It Pays

It pays to have friends in high places. High places meaning more in the sense of having a really nice camera and photography passion to go along with it.
It pays to have a nice friend who offers to take a family picture for you to have in your husbands absence. It pays to have an understanding friend who will drop everything and race over to WCC when you have procrastinated (yet again) and are under the crunch for time.

It pays to have a patient friend when your eldest child has a temperature of 103.4 for said pictures and spent the first 20 minutes crying and holding her mekup bowl.

It pays to have a loving friend who knows just the right words to say to your eldest childs little spirit to pull her out of the funk and have a little fun, fever and all.

It pays to have a friend who has just enough sass to make your husband behave amidst all his attempts at goofiness. Goofiness meaning making riduculous faces to ruin the picture.

It pays to have a forgiving friend who doesn't mind while you sneak snacks into your kids in between shots because you neglected to feed them one at home and it is fast approaching dinner hour.

It also pays to have a kind friend who remembers to get the pictures into costco for developing when you have forgotten.

It pays to have a friend that rocks and blows you away with some photos that total capture the essence of your little family. Kaitlyn, you are my hero.

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I want to blow one up for my wall, can you tell me what your favorites are so I can decide which one to choose? I am not good at things like this! Thanks!

one eight hundred

Today was a getting down to business day. Run all the errands, make all the phone calls, sign the power of attorney documents, the real nitty gritty. I'm a procrastinator, big time.
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Probably the most frustrating, poke your eyeballs out stuff is calling all those dang 1-800 numbers. There was a lot of switcheroo-ing. You know, make sure my name is on the accounts, sign up for the civil service act that lowers my interest rate and (GASP) cancelling my direct TV. It was a hoopdi for sure. Especially the cancelling the TV part. First called Verizon to get everything set up only to find (after 15 min) that I had to call direct TV first to officially cancel THEN called Verizon back only to have to RE explain everything to a younger, newer, not as bright representative.
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It was frustrating. Then I kept getting more frustrated that I only had Marcus for one more day and here I was frustrated, which only amped up the frustration level... see the vicious cycle? Plus I have found with the stress creeping in, that I take my emotions out in the most random non-direct ways. Like not being able to find the diaper rash cream--why isn't it every where it is supposed to be? -- why is this nothing ever where I put it? -- dissolve into tears. Or when the toilet paper roll ran out... random misdirected emotional seepage.
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So I was pretty taken aback when after another ridiculous round of "lets see how long we can keep you on hold for before your ear turns numb", my customer service representative said this to me:
"Oh and also Ma'am, on a more personal note, I just want to tell you how grateful I am for the sacrifice that your family will be making. I really appreciate it... from one American to another. I hope everything runs smoothly for you in your husbands absence. You will be in our prayers."
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I was floored. It was exactly what I needed to turn my frown upside down. That and a nice big ice cream cone from Edaleen Dairy. The words we say matter. They can be such a force for good. Her one kind comment of support meant the world to this frazzled lady.

Diaper Snob

When I first had Olivia, I only wanted the very best for her little bum. Her first diapers were Pampers swaddlers, but in all honesty if I could have afforded to adorn her bum in egyptian cotton I probably would have. I was so sold on the Pampers that I wouldn't even think about any other options (in my opinion the swaddlers are so perfect for little babies).
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Both of my girls have inherited my behind. It is quite big, not in the rotund sense more like in the square footage sense. Long and wide and flat. The one thing I am sad about since loosing weight is that now I have a flat bottom, like I am pretty sure I lost 75% of my weight from that region alone. I give you full license to peek the next time you see me because now I am sure you are all curious about the non-existence of my behind... but believe me I morn it's loss, as does my husband. It is also really hard to find jeans that don't look like "Mom jeans". Kaitlyn had to have a few interventions with me on that point. So anyway, because they have the same bum issues (long and flat and wide) it is very easy for them to poop out because their cracks barely end at the top of the diaper. They can regularily been seen with plumber's crack.
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So poop disaster after poop disaster I finally decided that the Pampers (I was using baby dry at this point) were not cutting it. I learned that the Huggies have the elastic waist and rested a little higher above the hips. After trying it out I was SOLD! So perfect for my little Konks and NO MORE BLOWOUTS!

The diapers out there are all so different and I wish I would have taken the time to figure out which one really worked best on my babies, then the one that I wanted to work best. Plus really they are all about the same price (Pampers vs Huggies) so why was I being such a snob? Oh well, you live and learn and then get the diaper that fits your baby's bottom.

