Tagged

I don't usually do these, but my other computer is broken and I wanted to put a post up so this will have to be it. We are home from the hospital, by the way. We got home on Saturday. We are exhausted still, but very happy to be home. The best things that have happened since we've been home is that Weston has learned his own sign language of pointing at something and then pointing at himself very franticly so that I will let him have it (i.e. the last few bites of my pizza haha) and we taught him to say "hey, baaaabay!" like that but he is saying "hey, baby," if you can't tell. Maybe we'll get him to say to Audrey :)

Tagged ~ My Firsts

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? Greg McGrath. And Heather and Steve made fun of us for being two mormons dancing really awkwardly at a school dance. That's really embarrassing thinking back on it. Thanks for reminding me, Heather.
2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? Does facebook even count? We don't talk, though :) Doug's the only man on my mind.
3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? Yet to come. JUST KIDDING. Never have had one.
4. What was your FIRST job? Atlanta Bread Company. I was hired based on my older sister Lisa's "caliber."
5. What was your FIRST car? Champagne Honda Accord. As if calling gold, "champagne" makes it any uglier and we still have a "champagne" Honda Accord. Thanks mom and dad! It may be what we call "lucky," because of all the dings and missing luxury items that have fallen off, but I'm grateful for it every time it passes safety and emissions.
6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? My friend Jess. We took Weston and Audrey on a date to Wendy's to the dollar menu.
7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? Rebecca Blooomwood, I'm reading all the Shopaholic series and I couldn't wait to find out what happened.
8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Mc something? Let's Macgyver :)
9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? I flew from Seattle to Spokane when we moved to visit my BFF Adrienne.
10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? Adrienne and yes we do! For some reason - probably because she's always been really good at letters and emails and is still the bomb.
11. Where was your FIRST sleep over? No idea, probably the Johnson's house though, lip syncing to Whitney and playing Nordstrom and Bon Marche on shoe boxes :)
12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Lisa, my sister, called me.
13. Whose wedding were you in for the FIRST time? My own actually. I was the first to get married, does that count? If not, my brother, Aaron's.
14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? I read Shopaholic. Maybe I'm lame, but I didn't like the first two books all that much, she drove me crazy, but she's becoming quite addicting to see what stupid thing she's going to do next.
15. FIRST tattoo? None - but one time, Lisa and I went to Vegas and talked about getting tattoos. We were in a casino and she said she would get a star and there were rainbows and stars all over the carpet and I said, "I would get a rainbow." Good thing I never went through with that one!
16. FIRST piercing? My ears when I was 13.
17. FIRST foreign country you've been to? Canada family vacay I'll never forget :) A kid as high as a kite jumped our houseboat and Paul (my dad) got him in a double chicken wing and through him overboard. wow.
18. FIRST movie you remember seeing? Little Mermaid.
19. When was your FIRST detention? Yet to come. But once the Riverside High School secretary called me to the front office and I thought I wasn't going to graduate because it was a few weeks before and I was tardy. She just wanted to compliment me on my literary magazine article. I was so nervous, though. I had never been summoned to the principal's office before.
20. What was the FIRST state you lived in? Washington State.

Tag you're it: Tricia, Adrienne (b/c she better say I was her first BFF), Lisa, Kristen Lee, Jodi, and anyone else who wants to do it. And Carol - she should do it too.

Do you know Gossie?

If you don't, you should so let me introduce you to her:
"This is Gossie. Gossie is a gosling. A small, yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots - everyday."

Yes, sadly, as many of you can do with your own kids' books, I am reciting that from memory. Well, this week, I am learning that reading to West is paying off. Now, he asks for Gossie by name. "What book do you want to read?" And the answer is either "cows," which is a sing along book by Sandra Boynton, my absolute favorite children's author or "gossie." He loves to read. I can't read to him enough. His toys get old, but his books are his constant friends. I wonder where he gets that?? Lisa introduced us to Gossie and I thought I'd pay it forward.
This is Weston's "Read to me, Clown!" face.



A sidenote: Doug and I are crazy bored here at the hospital. Weston's diarrhea is decreasing and his personality is coming back and he has learned many new words including, but not limited to: crunchy, gossie, puppy, rock, aimee, poopy, etc. And trust me, "aimee" and "poopy" were not learned together. So in my boredom, I found myself wishing and hoping you all would update your blogs in the next few minutes so that I might have something to look at. Willing you to do so was not working, so I began reminiscing on my own blog and discovered a few things. Many of you keep your blog for journal purposes. Being a writer however, I actually do keep a journal separate from this. As I've reread a few entries, I made myself laugh and cry sometimes within the same post. I have been very detailed in what has gone on and left the more personal side for my journal. I've realized, though, between the two, my children may someday have an even fuller account of my life than I intended. I think blogs are so fun and it is amazing to look back at all the things we've been through and to have friends and family that you may have lost touch with experience these things with you. Even though I tend to lean toward the more sporadic end of the spectrum when it comes to frequency in blogging, I remain a fan. If Amber is reading this, maybe she can post the site she used for everyone to create her blog book. It looked amazing.

