how do you pick?

how do you pick out your pumpkin for halloween? this is how aidan does it

the second we got there aidan found some loose chickens running around, so he ran around with them.

this is the face aidan makes when you ask him to smile for the camera ... i love my silly boy!

aidan was really interested in the rides that they had, unfortunately him momma and daddy weren't.

here he is checking out some pumpkins

aidan loves finley

aidan loves finley ... he loves giving her kisses, sometimes he loves her TOO much! but it's really sweet.

...

finley turned 1 month old yesterday. i can't believe it, it went by so fast. to celebrate she slept 8 hours straight (she might have slept longer, but i woke her up to feed her). unfortunately, she didn't go to sleep until 1 a.m. ... and aidan decided to wake up at 6:30 (he usually gets up around 7:30) ... so i didn't get to take advantage of the 8 hours ... bummer!!

heidi loves my blog

Heidi said she loves my blog and asked me to do this! I love to read other peoples, so here is mine!

...

i am the last of my siblings to do this ... yikes! check out heidi's, nicole's and scott's

...

1. Where is your cell phone? sitting on the charger next to me

2. Where is your significant other? in the office (the man cave) playing warhammer ... ignoring me as always

3. Your hair color? Brown with bleach streaks

4. Your mother? one heck of an amazing woman, if only i could be more like her

5. Your father? an fantastic man, an example to everyone

6. Your favorite thing?

7. Your dream last night? yeah ... i don't dream. only when i'm preggo ... so no more. plus it'seven harder when you have to get up every couple hours.

8. Your dream/goal? for jocole.net to actually become successful

9. The room you're in? my living room, sitting on my new couches

10. Your hobby? sewing, pattern-making

11. Your fear? not being good enough

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy and healthy, playing with my kids and husband

13. Where were you last night? hanging with my family at my parent's house ... then home to put aidan to bed and watch some tv with my hubby

14. What you're not? domestic

15. One of your wish-list items? hmmm ... i never know what i want

16. Where you grew up? in ontario, california. in the house my parent's still own ... i LOVE going home.

17. The last thing you ate? in-and-out, hamburger - animal style and fries - crispy

18. What are you wearing? a t-shirt and some comfy knit pants

19. Your TV? on ... with general conference playing, listening to Elder David A. Bednar ... LOVE him

20. Your pet? too many fish to count, and monty (the ball) python

21. Your computer? dell precision m90

22. Your mood? sleepy

23. Missing someone? my family ... i don't get to see them nearly as often as i would like ... especially the ones who live FAR away!! MOVE CLOSER!! my kids want to play with their cousins!!

24. Your car? 2000 honda civic

25. Something you're not wearing? shoes

26. Favorite store? target

27. Your summer? we should have gone to the beach ... poor deprived aidan

28. Love someone? yup ... my hubby and my 2 beautiful children ... and my family

29. Your favorite color? pink ... all shades ... although, i've been totally diggin' aqua/turquoise blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? earlier today, while robby was making aidan laugh

31. Last time you cried? the day we came home from the hospital after i had finley

robby made dinner!

robby made me dinner. he caught the bass himself. then decided to cook it for me. he also made rice pilaf and some steamed broccoli. it was some good stuff. i hope he decides to do it again sometime ... delicious!!

what's in your bag?

finley's 2 week appointment: 7 pounds 3 ounces and now 21 1/2 inches long (yup ... she gained 3 inches in 2 weeks!!) go finley go!! and a picture, since i know everyone just wants to see her ... who cares what i write about anyways?

here is what the directions say on the side of the can: "for use on cows, thoroughly was treated teats and udder with separate towels before each milking. to avoid contamination after each milking, bathe the udder with plenty of hot water, strip milk out and dry skin. apply bag balm freely and massage gently with this proven ointment twice daily."

...

this is my personal favorite for diaper rashes. it helps treat rashes and prevents diaper rashes from returning. i know it sounds bizarre, but it really works. my friend (thanks amy!!) gave it to me at one of my baby showers when i was pregnant with aidan. i recently decided to do some research online to see what other uses it could be good for and here is what i found out ...
...

~ helps treat eczema (i'm testing this one out currently!!) aidan suffers from eczema pretty badly on his legs. the eczema cream we were using just wasn't cutting it. so i've been slathering it on his legs before i put him to bed every night. (then cover with pants ... it is pretty greasy) robby does not condone this behavior, as bag balm is not intended to be used like this. we actually got into a pretty heated discussion about it. i didn't listen and smothered him in the yellow goo anyways. and i must say that his legs have NEVER looked better ... seriously! it's like 99.9% gone after 3 days ... the only patch left is the really stubborn one on his ankle! HUZZAH!!!

...
other uses that i haven't tried myself:
~ great on chapped, dry skin and lips
~ smother on your cracked heels, cover with socks and your feet will be velvety smooth in the morning.
~ good for treating acne (and acne scars)
~ reduces the appearance of scars
~ good overnight moisturizer on long dry hair
~ helps heal cuts and burns
~ cold sores
~ post-tattoo skin soother
~ sunburns
~ athlete's foot

~ jock itch
~ nursing nipples
~ soften cuticles
~ psoriasis
~ blisters
~ insect bites
~ stretch marks
~ wind burn
~ cradle cap (ya know, the dry scaly stuff on baby's heads -- nicole is going to test this one out on baby caleb!)
~ removing splinters (put a glob on splinter and cover it with a band-aid overnight, the splinter will be out and lying on the band-aid in the morning) it's like magic. (i almost want to give myself a splinter so i can see if this really works ... ALMOST)
...
you can read some testimonials how some users have used bag balm in their life.
...
it was invented in vermont in 1899, and is made from only three ingredients - 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (an antiseptic, providing protection against bacteria and fungi) in a petrolatum (prevents further moisture loss) and lanolin base(a replacement for the natural skin oils that get washed away. lanolin is a natural oil extracted from the wool of sheep without causing any harm to the animal. it is one the oils closest to the human sebum, making it an excellent moisturizing ingredient). it's thick and greasy (but easily spreadable), and a bit stinky (slightly medicinal, but the smell seems to dissipate semi-quickly).
...
keep some by your changing table, in your medicine cabinet, next to your sink, on your nightstand, in the first aid kit in your car, your emergency pack, your office desk drawer, etc. you never know when you will need it and it has so many uses!!

