Bye Bye Paci

The Saturday after my boys had been in Idaho for 4 days, my mom informed me that Rowan hadn't had his paci almost the entire time he'd been up there. Marshall has tried on a few occasions to get me on the bandwagon to get Rowan off his pacifier, and I didn't want to join in. Rowan's paci and a chunk of hair to hold has always been his way to calm himself.


Because he hadn't had it that long, I finally decided that I was ready. Doesn't that just sound ridiculous? I had to be ready? Row's turning 3 in January, and our pediatric dentist suggested that it be gone by then. The first night wasn't bad. The boys were so tired from going all week, that they both went to bed without a fight.
The next day at church was a different story. Rowan would thrash and scream, I think Marshall had to take him out 5-6 different times to give him a "pep talk." Throughout the next few days, he started really resisting naps, bedtime, moping, crying, and looking at me with those big hazel eyes and asking for "ma paaaci." There were a few times that I almost broke down and gave it to him. He's gotten better for Marshall in going to bed and down to naps, but not for me. Some days I feel so frustrated, one of those days being today. He is SO tired, but fights, cries and screams when I try to put him down. I finally gave in today, and just put a movie on. I obviously needed a few minutes to regroup, and that's why I sit here.....typing about a paci.


I've come to conclusion that if he wants to nap, he will. I'm tired of fighting him, and miss how he used to go down so well with his paci. I've worked the past 4 nights, and Marsh says he's doing really well at bedtime. I think Rowan just knows his mom is a pushover, so he pushes the boundaries with me. I'll admit it, I am a pushover. I'm probably not going to change this way as a parent, it's just who I am. Guess I'll leave bedtimes up to Marshall. :) PS - for those that know Rowan and his hair fetish, it is no more. It was attached with the paci, and it's gone now too. Makes me the tiniest bit sad.

Top Of Utah Marathon

Top of Utah was this last weekend, and I'm still surprised that I was able to finish a full marathon! It was exciting, scary, painful, fun, all in one.


Friday night, Marshall and I met up with my brother Jason. We went out to dinner and then headed up to Brigham City where we were going to stay the night. Marshall and I were actually staying at a different motel than Jason, but we got there, and come to find out, I had booked the room with some corporate coupon code. It was just a coupon code online?! Originally, we were paying $60 for our room, and when we got there they wanted to charge us $120. Jason was able to get his room changed to two queen beds, so we just went and stayed with him, which I was super grateful for. By the time we got settled, it was close to 11. We had to be up at 3:30 so we could leave by 4, so obviously we weren't going to get a lot of sleep. I invested in some melatonin and it actually helped me sleep. After 4 hours of sleep, we were up and on our way. I learned the hard way from my half marathon not to drink anything until I get running. The marathon started at 7 am, and to say I was nervous would be an understatement.
When I hit the halfway point, I was right around 2 hours and 20 minutes, so I was excited to be on track to finish in under 5 hours. I couldn't believe how great I felt at half way, and even at mile 15-16. Once I hit 18, I started to drag a bit, 19 was harder, and by mile 21, I had to stop and walk. I spent the last 5 miles doing a walk/run combo. It ended up taking me about 5 hours and 12 minutes to finish, which is about an 11:50 minute mile. Overall, I feel pretty proud of this, and the accomplishment that I finished. I've never had my legs hurt as badly as they have the last few days though. Running that far is REALLY hard on your body, but was definitely a cool experience! (PS, you can set the video below to hd.)

Looking Back

Tonight I'm feeling a little emotional. Just for the moment. It's actually been quite a good day. My boys are headed up to Idaho for 3 days tomorrow. Marshall has a convention in Salt Lake, and will be staying downtown for 3 nights. I have work, school, a cpr class to take, a bunch of errands to run to get stuff ready for next semester's clinicals and get a passport for our trip in December, so it made sense that they go spend some time with their grandparents so we didn't have to do a ton of juggling. Since Chandler was born almost 5 years ago, I haven't been away from my boys for more than a night trip. Why is it that when I constantly feel like I need a break, I feel really sad that they are going to be gone for 3 days? Of course they will have a great time. 2 nights at Puppy & Papa's (My parents, the puppy name is a long story), and one night at Gma & Gpa Snedaker's house. So as I sit here, thinking that I should go to bed, I've been looking back on old videos and pictures. Looking at the first year of the boys, it makes me the tiniest bit baby hungry....for about 3 minutes. It's no secret that we are waiting until I am done with school to try for #3, so it will be a few years before there's a baby in this house again. (Plus, if you are ever around my VERY active boys, you would understand our waiting even more.) Anyways, I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures of my cute little guys....just so you all can reminise with me. Then maybe I'll cry for a moment or two (I'm tired.) and call it a night.

