First off, I've added quite a few people to this e-mail list. Some of you asked to be put on, some of you did not. I decided to change policies. Before I added you if you asked. But I decided that some people want to hear it all, but just don't know I send them out. So I added anyone I thought might possibly be interested. So if you are NOT interested, e-mail me back with something like this: "Tamra, stop sending me crap!" No offense will be taken and I'll remove your name from the list. Easy as that. ... Or, if you don't want to read it but just don't want to hurt my feelings (not that you would, though), just delete the updates as they come.
And I've decided now to BCC you all, so as not to bore you with long e-mail address lists, and to protect your information.
Trip to Utah
OK, now on to the update. We left January 5th to go to Utah. It was funny flying into the SLC airport. It felt a little like coming home. I suppose because it's the first place Rob and I lived as a married couple. I decided on the spot that it is a place that I could again call home, though I'm not overly anxious about doing so. But if there were ever an opportunity in the future, ...
We stayed most of the week we were in Utah with Grandma Thacker. We got to see everyone we wanted to see and some people that we weren't sure we'd have the time to see. There were only 2 people that we didn't see that we would have liked to. So, sorry C's and RH (though not that we didn't try, R--Rob stopped by your office three times). We got to eat out at all the places we wanted to (Cafe Rio is heaven!--we ate there twice), and we even got a BYU chocolate shake (undeniably the best chocolate shake I've ever had (pay extra for the hard serve chocolate icecream instead of the soft serve vanilla--trust me), and I've had a lot of chocolate shakes).
We stayed most of the week we were in Utah with Grandma Thacker. We got to see everyone we wanted to see and some people that we weren't sure we'd have the time to see. There were only 2 people that we didn't see that we would have liked to. So, sorry C's and RH (though not that we didn't try, R--Rob stopped by your office three times). We got to eat out at all the places we wanted to (Cafe Rio is heaven!--we ate there twice), and we even got a BYU chocolate shake (undeniably the best chocolate shake I've ever had (pay extra for the hard serve chocolate icecream instead of the soft serve vanilla--trust me), and I've had a lot of chocolate shakes).
Trip to CA
C then got to fly on the plane with us to California on Jan. 12th. It was really nice--three adults and three kids. Good ratio for flying. So that was a heavenly and relaxed trip. We got to in to H at about midnight (our flight was delayed), and we were ready to plop into bed the minute we got there. But instead we spent a little bit of time with J and the rest of the family that was there. J got off his mission to Alaska on Jan. 9th. Everyone should go on a mission! My brother is now the coolest guy in the world! Okay, maybe not THE coolest, but definitely a major improvement from before.
We had Christmas at the T's on Saturday and on Sunday J gave his homecoming talk. It was a very good talk, of course. My dad talked, too, and got to quote a lot of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. He doesn't quite have the same awesome voice as MLK, Jr. did, but it was a pretty good rendition just the same.
And then all the relatives left, basically, except me and the kids and J. So I stayed up a lot of nights talking to my brother that I hadn't seen in 2 years and found out that he's really easy to talk to now, as well as quick to apologize. It was a pleasure to have that time with him and to find out that I really like him! Yea for missions! Everyone go on a mission (oh wait, I already said that)! :)
We spent a wonderful week down in B with B and his two oldest boys, X and R. Which ended up being really great because it broke up the time I spent in H and made me feel useful, too. It was nice to have a time when Miciah and X could play together without D. D and X are good friends, and D and Miciah are good friends, but the three of them haven't played together real well yet. It seems to get better as they get older, but it was nice to have a chance to see if Miciah and X could be friends. And they played really well and seemed to enjoy each other, so I'll chalk that up as a success.
We had Christmas at the T's on Saturday and on Sunday J gave his homecoming talk. It was a very good talk, of course. My dad talked, too, and got to quote a lot of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. He doesn't quite have the same awesome voice as MLK, Jr. did, but it was a pretty good rendition just the same.
And then all the relatives left, basically, except me and the kids and J. So I stayed up a lot of nights talking to my brother that I hadn't seen in 2 years and found out that he's really easy to talk to now, as well as quick to apologize. It was a pleasure to have that time with him and to find out that I really like him! Yea for missions! Everyone go on a mission (oh wait, I already said that)! :)
We spent a wonderful week down in B with B and his two oldest boys, X and R. Which ended up being really great because it broke up the time I spent in H and made me feel useful, too. It was nice to have a time when Miciah and X could play together without D. D and X are good friends, and D and Miciah are good friends, but the three of them haven't played together real well yet. It seems to get better as they get older, but it was nice to have a chance to see if Miciah and X could be friends. And they played really well and seemed to enjoy each other, so I'll chalk that up as a success.
