Sunday 12-12

High: I got to fellowship a less active member today.

Low: Sam didn't let me hear much of sacrament meeting.

Sept. 11, 2010

High: I finally got go on a date with my wife to see the movie Inception. Great show! Great time!

Low: BYU lost pretty miserably to Air Force Academy

Eric - July 11, 2010

High: Had a good day at Church giving talks, teaching a lesson, and enjoying the Spirit.

Low: Moving again in so short a time. We just can't keep still!

June 25 2010

High: Tonight while Taylor was sitting on the sofa she claimed that she could see her belly move. Even though I watched and could not see anything I was so excited for the new addition coming to our family.

Low: I can not think of anything at this moment as a low as Taylor and I have been greatly blessed from family, and Heavenly Father.

Eric- June 13, 2010

High: Sam slept through the entire night, by himself!

Low: afternoon nap cannot come quickly enough

Eric- June 9, 2010

High: This bug is working its way through my system, and I think I am on the tail end of things now.

Low: I hate throwing up...

Eric - June 8, 2010

High: Getting to take the day off and take care of my family.

Low: both Brittny and Sam are sick, and I'm probably gonna get it, too. Not looking forward to that.

Eric - June 6, 2010

High: Receiving personal revelation at the temple last night about where we are supposed to be as a family

Low: Kinda groggy and a little anxious about the upcoming roller-coaster

Eric - May 30, 2010

High: Actually got enough sleep last night so I wasn't exhausted at Church and through all my meetings today.

Low: My guts aren't feeling so hot.

Taylor - May 24, 2010

High: We finally sold our scooter! Yes we never used it, but we sold it for the same price we bought it. Think of it as a savings plan? At least it made it harder to spend that money, and now with the baby coming we have more in our savings :)

Low: I'm completely tested out in my Music 305 class. Seriously, we've taken two tests a week for the past few weekends and I have another two this weekend before we come camping. Shoot me in the face.

Brittny - 24 May 2010

Low: Uhm, it's the 24th of May and it's snowing outside. Yeah, that was the view from out our study window this morning. Ew gross yuck. I keep wanting to box up all of our coats and snow gear as a start to preparing for our move... guess I'll have to wait a little longer for that still. (Yes mom, I'm sure it is beautiful in California right now and we should move there. :P)

High: Sam is doing better at sleeping through the night, hurrah! Also, we ran the roomba last night so our front room is all vacuumed. Of course, when we run the roomba we move our furniture to be off the carpet so that we can get all the things that Sam has hidden under the coffee table, rocking chair etc as well. So usually when I wake up the morning after running the roomba I have to bring Sam out (while he's still sleepy and cranky and hungry) and put him down for a minute while I take down the coffee table from the couch. But this morning the coffee table was already down when I got up! I was a little bit confused but very grateful that I didn't have to make Sam mad and we could go straight to feeding him. I found out later this morning that Eric had woken up in the middle of the night needing a drink of water. While he was out in the kitchen he noticed that the roomba was done and thought of me trying to get the coffee table down while holding Sam and took it down for us. It may seem like a really small thing, but the fact that he thought of us in the middle of the night when he was half asleep really touched me. Best. husband. ever. Thank you Eric! I love you!

Brittny - 15 May 2010

Low - This is my fourth attempt at writing this post now...

Also, just feeling inadequate to do all the things I ought to be keeping up with - work, cooking, laundry, mothering, blogging, sleeping, dishes, vacuuming, freelance projects, my calling, temple attendance, scripture reading, praying, exercising, grocery shopping, budgeting, dating (but only Eric of course), service, family home evening... not enough hours in the day!

High - I found a decent blogging client for my droid! Granted it's super annoying to write a full post with my thumbs... but I can! Now I can blog from bed, woot!

Also, I got some super cute pictures of Sam while we were playing outside today - we'll see if I can add them to this post...

Well after much trial and tribulation I've decided to settle for a link to the photo gallery. Maybe next time...

