When will I learn?

Just because the Reese's cups and Hershey's kisses are wrapped in harvest-colored foil and look so pretty, it doesn't mean I'm going to simply look at them and not be tempted to eat them. 

Just because the York patties are shaped like pumpkins and the center is dyed orange, it doesn't mean they're any better for me. Of course York is one of the least-fattening and therefore best candies out there, but not with the amount I can throw down. Orange, white, or plaid--I just need to leave them alone.

Just because the M&Ms are orange & black now and so festive, it doesn't mean I have to buy them. Next month they'll be red & green, then red & pink, then red, white, & blue (am I forgetting anything?). And they all taste the same anyway. Which is delish, but that's not the point . . . 

Just because I have super cute Halloween decor for my buffet table which looks even cuter filled with all these Autumn treats (love the tin jack-o-lantern with the wrapper colors peeking through--LOVE it!), it doesn't mean the candy is going to stay in there looking cute. Of course not!! I'm going to tell the kids to quit eating it, then I'm going to eat it myself. 

Really, when am I going to learn? Sigh. It isn't even October 1st. How is my sweet tooth going to make it sensibly another 31 days?!?

Here and now--I'm making a pledge. Are you ready? I've done this before, so I know I can do it again. 

{Deep breath}

I'm quitting sugar. Oh, yes. As of right now, I'm done. No refined sugar for 30 days. If I'm good, I can eat candy ONLY ON HALLOWEEN. 

So there it is--in writing for all of blogosphere to see. Now I really have to do it.

Two new nieces

My sweet little Jace has recently been trumped as the baby of my extended family. In fact, he jumped from the bottom of the pile to third youngest in just over 12 hours.

A week ago Sunday, my mom called me. She typically calls on Sunday--it's kind of been a tradition ever since I was in college. We talk other times during the week too, but for sure on Sunday. The only thing that struck me as weird was that she was calling from her cell phone. I immediately asked why she was on her cell, and she replied, "Here, I've got someone I want you to talk to." I just knew there was a new bambina in the family--but which one?

I thought for sure she was going to hand the phone to my sister-in-law Amie who was just a couple days shy of her due date. Instead, my sister Leah gets on the phone, and she wasn't due for three and a half more weeks! Lucky punk! In three pregnancies, I don't think she's ever gone past 37 weeks. She has more than made up for it though with complications--pre-eclampsia with her first who was almost 2 months premature, and now post-eclampsia with this baby. (Sorry sis! Glad to hear you're both doing well now.)

Vittoria Lynne

September 21, 8:50 p.m.

6 lb 14 oz, 21" 

Well, apparently Amie and baby Ruby weren't going to let Leah and baby Tori have the limelight all to themselves. Twelve hours and 25 minutes later, another sweet baby came into our family. My youngest brother Jake is now a first-time dad! 

Ruby Katherine

September 22, 9:15 a.m.

8 lb 9 oz, 21"

After I told the kids that they had two new baby girl cousins, Aubrey asked if we could go to Utah. Umm, not today, and probably not until next summer. She didn't like that answer. 

A--But maaah-aaahm, I want to hold my new baby cousins.

M--You can still hold them in the summer. They'll still be your baby cousins.

A--Yeah, but they won't be teeny weeny like they are now.

You're right kiddo. Sorry. 

Speaking of teeny weeny, Lincoln started praying for a baby sister this past summer when we were in Utah. I think it was from spending so much time with his girl cousins. My kids have 8 girl cousins and only 2 boy cousins on my side of the family. I guess he liked hanging out with all of those girls.

I remember the first time he asked for a sister was after the July 24th fireworks at my parent's house. He was going to the bathroom, getting ready for bed, and asked me if he could have a baby sister. Exasperated, I told him he'd better pray and ask Jesus. 

And pray he did. Right there on the toilet. I'm not kidding. 'Dear Heavenyee Fader, pees can I have a beebee sista?' When he was finished, he looked at me with his big blue eyes (still on the toilet, mind you) and said quietly, "He said yes."

Now here we are, over two months later, and the prayers for a baby sister continue. 

At mealtime, we have to remind him to bless the food because he only wants to pray for a baby sister. 'Pees can I have a beebee sista?' 

At bedtime, we remind him to begin his prayer with, 'Dear Heavenly Father' because all he is saying is, 'Pees can I have a beebee sista?' 

Even his Primary teacher wondered if we were keeping some kind of secret, because Lincoln was praying for a 'beebee sista' in his sunbeam class. 

So we welcome with love and happiness these two beautiful baby nieces/cousins. Maybe I can convince little Lincoln that Heavenly Father answered his prayers, but sent the baby sisters to other homes. 

Something tells me he's not going to go for it.  

A response from Senator Murray

Here is an update to my previous post about protecting our children. 

When I submitted the request online for Senator Murray, I checked a box indicating I wanted a response. A couple of days later, voila! I'm sure it is no different than the response sent out to all of the other gazillion people who sent in Oprah's form letter, but it's a response nevertheless. I was excited. 

Dear Mrs. Arnett:

Thank you for contacting me about S. 1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2008. It was very good to hear from you.

The Combating Child Exploitation Act was introduced by Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) to provide additional resources, strategies and coordination to combat crimes against our children. The bill is currently before the full Senate for consideration. You will be happy to know that I am a cosponsor of S. 1738 and I fully support this effort to give our children greater protection from those who would harm them.

As you may know, S. 1738 would increases penalties for crimes against children. It would create a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction and establish within the U.S. Department of Justice a National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. It would also create a grant program to support state and local ICAC task forces. Finally, the Combating Child Exploitation Act would authorize increased numbers of agents in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal agencies to combat these types of crimes.