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PS-I am really loving the Kirkland brand for Olivia. In those the size 5 is still really big on her, so they fit her comfortably and I get more bang for my buck (unlike the Pampers... she was busting out of their size 6... seriously Pampers must run on the small side).

Genetics

Olivia has crazy bed head. Every morning. Today it was more crazy in the front then in the back.

Bianca's hair is starting to get a little longer now too. Is she also going to rock serious bed head like her sister? Only time will tell...

Surrounded

There are times in life when we feel surrounded. When negative feelings are swirling around you. The bills seem to be magically appearing while the money in the bank account depletes exponentially faster. The kids can't ever seem to be happy. You can't clean fast enough, cook fast enough, no matter how hard you try. Everywhere you turn you feel fenced in.
You know there is blue sky and the sun is shining, but you just can't seem to find it. You are just... surrounded.

You have family and you know that they love you. But sometimes, well maybe a lot of times, it is easy to take that for granted. I know my family would do anything and everything for me. With all this change in the midst of my life right now I have continued to be amazed by our family. Teri and Darrol (Marcus' parents) had a BBQ get together where everyone could get together to say good bye to my husband. They reserved a building at Berthusen and we hung out all afternoon and ate until we couldn't eat no more.

I was blown away. Blown away with all the family that came, from both sides (Radder's and Erickson's). They decked out everything in true army fashion and the feeling was so celebratory.

There have been some negative feelings about this road that we are embarking on, which is totally understandable, it is a HUGE decision. I was mentally prepared for that when we decided to take this course of action. What I was not prepared for was the outpouring of support.

The phone calls checking in to see how we are doing, the invitations to come to dinner, the heartfelt notes. The offering of free babysitting so we could go on a date, clean our house or just be alone together. The helping hands that whipped our yard into tip top shape and detail cleaning of our house in readiness for any potential viewers to drop by.

The gentle hugs with soft spoken words of support, voices telling me they are only a phone call away. The emails from those near and far offering support and help. The big giant bear hugs that feel like they are going to squeeze the life out of me. The smiles... when words just don't seem enough, but in those smiles I am warmed to the core. I have never felt so much love and support. I have never felt so enveloped by the selfless sacrifice of so many. How can anyone deserve this? I am surrounded, and I have never felt more safe. You will never know how you are touching our lives.

When blended families congregate there are copious amounts of pictures. After a while everyone starts to get a little slap happy.

Marcus said they were calendar men... Mr. April and Mr. March.

While Grandpa Richard was taking this photograph he told Marcus and Darrol to think of Megan Fox. To which Marcus replied "Who is Megan Fox?".... to which I then said "Good Answer".

Bianca charmed everyone and just about ate her weight in blueberries. It made for pretty interesting diapers changes this morning. Her little bum is stained blue.

I have been starting to get a little more emotional about it all. We are down to the last week of Daddy in the house. I know everything is going to be okay, that the girls and I will be okay, but I still have my little sad moments. They tend to hit me when I least expect it, but I will not let myself wallow. Even with a temporary separation upon us I really feel like this is a happy and exciting time in our lives. After debating for a while about a career change it is so exhilarating to know the path that you are supposed to be on. To have a plan mapped out.

I allow myself to feel to sadness when it creeps in, but when that moment is over I pick myself up, hug and kiss my family and try to come up with a fun adventure we can go on together. Whether it be to the park, Edaleen dairy, reading some books or playing tag. We are going to live it up this week, enjoy every moment, so we can hold on to it. Then when I do feel sad again I can look back here and read about it all. Remind myself of all the people who love me and who are there for me.

How truly blessed we are to have the friends and family that we do. You are impacting our lives in ways that you can never imagine and we will be forever grateful.

More of the Party

There were just too many pictures to put into one post and I really want to remember this night!
It was photo crazed, so many shots of so many people. Here is a group shot of the siblings

Candice pretty much rocks. She made a rice crispy cake into a tank in honor of the nights festivities. She even made her own fondant for it! Complete with an army guy sitting on the top. And oh my did it taste good!

Here is Mr. Tank surrounded by his infantry.

It was so laid back with so much time for conversation. Just easy and natural, so perfect.

I don't know if this was meant to be part of the decoration, but intended or not I love how there was this sunblock stick set out amongst all the little army guys! It's gonna be hotter than hades at Ft. Jackson so I thought this was very fitting!