Samuel

Cute pictures of Sam :)

Taylor - May 10, 2010

High: We get to set the appointment tomorrow for our ultrasound! Everybody should vote on the poll I set up on my blog, if you have an opinion on whether we're having a boy or a girl :)
http://apartyinablog.blogspot.com

Low: Weird shooting pains on my right side. Here's to hoping that it is just gas and not kidney stones like Mom had :(

Eric - May 9, 2010

I've got 2 high-lows for today...

High: I made it in time for PEC today.

Low: I didn't realize that PEC was canceled due to Mother's Day

High: I found this funny Mom's day comic.

Low: I only got 2 hours of sleep last night. thanks SAM!

Tacos Anyone

Low: Yesterday I came home from seminary and it was obvious from the odor coming from the kitchen that someone was eating more than cold cereal. I found Kyle making food and from the array of food I thought he was making spaghetti. So I made the comment, "so we are having spaghetti for breakfast!!", trying to point out that this not the usual fare for breakfast. He replied that he was having tacos.

High: ( Don't know why I have transitioned to the High portion but I have to somehow fit this experience into a high and low and it really doesn't fit.) Anyways I figure our family usually eats non traditional foods for breakfast so why not tacos, most of the major food groups are represented. Later I walk back to the kitchen and discover that not only was he eating tacos but he was eating "Spaghetti Tacos". I of course wonder where this idea came from to which he announced that everyone who watches I Carly knows that her brother eats spaghetti tacos. Given that I sleep with the only 50 year old fan of I Carly I expect he knows about this, only to find out that Curtis has never heard of spaghetti tacos.
So when you look at the picture on Facebook and see you Dad posing with Sam from I Carly as though he is the greatest fan of the show, know that his true identity has been revealed and that he failed in identify and eating the food that the show is famous for.
On the other hand the picture above proves that Kyle and I are the only ones in the family who have lived the life of an I Carly fan. (Actually I think the show is stupid)

May 7, 2010

High- Being able to see changes in Taylor has she continues in her pregnancy. This of course is not include her being sick, but that her belly is starting to show and feeling the baby moving. Also I love that we have a temple so close and friends who want to go with us.

Low- Can not think of one right now. :)

High & Low May 1st

High: Being able to go to the temple today with Taylor to do some baptisms for family names. Also I had the opportunity to baptize other individuals that were there and it was funny how they all "dunked" differently.

Low: The weather...

April 27, 2010

High: Went for a two mile run today and was able to spend time with family.

Low: After running I felt like I was dying. :(

Eric - April 25, 2010

High: Got to go out and record every ward's primary singing in the stake. I'm putting together the video now.

Low: Sam has done a number on my suit. Dry cleaning costs need to have a bigger place in the family budget.

My Testimony of the Book of Mormon

High: Today we had a great lesson in Elders quorum. The lesson was on Elder Holland's talk from the past general conference in October of 2009. The instructor had us read a couple of quotes and then read Elder Holland's testimony. When we were finished reading his testimony I looked at the clock and saw that we still had 25 minutes left.

I then started thinking about what we were going to do for the next 25 minutes, and then my question was answered. The teacher bore his own testimony about the Book of Mormon and then turned the time over to us to be able to bear our testimonies.

As I took the time to think about the Book of Mormon I thought of how much it had blessed my life. From being raised in a family who read the Book of Mormon together, to now having an extended family who is focused on living its principles. As I pondered, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the blessings that this one book had brought upon me from living it teachings.

I then thought about the peace that I feel in my heart when I read from it at night with Taylor and when I read it by myself. I also thought about the desire I have to be a better husband, priesthood holder, and son of Heavenly Father when I read the Book of Mormon. It has truly blessed my life.

I am so grateful for the examples I have around me of those living its teachings, and who have taught me by example of how I should live and govern my life. I love the Book of Mormon and everything that it teaches and I hope that I can continually progress to be the my best for Heavenly Father.

Low: Not being around all my family today to be able to thank them for their wonderful examples.

April 20, 2010

High- Spring has come! I am so excited for the nicer weather that we have now. Plus the Lilac trees smell amazing!

