2 More Weeks! And an update.

I didn't feel the baby move much on Sunday so we had a stress test and ultrasound done at my dr. appt. on Monday and fortunately the baby is ok. He thinks the reason I didn't feel her as much was because of me being in early labor. I'm dilated to a 2, 80% effaced, and the baby's head is at a 0 position. I kinda wish he didn't tell me I may be in early labor, because now I keep thinking "maybe tomorrow..." I am definitely in the nesting stage, with more energy to get the things done I need to. My mom is leaving for Pittsburgh tomorrow and won't be back until late Tuesday night. I'm trying to prepare for what to do if I go into labor when she's gone and luckily I have good neighbors and visiting teachers I can call on to babysit if I need it. Kinda crazy that the time is almost here.

We celebrated Andy's 29th and Evelyn's 3rd birthdays on Sept. 7th with a BBQ, a cupcake pinata, pies for Andy, and cupcakes for Evelyn. We loved having family come and celebrate with us. Thanks to Jason and Kiley, Chris and Angie, Heidi and Andrew, and Grandpa Fred and Grandma Nancy for coming. From us Andy got shorts and a new wallet. Evelyn got a scooter, Frozen DVD, a letter recognition game, and a watch.

Evelyn started another "mom and me" preschool in September. It's every Wednesday from 1:30-3:30 and she is loving it. I'm loving it too. I'm so grateful I (and she) can be involved in things like this. It's also nice to have some special one-on-one time with Clark for those 2 hours she is gone.

Clark is finally starting to say some words that I can understand. He says "ba-ball" and points to the remote control to watch football (his favorite thing to watch), hi, bye, Daddy, doggie, "bub-bub" (bubbles), 'side (outside) and Momma. "ba" can mean a variety of things...ball, balloon, bottle, or banana. He's really good at pointing to what he wants. He's great at finding everyone's matching shoes and bringing them to us when we are going somewhere or if he wants to go outside.

Everyday I am just so thankful I can be their mother and my constant prayer is that I can be the best mother for them. They are such great kids and I love spending my time with them.

This morning

This morning, Evelyn was trying on my mom's necklaces and bracelets and my step-dad told Evelyn she was so pretty to which she replied, "Yes, I am." I hope she always has that confidence in herself, because not only is she a cute girl, she is a daughter of God.

Also, Clark needs a brother. He is playing with the bracelets now too. :)

Evelyn's Tribute and interview for Preschool

This summer, a friend, her mom, and me did a preschool 4 mornings a week for Evelyn and her friend James. We taught 3 days and went on a field trip on the 4th day. We all had a lot of fun and I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it. Evelyn and Clark got to learn and do lots of fun things. On August 8th, we held a little preschool graduation for Evelyn and James. Me and my friend, Anna Ford, wrote a tribute to our kids and I also did an interview of both kids. I wanted to make sure I copied it down.

Evelyn's Tribute
Evelyn Elizabeth Yerka was born on September 8th, 2011 in Logan, UT. She looked like a doll when she was born...everyone said so. She is the oldest in our family and she is a wonderful big sister to Clark. She loves "her" dog Buddy, Clark, and playing outside. Some of her favorites are riding the ponies at Thanksgiving Point, wrestling with her dad, watching Little Einsteins, blowing bubbles, riding her bike, eating treats, and hanging out with her Grandpa. She is kind to everyone, always wants to help, and is such a sweet and wonderful girl. We sure do love her and are so grateful she is in our family.

Evelyn's interview. Almost 3
Best Friend: James Ford
Favorite Food: Sandwich with purple and popcorn (I'm assuming pb&j and she has only had popcorn once. It must have made an impression. ha)
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Thing To Do: Play outside
Favorite Song: "I Am A Child Of God"
Favorite Thing About Being 2: Dance class (she went one time. ha)
Favorite Toy: Her Baby
Favorite Animal: Elephant

Cooking Wins!

