Plans

For Christmas this year, we will be forming as this little group,

in the great state of New Mexico at my parent's home.

I'm hoping I will be able to do some of this,

and that my coat will fit over my baby bump. Come to think of it, I may have been pregnant with Marley when this was taken.

Speaking of plans, I'd like to get started on gift getting. Any ideas for family gifts, or great gift sites to order from?

Speaking of Cougars

Nate called this morning and told me to check out this video of BYU Women's Soccer V.S New Mexico. Out of Control. They Still won.

Nate got the kids and I up at 5:45 this morning so we could take him to the airport. Having only one car is fun. I'm not complaining yet, it's only been 1 day without a car, and I get one today and tomorrow since Nate is out of town.
Clark is sending Nate to P-Town to recruit some Cougars to come to California and work. Cougars make the world a better place, right? Enter to learn, go forth to serve, or something like that.


He'll hold an info session for Construction Management majors and then conduct some interviews. Perks are a lunch with his brother Chase and of course, the Cafe Rio. Both on Clark's dime. Not to shabby. I told him I am jealous of his trip.
I have such wonderful memories of Provo in the Fall. Walking up to campus early mornings and being so awe struck at the beauty all around me. I felt like I could reach out and touch the mountains.


I would say a silent prayer of Thanks for allowing me to be in such a beautiful place. I told Nate he should eat at the Cougar eat and get a Salad Wrap and some chocolate milk. He was sure that wasn't going to happen. I would definitely make it happen.
If it's even there.
I'm sure things have changed since back in my day.
What a blessing that time in my life was.
Last night at the activity for the Young Men and Young Women, we were shown a film that was made to help high school kids prepare for college. The words of the Lord and his prophets were quoted on the importance of getting an education. The Glory of God is Intelligence D&C 93:36.
We are lucky Nate is able to get his Masters right now. His company is paying for it.
I miss school. Not test taking and paper writing, but learning. Listening and absorbing. My brain is mush now days. It feels horrible. Sometimes I think I should work part time so I would be forced to keep my skills sharp. My kids keep me on my toes, and push me to the edge, but it's different.
It's been bad lately since the T.V has been on a lot. It is survival in first trimester of pregnancy.
I need a good book to read. I think a trip to the library is on the list for today.

P.S
Thanks for all the well wishing and concern after our adventure. I drove on the freeway this morning coming back from the airport and it wasn't as traumatic as I imagined.

Woo Woo!

Today Beckham got to sit in a Woo Woo! It's what he call's an ambulance. He was in Heaven.
The circumstances weren't ideal though. It wasn't a field trip.
I know Heavenly Father sent the Woo Woo to save us.
This morning we were heading to The Gundo to meet some friends at the park.
The 405 N was very busy, and while accelerating to get over into the car pool lane, my car fell apart. Literally.
I started praying right away. There were cars coming up fast behind me and the car was toast. No moving for me.
First, Hazards on, calling 911 while looking in the rear view mirror thinking this is not going to end well. Here it comes.
Side swiped on the right by a car trying to swerve. Were fine, the side mirror is not. I start honking over and over.
Trying to warn people who are coming up fast behind me. 80 fast. 911 operator is sending CHP.
Car pulls up next to me to tell me my car is on fire. Panic. Jump out and rip the babies out of the car seats.
Out of the car with two babies in the Left Lane of a California Freeway next to a car on fire. Awesome.
I looked up and there was the Woo Woo. Was passing by and came to save us. Stopped behind us. Blocked the cars.
Took my babies and I and put us safe in the back. Beckham had a big smile and wide eyes. I was crying and shaking.
They got an extinguisher and went to work on the car. Fire Department came to help.
Called Nate and he was on his way. Watching the 6 lanes of traffic pile up behind me through the open Woo Woo doors.
They emptied out my car for me, and let Beckham explore! Such good men. I felt safe. CHP came. Quite the scene.
Nate came and we got in the car and followed the tow truck as he took away the very broken car.
We got home safe. Talked to family and they let us know of all the prayers that were sent our way. I felt every one.
This was scary. Very scary. I am thankful that we are o.k. I am thankful that we did not cause others around us to get hurt.
We are blessed. The Subaru is not.
Thank you for the brief time we spent together Subaru, although you were trouble from the start.
I will not miss you nor will I ever be driving one of your kind again.

Dapper

Beckham has taken pretty well to his new "eyes." The best is when he is watching T.V and he slouches down low so he can look under his lenses, or he tucks his chin and looks over them. It will take time. I think they go well with the little man.



Yes, Beckham is holding a doll, and Nate is cringing.

Bring it on

Ready for the weekend? So is Marley. She had her game face on this morning. It's going to be a good one. Enjoy!

