Living the Good Life

[First, quick excuses: Work, work, work. But I want to blog consistently again, so here's a fresh start! To catch up on SOME things you've missed, check out my mom's blog! There are beach pictures!]

Recently Murray and I were talking about the fact that what we do doesn't require us to be anywhere specific geographically, as long as we can get a good internet connection. So that considered, why didn't we move somewhere more exotic for a couple years while we could! The trouble is: 1) I'm not adventurous like that, 2) I like to be near family, and 3) I'm not adventurous like that.

This Monday, Murray and I drove the Alpine Loop on a whim. Fall is by far my favorite season. I find it energizing! And I didn't want to miss the opportunity to get outside and see the beautiful fall leaves. So we packed up our little family, packed a picnic lunch, and headed out. The views and the colors were amazing, and it felt SO GOOD to be outside and doing something together as a family. We stopped at Cascade Springs to eat (no food down at the springs, so it was a parking lot picnic) and enjoyed the little hike to the springs. Again, it was beautiful, and everything felt incredibly fresh.

Gulliver loved being out on the trails and enjoyed looking for the grasshoppers. He brought two dinosaurs with him, so when we saw the grasshoppers, we had to stop and pretend that the dinosaurs were going to eat them, and that would make them jump. Great fun! All week, he's been talking about grasshoppers, dinosaurs, and the sleeping grasshopper (hint: it wasn't sleeping).

Junabun enjoyed the fresh air and the stroller ride, and I think she PARTICULARLY liked being taken OUT of the stroller to get some more personal attention.

After our jaunt at Cascade Springs, we started talking about all the wonderful things that surround us here in Utah, and decided that maybe it's wisest instead of moving away to seek a fun experience for a couple years, we should make a list of things to do here and actually do them! (This isn't the first time we had this idea... we thought about this a couple of years ago, but didn't do anything about it officially.)

So this week, I've had that in mind. Yesterday morning, Murray was working at home, and Junabun was napping. We haven't used our bikes all year. Or all last year. Or really more than once since we got married, if we're being totally honest. In fact, we had decided recently that we should probably just sell them. Well, instead I went out, pumped up the tires of Gulliver's Boot Scoot bike and pumped up the tires of my bike. We tried Gulliver's bike---which he loved---but his legs still are not quite long enough. So I put him on the high bar of my bike and we started riding around. What started out as a little ride around the parking lot turned into a ride of over an hour, and several miles! Gulliver enjoyed ringing the bike bell half the time, and we both enjoyed talking to one another. It was sweet to have him so close (he said, "I love you, Mumma" a dozen times) and to have a little date with him.

Today, we continued the trend of taking advantage of what we have here in Utah. We planned a fun trip to see Murray's sister's family in Moroni. It was so much fun! We prepared a healthy delicious lunch of Navajo tacos that was almost all carried away by flies (they were out in full force!). They allowed me to drive the Ranger (a cross between a four wheeler and a Jeep) up Maple Canyon with Murray and Gulliver. Gulliver loved it and kept pointing forward and yelling, "Gooooo!" He did NOT want to stop and look at the cows, he wanted to goooooo! (Murray, ever the protective father, urged me to not take the gradual turns at my reckless speed of 15 mph.)

After our little family spin, we went back to the cabin and loaded up everyone onto various vehicles and headed out again! This time even Junabun joined us (Murray, ever the protective father, made sure that both she and I were belted in). Murray, a little out of character for his artist personality, got his very own four-wheeler. After we were on the road, Gulliver looked back and gasped in admiration, "Daddy!" This time I was NOT driving, and we rode up very bumpy terrain. I think that both Gulliver and Junabun were thrilled!

During our ride, we went to an apple orchard where we were able to pick our own apples. Gulliver was at first interested in the ones on the ground (easy pickings!) until we told him those were yucky. After that, he'd just look at them and say, "Gross. Yucky." Sister M helped him to pick an apple from a tree and wipe it clean, and then he bit into his delicious treat! An apple just perfectly sized for him! I think that he ended up eating at least four! He decided he was a big big fan of the orchard.

But as good as the orchard was, nothing could prepare him for what was next. Murray's sister's family are turkey farmers, and they got a new batch of baby turkeys last week. So we took Gulliver to the turkey shed to see what he thought. I mostly expected him to be afraid, since he's going through a scaredy-cat phase lately where EVERYTHING is scary. Instead, he was SMITTEN with the baby turkeys and did not hesitate to want to touch one. At first he was very gentle and cautious, but he eventually became fairly confident... so we got him out of there before he could get TOO confident. He did NOT want to say goodbye to the baby turkeys (he saw a "sleeping" baby turkey, too... oh, when do we teach him about life and death??). But that's okay, because next on our whirlwind tour was seeing the BIG TURKEYS. We went to the big turkey shed, and unfortunately Gulliver seemed just as confident with these as he was with the babies... so needless to say, I didn't even let him NEAR them!

After saying goodbye to ALL the turkeys, it was time to head back to the cabin and order some pizza. What a good day! After pizza, we even enjoyed a bon fire and some star gazing (Gulliver, who LOVES to sing Happy Birthday, performed several rounds of the song and vigorously tried to blow out the fire).

What a perfect day! We are very grateful for our Moroni family for having us over and showing us a good time all day! I look forward to hearing what Gulliver has to say about everything tomorrow. Tonight, he was so tuckered out, that he only lasted about 3 minutes in the car. (After 2 minutes, he suddenly exclaimed, "Hat!!" and put his hands to his hatless head. I reassured him that we had his favorite hat, and pulled it out for him. He put it on and was asleep within about a minute.)

The Birth Story

So this is how birth with Baby June went down.

On Saturday, April 2, I went up to Salt Lake City to watch the morning session of General Conference with my siblings. It was a lot of fun, but on the way home, I was feeling WIPED OUT and really felt like I needed to nap. So I went down for a big, long, luxurious nap and when I woke up, I was feeling a little crampy, which I hoped meant something! (I didn't go into labor with Gulliver, so I didn't really know what to expect.)

