inconvenient elements

Saturday's tornado watch It was a busy typical list-o'-things to do saturday. One item: prepare the grocery list - I scoured the flyers for the specials. Kent was fast asleep in his crib, with list in hand Wade was on route to the first grocery store and I sat down at the computer to finally tackle a lesson I'm preparing for seminary on Monday's (27th) 5:50am class (substituting). Just as I pulled up lds.org SIRENS went off. While looking outside at the erie calm I phoned Wade. An annoucement was coming over the intercom alerting the shoppers just then. All the shoppers were to go to the cooler OR at their own risk could leave the building. We opted that Wade would stay put. He filed into the cooler wearing flip flops, jeans and a tee. Freezing cold but at least not with the group that had to go in the meat cooler - gross!



We decided that Kent and I should go down into the basement. In case we would be there for a while I invisioned our potential set up: I quickly tossed food items from the cupboards and bottled water into a bag, snatched the diaper bag and a few toys, grabbed our emergency bag at the front door (thanks mom!), a camping KU chair and extra blankets for Kent. Lastly there was Kent peacefulling sleeping - I scooped him up in my arms and headed to the door where I piled up our "supplies" How am I ever going to manage getting all of this down there? Didn't matter - Kent in one arm and everything else over my shoulder and or in my hand I dragged the rest down the 2 flights of stairs, 15 stairs a piece.



In general I prefer not to into our basement - I frankly don't go down there unless I HAVE to. The washer and dryer to our apartment complex are down here and Wade and I have it worked out that he does the laundry and I fold and put it away. : ) It is just so creepy down there...the creepy crawly's are HUGE. They are well fed by all the other smaller creepy crawly's. There are always webs hanging all over the place and the well placed glue boards (traps) are loaded with all kinds of Kansas bugs.



Kent and I sat together on the bottom stairs of the basement. No one else was down there just us. I busted out our weather radio - Kent loved the new wind up toy infront of him.



At this point the Tornado warning was predicted to be lifted within 10 more minutes. Not bad, this shouldn't be long at all. He loaded his diaper - I changed it in my lap. The lights went off, enjoyed my trusty LED flashlight and LED on the radio. Lights came back on. New update: the T. warning is now extended for another 40 minutes. Time to set up camp : ) I layed Kent in the duffel bag on a folded blanket on top of all the contents and quickly set up the chair (he wasn't pleased at all that he was in a duffle bag). Everything within reach I now got to nurse Kent and we just hung out with the weather channel computerized voices. Wade and I kept in touch - surprisingly reception was still good with me in the basement and he in the cooler.



The store manager handed out cookies and bottled water for everyone! He even brought colouring books and crayons for the children there. Turns out Wade was more concerned about hail damage to the car than the tornado and I was more concerned about spiders crawling into my bags or up Kents blanket : ) Of course everything turned out fine. The warning was lifted - Wade finished out the shopping list and I stayed in the basement until he got home so I could have help trucking everything back up the stairs. Wade just shook his head and laughed at all the stuff I brought down. Too bad we didn't take a pic. but hey Kent and I were comfortable and in case we were going to be down there for a while - we would be just fine! Tornado season is upon us.



Monday's Pelting Rain: - Wade began a new job recently and Monday (April 27th) was the first day here vs the training he'd been doing for 2 weeks comuting each day out of town. Original plan was Kent and I to drive him to work so that I could have the car for the day. While I was gone to teach the Seminary class - Wade was taking care of a LEAK in our bedroom! There was a drip drip drip landing at the foot of our bed. Wade couldn't believe I didn't hear the dripping during the night. I said that I guess I can sleep through anything except the call of a baby, even the slightlest peep from Kent - I'm up.

When I got home (loved teaching seminary again - amazing youth!) I waited till 8am to phone our landlord. It had rained 3 inches during the night. Because Kent had loaded a diaper that exploded up his back just as we should be leaving the house we quickly made a plan B. Wade took the car - I bathed Kent. Little Kent has had a rough weekend with diarrhea and diaper rash. The diaperrash was cleared up by Friday (he loved the frequent baths and blowdryer on the bottom treatments - he was in heaven. But still this persistant diarrhea. I phone the dr and they wanted to see him just to be sure he is ok especially since he is so young still. (3 months)

I had a feeling that I'd be taking him in and paying a co-pay JUST to be told he needs to drink some pedialyte. They set an appt for me to see his Dr. at 1:45pm. That was perfect because I'd need to be home for the roof guys to stop in sometime this morning.

Since Wade had the car I figured out the bus route - Kent wasn't very happy to be getting ready to go out so rather than placing him in a stroller I wore him in my Moby wrap. He was all bundled and warm and we ventured off (in now a hurry) to catch the bus. As we hustled rain started to spit....

