Long time comin...

Happy Birthday Jackson!!

We had a birthday party for Jackson on the 13th and I've been meaning to get on here and post pictures from it, but life has been a little crazy, as always. His actual birthday was on the 21st and we made sure we did a little something, just the 4 of us, to celebrate it. Happy Birthday just happens to be one of his favorite songs and he's been singing it for about a month. I wish I had newborn, 1 year and 2 year pictures to post on here along with his birthday pictures, but they are all on CD and it's too late for me to have the willpower to go through all of them right now. If you really want to see some, check out my facebook. They make me cry. I can't believe my baby is already 3 years old. Seems like only yesterday I found out I was pregnant...sniff... anyways, enjoy the following overload of pictures. Love you all.

Fishing pole and hat from Grandpa

Have I told you Jackson loves broccoli? It's one of his favorite foods. Aunt Krissy, Uncle Jake, and Cousins Brayden and Kira gave him this adorable outfit, the following gun and spinners and an awesome little ball that you can see in the picture of him eating his pre-birthday cupcake below.

The gun has been used to "shoot" people and is now in permanant time out whereas the spinners are being used as great chew toys by both boys :)

The awesome pool we got him for his birthday and it didn't cost an arm and leg. Plus, both boys love it and have a ton of fun playing with it. Thank goodness we have a battery operated pump so I don't pass out from trying to blow it up.

Yummy pre-birthday cupcakes! PS Cupcakes are much easier to send with people than slices of cake and you can decorate them so cute! :)

Have a great month everyone!

I Know...

Yeah, I'm a slacker. Sorry all. I've been trying to avoid the computer in hopes of actually getting something done, but I'm not sure how succesful I've been. Whatever I manage to do quickly comes undone around here. Example, last night I cleaned and vacuumed before dinner so that it would be nice and clean when Jeff got home and before I went to my game night with the girls. Before breakfast this morning, it already looked like a hurracane had blown though our tiny living room. Our kitchen only stays clean from one meal to the next and I honestly don't feel like I have the time to clean it up every single time I make a meal. As soon as the boys are done eating it's time to play and I feel like a constant referee making sure no one is getting hurt or is hurting someone else. When I finally feel like I can breathe again, I'm starving and have to go and make myself something to eat as well before I faint of low blood sugar or something. While I'm eating, I've got 2 boys trying to take my drink, steal my food or just sit on my lap and poke at whatever I'm eating or me(Owen is facinated with 'beeping' noses and poking eyes while saying 'eye'). Naptime is the one and only time it is actually quiet around here and it's usually when I'm finally able to get some lunch(2 hours after the boys) and sit for a few minutes before the chaos starts up all over again. Also during naptime, I have to decide what I need to get done before my attention is once again demanded, like clean the living room (again), do as many dishes as I can, pull out one of my many sewing projects for a few unbothered minutes of peacful sewing, or do absolutly nothing. Today, I obviously chose do nothing. I ate my leftover meatloaf and am now devoting my time and attention to this blog. Lets just hope Jackson takes a longer nap than yesterdays which only lasted 20 minutes. Ugh.

The last couple weeks have been chaos on top of the usual chaos, and that is the other reason I haven't posted for a while. All of last week I was feverishly working on making some bean bag chairs so that we could play our new wii in comfort instead of the akwardness we've been playing in. I was hoping to be done by Thursday or Friday but quickly realised that wasn't going to happen when I had to undo and redo many of the seams I'd worked so hard to finish. The first chair ended up being more like a lovesak and was way too big for the small amount of space we have, so I had to rework the entire pattern and make it much smaller, but not too small. Jeff's butt needs to fit comfortably and have a bit of back support as well. Lining 1 is done, filled and currently the boys favorite toy. Lining 2, cover 1 and cover 2 are all in varying stages of doneness and hiding in my sewing closet, waiting for me to have the willpower to pull them back out and finish them. I hate putting unfinished projects away because I either forget about them or I move on to something new and never finish them. I can't tell you how many unfinished projects I have in the closet, but I know there are several. The boys hate it when I sew and that is part of the reason I don't do it as often as I'd like to. Jeff complains that I make a huge mess with thread, but really that's the boys getting into the ziplock bag I've pinned to the wall as my makeshift sewing garbage bag. He also complains that when I'm sewing I lose track of time, but that is only beause I want to get as close to being done as I can before my poor project is condemned to the closet once again. My house turns into a mess, my back aches, the boys(all 3) grouch and moan and complain and I feel like it's not worth it. Someday I will have a sewing room with a lock so I can leave things where they are and not have to put anything I'm working on away and I can shut the door so no body bothers anything and not have to worry about someone climbing on a chair and changing all the settings on my machine when my back is turned. Oh and not have to worry about little people crawling under the table and playing with the foot pedel when I'm trying to line something up before I start sewing. I'm lucky I still have all my fingers.

