A Day in the Life of the Griffiths

Family Picture!

2011-12-16T14:26:00.001-08:00

Halloween and Birthdays

2011-11-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

We're still alive; I'm just a negligent blogger. Tom got transfered to a new branch about two months ago and is really enjoying the dymanic of his new team. There are whispers of a promotion in our near future, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for that.

I am still LOVING my job and am starting to get more comfortable in my position after passing the year mark, and watching things start to cycle through again. I like the "I've done this before" feeling, instead of grasping at straws. In the two years I've been back at work we've switched babysitters 4 times, but I think that's the nature of in-home daycare. It's stressful, and of course I struggle with the guilt of being a working mom. But I just try to do each day better than I did the last day, and it seems to work out in the end.

Lucy is too smart for her own good, and is a constant source of laughter and energy in our house. She loves her brother, playdough, snow, and Dora. She says the funniest things: while trick-or-treating she said to someone: "Thanks for the candy. I really appreciate it." Hahaha! Another Lucy story: she asked what lions eat. I hesitated, then answered: "Zebras."
"No mom, what do they really eat?"
"They eat Zebras and other animals, honey. They eat meat."
Lucy bursts into tears, "I don't want them to eat the Zebras!"
Me, feeling like a total dream smashing tyrant said, "Ok, honey. We'll say they eat grass."
"Lions eat grass?"
"Yes."
"Ok, thanks Mommy." She's so sweet.

Ethan weighs as much as his sister and loves to do anything she is doing. He has a really hot little temper, which is a new experience from Lucy's generally sweet disposition. But he's also a cuddler and a lover. He doesn't talk much, at least not that you can understand. His motor skills are very developed though; at 16 months he can stack blocks, string beads, and poke straws through lid-holes. He loves to color, run, wrestle, and rearrange things . Proof that they can play nicely

Me with the two best looking guys I know

Limo ride

surprise dinner arranged by Tom

Delivered to my office from Tom

Boots the monkey and Benny the cow. I was Dora

At the Scarecrow Festival

Learning to tie her shoe

Lilli and Lucy

If I knew then what I know now...

2011-09-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've heard people say this a lot. So I started thinking back to high school, and what I've learned in the 6 years (can't believe it's been 6 years) I've been "out in the world". Here are a few of the pearls of wisdom I've picked up:

1. Kindness is crucial. Above all, true kindness makes the biggest difference, and I've yet to meet a person who is unreachable with kindness.

2. No one's life is perfect; in one way or another, we're all messed up. It's ok.

3. Most people just act like they know what's going on; we're all just guessing.

4. Daydreaming gets you nowhere. I used to sit around and hope/wait for things to happen to me. For that cute boy to notice me, for a job opportunity to find me, etc. Then I realized I have to make those plans, try for those things, fail sometimes, and then...it happens.

5. The hardest, most important, and most often missed step to happiness, is determining what it is we want.

Pictures!

2011-09-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I know I've been M.I.A.---sorry! Things just never seem to slow down. Here are some pictures of recent outings :)

All dressed up for our Hawaiian Ward Picnic

Ethan looking "gansta" in his hat and diaper

Trip to Moab--they were beasts this whole meal. I had to take Lucy out of the restaurant more than once

More Hawaiin party. I know I look pregnant in this picture; I'm not. Just the way the loose dress falls :)

Snowbird!!

Dancing to the music

Lucy and her friends

Just some thoughts

2011-06-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

At work we're preparing to end a Fiscal Year and start a new one. Last year I left around this time on maternity leave. It is so strange to look back at where I was then, and where I am now. I'm not big on reminiscing, but it really seems like so much has changed in the last year. I guess primarily with my work. Taking this promotion has changed everything about my life, it seems. It's mostly good--but so....unsheltered. I never used to be "in" on any of the drama, concerns, administrative decisions. I found out when everyone else found out. Now, I get worried if there's a meeting without me, a decision I didn't know about before everyone else, etc. Being privy to such information has good and bad elements to it. I am so grateful to be in the position I am, and I KNOW I've never loved a job as much as I love this one. But it really has lost all of its simplicity. It seems like a lot of things have lost their simplicity.
One of Tom's favorite sayings is "It's not a magic show when you're the magician." That pretty much sums it up. All of the employee gatherings/parties/activities aren't the same because I'm the one planning and executing them. Again, not complaining, it's just very, very different at the close of this Fiscal Year when compared to last year.
Those are my thoughts.

Ethan's Birthday and Temple Square

2011-06-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

Our little baby Ethan turned one!! Cannot fathom how time flew that quickly. He is NOT as sweet as Lucy was/is, but he is just as cute :) He is strong and energetic. He is quick to smile and even quicker to laugh. He loves to rough house and chase his sister. It has been so fun to watch his personality begin to develop, and see how very different my children are. Most days I just try to keep up with them hour to hour. I am so lucky to be a big part of their lives for a short while.
The other day while I was running I ran by Temple Square and realized we'd never brought the kids there. So when I got home I showered and shuffled everyone out the door. I was met with some resistance, but Mom always prevails ;) It turned out to be a great afternoon, and everyone was glad we went.
Lots of pictures!

If you saw my FB, you've already seen these

2011-06-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some quick picture updates for those who don't have FB!I reserve the right to brag about my beautiful kids; look at them! Who wouldn't??

Lucy never stops talking. So her mouth is always open :)

Blanket set I made for a friend

Outfit I made for my boss's granddaughter

Running

2011-05-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and started getting up before 6 a.m. to go running. I never thought I'd be one of those early morning runners, but running at night was really becoming a chore. I found I really didn't like running anymore, I did it out of obligation. And it cut into my time with Tom after the kids went to bed. I would literally start dreading it the moment I got home.
So for the past two days I tried running in the morning on a trial bases. I have to get up at 5:45 to get everything done on time, but it's SO WORTH IT!
I absolutely love it. Today I ran 4 miles in 32 minutes. I'm training for a 10K at the end of the month, and my goal is a respectable (though not spectacular) 58 minutes. I've already hit that mark a few times in practice runs. But in running shorter distances at faster times, I'm hoping to improve my long distance times, too.
Either way, I find it refreshing, invigorating, and a great way to start my day! And, I enjoy my evenings more, too!

My thoughts on Bin Laden's Death

2011-05-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am getting really frustrated with comments like, "how can we celebrate someone's death? What is this world coming to?" To avoid political heat, I am blogging my response because only people who like me, for the most part, read my blog. So I'll assume this is safe territory.

We aren't celebrating the death of a man, we are celebrating the death of a key, leading role in worldwide terrorism. We are celebrating what we hope will be a large stride in reducing the power of merciliess extremists, who for decades, if not centuries, have slaughtered innocent people in unspeakable ways to gain power and money, with the end goal of overtaking the world...literally. Their mission, was to crush all Western society, and be the rulers of it. Bin Laden has been quoted as saying, he will no stop killing until every single Christian church has been burned to the ground. Sounds awfully familiar....Hitler, anyone? Were they not after the same thing? The complete eradication of a people, race, or religion? Or all three? Was Hitler's death something to be mourned?

How about all you self-righteous, oh-so-tolerant and enlightened "liberal thinkers" march your ass over Afghanistan or Iraq and ask the people how they feel about his death? Do you think they are sad? Worse off? Do you think they're not sleeping just a little bit easier tonight, knowing that Bin Laden won't be cutting off their daughter's noses that night? Because that's what he did. He mutilated his people, beat them into submission, tortured family memebers for NO REASON other than to instill fear. I have friends in Sadi Arabia praising Allah that he is dead. So don't you, for one second, tell me I can't praise God he's dead.

You know nothing, NOTHING, of the horrors this man was responsible for. So yes, I am happy he's dead. And yes, the death of his leadership, and what he represented, should be celebrated. If you disagree, then sit there and don't celebrate. But don't try to stop my rejoice that the world is short one more mass-murdering, genocidal, truly evil bastard. And don't be so impressed with yourself. Chances are you've never looked into the eyes of a woman whose nose was carved out, leaving a gaping cavity in her face, in order to scare her father into submission. My Dad, has. My brother in law, has. Bin Laden will not be missed.

Ballerinas, hockey games, and cute kids

2011-04-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Things have been rolling right along here, for the Griffith's. Tom just finished the first quarter at Wells Fargo where he was qualified to bonus...and he did! In fact, he's #1 in his branch, and #4 in the district. I'm so proud of him! I couldn't do that job. Be nice to your bankers, by the way. You have no idea what goes on behind the scenes; it's an enormous amount of pressure and ridiculous regulations.
Still loving my job; April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, so it's pretty busy at the Family Support Center. We'll have an online auction going on the 24th through the 29th. Check it out at www.familysupportcenter.org. Never know; you might find something you like! Proceeds go to child abuse prevention and treatment.
Ethan is growing like a weed. There's a HUGE difference in little boys and little girls. I had to BEG Lucy to eat; still do. Ethan has NO problem eating. He out-eats his sister 9 times out of 10. He does a little army crawl and can get across the room faster than you can catch him. He says "Da ba da da" a lot; I really do not count that as "da da", but Tom does. Wishful thinking, sweetheart :)
Lucy is SO SMART! She knows her ABC's and most of the sounds, she can count to 13 without help, knows all her shapes and colors, and speaks in complex, grammatically correct sentences. She's my little talker! She loves to do craft projects, put together puzzles, watch Elmo and Dora, and play at the park. She truly has a sweet heart.

