General Conference

I woke up this morning, and it was already light outside. I thought, "Crap! I missed class! She's gonna drop my grade!" Then I realized... it's Saturday!! No worries. Not only is it Saturday, though, it's General Conference. BUT I also realized that I'm a weird when it comes to conference: I would MUCH rather just read it later in the Ensign than try to listen/watch on Tv. Am I the only one that isn't raving over how much they love conference weekend??

Don't get me wrong, I love the messages from the prophet and apostles, but I seem to get more out of it when I read it later. On top of that, Lucas woke up with a fever of 102 degrees. I woke up with a migraine. Levi was apparently talking to me about breakfast this morning, but I have no idea what he said! The kids were both cranky for at least an hour of the session, and all I remember from having it on the Tv is that Elder Oaks said something about service and President Uchtdrof still has an accent! That's about it. The rest of the time was spent getting Teddy Grahams, pretzels, cereal, and the thermometer for Lucas. Apparently he's cool now and can take everyone's temperature ;)

Lucas taking his own temperature...

Luca's taking Via's temperature...

"Dad, can I take yours??"

So, I dunno about anyone else, but conference is just hard for me to watch. I tend to fall asleep or get distracted. I know, I know, self-control. It's just so hard when they print them later!


P.s. For the next couple of posts I may get annoying and remind you to check out my car seat post (just the one before this). I promise, there's some good stuff in it! :)

Attention Parents: Car Seat Safety

(... yes, I'm still procrastinating homework; and sorry to Kiley and Chelsey if you are reading this again! There is a lot more on here than we put on the board if you're interested.)

Okay. Car seats. My group in my medical assisting class had to put up two bulletin boards this semester. For the second one (about two weeks ago) we put one up on car seat safety. I don't know exactly why I've become so passionate about this, but I have.

When I was prego with Via, I would spend time on a public forum-type-thing with others that were due the same month I was. There are some car seat enthusiasts on there! I guess they just reeled me in, too ;) Anyway, I realized there is A LOT of stuff I didn't know about car seats, for example:

They expire! I had no idea a car seat could expire! It turns out that the plastic warps over time, especially if you live in a drastically changing climate like we do. It also becomes brittle and is therefore much more likely to snap if in a car wreck. It's hard to see in this picture, but the bottom line states the expiration date on Via's car seat. (It is generally about 6 years after the manufacture date.)

Ah, the chest clip. I've become a chest clip fanatic! It MUST be at armpit level or I go nuts :) Obviously, in this picture, it's not. The straps are also too loose and are inserted too high above his shoulders. He's making weird faces because it was hard to get him to sit still. He's fine in the car seat if it's in the car; but this was in the house. He knew something was up ;)

Much better... Chest clip on the chest! He's slumping his shoulders in this picture, so it still looks like the straps are too high, but I promise, they're right at his shoulders if he's sitting right. They should be at the shoulders or just a little bit below. This is hard with Via right now, actually, because she's right in between two of them. The straps are also pretty stinkin tight (even though it may not look like it from his shoulder!) You should only be able to fit one to two fingers between the collar bone and strap. It's tight!

I also didn't know that you can put newborns in a car seat other than the bucket/carrier seats! I thought that's just what they went in! We actually didn't have a car seat yet for Via when she came home from the NICU (that's a whole other story), so we actually brought her home in Lucas's (straps adjusted, of course). The infant carriers are just soooo much more convenient, especially when the weather is cold, which it was in November in Idaho! 

So, here is Via the day we brought her home! She was 4 lbs 9 oz, and the seat technically went down to 5 lbs. I've actually only heard of the Chicco infant carrier seats going down to 4 lbs. She was allowed to come home in it, though, because she did pass the car seat test in it; however, she did have to have a rolled up pillowcase between the leg strap and her little legs! 

Okay, who knows what this is for??? I didn't! It's a locking clip used to prevent movement. Our car is an oldie, so the seat belts don't lock until impact, which means our seats were moving around like crazy before I found out we needed to use this little nifty thing! The seat shouldn't move more than 1 in in each direction when installed correctly. I put the locking clips on the belts for each seat and BAM! they're in place! It's amazing! 

 And I just love this picture with the water noodles behind the seat to also prevent movement of the seat! So clever! 

Okay, I realize it's getting long, sorry... I told you, there is a TON I didn't know! More fun facts (yay!):

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children remain rear-facing until AT LEAST age 2, preferably longer given they don't exceed the rear-facing height and weight limits. 

You can have your seat inspected and installed, usually at your local police station. 