Anyways, I started this blog to keep in touch with friends and family, but it seems to have turned into my personal venting place with a few family updates thrown in and a few random pictures. I'll try to do better, but for now naptime is over and the babies are calling. Until next time, make sure your projects are easily finished and keep the kiddos away from the machines. Love you all!

~Melissa

My new diet...

is not a fad. For as long as I can remember, I've had cronic stomach aches and it wasn't unusal for me to have not only daily acid indigestion but severe stomach cramping, (sorry if tmi) diarrea after meals, most often dinner, and horrible clear-the-room gas. I've had several people suggest I try this or I try that or that that I might have this problem or that problem, but seeing as I currently do not have any heath insurance whatsoever, I have been unable to have any tests run to find out exactly what the problem is. I did try while I was at BYU-Idaho to have my problem diagonsed, but the doctors at the clinic were unhelpful and uninformitive.

A couple weeks ago I was able to attend Time Out for Women with a couple of my aunts, sisters and my mom. I got to ride there with one of my aunts who happens to be a nurse and she was telling me that she has had some of the same problems and she knows several of our family members also have issues along the same lines. She suggested, as other before her have, that I go on a dairy free diet for 2 weeks to see if that was possibly the problem and also try a daily antacid such as Prilosec, which you can now get otc. She also suggested that if that didn't work I should try a Gluten free diet to see if that was possibly the problem. 

Before I took her advice I did a ton of research about not only lactose intolerance, but acid ingestion, heartburn, IBS and a couple other digestive related issues and was surprised to find out they all pretty much go hand in hand. So that convinced me that I needed to do something. I was sick of living in near constant pain from the acid and avoiding not only foods but certain smells that were bound to make my stomach churn and hurt even more.

I decided to first try the diary free diet, which sounded much easier than going gluten free. In order to do so, I had to make sure that anything I would normally eat was free of any dairy products or by products. I am amazed at how much I ate that had dairy in it and ended up buying some interesting things, some good, others not so much. I immediatly noticed a huge difference in how I felt. For the first time in I don't know how long, I spent the entire day without a stomach ache of any kind. It was amazing and I felt so good I think I might have cried.

I am one of those people who could drink an entire gallon of milk in a day if I didn't have any self control. I love milk and cheese and sour cream and butter and cream cheese and all other dairy things. They are like heaven to my tastebuds and realising that eating them was making me sick broke my heart but at the same time I was a little relieved. I now know what a big part of my problem is, but sticking to a strict dairy free diet isn't going to be easy for me.

I admit I have cheated a couple times and have been sharply chastised for my weakness by my intensly angry digestive tract. I've found a soy milk that is palateable and that I actually like as well as a cream cheese that works for what I need. Finding something to replace the large amounts of cheese, butter and sour cream I would normally consume has been a bit of a trial, but I know it's out there. I just have to find it.

