Snippets of Shauntel

Abby is Funny!

2010-09-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

I caught her sitting on a chair with a squirt bottle trying to make it squirt (with the nozzle pointed at her face). And when she was finally able to make it squirt, she'd end up squirting herself in the face and then laugh - repeating that process.

FREE Bosch Mixer

2010-06-08T09:16:00.001-07:00

Deals to Meals is giving away a Bosch Mixer. Check it out to try and win one for yourself.

Only a Mother's Phrase

2010-03-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

"Isaac! Stop licking the garbage can!"

I sure didn't wake up this morning thinking I would be saying those words.

The Tale of Two Brains

2010-01-08T09:58:00.001-08:00

I love this! It's so funny and from a video I got from the library called "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage."

Trip to Utah (06-03-09 to 06-08-09)

2010-01-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

We took a drive down to Utah for my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary in June and these are the some of the pictures we took.

We drove the first day to La Grande, OR and stayed in a hotel. Then the second day we stopped in Boise to check out their Zoo. What did I think...."eh, Point Defiance is better".

Quincy in some tunnel thing.

Isaac in the same tunnel thing.

Quincy and Isaac pretending to be eggs in a giant nest.

Weren't very many animals, so we decided to ride on the fake ones.

In a little hut.

Driving the Jeep.

All tuckered out from the heat and the Zoo.

((Have I mentioned that they are best buds? Same color shirt, sleeping the same, relaxing and watching the movie the same. It used to be that Isaac had to do everything Quincy did, but now the competition has even out a bit and Quincy occasionally wants what Isaac has or does. - It's cute when you look back at it.))

We stayed with our GREAT friends the Mohlmans, who happened to be re-roofing the weekend we were there, so all the boys got to work!

Steve, Jason, and Steve's little brother, Kevin

Quincy and Isaac LOVE Clara (a.k.a. Claya).

Isaac and Clara were born one month apart.

Random pictures we took while at the Salt Lake Temple grounds.

(Quincy is such a poser!)

P.S.

2010-01-03T15:10:00.001-08:00

After reviewing previous posts, I am not as behind as I thought! Whew!!

I'm Back!!

2010-01-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

...hopefully.

I finally feel myself again!! I haven't hardly even been on the internet the last 7 months, but only to quickly check the most important e-mails. Jason has taken the kids -Abby too! - to see his mom and dad today, so I have a few hours to get caught up on the last 7 months of life. ;o) (By the way, it is REALLY difficult resisting the urge to just catch up on friends and families' blogs rather than my own, but I'll try to persevere.)

So in my last post I mentioned that I was suffering from depression, so I guess I'll start there - where I left off - and give you the low down. Ever since my teenage years, I think I have suffered with different bouts of depression. I didn't really realize it was depression when I was younger and therefore dealt with it in ways I now wish I could take back. Once Jason and I got married, I just attributed it to early years of marriage. While living in Utah I kept "blaming" the newlywededness (if that's even a word), but saw many different counselors for my own depression. I was even at one point diagnosed with "a flare of OCD" and was put on Prozac. The doctor did say that a lot of people tend to have "flares of OCD," so I thought my "flare" to be trivial and just laughed it off. I took the medication, but after I started feeling better I took myself off of the medication (without Dr. consent) thinking that it was only masking the "real" issue - you know, the newlywededness. ;o) While off the medication, I was convinced that it wasn't a ME problem, but that it was a WE problem! Long story short, I finally realized, through lots of reading (check out the chapter 17 of The Ultimate Career, by Daryl Hoole) and research...and time, that it IS mostly a me problem and that taking medication for this illness/problem/disease (which ever category you like) isn't really a bad thing. In fact it's no more different than someone who has epilepsy or heartburn and takes medication to help stifle the symptoms.

Since Abby was born, I have been seeing a psychiatrist who agreed that I do have OCD tendencies and that I also have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and am now on Lexapro. This has made a huge improvement and plan to continue taking this medication as long as it keeps my "flares" in check.

All this new knowledge on top of having a new baby and what I believe to be the hardest stages of parenthood.

Wooh! Now on with the more fun, less depressing stuff!!

2009-10-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

I know it's been over a month and a half since I've last posted anything - and man are things piling up! I've been dealing with a lot of stuff the last little while (i.e. new baby, new life with new baby, depression, Quincy starting school, etc.). I know it's boring and maybe a little disappointing when you come here to see the latest and greatest of the Hart family, but hang in there, I'll be back at it again...some day.

Isaac + Camera=

2009-08-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

Amidst the many photos on my camera I found these taken by my son (I'm assuming) who loves anything he's not supposed to be playing with (i.e. the camera) and seeing himself in the screen of the camera.

Happy 5th Birthday Quincy!

2009-07-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Her favorite breakfast: pancakes!

Decorating Cupcakes

Quincy

Taylor

Amy

Gracie

Molly
(Not sure where Allie's cupcake pic went - sorry.)

The girls playing with Quincy's new toys.

We forgot to sing happy birthday with all her friends, so we did it after everyone left when I remembered. Oops!

Happy Birthday Quincy! We Love you SOOOO Much!!!

A Conversation

2009-07-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

I found this conversation (via E-mail) - ok mostly Jason's responses - freakin' hilarious and wanted to share:

Shauntel: Hey I was thinking that since we don't really have any money [for Quincy's Birthday this year], we could always get a free kitten from Malaina??? ;o) She would really like that.

Jason: Uhhhh…… Tell you what. If they have a white kitten with brown/black spots (like a cow) we can get one, and only if we name her Squishy (I had a kitten when I was 7 that looked like a cow and my mom ran over it with her car, hence Squishy). But it will need to get brushed EVERY DAY and bathed (yes bathed) once a week, and I will not be the one doing it, AND it will be an inside cat.

Although, a kitten isn't a good idea if we're trying to sell our house.

Shauntel: I'll be laughing for days about this! I'm still laughing/crying - you're funny! I love you!!

Shauntel: Is this the cat you are referring to?

Jason: No, the cat in the photo is a calico cat, not a cow cat (mostly white with brown & black blotches).

Shauntel: I think you're making this stuff up! To make it impossible to get a cat.

Jason: I’m not making this up!!!!! My mom (or dad, I can’t remember) ran over my kitten when I was 7 years old. AND the cat was all white with brown AND black spots JUST LIKE A COW!!!

I’ll agree that I’m making it difficult to get a cat, but the story is true.

Meeting Dad For Lunch at the Beach

2009-07-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

(You can't hear, but Abby is screaming bloody-murder! I'm sure onlookers thought I was torturing this 2 month old. Oh well, the things we do for cute pictures.)

Quincy's New Bed...for a night

2009-07-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Slippin' & Slidin'

2009-07-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

If you've never been to the Ensign Ranch 's Slip-n-Slide, you're totally missin' out!

Quincy talking her Auntie Kate's ear off on the way there.

Silly little Isaac.

Mom & Kids

Dad & Kids

Abby stayed here the whole time - she wasn't a big fan of the heat.

Jason and Isaac makin a splash!

Go Auntie Kate

Making a train.

Quincy and Auntie Kate taking a rest in our makeshift shade.

Totally fun! Worth the drive! We always have a blast!

FYI: $3.50 per person or $10 per car for immediate family - that's the charge for "Day Use," granting you access to the whole ranch! There's also canoeing, horseback riding, rope swings, a river to float down, etc.

P.S. There is no sound for the videos because they were taken on my still camera, not my video camera - dumb I know.

Abby's Blessing

2009-07-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Abby's Name is officially recorded as "Abigail Jane Hart." (no difference)

Hanging out waiting for us to go to church, such a good girl!

Look at that BEAUTIFUL dress my mother made for Abby! I love it!

I am very grateful that my brother Steve and his family made the special trip for the blessing!!

I'm also very grateful that my sisters and their families were there too! (Sorry Malaina you're not in the pic.)

Abigail's in LoVe

2009-06-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Abby sure loves her new musical mobile. Every time I lay her down under her mobile and wind it up, she gets a big smile on her face, gets excited, and starts to coo. She loves to follow the bright blue elephant and you can see her eyes catch a new animal every time they come around - it's very cute. But then every time it stops, she gets very very upset and starts to throw a fit until it is wound up again!

...I only wish I purchased a battery operated one now.

My How They Grow...FAST!

2009-06-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

As Abby is now smiling more we took some pictures yesterday trying to capture her beautifully sweet spirit (which never works) and I started looking at pictures of since she was first born.

5/15/2009

5/16/2009

5/23/2009 - 1 Week old
(p.s. the shirt says 50% mommy, 50% daddy - not 60% mommy.)
(Look at al that hair!)

