Gabriella's Denver Nuggets Debut

A few weeks ago, I received an email at work with a good deal on Nuggets tickets. Meredith and I try to go to at least one game a year, and we hadn't been to a single game this year. With this being the last home game of the regular season, this seemed like a good game to go to. I bought 2 tickets and we opted to decide later about whether or not to take Ella with us. We later called to confirm that she could sit on our laps at the game, and so we decided to take her with us.

Just as a note, Tuesday's high was 78 degrees. Here's what Wednesday afternoon looked like:

In other words, things were a bit snowy (actually, really snowy). We decided that rather than fighting midtown traffic, combined with snow, we would take the Light Rail. I figured that Ella would enjoy the train. I was seriously wrong. Ella wanted to run all over the place, and with a reasonably full train, that just wasn't an option. So we held our angry little girl until we got to the Pepsi Center. When we got there, she started to smile at some of the people around her, so we weren't really sure what to expect.

In the Pepsi Center we got her a cool little ball that features the autographs of the players. She didn't really want just ONE ball, but we eventually got out of there with just one. We went over to the other store (the clothing one) and thought it might be nice to get her a jersey. We got her Allen Iverson's jersey, and after fighting with her to let us scan it and then get the hanger off, we took her to the family bathroom to change her shirt. Here is the aftermath:

Needless to say, Ella was still in her angry/upset mode. We had always expected that between the two of us, we would probably get to see about one full game (one in the hall with Ella). I began to think that was the way things would go. We got to our seats and then Meredith went to get some food for us. Ella was a little bit restless for a few minutes, but when Meredith came back, here's what she found:

A quiet Ella! A happy Ella! Some sort of miracle occurred, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the game with her. She copied Dad a lot, yelling "booooo" and "yay!" and clapping when someone made a basket (from either team). We ended up having a lot of fun with her. We left at the beginning of the fourth quarter (since the playoffs were already a lock, Denver was resting their stars, and it was getting late). All in all, what started as an absolute disaster ended really well.



On another note, Meredith and I had a work party to go to a few weeks ago. I absolutely don't deserve to have the smokin' hot wife that I have, as you can see below:



I'm truly blessed.

Science is Awesome!!!

Yes indeed, we like science around here. Good thing too.
As we strolled around the mall last week we found a great sale and then we saw this shirt and had to get it...




She can really "ham" it up!


See food...or I should say See Banana


I only wish they had her shirt in my size.

Let's Party

Earlier this month Steve's work had a party at the Denver Nature and Science Museum.



We left Gabriella with a sitter and got to enjoy a night out together...









Here I am with my friend Kim. It's always nice to see her at these parties, she is one of the first friends we made when we moved out here to Denver.

Another Week and a Pink Hat

Another week has gone by and I'm still alive...YEA!!!
I thought it would be nice to let ya'll see some pics from the week.
ENJOY

I had some left over yarn and made Ella Bella a hat...she seemed to really like it.

She saw mommy paint her nails and then stuck out her fingers,
she's a girly girl!
Here are some silly faces.

I had meant to post this up a while back but I was sooo sick.
Here are the sweet flowers Steve got me before the virus attacked me in full force. Thanks Steve, I really do like carnations.

The other night Gabriella's bedtime was all messed up so she was up way past her bedtime and finally got comfortable next to daddy.
It was a sweet moment.


And finally...
After finding great frames (on clearance from Target) for our large wall, I decided to be daring and try something. I think the lettering may be a bit too big, but it's okay for now.

Eye

Well now I have a big, puffy red eye.
Could be "pink eye"
Will it never end?

We made it!

Here we are...




It was a week ago when all the walls came crashing down. All that's left is an annoying cough.

IVs, Easter and Back to the living

To be honest the last four days have zoomed by and it's still a bit of a blur.

I missed work last Friday cause I wasn't feeling too well and when Saturday came all bets were off. I had a fever of 104.3, felt faint, very cold, and miserable. Steve packed us in the car and I went to the doc. After a strep test, a pregnancy test, and an influenza test (they all came back negative), Dr. Story said I'd be there a while and that I was going to be hooked up to an IV cause I was dehydrated. So after giving me two IVs I got a bit better and was sent home with a very expensive RX. Steve got one too, just to make sure he didn't get whatever I had. Everyday is getting better. I can actually talk a little now and clean a bit around the house.
The best part about being sick, if there even is a best part, is that I lost 5 pounds!