As a U.S. Senator, I have made the health and safety of our children one of my top priorities. I will continue to fight for strong federal support for programs that prevent child exploitation, aid victims and assist in the investigation and prosecution of these despicable crimes. Please rest assured that as the Senate considers legislation on this issue, I will keep your concerns in mind. Please keep in touch.

I hope all is well in Dupont.

I especially like the detailed info about the bill. Like I said, I didn't actually see the episode of Oprah, so I wasn't totally informed on what the bill entailed. Now that I know, I like it even more. 

I also like how Senator Murray personalized that last line just for me. And yes, Senator, things in DuPont are dandy. Thanks. 

My oldest brother

I have been thinking of my brother Andy a lot lately. As most of you know, he is a very integral part of who I am. More than anyone, he has lived life to the fullest and enjoyed every moment. His happiness and love of life is contagious. He has taught me many things.

Andy has taught me to laugh often. I have so many funny stories of him growing up--probably my favorite is the time we were shopping for Easter clothes in JC Penney. I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. He went MIA--as usual--and then we heard over the loudspeaker, "Attention customers, we have a little lost boy up here. He says his name is Dorothy. Would his parents please come pick him up?" You see, Andy had a very active imagination. He would often take on the identity of his favorite character du jour, and that day it was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I also remember my mom saying immediately to my dad, "Kurt, YOU go." So funny.

Andy has taught me to always champion the underdog. As kids on the playground, you can rest assured that us Weilands were never the ones picking on the little guys. Rather, we were beating up the bullies and turning the tide. Andy helped us see the value in every individual, no matter their differences.

Andy has taught me that nothing is impossible. Andy taught himself to read. The schools didn't believe my mom, and refused to provide adequate education for him. I remember well sitting in our station wagon (it was okay to leave kids in the car back then) while my hero/mom went into the office of the North Carolina State Board of Education to demand better resources. That was just the beginning. Andy graduated from high school--he even went to prom! He earned his Eagle Scout award. He served a mission at the Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City. My amazing brother has far surpassed the misguided doctor's expectations of him nearly 40 years ago.

Andy has taught me to hope for the resurrection. The day WILL come when my sweet brother will know how very much he means to me. I will be able to express my gratitude and love for him, and he will understand. This is possible through the resurrection of my Savior. All will be restored. I will see Andy as he really is, and our family will spend much of the rest of eternity laughing at the memories of our lives together on earth.

I have a very sweet friend who gave birth last week to a boy like Andy. As I visited her in the hospital, many tears were shed. Like Andy, her son is her first baby. And like my parents, she and her husband didn't see this coming. Until now, I hadn't given much thought to my parents' thoughts and feelings when Andy was born. Undoubtedly, it was a very emotional and overwhelming time for them. It is that way now for my friend. As I've thought about her, I've found some useful websites I want to pass along.

This explanation of what it's like to have a child with a disability is one of my favorites. I originally read it on a plaque at a park in Maryland designed for children of all abilities. It touches me every time I read it.

This speech is great for anyone who has a friend like my friend and doesn't know what to say or how to help. There really is nothing to be afraid of--showing love and sharing happiness goes a long way.

This site is designed for new parents of babies with down syndrome, but it is helpful for friends as well. I especially like the letter for new parents.

I am so thankful to see such great resources out there. A lot has changed in 40 years, and it's truly a gift to have help and understanding.

Recently my dad took Andy to the Apple store for some computer stuff. The clerk was especially attentive and kind to Andy as my dad took care of his errand. Sometime during the visit, the clerk explained to my dad, with tears in his eyes, that he had 'had' a son like Andy.

We don't know how long these beautiful angels will be with us. Having Andy as my brother has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.

Protect our Children

I didn't actually see this Oprah show yesterday, but I've heard enough about it to know that it would have sickened me. 

The only way to combat the evil in our world is to make our voices heard. I just did this, and it took less than 5 minutes. I used the form letter on Oprah's page, copied and pasted it on the web form to both senators in Washington, and voila--done. 

I feel strongly about this issue, I hope you do too.

My {half} marathon day

Aubrey is mad because she had her T-shirt on backwards. She just barely switched it before we took this picture. 

*13.1 mile run

*Shower at the finish line

*Soccer games for Aubrey & Lincoln

*Shopping so babysitter has something to feed kids

*BYU slaughters UCLA

*Practice talk for Stake Conference

*Date night with Gav to dinner, SC, and radiology resident party

*Sleep, glorious sleep

All in all, things went well. I will definitely run more races in my life, but I most likely won't ever speak in Stake Conference again. Really, how many normal people do that more than once? You can put a big, fat check mark in that box for me. 

That's total calories burned in 2:20:22 running. So how many snickers bars do I get to eat now? Yum. 

Walking at 14-1/2 months

Jace has finally figured it out. Aubrey and Lincoln both started walking at 14 months and 1 week. For awhile, it looked like Jace was on the same schedule--but the magic day came and went with no interest. He preferred his bear crawl (crawling using his feet and hands--booty straight up in the air). 

A week or so later, thanks to cute little Savanna at church who is 3 months younger than Jace, he gave it a whirl. Gav was hanging out with Jace in the foyer during Sunday school, and every time Jace tried gunnin' it with his bear crawl, Gav would hold his hands make him walk. Jace saw Savanna and tried walking on his own (he couldn't be outdone by a younger girl I guess). 

He walked several steps that day, but still preferred his crawl. Slowly but surely, over the last couple of weeks, he has made progress. He thinks he's pretty cute struttin' his stuff, and so do we.