Kaia's Birthday Party

So, it finally came. We were having 6 little girls come, but due to the coldness, only one person could start their car. So we had two little girls who ended up coming......one walked and one had a garage. Note to self, -50 Celsius isn't great weather for a party. Anyway, we did an escape to Hawaii. We wore Hawaiian skirts and necklaces, drank a Hawaiian drink (mango smoothies), ate Hawaiian fruit (pineapple) and learned to Hula dance. We then ate a Hawaiian girl cake. It was fun, it's just too bad more girls couldn't come. Anyway, here's some pictures of the girls.






Veronica was haven't a hard time not going downstairs and playing with all the toys.....although she did love learning about Hawati (Hawaii was just too hard to pronounce).

The Birth Order

I just received this email and I thought there was just way too much truth to it.... so mothers, ENJOY!!


1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
_____________________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last
time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
______________________________________________________
The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
______________________________________________________
Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper,
a frown--you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten
to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
______________________________________________________
Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until
you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it
off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
______________________________________________________
Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour,
whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to
complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
_______________________________________________________
Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing,
Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners.
______________________________________________________
Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter,
you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to
leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
______________________________________________________
At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from
the children
______________________________________________________
Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully
watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!
______________________________

10 hours.....

Sachie's blog just said 1 thousand, 1 hundred and 57 days since she had to deal with a child throwing up. My guess is that I've had about 10 hours - 24 hours of a break since I got home in January. Yes, it has happened again. On Thursday, it was Saryn until Kienna on Saturday and then me on Sunday and Jarett Monday......then Kaia last night - which is really sad because we had to cancel her birthday party and everything. It was super sad. Oh man, I can't wait until this month is over.....I'm pretty sure it's totally cursed........ Anyway, here's a picture I took of Kienna on Saturday. She had complained of a tummy ache all day (but that's not really out of the norm) and then as I went into the kitchen to make dinner, I turned around to see that she had followed me in, layed down on the floor and fallen asleep in about 30 seconds. I took a picture seeing that this was super cute and then woke her up. I relearned my lesson "Never wake a sleeping child". She looked at me and threw up all over me....about 5 times in a row. It was SO lovely. (Oh, and to top it all off, I had spent the entire day on my hands and knees scrubbing the floors to make them really clean right before she did this.) Sigh. The joys of motherhood are upon me.

Kaia's Birthday Cake

Here's the first birthday cake I've ever made all by myself. It's for Kaia's 5th birthday - it's a Hawaiian theme. The boxes are the party favors. I'll add some of the party after we have it. This is just the preparation stuff.

Saryn

So, Saryn has recently been having a harder time going to bed, but we've found that when she is given a book to read, she settles down a lot better. Last night, I finally snapped a picture of her reading (she's turning into her Daddy's girl). Kienna, of course, had to have her picture taken too, so here she is.

All about me and J!

I have been seeing this on a few of my friends blogs and thought it was a fun idea so here goes....

What are your Full Names?

Jarett Fister Cahoon (yes, seriously)
Ashley Dawn Mullen Cahoon

How long have you been Married?
Just over 6 years (December 22, 2001)

How long did you date?
We dated for 9 months before we got engaged, then four months engagement.

How old are you both?
Jarett is 30 and I'm 25

Who eats more?
I really hope Jarett.....although on my best day, I'm sure I could keep up.

Who said I love you First?
I did if I remember right. I might have just told him that I'd be ready to say it. But I brought it up first.

Who is Taller?
Jarett - by about 5 inches.

Who sings better?
Although I have more training, Jarett, hands down.

Who is smarter?
Depends on what. Jarett's smarter in history and math and stuff. We're about tied in English and I'm better in sciences and health stuff.

Who's Temper is worse?
Jarett's, although I can put up a good fight when I feel is needed.....and when I'm pregnant we're about even.

Who does the Laundry?
Me 100%

Who does the dishes?
If Jarett's home, he does them. He's really good that way. He's just home so rarely now, that I usually do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

Looking at it? or lying on it? He's on the right hand side when you're looking at the bed from the foot of it.....he likes to be closer to the door to protect me. That's what he says.

Who pays the bills?
He supplies the money (in theory) and I physically pay them.

Who mows the lawn?
He does, but I'd do it if needed.

Who cooks?
Same as the dishes, if he's home, he usually does. . . .

Who drives when you are together?
Jarett.......always.

Who is the first to admit they were wrong?
I don't think we're ever wrong. We both argue our points and agree to disagree.....but if a cave in is necessary, he does it. If we have differing opinions, but I don't care enough......I just don't let a fight start, it's not worth it.

Who parents do you see the most?
Mine, with Jarett's at a very close second. Mine just come and visit more, but since they live about 5 minutes apart, it's pretty close.

Who proposed?
Jarett did. It was crazy. He totally wasn't planning on doing it that day, so without preparations, he had to do improv...... So needless to say, it wasn't smooth, but it was more special that way, I think.

