Fell behind with February

Sorry! I just realized that I didn't write ANY blogs for February. I know this is both surprising and sad (at least I would like to think someone out there is disappointed by my falling behind). Between a tough sociology class, keeping up with the girls, gloomy weather, the wedding of my brother Danny, and the stresses of everyday life I haven't had the time or energy to blog. Luckily with the coming of Spring however, I am feeling like I can write again.

Valentines Day; We love Valentines Day. Even though you never need a reason to tell someone you love them, there is just something about having one or two days a year that are special and for this purpose. Shayne and I like to buy Danelle a bear every year with the year on it for V-day. It was fun to start this tradition with Kaitlyn as well. We also gave them each a balloon and card with a personalized message inside just for them. They wore new sweaters that day that Uurtsaikh's mother gave them. They looked so cute and enjoyed the day.

Shayne and I bought our gifts last minute. I decided it was time to get him a water pitcher with a filter inside. He had been telling me that he wanted to stop drinking soda and I figured that this water pitcher would be just the thing he would need to cut back or stop altogether. Shayne had a very thoughtful idea for my gift; he spent some time on the computer compiling a bunch of our love songs for a CD. We have many of them, and it was great to know that he still remembered and brought back some of the romance that remembered when we were first dating and in our earlier years. Shayne can be very romantic. He also has EXCELLENT taste in flowers and I was so happy to find a huge bunch of the most beautiful flowers and Whitman's chocolates just for me. We enjoyed a lunch at Sizzler, and had an overall wonderful day.

Elle and I took the opportunity to let our family know that we love them too! We made some very special Valentines for our closest friends and family and delivered them that day and the next. It was a wonderful Valentines Day. We hope you had a good one too!

Eczema and Flower Shaped Confetti

Kaitlyn just had a couple of fun experiences at the doctor lately. About a month ago, we noticed that Kaitlyn had a rash developing on her back. I picked apart my brain trying to figure out what I had given that child to eat or what she might have come in contact with to start such a horrible rash! I decided to wait a week, and if it hadn't improved to take her in. The rash came and went, and I was getting more and more frustrated with it! I couldn't get rid of it. Then the opportunity came to take her to the doctor and get it checked out.

When I say the opportunity came, I really mean in the form of an "emergency." Elle had just brought home a poster with a hundred hard flower confetti's on them to celebrate their 100 days of school. Shayne was on the computer and I had just stepped out of the room to start some dinner, and in the time it took for me to go in the kitchen and Shayne to turn around to start his shift babysitting - Kaitlyn had taken one of the hard confetti's off the poster board and had it in her mouth. Before he got the chance to take it out, Kaitlyn had swallowed the little thing.

She was breathing just fine, but was gagging and throwing up. She did this for a while and after a brief phone call with the doctor, they told me to take her to the emergency room. I met my mom at Mountain View Hospital in Payson, but by that time she had stopped her choking and seemed fine for the most part. They wanted to check her out though, just to be sure it hadn't gone into her lungs.

Watching little Kaitlyn get her x ray was so funny. She layed flat without a tear or any kind of coaxing whatsoever. She was the BEST BABY in the ER. Danelle STILL flips out to see the doctor, even if she knows FOR A FACT they will not hurt her. Danelle has been this way almost from birth. Kaitlyn however just sat down, let the doctors examine her and kept the same cute smile on her face. She is so small, we only needed one x-ray to do the job.

Luckily the confetti was on it's way through the bowels and not in her lungs which would have meant instant surgery. We were lucky and happy for this. The doctor took a look at the rash last saying it was just dry skin an to apply moisturizer. I wish he would have been more specific that it is actually eczema and how to treat it, sparing us a trip to her pediatrician only a few days later because it had gotten worse (probably from the perfumed moisturizers I had been rubbing all over her).

Everything is under control now though and her skin is just as pretty as ever. Learning that she has eczema has been a challenge though. I switched her laundry soap, baby wash, and apply Eucerin cream twice a day and hydrocortizone cream for itches when needed. Little Kaitlyn is a lot of work, but such a happy baby and great blessing for our family. We love her so much! She is definitely worth the extra trouble!

Mighty Mouse

Lately our family has had a sixth member. A smaller, pesky, unwelcome member. We like to call him "Mighty Mouse." I swear the little bugger escaped from NYMH and can outsmart any attempt to catch him. We caught one of his "friends" the other day, but Mighty Mouse lives on!

Shayne has laid out different kinds of traps, but none is a good match for this mouse. It even manages to hide it's poop where I can't see it. In fact, I actually didn't believe there was a mouse for a long time - until Shayne finally took a picture of it one early morning he got up to "wait for it" and prove to me that there was indeed a mouse.

