I can't say thank you enough!!

Utah had this massive snow storm come through the week of Christmas except we were up in Idaho which was also having record amounts of snow. I know for us it took Matt and his Dad about half a day to get their driveway cleared. The snow was about as tall as Maryn...in fact if you put her in the snow you would probably only be able to see her head if that. Pretty crazy! On our way home Saturday night we had no idea what to expect and as we got closer to Kearns it seemed like the snow was getting deeper and deeper. By the time we got to our subdivision I was already in my mind thinking that I need to go down to Walmart and get another shovel because there is NO WAY we are going to be able to drive in our driveway. We drove up our street and there are literally towers of snow everywhere. It's a sight to see. When we got to our house our driveway and walkway was magically cleared. I had an idea who did it and was so thankful that our neighbors thought of us while we were gone. I always wondered what it would feel like to live in a neighborhood where everyone watches out for each other and now I know. I can not say thank you enough for our neighbors who dug us out. I got choked up driving in...must be those darn hormones. I found out 2 of the guilty parties so far and will have to generously thank them.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

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Another One Bites The Dust

In college way back in the day my roomies and I had a paper on our fridge that was called "Another One Bites the Dust". Now let me explain...I think it snows like 9 out of the 12 months in a year in Rexburg so all of our names were on this list and if at anytime you slipped or fell when walking on campus or wherever you would keep a tally next to your name of your spills. For some reason people would still wear their Doc Martins in the snow and the soles would freeze and make them fall more. The shoes were great for Hooky Bobbing just not for walking in the snow. I always prided myself in not falling too many times. I think I only had 3 tally marks next to my name.

For some reason this memory flashed back to me as I was laying at the foot of my cement steps in front of my house watching stars dance around my head. I don't fall often but when I do I make sure it's really good. Matt and I were rushing in and out of the house switching to watch kids so I could do my calling stuff and I had three bags of Christmas presents for the girls on my left arm and cookie plates on my right and the third step down was covered in ice. I know someone on my street heard me yelp and down I went. I think I even saw my feet level with my head on the way down. I was laying on the cold sidewalk thinking OH NO I DIDN'T JUST break my arm and a million reasons flashed in my brain why this would be a bad thing. I yelled for Matt to come out and when he opened the door his initial reaction made me think he thought I staged it. Later I asked if he thought I was joking and he said yeah but then you weren't moving. I like to goof around but hello I'm writhing in pain down here...I felt like the boy who cried wolf! I finally really get hurt and he doesn't believe me. Kinda funny. Anyway...I think the presents were spread out everywhere and the truffles were saved by the Glad press and seal...they will forever have my business. Matt picked me up and dragged me back inside at this point I couldn't feel my arm, my fingers were swelling up and my elbow was hurting. I got right inside the door and while Matt was letting go of me everything started getting dim and I blacked out. He picked me up again and I told him I was going to throw up and I think at that point he started freaking out because Macey was screaming and I couldn't stand up for 2 seconds. Somehow I made it upstairs then went down again so Matt threw me on the bed...good thing he's a strong guy because I'm a big girl. How embrassing I couldn't control my body...Matt said I went into total shock but I don't remember hitting my head. So much for trying to do my calling...no good deed goes unpunished.

Thank you to Erika for taking Maryn and everything else so we could get my arm checked out. All the x-rays looked good so I just have my little arm in a sling to take the pressure off of it. I feel like a moron for wearing it but if I don't I get sharp pains that go up my arm if I try to grab things...just lovely. It's been interesting trying to pick up Macey. I'll be getting a call today from the Doc because I guess sometimes with elbows you can get a hairline fracture that only the radiologist people can pick out but I'm feeling a lot better this morning so I don't think I'm too worried. Matt and I were talking last night and he said maybe this is God's way of telling you to slow down. I'll have a nice little rest up at Mom and Dad Murdocks this week and will be able to take it easy but it's so hard to slow down when you have so much to do. I guess I won't be skiing this Friday and MAN this post took forever to write with one hand.

Stocking Stuffer

How would you like this for your stocking stuffer? Look what Santa brought me! I made this for my brother and couldn't resist stuffing Macey in it. She didn't seem to mind.

NOTE TO CHRISTINA: This is a half of Donnie's Christmas present so don't let him see the blog until you get your package.

Look Mom I'm an Elf!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Husband Tag

I think I'll take stab at this...my friends April and Krista had these open to anyone who wanted to on their blog. If Matt will ever read my blog he'll know how much I love him!

WHAT IS YOUR HUSBAND'S NAME? Matthew Ross Murdock

HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN MARRIED? 7 years in March

HOW LONG DID YOU DATE? 1 year and 2 months then we were engaged for 2 months.

HOW OLD IS HE? 30 he's no spring chicken anymore

WHO IS TALLER? Matty is..thank goodness!!! He's one tall drink of water

WHO CAN SING BEST? Believe it or not my husband has a gorgeous voice but he doesn't think so...I'm still working on him and I singing a duet together

WHO IS SMARTER? Matt 100%...he's like MacGyver...he can make a bomb out of Bisquick...ask me sometime how he hot wired Macey's bouncer.

