well i have realized that i haven't been posting for awhile. i've been a little busy lately. here's proof. any maybe forgiveness for not posting for so long???

so...am i forgiven? :) James Allan Shuler was born on December 9, 2010 at 4:27 p.m. at Valley Medical Center in Renton, WA. He weighed in at 9 pounds 9.8 ounces and was only 19 1/4 inches long. My shortest! But not my lightest or heaviest. Emma was 9.11, Will was 9.9 and Tommy was my runt at 8.8! Both Will and Emma were 21 1/2 inches long, Tommy was 19 1/2 inches long.

kids' school pictures

Ok, so I'm not a pro at Photoshop as you'll see in Emma's picture. I tried unsuccessfully to get rid of the blue in her nostril. Believe me, I tried! I just couldn't get it right.
Anyway, enjoy! Yes, I know. The boys have what he call "hippy hair" as they are past-due for their haircuts. Still gotta love the personality that comes through their pics!

A Baby Sighting and Some Good News!

Just got home from an O.B. visit and have some good news. My little cutie is 4 pounds and in the 80th percentile, something my doc was concerned about since I have gestational diabetes. He said that Jimmy is not huge as he'd expected him to be, and that's because I've been so good controlling my sugar level.
During the ultrasound the tech just lingered for a bit for me to watch my little guy move his hands over his eyes like he was playing peek-a-boo! What a little cutie. He looks like he has Emma's nose, which I'm so grateful for. He'll have a cute little button turned-up nose and not the huge Norwegian nose I'm afflicted with!
Jimmy is very busy and is head down again, he'd been head up at the last ultra sound. All that moving around has paid off and he's in prime position, if he'll just stay there now!

Emma's toothless grin

So....we went to the dentist this morning and he ended up pulling her teeth. Good news is the x-ray showed that there was no damage to her permanent teeth at all, so that was a relief!
He also thought that the permanent teeth would come in sometime when she was 5, as they were already lower than he thought they would've been for her age. So she probably would've lost them earlier anyway. No harm, no foul.

But I bet she won't jump on the bed anymore!

Something funny happened on the way to making dinner.....well, not funny. But something happened anyway.

This was our evening yesterday:
I was fixing dinner and we hear (Ryan and I) a loud scream followed by lots of crying from Emma and the boys panicking voices telling us that Emma was hurt, Emma was bleeding and it was bad! Naturally we assumed it was a case of over-dramatics, since our kids are prone to over-exaggeration with wounds and blood. I have to say, when they brought Emma to me, I was quite surprised and grossed out. I couldn't even handle the clean up and had Ryan assess the damages to Emma. Her mouth was all bloody and she was screaming and panicking.
Ryan thought maybe she'd bit her tongue or something, given all the blood gushing out of her mouth. No, tongue intact. (whew!) He marched her into the bathroom with a cup to swish and spit so we could see what was going on in her mouth. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (but really a couple minutes) we realized that when she had been jumping on the boys' bunk bed (the bottom bunk, of course) and hit her mouth on the wood part of the top bunk, she'd knocked her two front top teeth loose. And I do mean loose! It had me so concerned I called our pediatric dental clinic, but it was after hours and the after-hour number didn't work. (naturally) So then I called our family dentist, Brother Leonard in our ward, and got his answering machine. I was beginning to panic myself. I had visions of a toothless 4-year old and no spacers for her permanent teeth. Smiles are so important. Confidence boosters. I didn't want her to have an ugly smile the rest of her life.
So we called President Coleman, from the Kent stake, who used to be our dentist until he retired. So I'm talking to him when the Leonards beeped into our phone. Pres. Coleman told me that the worst that could happen is her teeth die and turn dark, but that what'll likely happen is her teeth will tighten back up.
So I called Bro. Leonard back and he told me to bring Emma over to his house and he'd take a look at her mouth. I. was. relieved. So I piled Emma in the van, plugged his address into our gps system (I love those things!) and headed over to his house. If you've ever seen Anne of Green Gables, then you know the beauty of the countryside of which the Leonards live. Their neighborhood is one of the most beautiful, woodsy areas I've ever seen. And difficult to repeat the venture without that blessed gps voice directing me to turn right and left. I love that computerized man voice.
Well, Bro. Leonard had Emma rest her head on his lap and he looked and looked. He decided there was a possible fracture to her teeth, given that they are set lower than the rest of her teeth now, and had to even bring one of her teeth forward from the back position it was in. I told you these were loose teeth, right? :)
He said that once the bleeding stops and clotting begins it should tighten up the teeth again. And he told me what Pres. Coleman had said, about the possibility of them turning a darker color and falling out. But he said something interesting. He said that it felt like the permanant teeth had already begun coming in, so she might have lost them early anyway. So it's not the end of the world, really. (another whew!)
So our adventure ended when we got home and I made her a smoothie for dinner since she couldn't eat the chicken meal I'd prepared. No biting down on her front teeth for awhile until those teeth either fall out or tighten up.
Proof she's okay today? Tommy and Emma just came running to me tattling on the other one for hair pulling. Everything's back to normal.