I went downstairs, and we soon realized that I was getting contractions if I sat for a while and then stood up. So my mom and I kept experimenting with this to see how long I needed to sit before standing to bring on a contraction. (For example, at the beginning, if I was sitting for 20 minutes and stood up, I'd have a contraction. If I was sitting for 10 minutes and stood up, I wouldn't have a contraction.) This part was actually very fun, and the contractions weren't horrible. It was pretty fun to feel them climb and get more painful, and then fade away. As they got a little more intense, I'd just close my eyes and breathe, and then as they faded out, I'd announce, "I think that was a 6 on the pain scale!!" Since they weren't happening on their own, we sent Murray off to Priesthood session and dinner, and just told him to keep his phone on him.

While he was gone, my mom and I continued to bring on contractions by resting and moving. Gulliver was with Murray's mom, so I was free to just labor. And labor was FUN! In fact, we even went out to get some frozen yogurt, and during that trip, the contractions started to come on their own. Still, it was all very manageable, and definitely fun.

When Murray came home from Priesthood, we put on a movie. Since I was in labor, I got to choose what to watch, so I chose Morning Glory. When one is in labor, one wants to watch frivolous, meaningless, funny, girly movies. Or at least I do. Again, I kept standing up during the movie if contractions didn't come on their own. By the time the movie was done, it was about midnight, and contractions still weren't regular. But we all knew that I wouldn't be sleeping, either. Bummer.

We sent my mom to bed, and then Murray and I tried to get some sleep while still timing the contractions. We used the iPhone's stopwatch, which has a "lap" function. So I was able to press "lap" each time I had a contraction, and it automatically kept a list of the timing between contractions. Brilliant! While I was lying down in bed, they were still irregular, but I felt like they were getting a little more intense, and I felt like if I were up, they'd be more frequent. So I told Murray that we should just go to the hospital. We woke up my mom and took off. This was about 2:00 a.m.

There was a storm that night (that put a lot of women into labor... the hospital was pretty busy when we were there) and it started to get bad as we were driving to the hospital. The rain was turning into snow, and it was pretty messy. But I told everyone that there was no hurry, so we drove calmly to the hospital. (Murray drove calmly. My mom hit a pylon.) It was during the car ride, and during a contraction, that Murray asked me a question. After the contraction, I politely told him that probably he should not ask questions when he can see that I'm in the middle of a contraction.

At the hospital, as we were walking in, I started having a contraction, so I just stopped walking to wait through the contraction. My mom started saying something, and Murray told her, "Cicada needs ABSOLUTE SILENCE during contractions." And then I started laughing in the middle of my contraction. Good times at the hospital!

To be honest, labor up until now was all pretty fun, even though I did prefer not to be asked questions during contractions. AFTER contractions, conversation could totally resume as normal. We did a lot of joking and laughing. We got checked in no problem. I didn't request the jacuzzi room because I didn't really see myself using the jacuzzi anyway. I didn't have to have an IV since I wasn't getting an epidural, but they did do a hep-lock, which was totally fine.

I didn't really use any special laboring positions because I didn't really feel like I needed them. I spent a lot of time in the bed because I was tired and because I was comfortable there, but I did get up and walk around the room a little, and sit in the glider chair in the room. The contractions were still all bearable anyway, so I didn't really see any need to try out any special positions.



At about 5:30, the doctor came in and offered to break my water. She explained that if she did that, things would get really intense, pretty fast. She said that it would be as intense as it would get anyway, but that it would be more intense sooner. So that sounded like a good option. After Murray and I discussed it (because I was just a little bit chicken about the whole "getting intense" part), we decided to have her do it.

She broke my water, and guess what? Things started getting a lot more intense, pretty quickly. While I had been kindof humming through my contractions previously, now my humming got a little more intense. Maybe kindof groaning. A nurse showed Murray how to put counter pressure on my knees, though, and that was a HUGE HELP. As in, I couldn't have done it without him!! And he was working pretty hard, too. I was the one saying, "Push! Push!"

I know because my mom was there that this more intense part was an hour and a half, but it felt more like 30 minutes or 45 at the most. The contractions were right on top of one another, and poor Murray's arms were shaking as he was pushing on my knees.

At least I can say that there was no point that I even considered asking for the epidural. So that I think is a major win for me.

Towards the end, I started to lose it. The doctor was there. They were saying that I was mostly all the way dilated, but that there was a little lip still, that possibly the baby would be able to push past. They were telling me that I could push when I felt the urge, but I wasn't feeling the urge yet. But just for good measure, I started pushing anyway, because I was feeling DONE. I was really worried that for some reason, things would just STALL right there, and I'd be stuck feeling this way for HOURS. And I think maybe when that thought crossed my mind was the first time that I yelled. It was, I thought, uncontrollable, but when the doctor told me, "Stop yelling and focus on your breathing," then I WAS able to stop yelling and I felt like I could control it. Until, of course, the next contraction, and then I was yelling again. Ha. It really felt like I wasn't myself, and I was definitely a little embarrassed, because I was hoping that magically I'd be able to do the whole thing perfectly.

BUT. It was only about 5 minutes of hollering (again, I'm going on my mom's word on this, because if you asked me, I'd tell you that I only yelled twice, and the total duration of yelling was probably just 2 minutes), suddenly I HAD A BABY. It was crazy. I could feel her move down, and then all of a sudden she was out, head first and then shoulders! And then they put her on my chest, and there was my baby!!

I continued making a lot of noise, apparently (thanks, Mom, for letting me know these details) because all I could say was, "Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!" Over and over again. This was at 7:45 in the morning.

Now, I've always heard about the amazing rush, like drugs, that you supposedly get after natural childbirth. Maybe that rush was the Wow Wow Wow part. Because IMMEDIATELY after, there was the CRASH. The I-Haven't-Slept-All-Night-and-I-Just-Had-a-Baby crash. It was during this crash (and while the doctor was sewing up my very little tear, I might add) that my mom took this choice photo.



Thank you, Mom.

When it was all over, I told Murray and my mom that I didn't know if I'd be able to do that again.

Two hours later, when my maternity nurse came to get me, she told me, "I heard you when you were delivering! I thought, oh! That must be the natural mom that I'm getting today!" I told her that even after just two hours, I was already starting to forget just how bad it was, and I was already starting to think, I might be able to do this.

