. When do they sleep?

*There was a line at Winchell's (donut shop) at 5 am. Must be some good donuts!

*Jack in the Box is open all night- never knew that.

*Denny's is the place to be in the middle of the night.

*There are way too many gay male nurses working at out ER. Who knew?

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BOY, TYLER!!

Today is Tyler's 5th birthday! It is hard to believe that we have a five year old! I can remember, just like it was yesterday, laying in the American Fork Hospital, in the middle of the night, and being handed the most precious bundle of baby boy ever. On January 11, 2003, my life changed forever and I had no idea how much happiness that little boy would bring me. I am so thankful for Tyler and the sweet spirit that he brings in to our home. I hope you had a good day, Tyler. I love you with all my heart!

ps- big "army" party tomorrow, at our house with 11 little boys- pictures to follow. wish me luck!!

2007

My mind has started to wander into 2008- resolutions, things to do on the house, new baby, kindergarten, summer vacations, etc. But before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to take a minute and reflect on 2007. Since blogging, my hand written journaling has become non-exsistent, so I wanted to make sure to have this written down. Here are my 10 favorite memories of 2007- in no particular order.

1) Bewsey Family Cruise- March
For my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary, we took a cruise to Mexico. It was so fun for the whole family to be together, besides our kids, everyone was there.

2) Boys Starting Preschool- September
The boys starting preschool was bittersweet for me. Of course I was thrilled that I would have some time each week with just Addie and to get things done without them, but we also started down a path that we will be walking down for a long time. . . school! Overall, it's been a great experience and I'm so proud of them. They are doing terrific and learning a lot.

3) Addie's First Birthday- March
My little girl turned 1 on March 22nd. We had a BIG family party at our house. I loved every minute of planning, baking and decorating for that day. From her dress, to the homemade polka dot cupcakes to the hundreds of paper dots I cut out and hung from fishing line off the back patio- it turned out just the way I had imagined it. (this is not her b-day dress, pics are on other computer).
4) Ricks College Roommate Reunion- April
My dear roommates from Ricks and I all met in Las Vegas for the weekend! What a blast. We stayed up way too late, laughed way too hard and had the best time. Can't wait until 2012!

5) Edmonds (Rowe) Family Reunion- July
Aaron's family has a reunion every 2 years at Bear Lake in Utah. We missed the last couple times due to newborns and Aaron's work. We were determined to make it this year and we are so glad we did. What great memories we have of hanging out at the lake, water skiing(tubing), family dinners, and most importantly of Jenna. Aaron's cousin, Jenna, passed away in a car accident 3 months after that reunion. I am so thankful we had the chance to see her, visit with her and spend time with her.

6) Positive Pregnancy Test- August
No matter how many times I've taken a pregnancy test and it's come out positive (more than once for each pregnancy!) I still feel like I won the lottery. You'd think at some point those 2 little lines would loose their excitement, but so far they haven't. After battling infertility with our first, I am so thankful that we have been blessed three healthy children and the Lord continues to bless us!7)4th of July
One of my favorite holidays! Strange that I like it so much, because I actually really don't like the summer- but for some reason I love the 4th. Plus, one of my favorite photos of Jake and I are from that afternoon.8)Tyler's 1st Talk in Church- July
I know that it happens to all kids, but watching Tyler give his first talk in Primary made Aaron and I both emotional. We were so proud of him and he did such a great job. What a big boy!9) Christmas- December
I loved all of the holiday festivities, but my favorite memory was going to Victoria Gardens to see it snow. They have this great outdoor mall here and during the month of December it "snows-" every night in the town square area. Don't laugh- you cold weather people, but being from CA, this was magical for my kids. I loved the Christmas music playing, the cold weather and warm jackets and the excitement in the kids eyes. It was even better that my grandma had just flown in that day and was able to be there with us.
10) Best Friends
It has been really fun to watch my boys grow up together this year. The transtition from 2 and 3 year olds, to 3 and 4 year olds- has made a big difference. They have become such good buddies and do everything together. My favorite thing is to find them asleep in the same bed at night. It's happening more frequently and I couldn't be happier that they love each other so much. It was a little scary having a 6 month old and finding out I was pregnant, but even more frightening was finding out it was a boy! Now that I know what a treasure their relationship is, I wouldn't trade Jake in for a girl anyday!
As I write this, more and more memories come to mind: being kidnapped by the "girls" in my life -for my birthday, Palm Springs with my family, beach trips with the kids, Disneyland countless times, lots of big family dinners, I could go on and on. . . Consequently, along with those memories comes the realization of so many blessings. I realize I couldn't do any of these things with out my wonderful husband. He has been blessed with a great job and works so hard to provide a comfortable life with us- which enables me to stay home with my kids and for that I am thankful for every day. I realize that most of my favorite memories are centered around my kids. Their health and safety are such a blessing, and I am more aware of that each day. I also realize that my life would be very quiet and lonely without the blessings of friends and family. Each one of you enrich my life in some way and I can never count the blessings that I have received from dear friends and my loving family.

I am so blessed.