Graduation came with a storm, and ended with a storm!

We arrived home from the cruise on a Sunday and by Tuesday night we had to be ready to leave again for our 14 hr. drive to Missouri for graduation. It was a quick turnaround, especially considering that I was beginning to feel knocked out and nauseous everyday about then with morning sickness. Not to mention the fact that I felt sad to not spend every possible minute with my sweet parents who drove all the way across the country to watch our kids while we pampered ourselves at sea, and who had stayed in town to see Paul graduate. As we left for Kirksville I felt a knot of nausea in my stomach accompanied by a knot of excitement and anxiety. The drive went pretty well. We got to stop in Nauvoo for a few minutes. Eirik loved the horse statue with Joseph and Hyrum Smith riding.

The anxiety was soon explained as we drove out of Nauvoo into dark looming storm clouds. Right about then, our friends in Kirksville called to tell us that there was a tornado warning and that we had better check our route. It turned out that the tornado was heading straight down the street we were planning to take into town. We changed our route and then we drove into the craziest storm I've ever been in. I usually really get excited by storms, but I had such a foreboding feeling about this one that I started to get really freaked out. I made Paul turn around and while I insisted that we find shelter he insisted that we were fine. We were kind of yelling at each other when Eirik offered to say a prayer. He said, "Heavenly Father, please help the tornado to go away from us, and please help my parents to make a good plan." And then he went right to sleep. The radio then said that we could expect the storm to pass through Canton, the town we were headed to, right about the time we were planning to drive through before we turned around. So, once again we changed our route and kept going. After torrential rain that I thought would sweep us off the street, it dissipated and we entered an eerie green glowing light. Everything was so still.. too still. And the clouds looked like giant hands coming out of heaven. We got out for one quick picture. (This is absolutely unaltered in any way but still doesn't quite capture the eeriness of the moment.)

The stillness didn't last long, for as we drove on the rain descended and we entered a deep darkness that turned into a lightning storm like I have never seen before. For about 30 minutes we drove through fields where we had lightning flashing 360 degrees around us about every 2 seconds. Paul found this awesome classical music that was loud drums and trumpets and high intensity power music to fit the mood. I'm telling you, I thought we were going up in flames at any second. I was just holding my breath. Finally the lightning gave way and we drove in silence through the flooded streets to our destination. It wasn't until the next day that we discovered the extent of the devastation. Right through main street of Kirksville (where we would have been driving at the time of the storm) many homes were totally destroyed and 3 people were killed. It was quite the experience and I'm glad we were safe!

Sorry to write so much about the storm when the really important this is that Paul graduated from Medical School!

I love Ashley. This great pic is from her awesome camera. I also took pictures with many of my other great friends, but it was on my Dad's camera... so the wait continues to get those pictures. (hint hint.. dad....xxoo)
We got to stay the whole time with our good friends the Clarksons. They have an awesome farm 15 minutes from town. Our boys got to see the baby cows drink from bottles and we fed the chickens and ate fresh eggs. They are great people and I hope we grow up to be like them. They were great to host us the whole time! Thanks Clarksons!
Here we are at a fun graduation dinner at Napoli's.






On the long drive home we experienced the tantrum of our lives. It was absolutely remarkable. It deserves it's own blog post. I'm working on a video to post. I hope you get to see it soon!

Congratulations Paul! You are awesome and we are so proud of you!!

After 4 years of anticipation.. Duhn duhn duhn... !!

We met up with the Pace's and the Field's in Puerto Rico for the ultimate indulgent vacation package.. a week long cruise in the warm Caribbean!

It's overwhelming to try to tell about each fun packed day so I've decided to start with my

Top ten awesome moments: (and try to fill in some details later with more scrumptious photos .)


10. Justin got totally hypnotized at the hypnotist show and had us rolling on the floor laughing. He was awesome! He conducted a tremendous symphony! Very impressive!

9. My Rock star husband was the first up for Karaoke and nailed it with "Sweet Caroline"! He was a natural and, oh so charming!

8. On the wonderful island of St. Thomas at Saphire beach I swam out way way way out by myself almost to where the boats were passing and found a huge sea turtle. He was not afraid of me and we swam together for a while until he started to surface and I got to grab onto his shell and experience turtledom. It was AWESOME!

(This picture is actually Aruba, but whatever)

7. There was a little lul in the excitement. The men had gone off to do some male whatever and we were chilling in Katherine's room when someone had the idea to come up with notes to annonymously slip to other passengers. We mischeviously wrote up little messages from the management about how people had eaten too much shrimp and were being asked to please refrain or about how their nighttime activities were interupting other guests. (I'm sure Katherine will share all the details as she scrupulously took photos of all of our notes.) It was a moment of sheer giddiness. It's fun to feel 14 again. I just wish I could have seen the recipient's faces.