5/24/2009

6/14/2009 - 4 Weeks old
(She's really balding now.)

6/21/2009 - 5 Weeks old

WOW, how she has grown and changed so much already in the last 5 weeks!!

My Birthing Experience

2009-06-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

After everyone asking what MY side of the story is, I decided to finally post it. Sorry it's so late, but I'm hoping still interesting. ;o)

Starting at about 12am I had been having pretty consistent contractions about every 5-10 minutes apart. These contractions were getting pretty painful and would wake me up. At about 3am I couldn't go back to sleep and wanted to try and speed things along by walking around and take my mind off clocking each contraction by watching a movie. That didn't work, because by about 5am the movie was over and the only time I would have a contraction is if I would get up from sitting down, so I went back to bed. My contractions started up again after laying is bed and when Jason woke up about 7am to get ready for work, I told him that I think I might be in the EARLY stages of labor since they are starting to get painful enough to wake me up. As he was getting dressed, he pulled out his “World's Greatest Dad” t-shirt and said “Maybe this will help move things along.” (As a side note, and to my defense, I would have bought him a World's Greatest Dad T-shirt, had I known he would have actually wore the stupid thing! I didn't want to waste the money on something I thought for sure he would have thought was tacky and wouldn't wear.)

Jason left for work and I laid in bed and read my scriptures, trying to find some sort of solace in this very frustrating time. The kids and I got up and started our morning routine as usual (still no serious, regular, and/or consistent contractions). I knew I wanted to go to the Snoqualmie garage sales that were starting that morning, but I didn't know if I wanted to take the kids to Nana's house (Jason's mom, Connie) first or go to the garage sales first. Connie called me to see how I was doing and to tell me to bring the kids over so I could get some rest that day. I told her I wanted to go to the Garage Sales and she said she wanted to go too, so she headed up here. When she arrived, we drove around the Ridge from sale to sale for a couple of hours. I was having some pretty strong contractions (ones I would have to breath through and concentrate on) while we were out and about, and again, I thought I might be in the early stages of labor, but the contractions were still not regular or consistent – just increasing on the pain scale! I was pretty tired by about 1:30pm, so we went back to the house to get the kids' overnight bags ready for Nana's.

After Nana and the kids left, I took a hot bath to try and relax. I was then going to lay down and take a nap, hoping my body would relax enough and really go into labor. I decided to call my sister, Leticia (my Doula), and give her an update and a heads up. At this point I was not expecting to have the baby any time soon, but feeling VERY strongly that the baby would come sometime this weekend. Leticia asked me if I wanted her to come over now or wait until things progressed a little further. Me being the unselfish person that I try to be, I didn't want her to come all the way out here for nothing – fearing I wouldn't progress or have this baby today and waste her time just to be with me. She suggested I eat something before I take a nap, so that my contractions would actually do something and not just be annoying. So I prepared a bowl of edemame sprinkled with coarse salt and lime juice, Mmmmm..., sat down and watched last night's episode of Survivor that I had missed.

At about 3:30pm I called Jason and told him that I thought he should head home because these contractions were getting more painful and harder to “deal” with on my own. About 15 minutes later I called him again to make sure he was on his way because they were REALLY hurting by this point and I really needed someone to help me focus and breath. He said he was on his way and hurrying as fast as he could. I then called Leticia to tell her to head on out to the house. I also called my midwife just to give her the heads up.

By the time Jason got home (which was about 4pm) I was not able to concentrate/focus or breath well during each contraction, which were now about 5 minutes apart and VERY strong causing me to shake vigorously. With every contraction I could feel tons of pressure – hoping and praying that my water would 'just break already!' While Jason frantically got things together and finished packing up the car we discussed whether we should head over to the birthing center now or wait a little longer. On a return trip from the bathroom to the couch, I buckled over in pain with another contraction – I was now lying on the floor - contractions now about 1-2 minutes apart causing me to basically convulse during each one. Jason said we were ready to go the van and asked if I wanted to go now or wait till the next contraction. I desperately wanted my water to break, hoping it would relieve some of the blasted pressure, so we waited for the next contraction and FINALLY my water broke!! I was relieved and yet more anxiety flooded my mind, thinking: 'If this is only the “beginning” stages of labor, I don't think I'm going to be able to make it.' (The thought of not being able to handle labor and delivery naturally had definitely crossed my mind many times before and I was now beginning to believe myself.) Jason dragged me up off the floor and we slowly started our long walk to the van. I made it about halfway to the door and had another contraction so we stopped. After a minute, Jason asked me if my contraction was over. It was so he said we needed to keep moving toward the van. I told him there was SO much pressure, that I couldn't move. He tried to convince me to keep moving, but I just stood there and said “I CANNOT move, there is SO much pressure!! I think the baby might be coming out.” Jason check to see if he could feel anything and he could, so he laid me down in the middle of our hallway and took off my pants to see what he was feeling – it was Abby's WHOLE head sticking out. (Her head wasn't just crowning, but completely out – to the neck!) Jason called the midwife and told her the situation and she said she was on her way. With the next contraction I pushed and the rest of the baby came right out. Jason laid her on my chest and got further instructions from the midwife. She told him to find a string or something to tie off the umbilical cord, so that blood wouldn't be transmitted from the placenta to the baby anymore. He quickly grabbed one of Quincy's tennis shoes, ripped out the shoelace and tied it on the cord. I then had to stay lying on my back for the next 20 minutes, still dealing with excruciatingly painful contractions, until the midwife arrived so she could deliver the afterbirth – so that the placenta didn't detach and cause excessive bleeding and complications. (Not fun!) (FYI - Jason got home at about 4, my water broke probably about 4:25 and Abby was born 4:30!)

So after laying in the middle of the hallway, flat on my back, still having contractions about 5 minutes apart for about 20 minutes, the midwife finally gets to the house. She rushes in to make sure everything is still ok and “gets to work.”

That's about it...after somewhat cleaning up, the baby and I move to the recliner and just hung out while the midwife checked us out. Everything is great, Abigail is perfect!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

Jason is such a GREAT father! He loves to play with his kids and they LOOVE to play with him. They get SO excited when he gets home and immediately are jumping all over him and trying to get him to play something with them. And most days he is willing to indulge them even when he's tired.

Jason doesn't particularly care for Father's day and he always seems a little bummed on that day. I tried to plan out all of his favorite things to eat (or at least things I know he enjoys) and Quincy made him his very own special father's day card. We went to church and Quincy sang two special Father's Day songs (Daddy's Homecoming & My Dad) with the other primary children. Quincy is so special to me and so is music putting those two together and adding the fact that she was singing to the one person she loves dearly - her dad- brought tears to my eyes.

After church the kids helps Jason grill the Brauts. These are the pictures they wanted to take of them warming up their "buns" by the grill.

Shelf Reliance Giveaway!

2009-06-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

One lucky soul will be given a Harvest 72″ (pictured above) on Shelf Reliance’s dime. No cost to you. No strings. No joke.

To enter (up to 5 different ways), click here and check out the Shelf Reliance Blog.

The winner will be chosen at noon (Mountain Time Zone) on Friday, June 26th, so get your comments in before then!

Have You seen the Hand of God Today?

2009-06-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

My Apologies...

2009-05-26T20:22:00.001-07:00

...to the poor patrons and employees that happened to dine at the North Bend Bar and Grill between 7-8pm tonight. We wanted to simply celebrate with a nice steak dinner in honor Jason's raise by going out for a nice dinner.

HAH!

Have you tried taking a 4 year old sleep deprived (unknown until our arrival at the restaurant) little girl, a rambunctious 3 year old little boy with the attention span on a hummingbird, and a newborn with an upset stomach (again unknown until our arrival) to a sit down restaurant lately?? If not, don't.

As soon as our food arrived, our precious little Abby decided to treat everyone in the restaurant to her new set of lungs by ScReAmInG incessantly. I put her in the new Moby wrap she so enjoyed yesterday, took a bite or two, but the wrap wasn't hackin' it. So I then unwrapped her (still screaming) and figured she must still be hungry (but this hungry? I just fed her like an hour ago). I Pulled out the nursing cover, undid myself and proceeded to feed her and myself. Still upset and inconsolable, I think, "OK, it's gotta be her diaper - it did feel kinda full." I took her screaming little body into the bathroom and found out she was poopy - thinking "Ahh. Yes, I've found the problem." I changed her diaper and got her all put back together, but she's still screaming - which is magnified by the hollow emptiness of a completely tile bathroom!

