Danielle at school with her friends.
Hannah at her preschool party.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Pumpkin Carving
This year for pumpkin carving, it didn't go how we thought. Thursday, Brent took a half day off to help get things put away before the rain came. After we got everything cleaned up, shoved into any corner we could find, and pushed our hauling trailer out of the way, it was decided that we should carve pumpkins. We thought for sure the kids would be so excited. They were at first, until they realized what we expected them to do! Danielle would have non of it and stayed about 10 feet away the entire time. Hannah got her hands a little dirty, but just a little. Ben kept getting close...then running away. Getting close...running away. Poor Brent ended up doing it mostly by himself. But they turned out great. Thanks Daddy!
For my birthday I want...
Earrings of course!
When both of my girls will 6 months old, I had their ears pierced. Dani left hers alone, but Hannah's wouldn't stay in. Because of that, Hannah's holes had closed up with in days of them falling out. She has always asked how come she doesn't have any earrings and has been asking for them for about 4 months now. So I knew that for her birthday she was going to ask to get her ears pierced and she did! I was hesitant and explained to her that it was going to hurt. But she was brave and wanted to do it anyway. She cried after the first ear and cried through the second, but by the time she got outside she was very proud of her new bling!
When both of my girls will 6 months old, I had their ears pierced. Dani left hers alone, but Hannah's wouldn't stay in. Because of that, Hannah's holes had closed up with in days of them falling out. She has always asked how come she doesn't have any earrings and has been asking for them for about 4 months now. So I knew that for her birthday she was going to ask to get her ears pierced and she did! I was hesitant and explained to her that it was going to hurt. But she was brave and wanted to do it anyway. She cried after the first ear and cried through the second, but by the time she got outside she was very proud of her new bling!
The Dr. had given her a candy bar because she was so brave.
We love you Birthday girl!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Pre-Halloween Fun!
This year we have a membership to In-Shape City (one of the perks to living in 300 square feet and having to empty your own septic). Wednesday the 29th they had a Halloween party that was open to the public and I took the kids. We had a great time. They played games, watched a clown show and got to trick-or-treat around the gym. It was a perfect time for me to test out their costumes too!
Danielle and her best friend Sydney
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Homecoming
Brent and I graduated from West High class of 1997. So, every year we feel inclined to go to the parade and homecoming game. Not a huge deal, but very fun. We really wanted to attend the game because of their new stadium. We hadn't been to it yet and though this would be a good time to go.
The Freshman float. It wasn't the best one, but it was the best picture I got!
The West High Stadium was really fun. We had a great time. Brent said it would have been really neat to play on his home field and really liked the layout of the stadium.
Stadium food. Not the most healthy, but certainly yummy!
My kids with Sammy Anastasio. Dani only sees Sammy on the 4th of July and the homecoming parade. It's always a fun reunion!
The Freshman float. It wasn't the best one, but it was the best picture I got!
The West High Stadium was really fun. We had a great time. Brent said it would have been really neat to play on his home field and really liked the layout of the stadium.
Stadium food. Not the most healthy, but certainly yummy!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Pumpkin Patch!
Our annual trip to the Delloso Family Farm Pumpkin patch! We had a blast. We took 73 pictures so I scaled it down and included just my favorites! When we first arrived the kids took off and began to climb on the "Tower of Tires".
We then headed over to the hay maze for kids. Brent had fun chasing the girls around. He could see them, but they couldn't see over the hay bales.
Then it was off to the petting zoo and pony rides. We bought the kids all tickets to ride the pony, but Ben decided last minute he didn't want to go. They were nice enough to give us our money back.
Off to look for pumpkins!
This is one of our absolute favorite things to do every year. It was a great evening of family fun and our kids are already excited and talking about when we can go again.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Colby Lee O'Neal
On Friday Oct. 17th, my mom and I flew to Houston for my sister's baby shower. It is her first baby and she had been a little homesick through out the pregnancy so we decided it was really important to be there.
Our flight landed at 1pm and Christie picked us up. We drove to an Italian restaurant for lunch and then planned to do some shopping while we waited for her best friend to fly in. While walking around, Christie kept complaining about cramping. Nothing serious, but uncomfortable. We continued to shop and catch up until it was time to head back to the airport. It was now about 5:30 and Christie decides and asks me to start keeping track of her "cramps" just in case. After about a half hour, she was about every three minutes apart, lasting for 45 seconds, with a pain level of about 4-6. We picked up Desere at 6 and then headed out for the hour drive back to Beaumont.