Now, an entire month later, I can tell you, I LOVED it, and I would do it again. Even if it would cost the same (ultimately, between the anesthesiologist and the extra day at the hospital, the epidural would have cost me about $3000), I would choose to go natural. The reason is that I did bounce back very quickly (although I got the shakes, which everyone always said was an epidural side effect, but the doctor explained is just a normal reaction to child birth), and recovered very very well. It's hard to say exactly what was a benefit of going natural or not. I can't say that everything good about this experience was due to natural childbirth, and everything bad about the last experience was due to the epidural. (And for the record, my last experience was a very positive experience. I did have more recovery, but I don't know how much of that was because it was a first baby, and how much of that was because I had an epidural.) But overall, I figure that if what we're really talking about is an hour and a half of pain, I'm happy to forego the epidural. (I TOTALLY would get it if I knew that I'd be experiencing the more intense pain for an extended period of time!!)

So there you have it. My natural childbirth experience! I recommend it, if you're curious! As far as hypnobirthing goes, I think the two big things I got out of it were 1) I didn't go into labor afraid of the pain, so I know that I didn't bring any of that tension into the experience, and 2) the breathing techniques did give me something to focus on during the contractions and definitely helped me to be calm and have an enjoyable labor.

And now for a few photos of the baby at 2 weeks, taken by Nicole Hill Gerulat!

I'm Alive!

It's been forever since I posted. So let me do the quick recap:

I had a baby.

I had a few more gallbladder attacks.

My mom left town.

I had gallbladder surgery.

It didn't go perfectly.

I was in the hospital for four days (it was supposed to be outpatient surgery).

Two of those days cost $32,000. I just got the bill.

Don't worry. While my insurance doesn't cover having babies, it DOES cover gallbladders, so I don't actually have to pay that. But still. $32,000 for two days in the hospital... and that DOESN'T count the actual surgery itself. Wow.

I stayed a few days with Murray's parents.

I came back home, but made Murray stay home with me.

I took lots of naps.

And NOW, a month after having my sweet adorable baby (exactly one month from today) I finally feel like I'm back to my normal self. I'm taking maternity leave, which is wonderful. Yesterday and today, I've felt like SUPER MOM. I've been taking care of two children, cooking proper balanced meals, cleaning the house, addressing and stamping birth announcements, going on family walks to promote a healthy lifestyle, and generally loving life (the sudden GOOD turn in weather may also be contributing to my overwhelming sense of joy right now).

And RIGHT NOW... right at this VERY MOMENT... BOTH my children are napping. So I actually have time to update the blog. Let's see if I can write about the birth story while they're still sleeping!

She's Here!

Our little baby girl arrived Sunday, April 3rd at 7:41 a.m., weighing 9 lbs. 2 oz and measuring 20.5 inches.

I haven't posted about it because I have barely even touched a computer, which has been blissful!

Merry Christmas!!

Okay. So I did Christmas cards this year. Now, ideally, I would have sent these all out on time, and you would have all gotten them, and then I would have posted our Christmas card just in time for Christmas! But as it is we hit a few speed bumps in this, my first year of being a responsible adult and sending a Christmas card (I AM, after all, THIRTY now!):

1) We kept waiting for snow, and finally by December 12, I realized I could not wait any longer. So my sister-in-law, Tin, took the pictures for us at This Is the Place, which was an EXCELLENT suggestion, as it lent itself to still looking Christmasy. (We have ABUNDANT snow now.)

2) The NIGHT we had the pictures taken, Murray and I did them up into the Christmas card and ordered them and paid extra to have them guaranteed to arrive December 17.

3) They didn't arrive on December 17.

4) They arrived on December 23, which is significantly different from December 17.

5) I addressed them all and got them in the mail December 24!

So now that I've heard that my cards have reached the Canadians, I figure it's not spoiling anyone's surprise to post the card to my blog! I did these up as actual post cards, and one friend who received it said that at first, she thought it was junk mail, and then she recognized my face. So... you know... if you didn't get your Christmas card this year, you may blame your significant other for throwing it in the trash...

(This is just an iPhone photo of our cards... if you want to see a better version of this photo, visit our about page!)

The back, of course, has our address and personal info, but I recapped the year in haiku. Here are the poems, adapted of course to our blog names (I used parentheses where our blog names don't fit with the syllables).

We are self employed!
We take lots of vacations!
The healthcare sucks though.

Cicad(a) is pregnant.
Gullie will have a sister
by the end of March!

Gullie got stitches--
seven on his lower lip.
Don't stand in the tub!

Murr(ay)'s eyes were hurting.
He thought he was going blind.
He just needs glasses.

And for those who were paying attention, our sentiment was ALSO a haiku:

Hope you have a great
[insert holiday of choice]
and happy new year!

Home, Sweet... Ugh.

So we came home. This is depressing because when I was in LA, I was convinced that it was SUMMER now! Even though I was still expecting sweater weather for Disneyland, I adapted pretty quickly to short sleeves and warm weather outfits. Divine. When we stayed with my aunt, we even walked to the grocery store (where we found and purchased full-fat honey greek yogurt, at 10 gr of fat per 4 oz, which was supposed to be for Gulliver but I easily ate over half of it). And here, now that we're home? It's snowing. A sad reminder that we still have at least three months before we catch up to the California weather.

Every time I visit southern California, I feel like I learn something new about my mom. Last time I was there, I think what I paid attention to the most was all the vegetation. All the different plants. Because I look at it all, and then I imagine my mom moving from Los Angeles up to Porcupine Ontario. Big, big change. And I'm not saying anything negative about where I grew up. What I am saying is that since I was born there and only ever knew my mom in that context, it's strange for me to visit the place where she actually grew up, and realize that her life was way way different than I could ever imagine it.

This time, I of course was struck by the weather. The fact that winter can entirely bypass a place that is in the continental United States still baffles me. When I've heard about people going to Florida in the winter, I guess I really have always imagined people going to a place where there is a milder winter. Now that I've visited LA in February... well, I realize that my mom made a big, BIG move, going to a place with -40 winters. I also understand a little better why my dad told her to get her head out of California when she walked to the end of the driveway in bare feet in the middle of the winter.