WHO DOES LAUNDRY? I choose to do it...he will but I'll politely take over

WHO PAYS BILLS? I don't think Matt even remembers how to write out a check

WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? Matt does because it's the furthest away from the door so he can get enough rest during the night

WHO COOKS DINNER? I do and love it but he's started cooking breakfast on the weekends which I'm starting to love...can we say new tradition in the Murdock household

WHO MOWS THE LAWN? Matt...I guess I don't have an excuse this year to not mow it since I'm not pregnant

WHO'S THE FIRST TO ADMIT THEY ARE WRONG? This is a tricky one...I think more Matt than me but both of us it's hard to admit we're wrong because we're both hard headed

WHO KISSED WHO FIRST? This is in debate...gonna have to replay this one back in heaven to see who was right...come to think of it I don't really remember our first kiss

WHO WEARS THE PANTS? I let Matt gladly where them but we're always on the same page when it comes to rules, family, discipline!

I tag anyone who would like to feature their hubby!

My baby is part Husky

There are always little things about our babies bodies that we notice. Some have birthmarks, some may have extra toes, maybe web feet. Baby Macey is part Husky Dog.

The other day Matt was looking at Macey's eyes and noticed Macey had different color eyes. On the right it's brown with about 1/8th of an inch of it blue and on the left eye it's grayish/bluish/green like Maryn's. It's the craziest thing. She still has a few months yet until her eyes are set but it looks cool. She's still my cute baby...but now she's extra unique.

Christmas Hawaiian Style

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Mommy Learning Curve

Yesterday night I was trying hard to get everything cleaned up from dinner and I was so focused on that task I almost hurt Maryn's feelings. I was clearing the table off and putting things in the fridge and I put the jelly on the counter so I could shift stuff around. Maryn thought it would be funny to grab the jelly and take off running when I tried to grab the jar to put it back in. Funny to her, annoying to me. She ran around the table and I asked her to come back and give me the glass jar. Second time, Maryn give me the jelly I don't need you breaking glass on the floor. Steam coming out of my head and I raised my voice Maryn bring me back the jelly! So, I preceded to act like a 2 year old and run around the table one way trying to catch her than around the other way then whining like a 2 year old to Matt saying Maryn won't give me back the jelly DO SOMETHING!

Matt just looked at me and said, "Honey, she's 3, everything is a game to her." DING DING DING...why on earth did that not click before. Under my breath I mumbled but I don't feel like playing right now. So I finally gave in and I moved the chairs and told Maryn that I was gonna get her. She kept dashing back and forth behind the table and I moved the chairs to jump and slide across the table (this was kinda fun actually) and corner her. I was surprised when I finally caught up with her she surrendered...she was giggling and happy, I was happy! WHAT A CONCEPT!! I find that when I want things to go my way I end up hurting Maryn's feelings so I need to be a little bit more understanding of what she might be thinking...and I just need to lighten up. Life's too short. Thank you Matt for that little teaching moment.

My Girls!

My camera still stinks but here are a few shots that I tried to get. I really got to put some pressure on Matt for a new camera! I guess I'm just waiting for approval to get it so I don't feel guilty spending the money...hee hee.

Drama Queen

So I admit I'm not the best mother but I have been trying REALLY REALLY hard to keep my cool when Maryn has her breakdowns/tantrums/defiant rants and so on and so on. The other day I had about enough. She was trying to guilt me into letting her in my room while Matt was sleeping. Her whining turned into screaming so she got sent to her room. Once she's started on this path everything is tragic and her whole world caves in on her. She was upstairs hitting the wall and crying because I wouldn't give in. THAT'S IT NO MORE MRS. NICE MOM! I went running upstairs and in my mind I was yelling but I forced myself to tell her knock it off sternly. She started fake crying and the rest of the conversation/interaction went like this:

Mom: Oh that is so fake!

Maryn: (fake crying)

Mom: Are you done yet?

Maryn: (More fake crying then all of a sudden this little tear emerges)

Mom: Did you just squeak out a tear?

Maryn: (Huge smile comes over her face with a few giggles then returning back to her fake cry and frowny face and another tear pops out of the other eye)

Mom: Oh man you squeaked out another tear on the other side

Maryn: (Hysterical laughter trying to being masked by a forced frowny face)

Where on earth did she learn how to fake cry on demand???

At least the situation was diffused. Who knew humor would stop her tantrum and distract her enough to get her mind on something else to obsess about. I'll have to keep this humor tactic in the back of my Mommy brain for future use.

Funny Review

During my morning feeding with Macey I've noticed that I've been drawn to infomercials. One of them really caught my interest. I am a scrapbooker and ended up switching to digital for a lot of reasons but still enjoy sitting down and creating a page by my own hands. One of the infomercials was for this Cricut Expressions machine. This kinda peaked my interest to going back to paper scrapbooking. It can also cut fabric and the vinyl lettering. This is any crafters dream! The only draw back is they are about $500. The most reasonable price I've been able to find is about $250. Anyway...I was reading the reviews to see what people thought about their machines and I came across the funniest review that was written by a husband that bought it for his wife.

