Ophie Rides a Pony

Adieu

First a little story.

We were reading family scriptures the other night and came upon a line about the destruction of the Jews. Sophie, hearing this, ran into the kitchen excitedly, exclaiming "Juice? Yeah? Ophie a juice?"

Now, the farewell address. Farewell dear blog. Farewell dear readers (if any). We've had a great 3 years haven't we? However, I have a growing family and as cute as they are and as much as I LOVE to tell their little stories I realize that blogging just isn't for me anymore. I'd much rather spend my blogging time experiencing more and more of these moments in life. It goes by too fast. Waaaay too fast, and I am going to enjoy it before it slips away.

I bid thee adieu.

XOXOXOX

Henry 4 months old

Sophie 21 months old

Who needs new batteries when you can win...

...A NEW CAMERA!!!!!!

And by "win" I mean win because you won over your husband with LOVE and Kisses and he will win you over with a new camera. Well, he technically already won me over and I am a winner because I have him.

So, here are the first pictures from Fred, our latest (electronic) addition to our family.
I didn't realize that I was shooting in ISO mode (frankly, I don't even know what ISO is...I have some learning to do) so please bear with me and forgive the amateur first photos from our new and highly technologized and wonderful camera.

On aging

My 25th birthday is looming. About a month ago I straightforwardly told TJ that I wanted creams and makeups that would slow down the aging process. I was joking though. But, maybe there was a twinge of serious in there.

********

Today at the grocery store a young girl of 10 came to look at my baby and talk to me about life. She was spry and precocious. Sophie and TJ came to meet Zanib (my friend) and Zanib, seeing that I had two children, shockingly looked at me and said, "How old are you, anyway?"

"25" I answered, my voice thick with disgust and hinting that I OBVIOUSLY DO NOT look even close.

Then this sweet little girl retorted, "No offense but..."

"But what?" I said. (I don't know why I said it, I knew I wasn't going to like what I heard).

"But, you look, (she saw the pleading look in my eyes) well, kind of, older than that."

I literally had no response to that and Zanib saw our brief encounter had abruptly ended. She ran back to her family.

*******

TJ only has laughed up to this point when I've asked him for creams and age defying items. I don't know how much I am joking anymore.

The Mother of Two

A lot of people have asked how it is going being the mother of two these days. Well, I would like to draw your attention to a few items.

Exhibit A: my lack of posting.

Being the mother of two means that as soon as Henry is sleeping and I think I may have a chance to get on the computer, my cute little Sophie sees me and exclaims "Elmo, peas? Elmo, elmo cookie? Peas?" Which means she wants to watch her fav you tubers.

Exhibit B: No Pictures.

Also, I've learned that the mother of two means that you go without for longer than you usually would. Consider my need of batteries for our camera. I have gone shopping, but I seem to neglect batteries every time. I really, really want re-chargables so I don't have to worry about getting new batteries for my ancient camera that eats up acid like I eat dark chocolate. I DID buy some once, but they didn't have enough juice, or they just didn't work. And I haven't gone out again for batteries. It's been over a month.

I simply keep forging ahead without because of the potential hassle and chaos that could erupt for the fortunate mother of two on an outing for batteries.

Exhibit C: My dishes aren't done.

The mother of two needs her rest (Beauty rest would be nice, but we make do with what we get). Henry doesn't sleep as well as Sophie did. So I am up a lot at night. So, during the day when Sophie AND Henry are napping I AM NAPPING TOO. Call me selfish, crazy, unclean...whatever. All I know is, if mamma is grumpy, all heck breaks loose.

Exhibit D: The clerk at sam's club asked me if I had a "Long Day"

All I have to say about this is: If a woman is shopping for diapers and wipes and her hair might not be done and she's wearing yesterday's makeup, that don't give noone the go ahead to ask if she's had a "long day." Even if she doesn't read between the lines at that very moment (her lack of sleep causes her to zone out ALL THE TIME) she will realize soon what that clerk meant and will soon gorge herself on chocolates and then go half crazy trying to lose the pounds. OK? SAM'S CLUB CLERK???

Finally, Exhibit E: I'm still smiling.

Being the mother of two is also AMAZING. There are ups and downs, but there are some really choice times and experiences that keep coming along and keep bringing some excellent perspective. So what if my hair isn't done up, and so what if I'm not getting EVERYTHING done. I play with Sophie, I cuddle Henry, and I give kisses to my dear sweet TJ. I am making my life a "bliss complete." And I certainly am smiling....most of the time.