When I was talking to my mom about this big revelation, she said that when she first moved up to Canada, she asked my dad what kids did if they received a bike for Christmas. My dad told her that they would ride it around in the basement. He asked what kids in California would do. She said they'd ride it around outside in their pajamas.

Anyway. I'm ready to go back. Immediately. To California. I would quite happily leave THIS INSTANT if you told me that I could go and spend another week there. Or, you know. The rest of the winter there.

Happy Birthday Gulliver

About a year ago right at this time, I started pushing. Is that TMI? Let's see if I can write a birthday post in the amount of time that it took to push out my baby. (One hour.)

Today, and in the week or so leading up to today, I got a new insight on birthdays. As I've been thinking about Gulliver and his big day (1!), I realized I have a whole new perspective now on a birthday! Up until now, I've typically celebrated my own birthday, or the birthday of my husband, family members, friends, etc. But you know, I have never actually been around for anyone's actual birth moment. Gulliver on the other hand. I was an active participant in bringing him into this world. And all of a sudden, I get the whole concept of celebrating this person's existence, because he hasn't been around our whole lives. I remember when he joined us, and life has been even better ever since, so today is a day that we celebrate him and his being a part of our lives.

It's hard to imagine life without Gulliver. It's hard to imagine him not being a part of us. We're a great little perfect unit. (And we'll just become more and more perfect as we add more, until all our hearts explode because we can't handle all the love anymore.) This year, he has made our transition into parenthood very easy. His sweet little personality and spirit brighten our home and bring us indescribable joy.

I've never been a birthday party person before, but my mothering instinct kicked in big time and I knew that I just had to properly celebrate my baby's birthday. Even though he won't remember it. I wanted to share it with as much family and friends as our home could hold. (So please don't be offended if you weren't invited; we really kept the list to immediate family and a few friends who have been involved with Gulliver.)

There were some who unfortunately couldn't attend. Ootise and Outsie (my parents) called in the morning and my mom sang Gulliver Happy Birthday for the first time in his life. My dad sang him "Happy Birthday Mhaa You" for the first time in either of their lives, or anyone's life for that matter. (Mhaa is the sound that Gulliver and my dad like to exchange.) Gulliver also got a special voice mail from his Uncle J that I wish I could save forever. He sang an Elvis birthday song to Gulliver and it's worth listening to over and over. 

The party was a lot of fun and worked out decently well. There were no major meltdowns by anyone in attendance. So here's kindof how it went:

The set-up: 

We brought out pretty much every single chair in our home.

We made a poster of Gulliver's head and taped it to the empty canvas we've had as a placeholder on our gallery wall. (Find it in the pics below.)

Murray made a slideshow of a lot of our Gulliver pictures from birth until now, and a coordinating playlist of Gulliver-appropriate songs (including Do Do Do Da Da Da by the Police, and Bohemian Rhapsody by the Muppets, among other classics, like Octopus's Garden, which is Gulliver's song). This played on our tv during the evening.

We bought balloons. I had wanted the whole room full of balloons, but we decided our car could probably only hold 6. When we bought the balloons, we realized that the Honda Civic could have easily held at least 20. What can I say? We're young parents and have a lot to learn.

I made two cakes. One was a coconut sheet cake, available all night, and the other was Gulliver's special Octopus Cake (made with a Williams-Sonoma cake pan that has been waiting for a moment like this for over a year now). I had planned on decorating this cake ahead of time, but ran out of time and powdered sugar.

I made a [GULLIVER] banner to go above the food table. Because banners are very hot right now. And because [GULLIVER] has fewer letters than HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

I wrapped Gulliver's presents. One I wrapped with him right there. I know. I'm a terrible mother. It was a ball. And he played with the wrapping paper while I wrapped it. And then when he was napping, I wrapped his other gifts. (Clothes and a box... more details later.) (FORESHADOWING: The box gift elicited the best reaction ever.)

Murray set things up and tidied up.

Murray (a few days before) painted a 1 painting after the Beatles album. Murray is awesome. (Look for this in the pics below.)


The guests arrive: 

I knew that a baby's 1st birthday would end very badly if planned too late. So we decided to hold our party "open house" style, where people could come and go any time between 5 and 8. (Hence the sheet cake, available all evening.) This was also more accommodating to the elderly and to the youngerly attending the party, since they could come early. Although the pep and vigor of the youngerly might not have been the best mix with the elderly :)  At least Murray's grandparents didn't get any bean bags thrown at their heads. (Just a few near misses.)

 

Thanks to the help of friends and family, we were able to serve mini quiches (don't be too impressed---I bought them frozen from Costco), bread + dip, veggies, fruit + dip, cheese ball (a special request from Murray) + crackers, beverages, and sheet cake.

We opened gifts in two rounds, so that the early crowd and the late crowd could participate in a bit of gift opening. In both crowds, there were many eager kids to help Gulliver open presents, which worked out well since Gulliver obviously doesn't fully get it yet. (He might not need help next year, and I pity the fool who tries to help him two years from now.) Gulliver got some awesome things. It was fun to see his eyes light up opening the gifts, and I'm excited to bring these all out again in a normal, calmer setting, where he can invest some quality time playing with them!

Cici and Steve saved the day and the special Octopus Cake by bringing new powdered sugar. This was my first formal attempt at cake decoration and I am pretty darn proud of myself. Many thanks to my wing-women, P and Ali.

We finished decorating it, we snapped some pictures, lit the candle, and then destroyed it, all within 3 minutes. I was winging a lot of this (since I'm not an experienced party planner) and actually didn't know exactly what to do when we presented Gulliver with his one-candled cake. But luckily his cousin Bean (3.5 yrs old) was there to help us out and he blew out the candle for Gulliver. Problem solved!!

 

 

Gulliver got his cake, and did not destroy it in a typical 1-year-old fashion. I suspect that this might have to do with the fact that it was almost 8 and technically past his bedtime. But he enjoyed being fed his cake in a calm manner.