Great Device, creates free time., August 29, 2008
By
J. Culp - See all my reviews Bought my wife the Cricut Expressions machine and several cartridges. Suddenly I have lots of free time! She's practically tied to the machine cutting out every which and whatever she can and I've finally caught up on my DVR'd TV programs. I highly recommend the product for all husbands that want to have more time for themselves.

I thought this review was hilarious! This put a smile on my face today! Don't we wish all husbands viewed are crafting addictions this way.

Spit Happens

Macey has been making the cutest facial expressions lately that I just can't help but kiss her and nibble on her cheeks. I'm so sad because my camera is officially shot so I'm missing a lot of these photo ops. We figured out that something is wrong with the flash so if I have ample light then I can take pictures but otherwise we are going to have to get a new camera. Now it's just convincing Matt the necessity of me scrapbooking every aspect of Macey's life and I need photos in order to do that. I guess I could dust off the old 35mm.

Okay sorry back on track...so, Macey gets a kick out of when I get close to her mouth and make kissing sounds. Sometimes she'll open her mouth because it echoes in her mouth and she just smiles even bigger. I know it sounds weird but she thinks it's funny. The other day I was making the funny noises and had a passing thought she just ate so this might be dangerous. Not more then 2 seconds later Macey spits up and outward right when I was sucking in no less. EWWWW I got a mouth full of spit up. I had my first Jim Carey gagging moment. It's amazing from whatever position your child is they can spit up projectile...even from a laying down position. There is a reason they call it spit "up". Macey is like a little geyser. Instinctively I sprayed everything out of my mouth like you see in the movies. Not my most gracious moment. I think I'll get a kick out of this moment when I review it back in heaven.

Emotional Burnout

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to a workshop that featured Julie de Azevedo - Hanks regarding emotional burnout. This was especially a treat for me because I love her music. I cannot tell you how timely this fireside was. Just to hear that I'm not alone and that it's okay to ask for help were things that I needed to be reminded of. I've had a couple of curve balls thrown at me this week on top of trying to be a good wife, mother and Young Women's leader it's been overwhelming but there were some things that I was able to take away from this night that I would like to share.

It's okay to say "no". I know I especially struggle with this. I'm a yes mam and sometimes I need to take a step back and not fill my plate so full that I can't meet all my obligations. Julie went over ways that it's okay to say no and it be an honorable answer.

Something that rang also in my ears was I need to take ownership of my own happiness. I need to remember to do things in my life that I love. I notice that I get down when I'm not doing things that make me happy like scrapbooking, crocheting, quilting, singing and playing the piano. I need to make time for those things in my life because in a sense they define who I am. I told my husband after the fireside that I don't want to live my life with regret for things that I wish I would've done because sometimes I let fear control my life. Fear of failure, fear of success...just plain fear. Fear is what halts me from being truly happy. I heard somewhere that fear and faith cannot exist together.

The last thing I really struggle with is asking and accepting help. I usually think I can do everything on my own and I'm so scared of burdening people with asking for help. But on the flip side I'm more than willing to help anyone out in need so why do I think this way??? A song comes to mind from Michael McLean "I can't do everything". So many times we have this idea that we can do everything and it gets overwhelming...that goes back to the saying no thing so you can be fully available to say yes. Julie made a comment that we always compare ourselves to that girl named "Molly". I have no idea how this stigma came about but I think it's an unconscious burden we as women put on ourselves to be perfect. It's not healthy to compare ourselves to others because chances are the people we are comparing ourselves to are having the same difficulties within their lives. The comment was made that they are just good fakers.

Last thing is it's okay to feel. It's okay to feel angry, sad, mad, happy. Allow yourself to feel these emotions. So many times women keep these emotions in and it affects our health and emotional well being.

These are just some thoughts that were running through my mind. I know everyone can identify with them. We as women need to stand strong and sustain each other in our difficult but worthwhile roles as wives, mothers and sisters. We are not meant to travel this road alone.

The Invisible Mother

I read this from my friend "Lewie's" blog and wanted to re post it for all you mother's out there. It inspired me and hopefully it will touch you in some way also.