My hero

In Relief Society on Sunday our lesson was on humility and we somehow veered to talking about who our heroes were, the people in our lives who we want to emulate or who we admire for some character trait. When all the sisters were shouting out names, "Abraham Lincoln", "my mom", "my neighbor", etc., there was one person who resonated in my mind. It is my mom. Here is why she is my hero.

She raised me. That should be enough said. But it isn't.

She raised all 4 of us! That in itself should be the end. But it isn't.

My dear, sweet, beautiful mom took excellent care of my dad while he was so ill for so many years. She endured countless hours in the emergency rooms of hospitals, many different well-meaning but arrogant doctors and nurses, and having to worry about if the next meal she would fix dad would send him back to the hospital because he couldn't digest the food from his many health complications.

She would vent to me when she needed to, sometimes angry, more often than not, tearful, about how she could help dad feel better. Slowly the role of wife became that of caregiver. Watching her toil and worry daily for her eternal companion is my legacy of love. My example of long-suffering and endurance. My example of how to treat others with compassion, even in the face of complete and utter frustration in the situation that she found herself in.

Now her example of endurance with resolving the beaurocracy of the Social Security Administration and her pension, and her final victory, albeit very small, was very sweet for her. And for me, too.

Mom, I love you more than words can say. You are my hero. My friend. My mommy still. Thank you for being the level-headed confidant when my world seems to be caving in.

Yummy Hamburgers

First you start with the recipe. I went to http://www.allrecipes.com/ and found a great dough recipe; you may want to change for your favorite. Our family really likes this one though.

Ingredients:
2 cup warm milk (110 degrees)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
2 (.25 ounce) packages instant yeast
2 tsp salt
6 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

Directions:
1. Personally, I put the milk, water mixture into the microwave until it reaches the right temp. Then while the yeast is dissolving in the milk/water mixture, I melt the butter in the nuker. Then I pour all ingredients into a large mixing bowl (milk/water/yeast mixture and butter, then I add the sugar. I let it sit until bubbly. The internet directions say for 5 minutes, I found that wasn't long enough. More like 8.
2. Next you mix in the flour and stir until sticky. I turned the dough onto a clean and floured counter and kneeded only 3 or 4 times, just to get a nice consistency. Then I put into a tube shape, cut into equal pieces and rolled into balls.  (see pic above)
3. Put the balls onto a greased cookie sheet and let rise 20 mins in a warm kitchen, or while kneeding set you oven to the coldest temp it'll go; once reached, turn the oven off and then put the balls of dough into warm oven. This rises in 20 mins, on the dot!
4. Take the risen dough out of the oven, preheat oven to 375F; bake the rolls for 15 mins. Cool slightly and then split them in half horizontally to fill with your favorite burgers.
Here is a picture of a finished roll. Delish!