At this point, there was still a remaining batch of presents, and again I wasn't quite sure what to do, because it seemed to me that Gulliver was winding down. I was wondering if I should just leave the presents till tomorrow during the day, when he could more fully appreciate them, but I had left his big present until this time, and I really wanted to have him open that on his birthday, even if he was a little too tired to appreciate it. Thankfully, kids stepped up to the plate again to enthusiastically help Gulliver unwrap his presents. He somewhat happily acknowledged the gifts that he received.

 

And then came the big box present, which the other kids were also most excited about seeing (since it was the biggest). I had wrapped this so that it was very easy to unwrap, so that Gulliver would have no problem unwrapping it. But I was beyond expecting him to be capable of unwrapping it at this point, so as it played out, while Gulliver watched, Bean and C whisked away the packaging quickly to unveil the Zany Zoo! (To give you an idea of size, the top of this is about waist height when Gulliver is standing up.)

And Gulliver GASPED the funniest and most adorable baby gasp ever and his whole face lit up and he reached for it and started playing with it immediately.

BEST. BABY. REACTION. EVER.

(To a mother, a reaction like this probably releases the same amount of dopamine into your system as the best drugs on the market.)

In fact, at this point, Gulliver got a second wind and played with his Zany Zoo for the next 30 minutes at least. And quite determinedly shoved away any other kid who tried to play with it too closely. (It's big enough that other kids could play on the other side and be outside of shoving range.)

If I ever need a "happy place" in my life, it will forever be in the precious moment of his baby gasp.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us! We're so happy to have Gulliver in our lives and so happy to have you to celebrate with! (And thank you to YOU blog reader(s) who made it to the end of this post!! Leave a comment if you made it this far because then we'll really know who loves Gulliver the most.)

(And it took me less than an hour to write this post, which means less time than I spent pushing... but to be honest that part of labor only seemed like five minutes at the time. To be fair, I now need to check on Murray for pictures, so uploading pictures will take a little extra time.)

(Ed. note: Downloading, prepping, and uploading pictures is like the not so fun afterbirth part of the whole birth process. By this time last year, Gulliver had had his first bath and they were maybe wheeling me into my hospital room.)

My baby! My precious baby!

Last night, Murray and I left Gulliver in the care of my parents (staying at my brother's house) in SLC so that Murray and I could have a work day today. (I'm taking a SUPER QUICK break to document this!) When we left, my mom had gone down for an evening nap. I kept waiting for her to call so that I could give her my instructions for caring for my firstborn, but she never called.

Finally at about 10:30 I called my dad to ask how things were going. My mom never woke up, so her nap essentially turned into a really early bedtime.

Anyway, Gulliver was awake when I called. He was being cared for by my dad and my brother Richie, visiting from Canada. This is a faithful transcription of all that was said:

Dad: Where is the diaper bag?

Me: The diapers are at the changing station in Bean's room. Same with the wipes.

Dad: Well that's a problem. [because Bean was asleep]

Me: Well, is he dirty? I usually don't change him in the middle of the night because he's asleep. I don't wake him up to change him. Is he awake?

Dad: Yep. He's awake. He's right here with me and Richie.

Me: I don't hear him.

Dad: He's right here.

Me: Is he stinky?

Dad: I think he stinks. How do I know?

Me: You smell his butt.

Dad: Well, I can't tell.

Me: He's probably not dirty then.

Dad: Well how do I know?

Me: Peek in his diaper.

Dad: He's wearing a onesie. I can't peek in.

Me: Take off his pants, pull the diaper away from his butt at the leg hole.

Dad: I don't see anything in there.

Me: Then he doesn't need changing. He's good to go.

Dad: Where are his pajamas? [He fell asleep early, too, so he was still wearing his regular clothes.]

Me: I put them in a stack on your dresser. Find his footed pajamas.

Dad: There's a pair of blue pants here. Is that it?

Me: No. You're looking for footed pajamas. They'll have feet on them. It's at the bottom of the pile.

Dad: Okay. Now how do I do this?

Me: Keep his long-sleeved onesie on. Then put his feet in the pajamas, put his arms in the pajamas, and zip it up.

Murray, to me: He's not going to like it.

Me: He may not like it.

Dad: Okay. That's done.

Me: I still haven't heard a peep from him.

Dad: Well, he's just being very quiet. Now what?

Me: Well, you'll have to put him down to sleep again. At this time of night, he'll probably cry about 30 seconds. But he'll cry. You can't be in the room or he'll keep crying. So he should either be in Richie's bedroom, and Richie can sleep on the couch, or bring the crib out into the main area outside your room and Richie can sleep in the bedroom. But then his crying might wake up the kids upstairs.

Dad: How long will he be crying that we need to be concerned?

Me: If it's more than 30 minutes. But it will more than likely be about 30 seconds.

So we wrapped up the conversation, and I was never fully convinced that my baby was even there since I didn't hear him at all. But as soon as I was done the conversation, I saw that my dad had sent me these photos. So I knew my baby was all cared for.

Welcome to Hamelot!

Last week I bought a 10-lb spiral cut ham, because I assumed that all spiral cut hams were supposed to be delicious goodness. Turns out, you're supposed to pay big bucks to get the good ones. Oh well. What this meant was that after one dinner of mediocre ham, I knew I'd have to make some navy bean soup. I've heretofore been a split pea soup person, but Murray has converted me to the navy bean soup camp. And I have converted him to the carrots-in-your-navy-bean-soup camp, since 1) the recipe I found calls for them and 2) I feel it my duty as a mother and wife to sneak vegetables into our meals. The first time I tried the recipe I put a package of carrot strips into the soup, which I enjoyed even though I'm not a huge carrot fan. But Murray felt it spoiled it. So tonight I begged him to give me one more chance, and this time I chopped up the carrots really finely in my nut chopper. And he approves. Phew! Deliciousness and nutritiousness for all!

But the point is that my whole HOUSE smells like ham, and I don't know when it will stop smelling like ham! I put the ham on the stove first thing this morning and just let it boil all morning. Then I cut it all up before church. I washed every dish and put the cut-up ham and broth into a sealed bowl in the fridge. (We have enough ham for at least three batches of this soup.) But it still smells like ham here...

Oh well. We had Murray's parents over for dinner. Usually we go over there on Sundays, but since our house accommodates four nicely (Steve and Cici are in Texas for the holidays) and since I was the chef of the night, dinner was here! It was really nice to have company!

