Life, Love, and Memories

My Babes

2009-06-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Contest Results

2009-05-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I know you've all been anxiously awaiting the results of my baby contest. Well wait no further because we have a winner!!!

But first I should explain my method of scoring.

Due date -1 pt. for every day you were off (correct date is March 27th)

Weight -.5 pt. for every half oz. you were off (correct weight is 8lb 10.5oz

Length -.5 pt. for every half inch you were off

Sex - at this point I left it out of scoring until the very end.

Example: If you guessed...

Boy - March 25 - 8lb 10 oz - 21 inches long then your score would look like this...

Boy -3pts

Make sense? No? Ok doesn't matter.

Melissa Girl -6.5pts

Julie Boy -25pts

Stef Boy -5.5pts

Fullmer Family Boy -10pts

Brad Boy -77pts + and disqualified for not including a due date

Dan Boy -13pts

Mom Boy -3pts

Kris & Veronica Girl -3pts

Stephanie Boy -13pts

Alyssa Girl -12pts

Spencer Girl -16.5pts

Aspen Girl -9.5pts

Canon Boy -9.5pts

Ada Boy -5pts

Nora Girl -6.5pts

Dad Boy -12pts

Heather Boy -12pts

Richard Boy -18.5pts

And the winner is......

Mom with Boy -3pts

Second Place goes to.......

Ada with Boy -5pts

And Third Place is a tie -

Stef Farnsworth with Boy -5.5pts

and

Kris and Veronica Teemant with Girl -3pts

I made my calculations at about 2am last night so I could be off especially on those tricky ounces. Simple arithmetic can be so hard when you are sleep deprived.

Winners will enjoy a gift card to a very popular ice cream shop whose initials are C. S. Sound yummy? I think so!

As for the rest of you, thanks for the guesses and better luck next time.

Daniel Beckett Christoffersen

2009-04-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

Born March 27th, 2009 at 1:24am

8 lb 10.5 oz

21.5" long

Beckett's Birth Story

2009-04-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Our HypnoBabies Water Birth - Pictured below - Dan, Me, and Beckett just minutes after birth.

My first baby, Holland, was born with almost every intervention short of a c-section. I was induced with pitocin, my water had been broken, I had an epidural, IV, and she had internal fetal monitoring. I didn't ever want these things for my baby or for myself but one intervention, as critical as they are in life threatening situations, led to another. Thankfully she was born healthy and she nursed wonderfully. Looking back I discovered that my induction was unecessary.

After that experience I decided I needed to educate myself better so that I could make better decisions with my next pregnancy. As long as my pregnancy and my baby were healthy and low risk, I decided it would be nice to have the peace and quiet a birthing center offers. No monitoring, no nurses, as sweet as some of them are, coming in to offer pain medications every hour, no uncomfortable bed and hard floors, and not having to constantly tell people 'no'. I decided to birth at BallaNatal, a beautiful birthing center in Orem, just 5 minutes from my home. After that I interviewed 4 midwives and found Cathy O'Bryant was the one that I completely connected with. I also hired a doula to help me with my comfort, Megan Keller, who is also a wonderful massage therapist. I signed up to take a course on hypnosis for childbirth called HypnoBabies. (I don't want to discredit HypnoBirthing but as a consumer who has taken both courses, I have a much higher regard for HypnoBabies). The course taught me how to deeply relax my mind and body, to have confidence, to think only positively about childbirth and my body's ability to birth my baby, and also to release my fears associated with childbirth. It also taught Daniel and I how to work together in birthing our child.

Beckett's HypnoBabies Birth

March 24th - One day before my expected due date I was checked by my midwife and was found to be dilated to a whopping ZERO. Oh well, I was taught in my birthing class that numbers can't ever tell when you are going to start your birthing time. I resigned myself to another week of waiting so that if baby came sooner it would be a welcomed surprise.

6:30 pm on March 26th, the day after my expected due date, I felt my first birthing time pressure wave. That evening I went to a class with my mom and during the class I kept feeling waves of tightness and a little bit of cramping. I started jotting down the time each pressure wave started and found that they were about 15 minutes apart. At the end of the class my mom mentioned to me that my huge protruding belly looked a lot lower. On the drive home we both joked about me possibly having this baby before 2 a.m. We didn't actually think that would happen. In fact I didn't even believe I was going to have this baby yet since only two days ago I had not been dilated at all.