"Ok, since she just pooped, she's probably made a little more room for food," I thought. "I'll top her off and then be able to go finish my now lukewarm dinner." (I haven't even TOUCHED my steak yet.) As I'm feeding her, again, I hear her blow out her pants. "Thank goodness she has a fresh new diaper to catch all that poo." I pick her up to burp her and she starts to scream again! AGH!! What the heck is wrong with this child. I lay her down and to my dismay there was poo coming out the side of her onsie. "CRAP!" (both figuratively and literally!) I start to try and clean her up, but it all just seemed to smear around, and not wipe up nicely. "Oh of all the places!" I look at my shirt to see if there is poop on it, since I just held her against me to burp her. I see there is just a little bit, only on my sleeve, and am very greatful! I felt so unprepared. I had no little baggie for her poopy clothes and/or her poopy diaper. This was my last diaper in the bag, but luckily I had just enough wipes to get is all cleaned up. Just then (after probably a good 15 minutes) Quincy comes bouncing in. She's trying to see what's going on, asking questions, making extra noise, and just creating more stress! As I'm trying to keep myself calm, I ask Quincy if Daddy had sent her in to see if I was ok, she said yes, so I told her to go tell Dad that Abby pooped her pants, but that everything is ok. (LOL) She then asks me, "Why did Abby poop her pants?" (Are you kidding me? I have to explain this to you right now?) "Just go tell your Dad," I said. (Come to find out she didn't even tell Jason what was going on. When he asked her, she just said everything was ok.) I FINALLY get Abby cleaned up and realize there is poop smeared down my pants and quickly try to wipe up most of that. Then I realize there is poop on the floor that I've been stepping in. I try to clean up the poo on the floor and on the bottom of my shoe.

Jason is now yelling through the door asking me what's going on. VERY frustrated, but trying to stay calm, I tell him to just open the blasted door, and then I tell him she blew out her pants. "Did you box up my stuff yet?" I asked him. "No, I didn't know what was going on," he says. "Ugh! Just box up my stuff and let's go!"

I finally finish cleaning up the changing table and Abby has finally calmed down. I say screw it to the niceties of packing the poopy diaper and all the wipes out with me. I throw them in the garbage, cover them up with the old paper towels that are in there and walk out.

When I get to the table I realize our other kids are completely out of control. I hurriedly pack up the baby and everything else, grab the kids and walk out the door not really saying anything to anyone and leaving Jason to deal with the leftovers and the bill.

Happy Day.

Again sorry to all those people at the restaurant - Don't Judge Me!

The (belated) Birth Story

2009-05-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

The following events occurred May 15th, 2009, on a sunny Friday in a house on Jacobia Street as told by Jason Hart:

6:57am: I woke up and looked across the bed at Shauntel. She told me that she had been having regular contractions most of the night and they were a tad more painful than they were the previous few days, but they would stop whenever she got out of bed. Abigail was now nine days overdue, and we were wondering if she even wanted to come out and join our crazy family. Shauntel had been having irregular contractions for well over a week. Quincy and Isaac both provided regular and painful contractions for many hours before they came, so we didn't think anything of the contractions that night. I pushed myself out of bed and took a shower to get ready for work.

7:16am: While searching my dresser for some clothes I found my shirt (that I had bought for myself a few months earlier) which said, “Worlds Greatest Dad.” I looked over and jokingly told Shauntel, “maybe this will get things going!” I put the shirt on, sliced myself a piece of fresh bread, kissed the wife, and left Snoqualmie for work.

12:45pm: I took a break from work and left Mercer Island for a used computer parts shop in Seattle. I wanted to trade some old, but working, computer parts for a used laptop hard drive. My choices were a 2 GB drive (not nearly enough to run XP) for $4.95, or a 100 GB drive for $79.95. I chose not to choose since my choices were not charitable.

3:40pm: I got a call at work from Shauntel. She said that the contractions were getting more painful, very regular, and closer together, and asked me to come home. She seemed quite calm, but I could tell that things were finally progressing because Shauntel is not the type of person to ask for help unless she has exhausted all available resources.

3:45pm: I hopped in my green 1997 Honda Civic that gets 35 mpg and left Mercer Island.

3:51pm: I got another call from Shauntel, this time a litter more distressed. She wanted to make sure I was on my way. I assured her that I was and told her to remember to breath. I would have driven much faster on my way home had there not been so many cars in front of me.

4:07pm: I arrived at home in Snoqualmie. Shauntel was in obvious pain and struggling. The contractions began to be 3-4 minutes apart and we expected them to continue at that rate for at least a few hours.

4:15pm: The contractions were now 1 minute apart. We made the decision to get to the birthing center and pronto. I called the midwife and told her what was going on and she said she would meet us there. Leticia, Shauntel's sister and certified Doula, was already on her way to join us at our house, so I called her as well, and told her to meet us at the birthing center. During the contractions I stayed with Shauntel to help her breath through the pain. In between the contractions I frantically scrambled around the house and out to the car to get everything ready to make the 20 minute drive to the birthing center.

4:23pm: Shauntel's contractions were now excruciating, or they at least seemed so. She had just visited the bathroom and was on her way to the couch and another one hit. She didn't quite make it to the couch when I came in to tell her the car was ready to go. She told me to wait for this contraction to pass, and then we would head out. She laid down on her side next to the couch on the floor. She then began shaking as bad as she did when Quincy came. Just as I was able to get her breathing again, I heard a balloon pop. NOW it's time to go!

4:26pm: I helped her up and walked with her down the hallway towards the front door. Just as we passed the stairs, she began to have another contraction and told me to stop. At this time she was hanging onto my shoulders facing me. When the contraction ended I started towards the door again, but Shauntel wouldn't budge. I tried again, but still no budging. She said that she couldn't move, there was too much pressure and pain. I rationally explained to her why we needed to get moving and get to the birthing center as quickly as possible, and she irrationally explained to me, “I-CAN-NOT-MOVE!!!!” She told me that she thought the baby was coming right now, and asked me to feel around to see what was going on down below. The rest of the story is a bit of a blur as my body began to produce massive amounts of chemicals that it only produces in emergency situations, but I'll do my best.

4:27pm: I reached down and felt a hard, very round ball in between Shauntel's legs. I quickly realized that pregnant women don't usually carry around hard round balls between their legs while they are in labor unless the hard round ball was not actually a ball, but a baby's head! I quickly told Shauntel what I was feeling down there and lowered her to the floor. I took off her pants, but this time there was a surprise. Abigail's entire head was already out! Hello! I called the midwife and re-routed her to our house.

4:29pm: Shauntel made her first push and I was doing my best to keep my own head from exploding. The baby budged a little. I noticed that her tiny left hand was up near her cheek. I will now explain why this was an adorable moment: During the pregnancy we had 3 ultrasounds, and at each one we tried to get a good 3D image of her face. And had you been there you would have known that each time we tried to get the picture, her tiny hand was covering her face and she wouldn't let us see her. Last Tuesday when we went to our midwife appointment, the midwife offered to check in up there and strip the membranes. While she was doing so she felt the baby's head, which was normal, and then she felt something strange. After a few minutes of Shauntel and I freaking out, wondering what this 'strange' thing was, the midwife realized that the thing she felt was Abby's tiny hand up there covering her head! So to now finally see Abigail and her little hand still there trying to cover her face was perhaps the most adorable little 'hello' a daddy could have received.

4:31pm: As Shauntel, who was doing amazing considering the circumstances, made her second push, I tugged a bit on Abby's tiny hand and it popped out so that her entire arm and head were free from Mom. We shook hands for the first time!

4:32pm: Shortly after, the rest of her came out, and we finally had our little baby girl! She wouldn't come when we wanted her to come, and she wouldn't stay in when we wanted her to stay in. In that beautiful moment we realized who was in charge, and we were happy to finally have her.

4:33pm: I gave Abby to Mom and made sure she was breathing and crying and moving. I then called Leticia, explained what had happened, and told her to re-route back to our house.

4:35pm: Shauntel was still lying on the floor. We had the midwife on speaker-phone and she was instructing me what to do and what to look for. I stole a shoelace from one of Quincy's shoes to tie off the umbilical cord, then covered Shauntel and Abby with blankets and waited for the midwife to arrive.

5:00pm: The midwife arrived just in time to deliver the placenta and take care of other midwife stuff. Leticia arrived at the same time, and I could finally calm my nerves. We had a beautiful new baby in our family! Everything seemed absolutely perfect in a moment that could have been absolutely devastating.

Lauren the midwife:

Leticia, my sister, the Doula:

FINALLY!!!

2009-05-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Finally we had our baby Friday 5/15/2009!! And Finally I get a minute to post a few pictures and try to finish the LONG birthing story.
Abigail Jane Hart
9lbs 21"

Still no baby

2009-05-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

So... 9 days overdue now.

