My baby is growing up!

Where in the world does time go? I swear I just came home from the hospital with Creed (at least I still look like I did!) And now, lo and behold, he's 10 months old, well, he'll be 11 this month anyway!

Creed has decided that he is done with the baby food business... he wants the real stuff and he wants whatever it is that we are having! How do we know this? It may be the tantrums he throws when placed in his high chair and he sees the jars of baby food... it may be the drooling and staring at us while we eat, along with the accompanied grunting and squawking... who knows what it is; all we know is that he won't be quiet until he gets what he wants!

So today I discovered he LOVES ravioli (Chef Boyardee... mmmm) it was his first try with this stuff and I must say, he did rather well!

Step 1: Dump contents of bowl on the high chair, smear with hands, and rub all over bib and face... all before eating one bite!

Step 2: devour whole bowl of ravioli in the time it takes Collin to eat two bites!

Step 3: Inspect bowl by turning over (again) and sticking it on your head!

Step 4: Give mom the devilish grin telling her I love her but she gets to clean it all up and give me bath-time!

I just adore this cute and very serious little man!

the cutest dang kids in the world!

How is it, that one minute you can think your kids are little monsters and you want to string them by their toes, and the next minute you could just eat them up because they are so cute??? It's no wonder women dye their hair! Between kids and hubbies... I'm surprised we have hair at all! Now this may sound like I am angry with both, but that's not the case. I was just wondering how it's possible to feel that way in such a short amount of time.
Actually, today was a great example of one of those days:

I needed to make a sheet cake for a baptism preview that our Primary presidency put on for the kids getting baptized this year. So I bake the cake... no problem.... I have Mitch help me cut the cake in half to fill it... no problem... but then Mitch took off to go home teaching before I could get him to help me put the top back on straight. So my options were to either do it myself, or, have Cameron help me guide it in to place. I chose the latter and it was a very learning experience! I told him to hold the cake and guide it to the right corners while I slid it on... he apparently thought I said "grab the cake and pull the corners down." So the cake rips almost in half, and I'm stuck trying to slide it back to the right spot. I handled the situation very well if I do say so myself... I calmly yet firmly told all the kids to get out of the kitchen right now! Then they left and I blew up! Poor Mitch, I've never seen him come home from an appointment so fast! But the cake turned out and no one ever knew- frosting can hide anything! Thank goodness!
A few minutes after being kicked out, Cam comes back in to the kitchen, and comes up to me and puts his arms around me and says "I'm sorry for ruining your cake mom". Talk about a "I want to hide in a hole" moment! I told him it wasn't his fault, things like this just happen, but it wasn't his fault. So we both felt a lot better and the cake turned out beautifully.

So after leaving Mitch with the kids for 5 hours, between the baptism preview and my choir concert, I come home and all the kids are in their jammies and ready for bed! But Collin is in the living room as I come in and this is what I hear in his sweet little voice... "hello lovely, I'm so glad you're home!" Aww, sometimes it's really nice to be a mother!

So there you have it... they really can be sweet kids- monsters at times, but the sweetness is there. Too bad we have to blow up or leave for a while to have it come to the surface!

Creed's surgery

Last weekend, over our kids' Spring Break, we traveled to good ol' SLC for Creed's Hypospadius surgery. For those of you who don't know what that is, I will try to explain in non-medical terms (Brian, forgive me :0) ) He was born with the above mentioned condition. It is where his urethra grew down instead of straight out... the results? His little peeny hole was on the bottom instead of in the middle where it normally is. We lovingly called it his "F.L.P." Funny Looking Pecker- gotta love Mitch! As a result of him being born with this, he was not circumcised at birth. For many medical reasons. along with other reasons, we decided to have it fixed. This required us to travel to Primary Childrens Medical Center to have this procedure done.

We had it all scheduled the timing was perfect with our other kids on Spring Break and Mitch able to take the week off.We were set to go, when Creed came down with a cold. We were told that if he was sick at all, we would have to reschedule... This was horrible news! Mitch couldn't take any other time off and it would be a wasted trip- other than seeing family, which we were looking forward to. So we said lot's of prayers and Mitch gave him a blessing, and with a leap of faith that he would be over his cold, we took off.

Wednesday was his consultation with the surgeon- we met him and he was really nice and knew exactly what he was doing- we knew Creed would be in good hands... if we could just get him better! The surgeon just told us to keep doing what we were doing and hope that he'd be okay in time for his surgery on Friday morning.

Thursday we just hung out with my brother Buzz and wife Jenn and their kids, and also got to see my sister Katie and her kids. We stayed the whole time with my wonderful brother and sis-in-law. They were awesome! We felt so welcomed and loved the whole time- they are truly wonderful people! Thanks Buzz and Jenn! You'll never know what that meant to us!

So Friday arrives and Creed is still coughing, but not so bad. The nurse checked him out and she said she thought he'd be okay since he didn't have a fever or anything serious. (Insert BIG sigh of relief!) So we were told to be there at 9:15 for his surgery, and they didn't get him in until 11:30! And the poor boy couldn't eat or drink anything since midnight! He did really well though.