I went home and absent mindedly started to pack things. I told Dan, 'we are going to have a baby'. But I still didn't think it was happening that night. I called my midwife to tell her what I was experiencing. She told me to call her back when contractions were getting intense. Dan took Holland to my parents while I started practicing my hypnosis. I felt much more comfortable upright on the birth ball rather than lying down so that's where I stayed until he came back. I timed pressure waves as best I could while still practicing my hypnosis. By the time Daniel got back to me, my pressure waves were about 5 minutes apart and still very much like cramps and very manageable.

I decided to get into the shower while Dan loaded the car with our things. The shower was heavenly. It was the best form of comfort I'd had. It relaxed me so well that pressure waves became much closer together - about 2 minutes apart but they were very short and extremely easy to handle. My pressure waves never got intense enough to call my midwife but they were very close together so Dan called her anyway. She instructed us to meet her at the birthing center at 12:30, in 30 minutes.

After my shower I dressed and decided that swaying from side to side and making tonal noises with each exhale was what my body wanted to do during each pressure wave. It just felt right. We got in the car and I put on my headphones and continued my hypnosis all the way to the birthing center where my midwife and doula were waiting. I walked in the door, kept my headphones on, and went straight to the bedroom where I had another pressure wave. My doula and midwife were there for every one of them with pressure on my hips. Upon arrival I knew my midwife would want to check me to see how far I was dilated. I was expecting to be at around a 4. She checked me and I was shocked and ecstatic to be dilated to a 9. She gave me a big hug and we all laughed. I couldn't believe it. I had been waiting for things to get intense and to be honest, tough, and I was already almost past transition.

My tub was immediately filled and I was preparing mentally for what was to come. I remember feeling a little nervous about this part of birth. I knew it was short but also a little intense. I remember having maybe 3 or 4 pressure waves in the tub with Daniel sitting near my head stroking my face. I decided to flip over so that I was leaning over the edge of the tub. I felt another pressure wave coming on and then it changed into something totally different.

All of a sudden I felt a very intense urge to push. I remember yelling, "I'm gonna push!!!" Nothing can prepare you for that sensation. I had never felt that while birthing Holland and I didn't know what to expect. My body completely took over and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. It made me a little afraid becuase I had absolutely no control over the situation except to just relax and let it happen. After the first wave I thought to myself - "wow, that was amazing". I remember thinking afterwards that it was like having the power and force of a freight-train running through my body.

After that first pushing wave I knew what to expect and I was willing to let my body do what it needed to do and the fear and anxiety left. I had 4 or 5 more pushing waves then I felt a slight stinging sensation. I had them turn on hot water to ease the discomfort and it took it away instantly. I pushed through another 1 or 2 pressure waves and my baby's head was born. I pushed again and out came the rest of him. At 1:24am he was born - exactly 36 minutes before 2am.

He was placed on my chest and was a little grey and floppy. He soon started to cry and pink up. I started nursing him right away to help release the placenta. He stayed attached to the umbilical chord for about 10 minutes and got a lot of good chord blood in his body before it was cut and he was no longer physically connected to my body.

This birth was exactly what I had hoped for and prayed for. I never really believed it was going to be this easy and this fast. I am a true believer of natural childbirth and hypnosis. I always believed childbirth could be painless and I felt no more pain than a papercut while birthing my son. I'm not someone who likes to feel pain or discomfort and in fact I'm a really big baby when it comes to those things. But I believed this could work and it did for me. I think maybe our culture has led us to believe that pregnancy is a medical condition that needs treatment. I believe it's the most natural part of human life. And I'm so grateful to have been blessed with the chance to experience it.

Dead Men Do Tell Tales!!!

2009-01-27T08:16:00.000-08:00

Last October (I know this is really late), my family did a Murder Mystery Dinner. I purchased the game online (it was so easy and quite reasonably priced) from Host-Party.com. Let me just say this was a night where true colors emerged! I only wish I had a video camera because it was hilarious!

