Flashback Friday

This is a random flashback, but it is something that has been haunting me lately...so I figured if I blogged it, it might help:

Back in 2006 Steve and I went on a "Mission Trip" with people from his MBA program to Swaziland Africa. We were there for the dedication of a clinic that his school paid for, we had a little 2-day free healthcare clinic, and we also dropped off some stuff at orphanages. The rest of the 2 1/2 weeks we were there it was mostly vacationing in our 5-star hotel and doing tourist stuff.

On the last night that we were there the school paid for a VERY expensive dinner at a fancy hotel. I sat next to a native (but weathy) Swaziland girl who has about my age (on right)
I was doing a report on Swaziland for my Community Health Nursing class I was doing at the time so I siezed the opportunity to ask her about Swaziland. She told me lots of interesting facts about the king, cultural norms, ect.. Then I asked her what the average person's diet is like. She told me that for MOST women and children in swaziland they ate a ground up corn paste for both breakfast and lunch, and then they hoped that the male of the house brought home the money he made from the day so that they could eat something else for dinner...but most of the time male go spend it on food for themselves or alcohol. She told me this very casually like it was very normal. I almost puked up my expensive dinner I was eating.
To think that there were LOTS of people who were within a mile of where I was who were STARVING while I ate my fancy shmancy dinner made me feel like scum. And to make it worse, we left for home the next morning.
I'm not sure why, but this has been haunting me all week.

Our Halloween Pictures

So far we have a tradition of sticking to a family costume theme every year. Since we now have little girls it looks like we'll be pretty limited in our options. Steve was a King, I was a Queen and of course we had 2 little princesses

Kiera was pretty excited about the trick or treating. Fun to watch.


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The loot. Too bad Kiera REFUSES to try any candy other than suckers and smarties (that's Kiera for ya)....I guess her poor unfortunate parents will have to dispose of the rest of it for her.


Lydia was fairly oblivious to the entire thing although she does like putting on dresses and spinning around (like Kiera) so she was happy to prance around in her princess dresss. What a little girl!

72 hour kits....FEEL THE GUILT...CHECK YOUR OWN KITS

Yesterday I went to a Preparedness Fair that my stake put on. Ever since General Confrence I've been meaning to go through our 72 hour kits and make sure that nothing was expired etc.. (My goal is to do it every October during Saturday General Confrence) It has been on my to-do-list for a month but I decided I'd better do it before I went to the Preparedness Fair.
First, I don't think I quite have enough water for my family of 4 for 72 hours. Secondly, if you notice the boxed water in the middle is deflated since it leaked everywhere and made things moldy. (Good thing I checked my kits!)



Thanks to my parents who gave us lots of good stuff for our kits a while back.
The large yellow object in the picture is a flashlight/radio that can be powered via adaptor, batteries, or by a hand crank. Also, there is a flashlight that you just have to tip back and forth to create power (yeah for not batteries!). I put the latern in the kit but I just now realized that I've never used it (and don't know how) and it is pretty heaving so it is probably not a good choice for a 72 hour kit. The 100 hour candle is good (and waterproof matches).


Other good stuff from my parents: ponchos (although it hardly EVER rains in So Cal). Survival blankets, and pastic shelters.

Also good to have: hygine items and first aid kit. Don't fort get to include any medications that you can't live without.

This was recent addition to our kits: I made copies of all of our important papers (birth certificates, drivers licences, insurance policies) and put them in a little book. That could come in very handy someday. I still need to add Lydia's birth certificate...


Here is where my 72 hour kits FAIL. This is all of the food that was in my kit... as if that would sustain my family for 72 hours! What's worse is most of it expired in 2007! I can't see my kids munching on the emergency rations even if they were hungry. So, I thought I'd add a can of toddler formula (light weight, nutritious and shelf stable) and I'll add crackers, dried baby cereal, and applesauce.



Lastly, I had these in my kit. I don't think us southern californians really need winter hats or mittens. The blanket I guess is a good thing to have (although bulky), There is a real nifty little toilot paper/rubbing alcohol heat source container that once again I don't think is necessary here. Maybe in it's place I should pack LIFE JACKETS since everybody knows that California is going to fall off into the ocean any day now. Lastly, next to the rubbing alcohol there is a random little gaget that I have NO IDEA what it does (anybody know what it is ?) so if I don't figure it out, I'll chuck it.

Missing from my kits: I need to get diapers, WIPES (A SURVIVAL ITEM) and a change of clothes for my kids. Also a bottle would be handy to have.

After going to my preparedness fair I think it would be a good idea to store gasoline too. If there was a huge earthquake it might be very hard to come by. A car could not only get you places, but it can be a way of staying warm, listening to radio, shelter, etc..

Please feel free to point out anything you see I've forgotten in my kits. Good luck with your own!

Halloween Fun

Every day can be Halloween when you have little girls to like dress-ups. We are always parading around the neighborhood in dress-ups (I think Kiera thinks people are peaking out their windows watching her parade or something).