Christie was continuing to have contracts, so I decided to drive. We didn't get very far when we hit Friday night Houston traffic. You guessed it! Dead stop. As Christie begins to realize that she is really in labor and that we are stuck in traffic far away from home, she begins to become a little panicky. Mom did a great job at helping her through each contraction and attempting to keep her calm. Lee, my brother-in-law, was contacted and was getting things ready to go to the hospital. (Christie wasn't ready at all. No bags packed, not pre-registered, no maternity leave papers filled out, etc. She was a little beside herself!)
After about an hour of traffic, it finally cleared up and I punched it to get to Beaumont. About 8:15 we arrived (thank goodness there weren't any cops around!) and Christie was wisked up to delivery. By the time we had parked and come in, she had already been checked out. "Only at a 1" the nazi nurse (which is what we named her by the end of the night) had said. They kept her for an hour and then deciding she hadn't make "enough" progress, sent her home. At this time Christie's contractions were really hard and lasting for about 1-1 1/2 minutes. They made her walk to the car, so Lee and I ran to get them so she didn't have to go the whole way. By the time we got her home she was in a lot of pain and couldn't get comfortable. She went from the bath tub, to her bed, to the couch, and then started over. About 11:45 she fell asleep and Lee suggested that mom and I go check into our hotel.
Mom and I checked in, took showers and got completely re-dressed. At 1am I called to check on her and she said she was done. She couldn't do this anymore and that we should come back. Back at her house, Christie looks awful. She is on the couch, eyes closed, trying to get through each contraction. They are now lasting about 2 minutes long and have about 1 minute apart. We decide it's time to go back.
When we get back to the hospital, we go the ER to re-admit her. The women are awful saying things like when they were in labor it took 72 hours and after their first they couldn't have babies anymore, etc. Mom was about to reach over the counter and strangle them with her bare hands. Finally, they took her up. After 20 minutes of waiting to see what was going on, I headed back there to find out. "Oh," the nazi nurse says, "sorry I didn't come and get you. She's at a 9 and we are getting her ready to push." Seriously! From 8pm-2am she had gone from a 1 to a 9 and this woman didn't come out to tell us she is about to push.
We head down the hall to find her and she is crying because now she can't have drugs and she never inteded to do this without drugs. Mom and Lee are calming her down while the nurse is asking all those anoying questins that you usually fill out in pre-registration. She is having Christie sign papers during contractions and in her face trying to get answers. Now I realize that they needed to know certain things, but Lee and mom could have filled all of that out too. Needless to say that Christie was tough and Colby Lee O'Neil was born at 3:44 am. They said he was 6 lbs 11oz, but they didn't weigh him until 2 hours later after Christie had fed him. So that is what we are telling everyone.
This is me with Colby at about 4 am. We got to our hotel at about 5 am to go to bed. Christie called us at 10 am to see if we could pick some stuff up for her. Lee's family had decided to go ahead with the shower, so Lee, being a good sport, went to open all of the presents. It wasn't the weekend we thought it was going to be, but it was much better. We had been there for Christie when we didn't think we would have been able to. Mom stayed until Thursday morning and I flew home Sunday night. It was a great experience and I'm really glad I got to meet my new nephew. We go back for Thanksgiving for a week. The kids are so excited to meet Colby!
Our flight landed at 1pm and Christie picked us up. We drove to an Italian restaurant for lunch and then planned to do some shopping while we waited for her best friend to fly in. While walking around, Christie kept complaining about cramping. Nothing serious, but uncomfortable. We continued to shop and catch up until it was time to head back to the airport. It was now about 5:30 and Christie decides and asks me to start keeping track of her "cramps" just in case. After about a half hour, she was about every three minutes apart, lasting for 45 seconds, with a pain level of about 4-6. We picked up Desere at 6 and then headed out for the hour drive back to Beaumont.