Cannot Handle It

2011-03-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

Some of you know, and some do not, that I sometimes obsess a little bit about my weight. Good, bad, or indifferent, I am always at least aware of my weight and shape. So I decided to start training for a 10K so that I would focus more on strength than on the number on the scale. It started out well, but now that I'm a couple of weeks into it, I sure can run harder and longer than I ever have..but I'm also gaining weight. I know some of it is muscle gain, and some of it is straight up needing more reserves/energy to burn to run that far and long. I went from running 8-10 miles a week, to about 20 miles a week.
However, I think part of it is also my letting myself eat what I want. This probably sounds pathetic, but it somehow feels better to blog about it. I cannot handle gaining weight like this, even when I understand what it's for, and know I can drop it all after the race. It makes me irritable and angry at myself all the time. I just don't feel good when I gain weight. And I have no energy when I lose it all. AHHGHGH!
So, there is my whiny, "poor me" post. Sorry you had to read it :)

2011-02-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

Working with women

2011-01-24T19:05:00.000-08:00

I love my job. One of the things I love about it is all the wonderful women I get to work with. Powerful women, docile women, energetic women...all varieties, all working together to prevent child abuse. It's incredible.
What I love, though, is also what I hate. There is always this game, this balance, of friend and coworker, supervisor and supervisee...and it seems someone is always offended at what another has said or done, or not said or done, or said in a different tone, or didn't use any tone at all...you get the idea. I feel like I'm constantly doing damage control; smoothing someone else's feathers, or my own. It can be exhausting. I think I'm joking around with someone, then find out they took offense. Someone is joking with me, and I take offense. It's ridiculous.
Today seemed to be exceptionally full of those games, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
The tricky thing is, in order to bond on a certain level with people, you have to go outside a certain level of office formality. And once you cross that line, you risk falling into the cycle I just described. This seems to always happen, and I end up wishing I'd just stayed on the outskirts of the office friendships. Ugh. Maybe someday I'll figure this out.
I welcome your advice. Please.

Picture update...going clear back to Halloween. Yes, I know.

2011-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

How We Met

2010-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

So, I just realized that a girl I know from my first high school has been married for four years, and I don't know the story of how she and her husband met! I know her husband's and children's names, I keep up on her blog. etc. But I don't know "their story". It ocurred to me that some of you out there may not know the "Tom and Miriah Story". So, for those of you who are interested, here it is:
I moved to Logan, Utah in 2005 to go to USU. I did not know a single soul in the entire city. I lived in some on-campus leadership housing apartments called "Summit Hall". There were 3 bedrooms, and six roomates per apartment. In my apartment, one of the roomates, (not the one I actually shared a bedroom with, but one that lived in the apartment) had a brother on a mission. She and I became pretty good friends; I even went home with her for a long weekend since I couldn't travel all the way home and didn't want to be alone on campus. I ended up sleeping in the brother's bedroom who was gone on a mission. I looked at his trophies, awards, and pictures that decorated the room, slightly curious about this brother she always talked about. But, she had another friend she wanted to set Tom up with when he got home from Guatemala the next semester.
When Tom got home from his mission, we (Jeanette's friends) met him briefly, then went on Christmas break. When we got back, Tom moved in across the hall, in a "boys" apartment. He and his sister are very close, and wanted to live in the same apartment building. Consequently, Tom was over in our apartment a lot. We would bump into each other in the halls, or on our way to class or the gym. We made casual conversation. One evening there was a Martin Luther King Vigil I was going to, and invited him to come along last minute. He came. He also hung out with a lot of other girls too, though. Not so much the one Jeanette wanted him to date, but he seemed to always be just coming from some girl's apartment.
A night shortly after the vigil, a big group of us were watching a movie in my apartment and he came and layed down in the bean bag next to me. We did the awkward inching closer to eachother until he finally got the nerve to hold my hand after like, an hour, ha ha. We laugh so hard now at how awkward that was. After that things progressed pretty quickly. We started spending all of our evenings together, leaving notes for eachother, meeting in between classes, singing in the church choir together, etc. He seemed to see less and less of the other girls, until finally, it became pretty clear we were a couple, although we never did have the big "define the relationship talk".
Then bla bla bla, boy proposes, girl says yes, they get married, they have babies, and have been very happy for five years.
SO--that's how Tom and Miriah got started. And, yes, I know I need to get some pictures up.

Ouch!

2010-11-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

So I ran another 5K, and loved it. After I run, I never really want to eat, even though they recommend you do. Well, I needed to go pick up my kids, and was kind of in a hurry anyway, so I decided to skip the food/drink table, grab my shirt and "prize" and get out of there. Three hours later, I'm SOOOO paying for it. Dizzy, cramped muscles, weak, shaky limbs. I guess I should've listened to the experts. I finally did eat something, but it seems like it was too late. We'll see...

To the Friday Slackers (like me).

2010-11-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

So it's Friday, probably my favorite day of the week. Although I love Thursdays, because I spend all day thinking about how the next day is Friday. It's "casual" day in the office, meaning I get to wear jeans. The boss is usually out. I usually get to go home early, and everything is just a little bit slower. I used to love Fridays because it meant I would be going out with friends, or going on a hot date. Now I love Fridays because I might be able to get some extra sleep. My hot date? Tom and I trying to stay awake long enough to have a conversation after the kids go to bed.
We were going to try to go to a movie tonight since my birthday is this weekend, but our childcare bailed. And to be honest, I think we were both a little relieved. Sweat pants and a red box suits us just fine! When did we get old? Oh, about the time the second baby came around. I love my kids, but they suck the energy right out of ya.
So here's to all the Friday slackers...I'm in your corner!

Family Pictures and Potty Parties

2010-10-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, Cyberspace. Did you miss us? We've been crazy busy, but trying to remember to take some time for fun, as well. We took some family pictures Sunday morning. Getting a two-year-old and a baby to look at the camera and hold still long enough to take the picture, at the same time, is near impossible! But we got some cute ones.
We took Lucy to Jungle Jim's Playland (what a name) as a reward for not having any accidents. Potty training is a slow, difficult process for everyone. She'll get there. Some days she's great, other days I'm washing 16 pairs of clothes. What can you do?

Hope all is well with all of you! Mama and her girl!
Our favorite family picture. Probably going to use this one with the Christmas cards this year.

I think this one is cute, even though I'm talking. Tom doesn't like it.

Happy boy!

They look so much alike!

Silly faces

Mama and her little man

Daddy and the kiddos

Lucy driving a safari car at Jungle Jim's

The soda is as big as her

Best. Pizza. Ever.

Cut yourself some slack

2010-09-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been running on little food, even less sleep, and no fun! Between a two year-old (and yes, I know no one believes that sweet Lucy could ever be a "terrible two", but she is) and a baby, working full-time, learning the ropes of my new promotion, keeping the house clean and stocked, cooking, and training for a race...I just don't have a second to spare.
I kind of reached a breaking point last night. During my run my legs and arms were shaking like crazy. I kept going, telling myself I could just push through it. But each lap only got harder, and I never reached the "second wind". I was so disappointed in myself I almost started crying.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks how silly I was being. Of course my body was giving out; I'm making all these demands of it, and giving it nothing in return!
So to all you "super moms" out there, trying to create this perfect life for yourselves and your family: don't. It's not possible, and you're just making yourself miserable trying. Juggle what you can, be great at a few things...but don't try to outdo yourself at everything all at once. It's not worth it!
Just be happy. That's what will make your family's life the best, anyway. Be happy, and give yourself a break!

Hawaiian party, Blue Ribbon Breakfast, and sleepy babies

2010-08-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

Things just never seem to slow down around here, but that's how we like it! We had our big Blue Ribbon Breakfast, which is our one big fundraiser for the year. We do a few smaller ones, but this is the "mother" fundraiser. It went well; I'll be in charge of planning it for next year, and there are a few things I would like to do differently. But overall, I would call it a success. We awarded Mayor Peter Caroon with the Champion of Child Abuse Prevention Award.
In other news, Tom's parents had a Hawaiian party with dancers and everything for their neighborhood! It was so fun, and reminded me of our honeymoon in Maui :0)
The sleepy babies part of the title refers to Lucy falling asleep in the car on the way home from running erronds all morning. She got a sucker at the bank, and was so tired she fell asleep with the sucker in her mouth. It was cute.

Executive Director Bonnie Peters and Mayor Caroon
Diane Spencer (former Development Director aka the woman I'm replacing) and me...she is an incredible woman!!

Papa and Lucy at the party

Taylor, Tom's youngest brother, and his girlfriend Yessenia

Aloha!

The boys chillin'

Lucy loves holding Ethan. She calls herself "good big sister"

Tuckered out

in the news

2010-08-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

Probably not a big deal to everyone else, but I was on the news today for the Family Support Center! It was a big deal to me :) Anyway, the footage is on ksl.com under news, if you want to see it.

We're still here!

2010-08-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile! We're doing well. Mom's gone home, I've gone back to work, and the kids are LOVING their new babysitter. After three TERRIBLE interviews, I was beginning to really panic about childcare. But I found a woman who lives only a few minutes from my office, and has kids Lucy's age. She is FANTASTIC and I feel so blessed to have found her. On my days off, Lucy actually asks if she can go to Erin's, ha ha!
I recently got a big promotion at work! I'm taking my boss's position when she leaves in September. So I'm the new Development Director, in charge of Public Relations, Grant Writing, Fundraising, and Event Planning. I also sit on several community and government councils for stragetic planning to reduce homelessness in SLC. I love it! I've started training with the current director before she goes. She's been here 14 years, so I've got some big shoes to fill, and I'm a little scared, but very excited as well.
Ethan is growing so fast! He's a sweet baby and I love him more every day. Lucy is a wonderful big sister, and she is getting to the age where she says the funniest things! She is clearly getting into the "terrible two's", but she's still just a little tender heart, so I don't stay mad at her for very long.
These photos are kind of snippets of recent things (some more recent than others) that we've done, including a trip to the Hogle Zoo last weekend; a first for the kids and me!

Mixing cookies!

Lucy and her cousin Wyatt

All of my parents' grandkids

We repainted our room and let Lucy help

These are the biggest animals I've ever seen! Could not have been more excited!