Invisible Mother

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no on can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hand; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated with honors - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At time, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. They writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'Your gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're going it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Kick off the Holiday Season

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Honey I'm blowing out the sprinklers

How does one go from blowing out the sprinklers to losing a room in your house? I'll explain! My illustrious husband had good intentions of blowing out the sprinklers on Saturday and boy that was a learning experience. He ended up blowing two valves because he had the pressure up too high on his compressor. No sweat for the handy man though. A few tools and Matt's handy man hands later the valves are fixed. Our turn off switch for the sprinklers is located in our office downstairs and upon moving in the house it was pointed out to us that some of the paint was bubbling up but the area was not showing any moisture. So we didn't think anything of it. When Matt went to turn the water off he noticed the valve was leaking again and found a warped O ring in there. When he went to investigate a little deeper in the wall it was covered in mold. He decided to take just a little portion of the wall out to see how far it went back. 4 hours later he comes up and said you don't want to see what I did to the office. I asked what did you do? He told me I was going to cry if I saw it. The door was sealed off so I was looking from outside the window and half of my walls were completely gone. The sheet rock and insulation were gone with the studs showing. He had found mold on the sheet rock and insulation. It wasn't as bad as Matt was making it out to be but my walls are gone. I actually was the one staying calm. The only thing I said was "Well, you always wanted a home you could finish...now here's your chance". So we're kicked out of the downstairs until hubby can get the mold situation taken care of and the walls finished. Joy is everywhere!

High School Tag

1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? Not really...I was lucky to even be noticed by guys.

2.WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? My sophomore to junior year I had my choice of 3 Datsun 210's that were parked in front of our house. Two were orange with one of the front passengers seats was removed and the other car was green with a white door. Then I upgraded my senior year to a Grey Nissan pickup truck.
3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? I hate to admit this but I failed the written portion. I passed the driving by the skin of my teeth. I had a clutch and at the last minute the car I had been practicing on had a broken tail light so I had to drive a car with no power steering and the clutch was going out. I think the guy passed me because he felt sorry for me. He must've got a kick out of the fact when I went to signal I flipped my windshield wipers on then when trying to shut it off I stalled the car.

4. WERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? Nope

5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? No not until after college
6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? Orchestra...I played cello

7. WERE YOU A NERD? For the most part but I fit in all different groups
8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? I was on varsity all four years for basketball and volleyball...good times
9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? No...I was devastated if I was even late for class
10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? It was always on the wall so I just read it...I'm horrible at memorizing things
11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? It's been so long I'm struggling to remember any of my teachers. Senor Rosendin, Ms. Ham, my volleyball coach was also my business teacher and I can only remember her first name Molly.
12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? Before I could drive near the trophy cases next to the office then after I got my license I'd drive home everyday.

13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Renton High School
14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? Indians, Red, White and Black...that's kind of funny aren't those the Utes colors?
15. DID YOU GO TO HOMECOMING AND WITH WHO? Never got asked to my own Homecoming but I think I took my boyfriend to my Senior year and stayed long enough to get pictures then left.
16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? Heck NO, I won't GO!
17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? Being worried that I wasn't going to be able to walk at graduation because of surgery and the graduation party afterward was really fun!
18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? After my classes :) I met up with the others at Lake Washington

19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? National (Nerd) Honor Society

20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? Being that I just had a baby a month ago YES.

21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? Never went to my prom but went to Tahoma's Prom.
22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR 10 YEAR REUNION? That's past and gone and my class is lame for lack of planning they met at a bar. I'm glad I didn't waste the plane ticket to go up there although I really wanted to strut my stuff because I was really homely back then!

23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? I helped my Dad out on his business

Let's tag Brittany, Anne, Christina, Beth

Raking leaves right before the snow storm

I've been trying to get some one on one time in with Maryn each day and at the beginning of the week before it snowed 5 inches I asked her what she wanted to do and her reply was to rake the leaves. Of course this means play in the leaves while Mommy does all the raking. It was funny to watch her stick her head in the pile like an Ostrich. Our effort was in vain though. After we finished raking up all the leaves a huge windstorm came through and completely covered the yard again. At least she had fun.

I Love Volleyball

I love it enough to go play after a month of having a baby. It felt so good to go out and play Wednesday night. I wasn't able to go to the Young Women's activity that night because it was in downtown so I went to the church later to play co-ed volleyball. I felt like I had cement shoes on and kept getting blocked by the net but it was sure fun. My poor body is rebelling today though. I can barely lift my arms over my head and of all places my bum is sore. Maybe that's a good thing...work off all the Halloween candy I ate.

Weird Phone Call

Ring Ring Ring...

Debbie: Hello

Some Older Lady: Carol

Debbie: Pardon

SOL: Carol

Debbie: I'm sorry but you have the wrong phone number

SOL: Oh no I don't!(quite emphatically)

Debbie: Oh yes you do!

SOL: No I don't...Where's Carol...put on Carol

Debbie: This is the Murdock Residence

SOL: Are you sure...oh...well sorry

Click

Little Mermaid and Spider Witch

Halloween is a big deal at my house...although I didn't put much into this year as in years past because Miss Macey decided to join us at the beginning of the month. The only thing I was sad about is this was the first year that I didn't buy pumpkins or go to a pumpkin patch. We'll have to go all out next year. We were able to attend a Halloween Carnival on Thursday with the rest of Maryn's playgroup. Great job Taylor on putting that all together. There was a cupcake walk, face painting, spooky bingo, a pumpkin toss and spider fishing. Maryn was really into the cupcake toss and when they would call out the number if she wasn't on it she would run to find it if no one was on it...one draw back for a numbered cupcake walk...a kid who recognizes her numbers. I think she scored 4 mini cupcakes and I had to tell the lady playing the music that Maryn needed to be cut off. Maryn still tried her hardest to win those cupcakes even though I told her she was done. Like I said my camera has been screwy so I have a few pictures but not much of the carnival.