I am so grateful for my family and close friends who called and brought things to me for my birthday and have been so willing to help. An example is that Lisa, Grandma Joni, my mom and dad all came out last year with the sole purpose of helping me. This year, Aimee hopped on a plane without any prompting and we were incredibly bored upon her absence. Thanks Aimee for coming out to help and for the Flemings' birthday dinner!
I call this "Aimee in the bathroom" by Doug Mausser. I wasn't on the ball enough to get a picture of Aimee with Weston this visit. Here is Aimee with a teeny, tiny, yellow Weston at 6 weeks old. Weston just loved Aimee and so do we. Thanks again Aimee Lou!










Bathtime

"Bath" is one of those four letter words we have to spell in front of our son so he doesn't immediately go to the bathroom and want to get in with his clothes on. I have discovered that baths are much more fun with Daddy than they are with Mama and I'm okay with that. Maybe this is why, I'm sorry I don't nail you in the head with your bouncy Tigger ball, Weston. I'm sorry I'm trying to save your brain cells, not kill them. I love his face waiting with anticipation.


And lastly, my little bug and me. If we look exhausted, it's because we are. Weston likes fuzzy blankets and stuffed animals, but when we get to the hospital, he asks for them constantly as a reminder of home, I suppose. He woke up once during this nap and said, "Bear." Then he put his head down again, fast asleep. I also asked him a question, yesterday and his response was so endearing. I was standing right in front of him as he sat in his crib. I said, "Who is your mom, Weston?" He put his pointer finger into my chest and said, "Mom," with a puzzled look as to why I was asking. I just smiled in response and he leaned forward and poked me again. He tilted his head back, smiling, and said, "Mama." What a doll, huh? I guess this week, I remain increasingly grateful for all the blessings in my life.

Happy Valentine's Day Everybody!

Happy happy V-day- I encourage all my viewers to look back at February 2008 to see how our lives so drastically changed that day. We are still so very grateful for Weston's liver transplant. Happy Valentine's day to Weston's girlfriend Audrey. I wish you could see what a fun, beautiful little girl she is and why Weston loves his "daudrey." Don't worry, Doug had a long talk with him about having his pants off...

As for us, we are still in the hospital, awaiting our return home. My sister, Aimee (or should I say "Maimee," according to Weston), has come out to entertain Weston when Doug and I aren't as resilient.

Thank you everyone for all your sweet prayers, thoughts, and concerns. We really have realized how blessed we are with such wonderful family and friends.

I went to the grocery store today and was thoroughly confused as to what was going on with flowers, candy, and balloons everywhere. Oh yeah, Valentine's! Hope you and your lover have a good one :) As for mine, I love you Doug so so so much. I realize even more this week what an amazing husband and father you are. You have gone beyond physical limitations this week and I am so grateful for you. I feel inadequate for the family I have, but am ineffably happy that they are mine.

Poo poo on you Deja Vu

Many of you might be aware of our little situation this week. Weston had a fever, diarrhea, and vomiting on Sunday night into Monday morning. I kept checking his fever, which was going up and down. I also noticed his breathing was labored. At first, he thought it was fantastic, getting to lay in front of the TV, watching cartoons, nestled up with juice and fuzzy blankets. Then, he started to throw up. We spent all frustrating day at the ER, then he had some bloody diapers and threw up blood. Doug stayed the night with him that night with more blood out of both orifices. This isn't getting too graphic, is it? :)

It was a frustrating day today with an exhausted, hungry, thirsty, bored baby. But I wasn't concerned with Doug. BURN! Just kidding. They were both troopers. Then the stool sample came back positive with an intestinal virus. I'm talking about Weston, here. That one vomit Monday morning irritated his varices (the veins in his throat) and the bleeding started. The hardest part was not knowing, but it is nice to be familiar with everything going on. He had an endoscopy this afternoon and they did sclerotherapy to attempt to stop the bleeding. He has had two blood transfusions and is just really tired and irritated with the noise of the people around him. He is in PICU tonight at Primary Children's Hospital and we hope to be out the latter part of the week. We'll keep you updated, but we're doing fantastic. Doug is really loopy and it serves for great entertainment, weirdo.