The Trip Home and My Cold--Bad Combination
The last day I was in CA I got the cold D had had for a few weeks. I was not sympathetic when she had it. I thought she was playing it up to get attention. And maybe she was, but when I got it I wanted to die. Okay, a little overly dramatic, but not much. I couldn't sleep, I was achy, and I woke up on the day we were to travel home feeling like crap. I would have paid money to leave another day. So I was pretty cranky the whole trip, especially the second flight. I was really tired and took a short cat nap which helped (my Mom took care of the kids, thankfully, which is why they are still alive), but then we started landing and my ears went crazy. I know why kids cry when that happens to them cause I'm an adult and I was whimpering. Finally down on the ground my ears went back to normal, but I still have been hanging on to this cold. Today is one of the first days when I'm feeling really better. I feel pretty rested and my ears and sinuses aren't bugging me. I can't feel the fluid sloshing around in my ears, and that's nice.
We got to Baggage where Rob was waiting and the kids ran to him (all except Teancom, of course, but he was really excited, too). Elijah talked his ears off. It actually was a little annoying in the car cause Elijah was NON-STOP. It was cute, though, to see how excited he was to see his daddy again.
It is nice to be home. And it's been really nice to have my Mom here, cause it's eased the transition back to real life. I am still getting used to the fact that there are more things to do than I could possibly do here (in CA I did nothing most the time and absolutely loved the time off), but I'm feeling like I can do all the things that I have to do. And that's good since Mom leaves tomorrow to go back home.
We got to Baggage where Rob was waiting and the kids ran to him (all except Teancom, of course, but he was really excited, too). Elijah talked his ears off. It actually was a little annoying in the car cause Elijah was NON-STOP. It was cute, though, to see how excited he was to see his daddy again.
It is nice to be home. And it's been really nice to have my Mom here, cause it's eased the transition back to real life. I am still getting used to the fact that there are more things to do than I could possibly do here (in CA I did nothing most the time and absolutely loved the time off), but I'm feeling like I can do all the things that I have to do. And that's good since Mom leaves tomorrow to go back home.
Weather in CA and OH
That is, if the weather cooperates. We're supposed to be seeing a lot of snow in the next few days. It was funny, when we got into CA a woman came over the loud speaker and at the end of the announcement she added, "And stay warm out there cause it's super cold." Super cold is an exact quote. It was like 45 degrees or something. Cry me a river. Then we come home and it's really actually super cold! When we left Ohio at the beginning of Jan. it was like in the 60's. We got back and it was in the teens. Let me tell you, 8 degrees is COLD! Today it feels really warm and it's still only 32 degrees. Yikes. Last week we got an awesome snow storm. It seemed like just flurries, but it gave 4 - 6 inches all over the Cincy area, and caused a headache on the roads. It was the day of Miciah's doctor's appointment. It takes usually 20 minutes to get home and I got home in an hour and a half with Miciah crying the whole time: "I hate snow storms!" and "I'm so mad at this snow storm!" I told her to hate it, but don't bother getting mad, cause Mother Nature always wins. :) I don't think she got it.
Miciah's Rash
We took Miciah in to the doctor last week (as I mentioned) about the rash she has. It's myluscum contagiouso or whatever it is. We knew that's what it was, but they had told us to wait it out and we've been waiting since May of last year. That's quite a while. So we went in again and the doctor gave us a prescription to use topically for her. So at least we're doing something. He also gave us a referral to a dermatologist. Of course, they can't get her in until July. ... Hopefully the cream takes care of it, cause I'm really tired of her neck looking awful.
The Kids
Miciah gets more and more pleasant as she gets older. She rarely needs disciplined any more, and that's lovely. Especially as Elijah moves into Attitude stage. Since we've been home he's been a pain in the butt, though a cute one. It's still funny to me when he's angry cause he's just not a naturally angry person, so when he gets mad it just makes me want to laugh. I don't laugh in his presence so as not to encourage him, but once he's in his room for a time out I chuckle about it. He'll get upset and swing his arms in my direction or point his finger at me like he's casting a spell on me or he'll spit at me or stick his tongue out (he's oh so rebellious, eh?). My personal favorite is when he Care Bear Stares me. It cracks me up to have to say, "No Care Bear Staring Mommy!" :) The last few days have seemed to help with his attitude, as he's been easing back into normal life here.