6. We got to roll in Paul's 29th year with an outrageously fancy steak dinner with lobster tail and all the works. (and how many of you crazies ate 2 whole steaks!! yes, more than 2 of you!)

5. In Dominica we took an hour long bus ride up through the amazing rain forest to a river where we tubed down to this beautiful lagoon where we swam and decided to climb up these roots to a small ledge and all jump off. I loved the idea and was the first one up, however in my haste I didn't realize that all my "cool" companions had removed their life vests for the photo so I look like the lame duck who is afraid to drown. (photo coming). Thanks guys.. you know how to show your love.

4. This magician comedian guy (Michael James) was shockingly irreverent and insanely funny. At the end of his show the announcer, who was this terrific MC was congratulating him and introducing more events when Michael stuck his head out under the curtain to look up her skirt unbeknown to her. Her surprise showed that it was not expected and not appreciated. After a bit of recovery she calmly said, "that was in interesting way for him to resign." It was shocking and terrible and oh so funny at the same time.

3. 30 Rock quotes became a constant thread of laughter throughout the whole trip. "You ate that whole steak!" "A dog took it, It came out of no where!"

2. For a whole week I didn't have to experience even a moment of this:

1. And the number one best thing about the cruise was that I didn't feel even a bit of morning sickness until the day we disembarked!! Yes, people that is an announcement. We planned carefully to have a baby the day before 2010 for tax reasons. (Dec 30 to be exact) ie. yes we planned to get pregnant, no, we aren't very good at math and could have probably picked a better due date with better planning.. but we are thrilled besides the puking and more than anything glad that sickness did not ruin the trip! Yeah for baby!

Sun and Ice Cream

Sometimes I'm amazed at how messy kids can get in just moments. Joren looks like he is bathing in food and that "kiss mark" on his forehead is from where he RAN off of a cement step an hour earlier. And he always has drool down to his belly button by the end of the day. (we can't wait for those darn teeth to come in!)

We are loving the warm weather. It feels like life has started again. There are people on the streets, neighbors talking, kids playing, people walking their dogs, running, windows down. It's like we've all been invisible to each other and all of the sudden we live in a world of people again. I just feel like I'm melting, like I've been in this hyper vigilant stressed, worried state of mind and the sun is just calming me down. Thank you sun!

School's out for....EVER!!!!

Yes, it's true, Paul had his LAST day of medical school last week!!
I don't have a picture of his last day so I have posted one of my favorite pictures of him.
There aren't that many people in the world that can do what he has just done. And to do it with grace, balance, and incredible good looks. Now that's saying something. Way to go baby. I knew you could do it!

It's been 4 years!!?? Incredible.. well, they haven't really gone by that fast, but the time has come and we are so glad! 20 days until graduation.. and counting!

And, to celebrate, Paul and I decided 4 years ago that we would take ourselves on a cruise at the end of this. In one week we will be sailing the Caribbean waters without a care in the world. It's been this distant thing on the horizon for so long that I'm almost freaked out that it's here because I don't really know what to do with myself once it's over. Ahhh!!! I'm so excited I can't really focus on anything else. You know, going over everything I'll pack everynight before going to sleep.. trying to think of funny things to say so I won't bore my husband, I mean, when was the last time we spent a whole week together?? And, dreaming about all the excursions excessively. I'm sort of in anticipation agony. I've also had major passport drama so please pray with me that I won't need it!

I hope you can imagine my trauma when I came out of my recent, much anticipated haircut appointment anguished because my hair is WAY too short. I love, love, love my stylist. She is one of only two stylists in my life who have ever made my hair cute, and every time I go to her house I come home with tear stains and sore cheeks from laughing so hard. And in her defence, I am terrible about telling her what I want my hair to look like. So, how would she know that I would hate it. But I do, and I am so sad because I wanted to love my hair on my cruise. My friends have been so nice. ."Melody, I'm sure it will grow out fast.. It really doesn't look bad. It's cute .. really. " (nice, fake smile, good friend smile.) I love you all for loving me even when I feel like a boy. :) So, when you see my cruise pictures and my hair is demoralizing.. please don't say, "what happened to your hair?" That might make me cry.

So, Paul's last rotations were in Cleveland. We got to go with him for a few days and stay with Kit and Basil. As always, we had a wonderful time. One of the highlights of the trip was trying this salad that was AMAZING. Yes, it did take 7 trips to the grocery store to get everything on the lists that day... but may I say, it was worth the effort. I can't wait to have this again. And I promise I will post the recipe as soon as I can.

It's the fried white mexican cheese and the dressing that really makes this special. It's the kind of salad that gets better with every bite so you just can't stop eating.. Mmmm my mouth is watering.

