Just hush!

Well... I know I've still a few months of catching up to do from last year, but give me a break! I'm sleepy! So, once again, a moment for a quick re-cap and then I will, really, embellish on the key points. I swear....

October 2009
Halloween (without my children, boo.)
Moved to Gresham (also, kind of boo)
Walter was stolen from me. Anger.

November 2009
Thanksgiving (what's with the holidays this year falling on dbags parenting time days?!)
Damn, it's been a while, what else happened?

December 2009
dbag stopped paying child support after 2 months... Who'd have guessed?!
Happy birthday Aiden! (and Delaney, and Kt!)
Made a pretty sweet teepee cake for Aiden.
And a playstation 2 controller cheese cake for Chai.
Christmas Morning, just me and my boys (best day ever)
Walter was returned!!! And Mark at Kadels in Gresham is awesome!

January 2010
Happy birthday to me (now this was the best day ever!)
Kerry the douche moved out, and stole my kitchen in the process (Yippee!)
Boyfriend moves in with me.... uh oh.

February 2010
Got to see Storm Large with the Oregon Symphony!
Also, just a side note here, Kt rules.
Made a fair-to-middling Thomas the Train cake for a little boy's 3rd birthday.
Happy birthday Duke!

March 2010
Bad ass drive to Utah
Finally finished family tree tattoo
Boyfriend (now ex) moves out! (sigh of relief)
Was pretty much robbed blind by said ex-boyfriend. this month was fun.

April 2010
What the hell happened here?! My baby is 2!!
Made a sweet airplane cake, and a motocross track cake for Truman's parties.
David has a new baby girl! Hello Rowyn Averi!
Made a pretty sweet pregnant barbie cake for Keely's shower.
Started painting! (trees, naturally)

May 2010
Crazy ass day trip across a few cities with Kt and all 4 boys! This one needs explaining!

And again... The books! Oh the lovely books! So many new (to me as yet) authors, and titles, and styles, and stories! I love me some good book! Still writing (not as much as I should) and very much still painting. I should have assaulted a canvas years ago!

Crazy, Beautiful

So... April, huh?

Well, the biggest occurance of that lovely month (in my opinion) was Truman's first birthday. His cousin Bryar was born just 9 days after Truman, so my brother and I decided to combine the two birthdays into one large party. It was a really sweet day, weather was gorgeous, babies were cute as all hell, a lot of family and friends turned out. My mom made an extremely girled-out butterfly cake for Bryar, which was wicked cute, and I made a rad little turtle cake for Truman. Two turtle cakes actually, a large one for the family on behalf of the boy, and a little one rollin' along in a tiny Radio Flyer wagon for the man-of-the-hour himself. They loved it of course. Truman dug right in two-fisting that sucker and stuffing his face. Bryar went about it with two delicate little fingers, trying to keep her finger nails and clothing as clean as possible. Like I said, wicked cute.

Then of course, April brought the final of 3 temporary custody hearings in my attempt to acquire full residential and legal custody of my two little boys. (I have had full custody of them from the moment they were each born, I've been just been trying to get things in legal documentation!) So, the hearing sucked. The judge we were assigned to refused to hear the case whatsoever. She read her case notes from the previous Judge and decided to force my boys and I to move back to Oregon within ten days of the hearing, so that the boys would be closer to a father who refused to see them, call them, contact them or support them in any way for the previous 12 months. We were literally in and out of that court room within 7 minutes. Not a word was allowed to be spoken on behalf of either party. Just a complete stranger's snap decision that heftily altered the futures of two innocent little boys. Righteous, gotta love this legal system.