Christie was continuing to have contracts, so I decided to drive. We didn't get very far when we hit Friday night Houston traffic. You guessed it! Dead stop. As Christie begins to realize that she is really in labor and that we are stuck in traffic far away from home, she begins to become a little panicky. Mom did a great job at helping her through each contraction and attempting to keep her calm. Lee, my brother-in-law, was contacted and was getting things ready to go to the hospital. (Christie wasn't ready at all. No bags packed, not pre-registered, no maternity leave papers filled out, etc. She was a little beside herself!)
After about an hour of traffic, it finally cleared up and I punched it to get to Beaumont. About 8:15 we arrived (thank goodness there weren't any cops around!) and Christie was wisked up to delivery. By the time we had parked and come in, she had already been checked out. "Only at a 1" the nazi nurse (which is what we named her by the end of the night) had said. They kept her for an hour and then deciding she hadn't make "enough" progress, sent her home. At this time Christie's contractions were really hard and lasting for about 1-1 1/2 minutes. They made her walk to the car, so Lee and I ran to get them so she didn't have to go the whole way. By the time we got her home she was in a lot of pain and couldn't get comfortable. She went from the bath tub, to her bed, to the couch, and then started over. About 11:45 she fell asleep and Lee suggested that mom and I go check into our hotel.
Mom and I checked in, took showers and got completely re-dressed. At 1am I called to check on her and she said she was done. She couldn't do this anymore and that we should come back. Back at her house, Christie looks awful. She is on the couch, eyes closed, trying to get through each contraction. They are now lasting about 2 minutes long and have about 1 minute apart. We decide it's time to go back.
When we get back to the hospital, we go the ER to re-admit her. The women are awful saying things like when they were in labor it took 72 hours and after their first they couldn't have babies anymore, etc. Mom was about to reach over the counter and strangle them with her bare hands. Finally, they took her up. After 20 minutes of waiting to see what was going on, I headed back there to find out. "Oh," the nazi nurse says, "sorry I didn't come and get you. She's at a 9 and we are getting her ready to push." Seriously! From 8pm-2am she had gone from a 1 to a 9 and this woman didn't come out to tell us she is about to push.
We head down the hall to find her and she is crying because now she can't have drugs and she never inteded to do this without drugs. Mom and Lee are calming her down while the nurse is asking all those anoying questins that you usually fill out in pre-registration. She is having Christie sign papers during contractions and in her face trying to get answers. Now I realize that they needed to know certain things, but Lee and mom could have filled all of that out too. Needless to say that Christie was tough and Colby Lee O'Neil was born at 3:44 am. They said he was 6 lbs 11oz, but they didn't weigh him until 2 hours later after Christie had fed him. So that is what we are telling everyone.
This is me with Colby at about 4 am. We got to our hotel at about 5 am to go to bed. Christie called us at 10 am to see if we could pick some stuff up for her. Lee's family had decided to go ahead with the shower, so Lee, being a good sport, went to open all of the presents. It wasn't the weekend we thought it was going to be, but it was much better. We had been there for Christie when we didn't think we would have been able to. Mom stayed until Thursday morning and I flew home Sunday night. It was a great experience and I'm really glad I got to meet my new nephew. We go back for Thanksgiving for a week. The kids are so excited to meet Colby!
Friday, October 17, 2008
I can excerise!
My new love is water aerobics. I used to do it when Dani was a baby, but then I had Hannah who hated going and would cry the entire time. Needless to say, we quit. But with our current living situation we needed a place to go to get our energy out and we got a new membership.
Brent and I have been trying to go as much as we can. The kids love the play place and get lots of running around time. Ben gets some social time too with other kids (which he needs right now!). I try to hit as many water aerobics classes as possible. At an hour long I can feel all my muscles working and am can feel my heart rate up.
I also love the people in those classes!!! There are lots of older woman (I call them Grammies!) who are so fun to talk to and see every day. Everyone is so friendly and I don't feel self conscience at all because everything is underwater where no one can see! I strongly recommend it!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Oh he is sooooo 2!
I absolutely love my son. He is mischievous, but very loving too. I look at him and my heart melts a little every time. Yet, he is sooooooo 2 right now! Some of the things Ben has been up to in the past week include:
I love how he talks right now too. His vocabulary is just expanding by leaps and bounds. He is trying to copy everything we say, just like a parrot! Some of my favorite phrases are:
- 9:45pm dumping all of his diapers, shirts, pants, jammies, and socks on the floor.
