Going, going, going

This month has gone by so fast! It started with a 10 day vacation to Idaho (Emmett) and Las Vegas. Dallin had a medical conference in Vegas so when he was just about done we met him there and then continued all the way to Idaho. It was a loooong drive and the kids were totally stir crazy by the time we got there but it was worth it.


We got to see one of Dallin's brothers and fam that we hadn't seen in years! The kids clicked immediately and had a great time playing. Kaia and Whitney (their only girl out of six kids) spent two whole days playing barbies and we pretty much only saw them when it was time to eat. Talmage loved having a boy his age that he could wrestle with and Andan had so much to see and do that he never had to bug Talmage.




We then went the extra 40 minutes to Dallin's grandparents' farm to spend some time with them. Again, the kids had a blast. What's not to love about playing on swings, slides, merry-go-rounds, trampolines, dirt and 4-wheelers all day? Andan especially loved the dogs. That boy loves the outdoors and animals. We adults had a great time playing games almost all day. I have to say that, for once, I won almost every game I played. Now I know how Dallin always feels- it was great! We also enjoyed some fabulous home cooked meals which included pancakes and eggs cooked outside on a giant brick oven griddle, fresh grown corn and tomatos, real whole milk, and self churned butter! Talmage is always asking for milk at home, but he must have had a hole in one toe because he could not get enough of Grandpa's fresh milk. Although I don't really consider myself a country girl (I need my Target, craft stores, and just general civilization) but I could definitely enjoy a life of relative self sufficiency with a couple of cows, pigs, chickens, and a large garden.


When we finally had to leave we broke up the trip by again stopping in Vegas where we were able to stay at my brother's house. Vegas really does nothing for me and I don't even really like to visit the Strip anymore so I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out at my brother's place and enjoying his pool and having nothing to do. I may have even convinced Dallin that a pool may be more of a necessity than a luxury (or at least it's a luxury that is worth indulging in!) Unfortunately though, that too had to end and we had to return home exhausted but grateful for the great time that we had!


Time has just kept ticking with my mom and sister coming three days after we got back home (I barely had time to do the laundry). We celebrated my mom's birthday then she was off to her trip in Europe.
Then we have spent much of this week celebrating Dallin's birthday.It has been a great month, but I think I need another vacation!

Triple Cuteness!!!

It is so hard to get back into blogging because so much has happened that I hardly even know where to start- so I'll start where my camera ends: with the three cutest (albeit crazy, hyper, dramatic, funny, into everything, can't leave their siblings alone, happiest, helpiest-that's a word right?-, smartest, most adorable...) kiddos ever!And isn't my little gir... I mean... boy so adorable!?! (Hair styling compliments of his sister. Don't worry, he has gotten a haircut since then.)

For the longest time Andan just had two teeth on top and two teeth on the bottom in the front. Then he got four molars. He is finally (at nearly 16 months) getting the other four of his front teeth. Oh well, it hasn't stopped him from chowing down on all kinds of "real"food. This boy is a social eater. Even if he just ate, he insists on having whatever you are having. He insisted early on to feed himself (which I know many moms love but it makes me cringe- really, a nine-month old in full control of a spoon and soupy whatever-it-is?) but he is actually very careful with his spoon (he just loves to practice his pitching arm or the see-how-long-it-takes-mom-to-notice-my-stealthy-drop-it-over-the-edge-method with whatever food might be left when he is done). It is cute to watch him eat his cereal like a big boy (in a bowl with milk) including drinking the milk from the bowl!

Hopefully soon I will fill you in on the last couple of months.

Too Much Sugar

Happy Valentine's Day!
Between Christmas, my birthday, and Kaia's birthday I was ready to be (mostly) done with sweets but this day of love has just started the next round. Despite my best efforts, the kids of course had plenty of sweets today, but at least at the end of the day it afforded this cute conversation.

Talmage: Mom, can I have another cookie?
Me: No.
T: Why?
Me: 'Cause you don't want your tummy or your head to get sick.
T: (two minutes later after I had already walked away) Or your arms to get sick.

I love the way kids think. I need to be like them more often.

Update

I'm not sure why I haven't posted in forever- I guess I have just gotten out of the habit. I'll try to do better, but for now I just wanted to give you a brief update of how we have been doing.

Dallin is enjoying his job as a PA. He finally has a set schedule working Sunday through Wednesday nights. He comes home and sleeps in the mornings. It can be a little difficult to try to keep the kids quiet while he is sleeping but he is a very good sport (probably because he's so tired that not much will wake him up) and a huge help if ever I need him. It makes it so much easier to be able to leave baby asleep in his crib when I go to pick up Kaia from school. There are a million other little benefits of having Dallin home during the day and we are so grateful to be able to spend time with him. Up until now he hasn't really known exactly what to do with his "off" time (other than all of my honey-do's) so when Kaia's school had a sign up saying they needed volunteers to coach the sixth grade football team, I encouraged him to get involved. His first practice starts tomorrow so it should be fun.