Elliot flew down from Oregon a few days later to stay one night with us and help me drive back to Portland. We loaded up a Uhaul trailer with the necessities of our possessions, kept the boys awake all day to ensure a solid ten hours of sleep that night in the car, and had the family over for one last dinner and goodbye hoorah. We were loaded up and waving to our family around 7 p.m., and arrived in Portland around 9 a.m. the next day. Elliot did every mile of driving himself. At one point in Idaho, early in the wee hours of the morning, Truman woke up with a mild fever and we were stumped in our search for infants tylenol by closed grocers statewide. We found a safeway with inner lights still ablaze and pulled in to the parking lot. We were intercepted halfway to the doors by a sweet old gentleman who informed us that the store was in fact closed but being remodeled, which explained the lights. When we asked him for a recommendation on where to find the tylenol, he asked us to please wait for a moment, and returned minutes later with a bottle of infant's tylenol which he had purchased from inside the closed grocery store, and happily refused any sort of compensation. I wish I could remember his name but I will never forget his face, or his sweet smile of genuine care for an ailing baby. It was such an awesome gesture. Truman had a comfortable, fever-free sleep for the remainder of the trip, thanks to that sweet man.

As I said before, crazy move... beautiful drive!

Say what?!

Hmmm... How long has it been? I'm not going to jump in to everything all at once because, frankly, that would be damn exhausting. So instead, I'll just list off the major key points that have impacted my world in the last few months, and touch on each one individually at a later time... Here we go:

April:

Truman turned one!

Went to Oregon for the last of my temporary custody hearings

Moved to Oregon (crazy move, fun damn drive)

May:

Got engaged! (and shortly there after, unengaged!)

Started new Job in Oregon

Went to my first Kills show

Reconnected with a lot of old friends (which has really been beautiful!)

June:

Dang, what the crap happened in June?

July:

Happy Fourth, Holmes!

Rylan's first birthday

Final Permanent Custody Hearing! (We won, d-bag can suck it!)

Mom came to visit

August:

David's 23rd birthday

Reconnected with some more old friends (so much fun)

Corey and Andrea got married!

Found a live-in nanny (she's rad)

Mom's new company opened it's doors (Itsadogthingshop.com, Check it Magooch!)

September:

FISHER'S 3rd BIRTHDAY (boo. and Hooray!)

Happy Labor day to you

*Most definitely there are things missing from this sad little list, but, I shall recall them and bore you to tears with their insignificant details! Oh! I just remembered... a GREAT many wonderful books! Now there is a list worth getting excited over!!

Caterpillar Sandwiches

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRUMAN!!!

For his birthday, we thought eating bugs would be fun!!

Turns out, eating bugs really IS fun!

We made us some caterpillar sandwiches, with ham to make 'em look fleshy!

They were pretty tasty, and fun to look at. The grown ups had a harder time eating the poor little buggers than the children did... it was weird for Paps to bite off the head of a cute little dude just minding his own business on Paps' plate!

Fisher thought plucking off the eyes and saying "HA! Sucker! I've got your eyes, haha!" was the highlight of his evening. We had a blast! Normally I would use spinach tortillas, not wheat, so that the buggy fellas are green, which is just much cooler, but I couldn't find them and didn't want to store-hop in search of them. Oh well though, these guys were cool!

Octopus Pasta

Fisher wanted to help me make lunch today, so we decided to do something fun. We made "crazy pasta" (4 types of pasta together) with alfredo sauce, and cut up a hot dog, gave him mustard eyes and sat him up on the noodles. I was thinking next time I'll put a few goldfish crackers on the side here and there so that the octopus has a few ocean buddies to hang out with. Fisher loved it, he thought it was awesome to have a creature on his lunch, and cracked up when he bit off the octopus' head!  Fun meals rule, baby!

Practice Turtle, the Cake

Truman, my little boog, is having a birth anniverary soon!! He loves turtles, was a turtle for halloween last year, and makes a face pretty regularly that resembles a turtle, so I thought, What the heck, lets do a turtle cake!!  This is Practice Turtle, he's cool. His face and limbs are weird, and his shell is the same color as the grass, and his shell pattern is extremely not symmetrical, but he's alright! I made him out of red velvet cake and the grass he's standing in is green banana cake with a green coconut flake coating to look more like grass. He's hanging with some bugs, they're cool too, but they don't have names.  I'll post photos of Birthday Turtle after the big day, he's not even a real guy yet and he's already cooler than Practice Turtle, he's even got a pretty sweet ride! Anyhow, this dude was fun to make and I'm going to take him to work with me today so that the ladies there can have fun eating him. Thanks Practice Turtle, you've been lovely!