Our night was complete with skallywags, a privateer, landlubbers, serving wenches, a witch doctor, a twisted governor, a ghost from the dead, a treasure hunt, and of course the murderer had to walk the plank.

(The Powder Monkey and the Serving Wench. Mmmm, this powder monkey is smokin')

***

The Characters:

Even Keel (The Powder Monkey) played by Daniel Christoffersen. Daniel also played the dead Captain Jack Ketch.

Bertha Bilgewater (The Serving Wench) played by Amanda Christoffersen. Bertha had been in the company of pirates for a long time so she talked like one (at least tried to). She always carried a beer mug around. That sounds like me.

Ima O'Pare (The Governess) Played by Aspen Law. Ima is raising the Governor's children. She's as cold as ice and always reading a book."

Yves Eaux (pronounces heaves hoe) (The Corsaire) Played by Jason Law - Yves is French, has one eye and a bum leg. I just have to say Jason get's an accademy award for his accent. Pirate - French. It was hilarious.

Habaka Da'bora (The Witch Doctor) Played by Julie Anersen. Habaka is the most mysterious of the bunch. She always talks in a foreign tongue cursing people right and left. She speaks to the dead too.

Lieutenant Lee Shore (The Naval Officer) Played by Brad Law. Basically he's nothing but a goodie goodie.
(Julie made Brad's costume - she did a fantastic job)

Mrs. Hornswaggle (The Landlady) Played by Fern Law. Mrs. Hornwaggle is an Inn owner and she deals with pirates, and merchants alike. She can be seen with a rolling pin with her at all times.

Lord Hiram Cheape (The Governor) Played by Ken Law. The Governor is a fop. He spends more time getting dressed in the morning than governing Port Bourbon. In this picture he can be seen carrying a mirror to make sure his powdered wig is properly in place.

Diego Doubloon (The Spanish Privateer) Played by Tom Jones. Diego lives a luxurious life and he is basicly a glorified pirate.

Sukey 'Sugar' Sayles (The Farmers Daughter) Played by Heather Jones. Sugar has inherited her father's sugar plantation. She looks sweet on the outside but runs her plantation with an iron fist. She carries a parasol with her to protect her delicate skin from the midday sun.

***

Each character had a script that was handed out at the beginning of each round. We were required to basically act out our part. We all had our own motives for killing Captain Ketch; secrets were revealed and we all learned how deceitful we really were. Rounds were planned around drinks, appetizers, and different meal courses. In the last round, the murderer confesses and he/she is forced to walk the plank.

Drinks were simply sparkling cider bottles with the wrappers taken off and dusted with powdered sugar to look like old rum bottles.
For dinner we had Fisherman's Stew and Clam Chowder. Side dishes were bread with oil and herbs from Carrabas (yum), along with homemade artichoke dip. I think we also had a salad. It was simple but delicious.

Costumes of Ima, the Governor, Mrs. Hornswoggle, and Sugar were rented from Hale Center Theatre and Taylor Maid. Other costumes were purchased or created from scratch.

***

This table setting was my own original design. Finding pirate stuff around Halloween was so easy. I am personally proud of my napkin holders made from real shrunken head skulls and black ribbon.

Here is our table setting before dinner.

***

Mrs. Hornswaggle fixing the Governors stockings. And no that is NOT Mrs. Hornwaggles real behind, it is called a bum roll - used by women of the day to make their waistline look smaller. Haha, I love this picture!

The group preparing for round one.

The powder monkey. Dan you look amazing in Pirate.

Underwear Model

2008-12-14T23:27:00.000-08:00

I came across these pictures and forgot I had them. My mischievous Holland got into the freshly cleaned laundry on my bed without my knowing and decided to dress up in my, and I'm so embarassed to say, underwear. Yes those are my underoos but look past the fact that they drown Holland and check out her natural talent. It's enough to make a mother very nervous about her daughter.

2008-12-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, so life has been completely chimerical. I feel like I've been living in a dream - sometimes more like a nightmare. My emotions have been stripped raw and I've been shocked into reality. I'm having post traumatic stress - from what trauma, I'm not sure. Ok so it's really not that bad but my life has changed so much.