- eating mommies Chapstick.
- Sneaking candy from my mom's table, putting it in his mouth, and then coming to tell me it's a "no no."
- taking his shoes and socks off every chance he gets.
- waking up in the early morning and trying to get into our snack cupboard (which is right next to our bed!) When we asked him what he was doing his reply, "no no."
- jumping on furniture
- hitting other kids at the gym
- coloring on our trailer wall
- pushing the table with his feet and spilling the girls breakfast (this is a re-occurrence weekly).
I love how he talks right now too. His vocabulary is just expanding by leaps and bounds. He is trying to copy everything we say, just like a parrot! Some of my favorite phrases are:
- "Mommy I tiss." (kiss)
- "Ap juice please!"
- "AWT Hannah and Dni" (Want Hannah and Dani)
- "My punkin!"
- "I at Papa's house."
- "I come Daddy!" (He wants to go with Brent when he leaves).
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Our first trials
This week has been a tough one. It was the first time that Brent had to empty the septic (YUCK!). We have a container thing that we put the waste water in and then we wheel it over to my dad's septic system and dump it in. Because it was our first time though, it took a little while. Brent was on his own with Ben and Hannah that day too, so needless to say he didn't enjoy much of his day off.
Our other hiccup is that my kids are all sick. It started with Hannah on Sunday having a high fever and white spots on her tonsils. She had a strep test yesterday at the doctor and we will find out the results tomorrow. Then Dani and Ben broke out with fevers last night (Tuesday). So, today will be a long day. We watched a movie this morning, had soup for lunch, and are all down for naps now. This afternoon we plan to color, read some books, and maybe Mommy will bake cookies. It's hard when you are sick, but it's really hard to be sick in a small space. I'm so grateful that I can go and spend time in my mom's house. It allows us a place to go when we can't be outside. It stinks too because the weather is so beautiful right now that I feel like the kids are really missing out on their outdoor play time. Hopefully the nice weather will stick around a few more weeks.
Our other hiccup is that my kids are all sick. It started with Hannah on Sunday having a high fever and white spots on her tonsils. She had a strep test yesterday at the doctor and we will find out the results tomorrow. Then Dani and Ben broke out with fevers last night (Tuesday). So, today will be a long day. We watched a movie this morning, had soup for lunch, and are all down for naps now. This afternoon we plan to color, read some books, and maybe Mommy will bake cookies. It's hard when you are sick, but it's really hard to be sick in a small space. I'm so grateful that I can go and spend time in my mom's house. It allows us a place to go when we can't be outside. It stinks too because the weather is so beautiful right now that I feel like the kids are really missing out on their outdoor play time. Hopefully the nice weather will stick around a few more weeks.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Pics of our new home...
So, this is our new place! We are parked at my parents house in their huge driveway. We line their east fence line. These are some pictures I took on Saturday. It's not much, but it's ours!
This is looking into our "bedroom."
This is looking out from our bed. We have our computer in our room hooked up to internet. The printer is located underneath the computer.
Our kitchen! You can see our into our bedroom. We have electricity that we have run from my parents house so everything works. We do most of the cooking inside the house though.
Dani looking at me from her bunk. We had to get bedrails and a ladder for the kids. They think it is cool to have a TV in their room. They don't get to watch it much, but we play their night time CD on it too.
You can see behind Hannah that each kid has two drawers on their bed to hold their clothes. They also each have a basket with books or toys. Their bed rails can fold down so that we make their bed and put things away.
Under Hannah we have left a little floor space for mainly Ben to play with toys.
This is looking into our "bedroom."
This is looking out from our bed. We have our computer in our room hooked up to internet. The printer is located underneath the computer.
Our kitchen! You can see our into our bedroom. We have electricity that we have run from my parents house so everything works. We do most of the cooking inside the house though.
Dani looking at me from her bunk. We had to get bedrails and a ladder for the kids. They think it is cool to have a TV in their room. They don't get to watch it much, but we play their night time CD on it too.
You can see behind Hannah that each kid has two drawers on their bed to hold their clothes. They also each have a basket with books or toys. Their bed rails can fold down so that we make their bed and put things away.
