Ayres Insanity

Aspen's birth story, the slideshow     She is here!!! Our beautiful little Aspen Whitney Ayres arrived on November 30th 2012 at 8:14pm.   The following is the birth story for anyone interested.   She was due on November 26th. I hate due dates, because I, along with most women, get so hung up on the one specific date, that if nothing has happened by that all consuming date, will start to lose my mind. And that I did. As the 26th came and went, I got crazier by the day and was convinced that somehow I would be pregnant FOREVER! This was unacceptable so my midwife (Rebecca)encouraged me to be patient and agreed to strip my membranes and give me a little herbal concoction if nothing was happening by Friday. By Thursday night I was melting down, so Rebecca scheduled me for 12:30 the next day.    I went in on Friday knowing that our efforts may not actually work, but hopeful nonetheless. I drank my nasty little cocktail around 12:40, had those membranes stripped and was on my way.

  Thanksgiving was lovely as always. We went to my grandmas house at noon and enjoyed a delicious meal and some good time with the fam. Russ had worked the night before and hadn't slept much so after dinner he went and slept in the spare bedroom for a few hours. I took full advantage of the quiet time after everyone else left and spent a couple of hours reading my grandmas history and journal. My aunt had compiled her journal from back before I was even born so I skimmed through and read everything that involved me and my family, it was so sweet! My favorite parts were when she spoke about my grandpa, every single time she referred to him as her "sweetheart". Cutest thing ever! Maybe someday Russ and I will be that cute.   Later that evening we went to Russ' sisters house for leftover turkey sandwiches and more pie and enjoyed the rest of the evening with his family. Overall, a great holiday.   Next on the agenda, new baby. Only a few days left and I can't wait

  Yesterday as we were getting ready to take the kids to Cornbellys, it happened...   The boys were playing outside while Russ and I were getting Zoey ready, I walked downstairs to find a very terrified and sad looking Taevin sitting quietly on the couch. He said with his little voice shaking "mom, I feel really stupid". Thinking surely some kid had been mean to him I was ready to go outside demanding justice but I could barely ask why when he burst into tears and told me he had been throwing rocks in the road when one accidentally hit Tasia's car and broke the window. I tried to calm him down to gather the whole story but he was inconsolable. I finally said "well let's go take a look and talk to her."   We walked up there to survey the damage (Taevin sobbing and clinging to my arm the whole time) and sure enough, the window was broken. (turns out it was actually big dirt clots he had been throwing to break them up and one had flown up and got the window)

  This has been a totally miserable pregnancy for me, and the only reason I'm documenting it is for my own personal records. This kind of rant is uncharacteristic for me given that I usually love being pregnant so I apologize in advance for the negativity.   As I've said before, this one caught us off guard and although we are thrilled to welcome this little girl into our family, it did take some getting used to, making this pregnancy an emotional roller coaster for the both of us.   I had just lost 10 lbs and was working toward my goal weight when the news came, and I was sick almost immediately so the working out stopped and I was devastated to have to put my health goals on hold. I was nauseous and throwing up until 20 weeks, the nausea has never fully gone away causing food (particularly breakfast) to be the enemy for the last 8 months. I eat what I can tolerate and probably shouldn't admit it but have given in to the urge to make chocolate pudding cake twice a week.

  Today was an eventful day. Among the many errands I had to run, one of my stops was at Joann Fabrics. We were there for a while so the kids were tired and I was frazzled by the time we had checked out, but alas, we made it home and were outside enjoying some play time when I noticed that Taevin and a bunch of the neighbor kids were chewing gum. I asked where they got it and they said that Ryler had given it to them. Given that Ryler cannot be trusted with gum, I very rarely have it around, so I called him over to inquire about where he had gotten it from. He innocently replied (with a wad of gum the size of a kiwi in his mouth) that he got it from the store and showed me the empty package.   Oh boy! Well my first response was to be angry but upon further questioning on our way back to the store, I discovered that not only did he not know what stealing was, but also didn't understand why it was bad. I explained things to him and told him that to make it right he needed to tell th

