Here I am again

I had no idea that it had been a month since I was on this thing. I have had lots of little things going on to keep me busy so I just haven't been on the computer much in general. Thanksgiving was fun. My brother's family (who live near by) was sick with food poisoning so we didn't go to his house as we usually do. We stayed home during the day, with Nelson only having to run a few errands in the morning. It was great to have him home with us. Rebekah and I put up the Christmas tree, though in truth it stayed undecorated until this past Saturday. On Thanksgiving evening We went to Nelson's Aunt's house to have what is usually our second turkey dinner of the day. We arrived on time, which meant that we were about two hours early (no joke) so we helped out and chatted with the few people who were there. It was nice. I even enjoyed dinner. I say this because I do not like turkey. I can eat some of the dark meat with cranberry sauce, but absolutely no white meat. Yuck. Nelson's family doesn't really eat pumpkin pie either, so I didn't make one like I usually do. No pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving; isn't that a crime of some sort?
In November I also had Young Women in Excellence. Since our president had just had her baby, it was left to myself and the second councelor to literally do everything. We had a very nice dinner (served by the Young Men), a guest speaker, a musical number, and pretty decorations. It was a lot of work and in truth, I got sick for the next two days after it! I'm thinking this happened because of the stress (lot's of things were trying to go wrong on the big night) and because I was too stressed to eat that night. Well, thankfully I have sweet friends who were willing to help with Rebekah as I lay motionless on the couch, or as I was throwing up. Isn't that a lovely visual. Thankfully it's all over with now and the Y.W. had a great time and I am fine now.
Okay, Rebeks is crying for attention, and a clean diaper.

Rebekah

About two weeks ago when Rebeks and I went to her specialist appointment we discovered that somehow she had managed to lose all the glorious weight she'd gained last month. She had started to walk and had a cough and cold so perhaps these are the reasons why. Either way, I was wondering if you mothers out there have any suggestions for picky eaters, or for high calorie, easy (non junk) foods, ways to sneak in extra calories, creative (as in possibly more interesting to little kids) snacks, etc. I do add butter to veggies, eggs, etc. but other than that I either forget I have to calorie-up the food or it already has butter, etc. in it so I don't think about it.
On top of all this Rebekah is becoming a picky eater which is NOT something that she can afford weight wise. I am becoming increasingly stressed about this and and am praying for help in being creative with food and for patience. Along with any ideas/advice for things that have worked for you, prayers would be appreciated for Rebekah. On Friday her PCP said that she wants Rebekah to go to an Endocrinologist just to make sure there is nothing wring with growth hormone levels, and whatever else they will have to test. It's such a blessing that I know Bishop Haymond, who is one of the best there is. That is a silver lining in all this, knowing that by seeing doctors at the Children's Hospital Rebekah is seeing some of the best out there and that if something is to be found, other than just a small gal, they, if anyone, can find it.

And the winner is... Toucan Sam(antha)!!!

Toucan Samantha

~Happy Halloween~

I know it's four days past Halloween but I just hadn't gotten around to writing a post about Halloween yet! On Friday, the 26th two things happened. One, Rebekah had a Halloween party for some of her little friends, mostly age 1 and 2. The second was that at the YMCA community Tailgate Trick or Treat Rebekah won for the under 2 costume contest. I think that is kind of funny, but heck she was a blue toucan. How many toucan costumes have you seen in, let's say, your life? I found the costume in a boutique in the Memorial area in August. I know it was two months early, but when I saw it, and tried it on Rebekah I knew this was the costume for her (plus Nelson's family, being from Central America, have had several parrots, etc. so I thought it fit.) Well back to what I was saying, she won solely because it was a unique costume. A friend made her little babe a costume (the white rabbit from Alice in wonderland) and let me tell you, that costume was great. Toucan Sam would have had a run for her money if the white rabbit had been part of the competition.

ms. moviephone

So Jessica just finished telling me about one the of stupidest movies she's even seen, called the Mistress of Spices. This gave me the idea to post a question to you all: what are your favorite movies, and also the stupidest ones you've seen? This should be interesting, and remember, one person's opinion should not effect you if you like a movie someone else doesn't!
A few of my likes: A & E Pride and Prejudice, the Bourne movies, Double Jeopardy (edited), Spiderman 2, French Kiss, and many more.
Dislikes: I think Dumb and Dumber may be my worst movie ever.

