What's in a name?

My uncle Lynn (pictured here) associates things together in order to remember them. For example, to this day, when asked what color something is, he says "sky blue" or "grass green" or "blood red." He had a yellow bicycle which means that yellow to him is "bicycle yellow." My grandpa had a brown pick-up truck, and "pick-up brown" is how Lynn sees brown. Well, this goes for some names as well. He couldn't remember my son, Teagan's name and kept calling him Peyton. I finally told him just to call him Mr. T. He doesn't have trouble remembering it anymore, now he just keeps telling me that I need to let him have a mohawk and wear jewelry. He even calls him Teagan now and not Mr. T.

Well, my sister married a guy named Joe Ray. (for those of you who don't know him, that's his first and last name. It's not like a Billy Bob kinda thing.) Lynn couldn't remember Joe's name. Someone (I admit it. It was me) told him it was Joe, like Joe Dirt. (a David Spade movie that Lynn loves) It stuck with Lynn like glue, and that's all he called him for a long time. Stephanie and Joe have been married for almost two years and Lynn now just calls him Joe. The association helps him learn and eventually (except for his colors) he uses the word without naming the association.

A few days ago, Lynn was talking about last names and was telling me that he was a Larsen and I was a Pearson. I told him that he was right and asked him if he knew a few other family member's last names. He did. When I asked him what Stephanie's last name was . . . you guessed it, he thought it was DIRT! He literally thought that her name was Stephanie Dirt! I laughed pretty hard and then told him he was right.

I later felt guilty for encouraging him to think that her name was dirt, so I taught him her real last name. Now he knows her as Stephanie Sting Ray. Hey, anything's better than dirt!

Sleep deprivation

Sleep has never seemed more important to me than when I can't get any. Many people take sleep for granted. I used to be one of those people. Now I cherish every blessed moment that I get to spend sleeping. I found out from my son's pediatrician that he should be sleeping longer at night than he is. I am now trying to figure out how I can get him to sleep for a solid 4-6 hours without waking up. He consistently wakes up 3 times at night. (from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) So I go to bed around ten and he wakes up at midnight. I feed him and get him settled down again and I end up back in bed around one. He then wakes up at about two or three. I feed him, and put him back to bed and he wakes up again at 4 or 5 a.m. Then at about 6 a.m. he is wide awake and wants to play. It is really starting to get to me.

Sleep deprivation can do strange things to people. I feel so distracted all the time. I also laugh at the most ridiculous things. I was laughing until there were actual tears streaming down my face over the stupidest thing. My husband was trying to sleep and I kept him up because I could not stop laughing. It had something to do with a muffin, but I don't even remember. That's the other thing, I can't remember anything anymore! I think when you are so focused on taking care of a baby your mind uses up all it's got doing that and your memory, and common sense fly out the window. Thank goodness for the weekends. That's Darryl's turn to be up with the baby!

St. Patrick's Day!

This holiday has been my favorite since I was about five years old. Many people find this strange. They always ask me why. Well, I found leprechauns fascinating as a child. I wished I could be one. You get to wear green everyday, play tricks on people, have lots of gold, and you also have magical abilities. Who wouldn't want that? I found a picture of me as a child wearing a leprechaun mask that I made out of paper. My mom told me that I refused to take it off. Though I now realize that leprechauns are not real and my dreams of becoming one have been shattered, I still love the holiday. My main reason now is that St. Patrick's Day is the easiest holiday to celebrate. All you have to do is wear green and all of the sudden you are so festive. It's also the only day you can justify eating corned beef and cabbage. Looking back, it seems as though I have had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day every year. This year was no exception. I dressed my baby up in as much green as I could find. I wore a nausiatingly bright green shirt, and ran some errands. Nothing special, but that's the best part of the holiday. It doesn't have to be.

Lynn

As most of you know, I have a mentally handicapped uncle who lives with my grandmother in the basement apartment at my parents house. (My husband and I live with my parents also. We have 8 people, 2 poodles and a sugar glider in a 5 bedroom house. It gets a little crazy sometimes.) Well, my uncle Lynn is one of my favorite people. This is a good thing; especially because I am his favorite person. He likes the dogs better than any person, but it's good to know that I am at least his favorite human. He has a sense of humor that is unlike anything I can describe. He mental level ranges from about a 3 year old to about a 6 year old, depending on the task being performed. He can't tie his shoes, but he can tell you almost anything you want to know about any one of the hundreds of movies he owns.