Oh and on the worst day last week, the boys had been driving me insane all day and I was feeling really down and really craving some serious chocolate, I had a complete meltdown after I'd sent Jeff to the store for groceries. Who'd have thought that not being able to have chocolate would create hysterics in my kitchen? Well there I was trying to get dinner on and compose myself, when Jeff came home and promply presented me with a pint of SoyDream Turtle Icecream, completely dairy free and full of caramel and chocolate. Needless to say, I started bawling again. I hadn't told him that I was having such a rough day, so he had no idea what I was feeling and was baffled as to why I was bawling all over him about ice cream. When I explained, he said he'd had a really strong feeling that he needed to get it for me. I am so glad he did because it was just what I needed and it helped me to realise not only is my dear sweet annoying husband looking out for me, so is my Heavenly Father. He knows and understands how hard this is for me and inspired my husband to provide me with the love and support I was needing so bad.

Ever since then I have been looking even harder for suitable subsitutes for my favorite foods and have found a wide source of information on the web. I ordered myself a dairy free cookbook and and anxiously awaiting its arrival so I can start cooking up delicious dairy free things for my family. Jeff's not too keen on going completely dairy free, so I've told him he's welcome to continue eating and drinking anything he wants, but whatever I make from now on will be dairy free so that I don't get sick. I refuse to make seperate meals for everyone. I think that is just ridiculous. The only time I did was when the boys were too little to eat whatever we were having.

We will keep regular milk, butter, sour cream ect on hand for him and the boys and I will continue to search for alternitives that we can all be happy with so that we can eat as a family. I'm hoping it is only going to get easier and I'm trying to be optomistic, but for now I'm just trying to make it day to day. Man I'm sick of tuna fish sandwiches, but I'm sure I'll get better at making a nutritious lunch for myself that won't make me sick. Until next time, stay heathy, stay optomisitc, and enjoy your icecream and chocolate!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the 4th anniversary of the day Jeff and I were sealed for time and all eternity. So much has happened in these last 4 years, but it still seems as if time has just flown by. I love that man more now than I did when we were just newlyweds and it seems with every day my love grows stronger. Well, I guess on the days when he drives me insane that love stands still for a bit. He drives me crazy and annoys the heck out of me, but I still can't get enough of that rarely-clean-shaven-face and those beautiful blue eyes. We aren't doing anything special today just because Jeff won't be home until almost 8pm tonight, but hopefully we'll do something this weekend. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Oh Montana...

I do love you. I love you so much, I decided I needed to live on Montana Street in Washington State. But, I have decided that never again will I try to visit your beauty without my dear husband. Don't get me wrong, thing went much better than planned until the day came for us to go home. Montana didn't want us to leave and I got really sick and spent a day and a half feeling like I was going to die. It wouldn't have been so bad except Mom and Racheal got deathly sick as well and there was no one to take care of us or watch the boys for most of the day. It was awful and just about the worst sickness I've ever had. Thankfully, I was recovered enough after 3 days I was just able to make it home, but I pushed myself too hard on the way home and relapsed the next day. Over a week later and I am still feeling the effects of it, but that could be partly due to the weekend I just had. I had the opportunity to go to Time Out For Women in Spokane with a couple of my aunts, sisters and mom. It was wonderful, but I am completely exhausted. I know this is short, but I don't have the energy or willpower to write anymore, so I'll leave you with these delightful pictures of our time in Montana. Love you all and I hope you are doing well!

What I woke up to at 6am the morning we left. Maybe this should have been my sign to stay home, but all things considered I'm really glad we did go.

He's getting to be such a big boy! No, he can't actually work the tractor on his own yet, he had help getting up there.

Cake time! Liz's birthday was on Friday the 16th, but we didn't get to celebrate it until Sunday night because of Stake Conference. Morgan, Justin's wife, made her an ice cream cake that was really yummy :)

My Daddy

Uncle Aaron, fresh off his mission! He left for his first semester at BYU-Idaho on Monday the 19th and was as sick as we were on the first day of classes. Fun stuff.

Guess what! No, I'm not finished yet, but I am one step closer! I have a half a monkey left and Jackson's name and then I'm completely done. I just have to find the bag with my thread in it...

They loved this! Owen would climb in there by himself and Jackson would pull him around.

This is what Jackson did while I was bringing myself back from the dead. He made a friend and kept himself out of too much trouble. I was so proud of him for being so good while I wasn't feeling so hot.

