It's nothin but Pink out there!

Last Thursday Jordan and I went to the big doctor's appointment! We had the ultrasound and found out that yes, we are indeed having another girl!! I must admit, I'm relieved! Thoughts of "I know girls, I can do this" fill my head. I know Jordan's a bit disappointed and worries that we may never get a little boy, but this just solidifies in my mind that baby girl #2 probably won't be our last now! Heavenly Father has a very sly way of insuring parents don't give up once they've had one of each gender. I was certain that if this was a boy we were DONE, but now...I feel we need to try at least one more time for that little boy...things work out how they should!

In any case, I'm excited for girl #2 (whom I like to joke will be named "Stormy" since we already have a "Reiny"). At least I won't need to buy anything new besides diapers!!!

Photography Sessions

Please don't miss this! My sister-in-law will be in Leadore for 2 weeks and is an outstanding photographer! She's doing sessions here at such reasonable prices...please take an opportunity to update your family photos or have your senior pictures done! She'll travel to whatever location you want! Thanks!!!

Click on the picture above to read the information!

The Real Meaning behind "Because I Said So!"

I had a real Mommy "ahh ha" moment today. Do you realize how often we tell our kids to do or not do something without explaining ourselves? Most of the time the underlying reason involves eminent danger or hurt feelings or even just to save time later. For instance, "Clean up your room!", "But why, Mommy?" Rather than explain ourselves we say "because I said so" when in actuality there is usually a better explanation such as "because the dog is in the house and if she sees that room full of toys your new babydoll will look like a World War II victim. Then you'll be crying and upset and nothing I say or do will ever put the arms and legs back on that doll." It takes too long to explain ourselves in this way, so instead we say "because I said so." However, to a child, that has no real meaning. "So what? Just because you said so? That's just plain rediculous...if mommy can't come up with a better reason than that...I'll just do it anyway." I imagine that's how Reiny felt today when she deliberately disobeyed an important instruction I gave her.

Here's the story: Reiny wanted to play outside this evening. Fine. Please put on some socks and shoes. Nope. Ok, not going to fight you on this...just stay on the patio. She played well on the patio for a while and then of course, I had to go in to use the bathroom. Before I left I said, "Stay on the patio! Don't go anywhere else!" To which Reiny replied "Why?" In my hurry to make it to the bathroom before wetting myself I said "Because I said so!" Had I made my realization earlier, perhaps I could have saved her from what happened next. While in the bathroom, Reiny wandered off after the cat...down through the driveway (which is all rock and no cement), around the garage, and into the back field behind the garage. Low and behold, waiting for her there was a nice, big bush of stinging nettle, and yes...she was still barefoot! I came back out just in time to hear her hair-raising shrieks of pain! I run to the back of the garage and scoop her up. We head into the house and I frantically search for a remedy for stinging nettle on the internet. I make the suggested paste out of baking soda and water and cover her injured foot in the goop. We wrap it with Saran wrap and wait for the stinging to disapate.

Well, perhaps if I had actually explained myself a little better to begin with by answering her "why" with "because there are sharp rocks and sticks as well and ouchy bushes out there that could really hurt you and I would hate for you to have to stop playing to sit on the counter for an hour with your foot wrapped in goop, while you cried your eyes out" she would have stayed on the patio. Instead we got this:

It's time to catch up...again!

I do so well writing on this blog for like 2 weeks, and then...the task of uploading photos seems so daunting I procrastinate until the task really IS overwhelming. It's time...I guess! Ok...where to start? We're done with calving! Yay! Everything went really well too. It was so nice having Chase and Megan there everyday. They are the real champions this season, because when things started to slow down at the end and Jordan and I needed to focus on our business and the quickly approaching irrigation season, Chase and Megan stayed strong watching the cows and doing the work by themselves. We owe them a lot! The weather this Spring is surprisingly wet, considering our mild Winter. We had rain for about 3 weeks straight, then a break of sunshine for 2 days, then the rain returned. Right now as I'm writing this I'm listening to the most magnificent downpour pounding on my tin roof. It's lovely...so so so lovely. Most people get depressed by rain. I'm the opposite. Rain means wet ground and crops which means people are less inclined to call at 2 am when their pivots shut off and they can't figure out why (unless your my father-in-law...all the rain in the world wouldn't calm that man's nerves this time of year!) In any case, the fields are green, and I get the joy of listening to the rain on my roof. However, dispite the rain, Jordan's still been pretty busy this Spring. As soon as he finishes one job and says "well, it looks like we're out of work for a while" the phone rings and something else comes up! I can't complain. The work is needed...desperately needed! With all the investments we've been making in the powerplant, our savings has hit an all-time low! So, rather than be ungrateful and disappointed that I don't see Jordan much anymore, I'll thank the Lord for the blessings of work. Well, next topic. If you haven't guessed from the pregnancy counter at the top of this blog, I'm pregnant again. We're due November 16th and in about a week we get to find out the sex (hopefully!). I'd been feeling pretty crappy for the first 16 weeks and then the pukiness started to subside. However, my doctor put me on antibiotics for a bladder infection I didn't know I had, and I went right back to the pukiness. I'm off the pills now, but to top everything off...now I think I have the flu! I just can't remember what it's like to feel normal...this may be our last as a result of all this! The thought of having a second kid scares me to death! I don't know what the difference is, but with Reiny I was just so excited to become a mommy, and with this one I just feel overwhelmed. It makes me feel bad for this little baby. Every new milestone I hit just reminds me we're getting closer to the due date and then I just get scared. The baby started kicking on June 2nd (my mom's b-day). I feel it almost everyday now. You would think that would excite me, but I just keep thinking...holy crap...I'm gonna have a newborn in 5 months! Oh well, maybe things will change after I see the ultrasound...I'm just praying everything looks normal! Easter here was cold! We got snow for like the first time all winter so Reiny got to hunt eggs in the snow. She didn't seem to care very much as long as she got candy. She's too polite for an easter egg hunt, so before next year I'm going to teach her to push and scream "If you know what's good for you, you'll give me that egg!" Our friend Quin came up to visit and helped us color eggs. The poop-colored one was his contribution! Oh, and just a word to the wise...don't get the egg-dye kit that has glitter! Such a huge mistake! Jordan says that should have been obvious to me! He says picking an egg-dye kit with glitter is like saying "yes, I'd like the stripper with the glitter, cus I want to go home looking like I'm covered in fairy-dust...the wife won't question that at all!!" Sometimes his humor makes you question his faithfulness! (not really!) Reiny and I just got back from visiting my mom and sister in Salt Lake City. We both had an amazing time. We went to the aquarium and saw the new penguin exhibit and the zoo to see the baby elephant. We also went swimming and had dinner at the Mayan Restaurant where we got to watch a diving show! One of the male divers thought Reiny was just the cutest little girl and came over to give her a high-five! We also took Reiny bowling for the very first time, and she won! She bowled a 96 with 2 spares! It was so funny. At one point, she got her finger mashed by her ball and the next ball coming out of the return. She was sobbing, but didn't want to give up her turn so she carried her ball over to the ball ramp, set it on, and pushed it off. All the while, crying and sobbing uncontrollably. She watched her ball go down the alley and hit the pins and she turned, jumped up and down, clapped her hands and sobbed...all at the same time! It was just too hilarious!

Well, that about sums things up for us. I'll try to remember that I can blog without adding pictures and maybe I'll be a bit more diligent in keeping things updated. Maybe I'll even manage to get Jordan to write something on here...yeah right!