Teancom went to the doctor this last week, too. He is 17 lbs. and I don't know how long, but he's following the same growth lines, so they like to see that. We started him on solids a little over a week ago, and he loves it. He's had rice cereal mixed with apple juice (cause I can't stand giving my kids straight rice cereal--eww!), which Elijah calls applesauce (he ate about half of Teancom's bowl the other night and loved it). And he's had carrots and bananas. Now if he sees a spoon coming his direction he'll open his mouth like a little bird. He's a good eater. I also decided that yesterday was my last day of breastfeeding, so we're done with that. Teancom is taking formula just fine, and I'm enjoying saying I'm done! On vacation Teancom had gone back to not sleeping as well through the night. We were all in the same room, so if I let him cry he'd wake up Elijah and Elijah would then point out to me that Teancom was crying. Not helpful. Teancom also got a cold, so it was hard all the way around. But he's back to sleeping through the night in long stretches. We haven't moved him into a crib or into the room with his siblings yet, but the crib's all set up to do it when he's ready.
Teancom is a little behind developmentally, but we are not yet concerned. He's a happy healthy baby, but he isn't particularly interested in moving. He rarely rolls over and no one's seen him roll from his back to his tummy yet. He can't sit up on his own and he doesn't move toys from one hand to the other like they say he should be able to. At this point, I'm not bugged that he doesn't move much. It's nice to not have to worry about what he's getting into or whatnot. He's just a content little kid. He's still relatively quiet, though this last month he has started jabbering quite a bit. And I can leave him in his swing for over an hour and he'll be happy sucking away on his fingers, and occasionally I'll even "forget" about him until he makes a sound. I have no complaints. :)
Rob and The Committee
Rob today is giving a presentation to his dissertation committee about the changes he's making in his project. His project is working, but not the way he thought it would, so he tweaked it a little and gave it a new direction. It'll be nice that he'll be able to keep all his data and not move on entirely. It's also nice that he now knows his direction, cause it was stressing him out not to know. If you want to know more about it, you'll have to ask him cause I don't know much about it.
Rob, The Kids, The Snow, and the Laundry Basket
Rob also ate up playing in the snow with his kids. We don't have a sled, so Rob jerryrigged our laundry basket with some rope and pulled the kids around like he was a sled dog! Very cool. I'll attach a few photos. Miciah even let Rob bury her in the snow. She thought that was great! Crazy kid.
Fixing Up the Craft Room
And I am just me being the same old mother of 3. No new projects or anything. ... We are in process of re-doing our craft room downstairs. We moved the desk and the computer upstairs so it's no longer an office/craft/whatever room, it's just a craft/whatever room, and that makes it much more useable. This week we'll put quite a bit of work into it and a little bit of money (better than a lot of money and a little work, in my opinion), and fix it up a little. We weren't going to, but the old wordshop stuff was really getting on my nerves. I had this fabulous idea of newspapering the walls, but no one liked that idea. So I convinced Rob to do what I would rather see happen: put up dry wall and then we'll paint it one of these days. I'm still excited about the newspaper idea, though, so I'm going to incorporate that somehow. Maybe I'll cover the awful countertops with it. That could work.
That's life here. I'm sure I've missed a lot of stories and stuff along the way, sorry about that. I guess that's what happens when you wait so long to do another update. :)
Funny Stories
Oh, a funny story for you. I had Miciah and Jake in the backseat of the van. Jake is the little boy we carpool with to pre-school. I was listening to Phantom of the Opera and they both liked the songs. Jake pipes up with, "I think the Phantom of the Opera has some special powers." "Like what?" I asked. "I don't remember." Miciah said, "Maybe he has evil powers." Jake then said, "Yeah. I think lazers come out of his eyes." Who knew? :)
And Elijah declared to us last week that he was a girl and not a boy. So we got a wonderfully cute video of him shouting at us, "No! I GUIRL!" Cute. Later, when questioned on whether he was a boy or a girl, he said, "No, I princess." :) We'll have to work on that.
Tamra and family
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