Low- Moving this weekend. It will save us some money but I do not like moving.

No low just funny

Cody posed the question today, "Do you think the chickens would eat chicken if we put it out for them?"
From the kitchen Kyle said, "If you breaded it!!"
I guess if you bread it Kyle will eat anything.

Eric - 18 April 2010

High: Just filmed a bunch of primary kids singing a bearing testimonies.

Low: Taught my last EQ lesson today

Brittny - 11 April 2010

Low: This has been a ridiculously busy week. I've been working all week on a single page redesign on a website. It should have been a relatively easy project except that the requirements were impossible using conventional web design practices. So I had to use all kinds of strange methods and different programming languages just to get the page styled correctly. Ew. Yuck. Gross. Once I did have everything there was still the matter of getting the content on the page to work as well (I had a form that I had to trick it into thinking it had all the right data). On top of that I landed two new freelance projects and finally got the meeting set up for Theronyx with Axis41 so that we can get going on that website redesign and have another smaller freelance project that I'm supposed to have done. Oh yeah, and sleep training sucks (but don't worry mom, I wouldn't say sucks :P). I haven't been getting a ton of sleep lately with that going on. So needless to say, I'm a bit tired.

Highs: All of that work = money. While it would be nice if my projects would line up and come one at a time I'm grateful to have a job that I can do from home and earn good money. I'm really grateful for all of the opportunities that I've been blessed with.

Plus, Eric let me take a nap today when we got home from church while Sam napped. It wasn't a super long nap, but it was definitely needed. If I can get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight I think I'll be ready to take on this week.

Also, while sleep training still hasn't worked 100%, we are doing MUCH better. Sam now takes all of his naps on his own in his bed which means I have at least a little bit of time to myself during the day (albeit, his naps are generally shorter than they are when he sleeps on my lap, but I'll take what I can get). Plus he will go to bed by himself at night for about the first 3 hours of the night which also gives me a little bit of time to wrap things up for the day while he sleeps. However, he usually wakes up not long after I go to bed - usually about the time I'm ready to drift off. I'm thinking he might be scared of the dark or maybe dislikes the total quiet that comes over the house when Eric and I go to bed. We might need to invest in a night light and start playing him some white noise again. Luckily he usually sleeps well once I hop in bed with him and I can get some sleep too. He has a queen sized memory foam mattress that I got at Walmart for ridiculously cheap so there's plenty of room for both of us - even when Sam lays sideways - and Eric doesn't get kicked out of bed. Win-win-win!

However, the real high this weekend came on Saturday morning. I woke up with Sam and I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with everything that I needed to get done that day and I was tired. I turned on my computer and saw this email -


Ryan and Taylor took Sam for the entire afternoon so that I could finish off that ridiculous project. It was really nice to finally get that project completed. After I finished it Eric and I had a "date" - if you consider eating semi-burnt potstickers at our kitchen table while listening to Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me a date (which apparently I do :P). And we were able to get our house cleaned up so we could have guests over that evening. It was funny because I'm used to only not having to take care of Sam when he's sleeping so I felt like I needed to whisper the whole time he was gone. I feel so much more ready to face this week after getting our lives a little bit more in order. So I really want to say a huge THANK YOU to Taylor and Ryan for helping me out yesterday, it really meant a lot.

On to this week!

Eric - April 11, 2010

Low: Had a headache and couldn't get to sleep until 3AM last night

High: Received a calling today to be the new ward mission leader. I think that will be a good experience for me.

28 March 2010

High: Sam slept through the entire night! Thus I got to sleep through the entire night.

Low: Still didn't finish cleaning up the office.

Weekend Getaway

This is a little late but worth the posting!

High: Being able to go to California for the weekend to spend time with family, and to support Sister Jones for returning from her full time mission.

Low: The drive home from California, because I then have to think about how much I miss everyone there.

Mar 22 2010 - Eric

Low: Because of sleep training Sam I haven't been able to get to sleep early enough at night.

High: Finally getting some involvement with helping work go to China.

