home sweet home

We made it back to Toledo today in record time! Our flight was completely flawless. Zeb was a gem. We landed AHEAD of schedule. Our baggage was the FIRST off the luggage carousel. Basically it was a miracle.

As soon as we walked into our building, Zeb was ecstatic. Besides searching in every room and asking for daysa (my little sis)- he seems to be so excited to be back! I miss family terribly already but I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed.

Tonight for New year's eve we plan on putting Zeb to bed and sitting in front of a good movie with some good food. Nothing sounds more appealing right now. I highly doubt that we'll make it to midnight though.

I really want to get at least some of the pictures from our Christmas vacation posted- seeing as how this blog is our family journal. You'll all have to bear with me as I rehash the past week of our lives.

One of my favorite Christmas activities was the Provo River Christmas Cruise. This year's event did not disappoint (thanks mum and dad!!). We rode a rickety bucket of death freezing cold floating raft down a small section of the provo river that was decorated with Christmas lights. I know that this is a terrible picture- but it was the best I could get. The best part of the "cruise" was the approach of Santa on a canoe! He handed out candy and lots of "ho-ho-hos".

Even the little kiddos (including metta, daysa, kate, and penny) loved it.


















It was a little chilly and very snowy- but we were prepared! I cannot believe the amount of snow that Utah got! My parent's house was INSANE. I loved it. Afterwards we partied at brick oven with the cousin's discount :) Thanks mills! My favorite picture of the night is this one of little Hank and Daysa. Check her out in the background. Really cute, Days!

It seems when I've got the most going on in life- I take the fewest pictures! I finally got a camera cord- and now can get some pictures onto the bloggy blog.

The past few days have been fun and adventure filled. What's a Christmas break without at least a little bit of choas, right? I'll have to just post a start of our adventures because all of it will take some time.The few days before Christmas were spent last minute shopping and doing family stuff!

Zeb got his first four wheeling/sledding experience with Kent's family and seemed to have mixed emotions. It was chilly- but buckets of fun! Zeb enjoyed being on the four wheelers more than being pulled behind. I can't believe how much snow is here in Utah! The first four days we were here it never stopped snowing. I am in complete holiday heaven. Zeb can't stop pointing and yelling "snow! snow! snow!".

It has been so much fun for zeb to spend time with his cousins and get to know them better. He really didn't care too much the last times we've been here but now he's in heaven with all of the friends. I have a zillion more cousin pictures to post- but they'll have to wait. I do love this picture of Zeb and his cousin Krystal though- I think they have the same little nose.

utah sweet utah

What an airplane trip from HELL! Our luck definitely did NOT improve with airplanes and airports. All seemed well with only a 15 minute delay until our plane "broke" and we had to switch. It all went downhill from there. The new plane we were supposed to get on couldn't pull into the terminal because the snow banks were too high. Once that problem was solved and we finally boarded (now 90 minutes late) we settled into our seats only to find out that our cargo door was still open?! and to make matters infinitely worse -due to the ridiculously bad wind chill (-25ish)- a majority of the detroit airport workers went home?!?!?! there were only a few employees to service the thirty planes that needed to takeoff and land. We waited ON THE PLANE for almost four hours before moving. I CANNOT believe that Zeb did as well as he did. He was happy and pleasant and running up and down the aisle. The plane crew was really nice and let us move around and whatnot. I was afraid of getting deep vein thrombosis or something ridiculous- plus I was getting more and more uncomfortable every minute sitting there so I tried to walk around a lot.
After the INSANE 5 and a half hour delay we finally took off. The plane ride was diabolical. We took off at midnight and landed at almost four am Toledo time. Zeb slept almost the entire plane ride- but I cannot say the same for Kent or me. We had one minor catastrophe during the flight. Zeb slept on Kent's lap (no room on mine) and so I had the drinks on my tray. Kent grabbed his drink from my tray and didn't get a good enough grasp. It dropped upside down directly onto Zeb's sleeping head. He FREAKED- as would I if freezing cold Ocean Spray cran-apple juice with ice was poured on my sleeping head and down my ears and shirt. I think he inhaled some of it too. I couldn't stop giggling (that's what I do at HIGHLY inappropriate times and when I am really tired). Thank heavens he was calmed quickly.