No Mas

Rebekita (little Rebekah en espanol) had learned to say ma(s) (more) early on. Water/agua? - ma(s). Peas? - ma. Grapes? - ma. Cheese? - ma. etc. etc. etc. Last week, however, she suddenly came up with no-ma, which means no mas, or no more. I don't know why she picked this up, Nelson doesn't say that to her that often. Either way, she decided that ma was out and no-ma was in. It took me a few times to figure out what she meant, and that was only because she actually didn't want the food. The next day, however, it became apparent that no-ma meant more as well. I think it's pretty cute, and slightly humorous that she says this now. Silly gal.
Rebekah actually say a lot of words, expecially for a little bi-lingual gal. She says (and I'm copying this idea from Heather):
agua, mamano - vamanos (let's go),bye-bye, tank you, both huevo and egg (eGGuh), shoes and zapato (apato), chiz - cheese, ba - ball/balloon, ee-or - eeyore from whinnie the pooh, mamma, dadda, pappa, abua - abuela (grandma), and a few more that I can't remember. Her words for the following animals/things are: cat - maw (meow) dog - wow wow, squirrel - wow wow, anythings involving water/liquid - agua. Rebekah also repeats things really well. One of my favorites is danga - danger. How funny; if only she knew what it meant and why mommy was saying it!

All things Latin (American)

Right now I'm listening to a song by the Buena Vista Social Club, an incredible Cuban group. Of the many things that do not thrill me about Texas, one of the things that does is the multicultural-ness of it. Houston is gigantic, so obviously there are people from every country and every culture living here. Being in a mixed marriage I have a unique view into another culture and I love almost all of it. When I first moved here I immediately met my friend Janie. She is from Mexican descent, raised in the Valley (southern Texas, very close to the border.) Knowing NOTHING about the Hispanic culture (seriously, I think she was the first Hispanic person I'd ever formally met) she was able to introduce me to many new things, one being Latin dancing. I have always loved dancing, I mean seriously loved it, in a way that my heart aches a little when I see professional dancers dancing, etc. I danced for about seven years when I was younger but stopped due to a few reasons. I have always regretted this, but I digress. Back to Salsa, Meringue, etc.
So Janie was a cutie and danced well. She introduced me to several people in the singles ward who were also Hispanic (one being named Nelson.) We would go to dances and also to parties where I slowly got the courage to try and learn. The basic steps are not difficult but I needed to learn more then just how to dance in a circle with a bunch of other girls. One of them said "Hey, you should have Nelson teach you, he's a good dancer." So I approached him, shyly. (Anyone who has met me even ONCE should burst out laughing at the thought of me being shy. Shy, me?!!) He started to teach me to Latin dance and I am so glad he did, 'cause I love it!
Another thing that I like about having moved to Texas is that I have been introduced to real Mexican food, a thing that I hated my entire life. Seriously, it was to the point that when my whole family (quite large, I might add) would go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant I would walk, by myself, so any other restaurant close by to eat.) So after a history like that imagine my surprise when I discover that the food I was eating wasn't at all what real Mexican tastes like. Ha! Fantastic, I love good food! And speaking of good food, 2 things: 1) Turkish food is FANTASTIC. If you like Greek, and I do, try Turkish. If it's not good, you've gone to the wrong restaurant, I promise. 2) Brekke had better bring me along next time she goes to a festival, especially if there's darn good ethnic food involved!