I am surrounded by boys

High: Kyle came home from camp and told us about a really stupid sounding game. (Yes this really is the high...hold on) You sit in a circle and you make the sound "zssst" if you want the person next to you to pass the sound on or the sound "bong" if you want them to pass the sound back to themselves. The trick is that you can't show your teeth. Sounds simple and stupid right...right. Well what you don't realize is that you look totally ridiculous as you do this which you hope makes the other person laugh, thereby showing their teeth, making them out. Try playing this game with our family and you end up with some ridiculous faces and lots of laughter. That is the high. Good old cheap family fun. Ryan beware the rest of the story will bring back very bad memories for you.
Low: If Kyle laughs that hard he starts to puke. This is a new fact that we will never forget. Laughing and puking = spewing across everyone. That cleared the family room. Unfortunately we were laughing so hard that we were having a hard time racing to get him bowls to protect the carpet. He also ended up with food lodged in his nose - a definite low.

OK OK enough details. The moral of the story is, "Don't play outdoor school games when you come home. If you don't want to laugh yourself sick that is."

7 Feb 2010 - Eric

Low: "Waking up is hard to do-oo", and it was our last Sunday teaching the teenagers in Sunday School. That was pretty fun

High: New Droid should be coming tomorrow, and I have a good feeling that the Colts will win tonight

Brittny - 05 February 2009

Low: I was going in to work today for my annual review and to get to some meetings. That meant we had to be up this morning at 7am. So I planned ahead and went to bed with Sam at 11pm. Of course, he woke up at 12;30am and then wouldn't go back to sleep until about 2am. I had somewhat expected that would happen and missing those two hours of sleep would have been fine... if I could have fallen back to sleep with Sam at 2am. Instead I couldn't fall asleep until 5am for no particular reason. Sam wasn't sleeping especially soundly so most of those two hours of actually being asleep were spent nursing Sam which just isn't the most restful way to get sleep. Only getting about 3 hours of not so restful sleep is a pretty crummy way to start a busy day.

High: Believe it or not, going in to work today. I feel really blessed to work at Axis41. They have a really talented team there and I'm really grateful to be a part of it. I hadn't realized just how much I missed being there with them. I'm now considering working it out so that I can go in one day a week and work there again. I think it would be good for me to get out of the house and also good for Sam to learn to be with other people. Next week will be a trial run while we're with Mom and Dad to see how Sam handles being on his own during the day (well, not all on his own, but not with me :P)

Also, I got to take a 3 hour nap when we got home which was VERY beneficial.

Finally, the Lockwoods came over! I'm so glad that they live close enough for us to see them regularly. It's so fun having family around to just hang out with and enjoy their company. Yay for family!

January 31, 2010

High- being married to Taylor for 8 months now!

Low- realizing that I have about 7 years left of school....

31 Jan 2010 - Eric

Low: Getting very little sleep due to a kicking, squirming baby

High: We still made it to Church for the Sacrament

28 Jan 2010

High: Stepping on the scale at the gym today. -21 and counting, baby!

Low: I miss cookies ;-(

Brittny - 24 January 2010

Low: Our family had a really slow start this morning. Sunday mornings are still pretty rough since we're not used to being up at 9am when church starts... let alone beforehand to get ourselves ready! We were late to church as a result, but...

Highs: ... Sam was really cute when he woke up. At first he was *legs tired, so tired*, and just snuggling us and trying to figure out why in the world mom and dad were trying to wake us up. But when I took him into the bathroom and put him down to turn on the bathtub he immediately was happy and smiling and trying to hop in the tub. It was super cute! He also slept through almost all of church, which was definitely a blessing so that we could teach our Sunday School lesson and pay attention during the 3rd hour of Ward Conference. (yes, Ward Conference was another high :)

Also, Mom & Dad Hansen came over for lunch this afternoon and to visit us and play with Sam. I made our fettuccine alfredo all by myself and it turned out well (although it took me longer than I would have liked to get everything put together and on the table). We had fun visiting with them and showing off Sam's new tricks. It's such a blessing to have family nearby that can come and see us often.