We also had Trunk or Treat at our ward building on Friday and it was so fun to see all the kids dressed up. Matt and I were grinning ear to ear because it was our first neighborhood Halloween. We are true suburbanites now and it feels great!! I decked out the back of the Yukon like usual with spider webs, spiders and orange lights. I think I threw a bat in there this time too. After Maryn did her rounds she came back to hand out candy and when she ran out she would politely tell everyone "sorry, we ran out of candy" so I wouldn't have to keep repeating myself.

Maryn was dressed up as a Spider Witch and Macey went as a Mermaid. Little background, Ariel is Maryn's favorite princess and that is what she wanted to be but daddy put a kibosh on that. Her attitude lately has been reflecting that of Ariel's and Matt didn't want to put up with it anymore. He refused to get an Ariel costume so I told him that he needed to take her costume shopping because I didn't have the heart to tell her. After 2 weeks of convincing Maryn of other costumes she could wear I sold her on being a witch somehow. We got her super excited because I let her wear Mommy's makeup and then she found out her friend was dressing up as a witch also so that sealed the deal.

Are you talking to me?

Issues with my camera

Word of advice...never give your digital camera to your 3 year old to take pictures or all the settings will be changed when you get it back. I have been going crazy because majority of my pictures have not turned out from the past few weeks. I didn't get hardly any good pictures of Macey on her blessing day. There are a few I may be able to fix the lighting in my photo program but I might have to fudge and just dress her up after the fact. Macey is getting the short end of the stick where quantity of pictures are involved. Maryn is always begging me to take pictures and I've been giving in a little too easy lately. I think for her birthday she will be getting her own little personal camera.

Raging Hunger

For the past 3 weeks my hunger has been raging. I find my self in an hour period opening the fridge multiple times and just staring into the fridge. Then I'll go to the cupboard and rummage through our food storage looking for stuff that sounds good. So far my chocolate chip stash is dwindling and the cheddar cheese sticks are missing in action. I think I've had more cravings after pregnancy than I had during. I couldn't help but think of this hilarious comedian, Anita Renfroe, she did a parody from a Carrie Underwood song. For those of you who are familiar with her she did a song called Momsense to the William Tell overture...super funny!! Anyway...the parody is called "Before I Eat" and there is this video clip in there of her in the fridge just stuffing her face as fast as she can. That's totally what I've felt like! All I need now is Reddi-Whip and Chocolate Syrup and my life will be complete. Here is a link so you can watch it. Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygWO30gdpK4

Thank goodness for promptings and wet wipes

Sundays have been a little tricky the past couple of weeks. Both Matt and I both have meetings during certain weeks that we need to attend. One of them we actually both have to be there. This past Sunday just Matt had his meeting which left me with getting 3 people ready. Now if they were boys no sweat but girls are a little bit more involved. We fortunately got the girls bathed Saturday night so that wasn't an issue. When I was getting Macey's bag ready for church I had a prompting to put an extra pair of clothes in her bag. Now I've had this type of thought dozens of times but this time for some reason I ran back upstairs and just grabbed the first thing I saw and stuffed it in her diaper bag.


During the second hour of church Macey needed to be fed so I dragged myself into the mother's lounge (still trying to get the hang of this). We were a few minutes from being done and Mount Macey erupted!!! I said out loud, I have 5 seconds to get her on the changing table or she'll soil through and right when I put my hand on her back it was too late! My friend Carrie was laughing and I was too because I didn't know what else to do. I threw her on the changing table and it's one of the moments where you just look dumbfounded not knowing where to begin. I carefully stripped her down and she had "stuff" up to her neck on her feet on her belly and it seemed to be magically multiplying everywhere. I went through all my wet wipes and then some of Carrie's. I would've taken her home but that's where the prompting part comes in. I was participating in the lesson that day and was very grateful that I didn't leave. We had a discussion on some very important topics that I needed to be there for. Carrie's leaving comment from the mother's lounge was it's sure a good thing they're cute! AMEN TO THAT

Note to self...replenish wet wipes, throw another emergency outfit in the bag and remember to throw in a plastic bag for future eruptions.

Every baby needs a hand made blankie

Amongst the chaos and craziness during pregnancy I managed to at least finish two blankets. I have a few others in the works but it just feels like I'm not making any forward progress. I love making baby blankets for people much to my husbands dismay. He knows it makes me happy so he just grins and takes it in stride. I am my biggest critic so I'll refrain from the flaws I see in it...but then again if it was perfect then it wouldn't be hand made. My friend's husband always tells me I come with disclaimers on whatever I do. Sorry Kirk can't help it! With all the blankets I've ever made I've only kept one and that was the very first one I ever created with my Aunt. It's Maryn's blankie now. I have material to make Macey's and hopefully I can get started on it before she realizes she doesn't have a blanket from her Mommy yet. Here are some pictures of my last few blankets. I really don't know if I'm doing it right but it sure is fun!