We finally landed in SLC only to find out that our luggage had mysteriously disappeared. Imagine that. No freaking luggage. There were no Northwest agents available to make a claim either- and it has to be done AT THE AIRPORT upon arrival or else you can't make a claim. All of our christmas presents and Kent's clothes and my shoes were gone. After the most ridiculous wait we finally left the airport at six AM toledo time. Zeb was highly entertained by my dad and the escalators -thank heavens.
We made it home to sleep for a few hours and then I began the attempt to recover or at least locate our bag. Apparently it is very typical for airlines to HAVE NO FREAKING IDEA where bags are during holiday weeks. They told us there were hundreds of bags at the airport that we could come and look through- but that they didn't think ours were there. They weren't sure where they were though. We would just have to call the airport every time a Delta or Northwest flight came in from Detroit.
Our bags showed up at midnight that night on the front door. We will call it a Christmas miracle. At ten when we went to bed we called the airlines and they said they still had not located the bag.
While on the plane Kent and I decided to never travel again for Christmas- but now we are very happy to be here. I don't have my camera cord to upload pictures- but I'm borrowing one- so by tomorrow I should be back in blogging business.

Merry Christmas! Let's hope the trip home isn't quite so long and ridiculous.

ready or not- here we come!

Our flight leaves tomorrow after church! I'll probably not be blogging quite as regularly over the next ten days- but I'll give it my best shot.


Here's the rugrat in his "new" bed after his nap today. I think he really likes it. As long as we put him down with a book to read- he doesn't get out. He reads himself to sleep- or cuddles with his stuffed animals until he zonks. He is such a funny little guy.

Zeb HATES pink feather boas. Thank heavens.





Kent finished school today at noon and we've been celebrating ever since! We went and tried to get some Christmas shopping done- but really didn't accomplish much! We did spend a few hours at hobby lobby trying to get our pixie pal gift supplies. Making homemade gifts is a much harder task than it sounds. Hobby Lobby is where we found the pink feather boa.

Just getting out to Christmas shop was a bit of a feat this afternoon. Most of Toledo was shut down this morning due to an ice storm last night (no seminary AGAIN!) and our car was a large pod of ice. The picture to the left is solid ICE! Kent had to break it off in large sheets. Zeb and I sat inside while Kent chipped away at it. Last year the big ice storm broke off our door handle. This year we didn't sustain any damage (although the door handle still isn't fixed).
And here's our poor little tree in the front yard. Usually he isn't nearly as droopy. His branches do not touch the ground and he stands much taller.

Life has been pretty busy the past two days getting ready to head out and wrapping everything up! Kent has his MAJOR test tomorrow morning- and at noon he is a free man!! at least for the next few weeks :) We celebrated prematurely this evening by getting some delicious pizza. Today, randomly, we got a coupon in the mail for a free one. I love when stuff like that happens- and for some reason we seem to have great luck with it here in Toledo.

Here's a lovely little pic of Z at the ward Christmas party last weekend. He has been such a happy little rugrat lately. He has his terribly whiny moments but they are more than made up for with his infectious smile and laugh (although I may not make that same claim during his fits). I can't wait to get him to Utah to see family. Basically you'll all be obsessed.

We've got another giant storm headed our direction tonight! I love the fresh snow and the cold- but I am still worried about our flights on Sunday. Everybody pray for non flight delaying weather.

our first storm!!!!

The first big storm of the season also probably means no seminary tomorrow! It's always nice to have a surprise morning off. The schools around here all have "2 hour delays" the morning after big storms or on really foggy mornings. I'll have to check the internet early tomorrow to make sure- but I'm betting a delay is the case.