The first born turns 3

Today Beckham turns 3. Well, actually it will be tonight. Beckham came so fast into this world that the nurses were telling me to wait so that the Doctor could get there. Like Beckham was going to wait for the Doctor. He doesn't wait for anything. Really. I swore that Beckham was the hardest infant/baby/toddler, and then I had my baby girl and think otherwise.
Beckham never stops moving. Unless he is watching a show, then you can't get him to move. He is so social and is always asking for people to come to his house. Even the mail man. And when you are at his house he will beg you to stay at his house. He loves his family and is always going through the names "Momma, Daddy,Me, Baby, and Baby 2." Yes, Marley is still referred to as Baby and baby in momma's tummy is baby 2.
Beckham loves to be close to his mom and dad and loves kisses and hugs. His favorite thing for the moment is his "new bumble bee." Yes, Nate got him hooked on Transformers.
He is learning so much everyday and is speaking in sentences and repeating everything which means we have to be so careful about what we say around him.
The best of all is that Beckham is our friend. He always wants mom or dad to "come play with me."

The Shark ate your bink

Becks will be 3 this Saturday. Marley will be 18 months on Nov. 22. Baby Arnold 3.0 will be born begining of May 2010. My kids love binks. Beckham has only been allowed to sleep with a bink, or 2 or 3 or 4 since his second birthday. He has to give it up before leaving his bed. Marley is a bink fan also. My kids have oral fixations apparently. Binks make the world a better place.
We have wanted to get Becks off the bink for awhile now but realized it was not going to happen while Marley was on the bink because they sleep in the same bed, and a 2, almost 3 year old could not handle the temptation of having a bink lying in bed next to him, and not yank it out of his sister's mouth.
My 3 year old is not going to sleep with a bink though.
That's when I read Lizzie's blog and knew the time was now. I asked her how she did it and thought I'd give it a go.
So, a few days ago, the kids woke up from a nap and we found out that the shark had eaten the ends off all the binks.

Becks was really thoughtful for a moment, and then he picked up the shark and started hitting it while yelling "no, no shark. Bad shark." Marley was confused. So, we are in the process of reminding them that the shark ate their binks when they ask for them.
The hard part about this is that there has been 20-30 min. of screaming at night, pounding on the door, drama. It kills me. I feel like I've got a new baby all over again. And the 2 hour nap we all take at 1:00 every afternoon has been a nightmare. So, they are doing really well not asking for them, but on the flip side, we are essentially having to sleep train them all over again so they can learn to be soothed and fall asleep without the bink.
It was a life saver for us with new babies, but I am seriously debating weather I'm even going to introduce it to number 3.

Tis the season

Everyone does this in October, right?


I've been on the internet all morning trying to plan a snowy Christmas Vacation for my side of the family. It may not work out because of coordinating time off and funds, but I sure am trying. I made hot chocolate on the stove this morning before I started sweating for the day. I can pretend its cooling down. I'm sure there of those of you who may not be enjoying your cold weather and snow, and may find me ungrateful for my situation. Well, so be it.

Jocks can wear glasses

So, about 3 weeks ago, Beckham looked up at me and I saw this:

He is making a ridiculously cute fish face in this picture, but it's actually the crazy left eye I'm referring to.
I thought to myself, "that can't be good" and started making some phone calls. After talking to my Dad, and realizing it was an all at once now all the time kind of thing, I emailed the pediatrician and told him of the problem and of my concerns. He promptly responded and set me up with an opthamologist. He said it sounded like Esotropia. Which essentially means one or both of the eyes crossing inward. I then called Nate's mom, Anne and talked to her about what was going on since I knew she had been there. Nate had a few eye surgeries, patching and glasses when he was Beckham's age.
We had to wait a little over a week to get into the Doctor and in the mean time, crazy eye was getting worse. Nate and I found it hard to look at him without cringing a bit. One night when the neighbor girl came over to play she said, " Jeanine, what's wrong with Beckham's eye, he looks loco?" I totally agreed.
We had a scare one night after talking to my sister about his eye, she called her friend who is an eye doctor and he said it could be much worse, like and aneurysm or stroke. Yes, I freaked out and went into my room and cried for a second before pulling it together and figuring out if I needed to take him to the ER. After going through some tests with lights and such in Beckham's eye, and relaying the results, and sending a picture of his crazy eye to my Dad, it was decided that it wasn't an emergency and that he could wait till his appointment. I have said this before, but I am so grateful to have a Doctor in the family. What a blessing!
So, this morning, Nate took the a.m off of work, and Anne came up to watch the little girl for us so we could take our little guy to the Doctor. Not just a Doctor, but what ended up being 4 different Doctors spanning 4 hours. Lots of bribery and fruit snacks and story telling took place to keep this kid calm and looking in the machines and sitting still. It wasn't perfect, but we got the job done, and turns out the first step is glasses. He is so far-sided and has been compensating very well thus far, but his left eye just got tired and gave in to the loco.
We picked out a great pair of frames and I have to say he looked pretty cute. Reminded me of this:


Yeah, that's the Jerry Maguire kid.

The trick will be getting him to keep them on his face. The Doctor said kids who are this far-sided at this young of an age will most likely be glasses-for-life kind of people. Nate feels bad, like he passed on the bum eye gene, which he did. He said kids with glasses get made fun of more, and it's a bit harder for them. He can still be a line-man right? I'm hoping my little smarty pants nerdy boy has all the same chances the non-4 eyed kids have. At least he will be able to see. His Dad turned out pretty good, even if he is a bit nerdy. He still got me to marry him.