The anesthesiologist came and took our baby from us and that was hard because he is in a "I want my mommy and daddy" stage, so he took one look at the doctor who was holding him, then looked at us and started crying. I wanted to cry too!

Two and a half hours later, the surgeon came and told us that the surgery went beautifully and he was in recovery. We would be allowed to see him in about 15 minutes when he started to wake up. We decided to let Mitch see him first so I wouldn't pass out or barf from the strong anesthesia smell- it's happened before! Anyone surprised?

Well to make a long story short, he is such a little trooper! He was in pain, but we kept it under control with medicines. He slept on his back (a true miracle!) and did remarkably well on the long ride home. He is still healing and his stent will be taken out this Wednesday.

He is such a sweet boy and he is doing well! We are glad that he was able to have the surgery done so he can live a more normal life and feel good about himself. Thanks for all of your prayers on Creed's behalf and ours too. We love you all!

Finally an update!

Okay, okay, I know it's been a while since I posted, but not a whole lot has happened for a while. I thought I'd just do a quick catch up before my life gets too hectic in the next little while - which I will definitely post about.

Mitch is still working hard for us at Idaho Power. He loves it and is doing rather well. He is a lot more happy now that he takes the bus and doesn't have to deal with all the "idiot drivers" on the freeway. He is still (I think he always will be) the Stake Financial clerk and loves that too! Talk about being in your element! He loves his family and loves to play with the kids. He's the best (in my opinion) husband and father in the world!

I am doing fine. Still prego, and apparently showing at three months! There is something terribly wrong with that and it's just not fair! Although I am in a fair amount of denial and tell people "I'm not showing, it's just my leftovers from Creed being pushed out!" I think I may need to apply to be on The Biggest Loser when this is all over! Especially since we are taking a cruise in 2010- I'm going to need a big break by then!

I've been feeling good as far a the pregnancy goes, but the past couple of days I have been sick with horrible body aches, chills, fever and deep chest cough. Of course, it has to be when I can't take anything except good ol' Tylenol. And I would rather suffer through whatever I may have than go to a doctor and have them tell me "there's nothing I can do for you, but have a great day and oh, that'll be $150.)

I am liking my calling of the Primary Secretary. It's fun to see all the kids and the different personalities they each bring. I also like being able to see how naughty my kids are being!

Cameron is doing well. He turned 9 in January and is in the 3rd grade. He's still a smart kid, but sometimes can be rather a bully... I call him a nerd bully. One day he kicked a boy because the boy ignored him when he told him to say the vowels. Sigh! We are working on his attitude, but the whole "Golden Rule" thing just doesn't seem to stick in his head.Cameron at a party playing the game of getting the lifesaver out of the flour... he said later that the lifesaver wasn't worth it!

Madeline turned 7 in February. Her two front teeth FINALLY grew in after 4 long years... and of course they came in just as crooked as can be. Look out orthodontics... here we come! She can be such an angel, except when she doesn't want to be. I found my first hate note the other day (mom, stop laughing) and Mitch made her write "I will not be a mean girl" 10 times- it was rather effective if I do say so myself! She sobbed the whole time and kept saying "I'm so sorry". She loves drama! And she loves Creed! She makes him laugh more than anyone!Madeline's big birthday present... a big bike with matching helmet- she's just a little afraid to ride it since it's so much bigger.

Collin is still my fireball and keeps us laughing! I swear every family needs one and he is ours! He is fun and frustrating to have around the house. I will definitely need to put him in preshool since he doesn't go to kindergarten until next year! Yes, I will have three kids at home! He's good to help with Creed, although he can't pick him up yet- we'll have to work on that. He is very smart and we love him dearly.

Creed is now 8 1/2 months old, and pretty much doing nothing! He just barely learned to roll over. He did get his two bottom teeth at Christmas time and his top two just now came through a couple of days ago. He won't put any pressure on his legs (spitting image of Cam) but he can sit up. We aren't worried about him because we went through the same exact thing with Cameron when he was a baby. So we are just going to hope that he is at least walking before the new baby comes! What a cute boy though... even though he's still rather fussy, we love him and his big blue eyes just melt us!

Check out these baby blues! Isn't he a doll?! And here's the reason for the crankies lately... can you see his little teeth? I couldn't get the top ones, he likes to bite and scream!

And that's all for a little bit, we'll let you know how Creed's surgery goes on March 27... until then keep posting, I enjoy reading all of your blogs!

Cruise post #2

My apologies to everyone who tried to read my last post about the cruise... the layout totally messed up the cost of it. Let me try that again:

Category L
Inside
1st/2nd p.p
$710 cruise
$1,014.48 total


CAT L
Inside triple/quad
1st/2nd and 3rd/4th p.p
$710 and $320
$1,014.48 and $594.48


CAT C2
Central Park Balc.
1st/2nd p.p
$920
$1,254.48


CAT B2
Boardwalk Balc.
1st/2nd p.p
$990
$1,354.48


CAT D2
Outside Balc.
1st/2nd p.p
$1,020
$1,354.48


does this make more sense? If so, good, if not, call either me or my mom.