Zeb LOVES the snow. He watches it and laughs and smiles. He's so dang cute.

Let's hope the snow clears out before Sunday so that we don't have any crazy flight delays on our way home! We have had the WORST flight luck over the past year- and I was hoping these cheap direct flights had broken the bad trend.
This is Kent writing now - I thought as I left school today that some day I will be somewhere warm during Christmas time and there won't be any snow to scrape off my car windows!! It was kind of depressing. I loved walking out of the school after a long day of studying to snow whipping around the parking lot in the freezing Ohio air. I love this time of year - especially when it snows!!

the reader

We had to head out to run some errands at three and when I went to wake up Z from his nap to go- this is what I found. He likes to have lots of things in his bed with him when he sleeps (as is quite obvious from the piles around him) and he'd fallen asleep with his train book in there. I have no idea how long he'd been awake reading but he seemed to be quite content. He didn't even flinch when I went to get the camera and take pictures.









He is getting funnier and funnier every day (more difficult as well). Have I mentioned that this guy is OBSESSED with trains? When he wakes up in the middle of the night he asks about them! When we walk in the door he searches for them. He brawls and wails over them in nursery. It's INSANE.

ho, ho, ho.

Here's our family picture with Santa from the ward Christmas party! Zeb has reached the age where he has consciously decided to look the opposite direction whenever there is a picture being taken of him. It is totally my fault (thanks to the 2500 pictures I took of him the first 17 months of his life) but it still makes me so mad.
Our ward party was a "Christmas morning" party. We had breakfast foods, hot cocoa, juice, and milk, and wore our pajamas. I actually went to the party wearing jeans but changed into pajama pants after much coercion from many. I just don't think that pajama pants are all that flattering on my pregnant behind. It ended up being a very comfortable and fun evening. Zeb LOVED it too. He ran around all night with friends- drank WAY too much apple cider- and went to bed an hour later than usual.

I can't believe that it's Christmas- and that in one week we'll be on a plane to Utah!

the big jump

Zeb took the big leap this morning. We knew it was coming- we just weren't sure when. At seven he catapulted headfirst out of his crib and onto the floor. He wailed like a banshee baby- but only out of fear. He did make quite the loud thud but there are no contusions or lacerations anywhere on his body- and he was very quickly consoled with his blanket and a train. So, now we have to decide when to make the switch to his bed. I suppose with a new rugrat in 7 weeks- now is as good a time as any for the switch. When do most kids go to a bed? We already have a full/queen bunk bed bottom all set up in the room that will be his. It is low to the ground- he can get on and off by himself- and he really likes it. Any suggestions?
Maybe we should get a crib tent?! I think that this is akin to the child leashes- very effective and practical (it even appears to keep the cats out)- but a little strange and zoo like.

Today we had our first successful doctor's appointment since Zeb was six months old! It must have been a combination of factors- but I am happy to say that we left the pulmonolgist's office ALL SMILES. He smiled and giggled with the doctors and nurses! He told them about his shoes and trains and even thanked them without prompting from me. They were all quite impressed. I have the smartest best baby ever.
I am so glad that we've been able to find a good plan for his asthma. It has made our lives so much less stressful. Also, because of Zeb's eczema Dr. Reddy decided to order a blood workup to test Z for a giant list of allergies. Too bad we didn't know this last week when he had his basic blood work done! It will be really nice to know about his allergies though.
And since I didn't get any good pictures of Z today- I just went and tried to get one of him sleeping. Apparently the flash was too bright and woke him up. Oops.

our little chicken.

This kid mystifies me sometimes. He has no qualms about leaving my side or going headfirst down ridiculously tall slides but he's TERRIFIED of the dinky carousel at the mall. He REFUSED to ride it at playgroup today. He shook with terror when I tried to place him on a horse. He did, however, find great pleasure in watching everybody else ride. Take a look at his crazy excited face (you've really got to click on the head shot to get the full effect!).