So any tips on getting rid of food smells?

Hand-Delivered Turkeys

I want you to close your eyes and imagine something very, very special.

Except don't really close your eyes, because you need to read this. Unless you can get someone else to read it to you while your eyes are closed. In which case, close your eyes.

[To the reader: Please read all of this in a very positive, enticing voice. Because it is positive and enticing.]

Imagine a world in which turkey came delivered right to your door, by the farmer's wife. Imagine a world in which you didn't have to speed-thaw your Thanksgiving turkey in the bathtub because you can just stick it straight in the oven, frozen. Imagine a world in which your turkey came out perfect with absolutely no effort on your part. Perfect succulence! Perfect flavor! Perfect turkey! Imagine all your Thanksgiving guests adoring you for the perfect turkey that you have prepared. Oh, and imagine yourself not being exhausted because you didn't have to go to as much effort this year.

Now open your eyes and get this: My adorable sister-in-law is a turkey farmer's wife. And she will deliver your turkey to your door the week of Thanksgiving if you live in Utah or Salt Lake County. And you can put it frozen into the oven, and your guests will love you and you will enjoy Thanksgiving because you won't be exhausted! Does anything sound more wonderful?

Oh yes, something does sound more wonderful! You will get good karma for supporting Utah turkey farmers! (Whereas if you buy Butterball, you can count on the Mormon cricket breaking into your house and eating your young because that is basically what you deserve.)

Here's the info on all the turkey products available (for delivery to your door!!):

Sweetheart Breast Roast $3.75 lb

Turkey Pot Roast $ 2.75 lb

Turkey Burger $ 1.50 lb (these come in 1-lb pkgs)

Sanpete BBQ $ 4.50 lb

SWEETHEART BREAST is a Boneless Turkey Breast Roast that comes in a cooking bag ready for the oven. This makes a very moist turkey! They are sold in 2 different sizes. They come in a 5-6 lb range or 10- 12 lb range. This is a perfect Sunday dinner choice. This product does not need to be thawed. It can be put in the oven frozen. It takes about 35 minutes to pound to cook. This is our family favorite.

TURKEY POT ROAST weighs about 6 1/2 - 7 lbs. It tastes very similar to a beef roast. It is very easy to cook. I usually just thaw it and cook it in my slow cooker. This product is fully cooked and just needs to be warmed. I love to serve this product at a family party. We make warm BBQ sandwiches or I use it a lot to make Tacos. Our family really likes to make the Cafe Rio Salads and Burritos with this. I usually just flavor the meat with a BBQ sauce and some honey to make it sweet.

TURKEY BURGER comes in 1-lb packages. It makes it very convenient for dinners. I use Turkey burger in replacement of Hamburger in most recipes. It is a healthy choice.

SANPETE BBQ weighs about 9-10 lbs. Pieces of breast meat are already marinated in soy sauce and 7-up. (Shut up: Did she just give away the secret recipe?) Ready for the grill. This is the product that they serve during the Manti Pageant. It is very Yummy!

Please email me if you have any questions:

Melanie Blackham
weloveturkey [at] hotmail [dot] com

We are freaks!

So every year, I get a genius halloween idea that is so nichy that it would only lend itself well to an office party among people who are in my same field. You remember the Scare Quotes idea. (OOooo, I just thought this would go well if done by two people. One person is dressed scary and the other is dressed nerdy. Each of them has quotation marks on either side of their head. When people ask the scary one what he/she is, he/she says "I'm scare quotes. BOO!" When people ask the nerdy one what he/she is, he/she says, "I'm smart quotes, stupid." Hahahahaha! It's ingenious. And I will never be able to use it! Someone please use this idea!)

Last year, too little too late, I got the idea that Murray, the future child, and I could dress for Halloween as CMYK, RGB, and FFFFFF! So all year long, I've kept this in mind, finally collecting a piece of cyan clothing just barely! Yay! I had Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black to wear! It was going to be perfect! Until, that is, Murray put the kaibash (sp?) on it the DAY BEFORE Peter and Jennie's annual Halloween party when we had absolutely no time to develop any other costumes or ideas. He said (and rightly so) that absolutely no one would get it, it would be too much explanation with absolutely no payoff when people learned what it was.

Okay. So back to the drawing board. We had to figure out a family-themed costume and FAST.

A shopping trip, some fake fur and hair, and a few staples later, we became a family of circus freaks. Murray was the armless man. I was the bearded lady. And Gulliver was wolf boy. Genius! And we even claimed third prize at the party!

Antepenultimate Day

Today is Murray's antepenultimate day of work. I know. Shocking. I haven't blogged about any of this. We have known for a while that Murray would be losing his job, and about a month ago, we decided that he'd be finished by the end of this month. And about a couple weeks ago, Murray decided that would be the 25th, and earlier this week, he decided that it would be the 28th. So. There it is. After Monday, Murray will be unemployed.

Which is pretty much awesome.

Why? Well, because it means I get to be his boss! Thankfully, we have procrastinated filing the papers that we need to to make us a legitimate business. This has allowed us time for extra thought, and my brother Captain Fabuloso suggested that it actually makes sense for me to own 52% of the company and Murray to own 48%. He still would have an equal say in everything, BUT as a woman-owned business, we'd be entitled to more benefits.

In all seriousness, we are actually excited at the idea that Murray and I can work together full time on our business. This was actually our 10-year plan and it has now been bumped up to our immediate plan. We have so much to offer and we already know that we work great together. Here are the things we're looking forward to:

Saving money because we'll both be eating at home every day for lunch.

Having Murray home with Gulliver. What a treat for both of them! This also frees me up to go run errands and have business meetings, etc. during the day. We can switch off on Gulliver-watching duties depending on what either of us has going on at any given time.

Both being able to do what we love for a living and be our own bosses and decide for ourselves what we'd like to do. There is a lot of freedom in that!

Growing and exploring new options and finding new successes.

And of course we're not naively excited about this opportunity without being scared out of our wits of what it also could mean. Here are some things we worry about:

Not a steady source of income. Good months and bad months---can we pay the mortgage every month?

