New arrival

Claire Alexis Galloway (daughter of Jennifer, my sister)

8/20/08 at 4:25pm
18.5 inches, 7 lbs. 8oz. Congrats!!!!

Speaking of babies, Jayce has been begging for a new sibling. Oh, no! The pressure's on . . . . :)

The agony of separation anxiety!!

We are gearing up for preschool next week, and I'm in a total bind. Jayce has a late birthday and won't be going to school for another couple of years. However, a fun girl in my ward runs a preschool for his age group two days a week for a couple of hours . . . and I enrolled Jayce back in January due to high demand. Now that we're nearing the date (September 4), I'm starting to question my decision. Two months ago he would have been fine . . . he liked going to Sunbeams, he looked forward to playing at Kellsie's "All by myself," and he constantly praised his big-boy status. However, he's totally reversed the last while and hates to be without me whatsoever. He refuses to go to Sunbeams, he cries when he's left with his favorite person, Uncle Bryan, and he can't even be in a room without me without coming to find me after a couple of minutes of panicking. He's basically been smothering me, and I'm not sure what to do.

By the way, this whole anxiety started up when Jeremy started working long hours at his new job. I'm thinking he's having a hard time because Jer's abandoned him -- or so he thinks (it's hard to describe the necessities of work and food on the table and a mortgage to a three year-old). Isnt' that horrible? Seriously, though, Jer's hours are ridiculous! Things need to change.

I've been breaking down the pros and cons of attending:

Pros
He needs to socialize with other kids
He gets SOOO bored during the day and loves structure
He needs to know that he'll be okay without me -- if only for a couple of hours -- and that I'll always come back to get him
I'll get some one-on-one time with Alyssa

Cons
He still has two years until school, so I could wait another year
I don't want him thinking that I don't want him around . . . that's so not the case!
What if he's miserable and stressed if I'm not with him?

I guess we could try it . . . if he's a wreck I could always back out. However, what is the misery limitation? I mean, maybe he's miserable for the first five minutes, but then he has a blast the rest of the time. However, I don't want to battle with him just to get him there. Ugh! The dilemma! His favorite saying is, "I don't want to go to preschool," and I hear it constantly. The guilt is already mounting! Wish us luck!

The Dark Side of the Olympics

I, for one, am so thrilled the Olympics are ending. Not because I don't like them . . . it's because I do like them. A little too much, if you ask me. Although I'm unable to watch the events during the day (due to children), I use the magical DVR and watch all I can late into the nights. Forget the fact that I have a workout scheduled for 6 a.m. the next day -- forget the fact that I have books to read -- forget the fact that I've neglected my household duties (laundry, schlaundry) -- I'm going to watch the BMX contest at 1 a.m. :) (which is odd, because I've never watched BMX prior to this year's Olympics). I always get this way . . . a little obsessive when it comes to the sports I love. As excited as I am about BYU football coming up, I'm also dreading it a bit because I know I'll get all caught up and emotional in the outcomes of the games. Our already busy Saturdays are about to become even more insane. When the Utah Jazz made its finals run back in 97 & 98, that's all I did for months . . . eat, sleep, and dream about the Jazz. I have too many things I should be doing, yet I'm swallowed up by the excitement and can't seem to look away and wend forward with life as usual. The Olympics are especially difficult because there's so much to watch in a tiny two-week period.

As much as I love the Olympics, I'm too wound up in the drama. Seriously, are those Chinese gymnasts really 16? Are those judges really impartial? Things seemed amiss on the gymnastics front. And then don't even get me started of the evils of the Chinese government -- that sneaky, oppressive regime. And why are our relay teams so inept at catching batons? Why does NBC air the most exciting sports at 11 p.m.? I'm in PDT, so it's not live anyway. Ridiculous!