Some (more) pictures at last.

When my mom was here last weekend we had fun taking ALL SORTS of pictures. Enjoy perusing.





This last picture is of Sophie when she was about as old as Henry is...This is for those of you who would like to know whether Henry looks like Sophie did.

A package comes in the mail with your name on it. Two other packages (your pictures) come from Wallgreens, also with your name on them. The first package is from Wallingford. You only glance at Wall and your mind registers Wallgreens. You assume it is something else from Wallgreens even though you don't remember ordering anything else, you think it could be an extra gift of sorts because you spent so much on your pictures.

You open the pictures. Glance at them. Then open the third package. Out comes an unidentifiable lump of something haphazardly wrapped in brown paper wrap. Out also comes paper.

You look at the paper and realize that this is something you mentioned a while back to your hubby that you might enjoy having for your birthday. Your birthday is three weeks away. What do you do?

I'm Lovin These

Mormon Messages on You Tube.

And, Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Home At Last: Sophie gets a brother.

Sophie was enamored with Henry's nose, eyes and hat. For the first 30 minutes of his triumphant arrival at home Sophie stared and pointed over and over. "Nose, nose, nose, nose, eyes, eyes, eyes, hat, hat, hat." With an occasional "Night night baby. Shhh."

My personal favorite was her very first reaction as I took him out of his carseat. She softly gasped, "ohh."

night night baby

Nose

eyes

A Buckle

Hat

To Debra

Our love is like a cabbage,
A thing of many parts.
I gave the leaves to others,
But for you I saved the hearts.
-Anonymous

When Sophie met Henry

When Debra arrived at the hospital this afternoon to feed Henry, she was greeted by a surprise: the nurses had removed Henry's incubator from his room and had replaced it with a little crib. This means that Henry is one step closer to coming home...we just wish we knew what the other steps are.

After feeding time ended, Debra asked the nurse if she could open the door wide so Sophie could see her little brother across the hall and through the waiting room glass door. The nurse responded with a second surprise, telling Deb that she could bring Henry all the way to the waiting room door, thus allowing Sophie a close-up (although still zoo-like) encounter with her little brother.

Henry

Larry Henry Bliss

Deb, Sophie, and I are ecstatic to welcome little Henry into our home (or at least into the Bryan LGH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).

Larry Henry Bliss was born to TJ and Debra Moses Bliss at 2:56 am on the 21st day of February 2009.

Baby's Weight: 6 lbs 12 oz.
Baby's Length: 19 3/4 inches
Baby's Head Circumference: 13 1/8 inches
Baby's Chest Circumference: 13 inches

Henry was born at 35 weeks, but fell into the 98th percentile for length and weight - which we take as an answer to prayer and fulfillment of priesthood blessing.

Pictures forthcoming.

A SNOW DAY!!!

What do you do on a SNOW DAY?
Do you go for a walk?
Do you SCREAM when you head for the door?
Do you like to wear your hat and coat inside too?

I think Sophie looks like Paddington Bear with her hat pulled over her eyes like this.

Do you go for a sleigh ride?

I got this idea from a friend's blog. Thanks Gretchen (in case you see this).

All bundled up?
And do you cry mercilessly when it's over?
Do you eat and get messy?

And then take a warm bath?Do you wish everyday was a snow day??? I do.
What do YOU do on a snow day?

"I have spoken here of heavenly help, of angels..."

"But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with--here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods...Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

Jeffrey R. Holland

The Many Hats of Sophie E. Bliss

Our eldest child has a secret. In fact, she has a secret obsession. She likes to wear things--lots of not-so-obvious things--on her head. One of her first 50 words is, appropriately, "hat." So I now present, without (much) further ado or voluminous fanfare, the many hats of Sophie E. Bliss:

"Strike!"

"I think?"

She must keep telling herself: "This is not a diaper on my head. This is not a diaper on my head."


It is.

Don't tell anyone that there's sour cream at the bottom of this bowl.

We swear--on our honor--Sophie did this to herself.

The cleanliness of these bloomers is still debated.

But I didn't do anything wrong...

I'm all chained up with everywhere to go. I have so many things to do and to take care of before baby comes. Unfortunately Mr. Baby Bliss thought he was supposed to come before I got everything ready and that is why I now find myself on HOUSE ARREST (aka bed rest).

Basically I started going into pre-term labor. I had the fetal fibronectin test come back positive and that means I've been shot with steroids to develop the baby's lungs (just in case) and I get to take medicines to stop the contractions. Oh, and I get to stay home and in bed as much as possible for the next three and a half weeks with the exception of going to my doctor appointments.