  Roughly 12 years ago I heard a quote from my mission president's lovely wife, and it goes...   "Be pretty if you are, be witty if you can, but be cheerful if it kills you!"   I think those are good words to live by, but I have to be honest, I'm kind of struggling with that last one. Under normal circumstances I'm fairly pleasant, but during the last 7 months of my particularly difficult pregnancy I've been a bit off my game. Like today for example, when I yelled at a random neighbor. I was out watching the kids when he came strolling through the neighborhood walking his little dog, it just so happened that my neighbor's dog had escaped (which is a common occurrence with small children who open front doors), anyway, my neighbors dog naturally ran up to this guy and his dog to play and exchange a harmless butt sniff when the guy grumpily picked up his dog, threw his hand up and looked at me and told me to take care of MY dog. Well, in my pregnant sinus

  School is back in full swing and I had some mixed feelings about it. I loved summer! I loved not having to wake up early (that was my favorite part), getting to play outside all day, the warm weather, and just having that leisurely unscheduled time with the kids. But I love the structure that the school year provides, the time to get the things done that I can't do while they're around, and the opportunity for them to be taught by someone other than myself.   Taevin is now in 2nd grade and from what I'm told, has one of the best teachers in the whole school, Mrs. Arnold. He likes her a lot and has made friends quickly, he is reading like a champ and says his favorite part of school is recess (go figure).   Ryler is back to preschool for his second year with Mrs. Leanne and loves it! Lucky for us, preschool is just a short walk down the street, he goes on Mondays and Wednesdays from noon until 2:30, which happens to be around Zoey's nap time, so if I'm lucky I mi

  Since my little Zoey will soon be getting booted out of the crib, we decided it was time to get a "big girl" bed. Given that a new bed would have cost us around three or four hundred bucks, I decided to give the KSL classifieds a try, and after a couple days of searching, I came across this little gem.     It came with the headboard, footboard and rails and for the bargain price of $50! I liked the basic shape and look of it but it needed a paint job and those prison bars had to go.   It sat in my living room for about a month until last weekend when Russ and I decided it was time to get motivated and get this project done. I removed the bars and Russ gave it a good sanding. I searched for a while to find some sort of decorative spindle to replace the bars but with little success. Finally I found some tiny candlesticks at Hobby Lobby, glued the ends together and voila... I had spindles, we cut them to size and added some little wood appliques and after a few coats

  After 2 months of being without my own vehicle and trying to cram our family of five into Russ' Subaru Impreza (making trips to Costco a big joke), we have finally purchased my new vehicle.   It's a 2010 Volks Wagon Routan. We hadn't really been considering VW's, but when we found this it just worked out. It has all of the features on my wish list, white with leather interior (way easier to clean ice cream off of than a cloth seat) and automatic sliding doors, it even has some time left under warranty! And although Taevin is a little disappointed that it doesn't have a TV, it does have some fancy buttons that Russ seems to be enjoying.   So, do I feel any less cool now that I'm a minivan mom? With this sweet ride, I'm gonna say no!

  So our original plan regarding this pregnancy was to not find out the gender of the baby, after all, we already have both and I've heard it's a fun experience to wait for the surprise.   Well, about a week before the ultrasound, I started getting wishy washy. It wasn't so much the curiosity that got me, but the OCD planner in me took over. Perhaps if I hadn't gotten rid of pretty much everything this might not have happened, but given the circumstance, there was some serious planning to be done. Well, I discussed the issue with Russ and he didn't care either way so I buckled and decided to find out.   The ultrasound was on Monday and since Russ couldn't come along I decided to make this fun instead of finding out when I was all alone. I took two boxes, one with tiny pink jammies and one with tiny blue jammies, and I had the technician put the picture in the appropriate box and mark it with an x. She taped up both boxes and when I got home I wrapped up the

  The time is flying by! The last month has been so eventful and if I don't take a minute to blog it all, I know I'll forget.   The last thing I talked about was our big surprise, I've since had another appointment and baby seems to be doing great. My ultrasound is in a few weeks and although we won't be finding out the gender this time I'm excited to see that wiggly little munchkin and know that all is well.   Toward the beginning of May, we finally threw in the towel with our pathfinder and sold it in hopes of finding a more reliable, family friendly, not such a lemon vehicle and I've never been so thrilled to wash my hands of such a burden. We are currently all squeezing into Russ' new little Subaru Impreza and looking for something that will better suit our family.   Mothers day came next and we had decided not to do anything other than get a family pass to Thanksgiving Point, but a day or two before, we were wandering around Costco with plans to repl

  Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, and it usually happens just when you think you've got things figured out.    Way back when I was praying about having a third child, the number 4 kept coming to me. I laughed and told God that He would need to send twins to get Russ to agree to that number, so part of me was a little apprehensive going into our first ultrasound with Z, but alas there was only one of her so I kind of forgot about the number and moved forward... until that day when the number came back.  Zoey wasn't even a year yet and the feeling came, there was one more. Russ did not feel the same but I used every bit of convincing power within myself, and after many arguments and discussions, he buckled. He gave me 3 months to get pregnant, if it didn't happen he would get his vasectomy. I gladly took what he was willing to give and trusted that God would send this baby that He had promised within the conditions Russ had reluctantly agreed to. I got pregnant on t

  I don't like cleaning. In fact I don't know too many people who actually enjoy it, but the sad reality is that it's just one of those things that has to be done.   I don't think I'd mind so much if things actually stayed clean, but no matter how many times I clean something or how long I spend doing it, it without fail, will end up messy again. I'm not even sure most of the time how it gets that way, it's like there are creatures, little destroyer creatures that lurk in the shadows of my home, and the moment I walk away they come out and wreak havoc.   Anyway, we all have our nemeses when it comes to cleaning, mine happens to be the floors. Whether it's sweeping, mopping or vacuuming (although sweeping is my least favorite) I despise cleaning floors and as luck would have it, the floors are one of those jobs that has to be done multiple times a day, especially when you have toddlers. Grrr.   Believe it or not, there was a time when I was somewhat of

  Since Taevin started elementary school he has been attending a charter school called Quail Run. I was on the founding committee for this school, I put in many volunteer hours to make sure he would get a spot there because we felt that what they had to offer was worth it... and for the most part, it was. One of the few drawbacks of the school was the distance. The bus ride was a full hour each way and my little Taevin was getting burned out.   We started considering other options, we looked into the local public school and another charter school in the area, they both seemed great and got rave reviews from everyone I spoke to. Taevin and I took a tour and weighed the pros and cons of every option, and after much prayer and consideration, we decided on Fox Hollow Elementary. The faculty was fantastic and Taevin loved the idea of not having to wear a uniform! He has been there for a week now and is thrilled with his new school, he particularly enjoys the much shorter bus ride and I enj

  I had a birthday on   Feb 28th and it was probably one of my best ever!   Russ had planned for us to go to dinner and a movie friday night, but wouldn't tell me much more than that, he insisted that he plan the evening, which might I add is not like him given that I'm usually the planner in this relationship.    My gracious neighbor Anastasia had agreed to watch the kids during the movie, and we had arranged to have my little brother Dan come and stay with them while we went to dinner so Tasia wouldn't have them all night.   We saw a fairly early movie so we could beat the Friday night restaurant rush and so we wouldn't be out too late (yes, we have become that boring old married couple who wears out at about 8pm). After the movie I suggested that we run and grab a pizza for Dan and the kids, Russ insisted we stop home first despite my persistence. When we showed up Dan was waiting in the car for us to arrive, so I headed up to Tasia's to grab the kids. As I wa

  It feels like an eternity that I've been without my computer. My beloved desktop died many months ago, at which point my dad came to the rescue with a tiny (I mean really tiny) laptop that he was no longer using. Although not ideal, it got us through for several months until it finally kicked the bucket too. What's a girl to do? I mean how am I supposed to keep up with facebook and pinterest without a computer? Well luckily I have a smart phone, which I will admit does come in handy sometimes, but seriously, who can blog on a 2 inch screen? I'll never understand why smaller is considered better when it comes to electronics.    We now have our desktop back and I'll be sticking to my handy 26 inch screen, keyboard, and mouse   that are all hooked up to my big fat printer!   Since my last post, Taevin had a birthday! On January 16th he turned 7, and what a little man he is becoming. We had a party with his friends and another get together with family. He loved his gift

  Russ is a car guy. He doesn't really watch sports or go golfing or play video games, but he LOVES cars! In fact, we were driving home from Moab a few years ago and he was asleep in the back seat when suddenly he sat straight up and said "STI!" (As in Subaru STI, his fav), he had heard the motor and knew what it was without even seeing it, and all this while sleeping! I don't get the obsession with cars, I probably never will, but I do try. In fact sometimes when he's talking about cars I think in my head "shoes", and that helps me to understand his passion.   Anyway, last Friday, Russ brother Josh (who shares his undying love for fancy schmancy vehicles) had somehow gotten ahold of "The Dream Car", a Nissan GTR, supposedly these things will run you about $90,000 and can go about a bazillion MPH. Anyway, they were going to take it for a spin. I couldn't figure out why Russ would take time out of his day off to simply drive a car, but agai