We went and had a Fetal Non-Stress (NST) test and ultrasound done on the baby yesterday. Everything still looks good and seems to be functioning well. They said that the baby is weighing approximately 8.9 pounds right now, but this late in the pregnancy it's harder to get an accurate weight. Jason and I are thinking that the due date is just off. They say that if I don't have the baby soon, then I should have another NST done probably Monday.

I've been up and walking and doing most everything I can to try and pursued this baby to come out. I have been having stronger and more frequent contractions, so things are looking hopeful.

At this point I just have to leave it up to the Lord, have patience and faith that this baby will come soon and on it's own.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

I received a bundle of nicely rolled up pieces of paper that the Primary leaders had put together. On these papers were quotes from the primary children to questions they had asked them.

Quincy's portion of this gift is as follows:
My mom wears many hats in our family. My mom is a teacher, she taught me how to..."Be kind."
My mom is a cook. I love it when she makes..."Pancakes."
My mom is a sanitation worker. When she sees my room, she says..."'Clean it up.'"
My mom is a chauffeur. She drives me to..."Preschool."
My mom is a nurse. She always makes me feel better when she..."Gets medicine."
My mom is a magician. She can always find lost things. Once she found my..."Teddy bear & elephant."

When I picked up Isaac from Nursery, he handed me the most adorable poem with his hands painted on it. The Poem reads:

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture ans walls.
But everyday I'm growing -
I'll be grown up someday,
And all those tiny hand prints
Will surely fade away.
So here's a final hand print
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.

I get butterflies in my stomach every time I read that. It is so precious and reminds me to not sweat the small stuff - because I often do.

Today was SO nice. It's amazing how you feel so much more love and appreciation when you're not expecting it. (I know, I know, simple concept!)

Nothing Yet

2009-05-09T21:19:00.001-07:00

4 days over - need I say more?

7 Years!

2009-05-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it?! I can't.

Jason and I have made it 7 years as of today! It seems like just last May (or maybe the May before) we got married.
2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

There have been ups and downs, but I've heard that after 7 years, things are smooth sailing - or at least that the hardest years are over.

7 year Stats:

*3 kids (almost)
*7th home
*1st house
*no pets

What a couple of goof balls!

The Pig Flu

2009-05-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Quincy had/has the flu and was throwing up last night. Jason and I were joking that she had the Pig Flu (more commonly known as the Swine Flu). This morning I asked Quincy how she was feeling and she said "Not, good. I still have the Pig Sty." I was thinking "WHAT? The pig sty?" Then I figured that she was most likely talking about what we called the pig FLU. LOL

Easter Thoughts on Christ

2009-04-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

In recognition of the Easter season, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following Easter message today:

At this Easter season of hope and renewal we testify of the glorious reality of the atonement and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The empty tomb brought comforting assurance and provided the answer to the question of Job, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).

Because of the Savior’s resurrection we will overcome death and become the beneficiaries of His mercy and grace. In a world of trouble and uncertainty, His peace fills our hearts and eases our minds. Jesus is in very deed “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

We give our sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. Though He was crucified, He rose triumphant from the tomb to our everlasting blessing and benefit. To each member of the human family He stands as our Advocate, our Savior, and our Friend.

A Day at Dash Point

2009-04-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect day at the beach.

When we arrived at the docks, a man was pulling up something he caught - it was a baby Octopus! (I tried to get a picture, but he quickly put it in his bucket.) The kids thought it was really cool.

What the heck is a Turbinate?

2009-04-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

Jason had Bilateral Inferior Turbinate Reduction Surgery last Friday and is doing well. Bilateral meaning both nostrils, Inferior meaning lower/larger turbinate.

What the heck is a Turbinate you might ask? Well a picture is the best way to understand. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

Basically it is the bone/tissue that is at the entrance to one of two mucous sacs in your nose. This does not cure his sleep apnea, but should definitely help that problem.

He has been in excruciating pain the past few days, but we are hopeful that will soon end and he will be able to return to work and get back to normal ASAP.

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2009-03-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Isaac has been talking about having a Spiderman Birthday since he turned 2. I'm not sure how kids really get into Spiderman since it's too "mature" for their age, but somehow they do.

We started the day off by making his cake.

Then went and had his FREE lunch at Red Robin!

At his party we played pin the spider the web. (Unfortunately Isaac lost - in fact he was the furthest away from the center. :o)

Then we were given a cow pinata from a friend and decided to use it at his party.

He opened his presents while the kids ate pinata candy.

THEN we ate cake and ice cream. (Don't you just love kids' birthday parties - sugar, sugar, and then more sugar!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONKEY!!

Baby Update - 34 Weeks

2009-03-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I felt really weak and weird with pain at the top of my belly on the right. I thought maybe it was that I just hadn't been eating well and tried to just ignore it. Then Monday the pain went away and I started having a few contractions about 10-15 minutes apart. Tuesday was my regularly scheduled midwife appointment. I told her I about the pain and contractions and she said that it was probably due to my lack of vitamins and minerals. She then did the normal exam things: checking the baby's heartbeat, measuring my belly, etc. My midwife doesn't normally do a cervical exam, but chose to this time just to make sure my contractions hadn't changed my cervix at all. Well, actually they ARE changing my cervix! She then became pretty concerned because the pain and contractions I have been experiencing has started to soften my cervix and that I've dilated to 1cm already! 34 weeks is WAY too soon for me to have this kind of change.

I have been feeling extra tired lately and I continue to have painful contractions. My midwife and I never talked about bed rest, but I've just been trying to take it easy the last few days. Standing for long periods of time or moving around too fast tends to bring on contraction.

We did discuss the hypothetical situations relating to progressing this soon. She mentioned that there is a medication that I can take to help stop the contractions if I can't get them to stop on my own. If I can wait at LEAST until 36 weeks then I should have a normal healthy baby at Valley Hospital. If I can wait until at least 37 weeks, then I should be able to have a normal healthy baby at the birthing center that I have planned on. Let's hope that the baby and I can hold on for at least another few weeks with as little complications as possible!

Why We Build Temples

2009-03-15T14:37:00.001-07:00

Great Story From Gordon B. Hinckley

2009-03-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Thank you Paige for sharing this! I enjoyed it so much it brought tears to my eyes thinking of the hard times most are facing right now. I wanted to share it with everyone I know.

Fitted Sheet Tutorial

2009-03-06T09:57:00.001-08:00

My kids don't use flat sheets on their beds just a fitted sheet and a blanket. So when I purchase Quincy's "reward" bed sheets and realized that there was a flat sheet that I wouldn't use, I wanted to make it into a fitted sheet. I've made crib sheets before and so I figured it wouldn't be that difficult to convert a flat sheet into a fitted sheet. I looked and looked for a tutorial on this, but couldn't find one, so I decided to put one together myself! I guess my frustration is now your reward. ;o) (click on any picture to see an enlarged version)

What You'll Need:

*one twin flat sheet
*64" of 1/4" wide elastic
*thread
*tape measure
*scissors
* rotary cutter
*cutting mat
*cutting guide/ruler

1. Take flat sheet and with right sides together fold lengthwise (hotdog),

then width wise (hamburger).

2. Cut out the 8" square in the unfolded corner (the corner that has 4 single layers of material).

3. Unfold sheet and match up corners to form a mitered edge. Stitch about 1/2" from the edge starting from the outer edge (or top) to make the point.

4. Press seam open.

5. To form the casing and hem, press under 5/8" on raw edge , then press under 1/4" on raw edge. Stitch close to inner pressed edge, leaving a 1" opening approximately 6" from all corners on the long side of your sheet.

6. Cut 64" piece of elastic in half making two 32" pieces. Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic and insert into one of the 1" holes you created pulling through the other hole around the short side of the sheet.

7. Pin elastic in place and stitch back and forth over elastic to secure in place. Stitch up the 1" hole, repeat on all four sides and your done!

This is my first tutorial. What did you think? Did I explain it well enough? Do you want to go out and make a fitted sheet for your own bed now?

Snow, Snow, Go away...

2009-03-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

Come again another day. I am not a huge fan of the snow, but there are a few things I can take delight in when I force myself. ;o) Like...

Sledding on the hills in our backyard with friends:

Watching the birds eat their seeds:

(This seems to be the only time they come around -
when it snows and they can't find anything else to eat.)

Cute Little Isaac

2009-03-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

2009-03-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

Isaac REALLY likes to take pictures of us.

And have pictures taken of himself.

People Keep Asking Me...