I know there are millions of things I could do with my time "resting" (scrapbooking, knitting, crocheting, reading). But for some reason a tiny fighting soul within me says, "If I can't do everything else I WANT to do then I don't want to do anything at all." And then there's the other part of me that wishes I had the gusto to sit and read and read and read. And yet another part of me that screams "C'mon Debra. Don't be lazy. Find a project and magnify your talents."

And there's the constant reminder that I never finished crocheting that baby blanket for Sophie, I might as well do it now right? Right? Well, any time that reminder comes I am simply disgusted at the thought of crafting. Is this normal?

Today TJ reminded me that I could always work on family history. And now I'm left with this huge hole of guilt because that falls right into the reading, and crafting category. Ugh.

We don't have TV, and I watched a movie on Monday and was pretty bored by the end of one. And I've looked and looked and looked at websites over and over and I'm getting kind of tired of the computer idea. Seriously!!! What else is there for a girl to do? And, once again, IS THIS NORMAL? There are so many things that I constantly think "Oh, if only I had the time to do _______ or _______." And now I've got the time but REALLY? Do I REALLY want to do them now? Of course not.

33 Weeks

Zoobnaya Pasta (Toothy Paste)

I grew up with a mixed childhood. My teeth were brushed with practically anything. When I lived with my mom I could sometimes saunter into the bathroom for a Melaluca tooth brushing experience. Then, BEHOLD, the Mentadent pump came into our bathroom scene. Once my mom discovered Mentadent in our bathroom it was practically love. There were times though. Oh there were times. When, upon the unfortunate discovery that our pump was empty, my teeth had the experience of brushing with Baking Soda and rinsing with hydrogen peroxide.

When I moved to Blackfoot I had a whole new world opened up to me: COLGATE. Oh, I remember my first time brushing with Colgate. It was a great feeling. That was it for me. My toothpaste LOVE. I realized I was a Colgate girl. Sometimes I would wake to a brand new tube of Crest and I cringed at the thought of brushing with that until it was gone.

When I moved to college I was strict in my Colgate love affair. There was never a day that I would dare brush with anything else. Thus my life has been until now.

What's happening now, you ask? Well...it's called a RECESSION. And Colgate is more expensive. At our local Sam's Club we compared prices and we simply had to save the 15 cents per tube that Crest would save us. So, reluctantly I bought crest. And my first tooth brushing was...well it was sad. I didn't want to like anything about my new toothpaste. I didn't want to enjoy my clean teeth feeling. I didn't want to like it at all. The next morning I woke, brushed my teeth and I still didn't want to have anything to do with liking what was happening in my mouth, but I did. I liked it.

"Hey, TJ. This Crest is SPICY!!!" (That is a good thing if you are wondering). I called out as I licked my smooth, clean teeth.

So, slowly, faster than I had expected, but still slowly, I have begun to enjoy brushing with something other than my beloved Colgate.

I've always been a Colgate girl, even before I was, I knew I would be one. But now it's all changing. So, what does that mean? Am I a Crest girl? Or am I simply a poor Colgate girl? Or...am I a Crest-gate girl?

What are you?

You won't regret...

...taking a moment from your day to watch this.

TJ's "beautiful" sweater

But first, here is a picture of me at 30 weeks pregnant. (Which is this week in case you were counting or wondering)


And second, a picture of Sophie in her Christmas dress.


And finally, what you all have been waiting for, a picture of TJ in the most beautiful sweater EVER. No, seriously, I LOVE this sweater SO MUCH! I just even LOVE seeing in in our closet. There's not a thing about this sweater that I don't love. Don't you love it too?

Donita Quixote

Yes, yes, it is true. Sophie still has her Binki. We try to keep it limited to naps and night time only, but we also drag it out when we are headed somewhere that she could cause a ruckus. But, with baby #2 getting closer and closer I have been debating with myself for quite sometime: Do I take it away before or after the baby comes?

She often throws her binki's out of her crib throughout the night and ends up without them anyway so today I tried an experiment. I decided to not go in and save the binki's and return them to her during her nap time. It took her an hour and a half of talking, playing with her socks, and an occasional shout out to finally fall asleep. Then I also (as of 5 minutes ago) tried putting her to bed without her binki.

Have I started a monster? Will she want a binki when our other baby has his? Or, will three months without it be enough and she'll never look back? Am I doing the right thing to try to get her off now? Or should I wait until she's two?