I currently have three more full-time jobs: the first one is toilet dissinfector. Since Holland is now potty trained, I'm cleaning up the aftermath about 9 times/day. Number two: teacher. Holland and I started some programs here at home and ever since then she wants to do nothing but "school". And thirdly, I'm now a financial planner/accountant. The job of juggling the budget is now mine and my system is a little intensive. Oh and one more thing, I now cook dinner instead of ordering takeout every night. Partly to cut back on the waistline but mostly to compensate for the increased cost of food. Have you seen the price of decent milk these days - over $4 a gal. Seriously! The plus side to all this is that I am so organized! More organized than I was before Holland was born. I'm hoping and praying I can stay this way after baby number two arrives. It is such a relief to know where everything is, where everything goes, what everything does, who everybody is. As forgetful as a pregnant woman can be, it's amazing what she can accomplish with a pencil and a calendar that is attached to her widening hips. The one thing I've learned most notably is how to prioritize. I know it's so cliche but have you actually ever really tried it. I never did until now and it's so freeing. This I'm sorry to say is the reason for my lack of blog posting lately. I'm simply a once a month-er at best.

Alright, I now will reveal the one thing I know you all have been anxiously waiting to hear. But first I need you all to understand that just because you miscalculated the sex of my unborn baby it doesn't mean you won't be eligible for my awesome prize. Holland is excited to say "there's a baby brother in mommy's tummy". Yes we are expecting a boy and very excited. Do I know anything about the male anatomy aside from, you know, the hankypanky - no. So how to care for his little thing once he's, you know, ouch! And potty training? Not an expert. But who cares, he's already a wonderful and amazing addition to our little family. He's very active, and average in size. I'm carrying much smaller than I did with Holland but he seems to be growing just fine. I am currently 24 weeks along and will enter my third trimester this weekend. Let me just say that the time has FLOWN by. And that is possibly due to the high demands of toilet dissinfecting.

It's been difficult to adjust to Dan being gone so much, quitting soccer, and now no longer being comfortable running. I try to do as much walking and yoga as possible but there's just something about sprinting as fast as you can away from a soccer ball headed for your face. The rush is exhilerating. But really the hardest part is the adjustment our family has gone through with Dan's new business. It is so exciting to think of the future and how much freedom we can have because of it. But it is such a huge sacrifice and so much work. He is working his normal 8-5 job at CTMH and working another 40-60 hours/wk on Snagbucket. Fortunately he has two partners to help carry the load but it has been extremely taxing on us emotionally, and mentally. He and I used to spend Friday nights playing softball together and then Saturday nights playing soccer together and another night during the week going out with friends. It was a little excessive but imagine going from that to nothing for three weeks at a time. It's enough to ask, is this really worth it.

On the plus side, I've grown so much. Sacrifice is an amazing concept. It's so hard to do but the blessings you can get from it are immeasureable. I've become so grateful for what I do have and I'm learning to treasure the heartache we sometimes have to go through to get to a higher place. My family means more to me than they did yesterday, and yesterday, I would have done anything for them. It's amazing how the heart just keeps growing and growing - how is it possible?

Place Your Bets!

2008-10-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

Please participate because it will be fun and if you win you can go through your life no longer thinking you are a loser!

Here are the rules:
1-Guess the sex of my incubating baby
2-Guess the due date (expected due date is March 25, 2009) (Not planning any sort of induction until two weeks overdue)
3-Guess the weight
4-Guess the length
5-Will he/she look like mom or dad

Here is a picture of the little monkey if that will help you in your decision.
Here is a little background on the last delivery.

1-Girl

2-Two days overdue but was induced

3-8lbs 4oz

4-21 inches long

5-She looked like Dad and still does but way cuter!

I'm not going to tell you what the prize is but it's going to be yummy!

Good luck and may the person who never wins anything, win this time!

2008-09-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

What is the word for the feeling you get when you love someone so much it hurts? Last night when I was putting my almost three year old to bed she wanted me to stay with her for a while. She held my face in her tiny hands and said "Do you know I love you so much?", and "Your eyes are so brown, and growing big, like a primpress". She tickled my face and played with my hair, gave me big tight hugs and kisses. This, I'm fortunate to say, is a treat I enjoy regularly. I don't deserve her and all of her affection.