...

it's super cheap and one 10 ounce tin lasts FOREVER!!! up until last saturday i had only used about 2/3 of my tin in aidan's 19 months. unfortunately while i was napping today, robby was watching aidan in the living room and he dozed off for about 10 minutes. in that 10 minutes aidan found a purple crayon and drew on a few things (including my couch), spread baby wipes all over the living room, and got into the bag balm tin. he smeared the balm all over his hands and feet, and head ... including ALL over his face, and of course on my couch ... UGH!! yeah ... greasy hand prints ... any tips on getting it out?! needless to say robby gave him a bath ... but i no longer have 1/3 of my tin left. so i had to go out and purchase some more.

...

then on monday robby called me up and asked if we wanted to buy some couches from some friends who were moving (rookie cookie) ... since our couches were NASTY ... and now had greasy bag balm handprints all over them, i said yes. check it out ... i LOVE them!! thanks whitney ... i'll miss you, but think about you everytime i see your couches!

finley's arrival -- my version

my sister nicole lovingly posted about fin's arrival (ya know, since i was in the hospital and couldn't do it myself!)

...

we were a bit scared about inducing me ... because of how it didn't work last time. if the induction didn't work, then we would have to do a c-section. but my doctor was really positive that everything would turn out fine.

...

we checked into the hospital on september 22nd, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at 8:00 p.m. they started me on cervadil. we watched the heroes season premiere (but not on my laptop ... nicole assumes that since she only watches tv on her computer that everyone else does as well ... haha! just kidding nic ... don't be offended.) at 4:45 a.m. on september 23rd, 2008, they started me on pitocin. i asked for my epidural around 5:30 ... i didn't get it until 7:30. at 8:00 my doctor checked on me and ruptured my water. finley's heart rate was dropping every time i had a contraction and my nurse was pretty concerned, so at 10:00 she put a monitor directly in finley's head to more closely monitor what was going on with her. they assumed it was just the cord wrapped around her head (which it wasn't), but wanted to be sure she was okay. i was only dilated to a 5. as she was leaving she said that finley would probably arrive somewhere around 12 or 1, but if my contractions got worse or i started feeling pressure to let her know. i tried to go back to sleep and get some rest.

...

around 10:30 i had a pretty big contraction and LOTS of pressure. so i called my nurse and she came in to check me. i was then informed that i should NOT push, laugh, sneeze, cough, etc. and that she was going to go call my doctor immediately. my doctor got there in 15 minutes and i was all prepped and ready. after only 2 contractions and 5 pushes finley arrived at 10:55 a.m. (robby said if i didn't have to breathe so much, i could have done it in less pushes).

...

here she is, only 5 hours old!!

she was perfect. we all (robby, me, my friends, my nurse, and my doctor) assumed that since aidan was 7 pounds 2 ounces at 1 week overdue, and she was early and i had gained less weight, that she would be in between 5 and 6 pounds. so we were all delighted when she was 6 pounds and 5 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long!! she had no breathing problems. she had no problems nursing (a half hour after birth she nursed for 20 minutes!!). not even a problem with jaundice! she's an angel. i mean, aidan was a good baby, but she is phenomenal!! she sleeps and eat and poops and that's it. she barely cries, and only when she really needs something. (it's the cutest little sqwak ever!) and she really does have dimples ... we just can't seem to get a picture of them since she is ALWAYS sleeping (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

...

besides the blood pressure, my recover has been super easy! i feel great. the rash has passed (it was only here for like 3 days ... who knows what it was from. it came a few days after i got home then vanished as randomly as it appeared.). i'm up and about and feel almost back to normal.

...

check out that cute bow ... thanks lindsey!!

holding daddy's finger

her coming home outfit

sleeping ... what she does best

sleeping with daddy while he watches tv

aidan loves to read in the car

aidan loves to look at books while we are driving all over town.

update on life with 2 kids

well i had a doctor appointment yesterday. my blood pressure has actually increased since i had finley, so it's official and i am now on medication to try to correct the problem. hopefully it'll go down in the next couple weeks and it wont be a permanent thing.

...

i've also noticed a strange rash that started on my arms and has now spread to my chest and neck ... who knows? hopefully that goes away soon as well.

...

on another note that will make everyone hate me. i've lost 16 pounds and am back into my jeans (after 3 days)! yes i know ... i am a FREAK OF NATURE!! i'm sorry people.

...

and finley slept for 8 hours straight last night ... unfortunately i had a hard time getting back to sleep after she woke up ... UGH!!!

...

aidan is doing fairly well to the adjustment from only child to older sibling. he loves to give finley hugs and kisses. the first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is "baby" and wants to go and see her. he loves to stick his finger in her hand so she can hold it (that's what i was trying to get a picture of in the first one). but he has a hard time when i am nursing her and can't give him what he wants *that* second. he gets frustrated. he has his good moments and his really bad moments, which i'm sure is completely normal. he'll adjust and we'll all be fine.