2009-03-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

People keep asking me how I'm / the baby / the pregnancy is doing. I usually put on a smile and say "Oh, it's going fine." But you know, the truth is I used to love being pregnant, but it's not so much fun when you have other children to care for (see previous post). The baby seems to be doing well, which is most important. I've always said that it's easier to take care of the baby while it's in the womb, but I'm starting to think that it might be a little bit easier if I could actually put this baby DOWN once in a while - instead of carry it around 24/7. ;o)

P.S. Here's a quick snapshot I took of myself for your enjoyment. ;o)

Valentine's Day

2009-03-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

I know, it was almost a month ago, but oh well, I wanted to share our Valentine's Day treats that we were going to deliver to our lovely friends and show how much we care about them, but we didn't get that far.

Isaac's cookie (he had trouble w/ the sprinkles. :o)

Quincy's cookie, she put a million little conversation hearts on her cookie (because that's the cool thing to do), but then decided she didn't even like them on there when she was eating them - they are too crunchy.

Christmas 2008

2009-03-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

Every year the kids have 3 Christmases (kind of excessive I know). But here are a few select pictures and favorite gifts of the kids.

Christmas Eve at Grandpa and Nana's:

Christmas Eve homemade PJ's:

Aren't they ADORABLE?!?

Christmas morning at home:

Christmas afternoon at Nana and O'Pa's:
(Sorry no photos - they were all taken on Nana's camera)

I know I'm a little behind on my posts, but this is mostly for my own posterity/journaling/history stuff.

We just eat Bon Bon and watch soaps right???

2009-03-04T20:44:00.000-08:00

My friend Aubrey posted this article on her blog and I loved it! Thought I'd pass it along. It is so true!

Need I say More?

2009-03-01T19:31:00.001-08:00

2009-02-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

Quincy Rose Hart

1. Born in: Provo, Utah
2. People in family, pets: Mom - Shauntel, Dad - Jason, Brother - Isaac, Un-born sister - due 5/09 (no pets)
3. Favorite thing to do with the family: "read stories" and "play games"
4. Hair & eye color: Red hair, Hazel eyes
5. Favorite subject in school: "numbers" (math)
6. What she wants to be when she's grown up: "nurse"
7. Hobbies or talents: Likes to dance, draw, sing, play with Polly Pockets, ride bike and play outside
8. Favorite food: Top Ramen
9. Favorite color: Purple
10. Favorite scripture story: David and Goliath
11. Favorite primary song: "I am a Child God"
12. Birthday: July 28, 2006

Baby Update

2009-02-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

I was just looking around on my blog and saw that I have 91 days left in my pregnancy (which makes me 27 weeks along). I noticed that the picture of the baby representing "Abigail" is just floating around in the "womb" and thought how this did NOT seem to depict the actual "Abigail". She seems to be slowly running out of room (which I know all babies do), kicking and punching my innards all the time. (FYI: Having the flu when pregnant isn't the funnest experience - been there, do NOT want to go there again, thank you.)

Stupendous!

2009-01-25T09:31:00.000-08:00

stu*pen*dous [stoo-pen-duhs] - adjective

1. causing amazement; astounding; marvelous

2. amazingly large or great; immense

Yesterday we were out and about running errands. I had packed a lunch for the kids and when Isaac said he was hungry I gave him a sandwich. A few seconds latter I heard "Stupendous!" Jason and I looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering "Did he really just say what we think he said" and "Where on earth had he heard that word!" When I turned back to look at him, he had a huge grin on his face and was looking down adoringly at his sandwich. I asked Isaac what he said and again he said "Stupendous!" I started cracking up and asked him where he heard that word. I think he thought he had said a bad word or something because he cautiously said "on the computer." I then realized that he and Quincy like to play "Martha Speaks" and "Word Girl" on www.pbskids.org. It all was REALLY hilarious and I love knowing that he actually is learning good things from all the "screen time" he gets.

The Witching Hour

2009-01-25T09:26:00.001-08:00

I hate the 4 o'clock hour for the following reasons:

I start dinner
The kids are tired
The kids want to snuggle and have "Mommy Time"
The kids are hungry
The kids constantly asking for food every 5 minutes
The kids want to help make dinner, which slows the process
etc., etc., etc.

I hope I don't sound like I don't enjoy any of the above things - I do - it's just that all of that mixed together by myself makes me grumpy.

I'm sure you can relate.

The Geela Wrap

2009-01-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

I saw this on my friend's blog and totally fell in love with the idea of it! I think this will be a must have for Abby.

November 17th

2009-01-12T15:53:00.001-08:00

One of my bestest friends got married to the love of her life on November 17, 2008. I finally got to see just a few of the millions of pictures that were taken. I think I look beautiful in this picture (Jason probably thinks it's too much) and felt FABULOUS all dolled up. ;o)

Cheap Dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory

2009-01-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

In celebration of their 40th anniversary, the Old Spaghetti Factory is having CHEAP CHEAP dinners on Tuesday 1/6/09 from 5pm to closing check is out here!!

I saw this on The Bargain Jargon.

$25 Kroger Gift Card Giveaway

2009-01-04T22:39:00.000-08:00

$5dinners.com is giving away a $25 Kroger grocery gift card. Check it out - no purchase neccessary - only your first and last name and E-mail address are required. I hope you win the contest (that is if I don't)!!

Oh Where Oh Where has my Ranch Mix Gone?!

2008-12-31T09:19:00.000-08:00

Oh where oh where has my ranch mix gone,
Oh where oh where could it be?

I've looked at Costco and QFC,
Oh where oh where could it be?!

With is big bulky box and its yum yummy mix,
Oh where oh where could it be?

My family and I love the taste of Hidden Valley's Original Homemade Ranch Mix (NOT the premade stuff in the bottle.) so much! When I was a kid and even just a few years ago Costco always had it in their bulk plastic containers, but now I can't find it ANYWHERE! I have been using the two pack packets, but I go through it so fast, it would be a lot cheaper in bulk. Anyway, I contacted Hidden Valley and asked them where I could find it and they said that it is only available at wharehouse/wholesale stores! I have a Costco membership and I've gotten so desperate that just about any Costco I drive by I stop to see if they have it at that Costco! No luck so far.

My plea to you (anyone who might be reading this) is if you know of some in your area's Costco of Sam's Club, let me know! Thanks!!

Poor, poor lost Ranch Mix!!

New Found Interest

2008-12-27T15:18:00.000-08:00

I've read two books in the past two weeks (only 300 pages total). (I actually didn't realize I read them so quickly until I went to figure it out when writing this blog!) Jason challenged me to find reading a hobby and said that I had to find a book and at least read 30 pages to give it a fair chance. I have a ridiculously hard time finding books that keep me interested, so I was both excited and nervous. I went to the library and decided to check out the Young Adult Classics section of the library. I found Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and remember someone saying that this was a classic and a good read. I gave it a fair shot, but couldn't get past the way he over-describes EVERY single thing all the time - it was a bit much for me, so I gave it up after about 35 pages. I went back to the library for another try and found two books. I thought that if the first didn't work out that I'd be able to start another book without having to make so many trips to the library. Anyway, They both actually turned out to be good/descent books. Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett and Go Ask Alice by an anonymous author.

Lilies of the Field is a book about an man who was just released from the army and decided to explore his new found freedom and travel the country. He ends up driving through Colorado and stumbles upon a few nuns working on building a church/school. The nuns believe God has sent him, but he's not so sure. He ends up being a big help and a legend in their town.

Go Ask Alice is a controversial book based in about the 60's-70's. It is a crazy up and down story (purposed real diary) of a 15-16 year old girl who comes from a good home, but gets messed up in drugs. It does have explicit lyrics and some other racy material and normally I wouldn't go for that, but I feel pretty naive about drugs and that whole messed up world, I thought it more of an educational element for me as a parent with children that will inevitably have to deal or be aware of SOME kind of drug related issue growing up, I feel better prepare. All in all, a very interesting read.

On to my next adventure...

Annual Santa Excursion

2008-12-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

Pictures with Santa at The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse in Sumner. We waited in line for at least an hour (the things we do for our kids)!

Abigail's Middle Name

2008-12-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

Jason and I cannot agree on a middle name for Abigail, thus resulting in a poll. Jason likes Jane and I like Lorraine. I think Jane is an alright middle name, just a bit plain. I really like the sound of Abigail Lorraine and plus I would LOVE to honor my lovely grandmother: Lorraine Jones.

Unfortunately we are unable to see who voted for which name, which is a total bummer! I have checked the poll like every other hour and Jane has been ahead by one vote (Jason's vote and someone else's). I just check it again and noticed that someone else voted for Lorraine!!! Oh I love you whoever you are! :o)

If you would LIKE to be known for which name you prefer and why, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for playing!!