Chandler

Rowan

Bedtime Stories

Ever since Chandler took interest in books - at about 18 months, we read books before bed. He gets to pick out a couple. I think it helps him wind down and he loves books in general. Last night, he found an anatomy book of mine on the floor. I bought it because of the awesome pictures and the fact that it's been 7 years since I took Anat & Phys and need to brush up. He wanted that as one of his bedtime stories. It's interesting to see a child's perspective when you try to explain what is going on inside of them. He couldn't get over the fact that he has "worms" in his body. (aka, intestines.) He was saying some of the cutest things, and I think some things were clicking.

More From the Coast

My dad e-mailed me more pictures from the coast and there were some of the boys that I loved plus some group shots. Naturally, I wanted to share!

Doesn't he have the SWEETEST face?

Yep, love him.

Chandler playing the ipad with cousin Nadia

Group Shots

Hey look, the ocean!!

Silly. We are done at this point. :)

Now I'm wishing I was on vacation again...sigh.

Nielson Family Reunion 2010 - Lincon City, OR

As I mentioned in a previous post, last month we headed over to Lincoln City for our first ever Nielson Family Reunion. I'm the 5th of 6 kids, so since we are all grown and older, sometimes it's hard for everyone to get together, thus the family reunion. It had been in the works for almost a year, thanks to my sister Jeralee. She did an amazing job finding the house, planning, and coordinating with all of us to make this a success. We spent 3 nights in this beautiful 8 bedroom house.


It was close to the ocean and was nice that we all had space of our own. I was and had been battling a cold for almost a week by the time we got there, and it didn't get much better when we were there. We got there Thursday night and were able to celebrate my mom's 61st birthday. Friday morning, there was a fish pond for the kids, which was of course a big hit.


The second day that we were there, it was an absolutely beautiful beach day. It started out quite foggy, and turned out to be clear and quite warm for the Oregon coast. Plus there wasn't any wind, which was a definite plus. We spent the entire afternoon down playing in the sand, and the kids braved the cold water and played in the ocean. There was some kite flying as well.


It was funny how much our boys loved being buried in the sand. Probably because it was warm and something different. Marshall buried them facing each other, and it was so cute. They just smiled and talked to each other. It was also a great time to be with my mom and sisters. We are all pretty close, but don't get to be all together that often, especially since Jeralee is a 13 hour drive.


That night, we played some games that Avry coordinated. I didn't get any pictures, but have quite the video from it. There were pudding eating contests, unwrapping bubble gum with only our teeth, and a lifesaver game. Saturday morning, we drove out to Drift Creek Falls, where we hiked about 2 miles in and 2 miles back. The boys did really great, and had to be carried at times, but I was impressed that they could do a hike like that. It was really pretty the entire way in, and of course the suspension bridge and falls were way cool.

After our hike, it was off to dinner at Mo's, a popular chowder house there in Lincoln City. Chowder is just plain awesome on the coast, because it's fresh. :)


Saturday night, we did karaoke, and spent more time visiting. The entire weekend was full of so many laughs, good times, tons of food, and great memories. I'm really grateful that I have such a close knit family and that we all get along. I hear of other families that have a falling out and don't talk to their parents or siblings. Sad. I couldn't imagine not being close to mine.
Sunday morning, we cleaned up and headed out. We got a few group pictures, but I haven't seen them yet as my dad took them. There are tons of other pictures I wanted to post, but there were so many, it was hard to choose. Can't wait for our family reunion next year. There was talk of Sun Valley, ID, but we shall see.

Studying

So I've totally been meaning to update the blog with our trip to Oregon. It just seems a bit overwhelming because there's so much I want to say and so many pictures to put up. Therefore, I have not done it yet. School started Wednesday and I'm excited, but there is so much information we covered in just one day and it all seems so foreign - it's like learning another language. I've been studying for about an hour and a half and find myself needing to take a few minute break about every 20 minutes. I guess I can blame it on the mommy brain. I've spent the last 5 years changing diapers, talking baby talk, and not getting near enough adult interaction. Now I'm thrown into a situation where I have to think in medical terms and try to grasp concepts.
I'm also working on fine tuning a schedule. I tend to keep my browser open on my computer all day long, and it's so tempting to just sit down for 10 minutes here and there throughout the day when I'm upstairs near the office. Can't do that anymore. I went out and bought a big desk calendar today. Sounds cheesy I know, but I'm going to pencil in every little thing from what chores I need to do that day, to work and school, to activities that I'm going to do with the boys. I think it will really help me stay focused since I've experienced a very small taste of what is to come.
There you have it, random thoughts from mommy mush brain. I'm headed to bed to dream about image defintions and labeling, anatomic positions, subcutaneous tissues, abscesses, hernias, hematomas, lipomas and more.....