Plus, after Mom & Dad Hansen left Sam was getting sleepy, so I took him to bed and nursed him to sleep and was able to sneak out and leave him alone in our bed. He's still there now! Eric and I even got to spend some time by ourselves which is a definite rarity and something I really miss. I think it's going to be a big driving factor in sleep training Sam. I just want to get to talk to Eric sometimes without a baby crawling over us! (Even if I do really like that baby :)

Hooray Sunday!

21 Jan 2010

Low: Being up with the baby for ~5 hours during the night. Legs...tired...so tired!

High: I got permission to stay home and let Brittny get some rest since she isn't feeling very well.

Brittny - 18 January 2010

Low: I spent all day yesterday in a house with cats. I think I might be allergic to cats because my throat hurts today (of course, my allergies have been acting up for awhile now anyways)

Highs: SAM IS WALKING! He's so cute just toddling around the house now. There are few things as happy as watching that kid learn new tricks. What's really fun is how proud he is of himself and how he'll show off. One thing he does is he'll crawl almost to Eric and then stand up and walk the rest of the way just to see us clap for him. He's the best baby in the whole world!

Also, I got to spend all day yesterday helping a good friend of mine organize her bookshelves and discussing some deep topics of parenting. I'm so glad that I found Denise in our ward and we've made friends. I've learned so much from her and she's such a great example to me.

Taylor is prophetic

High: Jayson and I are working on converting all the old family videos from tape to the DVD. So I get to watch and remember. It is funny to see how much everyone has changed but actually I have been noticing how much we haven't changed; we were each born with a personality and they don't seem to have changed much. So I was watching a segment from right before Cody was born and we were debating his name. I am lying on the coach because of course I was really sick and the kids are dancing around me offering name suggestions, most of them very bizarre. So I don't know where Taylor got this idea but the name she suggested was "AbelFart".

Low: She was prophetic and that would have been a very appropriate name for Cody.

Brittny - 10 January 2010

Low: Being *really* tired this morning. Between our alarm going off I dreamed that Eric and I were in a special husbands-and-wives unit of the army. But we'd just been transferred to another base that was two hours away from where we lived. We realized that with 9am church that meant that we'd have to get up at 6am to get all ready and back to our ward in time. We were really conflicted as far as what we should do because we were supposed to be teaching Sunday School (which we really were), but since we hadn't gotten to bed before 2am we would be really tired and that was a long trek. So we were about to email our friends in the ward to see if they would teach the lesson we had prepared.... when I woke up to the alarm for reals. We weren't any less tired than we were in the dream but twenty-five minutes later we were all up, dressed, with dinner in the crockpot and out the door to church. Ick, not a great way to start the day.

High: Because church is so early we have ALL afternoon to nap... which we did. Also, this was a really productive weekend! I got a few things checked off of my task list which have been on there for months. That felt good. Additionally: we got the apartment all cleaned up, I got my New Year's Resolutions posted, Sam slept on his own on the futon for a couple of short naps, I got to spend time with Eric, I got another offer for a freelance job, I got my hair cut and I have my task list ready for the new week. Yay for the weekend! Although, I am excited to start another week too, I like getting things done and being productive :)

Sunday, Jan. 10

High: Taking a nice long nap with my family

Low: Waking up early

04 Jan 10

High: Starting a new year with enthusiasm to make some needed changes in my life and daily routine, including getting the laundry sorted this morning and starting the whites load.

Low: The stark reality that 5:30 AM doesn't seem to come any later in 2010 than it did in 2009. So I postponed getting up at that time this morning for 30 minutes. Maybe tomorrow I will only postpone it by 29 minutes and be the end of January I will be getting up at the target 5:30 AM.

Brittny - 01 January 2010

Low: Having a sick and grumpy baby all day :(

High: Being home again! We had a great holiday and a really nice vacation, it was awesome to get to spend so much time with family. But, it was time to be home again. Nice to be back in our own bed and doing our own thing.

First Post of the New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!

High: Coming home after a good long Christmas vacation spending time with family.

Low: Feeling like I will be coming down with something soon.