Oh, I love how Kiera is just a bit scared of the construction-paper witch face that we made that is hanging on our front door. "Kiera, will you go find your sippy cup in the living room please?" ....(hesitation)...."mom there is a *witch* in there!"

Funny Kiera Story:

Today we only got to see Steve for an hour (4pm to 5pm). As a few minutes after Steve left to go back to school Kiera said dramatically, "I wish that I could see my daddy again...just for a moment...I miss him so very much" (for those of you who are not too quick on your princess movie quotes, that was a direct quote from Beauty and the Beast).
Personally Kiera, I'd like to see him for a little more than a moment.

Pumpkin Patch...

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR. I guess for us Californians we have to do extra-autumny things so week can feel the season a bit since there are not leaves changing on the trees. We went to the pumpkin patch twice this week and today we made pumpkin cookies. I have all of my autumn decor up (steve made fun of me because I put it up 2 days before october because I couldn't wait). Kiera loves singing songs about ghosts, witches pumpkins. I love it.

Great News for Us!!!!

We have 2 items of great news:

1. We officially have our husband/daddy back. Yeah for 3rd year dentistry! We actually get to see and spend time with Steve when he is done with school for a few hours almost every night. It is WONDERFUL. I'm so glad my husband is not a doctor or we would still be enduring the hard part...hats off to all you medical student's wives.

2. We got a scholarship from the National Health Service Corps! We got a "congrats" letter today. So what does that mean? It means we pay nothing at all for our last 2 years of dental school, PLUS they give us $1200 a month to live off of. In return, we have to commit to live/work in 1 of the medically underprivileged communities for 2 years. But there are at least a hundred cities to choose from. It is sort of like the military, except I don't have to worry about being separated from my husband or worry about him being in the middle east. It is SAFE and we are TOGETHER which is all I care about. Yippee! We are very excited. So far, cities that look interesting to us include Bakersfield CA and Medford Oregon....but I guess we still have 2 years to decide and their might be other options by then.

Lydia's 1 year pictures

That a lot of cuteness. Too bad the photographer spent the entire time she was actually SMILING trying to get her to hold a lame sign that said "I am 1" right side up. I've learned.

Not your average cruise

Steve and I used the money we made from being “Lab Rats” a few months ago and went on a child-free get-away cruise. We went with Steve’s brother, Devin, and his wife Lena. The highlight of the trip was definitely snorkeling on Catalina Island. The 2nd evening aboard was the formal dinner….Steve and I both got Lobster (Steve ordered 2).

The rest of my cruising experience was not quite what I had expected it to be. I was diagnosed with influenza and was quarantined to my room and instructed to wear a mask whenever Steve or anyone else was in the room. So I sat in my windowless 12x12 ft rocking dungeon for 3 days and 3 nights (which were all the same to me since there was no daylight anyway). No internet, no connection to the outside world. I’ve still never been to Mexico, but now I can say I was only 50 feet away on a boat from it…that counts right?

Our cruise WAS PREVIOUSLY free to us since we had paid it off by being lab-rats….until we got the medical bill from the ship which was more than cost of the entire cruise itself. YIKES!

I have to say that I’d rather have the flu any day over severe sea sickness. I was counting my blessings. Give me any sickness in the universe over nausea any day of the year. Too bad I had to come home to discover my girls had it too!

H1N1 Any1?

Yup. We've got it. Confirmed Swine Flu. Kiera also has Sinusitis and Croup. Steer clear.

To make our day even MORE fun, I found Kiera drinking a bottle of Tylenol.

Got back from a cruise today. More later.....

Why I'm far from perfect

I have a quote on my wall from Gordon B. Hinkley; It says: "Try a little harder to be a little better". I love that quote and believe it to be a great bit of advice from a prophet of God.
However, I have been recently thinking about how we women tend to compare ourselves to others. We look at our top 10 friends best qualities and imagine them into one imaginary person who is fabulous in every way: She is 110 lbs, ALWAYS looks perfect, exercises daily, she studies the scriptures both personally and with her family daily, she makes healthy delicious made-from-scratch meals, her kids can read by age 3 and are in college by age 12, she has a 2 year supply of food storage, she plays at least 3 instruments, she is thrifty, her house is always spotless, she volunteers 6 hours per week, goes to the temple weekly, does genealogy work,she keeps her 8 children's toys neatly organized in color-coded bins.....etc..
I'll have you know that this person does not exist. There may be people who have a few of these traits, but it just isn't possible to do it all. I guess it is a matter of prioritizing what is important to YOU.
I put on a nice show both in person and on the Internet to make you people think I'm put together. But so that you can all feel better about yourselves, here is where I cut corners and why I'm far from perfect(brace yourself).

