Like the Big Bang Theory

I come from the center of the universe. That is the only possible explanation for this anomaly. When Roy and I first got married, he didn't believe me. Know he knows better. I'm talking about my home town. Delta. (Pronounced "dell-duh")
Are you familiar with the Six Degrees of Separation, which states that everyone is -at most- six degrees away from someone they know? Well for D-town I believe it is more like the 2 degrees fo separation.
Let me demonstrate:
A few nights ago, we went for dessert at a neighbor's house. They had also invited another couple over. We were chatting and, as is common, sharing our backgrounds. I said I come from a small town. When I said, "Delta." The man who had invited us said, "I think we drive through there for a short cut when we go on vacation." The woman from the other couple (who happened to be from Indiana) said, "Oh, my best friend's dad lived there!"
What? You think this is a fluke?
Demonstration, Round Two:
Through a series of events, Roy and I became aware of a man in a nursing home in Portland who grew up 'round Delta. He wanted to connect with people who were also from there so we took the kids to visit. This would be strange enough but the story goes on. As we were visiting, a group of carollers came calling. They were from this man's ward. We introduced ourselves and why we were visiting. Naturally, someone asked where he and I were from. I said, "Delta." A man said, "Oh, my grandmother is from Deseret and my parents live in Delta." I kid you not.
You want more?
In our ward in Spokane, I met someone who grew up in Delta. I met someone who used to drive the Schwann's truck through Delta.
I meet people who have friends in/from Delta. People who's relatives live/d in Delta. People from Delta themselves. Used to work there. Been there to play. Gone to the 4th of July celebration there. Swam in the Res' (know what the Res' is). Gone to the freaking Snow Goose Festival! What?!? I've never even gone to the Snow Goose Festival!

And the best part is, I am helping in the Bang. Because now all my friends I've met here can say (the next time they meet someone from Delta (it will happen. trust. me.)), "Hey! I know someone from Delta. She's amazing!"

Well, maybe I'll tell you after all....

I was talking to my parents on the phone, sharing the funny story of my horrible night last night. I thought how fun it would be to share it all here. But I'm too tired. So you get the condensed version.
12:00 A.M. A starts crying. D is STILL AWAKE. (As in, never fell asleep...)
12:04 a.m. leaving A to "cry it out"
12:15 a.m. K leaves the room to go sleep with daddy. I lay down with D to get him to settle AND GO TO SLEEP. Crying continues.
12:23 a.m. A still shrieking like a banshee
12:36 a.m. Shrieking is subsiding
12:42 a.m. K comes out of daddy's room to sleep in her own bed.
12:43 a.m Shrieking commences in force.
12:44 a.m. If the doc thinks babies cry themselves to sleep she has NEVER had kids.
12:45 a.m. Pick up pitiful baby to feed her. Deposit pitiful toddler in bed.
1:00 a.m. Remove nightlight from D's room. Put instrumental music on his radio.
1:02 a.m. Rocking and nursing baby downstairs. Toddler comes to join us.
1:03 a.m. Pick up toddler (while nursing baby!) and drag her upstairs.
1:04 a.m. Toddler lets our deafening cry at top of stairs. Roy catapults out of bed, sure that K fell down the stairs.
1:07 a.m. Toddler in bed with daddy. Baby still nursing. D falling asleep (Now?! He couldn't fall asleep when the household was quiet but now there's a circus he's off to dream land?)
1:15 a.m. Baby in bed -- not asleep but well fed and not shrieking.
1:17 a.m. Mommy and Daddy back in bed. Girl's babbling but NOT CRYING in their own beds.
1:18 a.m. Official decision: Crying is not going to work. Nursing is. THE END.

I took A to the doctor today for her 6 month check up. Somehow, even though this is the 3rd time around, I failed to realize she needed to go in at 4 months and get shots. So now we are playing catch up. Oh well. Really, she did see the doctor when she was 4 months. A couple of doctors actually. But that had more to do with her broken arm than her age....