You can register your car seat with NHTSA to receive defects and recalls.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS

And last, but definitely not least... Car seats should NOT sit on top of shopping carts! It sounds like I'm screaming, but I promise it's a nice scream ;) They are only designed to clip into their respective bases, not shopping carts. Here are a few articles:

http://www.woai.com/content/troubleshooters/story/Car-seats-in-shopping-carts-become-a-dangerous/r8L5T6EXd0mw29A5OjCsaw.cspx  
(This happened in San Antonio, where I'm from. I know where this Sam's Club is. Kind of hits home...)


http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=94954 
(This article explains why it is dangerous and reinstates the chances of brain bleeds from falls like this.)

Stepping off soap box now ;)

Store All the Food! Save All the Bottles!

At the beginning of the year, one of my goals was to start doing food storage and 72 hour kits. As LDSs, we hear it all the time: Have a year supply of food, have a water supply... But when you are in college, move around a lot, or even just single, it seems like it just wasn't that big of deal. Then we had kids :)... I thought, how in the world would we feed them and take care of them in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse?!?! So, I decided to start.

I'm also taking a First Aid class this semester, and my awesome teacher is very adamant about having a food and water storage, a first aid kit, a 72 hour kit, water and a sleeping bag in the car... just things like that. That class has been a great motivation!

First Aid Kits for the house and car

Water Storage (so far)

72 Hour Kits not yet finished

Food Storage so far

And on another note: Via can swim

5 Years After High School...

And I'm changing my major! I think I'm a little bit behind the rest of my graduating class haha!

Story time:

High School wore me out! I moved from St. Anthony (about 10 min from Rexburg) to San Antonio after my Sophomore year. Let's just say that high schools in Texas are a little more rigorous than small town Idaho ones are. I also attended Health Careers High School, which was even more rigorous, and since I was a little "behind" all 8 classes for the next two years were all required, hard core study classes i.e. I didn't take "easy" things like band or choir for two years. I also had seminary as an actual class in Idaho, so that put me further behind in classes as well. And, of course, I attended early morning seminary in Texas, which just wore me out a little more. Throw in an open-heart double valve replacement and you've got me crying on the floor in the morning with my mom begging me to stay home from school! I didn't. I had a test that day :)

Anyway, I took a few years off after that and just worked up here in Rexburg (while living in St. Anthony with my awesome grandparents!). I became a manager at Wendy's, which is where I met Levi. He turned his application in to me, and I turned around and said to a few of the girls working that night, "We should hire him!" And they did.

So, obviously, we got married. I applied for BYU-I soon after that, and I got pregnant right before starting my first semester of college! I have to say, the hardest semesters for me were when I was pregnant. No motivation whatsoever! I have gotten the best grades when I just have kids at home. And this has been my best semester BY FAR! Weird, I know.

Levi was already half-way through school by the time we got married. I didn't want him to have to stick around here (working at Wendy's probably ha!) for me to finish school (I was a Biology major at the time). I switched to an Applied Associates degree (2 years) in Medical Assisting. But NOW, they have added a bunch of online Bachelor's degrees, so I'm switching over to Marriage and Family Studies (clinical emphasis) with my minor in MA, which I'm almost done with yay!

So, it's been 5 years after high school graduation, I'm in my 5th semester of college, and I'm changing my major! The weirdest thing is that it's having almost a reverse effect: I'm not getting worn out thinking about being in college for so long; I'm super excited about school right now! This semester has just gone so well, that I'm really looking forward to next semester and a new major! Levi, however, is just worn out. Poor guy :( We are totally the opposite when it comes to school right now.

Maybe it's really not so much that I'm behind everyone my age in school. I've got two up on most of them! These cuties...

To the Doctor's... Again

Oh, goodness I just hate going to the doctor's when there's nothing really wrong. That sounds weird... I just feel stupid when I take them in as an "emergency," and it really isn't an emergency. Ugh. I guess I think that because I'm going into the medical field I should know what is normal and what's not. And what constitutes and emergency!

Via was up every two hours last night fussing and burning up, but every time I took her temperature she was no hotter than 99 degrees. When Levi and I checked her this morning (after I came home from class before it even started) she was at 101. So I called and got her in. Worried mother + preemie baby + RSV + shots last week = get baby in NOW! Of course, she was only 99 there. The doctor said Tylenol every 4 hours (which I actually didn't know I could give her this young), and call back in the morning. As a friend encouraged this morning, it's better to be safe than sorry!

On a less embarrassing note, apparently Lucas is learning to read!

Monday Morning

This is what our morning looks like :)

No pants, keys, his (broken) headphones, and a frozen waffle. It's a Monday.