Here's the thing about Shayne; he does not like PESTS. Mice, flies, mosquito's, ants, anything like that is almost like his O.C.D. They cannot co-exist with him. This means late nights sometimes trying to catch that one last fly buzzing around the house. It may mean pulling the car over to squat the mosquito on the dash and HEAVEN FORBID you ever leave the door open for too long and let something in! In a good way though, this means that my house has been pest free as long as I have known Shayne.

I don't know how much longer we (Shayne) can stand having this mouse around the house. I don't know how much longer I can tolerate having a trap around every corner of the house either. Poor Shayne is losing sleep (and claims Daisy is too) knowing that the little rodent is scampering around somewhere. Shayne even claims to "hear it" all during the night. It's been good for a few laughs, but the little thing has to go. Fingers crossed we can catch it soon.

Welcome to Another Boring January...

Shayne said it best on his January Facebook status; "Welcome to another boring January." A summary of 2011 so far; New Years Eve was spent at our home with my sister in law Sarah and her two girls Kaede and Arisa. We played Monopoly Deal for hours (I won every time!) and ate a lot of food! It was a great way to ring in the new year!

Later on, Elle and I had an SEOP with her teacher. She is doing very well in school; already knows all her letter sounds and is reading on her own in her in class reading program. We are proud of this great accomplishment! Her teacher told us that she is always on task but has a problem with "chatting" which really sounds like her.

Kaitlyn cut her first two teeth which made Shayne and I extremely happy after terrible time to cut them. She learned to sit well, and within a week later was crawling across the floor! Last night (January 30) she even went the entire night without waking up to eat which made for a very happy Mommy. Kaitlyn is growing up so fast!

Shayne looks so different lately in his new glasses! We have known for a little while now that he needed them but after failing the eye test at the DMV, we knew we couldn't ignore it much longer. He looks great and even though he won't admit it, I think he wears them proudly!

I have been overwhelmingly busy in my new class. Some teachers like thrive on their students having a lot of busy work and I am in such a class. I am learning a lot, but looking forward to it being done. I have also started new workouts on Fit TV on Demand and trying to get in shape for the summer.

We are looking forward to February though; Valentines Day is coming up but mostly because Danny and his fiance Dawn will be married February 11 with a reception on February 12. I have been asked to be a bridesmaid and I can't wait :). The year has gotten off to a good start and I can't wait to see what good things await us!

Happy New Year - Welcome 2011

2010 was an interesting year. For Laura, the year proved to be a good one with the birth of our new baby Kaitlyn, and starting the University of Phoenix. Danelle had a great year by turning five, getting a baby sister, graduating preschool and starting Kindergarten, going on vacations, swimming at Seven Peaks, and taking piano lessons. Kaitlyn had a great year as she learned about this world around her and can now roll, almost crawl, and say Mama.

As a family we had some great moments as well. Shayne's Mom graduated in April this year with her Master's Degree, my parents moved back in May 2010, our trip to Hatch and Disneyland, Danny becoming engaged, Patrick returning home from a mission, and finding out that Jessica and Tyler were pregnant, due in January.

We are hoping 2011 will be Shayne's year! He had a really rough year in 2010 looking for work, but we know that good times are ahead. Shayne is scheduled to graduate this year. We have waited and worked long and hard for this day to come and can't wait for school to be behind him. This will make looking for work easier, and we hope that by the end of 2011 we will have a good idea of where we are going.

As a family, we made some resolutions for the year during our family home evening. Here are just a few;

Elle -
*learn to read. (She is already doing so well in this area! She just need to build her confidence in herself and she will soar at reading!)
*Keep reading the Book of Mormon every night (we hope she will finish by the time she is eight years old and her baptism)
*Learn to ride a bike with no training wheels
*Be more kind and polite to her parents and family
*Get a hamster. (Yeah.... I don't know HOW I should feel about this one!)

Shayne -
*Get a job
*Move to a bigger home
*Graduate school
*Take family on a vacation

Laura -
*I need to be more patient
*Spend more quality time with family
*Go to temple at least once a month
*Be more active in my ward (as in going to Relief Society Enrichment nights,Volunteering more, getting to know sisters, etc)
*Be physically active and fit - bike rides with the girls, walks, etc.

Obviously we have personal goals I didn't put on here too, but these are just a few. We are excited for our new year. We are already thrilled about 2011 and to welcome Jessica and Tyler's new baby into the family with little Tayler coming soon, and Danny and Dawn getting married February 11. We can't wait for what 2011 will bring! GO 2011!!!