Our scary ghost mall from last winter has closed down due to asbestos and black mold (maybe that's why zeb has asthma!) so we have changed walking group to aerobics at the church and an occasional mall walk at the far away mall where we met today. There is a great play area where the kids can run wild after being strapped in their strollers for a few miles! Zeb loves the place!

We pulled out the Christmas beaver.

I'm sure mum and the family (along with the Mills) will remember the beaver well. The Christmas beaver stems back from a long long Christmas ago when we took the Christmas Cruise down the Provo river and scared Daysa and Penny and Kate with tales of evil beavers jumping on to our boat.

Mum, you may have to find a replacement beaver soon! Zeb thinks it is absolutely the funniest thing he's ever seen. He'll laugh and laugh and laugh every time we make it chirp or sneeze or make whatever sounds toy beavers make. He'll hug it and kiss it and play with it until we take it away and hide it! I have no idea why. It's kind of a creepy looking thing- and the sounds it makes are way scary.

since I'm sure you are all dying to know if my tooth is okay...

The appointment today was not nearly as excruciating as I thought it would be. Kent-being the BEST husband in the world- came with me :). They almost didn't let him in- and then they saw that I was seven months pregnant and almost in tears. The dentist took one look at the gaping hole in my tooth and said "definitely a root canal". I'd prepared myself so much that it wasn't even that shocking to hear. Unfortunately I have to get authorization from my insurance company so they couldn't do the work today. I did, however, have another "baby cavity" that needed to be filled. The dentist was impressively fast and the whole thing was surprisingly pain free. I think I always imagine that it is going to be so much worse than it really is. I'm sure the root canal won't be as easy- but I'm good for now. The dentist gave me an antibiotic prescription and put in a temporary filling to prevent any more pain. The tooth with the new filling has been sensitive today- but my "snaggletooth" hasn't bothered me one bit. I think that today's mini dental excursion prepped me for the "big one" coming up.

Oh, and here is Zeb's little latest medical excursion. He had to go in and get his blood work done last week and I forgot to post the picture. I am such a wimp lately. As is obvious- I made Kent come with me and hold down the rugrat. Good thing I've got a husband who will make these ridiculous sacrifices (he is in medical school and just a little bit busy in the mornings) so that I can be as comfortable and calm as possible! Zeb actually enjoyed watching the blood be drawn- he just hated the nurses in his face and tying his arm up.

wish me luck. and 2 pieces of great news.

Tomorrow is the big day. It's all I've been able to think about since I woke up this morning. My tooth hasn't hurt all day today and I told Kent it must be a sign that I don't need to go in anymore. He insists that I still go.
I was going to put up a poll entitled "keep it for a ridiculously large sum of money or just yank the dang thing (who needs their back molar anyway?)" because I convinced myself that I am going to need a root canal and our insurance doesn't cover them. Apparently root canals are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I stressed myself out so bad that I actually called my insurance company to figure out why they'd pull my tooth but not fix it. Turns out they recently changed their dental plan for adults and now DO cover root canals on molars (after authorization once the dentist confirms the validity- because I'm sure there are so many dentists out there doing root canals when not necessary?!?!) . I really almost cried it made me so happy. Then- that same day (Friday) I went to the mailbox to find a letter from WTOL 11. I opened it up to find a gift certificate to a local steakhouse for FIFTY BUCKS! I won an online drawing that I entered last week! I am so excited. I enter these contests ALL of the time and I actually won one!!! It almost makes up for the fact that I have to go to the dentist tomorrow. Oh, dear. I hope I make it. Wish me luck. Maybe I'll try to get some pictures to post.

saturday

Today we went to story time with Mrs. Claus. Zeb didn't care about her at all. I think he just thought she was an old lady. He wanted to jump out of her hands and get the cookie and milk they were handing out. Check out his rosy red cheeks. They've been like that all day! His eczema gets worse with the weather! Poor rugrat. He itches like crazy.He did however really enjoy the snow afterwards. It's the first time that enough has actually stuck for him to run around and play in. It really stressed him out that it stuck to his shoes. He kept looking down and saying "shoes! shoes!" in exasperation.

definitely a post for zeb admirers.

