Today's Madness

I've said it before: The Cleveland Road System SUCKS!

Now I've found that they can't even get their parking garages in an organized system. Holy Cow! It took me 45 minutes to find my car in a parking garage at the University today. We parked, I took note of the large 5b painted on the wall near my car and walked to the nearest elevator. I got in, pushed the 1, went down, got out. Realized we weren't on the ground level and couldn't get back in the elevator because it was taking too long, found another elevator, got in, pressed the G, went down, and got out. We walked to the Dental School, proceeded to find Nathan, didn't find him, left the Dental School, walked back to the garage. Entered the elevator we'd taken to get to the ground level, asked the guy who got in with us to press 5, looked at the panel and didn't see a 5 so he pressed 4. He said he was confused, too, because he parked on 6. Got out of elevator on 4, walked up garage to level 5 with three kids in tow--one who'd really shouldn't have been walking (read on and you'll find out why), one who was incredibly messy and really needed a bath, and one who had peed through her clothing. Got to level 5 and saw 5c. Kept walking and saw 5d. Kept walking (even though logically b tells you it would have been the other way) and found level 6. Turned around and saw 5d, then 5 c, then level 4. Ok, what?? Level 4? Where's 5b and 5a? I walked around and around, further into level 4 and further into levels 5 and 6. No 5b. I walked around for 45 minutes without finding my car. Now, it is partially my fault that it lasted that long because I didn't think to get my keys out and try to get the alarm going. However, when a stranger on level 6 asked if my panic attack required medical assistance and I assured him I would be fine in a minute, he took my keys and got the alarm going. We walked to level 5 and could hear it. Below us. For some reason level 5 is actually two levels and you have to get out of the Twilight Zone to find it. Seriously, I felt like I had entered the Twilight Zone. And for those of you young'ens who think I'm talking about Stephenie Meyer, I'm not. Look it up on Wiki or something. It was a really good show. Not so good when it's happening to you, though. So this guy walked me and the kids around and around. We saw the car, but couldn't get to it. There were barriers all across the side of the garage we were on, blocking our way to it. At the far end of the side of the garage it just went down to the level below my car, not to it. We couldn't figure out where to go. So you see, it wasn't just me that couldn't find my way around. Plus, this guy said he had a hard time finding his car, too. Eventually we had to take the stairs up. I had Jeremy get out of the stroller and walk while I bumped it up the steps. When we got to the pay station I told the lady that they needed a better system and maybe some signs pointing how to get to the different letter parts of the levels. She asked if I wanted to see the supervisor and I said sure. He ended up letting me out of the garage for free. And it's a good thing, too because I did not want to pay $4 for parking my car, not finding Nathan and then not finding my car. It seriously took me 45 minutes to find my car and there is no way I could have done it on my own. Sad day.

Ok, so you want to know why this was more terrible than it really should have been? Under normal bad day circumstances I don't think I would have had a panic attack (I've only ever had one other). However, this morning at a less than glorious 8:30 Jeremy and Emma had their first doctor appointment since we moved here. While Emma was getting her shots, Megan was watching. Now, Megan has always been a very sensitive child. When Jeremy got his shots as a baby she always cried with him. Today I thought she's be ok because she kept telling Emma that she was going to get shots, but that she'd be alright. Nope. When Emma started crying, Megan's face started to scrunch up and then it suddenly went slack. I was about to tell her that Emma was fine when her legs gave out and she fainted. There was a toy behind her and her legs got tangled up in it, her head and neck hit a huge bucket of toys and then she kind of fell off those and into a small gap between the bucket and a bookshelf. Her eyes were still open, but completely glazed over. My first thought was she was having a seizure (she was tested for them about two years ago--negative). Then I thought to myself, I watch too many episodes of House. Still, I was really scared. Her eyes seemed to take forever before they closed. The nurse that was doing the shots called for a doctor to come in and she and another nurse came in. They finished giving Emma the shots (with one of the nurses holding her and feeding her a bottle) and I can't really tell you where Jeremy was in all this. At one point I saw him trying to push the doctor's chair out of the room, but I'm not sure if that was before or after Megan woke up. When her eyes finally opened again and she woke up she was so scared. She had no idea what happened, but she retained the feeling of fear that she'd had when she'd fainted. She wouldn't stop covering her face with her hands and she just cried and cried for Nathan. I asked her if she wanted a priesthood blessing and she said yes. Since I obviously couldn't give one to her I told her I'd say a special prayer. I got close to her ear and whispered it to her while everyone else was still trying to get Meg to move her hands and open her eyes. Megan had told us that the light was hurting her eyes, so I didn't know if that was an affect of her fainting, hitting her head, or if she was simply embarrassed. A few minutes after the prayer she moved her hands down and the doctor was able to check her eyes. She said everything was fine, but Megan still wanted to see Nathan. So off we went--in the wrong direction. When I realized it we'd been driving for 10 minutes already. So off we went in the correct direction. Except when we got to the University area I realized I had no idea how to get to the Dental School itself. I had to drive around and around until I saw a sign leading to the Dental Clinic.