Under Hannah we have left a little floor space for mainly Ben to play with toys.
Friday, October 3, 2008
I've been tagged!
So, about a week ago I was tagged by my dear friend Tammy. The rules are above! I basically have to list 7 weird things about me and then tag 7 friends. Here are my weird 7...
- My favorite memory of childhood is watching the old band competitions that went from Monte Vista Middle school, down Tracy BLVD, left on 11th and then all the way to Tracy High. They use to have 50-70 bands and it would go all day. It was so fun to watch and we would run back and forth from our house to Tracy BLVD.
- I currently work with my second grade teacher Mrs. Owen.
- I played the saxophone in middle school.
- My best friend in high school is now my sister in law.
- I once had to tape my breasts down during a basketball game because I forgot my sports bra.
- I dreamed when I was little that I would date my future husband in high school and I did!
- My favorite cookie is shortbread. I love to dip it in my hot chocolate!
Let's see if they do it too!
Wonderful Service and Horrible Fate
This week we have moved into our trailer. Over the course of a week we have seen wonderful service efforts from our friends and family. Last weekend we had no one able to help us move. When we mentioned this to some friends, they changed their plans or re-arranged their schedules to come. One from 7-9am and the other from 11-2. It was a HUGE help. They were able to move all of the heavy items and Brent and I were able to get the rest moved. Then on Wednesday, four sisters from our ward came and helped me clean the house from top to bottom. The project, which I though would take all morning, lasted only a few hours. It was really great to have that taken care of in such a short amount of time. I am still VERY greatful for my wonderful church friends who helped me do that. Then of course I can't forget Grandma's and friends who watched my kids throughout the week that I may be at the house to get things accomplished.
After my friends left Wednesday morning, I stayed and cleaned up the front yard. I mowed, pruned, trimmed, and then blew all of the junk in a pile and scooped into the yard waste bin. It took me about 2 hours to do by myself. (Brent was at work and we fundamentally disagreed on me doing it at all). So after all that I ran home to shower and then ran back to pick up kids. I had made arrangements to meet our landlord at the house that evening to go over what we still needed to do. I was confident that she would appreciate the hard work that I had done and we would for sure be getting back the majority of our deposit.
Brent couldn't be there right away, and I was exhausted and emotional (long day you know), so I picked up my friend Lora to take with me to meet my landlord. When we walked up I was extremely anxious. Instead of greeting me with a smile, she immediately said how "Angry and Disappointed" she was that the lawn had weeds. She continued to berate me, while I stood there with tears in my eyes. Realizing I had no fight in me, Lora kindly stated that maybe we should start again and suggested that with a little weed killer and maybe some fertilizer the grass would be fine. (The grass is perfectly fine. It has a few yellow spots and did have some weeds that we had been spraying with weed killer for a few weeks.) My landlord completely disagreed and whipped out pictures of the yard when she was living there showing that the yard once had beautifully lush green grass with no weeds. Lora could see that I was crumbling right in front of their eyes and suggested that maybe T could go inside and look around the inside of the house while I waited for Brent. Brent didn't arrive for another 15 minutes and by then T was coming out again stating that I had not "polished" the kitchen cupboards, that there was a "film" in the kitchen sink, and that one of the toilets had not been cleaned thoroughly enough. I just stood there. I didn't know what to say.
Brent was calm and saw that I was upset. He pulled me aside and asked what I wanted to do. We could do everything she asked and then if she didn't give us our deposit back we could sue, or we just walk away and let her do the rest of the work that needed to be done. We decided just to walk away. I honestly didn't want to do one more thing in that woman's house. Now we still have things in the garage for a garage sale. We figured since we have the house until Oct 11th that we would just have it there. We were planning on doing it tomorrow (4th) but there is a huge storm coming in and it is suppose to rain all morning. Part of me just wants to do it so I can get away from T and her house. I understand though if we waited we could advertise more and get it more organized.
The other problem with this whole situation is that it has made me extremely anxious and very (how should I put this..) like a ticking time bomb ready to explode any minute. I'm this horrible mother and wife who is always upset and nervous. Maybe I should just watch conference tomorrow morning and stay home. I just want the whole thing to GO AWAY! But since it won't, I have to deal with it for a few more weeks.