Gabriella and I weren't doing too well on Sunday but the Easter Bunny did come.

Thanks to our families for the great bunny treats, Ella Bella loved them!

no really she did love them, she was just feeling icky...




Last night we had a "Rock Band" party planned for the Young Women at my house. I felt good enough to keep it on and it was a great turnout.
Leaders can "Rock" too.

Not So Good...

So after a rough night's sleep I got up sick hacking my lungs out and went to check on Ella Bella. We had bought her a humidifier last night and I wanted make sure she was okay. When I walked in I found her lying on her side, moaning, diaper off and her bun against the bars of the crib. She was miserable so I gave her some Motrin. Steve got up and we checked her temp: 103.5!
As Gabriella would say,"Uh oh".
So after a fervent call to the doctor's office we left and took her in. I've noticed that the past 3 days have gotten worse and worse. Her lack of appetite and not drinking is the most alarming. The doctor couldn't do much for her but they did give us an RX for her cough, no ear infection for now and her lungs were good.

I guess I'm being a bit dramatic but that tends to happen when one is feeling rather lousy.

Update: She is eating a little bit and is playing with her baby Care Bears daddy bought her. He is so nice to our sick one. I'm the same but I've lost a bit of my voice so no talking on the phone for me. Poor dad couldn't make out what I was saying when he called me this afternoon.
Love you all!

*Sniff, Sniff*

The past few weeks have been pretty icky around here. It all started about two weeks ago. (For more about what happened that day see Shelly's blog: http://martineau--madness.blogspot.com)
Steve came home early from work not feeling well and after a few miserable days he got a bit better but then he bottomed out again. By the time the weekend came he was doing much better, unfortunately for me my good luck was running out. So here I am today surrounded by Gabriella's snotty tissues and cough drop wrappers from me.
Even though we feel "not so good", we still have fun. Nothing can stop a gal from getting what she wants: "Goldfish crackers"

M I C K E Y

It was so nice out last Saturday that we decided to walk around one of the outdoor malls. Guess what we found? A Disneyland liquadation store...
Here is what daddy found:





The best part is that she will keep this hat on much much longer than anything else I try to put on her head or in her hair.

Tagged

So the time has come, I've been "tagged" twice.
Here it goes...the first one is Alane's and the second is Shelly's.

5 things on my to-do list today.
l. Get rid of my headache
2. Clean the bathroom
3. Do Laundry
4. Get gas for my car
5. Get to bed early

5 snacks I like
l. Kit Kat bars
2. Swiss Cake rolls
3. Doritos
4. crackers
5. anything with chocolate

5 jobs I have had.
l. Worked for dad
2. answered phones/made glasses
3. KBYU assistant producer
4. Optometric Tech.
5. currently insurance gal/optician/diaper changer

5 things you probably don't know about me....
1. How I broke my big toe (you'll have to ask)
2. All my many nicknames, Maj, Myrtle Sue, Mare (not my fav), Merry-death (thanks grandpa), there are a few more
3. Don't like raisins mixed with other things like in bread or muffins.
4. I have a really hard time eating yogurt...not sure why
5. don't like pickles and onions (another thing Steve and I have in common)

ON TO SURVEY NUMBER 2

What were you doing 20 years ago:
20 years ago I was eight years old playing with my Barbie dolls (some things never change.

10 years ago: I graduated from High School and went to college and met Steve on AOL (thanks dad)

3 years ago: Living in our apartment, working full time, got put in as MiaMaid advisor in Young Women's and getting ready for the Rocky Mountain Mustang Round-up at Steamboat Springs.

1 year ago: Ummm...I had a 7 month old, still kind of blurry. I was still in Young Women's but this time as BeeHive Advisor. We were getting the downstairs bathroom put together.