"we're going backwards"

Fisher and I ran to the grocery store together today. As I pulled into the the parking lot, this is the conversation that I had with Fisher:

Fisher:  "no mama, not this way!"

me: "We have to go this way, this is the way to the store"

Fisher:  "no mama, we can't go backwards"

me: "we're not going backwards baby, we're going forward"

Fisher:  "mama! I can't go forehead!"

And then I laughed so hard that I nearly peed in my pants.

Tag... you're it!

STEP 1: Respond and rework. Answer the following questions on my blog, replacing one question that I dislike with a question of my own invention.

STEP 2: Add one more question of my own.

STEP 3: Tag eight other bloggers.



1) What is your favorite day of the week?

The one that ends with a Y

2) What is your biggest fear?

Being unable to protect my children

3) What was your worst subject in school?

Math

4) Who did you hug last?

Fisher and Truman - pre-nap group hugs rock

5) What websites do you visit when you go online?

Facebook, Zephyr Style, California Baby

6) What was the last item that you bought?

Devastator

7) If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

New Zealand

8) What is your favorite book?

A walk in the woods (right now)

9) What was the longest car ride you ever took?

8 people crammed in a station wagon from bountiful Utah to L.A. California

10) What was the last movie you watched?

Australia (One of the baddest ass movies ever made!)

11) If you had a whole day to yourself with no work, commitments, or interruptions, what would you do?

Play in the mud with the boys and not care about the mess until tomorrow

12) If you were to win the Powerball, what would you do with the money (besides invest it)?

College funds, move to New Zealand!! Buy a house for nana.

13)If you could pick the single most pivotal moment in your life, what would it be, and why?

The day I found the courage to leave a bad situation and protect my children no matter what bumps in the road i came accross, because life since has been the sweetest ride imaginable

14) Who is the person that has had the most influence in your life?

My boys. Without a doubt My boys!

15) If you had a choice of places to live, where would it be?

New Zealand! Have I not made that clear?

16)What's an item on your property you can't live without?

Water

17) If you were stranded on a deserted island, and got one luxury item to take with you, and one person to take with you, what and who would it be? 

My little family (that counts right)!! And a water purification system

18) What is one thing you would change about your life?

I would have finished college and gotten my degree before I was 21

19)If you could only hear one musical artist for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Fats Domino or Frank Sinatra

OK, I now tag:

1. Sarah
2. Katherine
3. Momica
4. Amanda

5. J and J

6. Zephyr

7. the other Sarah (yes that's you)

8. Hillary

castaways

Just a moment ago Fisher was playing in the family room and Truman and I were watching him. He was pretending to be on an island, all by himself, building a hut. Fisher walked over to Truman, put his little hand on his brothers face and said "Truman, do you wanna be a castaway wif me? Wanna be a castaway Chip? Okay."  It was awesome.

missing pieces

It has been a few weeks since my last update and a few important things have happened.  

First, Truman experienced, and loved, his very first Christmas! We got to have my little sisters here with us for the first time on Christmas eve overnight. It was so much fun to have them, and to see the boys on Christmas together. Santa brought Fisher and Truman each a new Radio Flyer bike and an Art Easel with supplies to share for their playroom.  Yaya and Paps spoiled us all and we had a wonderful holiday. Fisher even learned to share with others and to be responsible with his money. He bought all of his own Christmas presents for his cousins and Grandparents with his own money that he has been saving over the last year. He decided, after having the concept explained to him, to buy a book from Barnes and Noble to be donated to a child with less fortunes than himself. It was very sweet watching him pick out just the right book! He also decided to adopt an angel tree baby and, again with his own money, bought a new package of diapers and gave some of his own clothes that he has grown out of.  He loved to share and was very proud of himself, as was I!  