Last year on my birthday, which is tomorrow, the bleeding started and bumped us up to first on the transplant list. Happy Liversary, huh? I'm beginning to despise my birthday. But I can tell you this. We are handling everything in stride and getting compliments left and right from nurses and people we don't even know about how great we are being, how calm, and optimistic we are. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but only to say how grateful I am for a Heavenly Father who shapes and molds me into the type of daughter of God I need to be. I told someone already that my strength and endurance this week waxes and wains. It is when it suddenly waxes that I feel your prayers being answered. Thank you for all your love and offers of help.

This is a picture last year after his transplant. We've come a long way baby! I love this little boy with everything that I am. He is the best example I have ever seen. He is the best part of me. And somehow I have a hard time believing I had anything to do with it.

New Years in NM, but posting about it a month later, no biggie

We drove down to NM in a very jampacked car with Aaron, Kristen & CoCo. There were very few catastrophes except for when CoCo decided she couldn't wait to go outside, if you know what I mean so I don't have to get too graphic. Weston was fairly good considering we were in the car for ten hours with about a thirty minute nap. He behaved for about 80% of the trip. Lucky for us, he got two teeth in while we were there. He really hates to sleep in the pack and play so he hasn't slept well whenever we've gone down. I always look forward to seeing my family and it's been a nightmare since we've had Weston. But then Aaron and Kristen got their brand new CUTE house and Doug and I got our own room and Weston got his own room. It was fantastic. So this was by far the best trip we've had in a year and half down there. Thanks to A & K for their superb hospitality. Weston certainly has not forgotten CoCo either. He asks about her frequently! Here are a few fun times from the crazy trip - -

A & K provided this fun time of tubes, teepees & tents. We laughed so hard. Kristen was the only one that could pal around with West in the tubes.









Comfortably, that is.
Doug had to do a reverse to get out.







West loved everyone and had a lot fun with everyone. Something I noticed is that no matter what he was doing, if he heard Aaron laugh, Weston laughed too. He got so hyper whenever we got back to Aaron's place, he wouldn't go to bed until like 11:30.

Enough said? This was the only decent picture of their wrestling match I could post; it got pretty ugly.









Presenting the twins: Smiley Afton and ruffle bums.









Can you guess which bum belongs to which twin?

Where to even start...

Oh my goodness we had such a great holiday and I wish I had taken more pictures! The only time I remember is when I'm laughing so hard that I need to make sure I remember how funny the moment is. We are so loved and we love all our family and thank you so much for the fun times! Here is the holiday in Provo, UT.
I'm sure you all have realized with your own twerps that more often than not the box is funner than the actual toy. Weston came up with this without any help.








The dumptruck is from Weston's friend Audrey at church. He is very territorial of her and once pushed her out of a crowd of people to have her all to himself. It took a while for Weston to realize that this is not the same as his Winnie the Pooh train. He was so funny opening gifts, though. Grandma and Grandpa Mausser wrapped some of his gifts in Winnie the Pooh paper and so he knew which ones were his. At one point, I suppose he was bored of watching other people open their gifts and went over and picked a Pooh-wrapped package and brought it over to me. His reaction to the opening (bending over the package with his hands on his knees and wide eyes), "Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!" Imagine his dismay at finding clothes upon opening the package.
This toy is also taking some getting used. You see, it is a SIT 'n' spin. Not a STAND 'n' spin West. Before he figured out the dangerous options it had, he just liked pressing the middle buttons for music and dancing away. It was his giant ipod.

Thank you so much to everyone for all the fabulous gifts and we really especially appreciate the fact that you picked out the noisiest toys. That part has not escaped our attention.




And West and his uncle Whit jammin' at the piano. Too cute to pass up.

A la Cuisine!

Yeehaa! Our new recipe blog is up at this website everyone. I'm super excited. Again, let me know if you'd like to be a contributor and I didn't email you! The url is http://yespleaserecipes.blogspot.com

If you have a better title - let me know - I was struggling :) I promise I won't be too offended.

A long, long time ago about 6 years when I first met Doug, he said one of the reasons he fell in love with me was my cooking. K not really. But, he and his friends came over and it was our last Sunday together as roommates at USU and one of our traditions was cookie dough and Texas Sheet Cake made by yours truly. My roommates were arguing which of those they wanted me to make. I said I would make one or the other and Texas Sheet Cake won. Doug said he loved my willingness to make it for them.

A few weeks ago, a guy Doug works with commented on something I had made for them. He said, "Stef's a good cook, isn't she?" Doug said, "She has really taught herself to be." He said, "So you mean, there's hope?"I definitely think it something you can learn and so I'm so excited the recipe blog is up and can't wait to get started!