After Paul finished his last day, he jumped on a plane to Las Vegas to meet up with his dad (turning 60) and his brother (turning 40) and his other brother for a weekend of fun and golfing.
I'm so glad he got to go and he has had a wonderful time, but we are going to be so glad to have him back!! 2 weeks is a long time without our main man. Here is Eirik waiting at the window for him even though it's still 5 days before his return.
We miss you Paul.

Can a kid survive on beef jerkey and milk alone?

These are some of my recent attempts to get my kids to eat. I have to admit that NONE of them have worked a bit.

I ate ALL of the above food myself.

We had cooking club at my house based around an April Fools theme or foods your kids will eat. There were tons of great ideas and it was a lot of fun.
The ideas above were from a Strawberry shortcake cooking book my friend Katie brought. I thought they were very clever but my kids didn't touch them. Maybe in a few years they will think I'm really cool when I can make animals out of their food. The muffins on the right are from my friend Emily's blog. They have pineapple, zucchini, carrots and I substituted the oil with applesauce and they are delicious!! Except, even dressed like cats, my boys refused to eat even a bite. ARGGGHHH!! Thanks for the recipe anyway Emily. I loved them, and put the extras in the freezer for quick treats for myself.

This recipe is from familyfun.com. They had a whole article about fun April Fool's day food. I thought it was really clever and this "strawberry" pie -actually meatloaf and mashed potatoes colored with beats- was really tasty.


Leah brought this "meatloaf" which is chocolate rice crispie treats and "corn" and "mixed vegies" which are really laffy taffy shaped into vegies. Her kids really loved this.
On the right is apple slices with jello sprinkled on it. Tasty.

This "cheese sandwich is really toasted pound cake with orange frosting. Leah brought this too.
On the right is this delicious sandwich made with flat bread spread with peanut butter, jelly, strawberries and bananas. It was delicious.
Katie suggested serving food in metal tins and giving the boys shovels to eat with. I can't wait to try this on a picnic. I think they will love it.

So my boys are picky. That's fine. Most kids are quite discerning. They are obviously growing fine and gaining plenty of weight. I just have unrealistic expectations of their eating I guess. I mean, if they want to eat hot dogs and yoghurt everyday, every meal.. that's mostly ok right? I'm sure the problem lies with me. The only thing that gets them to eat a meal is to let them get really hungry by denying them the milk they are screaming for, get them at someone else's house where other kids are eating, or let them eat really really bad food. Joren does have a good excuse. He cut two more teeth in the past week or two. I think it really does hurt to chew on those half-way through molars.

This mom who wants them to eat all whole grains and vegetables is slowly lowering...lowering .... lowering her standards. At least I started giving them candy now and then. I know, I know, I have food issues. I'm an idealist and wish they liked curry and eggplant Parmesan so I wouldn't feel so guilty about all the preservatives and corn syrup and sugar they get in "kids" food.

Like I said.. Issues.

My Dream Interior!

I just found my dream home interior. It has my favorite colors, a great mix of old and new, all that wonderful carved dark wood that I adore with lots of clean lines mixed in. It is so dreamy I have to share. I found it through a design blog I love to check out called Katydid. The house is called EcoManor and is the home of Laura and Rutherford Seydel. Laura is the daughter of Ted Turner, CNN founder. The home is environmentally friendly and is being used to teach designers about designing green.
I think designing green is very important and very cool, but they way they designed this house exactly to my taste is even cooler.
I've chosen my favorite photos to post, but if you want to see more you can visit EcoManor for a tour of the home.

I think the art chosen for this home is especially wonderful. Oh how I would love to design interiors like this someday!

Wasn't that a treat!

Potty Lesson

How did we all fit in one box? We were on a boat to the jungle and Eirik had to bring me some flowers for the trip. Paul had to help us get out. (oh, and that's one of my new penny pillows in the background.)

Rock Band!!

A few bits to hopefully make you laugh:

Eirik why don’t you use the big toilet this time so that I don’t have to dump your pee? Eirik: “Mom, I will help you dump the pee so that you don’t have to do it yourself.”

(ie: disaster waiting to happen!)

One day while Joren was crying in the car:

Eirik: " Don't be worried Joren, I'm right here strapped in looking for cars. I'm your brother, don't be sad. I love you. We'll be home soon. You'll see. Don't be worried."

Eirik:

“Joren I’m going to give you a potty lesson. Here, this is how you go potty so you don’t need to go in your diaper anymore. …… Joren, don’t lick the toilet! Joren I’m going to teach you a potty licking lesson. (Eirik licks the arm of his potty chair and them makes a disgusted face and says,) see Joren. Joren, I’m going to be your teacher. Ok, listen Joren. Mom, Joren is not listening!.”

