Tra-di-tion....Tradition!

Since about high school, I have been out on Black Friday to do some shopping. It all started with socks & poinsettias at Fred Meyer with my mom. I guess you could say I was her shopping cart side kick. I would push the cart, while she battled the crowds at 6 in the morning. The last few years, it has grown for me to getting toys and gifts for the family at different stores. Some may say this is crazy, and more will think so after reading what this year was like.

It all started on a cold and wintery Thanksgiving evening. My sister and I had made our list of items we were seeking and the stores in which we hit. Our first stop was going to be the midnight opening at Wal-Mart. We didn't get there right at 12, but shortly thereafter. We had to park quite a ways away. When we got into the store, all the carts were taken and filled by hundreds, if not thousands of people already in the store. After fighting through crowds and grabbing the few things we needed, Mel had got into a line and I looked around a little bit more. The lines were endless....yet we made it through. Just as we were heading out the door, with our purchases being checked against our receipts, Mel says, "I've got to see this." As she said that, three employees ran past us. We step outside to watch the employees run after some kid who apparently had shoplifted. I don't know if they caught him, but I sure wouldn't have been running through the icy parking lot at 1 am! Mel and I went our separate ways to grab a little bit of shut eye before our 4 am appointment at Target -this is where the fun begins!

I couldn't sleep, but what I did get was filled with dreams of strategy and how we could get in a get what we needed efficiently. This time, we were at Target about 3:40 am. As we walked to the entrance, we found it to be a long, long, long line to get into the store. We decided to wait it out in the car and return closer to opening time. At minutes before opening, we took our place in line, behind three teenage boys wearing their flannel pajama pants, parkas, knitted hats and 2 of the 3 were wearing cowboy boots...wish I had a picture, they were lovely outfits! It took about 15 minutes to walk the entire line and get into the store. Mel and I set out to get our purchases. First, I picked up a razor scooter, then an easy bake oven, some glove/hat set for the kids, and went to find a pyrex set I had been eyeing. When I got to the pyrex there were only three left, so I tried to juggle it in my arms...did I mention I did NOT have a cart?? So, then I was ready to get in line which sent my back to the place I started on the other side of the store. When I got in line, there was a man taking pictures of people in line...I don't know if I became one of them, I hope not!
The pyrex set was so heavy, I put it on the ground and began to kick it forward as we crept along. Target had the line weave all through the grocery section and I was in line a long time before we even hit the groceries. The man who had been taking pictures had seen my overflowing arms and attempt to scoot my items took pity on me and asked if I could use a cart. I told him it would be great. A few minutes later he returned to the line with a few carts, gave one to me, and carts to others in line who needed one. What a nice man! Saved my day. My sister came and unloaded her things into my cart and dashed off a few times to look around more or exchange things she had found. It took forever to get throught the line, but much easier with the cart. When we did make it to the end, Target had blocked off the check stands with boxes of items that were on their Black Friday Sale. One of the large stacks of boxes were pyrex! I wish I had know after all that struggling and kicking around the pyrex! Could have saved me a lot of hassle and strength!
We made a quick stop to Toys R Us and then on to Smith's Marketplace for socks and pillow pets. I was not a fan of pillow pets and was not going to get them for the kids, but caved. Smith's had them at the same price as all the other stores, but their's came with a $5 gift card to Smith's, that was good enough for us. We ran into some friends along the way, one at Target and Smith's. Just as we were getting ready to leave Smith's we ran into our Mom - there to get some socks of course. We made it back home around 9 am. F and I went through the purchases of the night, figured we were set with most of the stuff we needed for Christmas and I headed off to bed for a few hours sleep. Whew...can't believe we survived.

Oh, did I mention I did all of this while being nearly 8 months pregnant?? I must be crazy.

My, How Things Can Change in a Year

Last January was drastically different than this year. We had just found out few weeks before that I was pregnant and excited to add to our family. But the joy didn't last long. I went in for a first appointment and no fetal pulse could be found. I ended up having an ultrasound to confirm that something was wrong, and the pregnancy wouldn't last. By the next week I had a miscarriage and to say the least, we were devastated. It still brings up a lot of emotions.

About a week and a half later, I began to have chills, hot sweats, and other flu like symptoms. After talking with my mother, she encouraged me to call my doctor, which I promptly did. Since it was late evening, he advised me to wait for the morning to see how I was doing. The next morning, things were worse. I called F home from work, called the doctors office again. By 10:30 am, we had dropped the kids off and we were in the doctors office. Dr. told me I needed to have a blood draw and an other ultrasound, we headed straight to both those offices. At around noon, F and I gathered up the kids from my parents' house and headed home to wait for the results. A few hours later, I found out I had an infection and we were making arrangements for surgery. We dropped the kids off before 4 pm and headed to the hospital. I was checked in and ready for surgery by 5. With all the waiting, recovery and all that, It was about 9 pm when we picked up the kids and headed home. After all that, I was feeling so much better the next morning. I feel that the entire month of January was consumed by these events, and even still. I am very grateful for the wonderful support of my husband, my family, and for a doctor who was there to help me through it all.