So much for getting things washed, folded and packed nicely. Of course my human tornado would find it and make short work of it. I love my baby.

Spring has sprung!

Spring is officially here! I know I'm a little late since it's pretty much been spring here since February, but who really cares? I'm happy, my boys are happy and the weather is warm and that is all that really matters. March was a busy month for us but we managed everything just fine and April is shaping up to be great as well, even though Jackson has decided he's a princess and Owen thinks the bookcase is his personal lounging area.

Sitting pretty! He was even twirling around and everything. He thought he was very pretty.

What a little ham!

My little brother Aaron just got home from his mission a couple weeks ago, but I was unable to go to his homecoming because of my church calling(1st counselor in the Primary Presidency. Had I gone, our Primary President would have been left by herself to do sharing time, music time and conducting and I couldn't go and feel good about it so I stayed home. I didn't even tell her that I was supposed to be in Montana because she didn't need the added stress that information would have added to her tendancy to stress out. I was sad about missing that chance to be with my whole family for the first time in a couple years, but I would have gone by myself with the boys, so it wouldn't have been a complete family reunion anyways. I'm planning a trip next weekend for my sister Elizabeth's 20th birthday because everyone except my older sister will be home. Again, Jeff will not be able to go with me, so I'm going to try and make an 8 1/2 hour trip by myself with a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old. Can you tell I'm so looking forward to it? Thank goodness we bought a dual screen dvd player on Black Friday this last Thanksgiving. I'm going to try to leave in the late afternoon so they will sleep at least most of the way. I hope. Pray for me otherwise it will be a long and stressful trip.

Jeff is now working as a full time receptionist in the Rehab department at the hospital here instead of an aide because aparently he's the only one they can trust to do a good job while the other receptionists are on maternity leave. One of them was induced yesterday and the other is due in a few weeks and neither will be back full time until October at the earliest, so he's on his own until then. That means he won't be able to request any time off for family trips to Montana for a while, so any trips we make this summer will be without him. He has applied to get into school at BYU-Idaho and was accepted on the Spring/Fall track, starting in September, but he's going to call them and see if it would be possible to switch to the Winter/Spring track starting in January instead. He's also going to apply to get into the nursing program here so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm all for moving to Rexburg so we can be close to the temple and my family, but this decision is up to him, so I'm trying to keep my opinions to myself. He knows how I feel so I'm trying not to push him. Too hard :)

Easter here was a ton of fun this year. In years past we really haven't done much because Jackson was too young to really understand much. This year, however, is the year I'm throwing out all the stops so that Jackson can have fun. It's amazing how much he's changed and how much he learns in such a short amount of time. For Easter all the Quilter siblings and their little families came to Grandma and Grandpa Quilter's house near where we live, so we got to see everyone and still slept in our own beds :) We wanted to do the Easter Egg hunt between sessions of General Conference, but we had a few stragglers who didn't show up until after, so the kiddo's got to get into their Easter Baskets and play with their new kites.

Mylee and Jackson in their cool toybox shades

Kites! 

Jackson and his cousins Mylee and Eli had a complete blast even though their daddies kept stealing their kites to have kite wars. Needless to say, this ended up with some tangled kite strings and some treed(you know, like stuck in a tree?) kites as well. Silly grown ups.

Jeff being a goofball after freeing one of the kites he and his brother were playing with

Owen, Elijah and Ciara looking for their eggs

He was more interested in eating the eggs and just taking them out of his basket than anything

He sat in the same place for like a half an hour just playing with his eggs and basket. Can you tell he had fun?

Can you tell it was getting to be naptime? That and the wind started to pick up so it was time to get the kites back out, not something Owen was too interested in.

Jackson was the first one out the door and was so excited to be looking for eggs. Of course, he got lots of help from mommy and daddy...

Good thing too. This one was too high even for Mylee and Brayden who are 2 years older.