Ethan at the Zoo

Pictures of Baby Ethan

2010-06-27T16:43:00.001-07:00

These aren't even close to all the photos I wanted to post, but it's a start. Ethan is doing well at home. He's not much of an eater, so we worry a little about his weight, but I'm sure that's just me being a natural-born worrier :)
He sleeps most of the time, still, but I live for those short moments when his sweet little eyes are open and looking around. He has slight jaundice (sp?) so he's on lights for a few more days. But they are just blanket lights instead of the suitcase lights Lucy had to be under, so that's good.
Lucy is doing fairly well with the new addition to our family. She is very careful and gentle with him, but now wants CONSTANT attention. I'm used to her entertaining herself, so it has been a challenge to have her engaging in attention-seeking behaviors all the time. I'm sure she'll adjust soon.
Tom has been an incredible help to me, and took off work until Mom could get here. Now Mom is here, and between Tom and Mom, I'm being very well taken care of. I feel so blessed to have so much help and support.

Lucy meeting Ethan for the first time

A few hours old

Delivery arrived!

Ethan Thomas Griffith is here!

2010-06-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have pictures yet (I'm still in the hospital bed) but I'll post them soon. I just wanted to get the story down while it's all still fresh.
Sunday afternoon I started feeling really sick, having hot flashes, and irregular contractions. I was miserable enough I pulled Tom out of his class and we went home early. I continued feeling pretty crumby the rest of the day. I felt bad because it was Father's Day and I couldn't do as much for Tom as I'd hoped. I was getting so frustrated, thinking "I wish I would go into labor, or not! This in-between, contractions but not in labor sucks!"
I had a doctors apt. scheduled Wed, where I hoped to convince my doctor to induce me a few days early (about 4 days early was my plan). Yes, I know I'm a big baby.
Contractions continued into the night, waking me a few times. At about 3:30 my water finally broke! I had to have my water broken with Lucy so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I was excited because it's a for sure sign, instead of having to time the contractions and hope they are long or hard enough to be the real thing.
I jumped out of bed, excitedly woke Tom, called Grandma Griffith to come stay with Lucy, and frantically packed our bags. For some reason, vacuuming the house seemed really important, so my WONDERFUL husband vacuumed our house at 4 a.m. for me :)
The lady checking us in was SUPER annoying because she kept saying things like, "Well we'll have a nurse come look at you and see if we can figure out what's going on."
What does that mean?? My water broke, I"m having contractions, I'm 39 weeks pregnant...I'm freakin' in labor! That's what's going on. I'm not imagining this.
ANYWAY, labor started progressing pretty quickly. Contractions were making me shake and sweat with every single one. I got an epidural, and was AMAZED at how well it worked. With Lucy it was placed wrong and it didn't numb me at all, and HURT going in. But this time, it worked like a charm. I had no idea that much pain could be taken out of labor.
For the last hour, when the labor moved to my back, I started feeling the pain again. Shortly it was time to push.
1 hour of pushing (much longer than Lucy's 20 min of pushing, but he was much bigger), and he was here! We're all healthy and happy. I'm sore and tired of course, and Lucy has a stomach bug that prevented her from meeting Ethan today, but she'll meet him tomorrow.
I'm so excited to have our son here...and to no longer be pregnant. My mom flies in Thursday, so Tom will stay with me until she gets here.
Having a baby is like graduating high school or college; you spend so much time doing this one thing, then all of the sudden it's over! It's an incredible feeling.
Wish me luck adjusting to a family of four! Feel free to pass any advice my way.

Lucy and her best friend Genevieve

2010-06-18T08:27:00.001-07:00

For the past 8 months Lucy has been going to Genevieve's house three times a week while I work. She LOVES playing there, loves Becky (Genevieve's mama), loves everything about it. It made going back to work possible because I know Lucy is loved and taken very well care of while she's there.
But life happens, and Becky and her husband are moving their little family across the country for a new adventure; Neil (said husband) got into law school, and will be starting in the fall! I am so excited for them. But, a selfish part of me is SOOOOO sad to see them go. I've been crying for a week, ha ha. Lucy will ask for "Bucky" and "Baby" (even though Genevieve is her same size, she still calls her baby) for a long time after they've gone, I'm sure. I will miss Becky very dearly, as she has become a very good friend, a wonderful example of womanhood, and someone I trust very much.

Because of the way my maternity leave falls, today is Lucy's last day there. It won't be easy to find another place as good as Becky's for Lucy, but I'll have some time while I'm on leave to look around and test a few places out. I know we'll find somewhere she and the new baby will love, and Lucy will make new friends. But gosh, it's hard to let a good thing go!
So, this is a shout out to Genevieve, Lucy's best friend, and Becky, one of mine :0)

We love you!

False Labor

2010-06-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

I went into false labor today. I wasn't going to go to the doctor, but my boss insisted and just would not let it go, so I did. As I suspected, the labor stopped. Since then I've done as many exercises as I can think of to start it back up. No luck.
It's official: I am going to be pregnant forever. Yes, I will be the first woman in history to carry her baby for decades.

Complaints turned to blessings

2010-06-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

I started out wanting to write a "complaining" post. I've been so frustrated with still being pregnant, and just the ups and downs of life. And it's been difficult for me to make friends in my new ward for some reason, although that reason was probably me not trying hard enough.

But then the thought came to my mind, "Positive attitudes attract positive things." It's so true. I started thinking of a woman in my office, whom I really like, but can be exhausting to be around. She ALWAYS has complaint; she's never just perky. In contrast I thought about another friend who is always making an effort to be cheery; not in a fake annoying way, but in a "I know how to look at the glass half full and be satisfied with my life" way. It's not hard to guess which woman I'd rather spend time with. Then I thought, I want to be more like her.

I began thinking of all the good things I have in my life. My husband, our home, our jobs, our families, my sisters, Lucy, my health....the list goes on and on. I started to really be aware of my thoughts and attitudes these past couple of days, and through a series of small events that were actually answers to my simple prayers, I feel like I may be tapping into the beginnings of some very wonderful friendships with some moms in my new neighborhood.

Sometimes we spend so much time focusing on the problem, we don't look up to see the solution. So in short, I want to commit to being a more cheerful, outgoing person, and hope you all will too!

Tom's Promotion

2010-06-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

This actually happened the 25th of May, but I'm a little behind. Tom got promoted to Senior Credit Manager at Wells Fargo Financial! He worked SOOOO hard to get this promotion; he was up for the promotion a few times in the year he's been there, but seemed to just miss it. However, all his persistence and positive attitude paid off!
Wells Fargo sent out a mini-press release on him to all Wells Fargo Financial employees in the district congratulating him on his hard-earned, well-deserved promotion. I am so blessed to be married to such a hard worker and capable, intellegent man.
Tom's way of looking at the glass half-full is probably one of the things people admire about him most.
To celebrate we went to his favorite place...Wingers. I actually don't like Wingers AT ALL, but this night was about him, so I choked the food down with a smile :0)
Congratulations again, honey!

Handsome man
Lucy liked the popcorn

coloring with Daddy

Ha ha, they were both annoyed with me for taking too many pictures

Tom's favorite :)

VACATION

2010-05-31T17:25:00.001-07:00

Tom and I were starting to feel the stress of this pregnancy. Things just get so busy with both of us working, Tom getting promoted (another post to come on that), trying to find an investment property, and the general fatigue of pregnancy. Tom suggested that we get away for memorial day weekend, even if just overnight.
So Grandma and Grandpa Griffith were kind enough to keep Lucy overnight while Tom and I snuck out to Wendover. We enjoyed the time away- we ate fantastic food, relaxed, rebelled by playing the penny slots (we didn't gain or lose anything- we put $5 in, and won $4.85 back) We just had to try it, and saw a movie. It was SOOOO wonderful. Tom's favorite part was that his dad surprised us by letting us take his 2006 ZO6 Corvette!

We thought the food was really pretty; they serve it with flowers :)

Volunteer Project

2010-05-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

We did a volunteer project at work last Saturday. We are trying to get a play therapy playground built for the children clients we see. It was a big project, but everyone was a good sport about it. We had six people there (counting Tom and I) and worked for four hours. The pictures actually start with the close-to-finished product, and go backwards. So, start at the bottom to see how much we did!
Our goal was weeding and mowing, mostly. An Eagle Scout is building picnic tables for us for his project, and they should be here next week :) We're really excited to see this become a reality because it's something the Family Support Center has wanted for a few years, but hasn't been able to get the labor or funding for. So far everything, including bark chips, rocks, labor, tables...everything, has been donated by volunteers. I have amazing volunteers who inspire me every day to be a better person.

Looking good! Almost done.

Lucy hard at work

"C'mon, Mom! Enough with the pictures."

Two of our lovely lady volunteers

My favorite volunteer; Tom NEVER tells me no when I ask for help at work

This is what we started with.

Starting a knitting group

2010-05-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Are there any fellow knitters/crochet people who would be interested in starting a group? I was thinking we could start a group and get together and make blankets to donate to hospitals who are sending newborns home wrapped in newspapers. I was thinking once a week, probably in the afternoons after nap time. Kids welcome. We could rotate homes it's hosted at, as long as we all live within a reasonable distance of each other.
Let me know what you think!

Get Involved

2010-05-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, for work I'm trying to put together some nice cookbooks for the families we serve. Please send me your favorite recepies! I need a good combination of main dishes, side dishes, snacks, desserts, salads, etc. Keep in mind:
Most of the families live well-below the poverty line, so simple, cheap ingredients
We want to emphasize health
Most of the families have very little education, so very simple instructions and words are best

If you keep a blog of recepies already, if you can just give me permission to use the material off of that blog, I'll copy them myself. You'll get credit in the text of the book we put together for your recepies.

Thanks everyone! This is a very easy way to get involved in a good cause. Hope to hear from you all soon!

Almost 33 weeks

2010-05-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm almost 33 weeks along. Lucy was born at 36, so at this point two years ago, I was very close to delivery. I'm pretty sure this one will stay in the oven a little longer, though. I'm much healthier this pregnancy than I was my first. Of course, at this point I don't really sleep, I can't breath, I have to pee every time I sneeze, and I'm praying for time to fly. I also am very anxious to be able to see my toes again.
But, overall, the pregnancy has gone fairly well, minus a few scares at the beginning. I'm dreading labor, but ready to get it over and be able to bend again. This was taken about a week ago, but I haven't gained any weight since then, so the bump is about the same size.