I am busy with my children of course, but I am finally settling in and able to do many things on my want to do list. This is new territory for me because I usually have so many house projects, crafts, and other things that I want to do but I rarely had the "me" time to actually do them. With Dallin working nights I have four nights a week (after the kids go to bed) that I can craft, read, plan, or just plain veg without feeling like I am taking time away from my family! I actually purchased fabric for a project and COMPLETED it not only in the same year, but in time for its intended use! (I made trick-or-treat bags for the kids and OK so I didn't actually do Andan's yet, but he really didn't count this year, right and besides 2 out of 3 is way better than none- Hey, I'm proud of myself :)) I have also been able to ride my horse at least a couple of times each week. For a little while I wasn't able to ride (first having a baby and then the horse unable to be ridden) so I was getting a little discouraged and thinking I was crazy for spending our money just having the horses. However, all it took was one time back in the saddle and, for me, every penny is worth it. I know most people don't quite get the investment (of money and time) involved with horses, but I get soooo much joy, satisfaction and sanity from riding that there is truly something missing from me when I am not able to have it. So right now I am so grateful for my husband and all of his hard work in supporting us, for my absolutely wonderful and beautiful children, for a fabulous home to live in, for the uplifting sunshine daily, and for so many extended family and friends that have made me so happy and content to live here in Yuma.

Kaia started Kindergarten this year and is absolutely loving it. She just eats up everything she is learning and is constantly figuring out how those things apply all around her. She is already doing very well with reading (sight words and sounding out short words) and she loves working with numbers and even amazes me with her ability to add and figure out patterns. She is a huge helper and is growing up so fast. Now if I can just figure out how to get her to quit reacting to her brother......

Talmage is still my sweet little boy, but he is a typical three year old boy and I haven't quite figured out how or where to channel his, ...um..., enthusiasm. He is not in as big of a hurry to grow up as Kaia is and for the most part just enjoys the moment whether it be playing in the sand, carrying on great conversations/ scenarios with his toys, getting under his sister's skin (not hard to do), acting innocent, or loving Andan (often a little too much). We love him.

Andan is growing quickly. He is nearly 7 months old and is now crawling and sitting up. He is no longer happy with his usual toys- he wants to explore and see what the world has to offer. (I won't mention that he "explored" my plant in the ceramic pot onto my tile floor since my husband was so kindly watching him while I got some rest.) Andan is always happy and he has the cutest screeching laugh. He loves to eat and gobbles up any baby food I will give him. He loves his mommy (as well as grabbing my hair) and, of course, I am quite smitten with him.

So you see we are doing very well and have so much to be grateful for.

(The pictures were taken by my SIL when we were on a trip to my mom's house this summer)

Andan James Farar

Andan James Farar arrived to our family on April 18th around 4:20 am. He was 9 pounds 7 ounces and 21 inches long. We all love him to pieces! He is already growing like a weed and at 1 month has nearly outgrown his 0-3 month clothes. Kaia and Talmage Love to hold him, stroke his head, sing and talk to him and help me take care of him. He is a great third baby and takes all the commotion in stride as well as sleeps like a champ. We are so happy to have him in our family! (For all the details of how he came, see the next post.)

A Story to Tell

For the rest of his life, Andan (and I) will have a story to tell about how he arrived in this world. However, this story is not for the faint of heart, so be forewarned before you read on. Andan's due date was April 23 and I had never delivered early with the other two kids so I fully expected to hang on 'til the bitter end. Life had been pretty hectic but I joked that as long as I could teach my Relief Society lesson on the 11th and finish doing my taxes by the 15th, then I would be good to have a baby. The 17th is one of my nephew's birthdays but when I didn't have any contractions by 10:30 in the morning I commented to Dallin, "Well, I guess I won't be having a baby today." His response was, "There's over 12 hours left in the day, that's plenty of time." We both ended up being right- I didn't have a baby on the 17th (barely), but 12 hours was way more than enough for me to still have a baby!