1 is the magic number

Macey had her 2 week check up yesterday and to my surprise she had gained a whole pound! Usually they hope babies will be back to their birth weight. And to think I was worried that she was not getting enough to eat. Also, when they measured her she has already grown an inch. That's probably why she's been sleeping so much because my baby is growing. So her stats now are 8 lbs 9 oz and she is 21 inches long. Sometimes she reminds me of a little piggy. During the night she rarely wakes me up crying. Instead I hear these little grunting noises. Then if I take too long to feed her after she wakes up she starts snorting or she lets this huge sigh out. It's the funniest thing.

I almost forgot...

One of the biggest super mom's that helped me out was Matt's mother Sylvia! She is an angel and one of the most amazing women I know. My mother in law stayed with us for a whole week cleaning, cooking and keeping Maryn occupied while I just laid down and rested. A little about Sylvia she is the mother of 10 children and has the sweetest disposition. I can't ever think of a time that she has ever rose her voice or has been visibly upset. She is the kindest woman and the model mother and wife. She makes every one of her children feel like they are the favorite and makes her 32 grand kids each feel special. She is an amazing cook and an intelligent woman. She is a talented singer and piano player. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and it's evident in the way she conducts her life. She serves faithfully in the Logan Temple along side her husband. I am grateful to have such a wonderful mother in law!!

I had a girl didn't I?

So, last time I checked I'm pretty sure that I had a baby girl at the hospital. Well, according to my bill I got from the hospital today I guess I was wrong. Also the amount of money they quoted us before we left the hospital didn't quite reflect what we were billed for...like 6000 dollars higher than what we were quoted. Now I know for a fact that Macey didn't get circumcised and that I didn't have any anesthetics and I sure didn't have a c-section. So I'm just trying to figure out why on earth they are on our bill. There are numerous other things that don't add up. I never had her in the nursery accept to take a bath and we had this huge nursery bill. Unless a bath cost 1500 dollars...that's one expensive bath. I am so disappointed in this hospital and the disorganization of everything. I won't go into all the details but just to give you a glimpse I ended up delivering without my doctor there because oh wait someone forgot to call him to let him know I was admitted. I might have to have Matt deal with it because it gives me such anxiety to even think about a bill I can't correct right away. Of course I had to get the bill on the weekend and won't be able to resolve it until Monday. Sheesh people!!! I'm seriously thinking of traveling back to Boise to deliver our next child.

Mom Support Group

I have been blessed in the regard where ever we move there are super moms all around me. I prefer to be on the giving end rather than the receiving and when I was living in Idaho I was always the Mom watching kids and it was great. It kept Maryn entertained and I felt good about helping people. This past week everyday I have been offered help in taking Maryn so I can rest and it has been so much appreciated. This week especially was particularly rough because hormones/nursing have been kicking my backside but I'm trying. I wanted to say a huge thank you to the following women Alison, Emily, Taylor, Carrie, Rona Lee and countless others who have offered help or brought in meals. We have a playgroup where I get to see all these wonderful women on a weekly basis besides church and they are amazing people.

Tuesday was a roller coaster day which ended up in my husband coming home and walking into a war zone. For you men out there never tease your wife about ANYTHING after she has a baby or you might get an ear full. After the dust settled he suggested I go to Young Women's the next day and I told him I couldn't and I didn't want to. But being the wise man he is kept asking if I would go even if it was only for an hour. So I relented and showed up having people upset at me for not taking it easy but it's what I needed to lift my spirits. So thank you Matt! Thank you girls for all your smiles that night I needed it. I think that I can get through the rest of the week.

Baby Guessing Contest Results

And the winner of the baby guessing contest was...my husband! I think the scoring was a little unfair. He was the closest on all the stats except for what the gender was so I think to make it fair we are going to take the very close second who actually guessed the gender right is my friend Heather from Texas. When I get up and going we'll send you something special from the Murdocks!

Welcome Baby Macey!!

So ya know how I said hopefully we get some good news at my doctor appointment on my last post. Well...I went in that day and had already dialated to a 5. When the doctor checked me he just started laughing and said I'll probably see you tonight. An hour after I got home the whole process started unraveling (I'll refrain from the details). I had made a decision a few months ago I was going to try to deliver natural so we waited until almot 8:00 pm to arrive at the hospital because I didn't want to be strapped to a bed. The nurse wasn't really sure if I should be admitted yet eventhough I was at a 6 and not more than 4 hours later Macey decided to come all of a sudden and the nurses had to deliver her. The doctor actually didn't even end up showing up until 20 minutes after she arrived because someone forgot to notify him to tell him that I was even admitted. I am proud to say I was able to labor without medication and we are doing well. Matt always thought I couldn't handle pain very well and I always tell him if it's small I can't handle it. He'll have to stop giving me a hard time about being a wimp.