Healthcare and children. Did you know that individual plans don't cover maternity? There is a separate $6500 deductible for maternity and childbirth. So basically you pay for the whole thing unless something goes wrong. And of course you can work the system with supplemental insurance, but still. The whole insurance thing is a beast. (And Obama is our only hope!) Also, our original plan was for me to get pregnant in September. Now we have to wait until we find the right insurance to get pregnant.

Being in charge of paying taxes instead of having them conveniently come out of the paycheck.

I'm sure there are many other perks and a few other worries that aren't coming to mind right now. In any event, we're more excited than we are nervous. And to leave you on a high note......

Myriad Activities!

This weekend was pretty much awesome. I took a much-needed break and we participated in many activities, nay a plethora of activities, nay even myriad activities!

(In Sunday School yesterday, "myriad" seemed to be the word of the day as everyone was trying to work it into their comments to sound smart. I told Murray to make a comment using the phrase, "...a plethora---nay, even myriad..." but he refused. Much like the time I dared him to use a phrase during the opening prayer of Sacrament meeting. We attend the Kolob x Ward. The opening hymn was "If You Could Hie to Kolob." I dared him to give thanks that we can hie to the Kolob x Ward every week. He didn't, that big chicken.)

On Thursday evening Murray and I took a nice scenic drive around Springville. Gulliver was getting hungry so we stopped at a park to feed him. We sat in the car and I just stared at the bizarre equipment in the park ahead of us. I wanted to know how it worked. So when I was done feeding Gulliver and while Murray was strapping him into the car, I went to the equipment and approached this one thing that looked kindof like a flower. You put your bum in it and it spins you around. Well, I sat in it and didn't have to do anything before the weight of my body started spinning me. And spinning me. And spinning me. It wouldn't stop! I was laughing. And laughing. And then calling for help. Murray meanwhile was sitting in the car, watching the spectacle. I called for help again and when I heard Murray say, "Oh, are you serious?" then I started to panic and I started spinning even faster. Murray eventually rescued me.

On Friday, El Senor and his girlfriend La Senorita came over to visit. We told them about the park and invited them to come back with us because this time we meant to record it on the Flip. Thanks to the Flip, I now have this to share with you:











And as long as I'm sharing videos, here's a couple that demonstrate what happens when I leave Murray at home alone with Gulliver.

Life Signs

One of the things that I don't like about motherhood is constantly checking to see if my child is still alive. You know what I'm talking about if you're a parent. From the moment you find our you're pregnant, you're constantly checking up on things to make sure that your offspring is still alive---and I'm not even a person who worries, so if this happens to me, I know that it's as bad or worse for most other people. During the early pregnancy, you just have to look forward to those heartbeat visits, and in the moments before the doctor finds the heartbeat, you hold your breath and wonder, is it really still in there? Later in the pregnancy, you all of a sudden realize that you haven't felt your baby move in x amount of time, so you drink juice or you jump around or you poke your belly and wait for the reaction.

The night that Gulliver was born, the nurse gave me a nose-sucker and told me to suction stuff out of the baby's mouth if he stops breathing or starts choking. Then she wished me a good night and turned out the lights on her way out of the room. What? You think that at least in the hospital it's still the staff's job to keep your infant alive. What else are you paying them for? But then you're stuck with a nose-sucker and no idea what to actually do with it if your baby suddenly stops breathing.

At home the first month or so, I'd wake up in a panic in the middle of the night and wonder if my baby was still alive. In semi-conscious confusion, I'd start patting down Murray and look at his face and chest to make sure he was breathing, before I'd realize that I was holding and scrutinizing an enormous baby. Then I'd turn to the other side of the bed and find Gulliver and watch his wee baby chest to make sure it was still moving up and down. Once, I even woke up in the middle of the night, concerned that my baby wasn't properly swaddled, and once again inspected Murray up and down to make sure that his blankets were tight... before realizing that that giant baby wasn't a baby and wasn't even swaddled at all.

Now that Gulliver is almost 6 months old, my is-he-alive panics have calmed down a little. Usually now they just occur when I realize that I've been working uninterrupted for a good chunk of time and haven't heard a peep from the napping baby. So I leave my computer to go check on him, and invariably during that awful 30 seconds I consider what it would be like if I got to the room to find a dead baby. That's the worst part about this whole thing is that I actually imagine my precious baby dead. And 30 seconds, or 20 seconds, or 10 seconds, is long enough to know that if my baby is dead, I will forever regret working on whatever it was I was working on instead of saving my baby's life when he needed me the most.

But invariably, I go into his room and find him exactly where I left him, and because Gulliver is my perfect angel baby, he is usually wide awake, looking up at the ceiling, strumming his fingers, and generally pondering his wee baby life. When he sees me, he smiles (or he startles) and then I scoop him up into my arms and give him a big hug.

The other night, Gulliver woke up at 3:00 a.m. and I nursed him back to sleep. When he was done, his entire body went limp and my is-he-alive panic kicked in. As I got my face closer to his chest to hear or see breathing, Gulliver kindly let out a long, slow toot. He loved me enough to let me know he was still hanging in there.



In other non-morbid baby news, Gulliver is making great progress. It didn't take him long to determine that bulldozing was an ineffective means of travel, so he has learned to roll. He is also doing great at sitting up unsupported. He can sit for several minutes, or until he loses his balance, at which point he just can't get himself back up yet. He also is quite the chatter and loves to make this Popeye face while jabbering away. This is especially entertaining in Sunday School. I'll upload video footage soon, I promise. New as of this week is a baby need that I hadn't anticipated. We've gotten good at determining what he wants, but lately, as I'm holding him, I'll notice that he's bouncing around a bit and making I-have-a-baby-need noises, and I think, "He has recently napped, he's recently eaten, he has a clean diaper. What else could he need?" And then I realize that what he needs is to be put down on the floor where he is free to roll around and play with his toys. (He will do this for hours now as I work.) This big step (or roll) towards independence is both exciting and heart breaking. First it's him leaving me for his toys, and next thing I know it, some undeserving ho-bag will marry him and take him away from me forever.