1. I NEVER fold my baby's clothes nor my undergarments-- and I never plan to.
2. I only make my bed about every other day (why is that such a high priority anyway?)
3. I check my email more than I read my scriptures (need to work on that one).
4. I don't bother doing my nails or washing my car.
5. One of my new years resolutions this year was to spend 20 minutes per day of 1:1 time with kiera teaching her something. So far, I'm failing and I'm lucky if I do it once a week.
6. I probably only floss twice a week (don't tell my dentist husband!)
7. I don't have one drop of artistic talent. I can't even doodle.
8. Sometimes if I see something is dusty as I'm walking by I'll take off the socks I'm wearing and dust with them (but only if I haven't been wearing them long).
9. I say "no" to extra volunteer opportunities at this point of life. Good for the school for making blankets for the kids at the hospital. It is a good thing to do, but by saying "yes" to them I'd be saying "no" to quality time with my children.
10. Sometimes I give up and feed my 2 year old cold cereal for dinner

There, I hope you all feel better about yourselves now. I bet many of you are better than me in many aspects!

Sibling Rivalry

90% of the time, if Kiera is playing by herself you'll find her right here: sitting att he kitchen table with all of her princess stuff on top. Why? Because it is the only place that little Lydia can reach her stuff. She has a absolute fit of Lydia touches any of her beloved princesses. (It is also a pain for me because I have to clear the table before every meal). Whenever I suggest/offer Kiera anything it goes something like this
"Kiera, would you like some Mac and Cheese for lunch?"
"Lydia no have Mac and Cheese!"
"Kiera shall we go feed the ducks?"
"Lydia can't come feed the ducks!"

I hope we grow out of this phase soon.

Prepping for food storage and interior decorating on a budget

Call me crazy but this is the newest addition to my kitchen (doesn't it make a great bar? All I need is barstools!) It is a deep freezer I bought from Lowes. I sold a few things I didn't need anymore off of craigslist and I took the plunge and made the major purchace. NOW I'm getting serious about food storage. Steve was quite sceptical about it, but I used the argument that a living prophet has asked us to get food storge starting with a 3 month supply of foods we eat. I guess I could be wrong, but I find it impossible to store 3 months worth of food that we regularly eat without a deep freezer. So, it was the PROPHET who wanted me to buy it.....how do you argue with that? : )

Other advantages are the fact that I can stock up on foods when they are on sale, and that I'll never have to run to the store for a single ingredient in order to cook something for dinner. Also, I plan on doubling all my dinner recipies for a while and freezing half of it so that I can have instant dinners on those crazy days... oh and I can also fill my freezers with dinners for times of life that are more difficult than others.....
I'd say I'm well on my way to achieving my 3 month supply. I now have all of the tools and plans I need to do it and now I just need to start stocking up.
One damper I've had on my food storge is Lydia being alergic to powered milk. I started using it to repace milk in all of my baked goods, but now I can't since Lydia is alergic to it. Too bad. I'll have a 3 month supply of food except for soymilk-- can't store that : (


I love to take UGLY discarded furniture and turn it into something attractive. My neighbors down the street were getting rid of 2 of these 70's looking cabnets with yellowish paint and brown windows. I volunteered to take them off their hands. I added some paint and fabric and (drum roll) I have a 2 beautiful pieces of furniture that I love to have in my bedroom. Most of the furniture in my house is furniture I found sitting by the side of the road with a sign that said "free" that I've resurrected with some paint and/or fabric. I guess it just helps me to feel like I'm doing real decorating (which I'd LOVE to do if we had $).


More of my decorating with fabric (it is CHEAP so I do it)

Just another day at the beach

Last friday it was disneyland. This friday it was beach. After school we drove for 50 minutes to Laguna Beach (my new favorite beach if I have kids in tow).


One fun thing about this beach is the tide pools. They are literaly "crawling" with sea creatures. Very fun to check out.

I let Kiera bury me in the sand up to my neck. Lydia thought it was fun to sit on my face or to sit on my chest and put sand on my face. I'm still finding sand in my ears and hair 24 hours later.

lydia liked the water...but of course Kiera was scared of it.

One of the things I love about this beach is that you can park right next to it and that the sidewalk goes right up to the beach (you can see it in this picture). No hauling kids and tons of stuff aross acres of sand!

Just another day at disneyland

On friday we ventured to Disneyland in the 110 degree heat with our season passes (which were by the way given to us). Just as we pulled in the parking structure Kiera vomited everywhere. I washed out her clothes and put them on her again (she was dry in 10 minutes) and she was fine the rest of the day. Usually Kiera vomits from heat exhaustion (and refusal to drink fluids) on the way home. But this time I got smart and drenched my girls about once every hour to keep em cool. Here is a typical day at disneyland for the Nelson family:

We arrive at 4:30pm since we can't leave for disneyland until after steve comes home from school. First we have to do the favorites to get Kiera warmed up. Teacups and small world. Usually followed by dumbo or some other high-excitement ride.


Of course we have to go see princesses. Saying goodbye is hard..for some.



Another favorite ride is Jungle Cruise although Kiera and Lydia both get a bit nervous in parts.



8pm- girls fall asleep in stroller as we head back to our car. All tuckered out after going on about 10 rides.