Baby girl's full name is Macey Lenore. She was 7 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long. She has a full head of brown hair. When they were cleaning her up she did not like the fact that they were poking and prodding her and tried to escape grabbing onto the side of the glass and rolling away from the nurses. That was pretty funny! We thought we were going to have a crying baby for most of the night but after she got bundled up and Daddy was holding her she quieted right down and she has been content ever since. Her demeanor is very sweet, laid back and calm. Her first night at home she only woke up twice. I keep thinking something is wrong because my first baby never slept but that's all Macey does is sleep.

We are so happy to have her finally here!!! Maryn can't get enough of her and cried when she couldn't hold the baby because she was eating. I feel bad because the lighting was not very good in the room so a lot of the pictures didn't turn out but I'll leave you with a few we did get.

And it just keeps getting better...

After being hit so many times during this pregnancy with what I'll call "uncontrollable circumstances" it was nice to get some good news in the past couple of weeks. Three great things to be specific.

1. I got a call from the nurse at the doctor's office and my GBS test came back negative so I won't have to be strapped down to IV's getting antibiotics like last time.

2. Matt and I read in the paper that some undeveloped land not too far from our house is going to be made into a park. When we bought the house we were disappointed that a park was not close by but that will soon change when they break ground in April 2009.

3. We got a call from Matt's brother in Nampa, Idaho and found out that he just took a job in Salt Lake City so him and his family will be moving here. This is great news for me since we don't have family down here but I feel bad for my sister in law who I love to death. It will be hard for her to leave all her family up there. No worries Jahaza I'll keep you fed with Chocolate Turtles and Truffles at your beckon call.

So these are my three great things. Some may seem trivial but they have made me a happy camper this week. Today is my 38 week appointment...hopefully my good news streak will continue today. We'll see!

My little poser

I received permission to post these from my friend Shannon. She is starting up her photography business and getting her portfolio ready to go. She is really talented and I'm so excited to see the rest of the pictures that she took. Maryn was shy at first to take pictures but that lasted a whole 2 minutes and she was really hamming it up...especially towards the end. We met at Gardener Village where they are decorating for Halloween and couldn't have asked for better decor all around. Thanks again Shannon for the beautiful job you did!!! Now I can finally put professional photos of my baby on the wall.

My favorite is the black and white. Maryn was twirling around being goofy and Shannon was taking the pictures.

We need serious help!!!

Baby girl is going to be here in less than 30 days and we still haven't figured out a name for her. We had the same problem with Maryn. For some reason girl's names are harder for us. We have all of our boys names picked out already. Matt and I have been tossing around names and on the side column are a few of the names we have been discussing. I can't agree on his and he can't agree on mine. A match made in heaven! Mind you baby girl's middle name will be Lenore. Not the easiest middle name to match a first name with but it's special to me. If there are any names that are not on the list that you think are cute send them our way. We are open to any and all suggestions.

Cute Sayings

Yesterday I spent a lot of time with Maryn doing things just with her. After playgroup at the library we headed for Jordan's Landing where it is plentiful with shopping. We went to our favorite shopping spot for her Old Navy (one of the few places I can find pants long enough for her but still fit her skinny waist). Usually I dread taking her shopping but she was especially funny that day. She would try on the pants we had then I would ask her to show them to me then turn around and she would do this bum pose where she would stick her hand on her bum and just turn half way around then give me these pouty lips. I was laughing so hard in the dressing room of course she would lay it on thicker.

That night I got her ready for bed and decided to make up some hot chocolate and enjoy the night out on the swing. We lit the tiki torches and enjoyed our hot chocolate cuddled under a blanket on the deck swing (I'm spoiled...I know). The moon and stars were so pretty and all of a sudden she got this shocked look on her face. She said, "Mom, someone cut the moon off". I told her sometimes the moon is a little smaller depending how the sun hits it. She told me her explanation that someone took a ladder and took a knife and cut it off. I told her, well that must be a really tall ladder and I hope we can find that piece.

We are also in the path where jets and planes fly over. One looked like it was headed straight for the moon and she said, "Oh no, that plane is going to fly right into the moon and pop it out of the sky!" Never a dull moment with Maryn around. She is always thinking and trying to figure out things.

These pictures were taken over Labor Day weekend. We took a drive around Utah Lake and ended up driving up Nebo Loop near Payson Lakes. We took a hike around the lake and enjoyed the beautiful day.

Random Facts Tag

I have been tagged by my friend Alison where I need to share 6 random facts about myself. You might get more than you bargained for...

Random Fact 1: In my first semester of college we were at war with these guys where we did random things to each other. Some of which consisted of sneaking in their second story apartment and stealing their furniture, putting bouillon cubes in their shower head, taking off all the labels on their canned foods, stringing their apartment and shutting off the breaker in the apartment. This was only one night but the war lasted about a month ending in our underwear drawers being taken luckily when we were out of town. The funniest thing was to see my roommate duck taped to a chair with her friend when we came home late from vacation and our whole apartment covered in toilet paper. They were given one phone call to get free.