(Note to the undeserving ho-bag reading this 20 or 30 years from now: You won't be so undeserving if you make sure to come by often to visit, phone frequently, and bring your children over to play with me. Also, he laughs when you wipe his butt. You ought to try it.)



Gulliver under a chair. He played under this chair for about 45 minutes while I cooked and cleaned the kitchen. He would alternately lift the chair with his legs and squeal. Good times. Why buy expensive toys when the furniture is exciting enough?

Sitting up! He loves this "fridge farm," which is in French and English. He also enjoys sitting in front of the little gym instead of lying underneath it. New perspectives are fun.

Playing with The Boy's beard. I am glad these two are bonding, especially since Gulliver's middle name is The Boy, in honor of his uncle. The Boy is really doing great with Gulliver and it's obvious that he really loves him. When The Boy came over last week, I immediately handed Gulliver off to him, and he didn't mind at all! And later, he was voluntarily playing with Gulliver. They respond very well to each other and I'm sure will be great friends.

Gulliver is the equivalent of four 5-lb sacks of potatoes. Or a 20-lb sack of flour. (Incidentally, Gulliver also weighs as much as a 20-lb bag of feathers.)

Gulliver sleeping watched over by his motley crew of friends. Gulliver has also started reaching for his pals when I take him out of the bassinet or crib. How cute is that? He likes his hard toys, like his wooden car, but as soon as he gets a soft friend, he grabs it and squeezes it to his chest and shoves it in his mouth. His favorite toy (who really knows these things?) is his Ernie, who I keep with me at all times in my bag. (Because even when I'm not with Gulliver, I love to look in my bag and see little Ernie looking up at me.) One of the funniest moments last week was in church, when Gulliver was being well-behaved (as always) and things were pretty quiet, and then I pulled Ernie out of my bag and Gulliver saw him and got excited and laughed and grabbed him and put his nose in his mouth. We suspect that Ernie was a favorite from a very early age due to his red nipple-shaped nose.

Vacation in Orem

It's no secret that I've been a little overbooked and a little bit stressed lately. So this weekend, I took an unexpected vacation... in Orem. Friday was Murray's sister's birthday, so I met up with the girls and kids of the family to celebrate and have fun at the park. Here's Gulliver at the park.


Then I had students come over to Murray's parents' house for an Illustrator lesson. That same evening, Murray had a commitment with friends (for the first time in our marriage) and conveniently Murray's sister (not the bday girl) was spending the night at her parents' with her kids, so we were able to have a sort of girls' night. You know, with kids! She and I slipped away to go to the Gap so that I could do some online shopping returns and there I found two pairs of wonderful pants for $20 each (steal!) and a really nice cardigan---great clothes for BlogHer '09!

Murray was going to be out late, so I told him that I was spending the night at his parents' and he could join me, and I told him which room I'd be in so that he didn't accidentally crawl into bed with his sister.

I visited all evening with my mil and sil and the kids and it was great.

Saturday morning, Murray left to go and teach a couple of students, and I spent the morning and afternoon playing some more with my in-laws. Can I just take a moment to say how much I love my in-laws? Murray and I both lucked out in the family department. We both absolutely love our own families and we adore each other's families, and we are sooooo grateful for the fact that we know that we'll never have family stress as part of our marriage. (Until Gulliver marries a girl who I can't get along with and she steals my baby away from me!!!)

My nephew, "Cody," who is nine sat me down and asked, "You know how you call [Gulliver] Gulliver on the blog? Well... I was wondering... what would you call me on the blog?"

"Hmm. Well. I don't know. What about Jedi Boy?"

He scrunched up his nose and said, "No."

"Well, what would you like to be called?"

"I'd like to be called Cody."

So here's a picture of Cody with his turkeys:


I also spent some time coloring with my niece. She thought that I made really really nice clouds. And then she colored in the clouds purple, which I may have indicated was a little silly. When the picture was done, there wasn't a single white space left on it. She said that we should give the picture to baby Gulliver, so I said we needed to sign our names to it so that it would be worth more. But then there wasn't a white space left to sign our names. I let her know that if someone hadn't colored in the clouds purple then we could have signed our names in the clouds, and she indicated that she thought that was a little silly. Names in the clouds! Then she suggested signing our names on the boy's face, which I told her was the worst idea yet. Ultimately, we went for the grass.

I didn't spend any one-on-one time with the youngest nephew, but when I was at their house a couple weeks ago, I spent about twenty seconds with him on the trampoline. Only twenty seconds because that's all it took for me to discover that my bladder control post-baby isn't what it once was.

The weekend was sooooo relaxing and I just realized that all I needed was to get away from my computer for a little while. It was wonderful. On Saturday evening, Murray and I went to see Up (which was excellent, and the animate short was my favorite to date, and the movie made me cry without being emotionally manipulative).

On Sunday, we got together with the in-laws again. Usually, Murray and I meet up with Steve and Cici (Murray's brother + wife) at their parents' house for Sunday dinner. (Before me and Cici, the boys would just go home every Sunday for dinner where their parents would ask them about their dating lives.) Steve recently asked his mom if she would take dinner requests, and I know that she's all about dinner requests because she hates having to plan meals. He requested artichokes, and I just happen to make artichokes a lot every spring, so I volunteered. We had a wonderful meal of salmon and potatoes and artichokes, and at the end of it all, I said we should get more requests, so Steve decided "flan!" off the top of his head, and I happen to know of a good flan recipe that I had at my cooking club, so I volunteered for that one, too! Can't wait for next week!

Here is Gulliver taking a Sunday nap in a fort I made for him so that he wouldn't roll off the bed. I also threw a rattle in there so that when he woke up, I'd hear the rattle and come rescue him.

On our way out, we ran into Murray's best friend and his wife and son. It was a great photo op to get the friends and introduce the boys. The last time they met, Gulliver was only a week or so old.


So that was my wonderful, relaxing weekend. And here are some other pictures from before the weekend:

Gulliver's first pool at the Bean's birthday party, Thursday evening.


Gulliver's wrinkly pool feet.


Gulliver in our bedding that we bought at Ikea. I was ready for a change and wanted something very light and bright and summery.

Gulliver in a cart for the first time. He lasted about 3 minutes. He didn't like the cart and preferred to be carried by his #1 dad.