J and M Witham Clan

It's been a while...

2009-04-08T12:37:00.002-06:00

A lot has happened since December 2008...

Big J came home safe and sound from his deployment on February 8, 2009. We have all enjoyed having him home. And just as expected he is completely wrapped around little miss SJ's finger. He has started back at Domino's already and starts back at his military job on Monday, April 13th. He undertook a home improvement project as well. Shortly after we moved into our home almost 8 years ago the ceiling under the master bath started to show water damage. We had the home builder come out to fix the damage. Long story short; the home builder tried to say it was our fault for not caulking, but the parts that weren't caulked were the parts sealed under the jetted tub. They fixed what they thought was wrong, but 7 years later the ceiling started to show water damage again. Big J took off the side of the tub and ripped up the flooring to try to figure out what was leaking. He cut a hole in the ceiling and after much searching we discovered that the overflow drain on the tub was what was leaking, it was never sealed. Since he had some of it torn out anyway he decided to tear out the rest of it and redo the entire bathroom. I have a lovely bathroom now with tiled floors and the entire tub and shower are tile as well. We have pedestal sinks and he also installed shower doors. We have a little bit of work to finish still.

While our bathroom was torn apart I decided I wanted new living room furniture. We went to Ikea and RC Willey and now my living room feels like mine. We moved the old couch down to the basement and a friend took the old entertainment center. The whole room seems so much bigger now, I love it.

In March Big J and I got to go on our Hawaiian vacation that he has been promising me since we got married 11 years ago. It was so nice to get away from the kids for a whole week. We went with some close friends and had a blast. We stayed on the island Oahu. During our stay we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, toured the Polynesian Cultural Center, walked around Waikiki, visited Pearl Harbor, snorkeled at Turtle Bay, and got tattooed at North Shore Tattoo. The guys also went golfing. We hope to make it an annual trip to Hawaii and want to go to some of the other islands as well.

Little Miss SJ started on rice cereal the other day. She isn't so sure of it and wants nothing to do with it if she is really hungry.

I just wanted to post an update... I will post pictures separately when I get a chance. With two little ones at home all day I don't get a lot of spare time before the older two get home from school.

211th Aviation Batalion Christmas Party

2008-12-11T11:04:00.005-07:00

The party was held at the AASF in West Jordan in the Apache Hangar. The soldiers of First and Second Batalions combined for the event along with their families and the families of the deployed.
The kids got to see Santa, climb a rock wall, get balloon animals from a clown, and play Pin the Nose on Rudolph. We got to spend time with friends and eat food, and have yummy cookies. And someone tried to climb through a vent in the hangar door...

Alphabet Tag

2008-12-11T10:33:00.002-07:00

A--Attached or Single: Attached... And wouldn't want it any other way
B--Best Friend: Big J & MJ
C--Cake or Pie: Cake, chocolate cake
D--Day of Choice: Sunday, get to spend it with the fam
E--Essential Item: Shower
F--Favorite Color: Yellow
G--Greatest Accomplishment: Being a wife for the past 11 years and a mom for 10
H--Hometown: Eagle Mountain, UT
I--Indulgences: sweets
J--January or July: July, I prefer the summer
K--Kids: 4... Little J, B, Little S, and Little Miss SJ
L--Life is incomplete without: My husband and I guess the kids too
M--Marriage Date: November 26, 1997
N--Number of Siblings: 1 full brother, 5 half brothers, 1 step brother, and a step sister... plus my adopted family of two sisters and two brothers
O--Oranges or Apples: Apples and oranges with raisins and walnuts
P--Phobias or fears: Losing Big J
Q--Quotes: "Happiness is a cconsequence" -Unknown
R--Reason to Smile: My kids
S--Season: Spring, love to watch all the flowers bloom
T--Tag 5 Friends: C Horne, J San Nicolas, E Bingham, A Smith, M n B Bettilyon
U--Unknown facts about me: All of my kids are named for people who have influenced our lives
V--Very favorite store: Old Navy
W--Worst habit: Being a clutter queen
X--X-ray or Ultra Sound: Ultrasound, I'm not usually in pain when I get one of those
Y--Your favorite food: Italian
Z--Zodiac: Aries

Saying "Good Bye" again...

2008-11-10T16:19:00.002-07:00

We got to have two whole weeks with our Soldier and this morning we had to take him to the airport to say farewell for approximately 99 more days. It was really hard to say good bye again, even though the end is in sight. This time the task ahead of me involves 4 children, 2 of which are in diapers. Although it will be tough, I know I have the support of family and friends to help me through.

Introducing Little Miss SJ

2008-11-06T19:44:00.008-07:00

Our beautiful little girl was born on Oct 30, 2008 at 1303. She was 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches long with auburn colored hair. We are so in love with her.

