No more Potaboes!

This was a big week for Alena. First, she learned how to ride a pedal bike. At three years old, I think that is pretty awesome. 

However, what isn't so awesome is the fact that she no longer mispronounces the word "potato" as "potabo". When did that happen? It was one of those adorable quirks that made my heart burst every time she would say it. Now I can't even convince her to say it wrong, just for old times sake. 

 Luckily, she still can't pronounce her "sp" words and I secretly delight every time she says, "Mom, can I have the "pecial" bowl with my "pecial" pink "poon?"

  In these moments I vacillate back and forth between feeling twinges of sadness over stages left behind and feeling real joy seeing my children progress. I suppose this is the never-ending quandary of motherhood. 

 

 Alena with her "paghetti" and "lemonabe".

The next one you have been waiting for.

I haven't blogged in a very long time and I am finding that chronic sleep deprivation makes my memory fuzzy so I better write down what I remember now while I still can. So without any further adieu, here is the story of Maren Elizabeth Pederson's first day, 05/15/2015.

After having one baby a week late and the next baby a week early I had no idea what to expect. It is no secret though that I wished and hoped that she would take after her sister and be early and petite than late and large. When the one week early mark came and left, I began to prepare myself to be in this for the long haul. If I expect to go a week late, then I won't be disappointed if I don't go early. However, this way of thinking is logical for anyone other than a pregnant lady in the final weeks. I went to see my midwife the morning of 5/15, a Friday. I was dilated to a 4 but had no contractions. I happened to mention that this weekend would be really convenient to have a baby because my older two kids were having a sleepover that night at their cousins house (thanks again, Christina).  Then my midwife's attitude shifted, "oh, well then let's get you to have this baby!" so she stripped my membranes, giving me a harsh refresher course of the beating my lady parts were up against in the coming hours.


I left the office and sent a "heads up text" to Mark, Melody and Christina but didn't really expect anything to happen. My mom was watching the kids that morning and when I got home we all went to lunch.  I started to have mild contractions during lunch but tried to hide it because I really just wanted to labor at home for as long as possible without an audience. My mom left, Mark came home from work a few minutes later and I was doing my best to chill out and track contractions. Melody was really eager to help so she showed up at my door about 3:00 and began to clean my house. While Mark dropped the kids off at Christina, Melody and I got our waddle on and did some laps around the old Granite High School Track. We all got back to the house about the same time and decided to head up to LDS hospital about 6:30pm.


The next few hours went by quickly. I remember looking at the clock about 9 pm and one of the nurses commenting, "How cool is this? Your baby's will be born on 5/15/15!" I was skeptical because  1. I was sure that my labor was going to go on forever, and 2. Alena missed being born on Thanksgiving day by a few hours and somehow in my mind it made sense for that little fact to influence when her sister was to be born.  However,  after 40 min and a few curse words later, our baby was born. She weighed 7lbs 13 oz, 19.25 inches long at 9:43pm on 05/15/15.

Now...for the photo dump.

The Little Nano who could

Once upon a time there was a brave little Nano...

It lived with its loyal companion in a beautiful kingdom in Northern Utah. Each day the Nano would accompany her to school, on long journeys, and in her sports bra while she ran. One day, that girl got married and the girl's husband would take little Nano to work to drowned out the mind numbing sounds of his coworkers foolish jabberings and foul tongues. One day, while traveling to school Nano got shoved under some evil textbooks in the man's backpack and the little Nano's screen was cracked. Bruised, beaten, scratched and scarred, the little Nano didn't know how much longer he could hold on and began to lose his charge. "Oh, no! Whatever shall I do? Surely no one will want me now. I wish there was a way to upgrade." said the little Nano. Just then, a talking apple appeared in the sky and said, "Nano, Nano! It's me, your fruity godmother. Your wish shall be granted." The little Nano cried out, "How is this so? You know my owners are poor and can't afford any of your new products. Is it magic? Is it theft? Is it a government bailout?" The giant fruit in the sky looked down at the little Nano and smiled, "No, it's nothing like that. You see, your brother, the one in Chicago, had a little problem controlling his temper and his battery blew up. My boss figured that it must all run in the family so hey, that's why I am here today. Corporate calls it a product recall." And with a two-fingered swipe across the mouse pad the little Nano was whisked away for a 4-6 week program. When he returned, Nano was smaller and stronger than ever. He had gained 6gb of memory, had a new screen that could be controlled by touch and now has a special clip so it won't have to travel inside a bra ever again.

And they lived happily ever after (hopefully... for 7 more years until there is another recall and she can get it updated again on the free.)

The End.

New Car

Announcement: we have once again entered the whimsical world of the used car market. If any of you have purchased a car recently you know exactly what I mean. In order to have success you have to have a million different factors line up just right (timing, make, model, mileage, price, even color). Then comes the gamble. Do you purchase it and risk getting a total lemon, or do you take your time search out other options only to have the good one get purchased before you. It sounds like the premise of the next hit reality tv show - perhaps I should have a camera crew follow me around on this quest and become a star. Bring it on Snookie! In any case, we want something that is...

• fuel efficient
• big enough to carry our family
• big enough to fit my giant husband
• affordable
• reliable
• 2wheel drive
• safe
• keyless entry
• the color blue (I have always liked the color blue)

After months of research and looking I think I have finally found the perfect car that meets every one of those needs.

Well... what do you think? I know, perhaps it is a bit out of our price range but maybe we could get one with an older cow. Oh, and think of how much we will save on our dairy bill each month.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

I thought that I would pass along this little video that we made for Grandma Andrea's birthday today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COBgj-bRHGE

*#$%!

I regretfully announce that I am withdrawing my candidacy for Mother of the Year. This should not come as a shock in light of the recent scandal of my two year old running around the house repeating the phrase, "dammit son!" with the same force and conviction that he heard it. In the upcoming weeks I will be checking myself into a potty mouth rehabilitation center, but in the meantime I will be biting my tongue a bit harder. It will probably bleed a little. Please send cotton balls. Thank you for your support during this challenging time in my campaign.

Better luck in 2016!

I included some cute pictures of my kids. Maybe their cuteness will cause you to forget my scandalous actions.

Alena at 1 month old

Isaac helping out with tummy time