So far this year: Still in Young Women's, getting an exercise plan together, working on house stuff, went to Washington State, working a little part-time, and wishing for Spring.

Yesterday: Slept in till 8am, fix Gabriella breakfast, played with Gabriella, washed the food off Gabriella. Painted more of my downstairs bedroom while Gabriella was down for a nap. Saw Steve for an hour, made dinner, and went to Young Women's Presidency meeting. Got home a little before 8 pm, called my dad. Watched some tv with Steve, read another chaper from my book on Faith by "Elder Gordon B. Hinckley" at the time. Then I went to bed.

Today: Got up a bit earlier, can't remember what time. Fed baby, played with baby, went to Kohls and Albertson's (good sale by the way). Checked my email, saw Steve for 2 hours (went to Home Depot, TJMaxx and Costco.) Steve went to help a family move, he came back and I went back to cleaning my bathroom. Ella Bella is asleep and I am getting ready for bed.

Tomorrow: Get up at 6:30 am to get ready for work.

This year I hope to: Work on house, work on myself, work on being better mom/wife, visit my family and to "put my shoulder to the wheel".

Links and Chains

This blog/website started out in the beginning as something Steve put together for me to use as an outlet for writing, trying not to let all those writing classes and awesome news story skills go to waste. I never really got into it and so Steve was the main contributor, then we used it as a place to write reviews and finally it has become our family journal. Of course after Gabriella was born there were many more pictures to post and that made it easy for me to let our family far away see what we were up to. Lately I think I've felt the need to just write, it might have something to do with finding a stack of articles I wrote for NewsNet and the BYU newspaper the other day. (FYI: I Googled my maiden name and my articles still show up, crazy!)

Interview with President Bateman during BYU Women's B-ball game/ KMBC

Maybe a part of me doesn't want to let all that schooling go to waste, but if that was the case I would be working for channel 7 or Fox, right? I think about that once in a while and wondered why I wasn't so gun-ho, I think that the environment and constrictions of flexibility is what decided it for me. Working Sundays, no holidays off didn't sound very appealing, especially when my family was so far away. I wouldn't say living far away is great, indeed it is a double edged sword so I try not to get cut.

I thought about something Steven's father said when we were snowed in at their house having our own Sacrament meeting. It didn't really sink in at first but looking back I understand what he meant. He talked in essence about family. Keeping in touch with your family, being close to your family, creating and keeping those bonds intact with those who you may not see very often but certainly could call more.
I don't know of too many others that can say they got to eat lunch everyday with their Great-Grandmother who lived 2 houses down from the High School. Granted she tried to make Grilled Cheese by putting the bread in the toaster first, and who got locked in her bedroom one day, luckily I was there to kick the door down.

Not too many I guess have had the chance to have birthday parities where both sets of Grandparents came every year and who came to watch your basketball games even if you didn't get to play very long. Not too many can say they got to know 3 out of 4 great-grandmothers. On the other side of that sword sacrifices were made just to give their children that chance. I wonder how their lives could have been different. Were there negative effects right along with the positive ones of living in close proximity to immediate family. I think every family is different, location plays a big part of it and each has to make the choice for themselves. I am grateful for the sacrifice my parents made to give my siblings and I the chance to create those bonds. It is a little past due, but it makes me so happy to see them have the opportunity to finally go their own way and do what is best for them.

So I guess what started out as a whining note metamorphosed into a heartfelt thank you to my parents for their sacrifices and the chance to create bonds, now it is up to me to keep them strong or to be that link in the chain of generations that breaks.
Thank goodness for emails, "I Chat", and airports.

"Never permit yourself to become a weak link in the chain of your generations." (Keep the Chain Unbroken: Gordon B. Hinckley, Nov. 30, 1999 BYU Devotional)

A rather strange post

We all know that pregnant women can get some interesting cravings and who doesn't crave chocolate, but for me (by the way I'm not pregnant) I finally gave in.

Some people crave meat, some others dirt (inside joke) and last week I was craving salad wraps and cucumber sandwiches.


One of my favorite places to eat at BYU made salad wraps, and they were so good. So here is my attempt to make my stomach happy now I just need some chocolate.

What is your strangest craving?