My labor story… I was to be induced the morning of the 30th, but had been up since 0230 so we went into the hospital on our own. The admitting nurse didn’t seem to be very happy about being there, or maybe that is her normal demeanor, her bedside manner was lacking a lot. When she did my IV her hand was shaking so bad (she wasn’t a new nurse either), and my vein still hurts. Then she had to check my cervix and was extremely NOT NICE. My Doctor came in a little while later to check me again, break my water, and put a scalp lead on the baby to better monitor her heart. I then opted for the epidural because I knew I would be given pitocin soon.

After getting the epidural my memory gets a little sketchy, I was pretty heavily drugged at that point. I do remember being in a lot of pain and the anesthesiologist had to come in a few more times to give me extra shots. My best friend MJ and Big J were there with me and helping me through the pain. I know that I dilated quickly and was soon telling the nurses that I needed to push. The nurses told me not to push, saying I was only dilated to a 9 and needed to be a 10 so that everything would go more smoothly. Finally one of them checked me again and said I was a 10, and then they discussed for a few minutes as to who should call the doctor. All the while I am trying not to push, but my body very much wanted to push.

Once the Doctor got there and I was in position to push, I only pushed four times. Three times to get her head out, and once for her body. Big J got to cut the umbilical cord. I guess I had a little tear and was given a few stitches. Little Miss SJ had some residual fluid in her lungs and had to be taken to the nursery, but not before I got to hold her for a few minutes to get acquainted.

I have to say I have the most wonderful Doctor. He always makes me feel at ease and answers any questions I may have. A few minutes after my delivery he came back after cleaning up to check the c-section scar on my uterus. He wanted to make sure that it was all okay and not in danger of rupturing. The Doctor I had with B didn’t do that and B was my first VBAC.

We are really enjoying having a little girl in the house. Little Miss SJ has everyone but S wrapped around her finger, especially her daddy. He will really miss her when he has to head back overseas. All of us will miss him as well.

We have a new deck

2008-10-17T11:10:00.003-06:00

There are some amazing people in my neighborhood, and since Big J is deployed the members of our church decided to help us build a deck. I bought the wood and they did the rest.

It took two nights to build and I was only able to get pictures of one night of work.

Builing the frame for the deck.

This was our old deck

Getting ready to put in the joists.

Putting in the joists.

Little S. wants to help too!

Looks like the joists are done, bring on the planks.

Starting the planks.

Putting in the planks.

Keep them coming.

This is the deck all done.

I am so excited to have a deck. Big J started to build a deck 7 years ago, and I was beginning to think it was never going to be built, but thanks to those in my neighborhood we now have a deck. There are some finishing things that we will do, such as putting up railing and some lattice to keep toys, kids, and animals out from under the deck.

While the men were building the deck the young men were staining my fence the approved HOA color.

Looking down the length of my fence.

Part of the fence that was stained a few months ago by the young men.

The boys and one leader.

Two of the leaders.

Caution wet paint.

Baby Shower

2008-10-02T16:56:00.003-06:00

So my bestest friend MJ threw a baby shower for me with the help of some other M friends. There were pink balloons EVERYWHERE. It was so so so much fun.

She made a matching game where you have to match the name of an animal with the name of the mother and the name of the baby. So if the animal was a Alligator the mother was a Cow and the baby was a hatchling.

She also made a baby bottle ring toss. The baby bottles were filled with Reece's Pieces and we used a teething ring to toss on them. We got to keep the bottle and eat the candy if we made it, my friend S took pity and gave me the second bottle she won since they are my favorite candy.

I had lots of family and friends there. It was really great. Thanks MJ!! I received many wonderful and useful gifts, thank you everyone!

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

2008-09-15T21:34:00.003-06:00

Growing up this is the cake I would beg to have for my birthday. I don't know if this is a recipe my aunt created or just one that she introduced to us. This is still my most favorite cake, but one of the main ingredients stopped being made by the two companies that made it. I think it has been about 20 years since I have been able to have my Tunnel of Fudge Cake. I found the key ingredient made now by another company, and gave the recipe a whirl.

Here is the recipe:

Tunnel of Fudge Cake from S. Lowe

Beat until fluffy 1 1/2 c. butter

Beat in 1 1/2 c. sugar

Beat in 6 eggs (one at a time)

Then BY HAND stir in:

2 c. flour

2 c. chopped walnuts (pecans are yummy too!)

1 pkg. (dry) Fudge Frosting Mix (Sweet N Low makes one)

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes in a greased angel food pan (the middle should be fudge like so the regular method of checking for doneness doesn't work).

Let cool in the pan for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

This is seriously the yummiest cake ever!

Cooling in the pan.....

Look at the yummy fudge in the middle...

Human Slinkey?

