Fourth times a charm????

So I am hoping my fourth time on antibiotics (Since mid November) is a charm...PLEASE! The first of December I got a filling in my back molar that was a pretty bad cavity, but the tooth was alive and seemed great...until Monday. My jaw had actually been aching for over a month, but the dentist and I thought it was something else (my dentist and I are becoming great friends..I feel like I am there all the time lately.) So Saturday and Sunday night I did not sleep well because my mouth hurt. By Monday morning I was counting down the time to call the office. Advil was not taking away any pain, nor Loratab, so I was at my max. He was out of town but I called him on his cel and he got me a z pack and referred me to a specialist. I called and was lucky they had an opening the next day. By Monday night I was in so much pain I could not sleep. I was worried about all the pain killers I was taking and how it would effect Mique, but she seems fine. Tuesday I almost did not send James to school because I did not even think that I could get up to get her off. I called the specialist and they could not get me in any sooner, and the first visit was just an initial exam...I needed treatment! I was throwing up I was in so much pain. I just wanted to cry...and actually did. I finally called a friend...another dentist at the practice and asked him to help me. He prescribed me a stronger pain med, but that barely took the edge off. He got me in a couple hours later and opened the tooth and started the root canal. Wednesday the specialist finished it and I am doing so much better! Root canals get a bad name, but it is the pain that led up to it that is horrible, the procedure was such a relief. I am so lucky to have good friends help me when I need and ask, and great family (MOM!) to step in and help with the kids and everything so I can recover. It has not been my year, but I am so blessed to be surrounded by the people that I am!

Miquelyn's new trick

All the other kids started sitting up a little by five months and really well by six months. I have not really worked with Miquelyn, yet, and decided last week maybe I should. Well, less than a week later my little baby can sit up for extended periods of time. It seems like she is growing up too quick. She never has been a fan of rolling, but then again none of the kids have. She just wants to be so grown up, and as much as I want to hold her back, there is no doing that. My little Mique is not staying so little.

Devil/Angel

Asher has been been giving me a run for my money. He figured out that if he pushed the chair to the kitchen counters he could get up on them and have access to a whole new world. The first time he played with Mique's baby oatmeal. I took it away, cleaned it up, chastised him and went about my day. The next day he did the same thing only the rest of the box of oatmeal was all over the table and chair. He got in even more trouble and told very strenly not to do it again. I was about at my limit with the trouble and messes he had been causing. Yesterday I found him again on the counter tops only this time an entire bottle of oil oil was everywhere. It is a good thing he had a diaper on or his little behind would have hurt. I then found a patch of carpet that he had rubbed pink playdo into...now I was over the edge. My voice was as loud as it could get. At that moment I wanted to walk away from being a mom just for a moment. Tonight the face of the little devil turned into the voice of a little angel. I put him to bed but he was not ready to sleep. I walked by later and heard, "Mamma, I want you." I walked in and told him I was right there. He said, "Mamma I want to hold you." I got down in bed with him to give him cuddles. He then directed me as to how exactly he wanted me to hold him. It was so sweet to lay with my little boy in good spirits and not feeling angry at him. I love those little lips that give me sweet kisses and the tight squeezes when he hugs me. He can be a little angel!

My Favorite Color

Favorite is a difficult term for me for some reason. When asked what my favorite ____ is I usually respond I do not have a favorite. I said that many years about my favorite color. That has changed. I started to think about what my favorite color was as a child. Though I loved pink and anything with a lot of lace (shocking I know) my favorite color for a long time was red. That changed one day when someone told me that I could not wear red, it did not look good on me. So, I abandoned having a favorite color. That is until I started dating Grant. With the last name Allred I rekindled my love of the color red. There is no question now that it is my all time favorite! One just needs to look at the amount of red shoes Jamison has owned. I love red for so many reasons. It is such a happy cheery color. It reminds me of lady bugs, which I have always loved. I love red tulips, they are so beautiful! Red also happens to be the color of the last school from which I graduated. I love Jamison's red glasses, the way she looks in them makes me smile! The way leaves look when they are turning red is beautiful. I wish I could pull off red lipstick, but I cannot. I love the look of a shiny new red car or truck, but would never want to maintain one. It also takes me to one of the main colors of Christmas (my favorite holiday...but that is for another entry.) Needless to say red is my favorite color and there are so many wonderful associations I have with this particular color.

Why I love the people with whom I run

After our Saturday long run I got thinking about how much I love running with those with whom I run. Here it goes:

Christi: She is smoking good, faster than anyone I know, yet she will slow it down to my pace in order to have good conversation. Though, what I love the most is that even though she is so amazing, she never makes anyone feel like she is better than them. She is always interested, supportive and super encouraging.

Chelsey: We were talking the other week and realized that it has been about 15 years since she has run...but it has not stopped her from trying. I remember not that long ago she thought she could not even run a mile...and yet a couple of days ago she did 9! She is not afraid to run her pace..she is being smart, I love that! She has monster blisters, but it has not stopped her. I love the joy on her face when she finishes a long run, it gets me excited all over again.

Britney: Self proclaimed sprinter has shown her ability to endure and kick butt at the distance. We started the running adventure a little over two years ago, and we have motivated each other unspoken amounts. I would not have made most of the 6am runs if it were not for her. She even picked me back up as a running buddy after a break with Miquelyn. I love that she pushes through her asthma and has done more in the last month and a half than she probably thought she could. I love her drive!

Grant: Well there are so many reasons why I love Grant, but I will stick to the running related ones today. I am so glad he wanted to run this race with me, though in reality he is going to run this race ahead of me. He always claims to be a non-runner, but he has blown me away. He is doing so well (despite blisters too) and can manage his pace better than anyone I know. He will slow it down a bit just to be with me. I have to admit I was kinda sad when he ended up doing so well...I so wanted to be better than him at something, but alas he shows me up once again. I actually am so proud of him I can barely stand it. When I run with him I push myself harder than I would with anyone else. As almost always, having him by my side makes me work harder and makes me a better person!

There are so many things I have learned from running, and several spiritual experiences as a result. My love for these people and the things they teach me make this experience even more rewarding.

The Worst Date I Ever Had

I am sad to admit that there have been many bad dates...ranging from after ten minutes into a date becoming a girl friend of someone I did not even really know or care to continue to know, being tricked into going to the temple (obviously with a guy I did not like at all) 2 1/2 hours away in a car with no air conditioning and only am radio, to very uncomfortable blind dates. But when I thought of my worst date ever, one particular one popped into my mind. It was the summer before I left to college. A guy from Kirtland that I kinda liked, and we kissed (by the way the worst kisser ever!) He asked me out on a double date to go miniature golfing and dinner I believe. I, for some stupid reason, did not take my wallet. When we got to the miniature golf place and got in line to buy tickets, it quickly became evident that my date had no intention at all to pay for me. So, I had to swallow my little pride and ask if I could borrow money from him and I would pay him back when I got home. He was nice enough, ha ha, to do just that. When I got home he waited around for me to get the cash and pay him back. Needless to say we never did anything together again! So yes, that was a pretty bad date!

New way to Journal/Blog

We recently had an enrichment activity about journaling. I did not go, but got the handouts on Sunday. With it there was a list of questions to journal about yourself. I started reading them and thought it would be fun to take the time to write the answers down. For some reason I have this fear that something will happen to me and my kids will not totally know who I was. I figure this is a good way to write things, memories, experiences in my own words and have it be a way for my children to get to know who I was/am in a more intimate way. There are a lot of questions, and it could easily take me a year to get through them all, but I think it will be fun. Here is to the intimate details of the life of Brittani.