So, after the rolls are in the oven, I start the potatoes. Just wash some spuds, then slice them into 1/4 inch slices. Put in a cold water bath to wash out all the extra starch. This takes at least 15 mins. So while the rolls are baking I'm prepping my fries.

After the cold-water bath is completed, you can heat up your frier. First you cook the fries for only about 2 to 3 minutes, let sit for 10. Then you cook in the oil again for about 10 minutes, maybe longer if you have thicker potato slices.
Once done, take out and let drain completely. To make it just that much more unhealthy, sprinkle with Johnny's. Oh, one tip on the fries. Before you put into the oil, make sure the potatoe slices are dried off, or else you'll have some pretty interesting bubbles and splattering. But then, hey, what's a little excitement in the kitchen, anyway, right? It adds spice to life! :)








Here is the finished product, all plated and ready to be served to a waiting family. Great for movie night.

Hamburger and homemade fries

Notice that we do have veggies! So it isn't a complete nutritional wasteland. :) And what's one meal out of the many we serve our families that isn't so great on the food pyramid anyway? It's definitely a cheaper version of eating out at a restaurant, and bonus, the kids will drink milk with their meal at home whereas at a restaurant they'll want pop. So at least there is one redeeming factor, right? Am I justifying too much? Do I feel a little bit guilty that it wasn't a low-fat meal? A little. But you've got to mix it up once in a while and have some fun in your kitchen.

Hope you all enjoyed my first attempt at posting a meal I made. I don't know if I'll do it again. It's a lot of work posting this kind of dialogue.

"I don't have anything for you to do today, Ryan...."

Those were Mom's famous last words the Saturday we went up to visit Nana and lend her a hand. We got there, Ryan asked what she needed. She said there just wasn't anything he needed to do, to just sit and relax. A few minutes later she was outside directing him like an orchestra director would, "Please, Ryan, can you cut this branch?" It went on and on for awhile with Ryan cutting and pruning the trees along the fence line with the koi pond.
Then she said that she needed help with the filter in the pump for the pond, it just wasn't working properly. So Ryan opened the back up, put his large hands into what he called "a fit for an Asian person, not a big guy like me" and was able to unclog the clog. That's him stamping down the branches in her yard waste receptacle. He was so glad to be able to help. He doesn't like going up there and doing nothing. He feels useless.

Here the kiddos are on the bridge of Nana's pond at the end of the day. Awwww, aren't they sweet?

sweet little Emma

So the other night Emma is sitting on my lap, facing me. We had just finished her favorite game with me (still) of patty-cake. Then she looked all serious at me, and asked, "Mama, I love you so much. Will you keep me forever?"
Cue the heart melt. "Of course, I will keep you forever."
Emma: "So then will you make me a princess and lock me up in a tower to keep me safe?" Her eyes keep getting bigger and bigger. "And can you make my castle pink?"
I just love my little Princess Emma.

random things said during prayer by tommy lately

thought you'd get a kick out of something tommy said during family prayer the other day. he actually says this most every time he prays now.
ready?
ok. here goes.
"...and please bless the homeless with whatever they need. Food, clothing, shelter, jobs...basically everything they could ever, ever need, except for maybe coma or death."
i kid you not. he actually says this.
and i crack up (quietly, of course) every time.
then he asks me (after prayer is closed) why i crack up. then he says, "oh, I know. It's the coma and death thing."
very astute of you, tommy.
very astute.