We sat there for over an hour just hugging and talking and feeding her baby and giving her "10 tickles" and singing songs because I realized that this will not last forever. She won't always be 2 almost 3 years old. She won't always want mom to hug and kiss her all the time. She won't always want mom to tuck her into bed and she won't always offer her "I love you's" so freely. I often give these moments up to finish a project, clean the house, send an email or 3. But last night reminded me again of how precious life is and how fast it can pass us by especially with children. How small and subtle these moments are and if we don't watch for them, we'll miss them.

Last night reminded me to really cherish the sweet moments I have with my daughter. Moments like sharing pickles together, making playdoh pancakes, dancing to "Float On" together, practicing our yoga moves, eating peaches from grandma's tree and plums too (too many plums), playing hair salon, reading books and making up new words, finding shapes at the grocery store, making up songs about friends, saying prayers, bedtime negotiations, folding towels, sweeping the dust pile so it's no longer a pile but all over the floor, washing dishes but mostly washing the floor in front of the sink, frosting cupcakes but mostly eating the frosting, pretending to be just out of reach, nose-picking and saying "I have a bug in there", bribing Holland to sit in the shopping cart and when I fail at that, Holland pushing the cart very fast down isles and barely missing people.

It may sound like I'm stuck in a "mommy rut". I don't care. I have a beautiful opportunity to love and raise one of God's angels. It won't last but a few short years so why not make the most of it. It brings me so much joy, more joy than I've ever felt, to be a mother.

Fairies

2008-09-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

I love classic children's books and if I had the talent I would be writing them. But I'll leave the writing to the gifted and I, along with my children, will enjoy the reading. This photo was inspired by a quote from Peter Pan, a book I have yet to read. This sweet little fairy is my niece Brooke, who isn't so little anymore, she's now 14.

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy" James Matthew Barrie

Writing stories for children has turned into an entertainment business instead of a teaching standard of morals and principles. This world seems to have become so attention deficit and docile that we can't turn off the movies, the TV, the video games and read a really good morally uplifting and principle centered story to our kids. Well we can and many do. We just need to remember where we are headed because we are taking our kids with us. I am by no means perfect at this, not even close, but it is something that I value and it is something that I am trying to improve. I am currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia to Holland, it's taking longer than I thought, and I will be posting, after each book, lessons that can be learned from great classic children's literature. I am not an expert at this, I do not have a degree in literature, so I would love comments, feedback, and insight. I'm also planning to find original versions of many popular stories such as Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, etc. and discuss the lessons children can learn from the "deleted scenes". I believe now is the best time to start Raising our kids instead of letting them be raised by other influences.

2008-09-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

Holland gave me some really great advice the other day and I think I'll try to apply it to my life always. I believe it would do the whole world some good.

Holland while she was being put to bed told me to "Chill Out!" I can only guess she learned that from her father but nonetheless words we should all take to heart.

Have a wonderful day and don't forget to chill out.

Dan this is for you - Happy Birthday my Sweet!

2008-09-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my one and only personal comedian, softball coach, foot masseuse, soccer trainer, insomnia therapist, wrestling instructor for Holland, garbage man, financial advisor, financial provider, chef when I'm sick and when I'm not, labor coach, support group, heavy things lifter, constructive critic, sugar coater, fix-it man, positive attitude guide, kissing trainer, body guard, shopping buddy, toilet paper conserver, psychotherapist, security system, spiritual healer, guidance counselor, herbalist, escort, movie observer associate, travel agent, honeymooner, partner in crime, male model, photography assistant, gofer boy, bear hugger, tear wiper, father of my children, and love of my life. I couldn't live without you.

Life, Love, and Memories

2008-09-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is a collection of memories, photos, and thoughts about my life and the people who inspire me, my undeniably devoted husband Daniel, who makes me laugh and teaches me how to give, and my daughter Holland, who has taught me how to make my heart grow more than I thought it ever could. If I've learned anything valuable in my life so far, it's to embrace the most important blessing I have, my family; to express gratitude to God every day for them; and to really LIVE those most priceless moments, moments that have no second chance.