a dead vacuum

Well, my Kirby is done. Our dear Kirby met a terrible fate last Friday evening while the kids were home alone. Maddy was helping out by vacuuming and accidentally turned the corner too quickly without realizing the cord wasn't long enough to go any further. The metal prong broke right off. My brilliant children decided that they most certainly did not want to be electrocuted so they weren't about to touch it. Thinking it through they decided the best thing to do was to wrap Kaden's hand in paper towels like a glove so he could reach into the socket and pull the metal piece out. Hello? Anyone see a problem with that idea? Lucky for Kaden he was able to get it out of the wall without harming himself. I got the phone call during time out for women letting me know after all was said and done. Needless to say we have since had a discussion on what to do if a metal prong breaks in the outlet and mom is not home. Am I sad about it? Not really. It is a very heavy vacuum with no attachments. We could actually fix the vacuum but truthfully I was wanting a new vacuum anyway. So, goodbye my sweet Kirby. May you rest in peace.

what a week

What a week I had last week. Let me preface this by saying that Silas was out of town all week last week. My sweet husband lets me go on a girl trip every year and never asks to go on a guy trip. My weekend away each year has saved my family!!! I always go have an awesome time and rejuvenate myself while catching up with some wonderful friends. I am able to come home and face the daily grind with renewed energy (at least for a day or two!). Silas has rarely asked me for a guys trip. This year when our good friend, Brad, spoke so excitedly about the steel head fishing in Idaho, Silas got super excited and wanted to go. I of course, being the great wife that I am, said enthusiastically that he should do it! Its about the memories anyway, right? I have to admit that I felt a little jealous that he was going to go see our dear friends Brad and Katie. I haven't seen them in way too long. As the trip grew closer my excitement for him faded. By "closer" I mean starting about 3 days before he left. I got sick. I try not to do anything halfway so when I say I got sick, I mean I really got sick! I won't describe my symptoms because honestly, who really wants to read about that yucky stuff. I kept getting worse and then poor Maddy got it as well. Tuesday while Silas was flying to Idaho, Madison stayed home from school with me. Repeat that for Wed. but add the dog who was sympathy vomiting. (Thank goodness for great friends who rushed over to bathe the dog after I broke down bawling about not being able to do it) Thursday I had both Maddy and Kaden home. I actually called off work and mutual which I DONT do!! It was awful. I am apparently pretty stubborn and would not take myself to the dr until Thursday when I was dying!! 2 steroids and an antibiotic later I am finally starting to breathe better. I want to point out that Madison is usually my saving grace when I get sick. She is fantastic at taking care of everyone and everything while I am down. What do I do if Maddy gets sick at the same time as I do? Usually I beg my husband to baby me but this time I layed around while nothing got done.
DeNae, Andrea and Tia came to visit on Friday. It was a short visit but a monumental one. Almost 6 years ago, when DeNae and I met, we attended Time Out For Women together. We went with a huge group of women from our ward in Texas and our 2 sweet newborns! I was so excited when I found out that TOFW was coming to Indianapolis this year. I called DeNae and got a group together. The dynamic duo was at it again, this time baby free! I was sufficiently fed this weekend both spiritually and physically. I am grateful for the chance to stay up all night chatting with people I consider sisters, and then taking a nap the next day to recuperate. Thankfully Silas got home Sat. night and I was able to finally have his sympathy. I don't want to be a baby about it, it was just really that bad.
Now that I am getting back on track health wise, I am anxiously awaiting the ability to run again. I actually tried to run a mere half mile today and thought I was going to die! I couldn't breathe and then couldn't stop coughing! The worst part about it was that I was running alongside the 4th grade track team to encourage them when I fell flat on my face!!! I blame it on my pants falling down and the lack of oxygen. What am I going to do in a month when it is time to run the half marathon?? I don't know! Maybe with the right cheering section (ANDREA and SHEILA????) I will be able to make it.
On a very happy note.....We sold our van last night! It is no longer a dead vehicle in my driveway! I did love that van and it was a good car for us but I am happy to move on! I am off to bed now, yes I know it is only 7:15, I am exhausted.

Feeling Loved!!

Wow! 3 comments on my first day back! I absolutely did not expect to be posting again already. Nothing exciting has happened since yesterday. The weather is gorgeous outside. The kiddos are laying out in their bathing suits begging to play in water. Its nice but not that nice! I went to ward council early this morning and sat down in Sacrament meeting to find out I would be teaching the combined YW lesson along with Amanda. Talk about panic! I HATE public speaking. I have to say it is one of the hardest things for me. I am not an eloquent speaker at all!! When I have to speak in church, or anywhere else for that matter, I stress about it for as long as I know I will be doing it. Ask me to speak a week in advance, I will have a terrible week. Ask me 2 weeks in advance, I will be close to tears for 2 weeks. The day I'm supposed to speak (or teach) I always want to vomit. That's how I felt today, especially since I don't even have a manual. Lucky for me I think Amanda feels the same way about teaching so we decided to team teach. It went okay. Nothing monumental for anyone I am sure, but it is over. It was great to come home, enjoy some frozen pizza, and see that people still check on me even though I haven't blogged in a year. (Or more!!) Thanks for still loving me and believing in me!