2008-09-05T17:08:00.003-06:00

So a week ago I was carrying S down the stairs, I know I shouldn't be carrying him, but he was poopy and I didn't have any diapers upstairs and I didn't want him scooting down the stairs and risk a gross mess. I stopped about 3 steps down when B started to ask me a question and next thing I knew I had lost my balance. I felt myself falling forward so I threw my weight backward to steady myself but I guess I threw too much because I ended up with my left leg getting crumpled under me and going down about 6 or 7 stairs still holding S. I was in immediate pain and and crying. S was scared from the fall and from my crying, but he was OK. My knee and ankle were all red and starting to swell.

I somehow managed to change S's diaper and get Little J and B out the door to school. I then called my friend/neighbor over to help me. I was in so much pain I couldn't think straight so I needed her to help me figure out what to do. I sent a quick email to J letting him know, just in case I had to contact him later through the American Red Cross, I didn't want him freaking out.

My friend discovered that one of our other neighbors was heading to the hospital in Provo (this hospital has a really good NICU just in case there was something wrong with the baby). We got to the ER about 10:15 AM and was finally seen about 11:30 AM. They gave me some percocet (sp?) at noon and I got an x-ray about 12:45 PM. They came in and told me nothing was broken and splinted my ankle about 1:30 PM. Somewhere in there they used a Doppler to listen to the baby's heart beat, and pronounced her fine since the heart rate was about 140 per min. I put in a call to my OB to see if he thought I should go to Labor and Delivery to double check. She was moving a lot and I didn't have any cramping or bleeding, but I was having contractions, and I couldn't be 100% sure I didn't bump my belly in the fall. My Dr told me to go to Labor and Delivery after the ER discharged me and he ordered a non-stress test as well as an ultra sound.

I made it to Labor and Delivery at about 2:00 PM and was feeling quite loopy, but could still feel the pain in my ankle. The started the non-stress test and were concerned that she wasn't moving a whole lot and her heart rate was a little lower. I told them that the ER gave me meds so they scheduled my ultra sound and decided to do the non-stress test while we waited for my turn for the ultra sound.

By the time I got to have my ultra sound (about 3:00 PM) the drugs were starting to wear off. The technician said everything looked good and gave me a few pictures from the ultrasound. Then another person came in reviewed what she had done and looked at some other things to determine that there wasn't a big tear or bleeding in or around the uterus. They called my DR and told him what they found. My Dr then ordered a 4 hour non-stress test. This test started about 3:30 PM and I wasn't actually released until about 8:15 PM with my Dr, the nurses and myself confident that all was OK. I didn't get home until almost 9:30 PM and was completely exhausted. I wasn't able to sleep when I was in the hospital because I was in pain the the beds were so uncomfortable.

I don't have any pictures of my ankle, but here are the pictures I received from the ultra sound.

This is a profile shot of her face.

Another profile.

Her sweet little foot!

Bug Bite??

2008-08-28T10:09:00.002-06:00

Little B got bit by a mosquito on the upper right side of his forehead at the Pack meeting on Tuesday night. This is what his face looked like this morning...

So I have never seen this type of reaction from a mosquito bite before... Here are a couple pictures taken a while ago that show what his face normally looks like...

First Day of School

2008-08-18T08:22:00.003-06:00

After going shopping at Sears and joining the KidVantage program (super program, they replace worn out clothes and shoes in the same size if you have the receipt) the boys are ready for the first day of school almost.... I forgot to go get them backpacks, oops :)

The two older boys are off to their first day of school today. Little J is going to 4th grade (can't believe I am mother to a 4th grader) and B is going to 1st grade. I hope they have a good day and listen to their teachers.

Chess and Cheese

2008-08-05T21:20:00.002-06:00

The older two boys decided to play a game of chess...

And S. decided my camera was something fun to play with... So, while the boys were playing chess, I was teaching S to say "cheese!" Which he did about every other minute. He would walk over to me and say "cheese" so I would take his picture. I think his motive was for me to turn on the camera so he could try to take it from me.

The boys had to defend the chess board from S a few times.

After about ten minutes of playing Little J had B in checkmate.

B is still learning the game, for the most part he knows what pieces move where but firmly believes that if you take one of his pieces, you should let him take one of yours. I had to explain that isn't the way the game works.

They had fun playing and I got some cute pictures, or should I say proof they actually can play nicely together...

Project in the basement

2008-07-29T12:57:00.004-06:00

So for the past 3 years we have been trying to finish a room in the basement for a play area for the boys. We started this project while Big J was on his first deployment. I bought all the supplies before he came home on leave. While he was on leave he and his dad started the project. After Big J went back overseas his dad and I worked more on the basement, mostly his dad. The basement wasn't even close to being done.... so when Big J came home from deployment he picked the task back up, he and his dad textured the walls and painted the primer. Then started deployment number 2. I bought all the paint two years ago, and finally we have started to use it!!!!
We have most of the walls painted. I have a little project I am working on for one of them and then there is the bookshelf...

We have Yellow!

Blue!!

More of the same Blue wall

Orange!!!