Oh how you've missed me...

Sorry it's been so long - like a year...cuz it's 2009! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. We did here in Utah with Doug's family and then we went down to NM to visit my family for New Year's. We had so much fun at both and feel extremely spoiled and loved. I have many pictures and things to update, but we will start with this beautiful family:


















My friend Cat took these pics for free for me and it is difficult to get a smiling baby, but here is in one taken by me that is my fave.









These pictures were our Christmas presents this year so Catherine really helped me out with the lack of money and all. On the note of pictures, I read a book over the break that taught me many things, but one was to "send out bad pictures of myself". The message she was trying to send was no regrets and to enjoy life and so even though I may never get this baby weight off after a year and a half, I promise to still "send out bad pictures". That and actually getting rid of the baby weight are my goals among others for 2009. Weston has enjoyed scripture reading while eating breakfast in the mornings with me. He laughs, I don't know why, but he laughs. I figure what can it hurt? It's a perfect time for me and it only takes a few minutes and we both enjoy it and it's a commandment, right? Other goals for 2009: Deepak Chopra, an author, was on Ellen the other day and he said: "The surest way to be happy is in pursuit of making someone else happy." So that is another goal of mine beginning, but not limited to making my husband and son feel like the studs that they are.

RECIPE BLOG

I would like to start a recipe blog and invite anyone who is interested to be a contributor. The idea behind it is cost efficient, healthy ( of course) and neither. Sometimes it's just fun to try a new recipe and have it taste delish. So let me know if you have any nifty ideas for a title or if you are interested in being a contributor. I'd like the recipes to be tested before we post them so you can give your own review and warnings and such. I'm always trying out new stuff and would love to try your cooking too! So let me know. Good luck, 2009 I hope you are way better than your predecessor 2008.

Quick, press mute.

I guess nothing is really new except for my son is just about the funniest thing ever. He is really into imitating and being a daredevil and other typical things for his age and sex. Something he thinks is really funny is to terrify us and I have no idea where he got the idea for this, but he sometimes hides his train behind the couch and all the sudden I see his head peak out with a mischievous look.




















Doug did intervene and cushioned his fall, but we were laughing so hard, Weston didn't even realize that he probably should be crying. I can't wait to have a little girl someday, but I hope everyone gets to have a little boy. In addition to building forts, we have found a really fun game is to play hide and seek - he runs away from the parent hiding and runs into the arms of the parent seeking, so we don't mind at all. It's the only way we ever get hugs with this active one.

Weston loves to dance and we've been turning on our stereo and busting our moves to Christmas music. Doug likes to play all the instruments, you know: air guitar, air drums, air piano. Whereas, I just like to practice my Britney and Janet moves. One day, prior to our walk that day, I turned on the stereo and Weston and I were dancing to Britney's "My Only Wish This Year" and other fun festive songs and I mean we were really getting down. Weston was dancing and I was picking him up and twirling him. It was quite the work out. Even Mooja was dancing on his hind legs with his nose in the air like Snoopy and howling. The people below us were pounding on the ceiling, but we did not care. He never ceases to amaze me how fun and hilarious he is. This is his favorite song and we discovered it on a beer commercial last year and he loved it then too. I actually have it on my ipod all year long. It's a great motivating song to work out to. I'm not really one to put music on my blog because, no offense to those who have it on theirs, but I HATE it. But I had to share this song : Wizards in Winter by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

So I think I figured out how not to have it blare as you enter my blog. I hope it works. I, probably like many of you, have so many favorite Christmas songs and memories tied to several. Somewhere in the archives there is a video of Kacey, Lisa, and me lip-syncing to Britney's "My Only Wish This Year" one year when Lisa and I were home from college. It is so funny. Also, one song I could not find is "Happy Xmas" by Maroon 5. No memory there, I just really like their version.

Another I could not find is "Song for A Winter's Night" by Sarah McLachlan which always reminds me of winters in Logan at USU. The winters were horrible and haunt my nightmares, but my roomies were warm and fun and I miss and love them (especially since one year it was Lisa) :) Lastly, it's not my favorite version, but it throws me back to Christmas when I was a young teen ahhhh....."Baby It's Cold Outside" by Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton. It is interesting and I like it a lot just because we used to spend Christmases in a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and we would go to Dollywood every year and see all the Christmas shows. One year, my dad even bought all 6 kids reindeer headbands and made us wear them in Dollywood. Remember, I said I was a TEEN! But I'll be the first to admit how much I loved it. Merry Christmas!! And feel free to share with me some of your favorites -songs and memories - Falalalala la la kaching! ( I hope that's enough la's)

Sincerelly Disappointed

Well, I can't believe it, but Doug won the drawing contest. I am outraged at the lack of votes for the turkey vs. Indian contest. The story behind it was much funnier if you were there, but I always draw something on my white board calendar for that month: a flower, leaves, jack-o-lantern, etc. I tried to draw a cooked turkey, but it didn't turn out so I went with the Indian drawing and was quite pleased with myself. I drew Doug's attention to it and started to say, "Did you see my...?" And I busted out laughing as I saw his very detailed version of a live turkey. He laughed and said, "Yes. Did you see my turkey?" So we decided to take it to the streets to see whose was better, but due to lack of participation, I'm calling it a draw.