saying goodbye

How do you say goodbye to the one man who has been so pivotal in your life, who helped shape who you have become? That is my next task, to say goodbye to my dad. He passed away last night after suffering for over 20 years with such poor health it was more common than not that he was in the hospital. We used to jokingly refer to it as his "favorite hotel room" and his ambulance rides as his personal taxi service. I suppose it was our crude way of coping with my dad's continued failing health.
After valiantly surviving more than anyone should endure, he has finally earned his paradise. My mind is reeling right now, so if I tend to ramble on and on and not make much sense, I apologize. I'm also not at my own computer, I'm at the boys' computer so I don't have access to any of my pictures that I would've put on this post of my dad and me.
I found a favorite recently of my dad holding me when I was an infant. He's laying on the couch, playing airplane with me. I think I'm about 10 months old in the picture or so. I'm wearing a red sleeper and have a pony tail sticking straight up on top of my head. I love that picture.
I am so thankful for the peace the knowledge of the gospel brings to me. I know that families are forever, I know that he's in paradise with his family who went before him, including his baby brother who died on dad's first day of kindergarten. That must have been some reunion!
So Dad, thank you for all you taught me. Thank you for your "drives" on paydays. Thank you for your dates and time spent together, for the Paul Bunyan Restaurant Christmas Eve Frango Mint milkshakes as a little girl. Thank you for your good example of a righteous man and priesthood holder. I love and miss you greatly and can't imagine having this baby without you standing in the circle to bless it. Until we meet again.

Mother's Day Tea at Lake View Elementary

Hi. Thought you'd like to see this cute picture. It was too tempting to leave the devil eyes in, so I did. It actually was so funny! Not like our almost-June weather though. It's just finished hailing outside and now it's a downpour in our backyard. Yowza! Didn't Mother Nature look at her calendar? Um...heeeeelllllooooo! May 20, peeps! What gives?
Anyway, back to that cute pic.
Enjoy!

I just wish Tommy would smile. He hates being put "on display" and being forced to perform. He is so private and shy, he tends to look down, cover his face for pictures, etc. So on we go.....

some new family photos

Here are two of my new most favorite photos of one of my kiddos. Just thought you'd like to have a gander! Enjoy!!!

update alert.....
trying to get the u.g.l.y wood 2x4 backsplash from the wall is, well, um, pretty hard. apparently the genious who installed this eyesore not only screwed into the wall, but first put some carpenter's glue. so it's pretty tough to get.
my plan? as soon as i manage to pry that eyesore off my wall, to put this awesome beadboard-like wallpaper up and then paint over it with the same color as my others walls. my plan? to have one cohesive space. now to get that wood off.
yipes.
any suggestions?
oh, and outside, in my yard, i'm planning on a date for a yard work party. any takers? date and time to be announced, but in may or june. i'll have either pizza or lasagna and all the fixins' for ya, too!

lest you think that my floor still looks like that, you're W.R.O.N.G! Ok, so it kind of does, but it's cleaned up and has a pretty area rug under where our recliners go, and so there you go, Mom. I'll post a pic soon, I promise. Just nothing really beautiful to report yet. YET. It'll happen.

what I've been up to lately

ok, so it's been a very long time since I've posted...I've been biiizzeee! Ripping up carpet, painting walls, doing the laundry, fixing dinner, etc. My family has taken priority, as it should, and so I haven't really had much time to devote to this. I've also been really busy with my family researching, as shown on here.

so more later as i have time! more later, peeps!

the long-awaited, long-promised Cub Scout pics

Recently it was pointed out to me that I've been slacking in my blog duties. Well, people, my family has needed me, and I've been working hard on my house!
I've painted the dining/family room, duked it out (well, not really) with my husband over flooring, and baking for Easter. Cookies, of course.
I'll update the house makeover later. This is all about my cutie patootie Will the Wolf. Enjoy the pics! He was so cute that night carrying our nation's colors. He even gave the closing prayer at the end of the Pack Meeting.

Now here he is making a bird house with Grandpa Shuler last Saturday. The day we got our new fridge! Yeah! And got our dishwasher installed! Double yeah!!!!!

yes, those are my 8-year old's fingers holding that power tool! yipes!!!