SOOO SICK

2010-04-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I threw up 7 times in four hours. I didn't sleep more than two hours...and not consecutive. I have no idea how I got sick, or what's wrong. This happened once before in the first trimester. I actually don't think it's pregnancy related, except that my immune system SUCKS when I'm pregnant.
Tom took Lucy to the babysitters, even though I'm obviously not working today because I'm not strong enough to take care of her. Plus, the poor little thing is terrified of the sounds of me throwing up. (I know this post may be too much to handle for some)
Anyway, to top of a freakin' fantastic night, this morning I had this conversation with Tom:

Me: "I honestly think I would rather die than go through this again. The stomach flu is horrible!"
Tom: Shrugs. "Well, you're probably losing a lot of weight."
Me: "Not such a great thing when you're pregnant."
Tom: Shrugs.
He's super sympathetic. I called my mom and told her to hop on a plane to come take care of me. She said no, by the way. But I really think she would have if she lived any closer.
Sometimes, a girl just needs her Mama.

Egg whites and mustard

2010-04-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

No, I don't eat them together. But I used to HATE both of these foods with a passion! But because they are both very good for you (well, I don't know if Mustard has any nutritional value, but it's a calorie-free dressing) I've kind of forced myself to eat them. Gradually, I've developed a taste for them! It's always nice when low-cal foods don't make you want to stab yourself in the eye every time you eat them.
I'm pretty picky about how I'll eat eggwhites, because eggs in general make me sick. But here's the secret; scramble them up with veggies (I love mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach), add a handful of low fat mozzerella cheese, and lots of pepper and oregeno. I top it off with salsa. Yum yum! Give it a try :)

In trouble for working too hard?? What?

2010-04-19T19:42:00.001-07:00

Today my boss called me in for a "meeting", which meant I was in trouble. I quickly ran through all the things I've done wrong lately. It could be about being late every day. I really am about 7 minutes late every single day. Dropping Lucy off just adds time, and I'm not willing to drop her and run. I help her take off her shoes and make sure she's all settled before I go.
It could be about the parenting class I recently started teaching. It could be about wanting to know exactly how I'm spending my time...hmm...what else. Maybe they overheard me complain about something?
No. No, it was none of those things. It was that my boss had seen me doing a massive project that hadn't been assigned to me. The person it had been assigned to is, excuse me, out of her league on this one. And I could do it. It was giving me a headache and making me hate life, but I could do it faster than anyone else I could think of. And I didn't mind doing it.
I asked if she was worried about me not doing my work while working on this project and she said no, that I hadn't been shirking any of my duties.
She simply said she didn't think I was paid enough to take on that kind of stress load, and that the person she'd assigned it to should be the one doing it. Most bosses would be THRILLED to have an employee doing work for less money. Not mine. She said she's worried that I'm not concerned enough about my own health and my own happiness.
I tried to assure her that I feel fine, and I don't mind doing it. But she wasn't having any of it.
So, in short, I got in trouble for working too hard. Guess I'll try to spend more time on facebook at work.

Pictures!!

2010-04-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures I couldn't get up with my past couple posts. Enjoy!

Lucy with her new little basketball hoop. Primary Children's was doing a fundraiser and Lucy really liked it :)

Lucy with Mima and Ba Ba.

Easter Eggs!

She put each egg in every color, meaning in the end, they were all a pretty shade of dull grey

getting ready to dye the eggs. Didn't want her to stain her clothes

I think Ba Ba read her half a million books in two days

Dad's going to Afghanistan, so we made him a sign.

Lucy decorated it all by herself

And loved it!

Lucy with her two cousins (well, like third cousins) looking out the window at the kitty

Hula Hooping obsession

2010-04-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've heard a lot lately about a new fitness movement revolving around hula hooping. I decided to check it out. I read several articles, all saying the benefits (once you can actually keep the hoop going for long periods of time) match and can outweigh running benefits! Sold. I love running (although at this point in the pregnancy it's mostly walking because the jolting movements of running are more than I can take at my present shape and size) but I'm always interested in finding fun things to switch up my routine. I bought a weighted hula hoop (they recommend two pounds) and tried it out this weekend. I loved it!
It's going to take a while to get up to keeping the hoop going long enough and easily enough to do a lot of the routines that involve actually moving around the floor while you're hooping, but I did get the hoop around 167 times within the first day, so it's possible! I'm really excited to be able to do some of the workouts I watched on YouTube. They look so cool! I didn't realize how hard it really works your legs and core until the next morning; I was SOOOO SORE!
I'm excited to develop this new area of fitness, and encourage you all to try it out! Super fun.

Bye Bye, Easter Eggs, and other such updates.

2010-04-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

So, my computer is being dumb and won't let me upload any images to my blog right now; I've been trying for an hour. So, I guess I will just post the events, and the pictures will come later.

My parents came for a quick visit to say good-bye before my dad leaves. He's decided to do a civilian intelligence contract in Afghanistan to help locate Al-Queda leaders. He'll be gone a year; we'll all miss him very much. Lucy helped make a giant banner that said "Good Luck Grandpa" (I would show you a picture but...) and had a blast doing it. We also dyed Easter eggs while they were here.

The pregnancy is rolling right along. Can't wait to be able to bend over again and move normally. I'm almost 28 weeks, so just less than three months to go! I'm excited to not be pregnant anymore, but terrified of having the baby. I'm worried about finding new child care for them both when I go back to work. Lucy's current babysitter will most likely be moving in August, which is about when I'll be returning to work. I've come to really trust and love Lucy's sitter, and know that she is loved and taken care of so well there. I have no idea what I'll do when Becky's gone. I cry when I think about it too much.

Tom is doing well at work, and is on the verge of a promotion; so send good thoughts our way, everyone! We're in the process of buying a rental unit (Tom's idea; I'm not so big on investment properties). He's really excited about it. I'm pretending it's not happening.

My sister's husband just got on with the Wheatland Police Department, and they'll be moving there and buying their first home next month :)

My other sister is engaged, she just doesn't use that terminology yet. But they're pretty much engaged.

My Mom is moving back to the Big Horn Basin to be closer to family while my dad is gone.

I'm really excited about Easter this year because Lucy is old enough to do some festive activities with!

I'm recently obsessed with moccassins, and will buy a pair as soon as I can justify the expense. The one's I like are never the affordable ones (sigh).

Wish I had some cute pictures on this post; I'll get them up as soon as I can!

Growing belly and other such things

2010-03-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

Things are going well here at the Griffith's. Lucy is growing so fast. She knows over 50 words now! Her most recent doctor's apt. said she is very advanced, developmentally (which of course, made me swell with pride) but that she needs to gain weight. She's 22 lbs, which in and of itself isn't alarming, but she's 32 inches tall. So she's in the 70th percentile for her heigth, and only the 20th for her weight. Put the two together, and she doesn't register on the BMI. Yes, her Body Mass Index is 0. So, we're trying to fatten her up a bit.
I was recently flattered by the University of Utah when they called and asked me to sit on the board of scholarship selection! The Family Support Center is community partners with the Bennion Center at the U, and I guess I must have made an impression at the meetings I've attended. They sent the top 11 applications to me (essays, letters of rec., and transcripts). I've gone through them all, and will be conducting interviews with 4 other board members sometime in the near future. It'll be so hard to pick just one! It's a very big scholarship they're competing for. I'm so honored!
Tom is still liking his job, but applied for a lofty financial analyst position with Questar. It's a long shot, but keep your fingers crossed; it could happen!
Ethan is growing, and so is my enormous belly. 24 weeks and I'm already counting down, ha ha. Love babies. Don't love pregnancy. But enough complaining. We're blessed that he's doing so well.
Now on to the pictures:

Lucy is loving that it's starting to be warm enough to play in the yard

For some reason she insisted on wearing Tom's shirt one morning

24 week belly

Sometimes Lucy points to my belly and says, "Ball!"

My sweet girl

Loving her rocking horse. She calls it "Rock, Rock"

First day of nursery

2010-02-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

Lucy went to nursery for the first time today. I went with her, since it was her first week, and would probably be scary. She did really well! I was really proud of her for participating during singing time and sitting nicely through the lesson.

BUT...when play time came, they brought the bigger kids in (our nursery is so big it's divided into two classes) and she really got pushed around. She's very small, and pretty passive. So other kids took her toys, pushed her down, and wouldn't let her play at the bigger toys like the play kitchen sets and stuff. It really, really upset me. I know this is all normal kids stuff that everyone goes through. She seemed fine; she only got upset a few times.

It's just so hard to watch. It's really starting to hit me that she's getting the age where I can no longer control all of her environment. I can't control 100% of the time how's she's treated or how she feels. I'm protective; I know. I just wish she could always be happy, safe, and treated fairly. First nursery, preschool isn't too far off...she's only 18 months! They don't tell you when you bring home your bundle of pink from the hospital that you have less than two years to shelter her, then it's hello world.

This is so much harder than I could have ever anticipated. I just love my daughter.

Not lovin' the new doc

2010-02-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

My OBGYN with Lucy was fantastic. Dr. Craig never said one word about my weight, except that it was normal, and not to think about it. Except at the very end when my blood pressure shot up, she noticed faster weight gain, and decided to induce me. Anyway, she never made me feel bad about it, and I lost it all pretty fast after Lucy was born.
My NEW doctor, however, is one of those who believes women really don't need to gain weight when they're pregnant. At my 21 week apt I'd gained 11 lbs, and she said we should "watch my weight". Ok, that is significantly less than I'd gained with Lucy, plus I'd recently lost 25 lbs right before I got pregnant. I was eating only about 1300 calories a day, and running 3-5 miles every day. OF COURSE I GAINED WEIGHT WHEN I COULDN'T DO THAT ANYMORE!!!
Grrr. I don't like being told I'm fat.