So I was talking to the Doc about sleep because.... well, I'd like a little more of it. We chatted for a few minutes. Why is it that even though the doc was super nice and offering suggestions and being helpful, I still felt like a child? There is something about the relationship between Doc and patients that makes me want to smile meekly and say, "Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Yes, ma'am." and my doc is seriously nice!
Anyway, the appointment progressed to the point where doc checked in A's ears. "Oh. Well, this could explain some of why she isn't sleeping through the night." Yup. Infections in both ears. One is bulging and the graphic (from the wall poster I'd been studying while waiting for the doc) looks terrible. The other just has some fluid behind it. Now I'm really feeling super. But honestly, how am I supposed to know?
The fever? didn't have one....
Ear pulling? wasn't happening....
Uncontrollable crying? only once in the middle of the night.... once people!
General crankiness? nope
Runny nose? yes, but it's been accompanied with much gnawing of stuff and excessive drooling. Plus we've all had colds.
So basically, I have the best baby ever. She can have severe ear infections and still not be a bear. *sigh* so sweet.

Things that made me smile today:

• The Pharmacy Tech with purple hair (last time he had blue...)
• This license plate I saw on the way home: FIBRWRX seriously?? I hope they were a nutritionist.

A Decade in Review

Here we are at the close of year and a decade. I was pondering over the last year when I started to go back further. I realized the last 10 years have been CRAZY, life changing years.

2000: I survived Jane Beckwith's English class. No small feat, I assure you. (I even got an A *gasp*) High school came to an end with a trip to Powell with some of my closest friends. I moved away from home and into the college dorms -- making all new friends.

2001: My braces finally came off. Seriously. I dated like crazy and sometimes made it to classes. I discovered that Denny's cheese fries are best served between 1 a.m. - 3 a.m. I started working at Iron Parke (late Turn Community Services) with disabled adults and loved it.

2002: I went on an amazing trip to Church History sites, including the Nauvoo Temple Open House with some of my amazing roommates. I opted to stay at college for the summer rather than take a summer job across the country. This proved to be fortuitous as I met, dated and finally married Roy - all within a 6 month period. I also traveled out of the country for the first time. My family and Emalee (roommate) went to Mexico! Also, my paternal grandmother died this year.

2003: Roy and I learned how to be married. I said good-bye to my beloved ladies at Turn. We packed our meager household and moved to Ogden where Roy started going to WSU and I did my student teaching. I completed my schooling in December. Roy started working with criminal kids. This eventually led him to change career paths away from Psychology.

2004: I started my first job with a school district as a special educator in a middle school pull-out program. I actually graduated from college with a dual-major. In September, Roy and I dove head first into parenthood with the birth of our first. I cried when I had to go back to work and leave that little ball of love with a babysitter. Roy took the LSAT and began applying to law schools.

2005: Roy graduated from WSU. He got accepted to 2 different law schools. Neither one in Utah. We moved in with my parents for a couple of months before moving to Spokane WA where Roy started school at Gonzaga. This year we attended the first family reunion in Wisconsin. This was the first I'd met most of Roy's extended family. I got a job working at a Spokane middle school and D headed to a day care.

2006: After praying fervently to not have to work, the way was provided for me to stay home. In true mortal fashion, I was disappointed but quickly recovered. Roy worked his little heart out at school and got a job as a law clerk at a local firm. I started babysitting a few days a week to help supplement our income.

2007: More school for Roy. This summer, Roy got a job on the other side of the state. He would live there during the week and come home on weekends. This was especially difficult as I was expecting our second little bundle of joy. K was miraculously born on a Sunday morning before Roy headed back for a week of work. We started our final year of law school and were offered a position as an Associate Attorney at the firm Roy worked at during the summer.

2008: Roy graduated from Gonzaga Law School in May. He promptly started studying for the BAR Exam. The kids and I headed to Nevada for the second installment of family reunion. A few weeks before time to move K and I spent a few days searching for and finally finding a place to live. Roy took the BAR. We left Spokane to start our new life as Career People, not Students. I started this blog.

2009: In March, I got a bee in my bonnet and decided we should move to a small dive known as the Moldy Creek to save money. We moved and started the search for the perfect house and home loan. Months later we find them both and settle if for the long wait known as "buying a home". In the midst of this baby number three arrives. We spend an insane month getting our house ready to live in. Good-bye Moldy Creek.

Now it is 2010. As I consider the last 10 years, well.... I'm speechless. I started out a high school senior living in the basement of my parents home. I ended as a married mother of three with a college degree, career experience and a mortgage. I hope the next 10 years will be just as happy, even if not as life-changing.