Random Fact 2: In sixth grade I thought my arms were too hairy so I decided to shave a little section only finding it looked funny so I ended up doing both arms.

Random Fact 3: Whenever we go out to eat and I order hamburger and fries I have to eat my fries first or get close to finished before I start on my hamburger. I didn't realize I was doing this until my husband pointed it out to me. Just a habit I have. Maybe I don't like soggy fries.

Random Fact 4: It annoys me when people slurp their soup. So my husband and daughter slurp their soup on purpose to see how long it will take me to say something.

Random Fact 5: I love to sing and at one point in time I was embarrassed for people to hear me so when I was growing up (18) I would make sure no one was around, close all the windows and draw the curtains to make sure no one would see me or hear me.

Random Fact 6: I was on a co-ed Wallyball team for intramurals in college and we ended up winning the championship game. We each got a shirt that was 3 times the size of our bodies for winning.

Probably way more then you ever wanted to know about me. I'd like to tag Beth, Anne,
K. aka Kannie, Christina and Tiffany

Here are the "rules"
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let the person know you tagged them on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when you've posted.

Feeding the Ducks

We had a play group at Gardener Village where we fed the ducks. I got a few pictures snapped of Maryn and her friends. Maryn couldn't grasp on to the idea to throw only little pieces of bread to the ducks so the whole slice of bread would go in the water. Gardener Village is a cute little shopping place with an old town feel. We ended up stopping in to the fabric store and the sweet shop. I got my fudge that I wanted and Maryn got some gumdrops and Laffy Taffy.

Yes...Habanero's are HOT!!!

Now I know that Habanero's are the hottest pepper known to man. But did my husband believe me??? Of course he had to find that out for himself.

At the beginning of the summer I made a goof and instead of grabbing a green pepper plant like I had intended I grabbed a habanero plant. This little plant ended up producing one tiny little orange pepper. Looked harmless.

Over the weekend I took all of our tomatoes and onions and made salsa. Not bad for my first time. Matt insisted that I put the habanero in the salsa. I reserved a little bit aside and he convinced me to add more salsa to his little pepper so reluctantly I did. Matt chopped up his proud little pepper and had each of us smell it and he hadn't even taken a bite yet and started writhing in pain. He licked his fingers and his lips were on fire. I told Maryn not to touch the pepper and I turned my back and 2 seconds later she was making the funny noises that Matt was. Both of them were a sight to see. I couldn't help but smile. I had Maryn down some milk and Matt was on his own. For the rest of the day Matt kept touching his face or nose and some part of his face would start burning again because no matter how much he washed his hands he couldn't get the juice all the way washed off. So now we have burning hot salsa sitting in the fridge. If any one is brave enough to try it stop on by.

Happy Birthday To Me!

It was my 30th birthday on Sept. 2nd and a while ago Matt asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said half jokingly that I wanted a piano and if he couldn't get me that I wanted those Molten N' More pans for baking. Big contrast...I know. I didn't think much of it until the week before my birthday he told me to start checking craigslist to find a piano. All the used pianos we found that we were interested in were expensive for being used and just didn't feel right. So that Saturday we decided to go to a piano gallery just to see what we would be missing if we ever had a new piano. Low and behold they were having a sale. And there was a sale on the already low sale prices. WHO KNEW!! Needless to say we walked out of the floor with a brand new Yamaha piano. I'm still in shock. This is something I have waited for years to have. It arrived on my birthday and I was like a kid waiting for Christmas. So Happy Birthday To Me!

Willow Flats

This past weekend we went camping with family up at Willow Flats in Idaho. We had a really nice camp site and fit 3 families on it. After we got set up we didn't waste any time getting the badminton net set up. I even jumped in for a game.

Maryn got better at her game of Go Fish.

Maryn was dirty from head to toe the moment we got there. No matter how much cleaning I did it was useless. Still cute amongst the dirt though.

Uncle Sam brought his four wheelers up and we got to enjoy a 25 mile ride in beautiful country. Maryn was on the front and I was hanging on the back while Matt rode like a mad man. We didn't know but Maryn had her purple shoe on the exhaust at some point and it almost melted all the way through. Hopefully Uncle Sam doesn't mind the color purple on his four wheeler.

We rode to a memorial with Mike, Justin, Devan, Tiffanie and Sam that was originally was a crash site in 1958 where 37 servicemen lost their lives coming home from the Korean war. They had a memorial with all their names and a little mound of debris where people were still finding pieces and materials from the plane. The eeriest find was the sole of an army boot.

Dinner was wonderful with chicken and potatoes with fresh picked green beans from Julie's garden. It was topped off with Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler...just fabulous. Matt took Maryn up to a natural spring where he said wild flowers were everywhere. Maryn just couldn't get enough of it. She called it her Nature Hike. She came back with a handful of pretty wildflowers in a bouquet for me.

We had to cut out early and wasn't able to stay an extra day but it was a fun time.