Second, thanks to my families' generous Christmas and birthday contributions, I got to start work on my family tree tattoo, which I am very excited about! I can't wait to immortalize my family in this beautiful piece of art, the design of which I owe a lot to my big sister, Sarah.

Next, my children's safety and future has again been threatened by their biological father, a matter which we are trying to rectify as best we can. Sarah, Matt, David, mom and Paps have been very supportive and helpful through all of this.  Mom, paps and David, who we live with and closest to, take the boys' safety very seriously and monitor every aspect of vulnerability with extreme caution.  No children have ever been better protected or more loved than these two perfect little boys!  Sarah has spent a lot of time researching information and resources that are helpful to our situation. Also, when we lived with her, she and Matt protected them every bit as vigilantly as our family here at home in Utah do. Again, these boys are very blessed with caring family who want the best for them. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for looking out for my children! 2008 was a VERY scary year, and the terror is far from over. But through it all, my children have known an endless love from so many, an endless supply of support and care. They haven't had to experience our continuing fear or stress because these people have protected them from it all while loving them unconditionally. Thank you for taking care of us! We are hoping for a safe end to this nightmare before another year has passed us by, and we owe that hope to Sarah, Matt, David, Mom and Papoo. Thank you, we love you!

"We are not enemies, we are friends...as Americans, we are one"

No matter how you voted today, no matter what you feel tonight, please start your day tomorrow an American citizen. Get behind our new President of the United States of America, and stand proud. We are not enemies, we are not two seperate parties.

We are Americans, we are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, cousins, aunts and uncles, lovers, friends, and family. We are proud of our country and our heritage. If your nominee lost you should feel your disappointment tonight, but let it go tomorrow and be one together. Be proud, be supportive, be American!!

We, as a free country, have elected a new President! Lets welcome him and support him, he is OURS!!

Yahoo Obama, Yahoo America, Yahoo Freedom!!

Turtle Babies

Fisher & Truman were little turtles for Halloween this year. Fisher wore his costume every day for about a week before the big night, and wants to wear it to bed every night since! They were both awful cute in their matching suits!

The local mall hosted a trick-or-treat, for a few hours in the evening the children got to go store-front to store-front in the safe, warm indoors to start their holiday in comfort! I loaded the boys up in their wagon and off we went. Truman had his own little bag (for me) but Fisher had his hands in both bags!
As soon as a piece of candy hit his bag, Fisher was working to open it. I was scrambling to check everything before he got his little hands on it! Before he had anything half open though, he was given another piece, would then drop the first and begin work on the new arrival! Truman was content to watch. His little eyes were as busy as Fisher's little hands!
As soon as we got home from the mall Trick-or-treat, Fisher and I walked around the block together, just the two of us, while Truman took a little snooze with Yaya. Uncle David, Hali & Bryar came over later in the evening and the three of them and Christian tagged along with the boys and I in our wagon through the neighborhood on a real door to door Trick-or-Treat. We had so much fun! Almost immediately after leaving the driveway, the wagon ride lolled Truman right to sleep. He missed most of the scenery, but he sure looked comfy! His little costume was very snug and warm and he really enjoyed the ride! David was dressed as Sweeney Todd, Bryar was a little pink daisy, Fisher and Truman were in their turtle costumes, I was G.I. Joe and Christian was a rock star. We made quite a group of characters.

Happy Halloween

4th folder, 4th picture

This is a picture of Truman, taken shortly after he started pushing himself up on his skinny little arms! Jack, Paps' and Yaya's black lab, had just drive-by-licked Truman's face, which explains the "what the crap was that" look that Truman is wearing here! It was too funny!

I was tagged by Katherine to do a 4th folder, 4th picture post. I tag Sarah, Yaya, Amanda, Jerid and Jesse to do the same! Open your fourth pictures folder and select your fourth picture. Then tag four more people! It was fun to indulge in a little random silliness!