He was so cute. I failed to take a pic of the finished product, but it proudly sits on my kitchen counter, waiting to decide where in our treeless yard this will live. Any ideas? Maybe our wood arbor. Heck, with that proud grin, I'd even go buy a nearly-grown tree and put it in our yard, just so we could nail it to that tree! What a cutie. Loving his toothless grin.

Emma's surgery today

So my big girl to my left had her adenoidectomy this morning at the Covington Multi Care Day Surgery Center. whew! what a mouthful! :)
All went well, and she's home sleeping in her bedroom right now. Poor little thing, when she woke up though she felt sick to her tummy (as she put it) and had an "owie throat" which they gave her some drugs to help her through.

Here she is goofing off before they came in and gave her the meds to start it all off. She wanted to pose this way, telling me that she wanted to put her arms out "like this, mama!" She's quite a character, that little Emma Grace girl of mine. I sure do adore her.

I know, I know. But I couldn't resist. She looked so peaceful and beautiful sleeping in her post-surgery drug haze. Poor little thing. But I'm hoping this adenoidectomy will help her be healthier from now on. I'm crossing my fingers no more colds every 6 weeks, like clockwork. So is her doctor.
doesn't she remind you of what Sleeping Beauty must have looked like, drooling and slobbering all over herself while she slept those 100 years? :)



So I thank you all for your support in this quest for better health for my Emma. I'm most appreciative that Ryan's home teaching companion, Dan, came over last night with his sweet wife and the two men administered a Priesthood blessing for her. I think it helped me as much or even more than it did her. I was uncharacteristically calm in the waiting room. No floor pacing for this mommy!

Talk to you all later. I'll post later about Will's role in the pack meeting last night. Let's just say it should be a crime to have a flag bearer as adorable as he was!

the Dining Room paint job

Ok, so as promised here's a new picture of my dining room. Specifically, the corner the table is currently in.

okay, so now that i've taken the pic and posted it, the frames look...pink! they're actually white though.
The paint chip was "Tailor's Chalk White" by the Martha Stewart paint line at Home Depot. The wall color is also a Martha color, "Aegean Blue", which I'm loving so far. No, not love. Lurve. Yes, lurve. L.U.R.V.E.
Eventually I'm planning on putting actual crown moulding at the ceiling line and painting it the same trim white.
When we first bought the house I wasn't thrilled we had paneling in this room. But painted, it almost looks "farm-like" which is the look I like alot. Especially Swedish country, which is my ultimate goal. After the rest of the room is painted this same blue, the trim painted the same white, then we're going to tackle the flooring. Pretty bad. U.G.L.Y. In fact, so bad that I won't even take a "before" picture of the beige carpet. Just know it's in our dining room/family room, it's where we do most of our living. We watch TV, play the Wii, play toys, eat our meals, and have our tickle wars.
So you can imagine the dot-to-dot capability of our carpet! Yucko! It will be yummo when we rip that carpet up this week and see what kind of shape our wood floor is underneath. We have pulled up part of it previously and saw hardwood, we just don't know what the shape is. It could be a goldmine of beauty, only needing a good polishing, or it could need a total overhaul. Either way, it's got to be better than this ugly carpet.
So when I know more I'll let you know more!

The Crazy Caterpillar and The Dream

Ok, so did the title grab ya? Wondering what the heck I'm about the blog about? :)
Alright, alright, I'll tell you.
First of all, please see the adorable art Tommy brought home from school today. He's such a great artist!

Now for the dream. This morning Will wakes up and tells me he had a dream last night. Not just any dream, mind you, but a dream about an adorable little baby boy! Yikes. Let's just hope he's wishful thinking. I asked him what the baby's name was and he told me Jacob. Cute name, but let's hope he's not being prophetic. He was for Emma. He dreamed about her a full year before I was even pregnant with her. He'd walk around the house asking where his little sister was. Now he's moved onto another baby boy. Oh boy. Hey, I didn't know I was so punny! :)

Let's hope he doesn't start a new trend.

Have a great day!

Enjoy the cute art!