(Behind the sheet will be the guest room when we decide to finish that part)

And last but not least Beige.

(The area beyond the plastic is for a future bathroom to the left, and utility area leading to the cold storage on the right)

Then.....

This is my project, it will be plaid when all is said and done. Using all the colors in the basement and a little black for accent.

Gender Ultra Sound...

2008-06-27T09:11:00.003-06:00

So I had my Ultra Sound to check the gender yesterday. The guy doing the ultra sound didn't get any pictures of the face, but got the important one of the gender specific parts. Since I am 21 weeks he said that there was a 1 in 10,000 chance that he was wrong. Have you guessed it yet? How about if I ask you to finish this phrase?... "Think ----"

I don't see a turtle and shell, do you? Then it must be.....

A cute little foot.

The spine, ribs, and bent knee

The heart and heart beat.

Legs crossed at the knees, being shy...

Have you guess it yet? We are going to have a precious little girl! I have a couple face shots on the video, I just have to get it put transferred from VHS to DVD and then I might be able to get a still of the face from the DVD. Perhaps I could even get one of those 3-D ultra sounds from the mall, but they are expensive, is it too early to start spoiling her?

Summer Fun!

2008-06-27T08:57:00.002-06:00

Here's Little J setting up the sprinkler for them to run through.

Little J and B getting ready to run through again.

S loving the water and not caring how cold it is.

Now he is starting care that it's cold, but he loves the water so he won't leave.

All better and nice and warm in his towel. Little J had to take him by the hand to get him out of the water.

I am so glad that summer is here. The boys have been playing outside and loving the warm weather with ways to stay cool. I have been loving them not being inside fighting. I long for the structure of school days, but relish the fun they are having and the memories being made.

B's Happy 6th Birthday on 6/13

2008-06-27T08:31:00.003-06:00

Sorry it has taken me two weeks to get B's birthday up... We have been busy, I have been tired and let's be honest a little lazy.

We had an outside party. I love summer birthdays for that very reason. I don't have to have the kids inside my house, they can be outside and not thrashing my house. The kids played in the little pool, the sprinkler, and with squirt guns and squirt bottles. They had so much fun. I sat in a camping chair and got sunburned while they all had a blast.

Filling up the squirt guns in the pool.

This is B and his Bestest Friend in the whole world Z. They were warming up by laying on the warm cement.

Some of the kids waiting for the cup cakes and ice cream sandwhiches. S runnimg back to the pool because he loves water!

I am passing out the cup cakes after B made his wish (the wind blew out his candle).

B had so much fun and really enjoyed having a water part for his birthday. It was a nice warm day too. We had had 50 degree temps earlier in the week so I was worried it was going to be cold and I would have to figure something else out for the kids, but it all worked out and they all had fun!

OUCH, my head hurts!

2008-06-02T21:18:00.003-06:00

The excitement never ends around here.

Little J and B see someone to help them and me with their behavior issues as well as little J's ADHD. We were at our appointment today and S found a little chair that was just his size to sit in. It was positioned right in front of a white board and so he was pretending to draw on the board (pretending because he couldn't get the markers open, and good thing, would have been a big mess). He dropped a marker and tried to pick it up without getting off the chair. He fell to the left and hit his left eye on another chair. He will have a nice shiner on his left eyebrow as well as just to the left of his left eye.

After he was done being comforted he got down off my lap and went right back to the chair. He was repostioning and dropped another marker. I knew he was going to fall again and it happened faster than I could react. I was reaching for him when he fell to the right this time. He hit the back if his head on an end table and then on a free weight that was under the table. I heard the chink of the metal on the free weight and knew he hit it. I just didn't know how hard. He was sat on my lap with his head against my chest for a long time while he was being comforted. When he got down the back of his head was covered in blood and so was my chest. I calmly took him to the bathroom and washed his head and wiped the blood off my chest. I didn't figure it was life threatening because it wasn't gushing so we finished our appointment (which ended a bit early) and headed to the pediatrician for a medical opinion on whether stiched or staples were needed. There were three cuts and one was about a centimeter long and fairly deep. The other two were smaller one was barely noticable. The doctor said that we could have put a staple in the larger one, but it would most likely heal better on it's own. Just said I should keep it clean (at which he chuckled since S is an active todler), and watch for things out of the norm. He made sure there was no concussion and then we were on our way.

(The picture above shows the largest cut and the one that we could have put a staple in)

When we got home all S wanted to do was play. It was starting to get chilly because rain was moving in so I closed the garage door while he played with his car. B kept getting into it when S got out. S didn't like that at all, he would yell and push B out of the car. Guess he wasn't feeling the head injury too much.

So Proud

2008-06-02T21:07:00.003-06:00

So when B was sick with his soar throat we took him to the doctor for fear it was strep. While waiting for the doctor to come in S. tried and tried to climb up to be with B. He finally got up on the step and was so proud of himself. There was just one problem... he couldn't seem to figure out how to get back down.