Little Pumpkins

!!HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

The whole family... Paps, Yaya, Makayla, Brittney, Christian, David, Hali, Bryar, Fisher, Truman and myself... went to Pack Farms in Farmington, Utah last weekend. The search for our pumpkins was on. We unfortunately missed out on the hayride, we got there a little too early, but we had a blast anyway. Fisher and I ran crazy through the Kidz Hay Maze, then everybody took off through the Pumpkin Patch.

Fisher was so serious as he looked at every single pumpkin he came near, turned them over,

scrutinized every inch, and hefted as many as he could lift. He found three that he approved of, but couldn't chose just one, so we went ahead and brought them all home.

He and Paps found a big green grasshopper, which may have been Fisher's favorite part of the day.

Paps caught it up and put it in Fisher's hand, where it stayed for quite a while. Fisher really like seeing it so closely and feeling it walk on and tickle his hand. When the little guy finally jumped out of Fisher's hand, Paps gave a good and high pitched squeak! That may have been my favorite part of the day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Diaper Dilema

Today Papoo was hanging out with the boys, they LOVE him! While I was in the process of changing Truman's diaper, Fisher needed my help "quick mama", so I let Truman relax on his blanket au natural while I ran to Fisher's aide. Paps decided to help out by finishing the diapering for me. It has been a long time since Paps has had any association with diapers... he put Fisher's (the 2 year old) diaper on Truman (the 6 month old)! Later this evening, Fisher and I had just got back from an evening swim. Fisher was lounging in his towel, getting dry & keeping warm, while I was in the bathroom getting into warm & dry clothes. Again, Paps came to help out! He helped fisher into a diaper so that he could get into his jammies... only he put Fisher (the 2 year old) in Truman's (the 6 month old) diaper!! Fisher stood up and began to pull on the manhood area of his diaper and told Paps ( the 40+ year old) "It's Truman's Diaper"!!! HEHEHEHE!!

!!Thank you Papoo!!

Rylan

This is Rylan, Aeden's baby brother, Katie & Austin's newest little man. Isn't he Perfect!?!

See what happens when grownups leave the room...!

First sugar cookies of the holiday season, a Halloween theme. Fisher, my sweet boy, decorated this orange frosted and sprinkled cookie for me while I was at work. Precious, right!?!



My brother David, knowing my love of trees, decorated this fall tree cookie for me, and the spider for himself. Well done, right!?



And then theres my dad, our
beloved Papoo, who tried to do a 3D candy corn on one cookie. When the frosting candy corn collapsed, he tagged the cookie, as seen here. Then, discouraged, he made some boobies to cheer himself up. Nice, right!?!


Happy Halloween!!

**NOTE: I was wrong about a part of this story.... Apparently David made that candy corn cookie, and it was gonna work, stay standing, until Paps smashed it, out of cold buttheadedness. Thats when David tagged it, and Paps just made the boobies cause that what he does!!**

Uncle Jesse's Late Night Idea

Uncle Jesse came to visit last week. His second night here, he was laying in bed, nearly asleep, and suddenly had an idea to paint dinosaurs on Fisher's bedroom wall! Then he went to sleep.


Next day, He got started! That red Brontosaurus is over 4 feet tall and equally long! Unfortunately, Uncle Jesse's trip was over much too soon, and he didn't get to paint all of the dinos. He drew the
remaining few out and I painted them (not nearly as well as he would have done).


The outcome is great though, and Fisher loves his "new friends". Every day before nap and every evening before bed, he "pets them nice" and tells them goodnight. As soon as he wakes up he checks to make sure that they are still there, and when he sees them says "HI new friends!"


THANK YOU GREAT UNCLE JESSE!!

2

Fisher is turning 2!! We had a birth anniversary party for him on Saturday at Paps and Yaya's place. It was a construction zone theme with tonka trucks and dirt everywhere! The boy had a blast! He ate candy rocks and demolished a dump truck pinata, and made out with 25 new cars and trucks! I can't believe that two years have passed already and my baby isn't a baby any more! The time has flown by but every moment has left it's mark on my heart! Thank heaven for this little boy!!