Dallin had to work the night shift (7pm-7am) that night, so I spent the evening relaxing- taking a bubble bath, painting my toenails (yeah, that was a feat-no pun intended), and preparing for church the next day. I went to bed sometime around midnight but woke up at 2:55 needing to use the bathroom. Nothing different that any other night, including the contraction (which up until now had just been Braxton-Hicks) that went with it. So I lay back down and had just fallen back asleep when I felt another contraction. OK. Maybe I should just check the time in case another one comes. Sure enough 11 minutes later came another one. Alright, that was just one interval. I'll have to see if it's consistent. Yup, another 11 minutes later. Let's just check one more. Yeah, about another 10 minutes. By now I can't really sleep any more even though I am wishing I could. I guess I'd better give Dallin the heads up. So, at 3:54 I texted him to call me (I didn't want to disturb him if he was with a patient). Dallin calls me back and I ask him if he has any back up plans for leaving work. He says he'll get the ball rolling. At this point I HAVE to use the bathroom again, but I took my phone with me so I could keep timing the contractions. The next one is down to 7 minutes and the very next one is only 3 minutes later! Meanwhile, Dallin has called back to let me know someone would be coming in to cover him and I let him know that things were progressing quickly. The next few minutes were a little fuzzy because now the contractions were right on top of each other and I was thinking to myself (while clutching the door frame), "Holy cow, give me just a second!" For some reason Dallin called back (yes I answered) and said that his replacement wasn't there yet. At which point I shakily responded that then maybe we ought to call the ambulance. Well, we never had time to because that's when I realized and informed Dallin that I could feel the head! Yeah, I was shocked and a little scared and had no idea what I should do next. Dallin realized the urgency so he let me know he wouldn't wait for his replacement and that he would be on his way. That eased my fears knowing that he would literally be home in 5 minutes. It also allowed me 1 second to think since I wasn't trying to talk on the phone anymore! Obviously at this point there was no turning back. All I could think was, "I certainly don't want to have a baby in the toilet" so I hurried and jumped in our huge bathtub just in time for 1 big contraction that delivered the head. Short breather, one more push and I delivered myself a baby!

What a relief, but now what? This is the point where all the nurses are supposed to take over and I can kick back and relax, right? Well no, I'm all alone with this baby that I have no idea what to do with. As long as he is still attached he should be fine right? (I found out later that a minute or two is OK, but too long isn't the greatest). So I guess we'll just start cleaning up. I turned on the water and luckily there was still a towel nearby from the bath I had taken earlier. Now don't fault me for not immediately scooping up my baby, holding him to my chest, and staring lovinly into his eyes. I was in a bit of a daze- I had just given birth- at home- in my bathtub- all by myself!

Andan was born sometime between 4:17 and 4:22am (I know because of my phone log). Yes, that is less than an hour and a half from first contraction to delivered and less than 30 minutes from when I first notified my poor husband! Thankfully, it was only about two minutes before Dallin (and his mom who had been called to come watch the other kiddos) came walking in. I can't even imagine what went through their heads when they walked in on me and our baby!

Dallin immediately went into Doctor Dallin mode and began quizzing me about how long the baby had been delivered. "Rude," I thought, "where's my welcome home kiss? Where's my smile and loving look at our newest addition?" Again, I was in a daze- I had just given birth- at home- in my bathtub- all by myself! He ran out of the room looking for things and came back to take care of business. He tied off and cut the cord and started working on baby and I was left for a minute to my own, nonexistant, thoughts. Poor guy. We obviously weren't prepared for the events of the evening so he had a hard time finding anything to use to tie off and cut the cord. A shoestring, right? Oooh, gross all of ours are used and therefore dirty. So when he saw the strings on a freshly washed and folded apron he took advantage and cut one off. Brings a whole new meaning to "cutting the apron strings" huh? Also, no suitable scissors could be found, so the kitchen boning knife just had to do. Is anyone still reading this, or have you all already run for cover?

After baby had been attended to and handed over to Grandma (who thus far had NEVER been so closely involved with the birth of one of her grandchildren) Dallin took care of delivering the placenta for me. He then called up the hospital to inform them that I had just given birth at home and that we were coming in. When I was still sitting there, he was a little confused why I wasn't getting dressed to go. "Oh, you mean I need to get up, and put something on, and we need to go, and I can't just sit here and rest?" I thought. Again, I was in a daze- I had just given birth- at home- in my bathtub- all by myself! Well, we made it to the hospital (just a little late) and of course we were the big, famous story. Funny thing, before baby was born I thought how nice it would be since we live less than two miles from the hospital. Little did I know that our shortest baby commute ever still wouldn't be short enough! Baby and I were both fine and I could finally lay back and let the nurses and Dallin take over. I guess my body knew what it was doing by the third time and the doctor who checked on me commented, "Gee, you do a good job delivering, so if you need a job you can come on down to our office."