This week I've had some cooking wins and I'm pretty proud of myself since I don't consider myself a good cook. I'm trying harder though and I'm also trying to expand my recipes. This week (so far) I've tried 3 new things that my family has really liked. Here are the links:

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2014/05/baked-honey-chicken-tenders-recipe.html
My step-dad commented over and over again how good the chicken tasted and it was easy too. I just had to plan ahead a bit since it had to marinate for a few hours.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apricot-leather/detail.aspx
We had an abundance of apricots this week and since we are going on a road trip soon I thought I would try these out. While they took much longer to dry than the recipe said (I also didn't use the oven as long like the recipe said since it was so hot that day). I tried one today and they are tasty! I only used about a tbsp of sugar and instead added a banana to keep it healthier. These are really good!

http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2013/03/zuppa-toscana-recipe.html
Lastly, I made this for dinner. It's kinda like the Zuppa Toscana soup from Olive Garden. It had a lot of flavor and Evelyn ate it all! That's saying something since she is a picky eater.

I'm enjoying cooking more for 2 reasons. 1. Trying out new things is a little out of my comfort zone, but I feel really good about myself when it turns out yummy. 2. Evelyn loves helping me in the kitchen and I love having her help. I have the best kids!

Golf-Balls, Memory-Foam, and Paper-Clips (Andy Post)

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Andrew Yerka
4062 W. Liberty Creek Dr.
South Jordan, UT 84095
Cell: 320-224-1296
[email protected]


SUBJECT: Internal Memo to HR (URGENT! RESPONSE REQUIRED!)

Dear God,

On Saturday, May 24th, at 7:30 a.m., and again at 11:30 p.m., I submitted a request for an abundance of wealth, energy, instant career advancement opportunities, charming good-looks, and uncanny luck. As of 9:05 p.m today, I have not received any communication from your department.

While I understand Sunday's are a busy time in your office, I have been waiting for my order for a little over ten years now.

Additionally, I have not received any extra paid time off for activities such as; golfing, sleeping, playing video games, recording music, watching Netflix, killing zombies, shooting friends with paint-balls, or even getting shot by paint-balls.

Please look through your records to find any previous requests and expedite them as soon as possible. Let me know if you have any questions or need any additional assistance. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Andrew Yerka
[email protected]
(320) 224-1296


RE: Internal Memo to HR (URGENT! RESPONSE REQUIRED!)

Hi Andy,

After reviewing our records, since your eighth birthday on 09/06/1985, we have received 7,566 requests for all the above mentioned gifts. I am pleased to inform you we have reviewed your request and have posted the results of our internal investigation below;

1. Abundance of Wealth

• Our records show you have a college degree from an accredited 4-year university.
• You are married to one of our finest case-workers, Kimberly E. Yerka.
• You are the father of two beautiful children. 

2. Energy

• Our recommendation is to lay off the Mountain Dew and responsibly exercise. 
• Also, we've received reports of late-show movies. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. 

3. Career Advancement

•  You have been promoted four times in less than two years. Work hard and be patient. 
• Additionally, you are lucky to have such a good job you enjoy.

4. Charming Good-Looks

• To be honest, we sent your memo around the office and everyone had a good laugh.

5. Luck

• You should read The Book of Luck: Brilliant Ideas for Creating Your Own Success and Making Life Go Your Way by Heather Summers and Anne Watson

Regarding extra paid time off, we found some noteworthy discrepancies;

• While company policy does not mandate any additional compensation for time off, we do require every employee to contribute to balancing their share of the work-load. Your spouse has not received a day off since 09/08/2011. 
• Additionally, the number of poopy diapers your spouse has changed in contrast to you is staggering. 
• It has also come to our attention you have been spending company resources on golfing rather than supporting your spouse manage your budget. 

Immediate improvement in your department is required. 

Thank you for your request, and please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

The Management. 