Baby Ethan Thomas Griffith

2010-01-31T12:15:00.000-08:00

We had another ultrasound (I swear, I've had a million). This was the official "20 week, gender-identifying" one. So even though we already knew it was a boy, this ultrasound confirmed it beyond a doubt. Both doctors that examined me said, "Wow. No guess work with this one...it's a boy." I guess he's not shy. We had a boy and girl name already picked out, and now know we'll be going with Ethan Thomas Griffith. I'm nervous to have a boy...it's all girls in my family. Tom will have to help a lot :0)

Everything looks good. He's measuring a few days small, but well within the standard deviation. Lucy was a really small baby (5 lbs) so our babies might just be small when they're born! Of course, that makes me wonder why I gain so much weight...ha ha. Oh, well, I'll lose it later. I guess I tore my placenta in three or four places. Most of the tears were mostly healed, and there were two that were still showing a significant amount of blood. But I'm not bleeding, so it'll probably reabsorb into the placenta.

I'm starting to show, and really feel pregnant.

Long Weekend Fun!

2010-01-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

Tom and I both had Monday off (thank you Martin Luther King, Jr.) and we decided we wanted to do something fun. We thought about Vegas, but decided we didn't have the budget for it. So we found some local sites we hadn't been to yet. On Saturday we took Lucy to an interactive aquarium in Sandy. It was so fun to see her reactions. And we got to pet a mana ray! They feel so weird! Lucy actually grabbed one if its googly eyeballs...I hope it didn't go blind in one eye :0(
Then we ate at a random Eastside Seas restraunt I'd never heard of. For some reason I was thinking East as in Eastern United States, and that it would be a yummy seafood place. It was Chinese. I HATE chinese food; it ALWAYS makes me sick. So, I got sick. But overall, fun, fun day.
Then Monday we went to a giant indoor carnival called Hollywood Ritz Connection. Lucy loved all the rides; even rides I was sure would scare her! She had such a blast, she was all pooped out by 6:00. Then we had dinner and played games at Tom's parents. Super fun weekend. We needed a de-stresser after all the baby drama.

Speaking of which, things are going very well. I've gone five days without bleeding now :0) Me and Luc going down the slide
Riding on the ponies...I love her pigtails!

Ponies were one of her favorites. She cried when her turn was over

authentic china we ate on at the Eastseas

Tom and Lucy by a giant crab at the aquarium

petting the ray

The octopus scared her; she started shaking her head hard and saying "No, no, no!" when we came close to it

Sittin' on a frog

Slight relapse, not too concerned

2010-01-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry if everyone is bored of seeing posts only about my pregnancy; I promise to post something else soon. But since I have friends and family spread all over the tri-state area, lots of people are asking what's going on. So, I started bleeding again yesterday, but it's very light, so I' m not too worried. I'll be going in for another ultrasound on Wednesday, and expect (and hope) to hear that things are healing the way they should. My belly is getting rounder, so I know the little guy is growing :0)

Thanks for all the prayers and concern. I'm sure it'll be fine!

Getting Better Each Day

2010-01-07T13:30:00.001-08:00

So today is day #2 with no bleeding. Doc says after 7 consecutive days of no bleeding I will officially be out of "threatened abortion" status. I know a lot of people have been praying for me and my unborn son, and I just want to say thank you. I know it makes a difference. And for the first time since this whole mess started, I honestly feel like we're going to make it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Baby Update

2010-01-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

The official paperwork reads: Threatened Abortion. Doesn't necessarily mean I will miscarry, it just means there is bleeding they can't find the source of, and that is a threatening symptom. They put me on 48 hour bed rest (any of you who have a toddler, know this is impossible) and want me to see my OB on Monday. Everything on the Ultrasound looks good, but they couldn't tell if my cervix was open or not. We're hoping for not, of course.
Baby's heartbeat, movement and size are all good. It's about a month too early to "officially tell", but the Ultrasound tech said it looks like a boy. Tom and I both have thought that from day 1, so it probably is, so if all goes well, we'll have one of each :0) I've stopped bleeding, and the cramping is getting better.

Sharing Burdens

2010-01-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

I've been told that burdens are lighter when you share them, so I thought I'd give it a try. Right now Tom and I are waiting on the hospital to be have a few more test and ultrasounds done. This morning I started hemoraging and we don't know why. We called our OB, and since it's Saturday, she recommended we come into the ER. The good news is, the baby is still alive. The bad news, we don't know for sure that he or she will stay that way.
There is a very high probability that it's a tear in my placenta which caused placental hemoraging, and it will heal itself and everything will be fine. I'm just a worrier. And there is something about waiting in an ER for hours that just makes a person nervous. I'll keep you updated...

Christmas

2009-12-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

It was my parent's turn to have us for Christmas morning, so the way things lined up for travel, Lucy ended up with 3 straight days of Christmas! On the 23rd, we did Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Griffith, on the 24th we did Christmas at our house (so we wouldn't have to haul her toys to and from) and on the 25th, of course, we did Christmas with Mima and Ba Ba (Lucy calls my dad Ba Ba, we don't know why)

Lucy was as spoiled as all one-year-olds should be, and Tom and I were thrilled with everything we got as well. It was a short trip, but we had fun! Tom and I in our matching shirts from Tom's parents
Lucy grinning as she steals one of her cousin's toys

Christmas morning mess

"Ba ba"

Family photo

To My Grandma

2009-12-23T06:52:00.000-08:00

This season has brought a tremendous amount of stress between buying our first home, moving, starting a new job, and the exhaustion of first trimester. Time has really gotten away from me! So, Grandma, when you read this, I'm sorry I didn't get anything in the mail for Christmas this year. I will do my best to send something for New Year's. I love you and will post pictures of Christmas as soon as we get back from Wyoming!

XOXO

Tears, tears, and more tears

2009-12-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know pregnant women cry a lot...but it's more than that. Working at the Family Support Center is particularly emotional this time of year because I am so aware of so many needs that are going unmet. There are very generous people out there who are "adopting" our needy families for Christmas and buying the kids a gift or two, which is so, so wonderful. No matter how many we provide for, though, the ones I think of are the ones still left. I know there is no way we can help everyone who needs it, but gosh, it's one thing to know that, and another thing entirely to have to look a weeping mother in the eyes and say, "No, we don't have any help for your kids." I cry almost every day, now.

So if any of you out there feel like you can or would like to adopt a needy family this Christmas, please let me know. I've got lists of them, from one kid, to six kids, and everything in between. And always remember to be grateful for what we have!

New House!

2009-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

So Tom and I both had a four day weekend for Thanksgiving...but it actually felt like a break to go back to work! In order to get all the remodeling done in time, there wasn't a single night we went to bed before 3 A.M. But it's mostly done now, just a few loose ends to tie later. I could kick myself for not having my camera to take before and after pictures; we really changed it a ton! For starters, there was a full wall between the kitchen and living room that we took out to open the room. Then, the kitchen was the most offensive shade of robin egg blue I've ever seen. Plus, the living room was a yucky, chipping, yellowed color. Needless to say, repainting was a must. Then add a few curtains, some blinds, and of course, a Christmas tree...and call it home!

The carpet and kitchen was brand new, which is great. I LOVE our shower, the shower head is like, 10 feet tall! And the shower is done in sandstone tile, so you feel like you're under a waterfall or something. It's four bedrooms (well, 3 and a half) 2 bath. The outside doesn't look like much; just a simple grey house on the corner. But it's OUR simple grey house. Plus, the inside is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside, so I'm thrilled. Here are some pictures! There are a few boxes in the pictures; we're still working on it. When it's done though, you're all invited to our housewarming party! Archway Tom made; and yes, that's a PINK kitchen. I still giggle every time I look at it.
Still can't believe he let me paint it pink :0) Little office

front entry way

Tom's carport

Front of house. It kind of looks like a trailer house from this angle...but it's not

Master bath shower

Master bedroom (messy, I know, I know. I'm getting to it)

Living room

Living room from the another angle

Hallway

Guest bathroom

Guest bedroom

Lucy's bedroom

offcially home owners!

2009-11-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

A month later...it finally happened. Tom and I closed on our first home yesterday!! We already took down the wall between the kitchen and living room we didn't like. Tom let me take the first swing at it, and let me just say, if you've never hit a wall as hard as you can with a hammer...put it on your "to do" list. It's an incredible feeling.
Anyhoo, so it's going to be a time crunch, but Tom and I both have a four day weekend, and we're hoping to get everything painted, cleaned, and moved in by Sunday. I'm so mad at myself for not taking pictures of the demolation, but I'll be sure to post pics of the final product :0)
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and wish us luck!

Simple Bliss...

2009-11-15T15:28:00.001-08:00

So I just woke up from a nap to find, to my wonderful surprise, that Lucy is still napping. Tom is at a church meeting, so I am left in a quiet, peaceful apartment. I'm sipping a french vanilla steamer, soaking in the moment, and feeling rather content with life right now. Wishing you all a peaceful Sabbath :0)

First Race; First Place!!

2009-11-07T14:26:00.001-08:00

For my birthday this year I decided to run my first 5K. My parents recently ran one in Florida, and as my earlier blog posts suggested, I "caught the bug". I've been training hard for almost a month now. I was so nervous for the race. As Tom and I pulled up and I looked at the hundreds of other runners (it was a smaller race, but there were still in the neighborhood of 300 runners), I actually said out loud, "What have I gotten myself into?"
I was so intimidated by their long, skinny legs and lengthy bodies. They all looked like bred runners to me! I literally felt sick, and arrogant for ever thinking I could compete with real runners. I wasn't much of a runner in high school or middle school, and those gym class horrors came back into my mind real quick.
Anyway, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I'm not here to win, I'm just here to run. To finish the race.
It turns out, I exceeded my own expectations! I finished the race in 25:37, which put me in first place for the women age group 20-24, and 22nd overall! I was very happy with my time, and with the race in general. It felt so great! I even got a little medal that said first place. I can't wait to run another one!
As my husband and father both pointed out, though, I may want to wait until the baby is born. Training that hard while pregnant is tough, and will only get tougher. I will definatly keep running as long as my little zygote will let me, though.