We are hoping this corrects the problem, but will go back in 2 months to evaluate his progress, and if needs be, we will have to patch and after that surgery. I was hoping for patch today so I didn't have to come up with a halloween costume. Ready made pirate.
We will pick up the glasses in a week or so and I'll post a picture.
I feel relieved that crazy eye will be leaving us soon, and that it was something that was fixable, and covered by insurance.

Pumpkins, goats, and such

Marley Anne

I tried hard to get a picture of Marley stacking and playing with the magnets on our dishwasher. She does this several times a day and concentrates so hard on fitting as many magnets in her hand as possible. She puts them on the dishwasher, takes them off, puts them in something, takes them out. I love getting glimpses into her personality by watching her play and seeing what interests her.

More than meets the eye

We had a party and it was FUN. Thanks friends for coming to make Nate feel special.

How about you marry me?

4 years ago today, Nate and I were married.

On June 13th, Nate asked me to marry him. We were living in Salt Lake at the time. It was the day of Michael Jackson's acquittal. I wanted to watch it on T.V, and then Oprah was on and had all the good stuff about it. Nate wanted to go for a walk in in the mountains. I wanted to watch Oprah. Finally I gave in and we drove up Immigration Canyon. We parked the car and headed up a trail. At the top, we talked, checked out the view into Park City. We stood up to go and Nate hugged me. We were having some conversation that consisted of various "how about you..." comments, when Nate added "how about you Marry me?" I think I screamed and said yes, of course. I called my Mom just then to share the news and her comment to " I'm engaged," was "to whom?" I had been dating someone seriously before Nate, and I think my mom was still holding out. She has since had a change of heart.

I knew I was supposed to marry Nate a few dates in. That doesn't mean I didn't get cold feet. On our wedding day, at the San Diego Temple, I almost didn't make it in. I get pretty antsy and had a crazy realization that this was going to be IT. Once the ceremony had been performed, I looked at my husband and said "sucker." Everyone laughed and I didn't realize I had said it so loud.

In 4 years, Nate has finished school, started his masters, ALMOST finished his masters(December), we have lived with his parents, moved to a 1 bedroom apt. with a baby in the living room,



a 2 bedroom apt, with 2 babies in a bedroom,



and now our first house where we will have to build a new bedroom to fit baby number 3 who will join us next year. Always something to do. Nate has been Scout Master, and now teaches the Deacons. I am now Young women's President. It's getting buisier and harder to spend time together and laugh. The kids drain us every day. If we are grouchy at each other, or for whatever reason, watching the kids sleep at the end of the day makes us smile and then we talk about how radical and incredible, and BEAUTIFUL our kids are and we laugh and smile, and we are not grouchy anymore. Money and space are tight, but we are trying to reach goals that we have. Nate is more patient then I am. I know we are blessed and that our 4 years together has not been a coincidence. Our faith keeps us going when things seem to crazy to figure out. We have fun on date nights because we get to go out and eat food without the kids. Our choice is Sushi.

I love Nate and am so proud of what we have done with our lives together thus far. Lets see what this next one has in store(besides a baby and some construction).

Just like momma

Just to clarify, she is inhaling 2 pieces of pizza folded in half.

In Progress

Since we moved into this house, 6 months ago, there have been constant projects. The current one is the front yard. Nate has been working every spare hour he has, which aren't a ton, to get this project done before his birthday next week. I gave him the deadline... Darrell has been up here on the weekends helping and as I type this, the flood lights are on and Nate is hard at work. I think it will turn out really nice. Why don't you come to Nate's B-Day bash on Friday and check it out!

Introducing...

Baby Arnold #3
5/4/2010

On the camera

Finally visited the San Pedro Farmer's Market.

Watching my babies sleep.

Painted our portable dishwasher with chalkboard paint and had art time.


I have not been feeling well this last week, so we have pretty much been in the house all day. The kids have done really well actually. Lots of t.v watching, not the best, but essential in survival mode. Lots of playing with pots and pans, and lots of mess making.

Kiddieos

Yes, Kiddieos is a word I just now this very second made up. I'm putting up a couple of Kid videos, or videos of the kids, hence, KIDDIEOS. You heard it first here.

This first one is on tuesday morning when I went to pick up the kids from Nate's parents house where they had stayed for 5 days while we were away. Do you think they missed me?
I think they had so much fun with Nana and Papa D they didn't know we were gone.

This second one happened Tuesday night at dinner. Since we got home from vacation, they have yet to take a nap. It makes for some really fun evenings. Yikes. I hope it isn't the end of the nap. I'm not ready.

Jimena

Dear Jimena-

I love my kids,
but if they are to survive another year,
I need a vacation.
Badly.
My boyfriend and I are coming your way for a visit.
Please don't be there when we are.
You will ruin my vacation.
Think of the children.

Jeanine