I was absolutely floored at all the decorations that they had set up. Teri said she just went to the recruiters office and told them her son was leaving in a week and they loaded her up! They had information set out about army life, Marcus' job and even some cute pictures of when he was little.

Teri and Darrol put in so much work to make such a wonderful BBQ for everyone. There was mountains of food, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, salads, fruit and veggies, chips and fresh salsa, it all tasted so amazing!

I didn't notice this sign up until half way through the party, it is now sitting in their front lawn.

Olivia had so much fun playing with all the family! She was just beaming all night, even without having a nap that day! She especially had fun with "Auntie Shelly" (Michelle) her namesake. Teri and Michelle had Olivia a lot on Friday and Saturday. Olivia even took naps with her Auntie on Friday and it's been "Auntie this..." and "Grandma that..." ever since.

Bud and Great Grandma Radder

Little Bianca, so happy all the time!! The only downside is there weren't very many opportunities for Konks to crawl around and this girl is go-go-go, so that got a little frustrating for her but she had huge smiles for anyone that so happened to glance her way.

Grandma Teri even brought fun games for the kids to play with, Olivia was so sad to leave her that night. She just kept begging to go to Grandma Teri's house!

Marcus with almost all of his sisters (Ann lives in California). Candice, Darlene and Michelle.

Thanks to everyone that came, we had so much fun!

"Ah, summer...."

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." Russel Baker

I am loving how all this vitamin D is making feel as golden and happy as this smiley sun. I do not like how unmotivated the heat makes me feel in regards to any kind of house work or productiveness.
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I have little to no appetite when it is hot like this, nothing sounds good unless it is ice cold fruit or otter pops. If we ever get stationed somewhere hot I don't think I will have any problems maintaining my weight loss... I might even loose a couple more pounds.
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All I did yesterday (besides parent my children) was read a book (HUNGER GAMES.... oh my heck... SO GOOD), drink crystal light and graze cold watermelon chunks. Today I am going to attempt to be a little bit more productive!

Her Job

No matter how many times I put all the couch cushions back together on the couch, she will take them apart to rearrange them how she thinks they should go. Couch cushions and chair cushions intermingling. Blankets going where cushions should be, all the cushions piled high into a tall pillowy seat for a giant.
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Then she also sees it as her job to take off any article of clothing that I put on her (when we are at home). I even have loungy shorts and shirts that are more comfortable for... well... for lounging about our house, but even those come off minutes after they adorn her skin. So her uniform is just her in her diaper, prancing about my house, rearranging all my couch cushions.
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I can't say I blame her, I would love to able to just prance around the house in my underwear all day with my biggest task to decide how the couch cushions should be adjusted.
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It's a hard job but somebody has to do it.

Crazy House of Nicknames part 2

Our nicknames tend to be evolutionary. Besides Konks, which is fairly obvious and only stuck because it was Olivia's nickname contribution, we seem to take the road less traveled on the nickname department. Olivia's nickname is a prime example.
It started when we would sing crazy made up songs for her when she was a baby. Rhyming types of songs
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Olivia, my shmolivia
Riviera Oliviera
Oliviera Arriviera
Arrivederci my little DERCI
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And then one day Marcus just started calling her Derci all the time, then I started calling her that too. Then all of a sudden she was big and tall and walking and talking and calling HERSELF Derci... like in the third person...
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"Mommy? Mommy! Yook Mommy, Derci is dancing!"

"Mommy, Yook, Derci so pwetty now"

"Derci is SAD"

"Derci be careful with Konka" (while trying to stuff her into a suitcase)

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In case you are wondering arrivederci is Italian meaning till we meet again or farewell. No we are not Italian, we just know random foreign language words, after singing to her about riviera's it just kinda fit in the song.
Pronunciation click here , and it is just the last part, not the whole word.
Also I think she likes it so much because it is way easier for her to say than Olivia. Olivia is quite the tongue twister for toddlers.
So now you know!

"... and the rockets red glare..."

4th of July was so fun! Church was awesome and I was baby less for the last hour and actually got to listen to the lesson during Relief Society, which is always a plus. After naps we got all gussied up and met our dear friend Kaitlyn at WCC to take some family pictures before my man leaves. They turned out so great, I will be sure to post them when Kaitlyn is done editing them.
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Olivia was feeling a tad under the weather, but there is nothing like a little firework action while the rain starts to drizzle to lighten ones spirits!
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Trevor filled our bellies with flap jacks AKA crepes (do you pronounce it CRAYP or CREP?? Don't worry Kaitlyn... I know how YOU think it should be said...)