Who has more friends?
Um, I don't know. He knows a ton of people at school, but I probably get to do more with my friends.

Who has more sibilings?
I do. I have 5 sisters, he has 4. (you might notice that he's the only boy in the mix and we're carrying on the tradition)

Who wears the pants?
It depends on what we're dealing with. I do think, for the most part, Jarett gets the final say, but he'd never do something that I've flat out said no to.


Hehe, this has been fun. You guys should try it.

Just for fun......I'll do this too.

This is great! have fun with your own!!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
- Tuppence Sienna

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
- Vanilla Chocolate Chip

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
- A CAH

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
- Blue Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
- Dawn Lethbridge (k, this isn't quite the cool name I had hoped)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
- Cahas

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
- The Green Margarita

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
- Henry Dan Bernard (I have 3 Grandpa's)

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
- Vanilla Fuzzy Peaches

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
- Joyce Stewart

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
- Kamitakahara Kitchener

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
- Spring Daisy

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
- Mango Socksie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
- Apple Cinnamon Maple

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
-The Scrapbooking Fire Tour

Wow, these are so not as fun as some others.......but it was fun to do!!

Photo Shoot from October

Um, so I had to keep these secret from Jarett until after Christmas, but now that he knows about them, I can post them. Thanks to Alysha's wonderful talent, I love these pictures and they'll be blown up around the house for sure. Anyway, here they are.

Look at me go....

So, I was surprised to see that people actually still check my blog. Hats off to you for your patience. Anyway, this is for habit making purposes. So I apologize for nothing fascinating.

We went to the doctor today and found out that Kaia has a horrid ear infection as well as the croup (as suspected). Kienna has been okayed for now, but they're worried about a UTI. Apparently they can cause a lot of vomiting etc. and girls are especially susceptible.

Jarett doesn't have school on Fridays, so he's been around today, therefore, allowing me to FINALLY get to the gym. I ran for 2 miles and stopped only because I had to get home to bring the other two to the doctor.....well, that and I was starting to feel like I was going to throw up. It felt great to run again though. I got to use my new heart rate monitor/watch that Jarett gave me for Christmas. I didn't realize how high my heart rate was. Although I'm getting a great work out, I guess I need to slow down to get a better target on weight loss/fat burning. It is a big eye opener, so it's fun.

Weight Watchers has been great to start again. Since starting on Monday, I've already dropped 3 pounds. Can't complain about that. I love the point system.... It's just so much easier to keep track of things. Anyway, I got to use my new kitchen scale this week, so it's easier to keep track of a lot of the points. Anyway, it's great.

Well, other than that, I'm trying to get Saryn to try new vegetables. Any ideas?

New Year. New Resolutions.

Okay, so after pressure from various people, I've decided that one of my new year's resolutions will be to update my blog at least once a month. That is so it is reasonable, but I will try to do it more than that. So, other resolutions are....

Starting Weight Watchers again.
Going to the Gym 3 times a week.
Reading scriptures daily.
Writing in my journal daily.

So anyone who wants to help me out my checking on me, would be great.

We ushered in the new year at home with a visit to the emergency room with Kienna. She had been throwing up for about 2 days straight and was doing nothing but watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on the couch all day. When she woke up with her lips so cracked that they were bleeding and once I noticed she had lost about 4 pounds, I called some people and we all decided she needed an IV or something. So, bracing myself, I figured out arrangements for the other girls and I took off to the hospital (as I left, Kaia had a fever of 103 lowering after a long sleep and a lot of sweating. Saryn had a fever of 101 because she was teething.) We got there and they checked vitals before they sent us to sit down. They warned us that it would be a really long wait. We sat in the waiting room by a little boy who had been there for 5 hours after being transfered over from another hospital where he had waited 5 hours. I was kinda feeling doomed, but within 10 minutes, a pediatrician came and checked Kienna out. She took us to a little room off the side of the waiting room and checked everything. She told us what she was planning and then told us to take a seat. Before we even sat down, she called us back and said that she'd just push us ahead by putting us in an adult bed. The kids beds were full, so there was a ridiculous wait. So we were in within half an hour, thank heaven. After giving her some anti-nausea medicine (the same kind given to chemotherapy patients), we gave her some things to drink and she still wasn't keeping anything down, so they did the IV, and almost as the needle went in, she fell asleep and you could almost see her face coming back to life with the fluid. She has only thrown up once since and today she has a lot more energy. She is even eating and everything. Kaia now has, in my opinion, croup. But overall, we're doing a lot better.

I got 4 new piano students this week, which I'm very excited about. I actually don't think I'll be able to accept any more until the fall. I also might be learning how to play the organ within the month, we shall see.

Jarett's back at school and it seems like it will be a much better year. His groups that he's been assigned so far are wonderful and he's super excited to be working with people who speak English. It just helps a little bit. I'm thrilled as well seeing as I might see more of him because of it.

Anyway, Christmas was wonderful. I'll attach a few random pictures....and we'll do more catch up later. Anyway, here's the update for January (and hopefully just the week or so).