My camera battery died and I left my charger in Indi - so I have NO pictures from Thanksgiving! or Doug's stepsister Brighton's wedding or reception!! I am so upset, but we had such a great week attending the wedding events and Brighton was so beautiful of course and her dress was the most gorgeous I have ever seen. No lie. Also, Doug and West attended a Jazz game with the boys while I saw Twilight with the girls again - better the second time, if you can believe it. So I have a lack of pictures until I receive my charger, but here are some from Lisa's blessing that I haven't posted yet.














And I caught Weston at a later point looking in on the girls in their pack n play and he was talking in a really high pitched voice. I was confused and said, "What are you doing, Weston?" He quickly walked away, embarrassed that he got caught. Then I realized he was just imitating how we all talk to the babies in our higher pitched baby voices! I was laughing so hard and I think he was a little mad at me.















This is Weston's newfound idol, Uncle Adam. He followed Adam everywhere. About a week later, I was talking to Lisa on the phone and Weston heard me say, "Adam". To which his response was, "Ada?" and reached for the phone. At least, now Ada sounds more like Adam and not dada. But car is ca, ball, balloon, and bath are all ba, bottle is now bobble and not ba-ba, and biper is diaper. I bet your kids told you they were stinky, not that they need a diaper change. "Outside" sounds like scooby doo's version "outride", and a "ride" that can be confusing.

Twilight, of course, What else is going on in our lives of importance?

Today, Doug and I walked past a couple making out in their car. Full on, making out, I tell you. I said, "I can't believe they are doing that in broad daylight!" Doug: "I know, they should at least wait until twilight." He thinks he's funny.... and so do I.

Don't read if you haven't seen it! But I don't intend on revealing much anyway. I went last night with my old ward to Twilight. I saw the best shirt: My heart belongs to my husband, but my neck belongs to Edward. I didn't think I liked that much, but then Lisa called me today and we were swooning and laughing and loving it all over again and I realized I did really like it. They left out a couple important (to me) plot elements that I was disappointed about and they could have left out a couple cheesy parts and I thought the diamonds on the skin was REALLY creepy. It bugged. Anyway, I can't wait for the other movies and I'll probably buy this one when it comes out and I want to know what you thought?? Let's be honest, whether I liked it or not, I still walked away daydreaming about Edward didn't I?






Here is some of the crew with the fake cast, I am a nerd. I was really embarrassed to get my pic taken with them, but I wouldn't leave without doing it.

I know, Weston, I know. Three hours of church is WAY too long for me, too.
















A Thanksgiving Poll

Whose chicken scratch drawing is a better representation of Thanksgiving and who is the artist behind each drawing, me or Doug? In case you can't tell, that's an Indian, or Native American, if you will, and the other is a turkey. There is, of course, a great story behind these pictures, but in order to prevent any bias in the poll, I will wait until the results are in to disclose it. See to the right to vote >>>

A Terrifying Tiny Ninja & all his Halloween activities

Tiny ninja in a swing.... We were at a trunk or treat for Lisa's ward in Indi and there were two brothers in the swings next to us laughing and joking. Weston, being the social laugher that he is, started laughing also.









Tiny Ninja relaxing on a tiny couch.
Tiny Ninja next a big witch at Gardner's Village.
Tiny Ninja with some friends at Gardner's Village. We had so much fun, I took Doug back later.









Tiny Ninja giving out candy to trick or treaters with his Uncle Adam, whom he lovingly nicknamed "dada" since his own DaDa was not with us. He followed Adam around the whole time we were there. He loved putting the candy in their bags, and even tried to walk out the door to give them more.

























Tired Tiny Ninja after a fun-filled day at Gardner's Village with friends.









My favorite witch at Gardner's Village - get a witch in an outhouse? Witchy Poo? Hehe happy way belated halloween. Sorry for the delay - I am officially sick and Weston is getting a molar in so I think I'm perfectly justified for being a blogging slacker :)











And lastly, here are sweet Claire and Afton in their Halloween get-ups.