P.S. I am NOT posting this to "push" Jane or Lorraine, just hoping that maybe my dear Lorraine pal will make themselves known. :o)

It's a Girl!!

2008-12-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Elfmas (Our Christmas Letter)

2008-12-14T14:24:00.001-08:00

(updated 3/6/09)

First Snow of the Season

2008-12-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

There wasn't much snow, but the kids still wanted to go sledding anyway.

Finally! Something about Christmas...

2008-12-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

Decorating the Christmas tree (if it wasn't obvious enough) the day after Thanksgiving.

The pictures would have been tons cuter had our camera not been acting like crap!

Sweet Walgreens Clearance!!

2008-11-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

I was at Walgreens today and found their Domino 1lb. boxed Confectioner's Sugar clearanced for only $0.25 per box!! I bought 6 and wanted to buy them all, but thought that might be a little excessive.

I thought this was SUCH a great deal I had to blog about it! (Christy must be rubbing off on me.) ;o)

Before & After...

2008-11-07T10:30:00.001-08:00

BEFORE:

Yikes!

AFTER:

Hairstylist job.

My attempt at styling my hair. (Thanks Debbie for the round brush, it worked great!)

Trick or Treat!

2008-11-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

TrIcK oR tReAt!

The Obama house was the scariest house of all. ;o)

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

Quincy as a Princess & Isaac as her Knight in Shining Armor!

Jack o'Lanterns

2008-10-31T11:57:00.001-07:00

The story of the Jack o'Lantern comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a crafty farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree. When the Devil reached the highest branch, Jack carved a large cross in the trunk, making it impossible for the Devil to climb down. In exchange for help getting out of the tree, the Devil promised never to tempt Jack with evil again. When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins and turned away from Hell because of his tickery. Condemned to wander the Earth without rest, Jack carved out one of the turnips, took an ember from the Devil, and used it for a lnatern to light his way. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern."

Happy Halloween!

It's Autumn Time! It's Autumn Time!

2008-10-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Be-Lated Canadian Thanksgiving

2008-10-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

So it's been a few weeks since this actually took place, but I figured I still needed to post these pictures and information.

Jason and I hosted a Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner Party in our home and it was a huge success! We had all the trimmings of a traditional American Thanksgiving (minus the cranberry sauce). There were about 20+/- people in our very tiny house, but I think it worked out pretty well. One of my favorite items there was the Sweet Potatoes made by Aubrey. Everyone ranted and raved about my DELISIOUSLY MOIST turkey and wanted to know how I made it - some even said it was better than their mom's! :o) I hope that this is a tradition we will continue throughout the years to come! Thanks to Sharese for her being born in Canada, otherwise I would have never thought of having a Thanksgiving to share especially with my friends!

Shauntel's Roast Turkey
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon chicken stock/broth
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
1 tablespoon rosemary
2 tablespoons ground sage
Vegetable oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (overnight).

Late the night before cooking, combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement or patio). When you wake up the morning of cooking, turn turkey over.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with vegetable oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 1/2 to 3 hours of roasting. Turkey is done when meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 161 degrees F. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving. (adapted from Alton Brown's Roast Turkey recipe).

Shauntel's Roasted Turkey Gravy
6 tablespoons turkey fat
6 tablespoons flour
4 cups heated liquid (drippings topped off with water, broth , or milk)
chicken base
salt
Pour the drippings (fat and meat juices) into a gravy separator. Pour 6 tablespoons of the fat into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and cook and stir for 2-3 minutes, letting the flour brown with thte fat. Gradually stir in hot liquid (I used water). Cook and stir until smooth and thickened. Season well with salt and pepper and add chicken base to taste.

Sent from God - Mark Gungor!

2008-10-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

I found these clips of a seminar Mark Gungor did sometime ago and loved them. They are so funny and insightsful. Check them out!

Mark Gungor is a pastor, speaker, author, musician and producer. With 30 years of speaking all around the globe, Mark is one of the most sought after speakers on marriage and family in the country today. Each year thousands of couples attend his Laugh Your Way to a Better Marrage seminar. In the seminar, Mark teaches biblical principles for marriage in a way that empowers couples without being “preachy”.

Tagged

2008-10-09T08:23:00.001-07:00

1. I eat 2 Eggo waffles just about every single morning. Toasted with lots of butter and just enough Mrs. Butterworth's syrup to cover the tops waffle - it's a science!

2. When I'm pregnant (which happens to be now) the only thing(s) I ever crave are fresh crispy things like: watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce/salad; and fruit smoothies (i.e. Jamba Juice).

3. I am the youngest of 11 children (probably no suprise) and I really enjoy it. We all get along and are on speaking terms, which seems like a miracle with as many people are invovled. I love knowing that we will be together forever as a family.

4. I struggle with depression, just about every day. I have extremely high expectations for life and everyone involved, I also have little to no paitents, which I'm sure all play into the depression.

5. My favorite food is Indian/Thai Cuisine. I love spicey food - both spicey hot and foods that are full of spices. If I go to a Mexican restaraunt, I will order Pollo Azado 99% of the time.

6. I LOVE the fall!! I love the changing colors of the leaves, the cold crisp mornings, decorating for the seasons, baking goodies and treats, the warmth and ambiance of candles/fire, the many different scents, pumpkins, Thanksgiving feasts, not worring about being modest (since everyone's wearing sweaters and turtlenecks), snuggling up in blankets, hot cocoa, etc, etc, etc! (FYI - I don't really care for snow - it's TOO cold.)

7. I really enjoy cooking for other people. I revel in their compliments and company, however, I'm not much for "presentation" - fancy plates, fancy plating, etc. Just good food and good friends - what could be better?!

Tag, you're it!
Jen Simon
Christy Palmer
Shinae Furgeson
Sharese Mohlman
Aubrey Peterson
Debbie Puckett
Paige Weed

The Bargain Jargon

2008-10-09T08:19:00.001-07:00

The frugal insights have been moved to The Bargain Jargon. Check it out and start saving money!

I love Christy!

2008-09-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Christy is so amazing when it comes to frugality and super-duper deals! She loves to play the "Guess How Much I Got This For Game" and I love to play along as well. She has all the insider tips of just about every store and is a wealth of information. Check out her blog if you're into that stuff!

The Bellevue Square Mall Super Fun Date Night Game

2008-09-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules:

1) Each contestant will make a list of 3 random items that he or she desires. Each item can not exceed $5 in value.
2) The contestant will then make another list of the same items, this time ranking the items, 'one' being most desirable, 'three' being least desirable.
3) The contestants will give each other the randomized list and five dollars, keeping the ranked list to themself (to be used in scoring later)
4) The contestants will separate and have 25 minutes to purchase ONE of the items on the other contestant's list.

Scoring:
3 points for picking the #1 item on the list
2 points for picking the #2 item on the list
1 point for picking the #3 item on the list
+1.0 point for getting the item for free
+0.5 points for being the first to finish
-0.5 points for taking longer than 25 minutes
-0.5 points if any of the items he/she listed are more than $5

The winner will pick a prize from the following:
- Not doing dishes for one week (the loser does all dishes DAILY)
- The purchase of the remaining items on his/her list
- The purchase of an additional item not to exceed $10 in value
- Daily favors ;)
- The loser will change all diapers for two weeks (when both contestants are present durring the incident)
- (additional items may be added)

Notes:
-The game may also begin with a couples stroll around the mall to identify (secretly, mental notes) items they may desire.
-The game will be followed by a shared meal in the food court.

This game was created by the fabulously creative Jason Hart!!
All rights reserved, Copyright 2008 :o)

Chicken & Ranch Pasta Salad

2008-09-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite food to make for long road trips. Chicken & Ranch Pasta Salad

Pasta

Chicken

Broccoli

Cheese

Onion

Red Bell Pepper

Ranch

Cook noodles. Cook chicken, cut into cubes. Cut up veggies. Mix all ingredients together then add ranch to your liking (more than you think, because it will soak in).

Simple. Easy. Delicious.

Beautiful Snoqualmie

2008-09-26T10:13:00.001-07:00

Taken 5:04 am 8/22/08

Apparently I do Need to say more...

2008-09-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not very far along, as of today I'm 7 weeks & 2 days along - only 179 more days to go. That makes the baby due sometime in May. I have my first OB appointment next Tuesday, so we'll get a more precise due date then - which I'll let everyone know. Obviously we don't know what we are having yet, but I think I'm hoping for a girl. Isaac has been such a handful that the peacefulness of a girl would be a pleasant welcome.