We missed the bus! I phoned the office and they were fine with us arriving 10 minutes later than our appt time. I really felt like just taking us back home - but I certainly felt it best to obey and be sure that Kents young GI tract is going to be ok.

It really started to pour as we were riding on the bus. Great - no umbrella in my hand after all that hustle to get out the door. I began really regretting not choosing to the Dr. tomorrow (with the shelter of a car) when we crossed the street and a huge truck drove past us and sprayed a puddle on me from head to toe (rather face to sopping jean ankles) I actually stopped in my tracks and wiped my face. I couldn't believe it - I'm sure I looked rather funny/sad! The outer blanket on Kent was wet but he was still cozy, warm and dry - thankfully! When I peeled back the blanket to look at him he gazed up at me and grinned - he is so precious! I trugged on.

We really have a great Dr. So it was "ok" to be there even though he did say that I ought to give him...pedialyte.... grateful that Kent is not dehyderated. He is so cute when he is laying on the doctors bench in a diaper. He is a happy, healthy looking baby, has a wet drooly smile (definatly all great signs of not a dehydrated little guy) So it is. Just wait it out and see how he does. I was given the go ahead to introduce solids (rice cereal) and told to lay off dairy intake. Hello soy milk : ) Good bye cheese : ( Keep up the bottom treatments I'd been doing (bathing and blowdrying and generous ointment) and hopefully the diarrhea will disappear!!

I nursed Kent before wrapping up again in the Moby and we were off to catch the bus whenever it'd come around again. Now the weather was really intense! Worse than before. The wind was so strong the rain was pelting down. There I was at a major intersection and I could feel the eyes of all the drivers staring at me and thinking I was a crazy "young" mother not knowing what she is doing with her baby! or thinking does she seriously have a baby under that blanket?! Kent was perfectly fine in the moby, close to my body and completly dry. One woman shouted from her car as I waited for the light to change so I could cross "do you need a ride" we could barely communicate the wind and rain was so loud - I gave her a wave of no with my hand and head. Then a second vehicle was passing and same thing another kind hearted woman offering to give me a ride. I felt like I couldn't because of no car seat so I hollared back saying that the baby is OK - I'll be ok and thank her anyway. (as she drove on - come on I did cry - I felt... well a lot of different feelings - the kindness from others, the frustration of another co-pay on a already tight budget, the wet harsh wind, no idea how long I'll be waiting for the bus - when I get to the bus stop with no bus shelter, feeling cold, wet and tired (going on 3.5 hours sleep) BUT then the humbling thoughts filled my mind of Presidents Monsons story he shared at the last conference of that dear much stronger than me woman with her 3 children in Eastern Europe.) What a story! One I shant forget. I stopped my little complainy attitude and replaced it with gratitude. Blessing of having a baby to take to a Dr and our babe is really ok. I crossed the street and eventually got onto a heated bus and was dropped off only a few blocks from a comfortable home. Layed Kent into his crib where he continued sleeping and I changed out of my wet clothes into warm comfy's and napped! An adventure of a new mom eh.
inconvenient elements - the tornado, the leaky roof near our bed, and the wet bus adventure to the doctor - what a weekend!

All this rain sure gives us an amazing lush spring! Rose bud trees are my favourite. They have the most elegant blossoms!

Simplify

inspired from a talk by Elder Perry "...earnestly seek ways to simplify our lives" He explains, "There are cycles of good and bad times, ups and downs, periods of joy and sadness, and times of plenty as well as scarcity. When our lives turn in an unanticipated and undesirable direction, sometimes we experience stress and anxiety. One of the challenges of this mortal experience is to not allow the stresses and strains of life to get the better of us—to endure the varied seasons of life while remaining positive, even optimistic. Perhaps when difficulties and challenges strike, we should have these hopeful words of Robert Browning etched in our minds: “The best is yet to be” (“Rabbi Ben Ezra,” in Charles W. Eliot, ed., The Harvard Classics, 50 vols. [1909–10], 42:1103). We can’t predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come."

newbie - at blogging that is: )

....I Finally created a blog! I'm excited (and a little intimidated) with this new venue for a type of journaling. Both sides of our family live either miles away by car or 2 flights away by jet. It's true that I will be able to more easily convey our goings on through pics, videos and entries. So thank you to those of you who relentlessly encouraged me to first join facebook (argh) and now a blog (yeah!!). Since pictures say 1000 words I'll take advantage of that at this time - I've got dinner on the go and just layed our babe to nap. The smell of brown rice is wafting through the air...mmmm stir-fry's have been a fav lately of ours. It's like how I rediscovered this past week how savoury and comforting a good slice of bread with butter is. It was like welcoming home an old friend - haha. Bread with butter is delicious and simple.