What a great birthday! Thank you to everyone who came to the race to support me! Me after the race, sporting my 5k shirt and medal
Just got my award and some flowers Tom had for me at the finish line.

Just crossed the finish line; Tom was waiting there with flowers!

I'm just behind the tree in blue and red

Standing at the "Start" line, waiting nervously

My own office...

2009-11-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today I went in to fill out new employee paperwork and get a tour of the office building. I was pleasantly surprsied to discover that I get my own office! Not as in, I get a desk in an office, or a cubicle in a room. No, there is a door, with my name on it, and behind that door is an entire office that is exclusively mine! I got butterflies just looking at it. I CANNOT wait to fill it with personal little knick-nacs (okay, I have no idea how to spell) and make it my very own :0) Each of the other offices I went into had their own personal touch; music, colors schemes, smells...so I guess I'll be given the same liberties. I cannot wait to start Monday!
I did buy Lucy a few new toys that I'm hoping will distract her enough to help ease the transition into daycare twice a week. That's the only part I'm not looking foward to :0(

I GOT A JOB!!

2009-11-02T16:25:00.001-08:00

I was offered a job today that could not be more perfect. I will be the volunteer coordinator for the Family Support Center. It's a non-profit organization that works to prevent child abuse and strengthen families. They offer counseling, parenting classes, and work with women to become economically independent so they can leave abusive situations. I will be recruiting and coordinating volunteers to help this program. I'll also be giving presentations and pulic speeches to different groups in the community about who we are and what we do.
The job is only 20 hours a week, and I set my own schedule. So it's perfect because I won't be away from Lucy too much. I also already found childcare for Lucy. I feel like it all just fell in my lap! I feel so blessed! Because it's so part time I'll still be able to do it after the baby is born as well :0)
I am so honored to have been chosen because I know a lot of qualified people interviewed; I heard one of the inverviews through the door while I was waiting for my first interview. I also saw many of the people who applied, and they all looked very together and professional. So I can't believe they chose me, two interviews later!
I start Monday, which is perfect because the race is Saturday. It feels so great for things to be coming together after such a trying few weeks. (They weren't all bad, though.)

Halloween Fun!

2009-11-01T19:03:00.001-08:00

Well, Lucy is too young to trick-or-treat, but the bunny costume was too cute to pass up, and she was too cute in the costume to not show off! So you see my dilema? So we went to a ward party thing where they were showing a movie, just so everyone could see how sweet she looked :0) She loved her costume so much we let her keep it on all night. We carved a jack-o-lantern, made popcorn balls (thank you Cody) and after goose went to bed (I don't know if I've ever called her that on my blog, but we call Lucy "goose" at home) the adults all watched two scary movies we rented. I'm a big baby when it comes to spooky movies, so I only watch them once a year. It was very fun!

Mommy's 'lil bunny!

Look at that cute bum!

Melts my heart. I'm a puddle right now.

Cody!!

2009-10-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

Growing up, my cousin Cody lived in a different part of Wyoming than me when we were young, then we lived in the same area for a few years, and by the time she was in high school, my family moved to Cheyenne. While we saw eachother regularly at family functions and around the holidays, we didn't get a chance to spend much time together as adults. She recently moved to Salt Lake, though, and we've been spending a lot of time together.
This girl is a Godsend. When Lucy was super sick last week and puking all over my shirt and carpet, there was Cody, running around behind me, cleaning up. When I needed someone to watch Lucy while I went to the doctor's, there was Cody, bright and early in the morning, knocking at my door. She decided to come early because she knows I run in the mornings, and thought it would be nice for me to be able to run without the stroller. When I was stressed and exhausted from a long day, there was Cody, with a gallon of ice cream and carmel butterscotch topping.
Cody serves selflessly, and without being asked. I'm literally crying while I write this. She is patient with Lucy, and genuinely loves being around her. She never expects elaborate thanks, returned favors, or pay. She simply loves to be around family and help in any way she can. She is a wonderful example of love, and I am thankful for the short time I get her here.

I love you Cody! (She's not a blog-follower, so she probably won't even read this. But her mom will :0) People say we look like sisters :0)

Update on the house

2009-10-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

We got the official denial on our property, with the condition that if we got a second opinion, that is, if we can find an electrician who is willing to say everything is to code "as is" (without us taping or covering that stupid wire) then they will push everything through. So we went on the hunt for an electrician who is willing to "stretch" a bit to help us out. I have a great-uncle who is coming to look at it tomorrow. He's really straight arrow though, so I have my doubts about him being willing to give us what we need to close.

We looked at going with a different company that does HUD homes all the time, and finds loopholes around these kinds of issues, but it would be several thousand more upfront, plus a higher interest rate, and we just don't think we can afford it. So if Uncle Gary can't help us out, we will be withdrawing our offer and just have to wait for another house. We've learned a lot though, and when the dissapointment wears off, we'll be just fine :0)

To make this post more interesting, I chose five random pictures from my file. I literally just clicked numbers. Have no idea what they are. Enjoy.

Some bad news

2009-10-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

So we just found out that there was some technicality on the inspection report on our house that will more likely than not result in us not getting it. I am so upset! I expected to be moving THIS WEEKEND. It's all very distressing. What was the technicality? Well, the place where the dishwasher goes has a wire hanging out of the wall because (hello!) a dishwasher used to be there. Because of this one, little wire, the inspection report read "exposed electrical wire", to which the underwriter responded by coding it as a fire hazard. We are not allowed to change anything before closing; we can't even cut that wire, or hook it up to our dishwasher that we will be moving in there. It's so frustrating! I thought people were trying to SELL homes in this housing crisis. Anyway, so we will find out for sure in the next couple of days, but it's looking more and more like we'll be sticking around in our apartment a little longer. We're hoping the company we're managing the apartments for is flexible with us, because we already told them we were moving and they started looking for other managers. Great.
Sorry to follow our good news with some bad. As you can imagine, I have whiplash from going up to emotional highs and then crashing to emotional lows. If any of you want to send chocolate my way...it couldn't hurt. Actually, on second thought, then I'd gain weight and be upset about that. Eat some chocolate in my honor.

Answer to the riddle

2009-10-26T15:30:00.001-07:00

You're all very smart,

There's no fooling you.

My little secret is:

I'M GROWING BABY NUMBER TWO!

??? A Riddle ???

2009-10-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

I have a little secret
I can't tell you what it is
I can, however tell you
It starts out small, and then gets big

I keep my little secret
tucked away so no cold can get in
What is my little secret?
Let the guessing games begin!

Chocolate massages and other such updates

2009-10-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

"Hey Miriah, why haven't you been posting any pictures?" Because I'm lazy, that's why. But here are some updates. First, I sent off my final revision to my prospective agent about a week ago. It was the first time I was able to hold all 310 pages in my hands! It was a big moment for me. Now I just wait...and wait....and wait. I won't hear back for a few more months.
Second, for General Conference, my cousin Cody came over. She is going to massage therapy school, so after the session was over, we made brownies and she gave both Tom and I deep tissue massages! Chocolate and massages...I was in freakin' seventh heaven! She is this tiny little girl, but she is SOOO STRONG! I couldn't believe she could do two hour long back to back massages. We loved having her over :0)

And lastly, Tom flew to Arizona today for a business trip. Before he left we were able to get a date in. It had been a long time since we'd gone anywhere just the two of us, so it was really refreshing to be Tom and Miriah for a few hours instead of Mom and Dad. We really appreciate and love Jeannette, who is always willing to babysit for us at a moment's notice. You rock, girl! Yes, I took a picture of myself holding my manuscript :)
Look how thick that baby is!

Cody doing Tom's massage. Love that girl.

Lucy licking out the brownie bowl!

She's so excited!

DATE NIGHT!!! (someone, please tell me how to rotate pics on blogspot...please!)

New fitness goal

2009-10-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

I forgot to blog that I did, in fact, meet my last fitness goal I blogged about. Yeah! So, on to the next. Now that I'm the weight I want to be, what about strength? My parents, some of you may know, are fitness freaks. There is no other word for it. Freaks. Anyway, they want to come visit Tom and I in our new house (fingers crossed on the closing date coming through) on my birthday (Nov 7th) and run the Turkey Trot 5K in Sandy while they are here. My dad wants me to run with them.
Now I love to run, but I've never really run competetivly. I prefer on my treadmill, where no one can see me, and where I am free to meditate and get lost in the rythm of my footsteps and breathing, without feeling pressure to go faster than the next guy. So my inital reaciton was, NO THANK YOU. But after giving it some thought, I decided, why not? I don't have to be competitive; I can just run it so say I've run a 5k. Might be fun.
So, I started training today (which just means I run a little more than usual. It's really not as intense as it sounds). I'm excited to do it. Plus, I really do like running, so it's the perfect way to spend my birthday, I think :0)
Wish me luck!

Super sad :0(

2009-10-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today a girl I had classes with in college went on a facebook rampage against the church, using foul language in conjunction with Elder Dallan H Oaks and another general authority, I forget who. It was about gay rights, and she, who is a baptized member, proceeded to blame the LDS Church for all injustices concievable.
I am a firm believer that everyone is entitled to their opinion. But why is it that those who leave the church, can't just leave the church? They have to fight actively against it! It's infuriating because most Christian churches have the same stance on homosexuality, but none of them are criticized as highly as we are for it. When I pointed this out, I was attacked (there is no other word for it) by several people, telling me I'm a victim of brainwashing and a prisoner of biggotry, and other such nonsense. They even compared the LDS church to the KKK!
If I were a Muslim standing up for my beliefs, these "tolerant" people would be singing my praises. But because I'm a Mormon standing up for the church, I am "ignorant," "intolerant", "brainwashed", and basically unintelligent.
I am so sad by the whole thing. I love the Church, and a few mean-spirited people who think they are promoting tolerance by trying to bully the church into changing its morals will NEVER have the power to take that from me.
A very sad day indeed.