Today he came upstairs once he got bored of my grandmother's company and decided to visit me. My son, Teagan has been sick, so he saw a thermometer sitting in it's plastic case on the table next to where I was sitting with the baby. He asked, "that's Teagan's monitor?" I told him that it was in fact Teagan's thermometer to check his temperature to make sure he didn't have a fever. He then asked if Teagan put it in his mouth. I told him that babies can't hold thermometers in their mouths. Before I could say another word, he stood up, started running toward the basement and said, "I don't even wanna know where you stick that thing!" I laughed pretty hard, and asked him if he wanted me to show him how it worked by taking his temperature, and he said, "Forget it!" and slammed the basement door as though he couldn't escape fast enough.

Sometimes, I really wonder what gets into him. He is hilarious. If I continue this blogging business, you will definitely hear more about Lynn. He is always good for a laugh. It never fails to amaze me that someone with a disability like his can come up with that many clever things to say. I am just glad he finally stopped calling Darryl (my hubby) my ex-boyfriend's name. Now I just need to get him to quit asking me when Andrea is going to have a baby. He thinks that since I have one, she should too. After all, we have always done practically everything together. Andrea, I am going to give him your phone number so he can pester you about it. (Not that he knows how to dial)

Walgreens

I don't know what it is about that place. It's almost as if I moment I walk in, they just start sucking money right out of my purse. I have had to make several trips there recently to pick up a few things. They put out a great ad in the paper each week. It's enough to entice you in the store. (A box of 20 thank you cards for $1.00!) The thing I go to the store for is a good bargain, but I leave spending so much more than I had intended once I grab all the unnecessary things I tend to leave with. I just can't go there anymore.

I went down their make-up aisle and saw all kinds of great deals. The next thing I know I have 5 different kinds of eye-shadow and 3 things of mascara because they are 60% off. The problem is that 9 days out of 10, I don't wear make-up!

I decided to get some digital prints at their one-hour photo because I had a coupon (once again their ad sucked me in) for a really good deal. I ended up leaving with an Easter basket, lots of over-priced candy, baby sunglasses, bubble-wrap, packing tape, and a couple of picture frames. That was when I dropped off the pictures to be printed. It was just as bad when I had to go back and pick up the prints. I don't know why I decided to buy two new kinds of deodorant when I already have some at home. It seemed like a good deal.

My excuse: I don't get out of the house much, so I convince myself that I better get all those things while I am at the store.

Where did that month go?

Even if nobody ever reads this, I find it therapeutic to pour out my random thoughts onto a page. (or in this case, onto a screen) I have turned into somewhat of a shut in. I used to love to go places all the time. That all changed when I became pregnant. I did pretty well for most of my pregnancy. Toward the end, I couldn't bear the thought of being anywhere but home. I think working long hours on my feet contributed greatly to that.

It has been 6 weeks since I have given birth and thankfully ended my miserable pregnant days, yet I spend more time at home that I ever have. I like to be on the go. I like to get out and see the world. Even if it means finding an excuse to make a quick trip to the store. Strangely enough, that has been the hardest part of motherhood for me. I have to stay at home all the time now. I don't feel tied down that much, but it is very difficult to go anywhere with a baby. The cold weather makes it worse. I can't take him anywhere because I would be exposing him to any number of things which his immune system is not yet equipped to handle.

You would think that I could get all kinds of projects done. I could be catching up on the never ending pile of laundry. I could be putting a fresh coat of paint on my bedroom which needs it badly. I could work on the scrapbook that I have started and completed a mere 2 pages. I could paint the wooden train I bought for Teagan. I could finish the poem I started writing for my grandma, but am I doing any of this? Of coarse not. So what is my day filled with? Well, I start out by feeding, changing, and burping the baby. Then, I try and get him settled down so I can get something done. I shower, eat breakfast, and if I am lucky I might have time to do my hair before I have to start all over with the feeding, changing and burping of the baby. By this time, it's usually mid afternoon and I am wondering where the morning went and whether or not I will have time to make something for lunch. I don't need to go into detail about what my evenings are like. It's more of the same.