Then we went to a super fun place to watch the super fun fireworks with our super fun friends.

We cuddled and bundled up to keep warm and fight off the mosquito's. It was so cozy and so fun.

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We went rounds about whether we loved being out for the fireworks, or we didn't love it. At first we loved it, the kids played, the adults talked. Then it started getting cold and we didn't love it. Then some fireworks started to go off and we loved it again. Then the mosquito's started biting and then we didn't love it. Then we didn't think we would be able to see the big show and REALLY didn't love it. Then Blainey said the fireworks were beautiful while Olivia fell asleep on Marcus' lap and then we loved it again. Then Isla started to get over tired and not happy and we didn't love it so much. Then some hoodlum kids scared the crap out of us with their firework negligence and we didn't love it. Just as we were about to call it a night the BIG show started and we all ended the evening feeling like we loved it the whole time.

Bianca, meanwhile, slept peacefully in the stroller after "Uncle Kaykin" walked her to sleep...even during all the firework booming and ker-powing. Olivia LOVES her Uncle Kaykin (Kaitlyn), we love the nickname so we make sure to reinforce it at home so it will stick ;) (IE: Olivia are you excited to go to Uncle Kaykin's house??")
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We also may or may not have gone to Edaleen again for ice cream tonight. We may or may not have been there two days ago. We may or may not have a problem.

My name is Vashti.... and I am an ice cream-aholic.

"...at the twilight's last gleaming"

There is something so perfect about summertime and slurping big ice cream cones. Sitting out on picnic benches and talking, watching girls whose pants are stained red from berry picking walking past to get the largest ice cream cone that they sell. After dinner last night (at the twilight's last gleaming as it were) we headed out to Edaleen dairy to get our daily dose of calcium (and sugar) and invited Grandpa Radder and Great Grandma Radder to join in on the fun. And BOY was it ever!!
This little girl has got it figured out. She knows exactly how to work her magic on Grandpa to steal pretty much any food he might be eating.

I ate my ice cream pretty fast, but it sure made me happy! Olivia was helping Mommy to take pictures that night.

We had so much fun just sitting there and talking, enjoying each other's company. Discussing big events that are ahead on the horizon, feeling the support that our family is giving to us through this time.

Grandpa had a pretty big ice cream cone... I'm pretty sure that he only got like two bites of it whilst this innocent looking baby danged near gobbled the whole thing. She's a messy eater, Grandpa doesn't seem to mind.

My big little girl is always so shy, even when she knows the person, it takes her a while to warm up to the situation. We were just starting to coax some smiles out of her at this point. Nobody better to bring out those smiles than her Daddy. It's getting close folks, in two short weeks my man will be heading off to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training.

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It's starting to get crazy around here, almost reaching a fever pitch as we scramble to get everything squared away for his absence. I am so proud of the man, husband and Daddy that he is. I am so proud of his desire to serve our great country. It is going to be hard for him to be away, but I continue to take GREAT comfort in the fact that I know that this is direction Heavenly Father wants for our lives right now. Even though there are so many details not quite figured out yet I remain calm because I just know that everything will work out the way that they need to, that it will all be okay. I am just trying to cherish every minute that I can get with him, while I can get it.

I'm pretty sure that ice cream tastes better when you have half of your cone on your face, I'm pretty sure there have been scientific studies on this point. Try it if you don't believe me.

Flavors of choice were vanilla/strawberry swirl, almond, blackberry and raspberry cheesecake. The almond was to DIE FOR, seriously perfection in frozen dairy form.

Konks had ice cream dripping down her chest to her diaper, and she was in absolute heaven. It was so perfect, such a great kickstart to our Fourth of July Festivities. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful holiday weekend!

Magical McMagicalness

Tomorrow I have a date with destiny, and it will involve vampires and wereboys
I just love how you know that a day is going to be awesome. I know that I will scream and ooh and aah like some hormone crazed 13 year old. I know I will eat yummy food. I will stand in line to get my most perfect seat and not even care that I am a Mom to two kids amoungst a sea of teenagers. No manner of cheesy dialogue or lingering stares (from the characters in the movie, not the people watching the movie with me... well actually...) will slow down this fun train.
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It's going to be awesome.

I'm going to love it.

I can't wait!