Random Camping Trip

2009-10-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

So Tom had a camping itch randomly this weekend. Despite the freezing cold, he absolutely insisted we go camping. So, we did. It was cold, and I'm not much of a camper, but I was surprised at how much fun we ended up having! I think random, spur of the moment trips make the best memories :0) Lucy did pretty well for her first camping trip. She loved the fire and exploring, but wasn't a fan of the tent. Thus, no one got any sleep. We were up by 5 a.m. because there was just no comforting her. Exploring at 5 a.m. She has two layers of clothes on...you can see her jeans, ha ha
Again, 5 a.m. She's happy. I'm not.

The hat is actually mine. A bit big on her

The night we got there. I'm still happy in this picture

family camping picture

Right after we set up camp. Freezing, but happy. I like this picture of us; Tom is handsome.

Only the most nutritous food for camping. Chips and hot dogs.

Warming water for hot chocolate...yum!

25 Random Things

2009-09-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

I've seen this post on a few of my friends blogs, and found it highly entertaining. Hopefully some of you will feel the same way. If so, feel free to post your own 25 random things about yourself; I'd love to read them!

1. I didn't think Tom was cute for the first couple months we dated; I think he's crazy handsome now, though!
2. The first thing Lucy wants to do every morning is play with the light switch
3. I'm afraid of the dark
4. I would much rather be cold than hot
5. I secretly wish there was such a thing as magic
6. I love Celtic music
7. I still like to play on swings
8. Tom is much stronger than me, but I have better abs (ha, ha)
9. I have a higher GPA, but Tom is smarter (hate to admit that one)
10. I'm terrible at parking
11. I'm good at darts
12. Tom thinks his face is fat, and tells me so at least twice a week
13. Lucy won't eat meat
14. I'm afraid of spiders
15. Tom and I wrestle every night. After over three years, he doesn't let me win anymore :0(
16. Tom is 1 ft and 4 inches taller than me
17. The weight difference between Tom and I is greather than the weight difference between Lucy and I!
18. Tom seldom laughs or smiles, but he has a great sense of humor
19. Tom has to take a drink right before we walk out the door, no matter how soon his last drink was. Literally, he'll take a drink, tie his shoe, then have to take another drink before he walks out the door.
20. I love long, hot showers
21. I have to make myself eat veggies. I don't like them at all.
22. The average phone conversation with my sister is over an hour, and for at least half of that we aren't even talking; we're just on the phone doing dishes together.
23. I miss my sisters
24. I've never met a woman who didn't have at least one feature I thought was beautiful
25. Chili's is our favorite restraunt

Peanut Butter and Elephants

2009-09-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Lucy loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. In fact, despite my efforts to feed her a well-rounded diet, she pretty much will only eat pb&j, yogurt, bananas, and grapes. Picky eater. I suppliment with vitamins. Anyway, she gets really messy, since she's just learning to feed herself. I thought these pics were cute.
On another note, we went to the elephant parade at Gateway Mall . I walked a total of 40 blocks there and back to see elephants for less than five minutes, but Lucy seemed to like them. Plus, she likes being in the stroller and it was good excercise. However, by the time I got home I was really wishing I hadn't run that morning!

She's the light of my life :0)

This guy was dressed as "strong man". His pillow muscles were impressive.

elephant float

I love that they hold eachother's tails with their trunks. It reminded me of Dumbo.

Good News!!

2009-09-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

So there I was, feeding Lucy when the phone rings. It's a 708 area code, and I consider not answering. Then I think, what the heck? I'm not really doing anything anyway.
"This is Miriah." (That's how I answer the phone when I don't know who it is)
"Hello, this is Fran Pardi with the Fieldbrook agency. I'd like to talk to you about your manuscript."
At this point my heart has lept into my throat, cutting off any response.
Pause. "You sent me the first three chapters a while ago..." (As if I don't remember!)
"Yes," I finally squawk.
Fran Pardi, a renouned book agent, called my cell phone! We chatted briefly about a few improvments I could make to my manuscript. She asked me to revise, and send her the entire 300 plus pages!
I am so excited! It is SO, SO hard to get representation for a fiction novel for first-time authors. After not hearing back from her for a couple months, I assumed the worst. But now, here comes chance, knocking at my door! I am going to spend the next few weeks, revising, rethinking, and rewriting until it's as perfect as I can make it. I am going to rake through every sentence with a fine-toothed comb. Even if I don't get published right now, it is such an honor to have been contacted and have my entire manuscript requested, and I feel proud of myself for getting this far. It took a lot of courage to write it, and even more courage to submit it to literary agencies.
I am so thankful for everyone who encouraged me. Nothing is final, and she could read the manuscript and decide against it anyway. But, as I said, for her to call me and discuss revisions, as well as ask for more...it's further than I've ever gotten before. And for my first attempt at my first novel...it gives me hope :0)

My big goal

2009-09-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

So, I've heard that if you tell people you have a goal, you are more likely to reach it. My goal is to lose 2 pounds this week. This probably sounds laughable to some of you lucky ducks out there who can lose two pounds without even thinking about it. I am not one of those people. Since January I've lost about 35 pounds, and since having Lucy I've lost 60. I am 20 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Lucy, so I've been making some serious ground. However, my goal weight is still two tiny pounds away. It seems so close, and yet so far!
SO, I talked with my good friend Melissa, who happens to be a personal trainer in training, and she gave me a few ideas to "trick" my metabolism. Today I made myself choke down egg whites. I absolutely HATE eggs in all their varieties, so that shows you how serious I am about doing this. I am hoping that I can make it. I'll let you all know at the end of the week how I did. Wish me luck!!

Lucy's Birthday!

2009-09-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

Lucy's birthday party went really well! We had a fairly large turnout of supportive family and friends that came to celebrate with us. Thank you all again! I don't know if Lucy really understood why she was getting so much attention and so many new toys, but she sure enjoyed it! I can't believe she is already one. She has changed everything in my life. She has made me grow as a person and a woman, and taught me what pure love is. She has brought so much happiness, and helped me learn to put others before myself. She is everything good I want to be! I love you Lucy! Lucy in the tub
opening gifts

I was trying to get her to look at the camera; tom took a picture of us taking a picture

The lovely Melissa Elder

The areobics ladies! They are all incredible.

Lucy's cake after she got a hold of it :)

cake on the face. Classic.

Singing to Lucy

Daddy being silly

Grandpa and Aunt Net

Kendall came all the way from Logan to celebrate with us, and Anj came all the way from Vernal!

Areobics ladies again. I really like them!

Lucy playing in her new ball pit!

New Furniture!

2009-09-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Tom and I are in the process of buying our first house! It takes about a month for all the inspections, paperwork, and financing to completely hash out, so we'll be in our apartment for a little while longer. But at this point it's a fairly sure thing. With labor day sales going on, we decided this weekend would be a good time to start looking at some things for the house. Namely, furniture (the stuff we had was really old and mismatched) and appliances. We found a KILLER deal on some microfiber furniture that I just had to have! So, we got it :0) It's the nicest furniture we've owned together as a married couple! I never knew I would get so excited about a sofa set, but I am. I also found this really adorable mirror that I fell in love with.

It's hard to see, but the frame is made of braided/curly bamboo in different colors
Chair and a half

Sofa

The set

We were trying to take a family picture, but we could not get Lucy to look at the camera even once! We sure tried, though...

Random picture of Lucy and Mom

The World I Want For Lucy

2009-09-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

A friend told me the other day that the qualities that we as women admire in other people, are generally qualities we ourselves have. It's just easier to see them in other people. That got me thinking about the kind of life I want Lucy to have, and the way I want her to view herself. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was some way that I could help her see all the wonderful, beautiful, strong, admirable things about herself for her entire life?
So to all you women out there, GIVE YOURSELVES A BREAK. How can we teach out daughters to love themselves if all they see is us being critical of ourselves? You are all beautiful and have something to offer this world that only you can do, in a style that only you have. Don't be afraid to speak up when you admire another woman. Let her know! Remind her of the good things about herself, just in case she's forgotten. Let's create the kind of world we want our daugthers to live in. She'll face enough criticism in her life; let's teach her how to love herself.

Okay, enough with the preaching. So, we went to dinner with Tom's parents this week, and when the waiter found out Lucy's birthday is next Wed. they brought ice cream with a candle and sang to her. It was really cute!

Cuddles with Daddy.

Lucy LOVES the water. On hot days I take her to Liberty Park where she can play in the man-made streams.

Sweet baby Lucy. Always so happy!

Struggling

2009-08-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

I know I've complained about this before, so I hope you readers out there don't get the wrong idea about what I'm saying. I love my daughter, my husband, my life. I'm grateful for the option to stay home.
That said, these past two weeks have been difficult for me. I've been feeling cut off from a lot of the adult world, and understimulated. I guess I can sometimes feel trapped by motherhood. I've been looking for very part-time jobs that would get me back in the workplace, just a few hours a day. None of them seem to be working out, which is probably God's way of telling me it's not time for me to leave home yet. While I've been praying for His guidance in making this choice, it's sometimes hard to take when He says no.
I know I'm doing what's right...I just didn't know how much I would miss work! Do any other mothers struggle with this?

Update

2009-08-09T16:03:00.001-07:00

So not a whole lot has been going on with the Griffith's lately. Although, Tom was in an accident that totaled our LandRover. We were sad to see it go, but Tom wasn't hurt, and the insurance company paid us a fair value for it, so we were able to find a comprable vehichle. It's a truck instead of an SUV, which I'm not thrilled about. But Tom swears we need the power, so what are ya gunna do? It's a 2005 Dodge Dakota. I'll post pics when we pick it up next week. Until then, Tom is using a rental to commute to and from work. I still have my trusty and reliable Saturn that I got my junior year of high school. (Thanks Mom and Dad, it was a good buy :0))
I sent out my first batch of query letters to literary agents to get representation for my book. I haven't heard much back yet, but the publishing businesses is tough. I'm going to have to face a lot of no's before I find my yes.
Lucy took her first steps a few weeks ago. She isn't walking consistantly yet, but she takes a few steps every day. She's learning!
I posted a few updated pics of the family. Hope everyone is doing well!