This is a pretty dang long video as far as kid videos go. Only family members are required to watch the whole thing. Notice how he says "dude" at the very end.
I have been desperate to find things to work on with Zeb now that the air has dropped below 20 and he isn't supposed to be outside much (pulmunologist's orders). We've got a great little leap frog game that helps him learn his letters- and I found the greatest website with infant/toddler games on it! Here is Z man learning the alphabet- basically just repeating sounds- but he's pretty darn good at it (I think). Some of the letters are pretty hard for him to say- but he tries his hardest. He can recognize and name about nine letters without any helps. Our goal is to know them all by the time rugrat number two shows up! I think he can do it.

If you want to check out the site with the activities- here it is.

Here you go alicia m. I'm really bad at getting around to these- but here goes.

Seven things I can do
1- talk. I have the gift of gab.
2-blog. I have been an avid journal writer for years- the blog has sort of taken over.
3- teach. it is one of my favorite things in the world to do.
4-run while pregnant. love it.
5- laugh at completely inappropriate times.
6- find good deals, freebies, sales, etc.
7-get addicted to ridiculous tv shows like "Real Housewives of Orange County" and "Project Runway"

Seven things I can't do
1-eat just a few m&ms.
2-keep my mouth shut when people act ridiculously.
3-go to the dentist. I get major anxiety every time.
4-fall asleep without Kent tickling my back. I'm soooo spoiled. every night now for over four years.
5-not poke kent when he's sore. I love to see him squirm.
6-drink carbonated water (really, it makes me gag- including the airborne tablets in water- but I'm fine with pop)
7- listen to voice mails. DON'T leave me a voice mail- I WILL NOT get back to you.

Seven things I love about Ralph (that attract me to him) in no particular order.
1- his laugh.
2- his smell (is that weird?).
3- his intelligence.
4- his kindness.
5- his spontaneity.
6- his teasing.
7- his eyes.

Seven things I say often
1- that's ridiculous!
2- deeelicious!
3- so inappropriate!
4- look at me in the eyes, zeb.
5- I don't understand whining- use your words, zeb.
6- are you joking?!
7- any superlative. I have a problem with them. I always use them.

Seven people I admire
1-kent - he loves me so much.
2-mom- she's the most talented and wonderful woman I know.
3-dad- the smartest man in the world.
4-metta- the sweetest person possible.
5-daysa- the stinkiest cheese there is.
6-laney- she looks just like me!
7- my seminary students- for getting up so early every day as teenagers!

Seven favorite foods
1-m&ms
2-pizza- just about any kind will do.
3-crazy bread (Little Caesar's)
4-peach drink (the calorie free crystal light off brand made by walmart) I drink an ENTIRE pitcher EVERY day.
5-potatoes (any kind but fries or chips)
6-brown sugar (makes EVERY thing better)
7-hot chocolate with lots of cool whip on top

Don't look too closely if you're grossed out easily (mom).

I have a freaking toothache and I want to DIE. Why do teeth have to hurt so bad ? I have a filling that fell out a bit ago (along with a small hunk of my tooth) and I scheduled an appointment to get it taken care of. I had to reschedule because of one of Zeb's appointments but it wasn't causing me any pain at that point so I wasn't stressed about the postponement (plus the dentist did take x-rays and saw it and wasn't too worried). Things have taken a turn for the worse and now I'm near self tooth extraction (okay- so it isn't THAT bad- but it still hurts). It doesn't help that I HATE going to the dentist. In Utah it was bearable because I had Dr. Peacock. Now I go to the scariest most horrendous dentist's office known to man. It's the only one I could find covered by our insurance. I called today to try and get in sooner than next Thursday and the receptionist told me I could go in tomorrow but the one dentist available only REMOVES teeth. She wanted to know if I still wanted to come in. Are you joking me!?! No, I don't want to LOSE my tooth. I got bumped up to Monday with a cavity filling dentist. To give you an even better idea of the horrendousness of this place, I will share with you a little about my first experience there last month. It's downtown and I was greeted by three signs on the front door of the office.