I love being a mother. I know it sounds like I am complaining. I am just constantly surprised by how fast the day flies by and I feel like I get nothing done. I have good intentions, but we all know where that leads. I guess the bottom line is that I can't claim to get nothing done because I am gone all the time. (That was my excuse before.) Now, I get nothing done because babies take up a lot of time, and let's face it, I am not the best at managing it. (When I do get some free time, I waste it on the computer.) So, my good intentions will lead me to hell where I will spend an eternity catching up on laundry and scrap booking.

Teagan's Blessing

We were so excited to have our baby boy blessed. We were especially anxious for Curt to get to meet Teagan for the first time. It is always so fun when Darryl's family gets to come to visit. I was a little sad about Steph and Joe being in London for his blessing. They really wanted to be there, but their internship in London was a great opportunity for them. They ended up moving the week before Teagan was born so they still haven't even met him. Steph called me the morning Teagan was blessed and told me that the day we chose for the blessing was Mother's Day in England! She said that she thought about me a lot and that even though it was a British holiday, I should be celebrating anyway. Well, we certainly celebrated. 

Teagan meeting Grandpa Curt for the first time.

It was so fun to sit in Sacrament Meeting with my friends and family. Darryl got up and gave the most beautiful blessing. I nearly cried. After Darryl finished the blessing and held Teagan up for the congregation to see our darling son, Lynn was overcome with love for our little guy and didn't care that it was up in front of everyone. He kissed him right on the head. It was such a tender moment. Lynn has a few great nieces and nephews, but none that he has felt such an attachment toward until Teagan. Teagan just melts Lynn's heart and it shows in the sweet and loving way he interacts with Teagan.

I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting for my family to hear. It was a special opportunity for me to share my testimony with them after such a wonderful event in our family. I felt so overcome with the spirit. I truly am blessed to have such a wonderful husband who upholds his priesthood, and is worthy of it. He has such a tender and loving countenance. He is so gentle and caring. I feel so blessed to have a husband who is so in tune with the spirit. He is the love of my life and I really am so grateful for him. I am so blessed to be a mother. I thank my Father in Heaven for that special gift. I feel so honored to be entrusted with a precious child of God in my care. I am thankful for the Lord's guidance that I may bring this child up in the gospel and be the kind of mother the Lord would want me to be. Holding my beautiful son in my arms is such an incredible feeling. He is my sweet little angel, my sunshine. I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ who atoned for my sins. I know that he lives and loves me. I know that he willingly gave his life because of the love he has for me. I am thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who listens and answers my prayers. I am thankful for the blessings he gives me. My heart is full. I am grateful to have been raised by such wonderful parents. I love my family dearly and feel so blessed to be a part of it. I couldn't imagine life without them. I have such a love and admiration for Darryl's family. I thank his parents for the role they had in raising such a wonderful man. I truly am thankful to live in the Latter Days. I am thankful to have the fullness of the gospel here on the earth and to have been born into the covenant. I am grateful my son had the same opportunity. 

Darryl also bore a heartfelt testimony. After Sacrament meeting, we went back to my parents house to have lunch and socialize with the family. I bought Darryl some chocolate cigars from See's Candies so he could pass out the cigars to all the guys. It was really fun and we got a great picture. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. Teagan got passed around and adored all day long. He really is adorable, so I am not surprised. It really was a wonderful day. 

(I am writing down everyone who was there so I don't forget. Andrea and Shane, Chad and Jenny, Blake, Kayce and Glade, Curt, Reita, Curtis, Nathan, and Aimee, Ray and Pam, Jeff and Leslie and Lori Hillstrom, Marissa and Ryan, Cambria, Devin and Amanda, Richard Kunkall, Grandma and Lynn, Grandma and Mike, Fauntelle, Garrett, and Mom and Dad.)

Darryl passing out the cigars to celebrate the birth of his baby boy!

Having a good time with Andrea and Shane

Grandma FernEtta and Aunt Fauntelle

The entire Pearson crew. Take a picture. This doesn't happen often.

The twins with their babies

Glade's drinkin', Teagan's screaming and the boys are smokin'. Another day in paradise.

Couldn't find the binkie!