Blood

Warning: Don't let this cute picture fool you about the long, almost gory story you're about read. They have nothing to do with each other.

I hope you enjoy embarrassing stories. I actually prefer to put mine out in the public than keep it secret because knowing my luck it'll all come out eventually. However, I need to start this story with a flashback of when I was 15. I was tired all the time (thank you early morning seminary) and my doctor thought I had mono. It was my first time getting a blood test. Did I mention they only needed one drop of blood? So a finger prick it was. I had never had this kind of experience before and so this is what happened:

Nurse: "You don't look good. Are you going to pass out or throw up?"

Me: "I don't know. Both????"

Nurse: Rolls one of those huge cafeteria trashcans over to me to throw up into.

Me: pass out into trashcan.

And that's the end of that story.

So fast forward to the present. I have had two pregnancies. And a bunch of y'all probably remember all of the horror stories with my second one about all of my blood problems with possible infertility blah de blah de blah.... to sum it up I had blood work done on a weekly basis it seemed like. I am over the needle/blood thing. We all grow up eventually right?

So our stake was having blood drive at the stake center. Sweet! Time to prove myself. Besides I'm O-, people need me!!!! I knew it would be best to ask someone to go with me. Ben came along just in case I had a trashcan experience again (just to take pictures... just kidding....). So we're waiting in line and I'm called to be next. I'm doing well so far. They have me sit in a seat, take forever to find a vein (because that's how I roll) and finally SUCCESS! I am giving blood. I'm seriously smiling to myself because I am soooo incredibly awesome and saving lives at the same time. Just give me my superhero cape as I walk out the door. Then they say, "awesome! You're done! Go get something to eat and sit down for 10ish minutes." Sweet. Free cookies, too.

So I get to Ben (because he gave his blood in like 2.5 seconds and was waiting) and I'm heading over to get my cookies when I got a little lightheaded. Nothing new, I'm like that all the time. Then I realized I needed to sit down. The next thing I know my head's between my knees and two nurses are pulling me up and taking me back to a chair to lie down. So I waited 20 more minutes. Finally felt good again. They let me go. Same thing happened again! So back to the chair I go (dang it why can I never make it to the cookies?!?!?!) 20 minutes later I feel normal again. At this point I tell Ben that no matter what happens I absolutely HAVE to go to the bathroom because I had been drinking all day long to be an awesome blood donor. So we walk slowly to the bathroom and I'm doing great. Hope this doesn't make y'all too uncomfortable but you guessed it. I'm doing my thing and start losing my sight and hearing. So I finished really quick and managed to make it out of the stall and land on the floor. "BEN! BEN!! BBBBEEEEENNN!!!!" After about 2 minutes he finally came to the rescue because he was in the men's restroom and couldn't hear me. But he came just in time to pick me up off the bathroom floor and out into the hallway where he could get help. Which is where everyone in the world (aka 5ish people) saw me passing out on the floor (with my shirt still not tucked in.... umm.... gag). They wheeled me back in to a special chair this time and had fans on me which was pure torture. They even took Ben aside and told him that if I didn't get better quickly they'd have to call an ambulance. Of course I do everything with a flair of drama. Anyway, I was eventually able to get to the car because at that point almost everyone was gone (oh did I mention we were there for 5 hours???) Anyway I ended up having to be in bed for the rest of the day... But at least I can say that I've done it and I did great until it came time to walk away. Sorry, Red Cross. I don't think I'll be visiting you again for another decade or so. I'll just make myself feel better in knowing that my dad gives enough to count for our entire family. Way to take one for the team, Daddy!

P.S. I never got my cape. That's OK, though. I wouldn't have had room for it in my closet anyway with all of my "fainting with (or without) style capes."

Happy 2nd Birthday Lily!!!!

Today Lily got to play "birthday girl" for the 2nd time. It was fabulous. As soon as I brought her down the stairs the first thing she noticed was a play kitchen from my parents. She prepared some delicious fish tea and invisible cereal for breakfast.

Now before you say, "Heather you made such a cute apron!" let me tell you that no, in fact, I didn't. Ben did. He based it off of my flirty apron so that Lil and I can match. She's going to be such a little chef in her kitchen.

$5 Ikea presents are the bomb diggity.

First pillows are apparently a big deal. She pretended to be asleep for a good half hour before nap time.

Thanks to Chrissy for these awesome ideas for kid activities. My mom made this up for her. It will be a lifesaver for church!

We ate Lily's favorite foods for dinner: hot dogs, french fries, and yes, green beans (her all time favorite). I kid you not.

Our attempt of a Curious George cake after Ben and I totally failed to make good fondant.

Here are some things I absolutely ADORE about Lily:

• She still takes 2 naps a day (but that will probably change soon since tomorrow she'll be in a new toddler bed).
• She says "please" and "thank you" for everything. Some examples: sacrament, vitamins, diaper changes, green beans....
• Whenever Skyler starts crying she picks up a toy and runs it over to him. She also feeds him all the time even if it's sharing her treat.
• The way she runs with her whole body
• Her sense of humor. Seriously, she makes me laugh ALL the time. This child is hilarious.
• The way she sings into anything like a microphone.

We love you Lily!!!!

3 Years... HOLY COW!!!

Warning: No pictures of cute children.

Monday was our 3rd anniversary. We went to Busch Gardens. It was AMAZING.

Germany

Italy

My big Ben with THE Big Ben. Or at least the Busch Gardens version of it.

