Today's is my mom's birthday and it's a big one. She told me that when she was a little girl she asked her mom how old she was. My grandma said "36" and my mom thought that was so old so, in my mom's eyes, she has been old since she turned 36.
I wasn't really sure how to pay tribute to my mom on her big birthday so I thought I would come up with a list of things she's taught me to do, the type of person she is, basically, the ultimate mom list. Here goes:
She taught me how to bake.
She instilled in me a love of music.
She didn't let me quit the swim team my freshman year of high school.
She emails me pictures from my childhood.
She taught me the importance of family time and traditions.
She drove to St. George to spend my 21st birthday with me.
She showed me how to be a caretaker to a little baby.
She baked small loaves of bread for me and my castmates in the high school musical I did my senior year of high school. They
She taught me how to sew baby blankets and now I'm making some of my own.
She encouraged me to make friends in all the places we moved.
She (and my dad) showed me the importance of sticking to your principles, even when it's hard or unpopular or when all your other friends get to go to the 8th grade dance ;)
She is devoted to the gospel.
She cried when we told them I was pregnant with William. Like, a lot of crying.
She takes time to serve others.
She counsels me.
She loves going to movies and eating movie-theater popcorn.
She is a fantastic grandma to William and that will only continue with baby #2.
She pursues her education in many different ways.
She learns new skills and uses them to serve other people.
She is a great typist so she records funeral services and transcribes them for people.
She shows me the importance of listening to your body and the importance of rest.
She married my dad and went to work full-time so he could finish his degree. She chose to get married and have me instead of finishing her college degree. Now, I'm six months from finishing my SECOND college degree. When I freak out about my classes, she motivates me to keep going.
My mom is many wonderful things. But the most important thing is that she's just my mom and she does a great job at continuing to mother me even though I'm a mom now, too. My mom is also my friend. She is someone I can always turn to and I cherish the times I get to spend with her, especially now that she lives so far away. When I went to college in Idaho I was thrilled to be 18 hours from my family. Now that they are a measly 10 hours away, I find myself aching to be with them more often. I'm blessed with great in-laws, but it's not quite the same. I wish she could be here to spend more time with William because she is a wonderful person and I want him to know and love her just like I do. My dad is sure lucky to be married to my mom and she's lucky to have him.
Happy birthday, momma. You inspire me to be a better, kinder version of myself every day. I try to emulate your spirit of service and love in my own home. I love you so much.
Love, Denise
18 November 2014
14 November 2014
Sick William
Wednesday William started acting funny. His appetite was gone and he slept a TON. He would be playing and then just kind of sit there and do nothing for a while. I'd call his name and he wouldn't respond. He just sat there. Thursday he didn't want to wake up and then I knew something was up. I took a sick day and waited for him to wake up. He didn't have a temperature but he kept acting weird all day. Right when he woke up he was saying his mouth hurt. I thought he probably had dry-mouth so I gave him some water and he was fine.
At 6:00pm William and I got in the car to pick up Tyson from BYU. It takes about 15 minutes to make the drive. Half-way there William started crying. He said his mouth was hurting again and then, he puked all over himself, his car seat, and his blanket. From what I could see in the rear-view mirror, it was going to be quite the clean-up job so I didn't stop driving. I called Tyson and told him to get a ton of paper towels. William kept saying "Gross" and crying that his shirt was wet and gross.
When we got to BYU I remembered I had stashed baby wipes and diapers in the middle console between the front seats. I grabbed the wipes and got to work. It was nasty. After I cleared away most of the stuff from William's shirt and the car seat straps, Tyson pulled William out of the car, stripped him to his diaper, wrapped him in the emergency blanket from our kit in the trunk, and sat him in the front passenger seat with the heater going. I finished clearing out the car seat as best as I could (wipes and paper towels only), Tyson put William in a new diaper and a sweatshirt we found, and we drove to the mouth of Provo Canyon to our favorite urgent care. I wanted to make sure William didn't have the beginnings of strep or some other infection.
The doctor checked him out and William is fine. He may have a little stomach virus so we have him on a low-fat diet but he's not contagious or anything like that. And he's acting more normal with a still lesser-than-normal appetite. Last night I pulled the car seat apart so we could wash the cover and William's clothes. Tyson gave William a bath while I Clorox-wiped the rest of the car seat and the straps. I put the car seat back in the garage and doused it with a healthy misting of Febreze.
I'm glad William doesn't have anything serious. I'm glad I had some cleaning things in the car to take car of the immediate mess. And I'm glad we were able to take him to get checked out by the doctor so quickly.
At 6:00pm William and I got in the car to pick up Tyson from BYU. It takes about 15 minutes to make the drive. Half-way there William started crying. He said his mouth was hurting again and then, he puked all over himself, his car seat, and his blanket. From what I could see in the rear-view mirror, it was going to be quite the clean-up job so I didn't stop driving. I called Tyson and told him to get a ton of paper towels. William kept saying "Gross" and crying that his shirt was wet and gross.
When we got to BYU I remembered I had stashed baby wipes and diapers in the middle console between the front seats. I grabbed the wipes and got to work. It was nasty. After I cleared away most of the stuff from William's shirt and the car seat straps, Tyson pulled William out of the car, stripped him to his diaper, wrapped him in the emergency blanket from our kit in the trunk, and sat him in the front passenger seat with the heater going. I finished clearing out the car seat as best as I could (wipes and paper towels only), Tyson put William in a new diaper and a sweatshirt we found, and we drove to the mouth of Provo Canyon to our favorite urgent care. I wanted to make sure William didn't have the beginnings of strep or some other infection.
The doctor checked him out and William is fine. He may have a little stomach virus so we have him on a low-fat diet but he's not contagious or anything like that. And he's acting more normal with a still lesser-than-normal appetite. Last night I pulled the car seat apart so we could wash the cover and William's clothes. Tyson gave William a bath while I Clorox-wiped the rest of the car seat and the straps. I put the car seat back in the garage and doused it with a healthy misting of Febreze.
I'm glad William doesn't have anything serious. I'm glad I had some cleaning things in the car to take car of the immediate mess. And I'm glad we were able to take him to get checked out by the doctor so quickly.
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