So now you know why I ended up in the less than organized parking garage looking for my car.


Oh yeah. When Megan talked about what it felt like to faint, she said, "When Emma got a shot, I thought I got a shot in my head."

Yesterday's Madness

So yesterday I was trying to update the look of my blog when a bunch of my stuff was erased. If I had a link to your blog and it is missing now, please let me know and I'll put it back up. I just can't remember all of the links to blogs that I had. I was up after 1 AM trying to fix the blog and still doing work on it today.

Could someone please tell me how to create a new layout for my blog without using big words? I've read a couple sites online that all say, easy, simple, or for dummies. These sites only make me feel stupider than a dummy when I still can't figure out what they are saying.

If y'all don't know how to create your own, then tell me how you bypassed the layouts on Blogger and got cool looking ones. I tried to use a couple layouts from websites and those aren't working for me either, in fact, that's how all my stuff got erased.

Thanks for the help and wish me luck getting everything normal.

New Quote

I know I don't do this every Monday like I said I would, but hey, my days are crazy. So there.

"We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glow-worm." --Winston Churchill

I found this on one of the Mormon Mommy Blogs, which I am fast becoming a fan of. There are so many talented and funny writers that I could just sit and read other people's blogs all day. Oh wait, that is what I did today. Oops, I think I was supposed to work today. . . .

The Potty Training Olympics--Let the Games Begin!

Announcer 1: It's time for the Buckner Potty Training Olympics! Let the Games Begin! Coming from the part of the world where tantrums have only begun is Jeremy Buckner! Jeremy is a new two year old and currently like airplanes, American flags, and "the family song."

Announcer 2: Now Jeremy's first competitor is his very own sister Megan, who, like Jeremy, is currently into American flags. Megan is 3 2/3 and is seasoned in the art of potty training. It will be difficult for Jeremy to match up to such stiff competition with so much experience. Jeremy's recent experience includes Wednesday evening before bedtime and Friday night while playing at a friend's house. The judges nearly tossed out Friday night's experience, citing the reason: It was only one small drop.

Announcer 1: Jeremy's final competitor is his baby sister Emma. Now little Emma has had no experience in the Potty Training Olympics. She is a newbie here and her only experience is with diapers in sizes Newborn and 1-2. She did once wear one of her brother's 4s when her parents were foolishly out of the smaller sizes.

Announcer 2: I really think that the Gold Medal is going to go to big sister Megan.

Announcer 1: I agree, Announcer #2, Megan has had relatively few accidents in the last year and is doing a great job all around.

Announcer 2: She certainly is #1. But as we've seen, Jeremy is ready to tackle the Games this year and is striving to follow in Megan's footsteps.

Announcer 1: Perhaps in another 18 months we'll be seeing another Potty Training Olympics and little Emma will be earning her medal and Jeremy will be giving Megan a run for the Gold with stronger competition.