And somehow he got part of the waffle stuck inside the headphone. I dunno.

I was thinking on the way to school this morning (as it was snowing in March!) that I don't mind Mondays too much. I have kids. School *is* my break! Getting back on track every Monday morning is actually kind of nice for me, it's just the "getting back on track" part that takes a bit of work, obviously ;)

Ten minutes later...

4 Years Later

I'm not sure I'm equipped for pulling all-nighters anymore... I figured with sleeping in yesterday, getting a nap after church, daylight savings, and registration this morning, why not?? We will see how this day goes haha! Definitely napping with the kids today.

I did get all of the tedious homework for one of my classes done for the rest of the semester, though! And I'm about as caught up on all my other classes as I can be for now.

Levi asked me how many credits I plan on taking next semester. I told him 14. He thought I was crazy. I said, "12 just wasn't challenging enough this semester!" ;) Sad thing is I wasn't kidding. I registered for 11 this morning and am waiting to be added to 7 more for the rest of my medical assisting. No, I'm not going to take 18 credits! I just like to add a few more credits than needed and drop whatever doesn't work out with my schedule.

Last semester on campus... Levi is graduating, we are moving on. But to what?? Not sure yet. We'll figure it out, though. Life is coming at us so fast. These kids are growing up way too quickly. I have no idea where the time is going.

We started dating in Levi's first semester up here at BYU-I. That was over 4 years ago, but sometimes it barely seems like 4 months. We're now the "old couple" on campus and at church. *That* couple with the two kids ;) Oh, the loud child running around with a mouth full of food? Yep, he's mine. Oh, the woman chasing that loud child while holding another kid in her arms? Yep, that's me. Campus can be awkward now! Yes, I think it's time to move on to play dates at 11 am and online classes. I just didn't think we would be moving on this soon...

My House Is A Mess

Most of the time. And this is why...

But, yes. We don't stop him; we just take pictures :)

I will add to this post as he makes more messes! That little man is quick, I tell ya!...

Seriously, like 2 minutes is all it took him to pull the cupcakes off the counter and get into two of them.

He was covered in Red Velvet Cream Cheese cupcakes! Face, hands, legs...

And as I was cleaning up that mess, afterward I found him sitting in a bucket :)

I Said I Would Never...

... Be that mom whose kids are always sick and is always taking them to the doctor! I was the perfect parent before I had kids :) These kids have been sick for weeks now. I took Lucas in a few weeks ago for a 103 degree fever. I took Via in last week and it turned out she has RSV (or something like it). And even if I know what's wrong I will have to take them in for a prescription - like this morning for Via's pink eye. The funny thing, though, is this semester in my Medical Assisting Lab we have learned how to *correctly* use and care for a nebulizer, administer eye medication, and irrigate ears - I have done all three outside of class so far. Via has a nebulizer, with a cute little dinosaur mask, for bronchiolitis; Levi had me irrigate his ears, and I am now doing drops for pink eye. (When giving eye drops before, I had always had the person close their eyes and I put it in the corner by their nose and then blink. Well, if you do that, a bunch of the medication just drains down the nasolacrimal canal. Duh, Shaeli.)

I also said I would never co-sleep. Well, that worked with Lucas, but Princess Via falls asleep in our bed most nights. And she has to be held and snuggled up just right on her side with my arm around her and her head on my shoulder :) Silly girl!

I said I would never let my kids sleep on their tummies. Yeah. They don't sleep on their backs. I think they got so used to it and liked it so much in the NICU (where they slept on their tummies because they were hooked up to monitors), they just refuse to sleep much on their backs. Personally, I don't think tummy sleeping really does much to reduce the risk of SIDS, but that's another post in itself ;)

I said I would *try* to never let my kids frustrate me to the point of yelling... or swear in front of them. Ha! Let's just say that Levi asked me the other day what I'm gonna do when Lucas swears for the first time. Oops.

It is so very true how much you think you know about parenting until you become one! Even Levi gets comments from this guy at work about us maybe only having two kids. "What kind of a Mormon are you?" "Why don't you just adopt?" Really?? Do you have kids? No, you don't. Why don't you take mine for a few days AND keep up on homework and housework at the same time. Then you can make comments about our childrearing decisions. Okie dokie?

Alright, apparently I needed to vent :) Sorry. People are always surprised when they find out we have two kids already and are in school. But then they make some joke about poppin' out a basketball team and we reply, "No. I think we're actually done." Then they get all surprised that a Mormon family would dare think of only having two kids. Oh, brother. Such is life, I suppose...