Cruise Anyone?

(Note: the following post may cause excitability, racing of the heart, jumping up and down out of control, drooling and relentless begging of your spouse...

the remedy for these symptoms: Don't delay, sign up now, and have the vacation of a lifetime!)

(Another note: for all those who think I can produce such wonderful travel jargon, I thank you for the compliment, but I must give credit to where credit is due... my mom Cathi Stanger, the most awesome travel agent on the planet, wrote this letter and I am just passing it along to all of you!)

Ahoy Mateys!

It's time to plan that dream vacation you've always wanted with family and friends. Many of you were on the Liberty of the Seas last October in the Western Caribbean. The Liberty and her sister ship Independence were the largest ships in the world at the time. But since then you may have heard about a new ship currently being built, the Oasis of the Seas...bigger and more fantastic than ever-- indeed, the largest ship ever built! She makes her debut in December of 2009. In addition to FlowRider, ice shows, rock climbing wall, full court basketball, volleyball and boxing, the new Oasis will have all the above PLUS Central Park, AquaTheater (the outdoor amphitheater), a one-of-a-kind carousel, and the first ever Zip Line at Sea! You name it, it's on the Oasis.

The first couple of years after a ship enters the cruise arena, the prices are very high. The Oasis begins at $1,260 per person lowest inside cabin, not including the addition of mandatory port charges and taxes and fees. You could go as high as $6,000 if you prefer one of the loft suites (I don't know too many who would). With that in mind, I decided to book later in the year- October 9-16, 2010 when prices are much less, on an Eastern Caribbean sailing from Ft. Lauderdale with stops at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau, Bahamas as well as some great days at sea with plenty of time to explore the ship and participate in all the fun!

Now this is the good part! I know 2010 sounds like a long way off, but that's the beauty of it! There is no huge outlay of cash up front on this cruise, only $50 per CABIN (not person) deposit is required to hold your space by February 25. This will hold you until July10 of this year when an additional $450 will round out the $500 deposit. Final payment on the cruise will be July 1, 2010. After that, we will be within range of penalties, but up until that time a FULL REFUND of whatever you have paid is possible in case you need to cancel. Another thing you might find appealing is that after the initial $50 deposit, you can make payments whenever you have a little spare cash, so by the time final payment rolls around your cruise is already paid for.

Many of you know how much fun cruising is, and that it is the least expensive "big" vacation you can take--about half the price of Hawaii. It is hotel, meals, entertainment, etc. all rolled into one. So now you may be asking yourself what the prices are for the October 9th, 2010. Before I tell you, let me say that one of the categories, C2, is a balcony overlooking Central Park. This has a canopy shade overhead. There is also a category that is a balcony overlooking the Boardwalk, which is open to the blue skies with views of the outdoor theater. Yes, these are inside cabins with a balcony that are lower than the price of the promenade category on the Liberty. The cruise rate is the first price you see. This is the price ALWAYS advertised by all the cruise lines on any ad. The price underneath is the full price including port charges, taxes, insurance, and fees.

CAT L CAT L CAT C2 CATB2 CAT D2

Inside Ins. triple/quad Cent Park Bal Bdwk Balc. Outside Bal.

1st/2nd p.p 1st/2nd 3rd/4th p.p 1st/2nd p.p 1st/2nd p.p 1st/2nd p.p

$710 cruise $710 $320 $920 $990 $1,020

$1,014.48 total $1,014.48 $594.48 $1,254.48 $1,354.48 $1,354.48

Of course, these prices do not include air fare to and from Ft. Lauderdale, but flights won't even go on sale until Dec, 2009 so now is the time to be making deposits on the cruise. As always, the insurance which I have included is optional; however, RCCL is known to have the lowest priced insurance in the industry, and as far out as the sail date is, i strongly recommend having it. There are many unforeseen circumstances which can cause major loss if no insurance has been purchased.

So give this cruise some thought... the newest, largest and most wonderful ship in the world! Remember, the $50 deposit is due before Feb. 25, 2009 (time is running out) and is totally refundable. Tell all your friends, family, those who have cruised with you before, and those who wished they had. As always, I will stay in touch by email and will give you the same great service you've come to expect from Cathi's Fun Trips. And the last word? PASSPORTS MANDATORY!

Cathi's Fun Trips

cstanger@ida.net

208-360-2292 (5 am to 8 am, 12 noon to 2:00 p.m., 5 p.m to 9 p.m)

Ok, this is Carlie talking now... doesn't this sound like a blast?! Mitch and I are going... I'm gonna need a break by that time from all the little ones! We hope to see all our friends and family there. This is coming up fast (the $50 deal) so talk it over with your loved ones and plan a really great vacation! If you want to do this, and I know you do... let me or my mom know soon and she will give you all the info and brochures you will need.

WHOOPS!

September 12, 2009