sign #1
"no prescription pain killers or medications are stored at this facility"

sign #2
"no weapons allowed on the premises"

sign #3
"any harassment (i.e., swearing, yelling, inappropriate conduct) directed at staff will result in permanent loss of services"

Also, when I filled out my new patient information sheet/questionnaire, one of the questions asked
"which of your teeth would you like to keep?" It really asked that. I answered "ALL!".

I'm trying to convince Kent to miss class so that he can come and hold my hand when I get the work done on Monday. I have no idea why I fear the dentist so much. Something about the drills and the shots in the mouth make me ridiculously sick to my stomach. I have dentaphobia. Apparently there is a "Dental Phobia Treatment Center" in New York- maybe I should look into it.

Here's my real toothache. It looks bad, huh? I'm terrified that it's going to be something FAR worse than a double filling. Kent assures me he saw much much worse in Nicaragua. Unfortunately that is NOT comforting and provides no solace. The dentist said he just needed to fill it, but when it comes to teeth I'm a worst case scenarioist. Wish me luck.

I'm obsessed with how he says "shoes". Really that's all that I wanted to post- but I thought I'd put up of few of his other regular words too! He RARELY says "mom" so I am VERY lucky that I got it on video. Usually he'll say "bob"- and then giggle hysterically knowing he is saying it wrong.
I love that he is talking! He loves to say "some more" when he wants more food. He asks for "hot dogs" and "rolls" and even can point out and say "Jesus" in all of the pictures at church. He knows everybody's names back in Utah (we've been prepping him for Christmas) and can name most of his trains (fergus, diesel, thomas, toby, etc). It is AMAZING how fast he can pick up new words now. He will even finally say "please" insted of signing it!

back to real life

This morning was rough. I hadn't had to get up at 5:56 for seven whole days. Ralph went back to school too- so the rugrat was all mine all day :) I also went back to my daily cleaning routine (which isn't all that routine). During the break I was complaining to kent about how much I really dislike cleaning- I don't care that the house always gets dirty again- I certainly have NO complaints about Kent's contributions to the housework- and it isn't that I feel like it's all that I do everyday- It's just that I hate to clean. I enjoy a clean house but it isn't something that I have to have. I do it because I know that it needs to be done and that a clean home makes for a happier home. Kent decided to do some research and found this list for me online. It's entitled "How to make housecleaning fun!". It's ridiculous- and the only two steps that I agree with are six and seven. Plus, how does "wearing a smock or apron with pockets" make housecleaning more fun?!!?

1.Don't start your house cleaning until you have some lively, upbeat music playing in the background.

2. Assemble all of your cleaning tools on a cart you can roll from room to room.

3. Add a little fantasy to your house cleaning! Pretend you're cleaning your home in preparation for a visit from your favorite celebrity. Who would want their idol to see a dirty house?

4. Wear a smock or an apron with pockets for brushes and other small tools to give you easy access to them and make your cleaning task easier.

5. Eliminate clutter!

6. Have a reward planned for after you've completed your house cleaning.

7. Have a maid service come in once a month and give you home a deep cleaning.

8. Clean with gusto! Think about all the calories you're burning in the process...

9. Get the whole family involved.

10. When cleaning, make sure you're wearing the most comfortable clothing and shoes possible.

Be alone and enjoy it!


I think we should move to China and hire an Aiee for 1.50 an hour like Kent's cousin Heidi.