It turned out to be ther perfect place for him, because when the doctor came in he had his laptop and Curious S wanted to play with it, but couldn't because he couldn't get down to where it was.

Happy Birthday Big J!

2008-05-28T07:42:00.002-06:00

Ok, so yesterday May 27 was Big J's birthday. I felt it was important for the kids to celebrate his birthday even if he was halfway around the world. So I made cupcakes and decorated them. We invited our best friends over, the Johnson's, and had fun. We took some to a few of the neighbors so they could celebrate too.

We each got a cupcake with a candle...

Sang "Happy Birthday", and made a wish for the birthday boy's safe return...

And then enjoyed our cupcakes!

For Big J's birthday S got a car. He absolutely loves it. Our next door neighbors have one and any time their garage is open he runs in and sits in their little car. Now he has his own and can sit in it or play in it whenever we go play outside.

Watch out world I'm behind the wheel!

Thanks Daddy for a fun car!! Can't wait for you and me to play together with it!

Quick Update...

2008-05-28T07:30:00.002-06:00

Big J: Overseas with the military and doing a good job at what he does, and finally kicked what ever illness was plaguing him.

M: Almost 17 weeks pregnant and having more energy, especially compared to Monday 5/19 when I had the flu.

Little J: My helper, he stayed home from school on the 19th to take care of S because I was so sick. He also can't wait for school to get out, and summer vacation to start.

B: Currently sick with a fever and soar throat, not strep (thank goodness). He also had the flu on the 19th. Being a trooper through it all.

S: As precocious as a 19 month old can be. He has so much energy and is curious about everything. Starting to say more words and loves to play outside.

There was a quick update for you all.

My Growing Belly

2008-04-29T19:57:00.006-06:00

I had an OB appointment today. I am doing well and so is the baby. The doctor was trying to find the heart beat so I that I could record it and send it to Big J. He felt my tummy in the uterus area and commented that I was measuring further along. "Oh no! Another big baby for sure!" were my thoughts as he said this. He couldn't find the baby where he thought it should have been and so took me into the ultra sound room to see what was going on, but he didn't tell me what was happening really and I was starting to get concerned. Then he starts asking if I had a history of fibroids, and I don't. He kept going back to my chart and checking to see what the radiologist at the hospital had said about my last ultra sound there. Finally he decided it was a clot from the hemmorage that caused the bleeding I was having. The clot is almost as big as the baby, and pushing the baby up higher and my belly out further. When I have my ultra sound at 18 weeks, we will see the status of the clot and he will determine if we need to continue to monitor it or if it won't cause any problems. If it turns out to be a fibroid and not a clot then I may end up having to have a c-section. I don't want to have a c-section for a few reasons:

I have had one and they stink.

Recovery without Big J here to help will be super hard.

I will have to have any subsequent children by c-section as well.

If I do have to have a c-section I might as well have him tie my tubes too.

On to happier things. S. was a trooper at the appointment, he was in his stroller the whole time and only fussed a little. We were in the Dr.'s Office for about 45 minutes too.

Our Soldier Abroad

2008-04-26T10:34:00.003-06:00

They reached the Middle East ahead of schedule, they arrived this morning. Their time was greatly reduced by being able to get a direct flight to overseas. The advanced party guys were lucky, but I bet the rest of the soldiers to follow won't be so lucky.

On his way to the Middle East

2008-04-25T08:31:00.004-06:00

Our soldier is on his way to the Middle East and should get there sometime around 3 pm local time on Sunday. His whole trip could take about 38 hours start to finish including layovers and whatnot. He will go through a few different cities in the US before heading out of the States. Then he will go through one or two foreign airports before getting to his final destination. Because of OPSEC (Operational Security) the families aren't suppose to know when and where the soldiers are until they reach their final destination, just in case they tell an acquaintance who happens to have terrorist links and the soldiers get targeted. I'm not worried, we've been through this before. It would be nice to know if he is going through Germany and how long he will be there and if he's allowed off the plane, since he has a cousin there, but that isn't possible (sorry Em!)

Wives and Mothers Honor Event

2008-04-24T18:54:00.003-06:00

Sorry it's taken me a while to post this, but on 11 April 2008, I took my MIL to an dinner that honored the wives and mothers of the deployed soldiers in Utah. We heard from 4 different speakers and a musical number. TAG (The Adjutant General) Major General Tarbet and his wife spoke as well as Col. Robinson and his wife. The messages were all about the same, "You can do this", "You are stronger than you think", and "It will be over before you know it". It was kinda funny that Gen. Tarbet's wife was trying to tell us to text pictures and videos to our soldiers while they are still in the states. About 75% of the audience was about my age or younger and probably all doing that already. We were each given a rose and a gift basket at the end of the evening. The night was long, but it was good to get away from the boys for the night.