I think he found this one on his own :)

I'm going to back up just a little bit right now. Don't worry, I'll get on track again soon :) A few weeks ago while I was at my sister-in-law Missy's house to see her adorable baby girl(and new mommy of course :)), she offered me some fabric she'd had laying around for a while. She had bought it with plans to make some jammies for one of our nephews, but never got around to it and wondered it I would like it to make Jackson something sweet. Seeing as it is WALL-E themed and Jackson is a little WALL-E obsessed(though we don't have the movie), I accepted, only to realise when I got home that I'd left it. Whoops. Fast forward a couple/few/whatever weeks and once again I was over there for some reason or another and saw the fabric in the living room and remembered I needed to take it home so I stuck it in the diaper bag so I wouldn't forget it again. I know, I'm a spaz, but you know you still love me. Again, fast forward another couple/few/whatever weeks to just a few days ago when I realised that fabric was just sitting on my catch all of a dvd holder where all my "current sewing projects" reside while I put off getting them done, so I rescued it from the pile and went to work on it. I had an idea of what to do, but had no pattern. At all. Then I remembered that I'd seen on one of the numerous crafty blogs I follow(and wish I could be like) that if you fold a pair of pants/a shirt/skirt/whatever you already have in half and trace around it, you don't really need a pattern. So I set to work. Very nervously, but still confidently. When I'm trying to figure something out, I'm rediculously slow and a bit obsessive about making it just right and it makes Jeff a little crazy. Once I figure it out I'm fine, but getting there takes patience and a major backache. Fast forward an hour or so and I had finally finished, quite quickly in fact, a pair of WALL-E jammie pants for Jackson.

Please ignore my messy living room floor :)

 I decided they needed a matching shirt to go with them, so I took a white undershirt/jammie shirt and cut out a few of the WALL-E's that were on the fabric and just sewed them on. I think they turned out way stinking cute and Jackson loves them, so I scored.

Again, with the mess. 2 little boys= lots of big messes. Can you tell he likes the jammies? He really didn't want to take them off and was very disapointed when I told him they needed washed before he could wear them to bed.

Of course I couldn't leave Owen out, so I made him a matching set (though the pants were too tight on his thunder thighs so I had to add a strip down each leg) and they look so adorable! Yay me!

What a cheeser! Isn't that smile the cutest? He learned it from big brother, can you tell from their pictures?

So, now I just have to finish the rest of the projects that are cluttering my living room and maybe I'll be able to go to sleep without running them through my mind a bazillion times trying to picture exactly how I want them to look. Wow I'm long winded. Anyways, have a great day/week/month and when I get home from Montana I'll try to post some more pictures! Adios for now!

PS Here is the picture of Owen's Birthday Shirt :)

A birthday boy, wisdom teeth and a wobbly walker...

...all came together in the last couple weeks. Yes my baby is offically the big 0-1 though sadly, just a week after his 1st birthday, I had to dig through his drawers and pack up his 12month clothing and haul out the 18month stuff. Stuff Jackson was wearing only a year ago. Stuff that was slightly big on Jackson a year ago. How sad is that? Oh the massivness of my happy carefree little chunk-a-monk. At his 12 appointment today he weighed in at 25.2lbs and is 32" tall. We didn't do anything for his birthday, but I did make him a shirt that I sadly don't have a picture of on my camera yet, but will get soon. Remind me and I'll do it.

Isn't he just the cutest?

The wisdom teeth were mine and they were surgically removed a week ago today. Everything went better than expected and I am healing very nicely. I didn't really even get too swollen either. My left side was and still is worse, but any discomfort I had was easily taken care of with the drugs they gave me. It was most definatly not something I ever want to go though again as I am a huge wuss when it comes to my mouth and have still not been able to eat the hamburger I've been craving since the day after. Oh I'll be so happy when that day comes :)

Now on to the walking. I know I've been talking about Owen being so close to walking and now he's finally there! Yay for my big boy! Anyways, I wish I could stay and type some more, but naptime is over and I have a headache that is threatening to pull me under. Until next time, mind your teeth and your manners and I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Have a good one!

PS The elusive thread is finally here!!!! Now the neverending quilt may finally be done in the forseeable future! Double Yay!! :-)