As for this January, it is the complete opposite. I have had a wonderful and healthy pregnancy and the new year brought in the 36th week, last month of pregnancy, yet again, many doctor visits. We couldn't be more excited to bring another child into our family. I feel it has been quite a long time coming and can't believe that in the next week or so, we will be able to hold our little girl. I am not always the most patient person, and this waiting game is crazy. Now at 39 weeks, our house is ready. We have the clothes, blankets, burp cloths, and towels all washed and put in their place. I have bought diapers, wipes, and some other necessities to get us through at least the first month. We have the bassinet ready to be set up, the car seat base in the car (mainly to help the kids get used to it being there). Not to mention, I have completely taken the entire car seat and stroller apart and washed every square inch of them and covered them to keep them clean until they are used. I have my bag packed and have registered at the hospital. There is a list of contacts and a school schedule for K up on our fridge with a magnet from the hospital with important numbers. I have made arrangements with people to be "on call" to take the kids, whether it be the middle of the night or during the day. I feel we are ready for bringing a new one into our family, but for now we'll wait.

Fred Bateman

Frederick Thomas Bateman

1916-2010

Frederick Thomas Bateman passed away Dec. 24, 2010 from complications of prostate cancer. He was born June 5, 1916 in Alpine, Utah to Joseph Alberto Bateman and Ada Gunn Bateman. He married the love of his life, Eunice Belliston August 13, 1942. His marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple June 8, 1944. Fred played football at East Hight then played at BYU. He was captain of the team and All Conference. He loved watching all sports. He also loved to play golf, play pool and go fishing. He could always tell you where the fishing was the best. Fred served in the Army Air Corp. during World War II in Okinawa. He worked for Safeway as a butcher, then meat buyer for over 30 years. Fred was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He served in many capacities including, Bishopric and High Priest Quorum president. He adn his wife served as tour guides at Welfare Square and later served a mission in Cleveland, Ohio. He made many life-long friends. Survived by his three children, Shirley (Steve) Ericksen, Marv (Sharman) Bateman, and Bob (Sherie) Bateman, 12 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, and seven siblings, Max, Virginia, Bertha, Bryce, Berniece, and two infant boys.

Toy Story must be True

This nativity we have out for Christmas, keeps changing. No matter how many times I rearrange them, they always seem to move and gather around the baby Jesus.

I think they might be doing it on their own while we're not looking.Actually, L's the culprit, he spends quite a bit of time looking and playing with this nativity set. This is his favorite way to arrange them. At least they are all gathered around the right person!

What if....

L: What if Dad was a real King and you were a Queen?

Me: That would be fun, but what would that make you and K?

L: (after a brief pause to think) Servants. We would do what you told us too.

Me: Wouldn't you guys be prince and princesses?

L: No, the new baby will be the princess and when we have a baby boy, he will be the prince.

Hmmm, do you think we ask them to do too much?

It's beginning to "sound" like Christmas

Since no decorations have been put in place, there is no snow on the ground to speak of, and the weather is supposed to be really nice the next few days, so I can't say it's looking like Christmas. The sounds, however, are everywhere. Christmas music is already filling the radio stations, but most of all, it is the toy catalogs that started everything. Last week, the little man and I made a trip to Wal-mart. As we walked in the door, there they were, the stacks of toyland catalogs. I picked one up and let lil' L look at it while I shopped. The entire time in the store, his eyes were glued upon the toy filled pages. That afternoon, we had one in the mail, thus we had a catalog for the two children. I can't tell you how many hours....yes, hours, those catalogs have been studied. I told the children to look and circle the things they like. Didn't take too long before their vocabulary had changed to "Do you want to see what I am going to get?" Never did I promise any of the toys in there. After a few circles here and there, I thought, this will be great, we will have narrowed it down to a few things the kids would like for Christmas. Not so, for the more they looked at it (namely lil' L) the more there was to like. After a few days, we saw a commercial advertising the toy catalog for Target. F said I should stop by and pick one up. My thoughts, "Great, more toys for them to say they really want." F's reply, "Think of the hours they would be busy looking at the catalogs." We have not moved on from the Wal-mart ads, and those have been put aside, and indeed, it has helped to move us in the right direction for Christmas. We have been blessed to have each other, and I am grateful we can provide the kids with not only the bare necessities of life, but a few extra fun things, too. And yes, I will be present at some of the very early black friday sales. My sister and I are already scheming.

Disney on Ice

A friend of mine called and told me she had 3 extra tickets to Disney on Ice, wondering if we wanted to come with her. Of course! So Friday afternoon, we drove to her house, loaded up the kids (2 adults, 4 kids - one for each hand), and drove downtown. I don't know who had more fun, the kids or me! It was hard to keep the kids from asking to buy everything they had there. We had a great time and I loved being able to spent time with the kids and with my friend.The stories they featured were The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, and Peter Pan.

I had not been to one of these performances before and have always wanted to go. I'm glad it worked out! Thanks, Liz!!