Tulip Festival

2008-04-13T13:45:00.002-06:00

We went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point 12 April with Papa and Gramma. We are guessing since it snowed about 3 inches on Friday morning that is why there were very few tulips up and blooming. There were suppose to be 250,000, and we saw maybe 150.

We walked nearly the whole garden area and saw lots of daffodils, a few crocus, and lots of pansies. There was even a little pond with coy in it, I got some neat pictures there and also a picture of a Black hawk doing some fire training. A few Apaches flew by as well.

Then we went to Wingers for an early dinner. Thanks Papa and Gramma for a fun day!

My Birthday

2008-04-11T09:22:00.002-06:00

I was a little nervous about turning 30, but there wasn't really anything to be nervous about. My Mother-in-law came over and watched the boys while I went out to lunch with a really good friend of mine (who is like a sister to me). We went to this place called Zupas, so yummy. They serve soup, salad, and sandwiches. I had half and half which was a half salad and half sandwich. After lunch another friend met up with us and we got pedicures.

My dear sweet hubby sent me flowers (my most favorite flowers and color).

I went over to my In-laws and had dinner and cake. I wanted a specific cake and so I insisted on making it myself. It was so yummy. (Thanks for the directions Mrs. Horne!)

Yummy Flowers!!

2008-04-09T15:27:00.002-06:00

I got a box in the mail today, and inside had some yummy flowers. My 30th birthday is tomorrow and my two childhood best friends sent me these flowers. And apparently one of them had some not so lovely pictures of me from when I was 15. Thanks guys! I love them. The boys keep asking if they can eat them, and I tell them "No, they are mine!"

Just my opinion

2008-04-07T22:04:00.002-06:00

I am not in any way trying to influence anyones vote, and I didn't want to get into the whole political thing, so I am just saying that...

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I believe that he has in mind what is best for the American people and not his own gain. I think that he has the right idea for what is going on with Iraq. I think it sucks that my hubby has to keep going over there, but he knew that was a probability when he joined, and I am grateful to men and women like my hubby who are willing to serve. I know from first hand accounts that what these men and women have done and are doing over there are helping the people of Iraq. If we pull them out now it will be like teaching a child to read but not how to write. I know it has been said many times before, but we are still in so many other places that we occupied to stop an injustice. We've been in Japan and Germany for over 60 years, I don't see anyone complaining about that. We've also spent a lot of money to stay in those places. Why should Iraq be any different? Maybe we invaded on wrong or bad information, but I believe that we went in and have been rescuing an oppressed people. Our founding fathers wanted this nation to stand up for the weak and oppressed, but those ideals have been lost in this "what's in it for me" world.

I'll step down from my soap box now, and just reiterate that I don't want to change anyones opinion, I just wanted to share mine.

A sigh of relief...

2008-03-24T16:54:00.003-06:00

Ok, I had my follow up ultra sound this afternoon and it turns out everything is alright. The baby is the right size and has a good strong 160 beat per minute heart beat. According the the ultra sound my due date is Nov. 6th, and hopefully this baby won't follow in the tradition of it's brothers and it will be small. Little J. was a good size 6 lbs. 4 oz. B. was ok at 7 lbs. 14 oz. But S. was almost too big at 8 lbs. 12 oz. You may think I'm a wuss, but I'm a petite girl and it's really hard on me to have big babies.
So, in the ultra sound the part that looks like a bowling pin (where the arrow is pointing) is the baby, and the circle just below that is the yolk sac. Yay! I can finally breathe and stop wondering if the nausea is all for nothing.

Doors + little fingers = OUCH!

2008-03-24T08:39:00.003-06:00

Last night the older boys were "playing" with S. Little J. was inside his room and B. and S. were outside in the hall. Somehow S.'s finger got closed in the hinge side of the door. I put as much ice on it as S. would allow and gave him some ibuprofen. Then I had to hold him until he fell asleep. This is what his finger looks like the morning after, I think it's going to be OK. He has fat little fingers and this finger doesn't look any bigger than usual.

Fun with Papa!

2008-03-22T15:42:00.003-06:00

Boys and their toys...

Is that a web on your face?...

Half Spider Half Bunny

The older two boys got picked up by Papa and taken to Thanksgiving Point for some Easter fun. They participated in an egg hunt, got their faces painted, had balloon animals and swords made, played on big bouncers, and went on a wagon ride. They had so much fun!!

"I can see!"