Of course, we've had so many bright spots: beach volleyball, volleyball (go Ryan Millar!), Michael Phelps, women's gymnastics (Nastia and Shawn are awesome!), etc. And the Olympics always bring out the patriotic girl in me. Despite the fact that I'm partially Canadian, I just sweep that aside and go all out for the red, white, and blue. I love the fact that we top the overall medal standings (although I'm a little bummed about our fewer golds than China) -- dominance is great, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Very un-PC of me, I'm sure. :)

Until another four years . . . oh, wait, the Winter Olympics is in two . . . I bid the Olympics a fond farewell. I've had fun, but it's time to move on and finish my batches of laundry.

The wedding continued . . .

In continuing the wedding theme, I will list some highlights and glitches.

Highlights:
*The temple sealing, of course! What could be better?
*The relief we felt when Sarah and Scott walked into the sealing room. We had waited for awhile and my brother-in-law thought he had heard someone crying down the hall. We wondered if it was Sarah realizing that she couldn't be a Meyer after all (which makes perfect sense). Fortunately, she walked in seconds later with no hint of previous tears. Whew! Some other bride must have had a meltdown.
*The weather -- so perfect! Now remind me why I live in Vegas?
*A nearby bride and her party taking photographs next to us. She provided us with comic relief as she was ushered around with a parasol with huge feathers erupting out of her dress. We, the low-maintenance Meyers, were enjoying the spectacle.

Glitches:
*Alyssa crying during the flower girl pictures. She was inconsolable, yet awfully cute.
*Alyssa coloring on her flower girl dress with markers in the child waiting room during the ceremony, and then spilling loads of food on it during the reception. The strategically placed flowers hopefully lessened the obvious walking disaster. :)
*Alyssa smearing strawberries on my blouse and skirt. Now I was the walking disaster.
*Jayce upset because we left him for the sealing. He sulked and cried as he watched his playful, fun cousins.
*Why oh why didn't we decorate their car? We wouldn't have been mean, but seriously, we should have done some cutesy thing. Minutes before they were leaving I was scrambling and brainstorming, but nothing came to mind. They left in a bare, boring car, without even a "just married."


A family picture taken at Thanksgiving Point (reception location). So fun! We were eating grapes right off the vine.

Alyssa relatively calm after her tantrum at the temple.

Enjoying the refreshments.

For some reason, Jayce was hesitant to pose with Scott. Later on I asked him why, and he replied because Scott's hair was sticking up and it wasn't coming down on his head. I guess it scared him. :) (Whenever we spike Jayce's hair, the look doesn't last very long because we never use enough gel -- I guess Scott's hair mystified and intimidated him because it did stand up a bit). Pretty lame excuse, if you ask me. :)

Alyssa hated the flower girl pictures, but when she stood by the temple doors with her cousins she was quite happy -- hopefully indicating that she's comforted by the prospect of a temple wedding. :)

Jayce, his cousins Ali, Nathan, and Natalie (Sarah was holding her niece, and sadly, her name escapes me).

Our attempt at a flower girl shot -- rather unsuccessful with Alyssa's tears. She elicited much sympathy from the crowd.

Scott's Wedding

Okay, can someone please tell me how my little brother went from this . . .


To this . . .

In one day?

Maybe this expression says it all. :) This is all in jest, of course, Despite the fact that Scott still likes Legos, video games, Star Wars, and dinosaur coloring books (our resident creative genius), he'll make a wonderful husband to sweet Sarah. They make a great couple!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Seven years ago tomorrow, Jeremy and I embarked on an adventure called marriage. As I reflect on that day, a few things stand out:

Jer was late arriving to the temple. How could someone to be late to their own wedding? Honestly, the thought did cross my mind that he might jilt me in retaliation of my indecisiveness while we were dating. What perfect retribution! Fortunately, he decided to show up. (Jer claims he wasn't late -- a disagreement we have that will never be resolved).

We got lost leaving the Mt. Timpanogos Temple to head to Thanksgiving Point for the luncheon. We arrived a little late and were greeted with snickers and winks. Really, people! We were lost!