Sheila

This special post is for my bestie Sheila! I just wanted her to know that there is more going on in my life than Madison's feet! And yes, all Sheila's encouraging comments have gotten me back on my blog! I just had a super fun visit with DeNae and Tia. We missed you the whole time!! But in an effort to keep you posted......we made letters for my living room spelling "family", washer necklaces, and scrabble piece necklaces. (No, I am not spelling out my name!!!) We enjoyed Qdoba, Chick-fil-a, and Indian food! My wonderful husband babysat all the kids by himself 2 nights in a row, happily. Shopping happened and even a kick boxing class! My little Kalia cried for almost an hour after her little Leah had to go home (I think she didn't want to have to clean the house!!). The lack of sleep this weekend has caused me to get sick, AGAIN!!! Spring break is now coming to an end and I am definitely not ready. I enjoy sleeping till 9am and playing all day! I enjoy having my sweet kids around and staying up late together! The count down to summer will start Monday. I hope it gets here quickly. My half marathon is in only 6 weeks. The next 6 weeks might kill me but I am going to run 13 miles none the less! One week after the race school will be out!!!!

My adorable new niece, Norah, was born yesterday!! I am so sad that I can't be there. Norah is sooooo cute and I am really excited for Carrie and Tyler! I hope to see them all this summer along with baby boy no name Knoebel who will also be born soon! So many fun things going on that I am actually excited to blog again. So, Sheila, here is the deal. I will have another post as soon as you leave me a comment letting me know that you actually check my blog as often as you say you do. And as far as pictures go, check Denae's blog to see our cute creations!! Love ya!

Chilblains

What is chilblains you might ask? Well, I'd say its just a fancy way to say "cold feet"! We got Madison's biopsy results today and I'm so relieved! She has what is called chilblains syndrome which from what I understand is a circulatory problem when cold feet warm up too fast. The doctor described it as sort of opposite frostbite but one that could possibly result in the loss of a toe if not taken care of. The treatment? Warm feet all the time!! It is time for the Smith family to invest in warm socks, boots, shoes, and tights for little Louella! I guess an electric blanket wouldn't be a bad idea either. I feel so relieved that it isn't something worse and that her toes didn't get worse than they are. I feel so excited that it is not contagious and I can venture out around my friends again without worrying what we would be passing on. So, from now on I will be an advocate of indoor exercise and warm shoes and socks! (By the way, I HATE SHOES AND SOCKS!! I have very claustrophobic feet myself!!) Why are we in Indiana? Oh, that's right, its an awesome place with wonderful people!!

Our Baby

Okay, so I don't want to be some crazy pet owner but I do want to share some pictures because we want to show everyone what Dexter looks like and what fun we are having. I also realize that he won't be little for very long and want to remember just what an adorable puppy he was. Thanks for bearing with me!!
Sweet Dexter falls asleep in any warm snuggly spot!

Madison wanted to check out the cage and Dexter followed her in there. I'm telling you, they are inseparable.This is the picture of the start of a walk around the house with Kalia.

This is the after picture of a walk around the house with Kalia.

These are the sweet buddies!

This next one is Dexter's first nap on Miss Jayne!

Kaden is actually excited even though you can't tell. I think it took some practice holding Dexter to get his confidence up. Kaden is just so tenderhearted that he never wants to hurt anyone (including puppies).

Little Dexter

This is 7 week old Dexter with 2 of his brothers (Puppy 2 and Puppy 3). We decided that Dexter was a better name than Puppy 1 even though he was first born in a litter of 7. Dexter is the cute one on the far left, or the first one in the picture. He has the sweetest disposition and only had one accident inside today! He and Madison are extremely attached already and he whines when she is not around. They took a nap together and his snoring didn't even bother her. Kaden is starting to learn that he is stronger than Dexter and therefore not let Dexter be the boss. Every time Kaden lays down to play with Dex he gets to wrestling and Dexter goes for the ears. I think it is so funny that he thinks Kadens ears are toys but it wasn't as funny once Dexter actually got one. Poor Kaden didn't know what to do but he knew it hurt. Little Dexter just kept biting and pulling. Kalia likes to push Dexter around the house in her baby doll stroller. I think Dexter likes it too because he always falls asleep. We are having so much fun with our baby. He loves to snuggle and he loves to play but he hates going outside when its cold. This afternoon he had fun playing in the backyard when it was warmer but as soon as it started cooling off he hated his little potty breaks. Dexter also had his first puppy play date today with Maxx. It started off all good and fun, smelling butts and chasing tails. After a short while of wrestling Dex actually started bullying Maxx so we had to separate them. Hopefully next time goes better. Maybe we can do it at Maxx's house so that Dexter isn't as territorial. More pics to come of the kids with him but again I am toooooo tired to do it tonight.