Race for the Cure

Mom and Grandpa 1988


Race for the Cure 2006

Every first Saturday in October is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I have participated in it for the last four years and have enjoyed it very much. Sadly this year I was unable to do so and I regret this! Alright, for those of you who do not know the purpose of this race (5K, nothing hard) it is to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness/finding a Cure. There are several reasons why I love this event. I love the feeling of community, on a LARGE scale, for all those who come out in the early morning, rain or shine, to support this cause. I love seeing the women in the pink shirts who are the survivors of Breast Cancer. When each one crosses the finish line there is a big cheer from everyone and they get flowers, among other things. I love all the booths and the concert and the little freebies. (That may be tacky, but I love freebies from booths, even if it's something I'll never use!) I love getting my package in the mail before the race, having another shirt saying that I've supported this cause for another year. I love seeing the families together walking or running. I love seeing all different ages involved in this, especially the very young children with their parents, and the very old walking togther on the sides. I love unsuspectantly seeing someone I know there, supporting this cause as well. I love that I actually enjoy and look forward to doing this race (I DO NOT like to run.) I love that I get to support a cure, even with just my few dollars, for Breast Cancer, which is very important to me. I wish this disease did not exist. I hate it. That may sound overly dramatic, and slightly odd to you, someone saying "I hate breast cancer," but I do. I hate that of all the great things about this race and this cause, I get to write my mother's name on the paper entitled "Running in memory of:" that I pin to the back of my shirt.

New addition to my Dad's house

This is what's been happening with my family this week, how about yours? Read the article to get the full scoop!
http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_8400.php


The new Addition

Up close and Personal

The bathroom shower

My nephew's bedroom, directly above his bed

The wall of closets, that USED to be straight

T.V. anyone?

My sister Emily discovered this show Robin Hood on BBC America. I just wanted to mention it because it is fantastic! Since I only have whatever channels my "bunny-ears" antenne will give me, I do not get BBC America. Lucky for me I know about this web site that lists tons of TV shows with all their existing episodes. It is tv-links.co.uk Just click on the tab that says shows in the upper right part of the page and then you can find Robin hood (or whatever show you may be looking for.) Try this show out, it is fantastic! Love Robin, love Marian, love Lord Guy (the Sherif's right hand man.) Love the lovely show.

And the excitement grows

I was going to entitle this "and the excitement mounts" but that leaves way to much to the imagination (and if my family reads this I know which direction that title would take them. The same way as it took me! Ha!)
Actually, this post is about Halloween. I know I just wrote about Fall, which is mi favorito, pero yo quiero escribir sobre Halloween. So now I will.
I was talking to my sister (please note that I have not only 4 sisters, but eight sisters-in-law so *sister* could mean almost any of them at any time. Sorry for any confusion!)about a month ago and she gave me the idea to do a Halloween party for Rebekah. This got me to thinking that perhaps this would be fun, and since I enjoyed doing ladybug everything for Rebekah's birthday and it turned out well, then perhaps I could do a Halloween party with similar results, minus the enormous pinata. (I don't know how to do the "n" in pinata properly with this program. Anyone know how to?) So as I've recieved magazines with Halloween ideas in them I'm taking notes for cute cup cakes, drinks, decorations, etc. I just need to come up with some tot-friendly halloween games! Actually, if any of you have any halloween game ideas for little ones I'd appreciate them! I'm excited about this, even though Nelson does not really like Halloween that much. He's fine with the trick or treating but that's it. He said it's because that's just about the candy. In Honduras (where he's from) Halloween is not a big thing at all. He obviously hasn't figured it out yet that trick-or-treating is now basically all that halloween is about! I guess he'll come to realize that costumes are a part of Rebekah's trick-or-treating and then he'll be okay with them. We'll see. He is quite a funny guy, though.

'Tis the season

Well not to be jolly, quite yet, but I love the fall season! Not only does it lead up to Christmas (which I LOVE) but we also have halloween and Thanksgiving to boot! I love it when the weather starts to cool down and you feel the crispness in the air. When you take in a breath you feel this as the air fills you. Oh the trees! The leaves changing to yellow, orange, brown, rose. Ah, I truly am getting nostalgic here, recreating memories of the falls of my life before Texas. And then as I write that I am brought back to reality, sort of. I must admit, though, that even being here, where I just went swimming outside with my daughter and it is still so warm that it's pathetic, even here I still get excited for fall. Truly my soul feels a littel lighter in the fall.
I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous, except that it's true. I even love fall clothing, I think because when the stores bring them out that means fall is right around the bend. I love sweaters, and having grown up in Canada that's a darn good thing. It's amusing, really, that the stores have been selling pants and sweaters, and now coats, for at least a month, when it's still 90+ degrees outside. My closet is still almost half full of my winter clothes that I brought first from Canada to Utah, and then from Utah to here. (At least I had the sense to leave my snowboarding things at home.) After every fall/winter here, after I have once again not had an opportunity to wear even half of my sweaters I will study them all and finally admit to myself that I can give one away. Maybe even two. I just love the season too much and it becomes difficult for me to admit that I may never live in a place where i will need anything beyond a medium jacket. How sad.