My bouquet ended up staining my dress -- the flowers weren't properly cut (according to one of our guests who knows her botany), so I got all this residue on me during the reception line. I had to hold the flowers high enough so people wouldn't notice.

Other mishaps? I forgot that my dad had to work on Friday and didn't give him a proper goodbye before we left on our honeymoon. My cousin ate our entire wedding cake, which was stored in my mom's freezer (we only got one bite at the reception). And the weather was so hot that day, I wasn't feeling very beautiful as we were taking pictures. I guess you could say I was "glowing," but for all the wrong reasons.

Anyway, those things just added to the character of a great day. The sealing was wonderful, Jer looked so handsome, and we appreciated the support of friends and family. These seven years have been super, and marriage has been relatively easy (our tortuous dating life prepared us for anything). Hopefully we haven't reached the "seven-year itch" because I've been so content. Thanks, Jer! Love you!

I've been tagged!

I've done a post similar to this awhile back, but I took up Karen's challenge and decided to embark on another Lisa post. Here goes . . .

20 years ago I was:

1) Ready to embark on a daring and dangerous adventure . . . Dixon Middle School (I still have nightmares).
2) Spending my summer with Melinda, Jessica, and Sara -- creating havoc at Movies 8, making our moms drive us everywhere, and walking around the neighborhood discussing boys. We were typical teeny boppers . . . annoying, I'm sure.
3) Sneaking out of the house when I slept over at Sara Saluone's house . . . to go kiss a boy, no less (okay, it was just on the cheek). My most rebellious moment, ever! (I will not name said boy -- but I'm guessing he's not over me because he's still single. I mean, really, has anyone gotten over me?*).

*I need to add a disclaimer -- I was kidding on that one! I'm easily forgotten. :)

10 years ago I was:
1) Road tripping and going to concerts and Jazz games with my cohorts, Rich and Greg. Definitely the most fun, carefree time, ever!
2) Interning at a public relations firm on Park Avenue in NYC -- loved every minute. I seriously considered moving there after graduation.
3) Contemplating, "Do I date this Jeremy guy?"
4) Enjoying the glory days of the Utah Jazz. I was so sad we missed the ultimate prize, but their playoff runs were so fun! I was obsessed.

5 years ago I was:
1) Living in a condo complex with Jeremy in Henderson (we were married, don't worry).
2) Contemplating children and buying a house -- goals that have obviously been fulfilled.
3) Working at AMG with the best bosses. Thanks Keith and Allen!

3 years ago I was:
1) A new mother to Jayce -- visiting the pediatrician every two weeks (at least), preparing for upcoming surgeries, dealing with his club foot, spending time at the ER and hospital -- wondering why my little boy was so sick and doubting my capacity as a mother.
2) Sleep-deprived
3) Sleep-deprived (I had to list it twice -- just to emphasize my emotional and physical fatigue :) ).

1 year ago I was:
1) Juggling two kids and wondering if they'd every like each other and interact (they do now, yay!).
2) Watching Alyssa learn to walk and trying to convince Jayce that primary will be a great thing.
3) Enjoying our Disneyland season passes and going constantly.

So far this year I have:
1) Huh? I should have accomplished something in 2008 already?
2) ?
3) Oh, yeah -- I road tripped with some girlfriends (it was a blast), and I went to Utah for an extended vacation.

Yesterday I:
1) Went to Church, played the organ, and taught primary
2) Devoured salmon that Jeremy cooked on the grill (especially good after fasting)
3) Ate brownies . . . our fun Sunday treat.

Today I:
1) Went to Boot Camp
2) Gave piggyback rides to the kids
2) Unloaded the dishwasher, realizing afterwards that I unloaded dirty dishes, not clean ones.
4) Reloaded the dishwasher with the before-mentioned dishes.

Tomorrow I will:
1) Go to Boot Camp
2) Go swimming in the pool with my new swimming suit! (A Dillard's clearance purchase)
3) Run errands . . . because that's the kind of glamorous life I lead. :)

I tag whomever would like to do this.