Everyone keeps asking me if it was aweful, and how did I do it, and so on, but honestly, it wasn't bad. It was so fast and I didn't have time to think about anything other than doing what needed to be done. I could do it again, but mind you, next time around, we will PLAN on either doing it at home or inducing early.

Quite a story, huh? It's one of those things that you hear about somebody, somewhere who delivered unexpectedly at home or in a car, but never to someone you know and I never dreamed it could happen to me. I already know my story has spread far and wide so now I have become one of those somebodies, somewhere who delivered at home- in a bathtub- all by herself!

The Name Game

Well, my belly is getting bigger, I'm getting more uncomfortable, and I am getting close to the 30 week mark, but I am still fretting over a name for our little one. Dallin has kind of settled on the name Andan (or Andon) but I'm still not sure. It's actually a name that I had proposed to him, but when his (as well as another brother's) initial (and continual) reaction was to sing some song that goes "and den, and den, along came John, big bad John..." I kind of got sick of it. Also, Dallin will try to call the baby by name but forget what it is and call him Aiden instead (which I like, but won't use because I think it is too overused now). Additionally, I don't like giving kids a nice name only to have them go by a nickname for the rest of their lives and I know some people will want to call him Andy. Anyway, I still like the name, but those are my concerns with it and I just wanted to get your opinions on it so please let me know what you think! Of course, I'm always open for additional suggestions!

Settle Down

We made it! Barely, but hopefully I'll be able to share that long story in another post. We are settling into our new home and lives here in Yuma and, honestly, I am loving it! The weather is fabulous (perfect, in my opinion) right now and the daily sunshine really does wonders on my mental outlook on life. (For those of you in Scranton, don't worry, you'll be able to brag about the weather in a few more months.) The steady job (with income), a beautiful home, an abundance of family and friends, a sense of stability, and hope for future goals don't hurt either! Even though I still have a lot to unpack, go through, decorate and fix around the house as well as all the new projects I keep dreaming up (like working on a garden, building Talmage a train bed, Kaia a playhouse, and me a filing cabinet) I have been losing energy and ambition quickly. I haven't taken a nice bath in my huge tub yet, but I am of the mindset right now to just let my body and my mind recover from the craziness of the last couple of months. Somehow life, activities, and obligations are already quickly filling up my calendar here. I'd better take advantage of the relative ease and quiet now before we are soon outnumbered by another little one! Unfortunately I haven't taken many pictures or loaded them on my computer, but hopefully I will be able to post some soon. For now I just wanted to let everyone know were are still alive.

It's A....

Any guesses? I had my ultrasound on Friday and was able to find out whether we are having a girl or a boy. I have been thinking of the baby as a girl and we have several girl's names that we like. We can't agree on ANY boy's names. So, of course, in true Farar fashion we are having a boy! Everyone says, "Oh don't worry about it, you will come up with a name", but seriously I am always perusing baby names and after several years we haven't been able to come up with a name so now I really feel pressured to do so in just a couple of months! (Great, one more thing to worry about right now :)) I absolutely love the name Teegan (sp. optional) but Dallin says it is too girly. I also kind of like names like Blake, Camden, and Davin (the only one of which Dallin doesn't totally reject is Blake but he already has a cousin named that). Dallin likes names like Clyde, Jackson and Parker. I object. Soooo, PLEASE send us any and all of your great ideas for boys names! I tend to like variations of traditional names (ie made up names), names from last names/ church names (but not Kimball, Brigham, Tanner, etc.), or names from places (like Boston). Dallin likes plane, old, regular boy's names but seems to be open to the types of names I like as long as they are not too girly, don't make him think of any bad nicknames, or aren't already taken by one of his 500 cousins or friends (like that leaves me a lot of options!) I really don't know how we are going to be able to agree on TWO boy's names (first and middle) so Heeeellllllllp!

3:10 to Yuma

Dallin has accepted a job to work in an urgent care facility (PrimeCare) in Yuma, Az. Yeahhhhh! So we will be skipping the looooong winters in PA and heading out to sunny AZ. Although I personally would have preferred the Phoenix area, there are plenty of plusses to living in Yuma- Grandma and Grandpa, lots of other relatives, close to San Diego, etc. Dallin really enjoyed his interview with PrimeCare and is really excited to be working in urgent care. Although he will generally be working four 12-hour shifts (including some nights and weekends) that means he will have three days off every week.

We will drive out to Phoenix for Thanksgiving and to look around for housing. I will fly back to PA with the kids to finish packing up the house and drive once again to AZ sometime before Christmas. It might sound a little crazy, but I think it will be the least stressfull method.

I'm excited for all of the new possibilities. I'm very grateful that Dallin found a job and now we can stop begging and borrowing for money and start paying everything back. On to the new adventure!