Walking Girl, and other things

Rebekah started walking last week. She is very excited about it, as are we. She is a funny girl. She looks at us when she walks and gets so proud of herself; she knows she doing something big and that it makes mommy and daddy happy! It's so fun to see her growing and learning new skills. I know full well that her walking will bring more challanges, as in her making more and bigger messes, but I don't really mind that. I see how much she enjoys learning things and doing new things and it makes me happy for her. With all her growth issues, I am glad to know that developmentally she is totally on track.
Speaking of her growth, yesterday she and I went to her pediatrician to do a weight/height check and she's 18 pounds 5 oz! This is very exciting to me, because she's gained 12 oz. in less than a month. Yeah! This is much better than the 1 oz. a month, or 3 oz. in three weeks of the past two weight checks. She is still below 0% for both height and weight but at least it's getting better. I don't mind if she's a small gal as long as there is decent growth. I have really been trying to make sure she's eating really well. By this I don't mean getting a balanced diet (which still is important) I'm talking about getting more calories into her! I have been told repeatedly to feed her anything she will eat. This is kind of difficult because I do not want her to become one of thos kids who only eats candy or fast food, and doesn't want to eat veggies! With this in mind, it's hard to remember to put extra oil and butter on things, or to make my one year old milk shakes, etc. and to realize that this is totally acceptable for her. And so, my friends, if you see me giving Rebekah candy, sweets, etc. please remember that it is only because of repeat instructions from her doctors for me to do so!
Alright, as soon as my computer starts cooperating I will download a picture of Rebekah. Grrr. This computer is less than a year old and it has problems! This is not something that you would expect when you fork over a lot of money to finally invest in a new computer. I will definitely be buying a Mac instead of a PC for my next computer purchase, which shouldn't have to be for a few years now, but we'll see.

Summer Vacation

This August Rebekah and I left Daddy behind (to his work and school) and went to a family reunion in St. George Utah. After that we tackled the 16 hour drive from St. George to Southern Alberta. Thankfully a) Grandpa was driving, b) we were in Grandpa's luxury minivan (seriously, it's the nicest minivan, makes me actually want one) c) Shanna, Jonathan and Clark entertained Rebekah half the time (she kept staring at Jonathan and when he would look away she'd get upset) and d) we decided to stop half way and sleep in Idaho Falls. All in all the drive wasn't so bad.
Rebekah and I stayed in Canada for 11 days and we had such a good time. I stayed up way too late each night talking to my brothers and sisters, and watching 30 Rock (a really funny show, you should try it out) or Futurama. Shanna and I even took a drive up to Calgary just to check out the H & M store they have there. Kathryn we both thank you for introducing me to it. Rebekah now has some very cute dresses for the fall, and Clark has the coolest jacket. I swear I almost bought it for my son, and I don't even have one.
Yes, so Canada was very fun, but after a few weeks total it was time to come back because Daddy missed us too much and was probably getting sick of frozen dinners.

And so it begins

I honestly had never visited a blog before my friend sent me the link to hers a few months ago. I glanced at it and thought - oh that's neat, she keeps her family and friends up to date with her life. But that was it, I didn't give it a second thought. A few months later I was informed of some major news in the life of a good friend that had been posted on her blog. Not being in to blogs I had never read hers or even thought to ask if she had one. I was floored by the news and disappointed with myself for not keeping in better contact with my dear friend. Thus came about my interest in blogs. Also, my sister Emily just started one and let's face it, basically anything she does I end up liking too. Well it's the same thing with my other sisters too, we just like the same things way too often, what can I say!