A few wants.. not many needs

While my sister was in town we talked a lot about the subject of wants and needs. We decided that when children feel that their wants and needs are valid and ok they get a solid sense of confidence that the world is ok, they are ok and I think it breeds a sense of hope that they will have their wants and needs met. Not every child gets this luxury. In fact it's a pretty rare thing in our world. And to think that we can allow ourselves to WANT luxurious, fabulous, outrageous things, and have that be ok, is a big step for a lot of people. It has been for me at least.
I owe my friend Emily a big credit for opening my eyes when I was in college to believe I could want and yearn for and try to achieve awesome things. She just posted a great post about WANTS. She's always inspiring me like this. She put up a challenge to make a list of wants. Doing this helps us discover more about our motivations and the yearnings of our souls, which I think we all need to explore. If we don't allow ourselves that, we are burying our talents.. right? I would love to see your lists.

I want:
to stop worrying about food storage
SPRING ... PLEASE !! Enough cold already!
to get a solid footing between the conservative/liberal lifestyle where I always seem to be vacillating
to cook and eat all day long- especially creamy soups
to not cook anything this week
no more dishes

to be able to buy clothing and not feel guilty and think about taking it back for the next 2 months
to watch 30 Rock and eat hummus and carrot sticks for 6 hours straight
to take all my childrens' toy weapons and throw them in the dumpster- but then they would just use forks and chopsticks and sticks and more dangerous things that plastic swords and they would cry and scream and be so sad...

I want a baby girl
a vacation at Lake Powell with my family
my toilets to stop running
green earings to go with my awesome new summer shoes
A Playroom!
A fenced yard!
botox
herbs in my pots for cooking all summer
a tan
Joren to learn to say Mommy
to have a clue what to give our parents for their birthdays
palm trees
Joren to STOP insisting on playing in the toilets and trash cans!
for Paul to get whatever he wants
to someday in my life, possibly before I die, learn to go to bed before midnight
our two old cars to last 4 more years

Down the road:
to renovate houses and make them amazing
to do home makeovers for deserving families out of my own budget
to be a DESIGN STAR contestant
an old red or apple green Chevy pickup truck with renovated interior and engine
a little Spanish Hacienda with an atruim and a studio
a little land for chickens and a great garden and an amazing play structure
my best girlfriends on the same block
Did I already say palm trees?

And just for fun, here are some houses and rooms I'm loving lately.
(They aren't a lot to ask for right? JK)

Making it through the winter- Party time

In February and March I got to help with three really fun parties.

My friend Anona had her first baby girl so we had a big pink party. I got to do the decorations. These pom poms/ paper flowers were really easy to make and so fun. I used a tutorial on Martha Stewart.com. Just look up paper pom poms. So easy.



Check out the cheesecake pops Erin made. Are they spectacular or what?!

I just love Anona. She is easy to spoil because she is so totally humble, grateful and genuine. I don’t know a more loving person than Anona. I’m glad I know her.

The next party was for my good friend Angie.

She had her second baby. I did the decorations for her party too. I hung tissue paper circles/ globes with Chinese lanterns for her party. What a fun time. The ladies I get to hang with could not be cooler. I had sore cheeks coming home I laughed so hard at that party.

The third party was the Relief Society Birthday Luncheon. I got to do the decorations for this event too. It was really fun to get together with so many awesome women and learn about this history of this organization that we are a part of. The Relief Society started with only 18 members has grown into the largest women’s organization in the world with over 5 million members. I feel so blessed to be a part of Relief Society.

Sister Beck, our General Relief Society President says, “We have a vital role to play in helping build the kingdom of God and preparing for the Lord’s coming. In fact, the Lord cannot accomplish His work without the help of His daughters. Because of that, the Lord expects us to increase our offering. He expects us to fulfill the purpose of Relief Society as never before.”

President Hinckley, the former prophet of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said: “I am convinced there is no other organization anywhere to match the Relief Society of this Church. If they will be united and speak with one voice, their strength will be incalculable. . . . It is so tremendously important that the women of the Church stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord.”¹

For me Relief Society is a place to find friendship, acceptance, guidance, leadership, comfort, direction and opportunities for service, and a place to learn about how to gain my salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Also serving in Enrichment gives me an opportunity to use my talents which I really enjoy doing. I gave all the twig centerpieces away at the end of the party and it is fun to see my friends using them in their houses. They were so fun to make. The fondant cake is another story. It's a miracle it even happened. I bought the cake mixes I was going to use and dumped them into the bowl to mix them up the night before the party only to discover that they were brownie mixes.. and it only went downhill from there. Luckily my mom called late at night and offered the suggestion that I add chocolate pudding over the super dry cake I had made from scratch from an untested recipe. The pudding saved the day. It wasn't the best tasting cake, but it looked pretty nice. I thought. I didn't plan for it to look like a beehive, but it did which turned out to be ok in the end. :)