Lucy climbing up Grandma & Grandpa's stairs
My first trip to the South Jordan temple

Tom in front of the temple

Awww. I love him.

My good friend Kendall just had her baby girl. I forgot how tiny newborns are!

The lighting in this one is bad, but she is stinkin' cute!

learning to walk

Hi Mom!

By Small and Simple Means....

2009-07-28T21:03:00.001-07:00

This is one of those posts that some people might roll their eyes at, but I decided that's okay. Just in case someone out there in cyberspace appreciates this experience, I'm going to blog about it. Some of you know that for the past 7 months I've been working on writing a fiction novel. I finally finished it, 315 pages of it! I had three people read and edit the manuscript, made some changes, and purchased some books on getting published. But the closer it got to time to actually send out query letters, the more I began to doubt myself and my work. Maybe it isn't any good. Maybe I just wasted 7 months of my time. I expressed these feelings of inadequacy to my sister, Laureena, over the phone. As soon as I said the words, Lucy, inexplicably started crying hysterically. I mean, couldn't catch her breath, beyond upset crying. And there was nothing that triggered it! The only other time I remember her doing that was when I told Tom I was thinking about going back to work.

Now I know that technically it's impossible for my 10 month old daughter to understand what I'm saying enough to get upset over it. But I'm telling you, sometimes I think she is so in tune with me, that she knows when I'm about ready to give up. She knew when I was about to give up on staying at home, and she knew when I was about to give up on my dream of being an author. And both times, her tears seemed to say, "Don't quit Mommy, I know you can do it!" In my prayers, I thank God for sending such an angel into my care. I know I'm supposed to be teaching her, but in so many ways, she's teaching me.

Mommy loves you, Lucy!

Wyoming Trip

2009-07-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

Every year Tom and I go to visit my parents for the Fourth of July. This year was the first time I didn't have a job to hurry home to, so Lucy and I stayed for the entire week, and Tom came back to get us the next weekend. We had so much fun while we were there! Lucy met her cousin Wyatt for the first time (well, they'd seen eachother before, but never played because Luc was too young) They got along so well; it was adorable!

I also had the opportunity to spend time with my Mom and sisters. Chey is home for the summer, and Reena and Wil actually moved out there, recently. We had a fantastic time! Lucy loved Grandma's hardwood floors!

Tom and I before he had to go back

Me and Daddy!

Wyatt, the cutest little nephew in the world

Mima and Lucy

Me trying to play horse shoes...I can't tell you how bad I really was

Me and my beautiful Mom

Playin with Luc

Tom watching Lucy play with the water toys

Three year anniversary!

2009-06-30T21:16:00.001-07:00

I'm posting this a few hours early, but I wanted to make sure it got up here. It has been 3 years since Tom and I said "I Do." In some ways it seems like time has rushed by, but mostly I just can't remember my life without him. It feels like we've been together forever (in a good way). I love him so much and feel so blessed to have found such a wonderful best friend. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of eternity with my one and only!

Here are some wedding pictures:

Eskimo kisses!

I think I lost my shoe, ha ha!

cutting the cake at the reception; after the formal ring ceremony and "the line", we changed into jeans and flip flops!

Our get away car that wouldn't start :0)

My great-grandma melba coming through the line

My Calm in the Storm

2009-06-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

This week has been a really tough one for me. Nothing too dramatic, just a lot of mini disasters, ranging from mysterious and creepy bugs in my kitchen (I've already shared my feelings on creepy crawling things) to a very unhappy, screaming baby, to my car suddenly not starting for no apparent reason. The car was kind of a final straw for me. I broke down into tears and called Tom at work.
Tom has had a pretty stressful week at work, too. But he really came through for me. He took an extra long lunch and drove all the way home (about a 20 minute drive one way) and diagnosed the problem. He didn't have enough time to fix it, but he took me to lunch, and was just so calm, possitive, and reassuring that it was impossible for me to stay upset! He offered to leave me the LandRover if I needed to run erronds before he got home. I declined, but he was just so sweet to drop everything and come to my rescue. It made all the difference; after he left to go back to work, things just didn't seem so bad.
Thanks honey, you're the best!
Here are some pics of my sweetheart:

Tom "t.p.ed" his professor's house his senior year with a bunch of friends
At Thanksgiving last year in Wyoming; his first trip to Powell/Deaver

He's a wonderful Daddy

Random, but I just love his puppydog eyes in this one. I didn't even know he was taking a picture, which is why I look so weird.

At Lucy's Blessing

Jeanette!

2009-06-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful sister-in-law, Jeanette! She ordered these beautiful beaded butterfly hair pieces a couple of months ago that I really loved. She had hinted that she was going to order me one, because she's just that kind of sister. Yesterday she surprised me with not one, but THREE of them, all different colors! She also threw in a hand-stitched bookmark and chocolate. She is so sweet; it really made my day.
It's crazy how simple things can make such a difference in someone's day. It made me want to brighten someone else's day. Kindness in contagious, so pass it on!

Thanks Jeanette, I love you!!

Daddy's Little Girl

2009-06-15T15:28:00.001-07:00

Every morning when Lucy wakes up, she calls for "Mama". I go in to her room and am met with the biggest grin that melts my heart. After changing her, I bring her out to the living room, where she immediatly asks for "Dada", who his usually adjusting his tie or tying his shoes to run out the door to work. But he always stops to take a minute to hold her.
While I love this routine, I don't usually think much of it. But lately I've been really struggling with my decision to stay home with Lucy while she's young. I've been praying for confirmation that I'm actually doing the right thing. This morning, I realized what exactally I'd be giving up if I went to work right now. I'm certainly not criticizing any of the working mothers out there, I just know that for me and my family, staying home is the right choice, even if that means giving up the extra income.

I snapped a picture of this morning's "Dada" time, and posted a few more pictures to show how Lucy is growing! I have some current and some from when she was only a few weeks old. "Dada" taking time to hold Lucy
Lucy in the park

Getting in to the DVD's

Lucy and "Dada" when she was a few weeks old

Baby Lucy, about three weeks old

They grew on me

2009-06-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

So, after Tom got the one snail off my stroller, we found another the next day! Two huge snails living on my porch. For some reason I cannot possibly understand, I kind of started to get attatched to them. I'd look for them when I went outside. I'd watch them poke their little heads out and look around. Then today on my way home from doing laundry (I have to go to a laundrymat, so it's an all-afternoon thing) I found a snail crushed in our parking lot! I was so sad! It's shell was in several pieces and it's gooey little body was limp :0(
When I got to my porch, however, I discovered it wasn't one of my two residential snails. So, the humanitarian in me decided to save these creatures that I'd once been terrified of. It took about 30 minutes to get the nerve to touch the shell of one, but I finally did, and found it to be far less disgusting than I'd imagined. I got both of them safely in a container with damp papertowels lining the bottom and leafs of lettuce (this was the habitat that Google recommended). It was actually really cute to watch them eat the lettuce with their perky little antenna! If you've never seen a snail eat, they like, hug the leaf of lettuce while they're eating it. Very cute.
My sister-in-law is a fifth grade teacher, and said that giant snails would make the perfect classroom pet. So tonight I'm going to give them to her and hopefully they'll live happily ever after!
Just goes to show...first impressions aren't always correct.

GROSS!

2009-06-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

So the London Market is a quaint little shop only a few blocks away that carries all things English. The family that owns and runs it is from England (I love the cute little polite accents they have!) and everything they sell is, naturally, from the motherland.
I've always been very curious about this shop, but it closes at five, and Tom is never home in time for us to go. So yesterday, I finally decided that I would take Lucy and we'd go. When I went to put her in her stroller, however, there was a visitor in her stroller....a snail!
Now those of you who know me, know that I hate all things that creep and crawl. So naturally, I freaked out. It was the biggest snail I'd ever seen! It was so disgusting! I'm such a baby about it that I couldn't bring myself to touch it in order to get it off, nor could I bring myself to knock it off with a stick or something, because I don't want to hurt the thing, I just don't want it on my stroller!
So, I ended up carrying Lucy the whole way. She's getting quite heavy at nine months, so by the end of the trip, I was cursing that snail!
The London Market, however, was every bit as charming as I'd hoped it would be. I bought these McVitie's, which are apparently popular over there. There are just a whole wheat cracker, with a thin layer of milk chocolate on top. I wouldn't have put those two together on my own, but they are delicious! I don't know why they say Digestive on them; I'm assuming because they're whole wheat.

Creepy little fella!

It's About Time!

2009-06-09T12:14:00.001-07:00

So I finally gave in to peer pressure and started a blog! I'm still not sure that my life is interesting enough to captivate any audiences out there in cyber space, but here it is none the less.
Most of you know that Tom and I just moved to Salt Lake City, after spending a blissful four years on Logan. I was really nervous about making new friends, navigating in heavy traffic, and staying at home for the first time with Lucy. (My old job in Logan let me bring her with me to the office, so I kept working) Overall, though, the transition has been pleasantly smooth! We have a great ward and wonderful neighbors. Tom is loving his new job, and being the apartment manager isn't as hard as I had anticipated.
Last week our family got invited to a "couple's bbq" that the Goodmans (an adorable couple in our ward) put on. It was a blast! We really had fun, and I knew a lot of the people from church and from the areobics class I take on Wed nights. It always feels good to make new friends!

Thanks for inviting us Kenna!

This is Melissa, she's the areobics instructor. She's amazing!
I didn't know how to rotate this, sorry.

Tom, talking finance with some of the guys. He's so handsome :0)

These are most of the ladies that go to areobics. The one with dark hair and sunglasses is Kenna; it's her party. We don't know what Mel is doing in this one :0)

Lucy!

Kenna's son Parker has a little crush on Lucy and insisted on holding her time and time again; it was cute.

This wasn't at the bbq, but we had a friend over with his big dog and Lucy rode the dog like a pony. At first she wasn't sure what to think.