On another note, we love our trailer! It has been very fun and exciting to scale down. The kids are outside running around, riding bikes, scootering, jumping on the trampoline, etc. The are so tired and dirty at the end of the day that they crash as soon as they hit the pillow. Brent and I are happy too. We have internet, cable, electricity and water all running from the house. We shower and use the inside bathroom to go potty during the day. We cook lunch and dinner inside the house, and breakfast oustide in the trailer. My parents have been very helpful, but in all honesty, are never here. My dad extended his hours from 8am-7pm, so he is gone before we are out and home after we are in. My mom has been a little frustrated I think because I have asked her to watch the kids a little more to take care of things. But once we are completely out, I won't need to ask anymore.
So we love our new little home and are anxious to put the past behind us. I'm so excited to live BELOW my means for the first time in my life. I send out another story from Trailer Transitions soon!
After my friends left Wednesday morning, I stayed and cleaned up the front yard. I mowed, pruned, trimmed, and then blew all of the junk in a pile and scooped into the yard waste bin. It took me about 2 hours to do by myself. (Brent was at work and we fundamentally disagreed on me doing it at all). So after all that I ran home to shower and then ran back to pick up kids. I had made arrangements to meet our landlord at the house that evening to go over what we still needed to do. I was confident that she would appreciate the hard work that I had done and we would for sure be getting back the majority of our deposit.
Brent couldn't be there right away, and I was exhausted and emotional (long day you know), so I picked up my friend Lora to take with me to meet my landlord. When we walked up I was extremely anxious. Instead of greeting me with a smile, she immediately said how "Angry and Disappointed" she was that the lawn had weeds. She continued to berate me, while I stood there with tears in my eyes. Realizing I had no fight in me, Lora kindly stated that maybe we should start again and suggested that with a little weed killer and maybe some fertilizer the grass would be fine. (The grass is perfectly fine. It has a few yellow spots and did have some weeds that we had been spraying with weed killer for a few weeks.) My landlord completely disagreed and whipped out pictures of the yard when she was living there showing that the yard once had beautifully lush green grass with no weeds. Lora could see that I was crumbling right in front of their eyes and suggested that maybe T could go inside and look around the inside of the house while I waited for Brent. Brent didn't arrive for another 15 minutes and by then T was coming out again stating that I had not "polished" the kitchen cupboards, that there was a "film" in the kitchen sink, and that one of the toilets had not been cleaned thoroughly enough. I just stood there. I didn't know what to say.
Brent was calm and saw that I was upset. He pulled me aside and asked what I wanted to do. We could do everything she asked and then if she didn't give us our deposit back we could sue, or we just walk away and let her do the rest of the work that needed to be done. We decided just to walk away. I honestly didn't want to do one more thing in that woman's house. Now we still have things in the garage for a garage sale. We figured since we have the house until Oct 11th that we would just have it there. We were planning on doing it tomorrow (4th) but there is a huge storm coming in and it is suppose to rain all morning. Part of me just wants to do it so I can get away from T and her house. I understand though if we waited we could advertise more and get it more organized.
The other problem with this whole situation is that it has made me extremely anxious and very (how should I put this..) like a ticking time bomb ready to explode any minute. I'm this horrible mother and wife who is always upset and nervous. Maybe I should just watch conference tomorrow morning and stay home. I just want the whole thing to GO AWAY! But since it won't, I have to deal with it for a few more weeks.
On another note, we love our trailer! It has been very fun and exciting to scale down. The kids are outside running around, riding bikes, scootering, jumping on the trampoline, etc. The are so tired and dirty at the end of the day that they crash as soon as they hit the pillow. Brent and I are happy too. We have internet, cable, electricity and water all running from the house. We shower and use the inside bathroom to go potty during the day. We cook lunch and dinner inside the house, and breakfast oustide in the trailer. My parents have been very helpful, but in all honesty, are never here. My dad extended his hours from 8am-7pm, so he is gone before we are out and home after we are in. My mom has been a little frustrated I think because I have asked her to watch the kids a little more to take care of things. But once we are completely out, I won't need to ask anymore.
So we love our new little home and are anxious to put the past behind us. I'm so excited to live BELOW my means for the first time in my life. I send out another story from Trailer Transitions soon!
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