We may be guilty of an untidy chamber but we're definitely not guilty of having a quiet tongue. And I just realized that we look like we're 5 in this picture. Happy anniversary to us.

3 years down eternity to go. Sweet deal.

So now you get to hear from me, Ben. The one thing that I have heard the most about since being married to Heather is how much she loves Busch Gardens(she loves it because of the roller coasters and the atmosphere). Well, I finally have gotten to go. I must say that having never really been on a large roller coaster I was a little nervous. I knew that I had a day full of roller coasters and who knew what else. The first thing that we did when we got there was go on Apollo's Chariot, the one Heather thought I would like the least. Can I say AWESOME!!!!!!!!! After that the roller coasters had a down hill battle. We had a great time and had a lot of fun. We had great food, great company (each other), and the first time in two years without kids. Yes, the first time that we have gone one day without being with our kids and our first anniversary where Heather wasn't superly pregnant. It was definitely a day to remember.

Superdads

So tomorrow is Father's Day and I have to say that I have an awesome dad. Let me just mention a few things. Growing up he'd always head into work at 5 AMish so that he could be home with us in the afternoons. So every summer day (or so it seemed to me) we'd go swimming which is one of my favorite memories. Did I mention that every Friday he would come to my elementary school and eat lunch with me? That was always cool. Plus he'd eat the crust from my sandwich so I didn't feel bad about not eating it...... He also was willing to put aside his lifetime hate for pets to let me and my sisters have cats, hamsters, gerbils, birds, fish, and a dog. There's a lot more I could say about him but limited space. So to sum it up, I have a pretty awesome dad. Love ya E.M! :)

Now this post would be incomplete if I didn't mention Ben. Tomorrow is Father's Day and Monday is our 3rd anniversary! I can't believe we've been married for 3 years already! I think I can say that Ben and I are successful as a married couple so far because if you can make it through your first two years pregnant you can do just about anything. I have to say that I married Ben really young but I'm glad I stole him while I could. Seriously, he's an awesome guy. He always has been so sweet to me and is always helping me do things that I can't do myself (like in the picture above, he's actually holding my bouquet because it basically weighed 500 pounds. I just put my hand on it and he did the work. Seriously awesome). He also comes to my rescue all the time whether he's opening a sippy cup or when he left work to rescue me from Wal-Mart when I had passed out and was 8 months pregnant. He's also such an amazing dad. He is the best jungle gym I've ever seen and the babies ADORE him. Not a day goes by without him telling me how much he loves being a dad. Let me just say the man should be cloned.

Yeah I know I'm lucky. Dad's are so awesome. Happy Father's day to all you dads!

Backyard Fun

We live 10 miles away from the airport. Lily loves it. "PPPLLLAAAANNNNE!!!!!"

Back off ladies, he's mine.

Unlike Lily at this age, Skyler LOVES grass. It was hilarious watching him crawl around in the tall grass before Ben cut it. He looked like a little jungle animal.

Lily flying around.

And this is how Skyler got his breakfast Wednesday morning. I love it when my children pretend to be a dog. I realized that they love feeding Mia too much when we were at the ward party tonight and purposefully dropped food on the floor in the church gym. Sigh.

I was about to get Skyler in his jammies when he got away in just a diaper (can I tell you how much that little man loves being naked....) and Lily kept tugging at her shirt until I took it off, then she was a happy girl. These two love to do everything the same. P.S. I have discovered the true purpose for food storage: baby drums.

Those make your legs look really good, Lil.

Well, I need a summer reading list. I like all genres. If you're reading this blog it probably means that I adore you so give me some suggestions. Please and thank you!

IKEA

Ben had a career fair in Charlotte.... so why drive all that way just give away resumes when you can go to IKEA????? Here's Lily passed out on the drive. P.S. In case any of you has a hard time spending enough money, I'll gladly take yours and give it to IKEA so I can have the home of my dreams. Just a thought....

Oh, and when kids aren't happy, chocolate always can fix anything. I think one day I will write a book about all of the health benefits of chocolate so that I can justify how much I've eaten in my life.

IKEA cafeteria. I love the look on Skyler's face. Oh my little Michelin Man...

Lily put them on herself. On the wrong feet. Now we just need an umbrella and Gene Kelly.

As any good mom does, I brainwash them early in life. Yes, this is an IKEA catalog. (But don't you think I get some bonus points for having the Primary Children's Songbook sitting next to her????)

This little Bug turns 2 this month. Last week my dad kept saying, "Uh oh.... you know that means that the 'terrible twos' are going to start." I just told him that I thought that that started a LONG time ago. Then this week Lily started yelling, "NO!" at everything. And it's not just, "NO!" it's, "No, no, no, no, nooooooooo!!!!!" Thanks for cursing me, Daddy.

This movie was taken while my parents were watching the babes. I lovingly refer to this as Skyler's "Parrot Dance" although my mom thinks he looks like Stevie Wonder. Not that Stevie Wonder looks like a parrot.

Funny story of the week: Skyler has a new fascination with the dishwasher. I'm not a big fan of this because he could easily grab a knife when the door's open. So my mom was unloading the dishes and so, of course, I called Skyler to come into the family room to play with his toys. He looks at me, flashes a big smile, waves, and bolts for the dishwasher. There is always a point for me when it just dawns on me that they really are their own little person and that was it for Skyler. Holy cow.