A December to Remember

December for the Munn's was very busy. We were so inspired by seizing the Halloween season, that we did our best to seize the Christmas season too. It kept us hoppin, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

We started our season out with our Monday nights. Family Home evenings were all spent with a Christmas theme; putting our Christmas tree up, driving around looking at Christmas lights and drinking cocoa, thinking of and making service coupons for each other for the Twelve Days of Christmas, and delivering cookies to our friends and neighbors. These "fun" family home evenings we looked forward to and it broke from the usual lesson plans that we use for the rest of the year. We also started a tradition for Family Home Evening nights and ate our dinners in the living room on tv trays watching Christmas movies.

I spend the season baking every laundry day. I baked many mini loaves of breads; pumpkin chip, white, and cinnamon raisin. The last laundry day of the month, I cooked three batches of cookies; peanut butter with Hershey kisses, chocolate chip, and pumpkin chip. Elle had her share of baking and decorating cookies too as she helped me bake and got to decorate her own sugar cookies for Santa.

Elle and I also filled our home with the sounds of a couple Christmas songs and music. Danelle was playing "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and Laura with "Angels we have Heard on High." These piano pieces were played at Grandma LaTurner's piano recital December 18. We were so proud of Danelle for being so brave, practicing all the time, and doing such a wonderful job! I am also proud to say that I stepped out of my comfort zone to sing for my ward's Relief Society Christmas Dinner. My visiting teacher and I sang "Oh Come all ye Faithful," and it turned out so beautiful (I thought).

Every year, Grandma and Grandpa Burrows have a Christmas party the Sunday before Christmas. It's always been the same day for years, and I plan on it without even needing to be invited. We went to Ogden and enjoyed the company of our relatives; aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, parents, and cousins. We eat a huge turkey dinner, play the "Left, Right" game, and exchange small gifts (my breads). We enjoyed the evening and it lead right into a great week of Christmas.

Shayne and I spent the week of Christmas watching ALL our Christmas movies. It was really fun to stay up late and watch some of our favorite Christmas movies. Christmas with the Kranks, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, The Grinch, Christmas Carol, and so many more.

Thursday, after all a huge snowstorm seemed to pause, we went to Salt Lake City to see the lights at temple square with Danny, Dawn, Uncle Brett, Aunt Chris, and Grandma Tubbs. We met at my aunt's new house and drank hot cocoa, cheese balls and crackers, and shrimp. We met at the UTA Trax Station and rode to Temple Square. I am embarrassed to admit this but we have never been to the Salt Lake City Temple lights before, but I think it will be a fun tradition in the future. Elle really enjoyed seeing where we were married, and seeing all the many lights and displays they had. Kaitlyn seemed to enjoy herself also.

The night of Christmas Eve finally came after much anticipation. We spent the night with the Munn family. After eating a wonderful Turkey and Ham dinner, we gathered in the living room to start our traditional Nativity play. Every year, I go through my house finding the right "costumes" for the girls to wear as we tell the story of the Nativity and birth of our Savior. The girls love to get in the outfits, and take their roles quite seriously. Danelle was the Angel this year, Arisa played Mary, Kaede played a shepherd, and little Kaitlyn played baby Jesus. Shayne helped us out by being Joesph, Mom and myself wore animal hats and played the Nativity animals, and Patrick, Ashley (Patrick's girlfriend), and Sarah were our wise men. It was so fun reading from our children's bible to narrate the play.

After the play, it was present time! Kaede and Arisa were spending the holiday with their Dad, so we wanted them to open their presents that night (and then it turned out we ALL opened our presents too). The room was filled with paper, screams, and giggles as everyone tore into their presents. We all left with boxes and bags full of gifts.

In our family, it is a tradition to put luminaries on the graves of our dear loved ones who have passed on. Shayne, Elle, Kaitlyn and myself did this earlier that day in Lehi as we put some luminaries on my Dad's, Grandma and Grandpa, and Grandma Gordon's gravesides. We sang "Rudolf the Red Nosed Raindeer" and "We Wish you a Merry Christmas." It is such a good feeling driving away feeling the love that we remembered them. So - later that night, we did the same with the graves in Salem with Shayne's parents and siblings. We sang "Silent Night" and "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" for Grandma Underwood. It was very special.

Following the luminaries, we drove to Salem Pond to enjoy their lights on the Pond. Not long after we were at home putting out egg nog and cookies for Santa and waiting for a great tomorrow; Christmas Day. Not before long, I heard Danelle wake up, and it was CHRISTMAS MORNING!