We weren't going to to announce yet, but I decided not to wait. Jason is probably not so thrilled that I'm telling everyone so soon, but hey! I'm the one that has to pretend to be feeling alright and hide any signs of being pregnant. It has not been that easy this time around, I feel nauseous and tired all the time, which NEVER happened with Quincy or Isaac. (So if you come over to my house and it is a freakin' pig sty, please do not judge me!) :o)

Need I say More?

2008-09-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm so Proud of Jason!

2008-09-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

Jason has been working for Vanir Construction the pat few months. The crux of the Brightwater Outwash project he's been working in Edmonds on, finally came to fruition! You can see read a little more about the project and see video by clicking here. (The picture above is of the Vanir crew working on this King County project. They are standing in one of the many pipesbeing laid down from Kirkland to the Puget Sound)

Catching up on a few things...

2008-09-06T08:48:00.001-07:00

Caution: this may be the world's longest post!

So I've been procrastinating a few blogs. Either because I didn't know what to say about it, or because there was TOO much to say about it. I'll try and keep it short and to the point now.

Berry Pickin' (7/8/08)

Isaac took this photo of me picking strawberries in my M-I-L's garden! Isaac was my little "helper" he loved the raspberries - eating them mostly.

SO many strawberries! First attempt at making freezer jam - it turned out great!

1st Camping of 2008 @ Ensign Ranch (7/12/08)

I took this picture of the two of them while we were setting up camp - precious!

Making my not-so-favorite camping treat, Smores with our ghetto campfire. When we arrived at Ensign Ranch, they said that there was a burn ban that just went into effect! Are you kidding me?! What the heck were we supposed to cook our food on or with then?? The BEST part of camping is the campfire! They had a propane grill we rented and so we made our own little ghetto campfire - for the ambiance. The next morning was REALLY cold (as you can see from the layers Isaac and I had on).

The kids LOVED riding on the horses! A 15 minutes parent led ride for like $3!

Then time for the Slip 'N' Slide!!! We spent like 3 hours here - it was so much fun!

Newcastle Park (7/24/08)

Madeline, Izzy, Taylor, & Quincy

Oh, to be a kid again and not care at all that you are getting sand in unmentionable places.

Mt Si Cottages Block Party! (7/26/08)
*Hosted my Muwah!*

It was fun getting to know a few of the neighbors. Thank you Lynnette & Bill, Rose & Mike,

Irene & Bob, Doris, Sandy, Paige & Jared, Maria & Ron and your families for attending!

Quincy's Drawings

2008-08-29T12:58:00.001-07:00

This is O'pa with his glasses on - as if you couldn't tell! Quincy tried to spell his name, she did well, just misplaced the letters (p-o-a).

Now THIS picture is actually of Quincy herself. She may have forgotten to include her mouth and nose, but she did include the food in her stomach and the poop and pee coming out of her. LOL!!!

Oasis

2008-08-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

Jason's friend Nick gave his tickets to see Oasis in concert for his birthday (Nick's favorite band, not Jason's - FYI). It was last night and they had so much fun! Jason got home last night, at 11:30!

He told me that they first went to the Pyramid Alehouse for dinner. When they got to the WaMu Theater for the concert, there was a man standing there asking people if they had a WaMu bank account. Nick did and so they were given special admission into the WaMu Lounge - go Nick! They were also given a $5 coupon towards drinks (which I'll talk about later). They were given speical pink lanyards and went into the lounge where there was a free photo booth:

What a bunch of goofballs!

Later they went to redeem their $5 coupons. They went up to the counter, saw that they had Jones Soda, so ordered that. The man at the counter was like "You want a soda????" (Like they were crazy for not wanting a beer.) "Yep! What flavors do you have?" He looked around having a hard time finding where they kept the sodas (because I'm sure they didn't sell many sodas at this type of venue) and finally found their drinks.

There was an opening band Ryan Adams (which was actualy one dude and a guitar) and people there kept yelling, "Play Summer of '69!" as if her were Bryan Adams. Then Oasis started and Jason said it was a lot of fun - minus the pot smokers.

Jason really enjoys going to live concerts, it made him want to go to to Live in concert again and go to a Train concert. To neither of them are coming to Seattle this year - maybe next!

THANK YOU, Nick for Jason's great 30th birthday gift!!

The Meaning of a Name

2008-08-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

I was preparing my lesson for Sunday School tomorrow, which is on Heleman 5. There is a question in the lesson plan of "Why did Helaman name his sons after Nephi and Lehi?" (See Helaman 5:6 for the answer) I was given the idea of researching the names of the children in my class and from there I looked up the names of my family.

Isaac = He Will Laugh
Quincy = From Quincy in France (a city in central France)
Jason = Healer
Shauntel = (nothing) my name doesn't exsist according to BabyNames

P.S. It's so true for Isaac! When he was younger, he would always be smiling our laughing.)

Happy Birthday Jason!

2008-08-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

There are moments sometimes, when I look over at you, and feel a sudden rush of love. Those moments remind me why I married you, how amazing you are, and how my life just makes more sense with you in it.

I love you! For all the things you do, for everything you give as a husband and father.

I love you! Happy Birthday!

Lael May, Randy Jones....................................................Tom & Jennette Worton

Randy (again), Nick & Jen Simon.............................Shauntel and Jason (DUH!)

This is the group that ended up at Claim Jumper , we had lots of fun and lots of laughs! Thanks guys!

Wordless

2008-08-12T14:07:00.001-07:00

M's Game 7/19/2008

2008-08-12T14:04:00.002-07:00

SAFECO FIELD

Quincy found the stadium before we could
even mention it to her. They were so excited!

Quincy pointing to the Mairner Moose.

Gotta love Cotton Candy (especially if it free) thanks Vanir!!!

This Old House

2008-08-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

After almost 30 years....

2020 Fir St SE,

Auburn, WA 98092

...no longer belongs to a Palmer!

A Palmer will no longer answer the phone when you call

253-939-7331.

No longer will there be a Palmer in the Auburn 2nd Ward,

or the Auburn Stake....Sad I know!

While helping the Jeff family pack and move, I reminisced of both the good and not so good memories I have of just about every tree, room, and other area of this house.

Goodbye Old House! You will forever be in my heart!

Law Against Parents

2008-08-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

I think there is some unwritten law against parents who stay up late. The effect? Your child(ren) wake up early the next morning! Anyone else felt the effects of this curse?

I stayed up until 1am last night working on Jason's birthday plans/gift and Quincy decided to wake up at 6am this morning (and NOT go back to bed)!

Happy Birthday Quincy

2008-08-07T07:10:00.000-07:00

EXTRA SPECIAL PRESENT....

Quincy's new big girl bike!

Jason and I woke her up before he went to work, so he could see her reaction. We had the video camera - which we found out she doesn't like - so her reaction was less than expected. At first she opened her eyes and gave a BIG smile, but then got grumpy and said she was sleepy. We put the camera away and then she was excited. She rode it that morning (as you can see with her being in her jammies).

BIRTHDAY OUTING TO SEATTLE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM....

We had lunch at a park in Seattle just outside the museum.

CUTE KIDS & THEIR IMAGINATIONS!....

Photo op at the "Catch of the Day," Fire Station, and the Story Book Castle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quincy had a fun time at her Abby Cadaby birthday.

CAKE & ICE CREAM....

(My pathetic attempt at an Abby Cadaby birthday cupcake! Why do I even try?!?)

PRESENTS....

Thank you Avrey! Thank you Isaac!

Thank you Papa!

Thank you Madelyn!

Thank you Nana!

GUESTS....

Jason, Nick, Amanda, Chad, O'Pa, Jason, Papa, Nana,

Jen, Trey, Wendy

(And Don't forget me - behind the camera.)

Isaac, Avery, Madelyn, Quincy, Taylor

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

We were invted by our friends, Paul & Aubrey, to join their BBQ in the Park. We ate hotdogs and hamburgers - the all American classic BBQ foods and shot off rocket balloons (over, and over, and over).

We then walked to the Bellevue Downtown Park for even MORE fun. There was a big gigantic water fountain/feature and it was pretty hot, so we decided - or Isaac decided - to splash our feet in the water. There was a fun (but expensive) carnival there and the kids were REALLY excited, luckily they had a few things that the kids could enjoy for free, like the Jugglers, Lego table, Balloon artists, tours of a firetruck, ambulance, police motorcycle! Isaac LOVED all the buttons, knobs, and gizmos on the firetruck, we couldn't keep him away from it. He was fasinated by the BIG fire engines - especially the big shiney wheels.