Halloween Fun

The kids had a fun time for Halloween. Although Halloween isn't really one of my favorite holidays and despite spending two full days doing nothing but work on their costumes, I think in the end these two adorable little faces made it all worth it. They both did a great job playing their parts and Talmage wasn't shy with his ggrrrrr-aarrrghs.

Of course we carved pumpkins. The kids helped pull out the innards and Kaia drew the pattern for the Jack-O-Lantern.

(These were the best shots I could get since I don't have a tripod.)

Since it rained here on Halloween, we didn't take the kids out trick-or-treating. They didn't mind though because they have just as much fun waiting for the kids to come to our door and then handing out the candy. Besides, they had already gotten plenty of loot and had lots of fun the night before at the trunk-or-treat at the church.

Waiting

Have you all been wondering what has been going on at the Farar household these last few months? Well, we have been ..... waiting. I'm not one who likes not knowing what's happening in the next five years let alone in the next five weeks, but that is exactly what I have had to do. I seriously had my life planned up until the end of September and then after that was a deep dark abyss of the unknown. So here we are in the abyss still .... waiting. Waiting for Dallin to find a job, waiting to know where we will end up, waiting to know how everything is going to work out (living arrangements, financial situation, the next five years after that- I won't bore you with the entire list), and waiting for our new little one to arrive (just checking to see if anyone still checks on my blog).

Okay, okay. So things aren't all as bad as I may worry that they are, but I seriously really, really, really, really dislike (I'm trying to not use the word "hate") not knowing where to put my feet next. Thankfully, there is quite a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Dallin is currently interviewing for jobs out in Arizona (hence I am able to take the time to blog). He has already been offered a position at each of his first two interviews (both in Yuma) and he still has two more to go (Casa Grande and Avondale)! Way to go Dear! The offers far exceed anything I was expecting, so it looks VERY likely we will end up somewhere in AZ very soon. My cogs are already turning with "what if's" and "maybe we could's", but we'll wait 'til Dallin gets back before we make a final decision.

And, yes, I was teasing you to pique your interest, so, if you have read this far you now know that we are expecting. I am due April 23 and of course we are very excited. Kaia says I am having two babies because she wants a girl and Talmage wants a boy. One of them is going to have to wait a while longer than the other to get what they want!

I'll try to keep you a little more up to date because obviously there will be a lot going on in the next little while.

Dallin's Done!

...well, almost. Dallin has finished all of his classes and tests for school and will officially graduate on Saturday (the 1st). He still has some review lectures this week and then will study on his own to take his national board certification exam (probably at the beginning of Sept.). Then he will be loosed on the world! Unfortunately we still don't know exactly where in the world that will be. We are very excited, but are also nervous about all of the unknowns. Hopefully we can find a great job in a place we love and live happily ever after. Either way, I am proud of Dallin and all that he has accomplished. Waaaahoooooo!

Doing the Wave

Dallin started a game with the kids where they sit on the front steps and wave to all the cars that pass and see how many will wave back. Believe it or not, not too many people wave back. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt since our steps are about 5 feet above street level and there is a good hill in the road just past our house. However, the kids get very excited when someone does wave or honk. Especially Talmage. I have to constantly keep checking for him when I send them out in the backyard to play. He'll run down the side of the house and usually gets in one wave and a "Hiii" before I can catch him. The thought of him being out there by himself sets off all of my motherly insticts and makes my hair stand on end, muscles tighten up, and a few other feelings that only come to a mother when her child's life is in any way threatened. Yeah, I'm not so thrilled that they have been taught to play on top of a big stone wall next to a busy street but as long as they are supervised I guess I will survive.

Lets Go Fly A Kite

Dallin got these kites a while back, so for one FHE we attempted to go fly them at the park. Although we didn't really get them up too well (the wind kept dying just as we would get it going), the kids still enjoyed it. Kaia ran her little heart out several times (my camera wasn't fast enough to catch her), would get tuckered out and catch her breath for 30 seconds, then be ready to try it again. Talmage wouldn't let go of his kite's tail so Dallin had to just hold up the kite and let Talmage trot along behind him. After a few minutes of that, the kids were both ready to go play on the jungle gym. Simple pleasures.

Sunday Walk

Although the weather can't seem to make up its mind (it's constantly changing), we were able to take advantage of a wonderful spring Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago to take a walk. Beautiful! If I didn't have to live through such a long winter to get to this fleeting beauty I wouldn't mind living in PA longer.

(The dress Kaia is wearing is a dress that I got in Germany from my Oma (grandma). I have a few more of my dresses that Kaia is now big enough to wear, so I'll keep pointing them out.)