More Stupider and other news

Lately I have been realizing I am losing my smarts. I feel like with every child or pregnancy, I am forgetting things more and more. A couple of weeks ago we went to Thanksgiving Point to see the Tulip Festival. (Colletta and Melinda you would have LOVED it!) There is a lake there with geese and I was talking to Andy about them and said something like, " Evelyn is trying to caughting the goosed. " I was really trying to say Evelyn was trying to catch the geese. I knew I was saying the words wrong but for the life of me I couldn't figure out the correct way to say the words. I felt pretty dumb. And for the fist time in the 5 1/2 years since I graduated college, I wanted to go back to school. Who knows? Maybe someday I will.

BIG NEWS!!! Clark is walking!! He took his first steps mid-April and is full on walking. He still doesn't say anything, but that doesn't mean he's not communicating. He's a great pointer and grunter. :)

We went to the Hill Air Force Museum last Friday with my parent's. It was so neat! I would totally recommend it to anyone in the area and it's free! We talked to a lot of volunteers there and one of them was a teacher at Bingham where I graduated. Go Miners! We also saw the "Candy Bomber" plane. If you don't know the story, it is worth the look-up. It was so worth the trip to Ogden.

One of our neighbors gave us a bike trailer and so on Sunday we went on our first bike trip! I have been wanted a trailer for a long time but they are so dang expensive! Even off KSL. I hope we can go on many bike trips this Summer. It felt so liberating riding my bike! I forgot how much I love it.

Today is day 1 of potty training Evelyn. I know she's ready since she's been going potty about once a day for months now, but it's harder than I anticipated. So far we've had 6 accidents...but we've also had about 6 victories! Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I'm 20 1/2 weeks pregnant and we're having a girl! We're pretty excited. I haven't thrown up in about a week...knock on wood...and I seem to be having more energy. Yeah for second trimesters!

We're doing really good and hope you are too!

We did it

On Saturday, March 29th, we moved from our house in Logan to my parent's in South Jordan. We had great help so it didn't seem to take too long. Thanks Jason and Kiley and Andrew and Emily! We started out our day by waking up early and got breakfast at the hospital. (They have yummy biscuits and gravy) Then we picked up the U-Haul and started packing it. We left our house around 3 so we got to my parent's around 5. All day Evelyn was looking forward to riding in the "big truck" with Daddy. Unfortunately she slept the whole ride down, but she still told everyone about her ride! Some wonderful neighbors from up the street came to help unload. I LOVE the ward I grew up in and I'm so glad to be back. On Monday, we went back to Logan to clean and thankfully Kevin came up to help us. We got to our house around 1 and it took us 4 1/2 hours to clean it. We better get our full deposit back! I came home with sore fingers and a sore heart to leave our house. We'll miss having our own space, but more than that, we'll miss our wonderful neighbors, the Parker's. She sent me a text on Monday morning and said, "I looked out the window and your car wasn't there and it made me sad." We are so sad to not be near them anymore.
It's going well at my parent's house. They both work full-time so me and the kids hang out here with Buddy, the dog. We're hoping for warmer weather soon so we can go outside and play. We're also hoping to get over our colds soon. We all have sinus infections and coughs. We heard some news Andy might be moving to the South Salt Lake store so that will be good as far as commuting goes. Today, I can't seem to snap out of my sleepiness. It's 2pm and I already took 2 naps. I'm also 14 weeks today which in baby terms means I'm starting my second trimester, so I'm hoping I get some energy back and to lose the nausea. Clark is getting more comfortable walking. He kinda took a step on April 1st so I think he'll be walking for reals soon. Evelyn is in heaven living with my parent's. Her favorite person is my step-dad so he's the first person she wants to see in the morning. I'm looking forward to Conference and I'm going to try some activities to keep Evelyn occupied so I can pay attention. I don't have high hopes though with 2 small children. :) Also, we're celebrating Clark's first birthday on Sunday after Conference. I'm going to make a cake in the shape of a 1 and that's about it. We don't do Pinterest parties in our house. :) Well, that's about it. Happy April!