2008-03-20T13:57:00.003-06:00

I remember getting my first pair of glasses when I was 8 years old. When I walked outside I was amazed that I could actually see the leaves on the trees. Well Little J. got his first pair of glasses yesterday, although his vision wasn't nearly as bad as mine, he was amazed at the things he could see off in the distance that he couldn't see before. He was so excited to get his glasses. Have I mentioned that he has ADD? When I was taking this picture something shiny caught his eye...LOL

Life with deployment

2008-03-15T15:55:00.002-06:00

So it seems that things are more dramatic when we are dealing with a deployment. Emotions are closer to the surface for all of us and communication just isn't the same.
I figured that I needed to make sure the boys got to the dentist and optometrist, so I made appointments. Turns out Little J. needs glasses just like his mom. B. and I haven't has our appointments yet.
The dentist was a dramatic experience. We got there early so I could fill out the new patient forms and while I was doing that they took Little J. back to start cleaning his teeth. The receptionist called my Insurance company to verify payment just as soon as we got there and once she got off the phone with them she tells me that they won't pay if use their services. The only dental office for 20 miles that the insurance won't cover is the one I want to go to. I found another office, but still.... :(
Little J. has ADD and was on medication last year and did really well, except his dose wasn't quite right and then we couldn't find the right medication to put him on. He has been worse since Big J. left and so I made an appointment for him to see a child psychiatrist and we go on Monday, St. Patty's Day. I hope that we both (Little J. and Me) learn a lot about how to deal with his ADD and dad's deployment.
Oh, and if all that wasn't enough drama... I discovered that I am pregnant. Shock was my first reaction, then "How am I possibly going to do this alone?", then finally excitement. I took the test on 3/4 and then (here comes the drama) on 3/10 I started spotting a tiny bit. There was bright red blood at first and then old dark blood. I didn't call the Dr. until 3/11 and then had an ultra sound on 3/12. The ultra sound was inconclusive. There is a yolk sack, but couldn't definitively find anything with a heartbeat inside. I swear I saw it, but the tech who was doing the ultra sound couldn't get a heartbeat to register. I went to the Dr. on 3/12 and until my follow-up ultra sound on 3/24 we don't know what's going on. The office staff kept referring to it as a "threatened SAB" (SAB = spontaneous abortion aka miss carriage). The reasoning I was given for the ultra sound results were the baby just wasn't big enough yet to see. I still feel pregnant, but it's not the same as it's been before. I just wish I could fast forward to 3/24. If all is well then I will be due the first week of November and the baby will be almost exactly two years younger than S.

Updated pic of the blanket.

2008-03-15T15:46:00.002-06:00

The blanket is half way there. I haven't had as much time recently to work on it as I would like, but am still trying to plug away at it.

Blanket for my Soldier

2008-03-03T10:37:00.002-07:00

I started to crochet little yellow squares a few months ago and Big J. asked me if I would make him a blanket using the yellow squares and some other colors. We went and picked out the yarn and this is my progress so far…. I have 26 of the 96 squares done there is the border to do also. I will keep updating the pictures as I get further along and then a final picture before I send it off.

I finished more squares and here it is 1/3 of the way done!! I feel like I'm accomplishing something. Before I had a bag of squares, now I have 1/3 of a blanket and a bag of squares.

Beanie Baby

2008-03-03T10:31:00.002-07:00

I got a Beanie Baby for my birthday last year (April 2007). I don’t collect them, but I couldn’t pass this one up. His name is Salute and his birthday is Veterans Day.

Bumps and Bruises

2008-03-03T10:20:00.002-07:00

S. was walking all over my in-laws last Sunday 2/24/08 while we had him confined to one area. Learning from his oldest brother he figured out how to “escape” and made it over to the top of the stairs. He didn’t fall down the stairs, thank goodness, but got caught on the railing and smacked his forehead against the wood floor overhang. It immediately became a large goose egg.

Still smiling thru it all, what a trooper!!

On KSL.com

2008-02-21T10:54:00.002-07:00

The news covered the departure of our soldiers and we made it into the pics...

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2698652

Farewell Feb '08

2008-02-21T10:13:00.003-07:00

His parents and little sister.

I love you Daddy!

So we had to say farewell to our soldier yesterday. He is supposed to be gone for about 14 months. They have training in Oklahoma for a couple months then head overseas to Kuwait. He's in an aviation unit and aviation units are typically used to transport the troops in and out of areas.
The boys and I are doing ok and miss him tons. The car ride home was hard. The boys were crying really hard and saying they "wish Daddy didn't have to leave", which made me cry. I was trying to be strong for them and in so doing bottled my emotions up and couldn't release them later and ended up with a migrain.

It's going to be hard to hear the Apaches fly over our house. I used to call him up and joke about how low they were and tell him to tell the pilots to fly higher because they were rattling the pictures on the walls.

He is going on a much safer mission than he did last time, but it doesn't make it any easier. The fact remains that he will be 7,000 miles away. While he's in the States my sanity will be ok, but once he gets on that plane to go overseas I will lose what sanity I have for a while.

Witham boys and legs...

2007-10-16T09:33:00.000-06:00

So, Little J hurt his leg last night. We have an appointment this morning at 10:40 and I am going to make sure they take x-rays just in case. There was a huge lump last night about the size of an egg, the lump is much smaller now but the pain was so bad he couldn't sleep last night. I have been giving him Ibuprofen for the pain and swelling. We shall see what the Dr says.