After all that, we ate overpriced pizza and an Elephant Ear (favorite carnival treat!). The kids played on the big toy they had there and then we went and sat on the blanket and waited forEVER for the fireworks to start. The kids danced, played with friends, and Isaac ate about half a tub of Red Vines all by himself!

Finally, after about 5 hours of waiting, the fireworks finally began!! They were pretty cool and the longest fireworks show I've ever been to. I would go again, but Jason said that it wasn't worth it to him and that he would rather just stay home and lite our own fireworks (he's not a very paitent man in that regard).

I guess we'll see what next year brings...

Row, Row, Row Your Boat!

2008-07-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

After we went swimming, Quincy wanted to go in Nana's boat. It was a bit dirty, but "God made dirt, and it don't hurt." Right? Plus, we were swimming, if we got dirty in the boat (which we did), then we could just wash off in the lake (which we did).

They liked being able to sit in the boat and touch the water with their hands as I paddled. (Photos taken 6/28/08)

Geronimo!!

2008-07-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Jason's mother lives on a private lake called Lake Dolaf in Auburn/Federal Way. This was the first time jumping into the lake and I wanted to make it look easy and fun for the kids.

Quincy thought it was tons of fun jumping to Mom, but Isaac just liked dangling his feet in the water. I had to coax him in ONE step at a time. If he even thought I was about to touch him, he'd run away and say "No!" However, he did finally get in most of the way if he could still hold onto the ladder.

(Photos taken 6/28/08)

We Love Auntie Kate!!

2008-07-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some photos of our beautiful Aunti Kate - we LOVE and miss her! (Photos taken 6/22/08)

O'pa's Farm

2008-07-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

Isaac loves to visit O'pa's Farm,

especially the goats - Kiko and Poko.

But that's not all - there's

Peekie the bird,

Pua the cat,

the other cat,

Nani the big dog,

Wikkie the medium dog,

Sasha the little dog,

and their prized honey bees.

And don't forget the other little critters -

the pesky geese they can't get rid of,

the MANY birds they feed

and the squirrels they also feed. (Photos taken 6/22/08)

Kate Hart's Acclaimed Preformance

2008-07-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Kate is Jason's little sister. She just graduated from Cornish College of the Arts and is a very talented dancer. This was the last dance Kate performed before she moved to New York back in June. Her style of dance is called "Modern" which basically means ANYTHING goes (it's more for the artsy fartsy type).

Quincy is definitely taking after her Auntie Kate (much to Jason's dismay). She LOVES to dance!! Some might not call Quincy's moves dancing, but her Auntie Kate sure loves them and takes inspiration from her "natural beauty."

"Quincy's First Solo" was actually taken at a different performance that Kate was in. It was Quincy's first time being at any performance like that. The whole time she wanted to go dance with all the dancers on the stage (not a real stage as we commonly know, more of a giant floor space in from of rows of chairs). I tried to contain her and let her just dance a little bit near our chairs. Finally, during intermission she was able to let it all out (as you can see from the video). I was totally unprepared for her dance, but was able to capture parts of it in 30 second intervals with my cell phone video recorder (thus the crappy quality). There was music playing during the intermission that she was dancing to, but not the same music Jason later added when putting all the footage together. The audience was SO impressed! They clapped and cheered every time she'd do something cute or hold a pose. This girl definitely has natural talent and I'm glad that she has her Auntie Kate, Nana, and the rest of her family to look up to for support. I'm sure she'll be an amazing dancer too some day.

(Kate's performance was taken on my still camera, but I promise it's at LEAST 5% better with sound!)

(Photo/Video of Kate taken 6/21/08)

First Day of Summer!!

2008-06-21T00:19:00.000-07:00

It was beautiful yesterday - the first official day of Summer - so we had fun in the sun!! I was finally able to pull out the swimming pool I bought when it was last hot - like a month ago, and they had lots of fun, even though Quincy has strep throat.

(Photos taken 6/20/08)

Caught WHITE Handed!

2008-06-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

Isaac had found the powdered sugar the other day and decided it would be fun to "make" something. A couple weeks ago I let them play in left over flour - apparently they thought this was ok to use and do again.

Normally I would automatically raise my voice and say "What are you doing?!" But I withheld and decided to make a memory out of the mess. :o)

As soon as I came around the corner, the smile on Quincy's face as she looks up from the pile of sugar she is standing in quickly disappears. She hurriedly steps off and say "Isaac did it." HAH! While I know FULL WELL Isaac instigated the mess, I know she wasn't just going to sit back and let him have all the fun! (photo taken 6/16/08 8:11am)

Hiking at Squak Mountain State Park

2008-06-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY had a Saturday where neither of us were busy or had things we really needed to get done, so we (I) decided to go for a hike. Not knowing what Squak Mountain State Park had to offer, we decided to check it out. This is a GREAT hike for amateurs. They have these neat little stories along the way for kids. It's not too strenuous - pretty easy going hike. This was Quincy and Isaac's first time hiking so it was JUST what we were looking for!

Before we left and we were getting our hiking shoes on, Quincy told us she wanted to buy sparkly Ariel hiking shoes, but she was content with her pink "hiking" backpack. She thought that we were actually going camping and started gathering toys and books - we had to tell her like 4 times we were only going hiking and we would be back shortly - so cute.

Isaac didn't really know what we were doing or where we were going, but he was excited non the less. And once AGAIN, Isaac fell and hit his head in the SAME spot he always does

Isaac ended up being the first to poop out and want to be done. Quincy on the other hand could have gone on for miles, she was so prepared with her snacks and water in her backpack, she LOVED it!

Jason and I enjoyed the hike as well. I had lots of fun taking pictures of beautiful wild flowers along the way (even though Jason thought I was pretty silly). All in all, it was a GREAT day and we all had fun.

Quincy REALLY wants to go camping now!!

The Sweet Spirit

2008-05-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

"I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations. Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us—and as our posterity read of our life’s experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted. " - Spencer W. Kimball

I'd like to take this opportunity to put my testimony in writing and bear witness to those who know me well, who would like to know me better and to those who may want know me in the future.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one and only true church on the earth today. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I know that Jesus died for the sins of all and especially for me. I know that he was resurrected, so that we may all live with Heavenly Father again.

I believe in God the Eternal Father, in his Son, Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost. I know they are three separate and distinct beings each working for the same purpose and goal. I know that we are all responsible for our own thoughts and actions. I know that through the Atonement of Jesus, all mankind may be saved, but only by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. I know that Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism - by immersion for the remission of our sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost are the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel. I believe that man must be called of God by prophecy and by laying on of hands by those who are in authority to preach and administer in the ordinances of the Gospel. I believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly, I also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and I believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. I believe that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent and that Christ will reign personally upon the earth.

I love my Savior and all that he has done for me in my life. I constantly recognize God's hand in my life and know that all I have came from Him. I know He knows and loves me personally. I know that the plan of salvation is a true and promising plan.

I hope that I can teach my children in a manner that pleases the Lord. I hope that I can continue on the path of righteousness and that some day I and ALL my family will be able to return to Heavenly Father.

If my testimony touches your heart, you may be interested in learning more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at www.mormon.org.

Snoqualmie Garage Sales

2008-05-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

I have vowed to never miss another Snoqualmie Ridge Garage Sale (if I live within a reasonable driving distance). Jen and I went to their garage sale last weekend (5/17) and got a TON of GREAT stuff! We kept finding awesome deals - you can't beat FREE! Free bikes, free adroable bed frame, free office chair, free lamp, free carseats, free rocking chair. Some other slammin' deals we got were an Eddie Bauer jogging stroller for $20! (Jen), a sweet "umbrella stroller" $5! (Shauntel), matching bedside lamps $5 (Shauntel), swimsuits, books, fan, and lots more - just look at the truck (and Jason scratching his head)!

Going Potty

2008-04-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

We have been kind of potty training Isaac, or at least we let him sit on the potty most every time he says he needs to go "pee pee poddy." Whenever he is successful at using the toilet, we praise him by saying, "Good boy, Isaac!! You did it!!" Trying to make it such a big deal so that his interest in the potty stays alive.

Well, today I was going to the bathroom and Isaac happened to be in with me. He was watching me intently and when I reached for the toilet paper, he said, "Good boy, Mommy!! You did it!" In his cutest most proud 2 year old voice. It was SOO cute!

I later returned to the bathroom, but locked Isaac out this time. He was crying at the door, yelling "Mommy! Mommy! I come in!" I was sitting there thinking "NOW I know why my mom (and all other special moms) always locks the door and took her time in the bathroom." It was HER time and now it is MY time! :o) I can leave the world behind and enjoy a few peaceful minutes alone.