This Christmas morning had a different feel to it. In the past, Danelle would see her presents, and we would rush out the door to visit family and join them in their breakfast. This year, with no missionary to call first thing in the morning (for the first time in our married life!) we enjoyed the morning at home together. I tried to cook a nice breakfast; the hashbrowns and eggs turned out great... my bacon however.... anyway! It was good and we were all full and ready to get cleaned up to open presents.

Kaitlyn FINALLY woke up at 2:00 that afternoon, and we began opening our gifts. We were really blessed this year, and the girls enjoyed all the gifts. Shayne and I got a couple last minute gifts for one another, but all in all it was a perfect morning. Once all the gifts were opened it was off to the Munn's for a visit, and then to my Mom's house later that night for dinner and our gift exchanges.

Each of our families this year drew names to save money. The idea was to buy one "better, bigger gift" than a lot of little ones, and to make it cheaper in the long run. For the Burrows/Laturner family, we drew individual names. Shayne drew Monyka and got her some awesome Sanuk Surfer Shoes that she loved. I drew Dad's name and enjoyed buying him his favorite golf ball, Titlist Pro V1's with TONY LATURNER #1 GOLFER written on them. Shayne got a kick out of wrapping his gift in a lot of boxes and covered in duct tape. Dawn drew my name and I got so many wonderful gifts! First, the Perfect Brownie maker! I have seen it on TV many times, and had to try it out since the brownie is my favorite dessert. I also got a lotion and body wash from Bath and Body Works, a Aloha sea shell ornament, and a box of Hawaiian Host Chocolate Covered Macadamia's. David drew Shayne and gave him an Amazon gift card; which is perfect for Shayne.

By the end of the night we were all full and tired (all but Danelle who wanted to play toys all night long). It was a great Christmas, and it was one to remember in so many ways. I was sad to see it go, but am excited for the new year ahead and another Christmas in one year! Merry Christmas! We hope it was a great one!

Tough Choices

Deciding to be a Mom and homemaker; that was easy. If only it were that easy though. If only I could stay at home with my children, raising them, caring for them, and not have to worry about money, obligations with bills, becoming debt free, or WORK. Life as we all know is very unexpected. The past six years have been unexpected for our family in every way.

Some good came from it though... The best thing was Shayne deciding to go back to school and for his choice to get into the medical field - something that is always in demand. Shayne graduates in May 2011 with his degree in Health Care Administration with an emphasis in Biochemical Technologies from Steven's Henager College. I couldn't be more proud. The hope is by this time next year, December 2011, our financial troubles will be a thing of the past and our family will FINALLY have the stability it so needs.

In a perfect world, I could assume my life will be easier from that point forward, but I am very wary this idea. The unexpected always happens. The economy is a frightening thing right now. Job Loss is at an all time high, and more and more people are finding it difficult to find work. Not to mention the horrible thought(heaven forbid!) if something were to happen to Shayne, I would have to provide for my two children all on my own. Would I be happy managing a Payless Shoe Source or Taco Time for the rest of my life???

This thought and other thoughts like it SCARED ME; enough to get some good out of it. I decided to go back to school. I started last month at University of Phoenix Axia Online College. Lucky for me, I already had my Associates Degree, so two more years in school wouldn't be so bad; possibly even four years in school if I decide to go for the Masters Degree.

Deciding what I would be happy doing the rest of my life; HARD. Medical being always in demand, at first I thought I would be happiest as a nurse (like my sister), or something I can do at home such as Medical Billing and Coding. Well, I am not a big fan of blood, needles, and such so nursing would be a horrible fit for me. I read more about Medical Billing and found out that it is not as wonderful as it sounds either. After a lot of thought, I decided to open my own Preschool. It's something I have thought about for years. Then I took it a step further - an Elementary School Teacher (so I can get benefits also). After reading my Patriarchal Blessing and some prayer, I knew that this is where I am meant to be the rest of my life.

I am excited with my choice. Seeing Danelle in school and being back in that environment from time to time makes me all the more excited. I am taking notes about cute things her school and teacher are doing to make learning fun, and I hope that I will be an excellent teacher. I have to admit that even when I am shopping now and I notice a festive vest, I think; "when I am teacher I will wear those!" I love the idea of being home when the girls are and getting all the holidays (except teacher days) off with them. I look forward to our summers together.

So - I begin the next chapter in my life; SCHOOL. Hopefully in 2013, or as late as 2015 for a Masters Degree, I will be posting a picture of me in my gradation cap. Wish me luck - the fun is just beginning.