We go back to see the Orthopedic Surgeon for B this Friday, he is still limping and complains sometimes about the pain, but I think it's better than it was. He hasn't followed the Dr's orders to not run and jump either, he's 5 what do you expect?

S decided that he likes to turn the TV on and off and today I caught him on camera... He is a sneaky little guy,but super cute and check out the hair... Can you believe he's almost a year old?

Update on B

2007-09-29T17:58:00.000-06:00

The Dr we saw yesterday was really nice and very thorough. He did more x-rays and determined that there isn't a ton of fluid around the knee, but there is a small fracture that is super close to the growth plate. He didn't want to immobilize B because that could end up doing more damage to the growth plate. B just has to make sure that he does low impact things for the next 3 weeks, when we have another appointment. How do you tell a 5 year old that they can't run but they can walk? He can't jump in anyway shape or form either.

Other than that we had the Pine Wood Derby today. Unfortunately Little J didn't win, in fact he came in 2nd to last. He did win the Most Patriotic Award. Big J made a car too, and when we got to race his car it took 3rd in it's class. I will add pictures of the cars when I take some. I forgot my camera this morning. :(

Frustration with Doctors...

2007-09-27T21:19:00.000-06:00

Let's see... where to start....

Two weeks ago (Sept 13) B was coming inside, through the garage, from playing outside. He is a bit of a klutz, and he tripped up the stairs, managing to give himself a black eye (left side) and hurt his right knee. The next day (Friday) I picked him and the neighbor boy up from school and he was limping so I had him sit in the bottom of the stroller.

(this picture is from last year when I walked to go get my friends daughter from school and B would be "too tired" to walk)

Saturday was bowling day, both of the older boys are in a bowling league. B was still limping really bad after he bowled his two games so we made an appointment for him to see the doctor. Big J took him to the Dr. and I stayed at the alley since Little J wasn't done bowling yet.

Big J and B waited at the Dr's office for 30 minutes before being seen. B was very afraid of having to get shots so he was being overly brave. Dr had him walk and run and looked at his knee and said it was nothing more than a contusion. So we take the Dr's word for it and go our merry way. The entire next week B is limping and it's getting worse. He is really not one to complain and doesn't like having attention drawn to him. I made a mental note to call and make another appointment at the Dr, but as a mother of 3 I forgot. On Monday (Sept 24) I noticed his limping seemed to be worse than before, and this time other people are really starting to notice as well. Tuesday we went to the Dr and I told them I wanted an x-ray because is obviously wasn't just a contusion. They sent us to the hospital to have a radiologist do the x-ray and then look at it, so as to get the best answers possible. We hear back and the results show that there is fluid behind the knee cap as well as surrounding the joint. The referral is given to go to an Orthopedic Surgeon and B is to be off his knee as much as possible and stay in bed except to go to the bathroom. (You try telling a 5 year old boy to sit and not get up and play.)

We have our appointment tomorrow (Friday, Sept 28) and hopefully this Dr knows what they are doing and can diagnose it properly. I am guessing they will take a sample of the fluid to determine what it is and check to see if it's hiding a fracture.

Withams

2007-08-30T22:40:00.000-06:00

We are the Withams. We live in Utah and love it. We have been out here for 7 years and in our house for 6. Our family consits of Big J. (Husband, Daddy and Soldier), M. (Wife and Mother), Little J. (Oldest son in 3rd grade, 8), B. (Middle son in Kindergarten, 5), and S. (Baby boy 10 months old).

Big J. is in the Utah Army National Guard and works full time for his Unit in West Jordan, Utah. He also works part time for a Domino's Pizza as an Assistant Manager on the weekends. He enjoys going shooting or golfing with his buddies when he isn't working. He came home from an 18 month deployment June 2006.

M. (that's me) is full time mother of 3 rambunctious boys. My days are full of getting boys up on time for school (and daddy up for work), changing diapers, chasing baby around, getting B. from school, helping Little J. with homework, and somewhere in there trying to maintain my home. Laundry seems to never end.

Little J. is in cub scouts and loves it. He is always trying to learn and make new things. He loves to read and lately has been into reading books on historical facts. He rides his bike just about anywhere I will let him. He likes being an older brother and watches out for his younger brothers.

B. is so excited to have started Kindergarten this year. He practically ran the whole way to school on his first day and didn't even stop to say good bye. He loves to learn and tell me all about what he has learned each day. He is also a devious little stinker and gets into things if I am not watching him closely.

S. has four teeth now and crawls everywhere. He is such a good, happy, and fun baby. Sleeping through the night has been his thing since he was 3 days old. Only if he is sick do I have a sleepless night courtesy of him. He pulls himself up on things and has the funnest laugh. He is such a joy to our little family.