Mommy Note: Ok, I know I've posted about Jeremy wanting to potty train before, but I think it might be true this time. He's older, we broke down and got him the training pants, and we're more willing to wait in the bathroom with him for the ten minutes or so it take him to pee. We are taking a page out of Nathan's mom's book and teaching Jeremy to pee on Cheerios that we let him drop into the toilet. He's pretty excited about that. One funny thing is it takes him forever to get going. When he pees he only does an almost nonexistent trickle at a time with about three or four minutes between each trickle. I'm excited that the training has begun; now I just have to take Cheerios with me everywhere we go. As an extra incentive we give him a package of Nemo fruit snacks every time he actually goes potty. I guess I need to carry those with me everywhere, too.

Primary Pioneer Day

Megan had a Pioneer Day Activity today and it was a lot of fun.

They had the kids help make ice cream.

They also had an area where the kids could make whirligigs.

There was a table where the kids could decorate handkerchiefs . . .

and paper quilts, too.
The kids tried to use hoola hoops as barrel rings and keep them rolling with yard sticks, but it didn't really work since hoola hoops are thinner than barrel rings and yard sticks are a lot longer and harder to handle than the sticks pioneer children actually used. Megan and I gave up and just decided to hoola hoop instead.

And finally there was a wagon race. The kids had to run, dragging the wagon to a pile of pioneer clothes and put them on, then drag and run to a blanket and put it in the wagon, then drag the wagon and run to a pile of food, put the food in the wagon, and then get the wagon to the cone at the end, turn it around and run back.

And here are a few pictures that I meant to include in a previous post. When we went camping the other week we picked blackberries and ate them once we got home. Jeremy's face was covered! Also here are a few pictures of Megan with Emma. Megan has gotten really into posing lately.

Check out this Blog

I don't know how many of you ever check out the "Friends and their Blogs" section of my blog. Some of you know each other, but I think most of you don't. Anyhow I just added one to the list. the blog belongs to Scott Savage. He is an LDS writer and a member of LDStorymakers. I have attended the LDStorymakers Writing Conferences since 2005 and have loved them. Savage is a great writer spanning multiple genres. I admit, I don't read all the genres, horror being one of them, but he also does LDS mystery and most recently young adult. His new young adult book, Far World has had really great reviews and I plan on checking it out as soon as I finish the other five books I'm currently on. (Five seems to be my limit now a days.)
I decided to check out his blog the other day and I'm so glad I did because it's a hilarious blog. Now keep in mind that just as his talents span varying genres, he keeps different blogs for the different personalities :o) The blog I linked here is not his horror blog, it is his fantasy blog (young adult). I suggest reading this particular blog about his flying experiences. I about split a gut reading it. Ok, now everyone go to it and let me know what you think!

The Question of Kids' Questions

Well, she actually asked it: "Mom, how do people get pregnant?" She didn't ask me something easy, like, "Where do babies come from?" or even, "Why was Emma in your belly?" No she had to come right out and ask, "Mom, how do people get pregnant?"

When she asked me I just looked heavenward and told her I didn't have time to explain right then, but to ask later. Now of course I was hoping she'd forget to ask again, but knowing Megan, she'll remember her question and ask me again next week. What do I say to her?

I think most kids her age would be asking where do babies come from, but she asked that when we were pregnant with Jeremy. I guess now that she knows babies come from heaven and go into mom's belly, she's wondering how the baby gets there for mom to get pregnant in the first place.


Any suggestions on what to tell her?

Grandma's Request

Once again my mom has been complaining that there aren't enough posts about the kids with pictures, so here are a few I took of them the other day. I don't remember what I was doing, but I realized that they were awfully quiet, so I went to check on them and found Megan and Jeremy playing in their room. And the best part was they were playing nicely.

Megan is playing with little foam flower thingys. And yes, they are all over her room.

Jeremy came to me and asked for help putting the backpack on. He said he was going to school. Here he is throwing plastic rings (those stacking rings) up in the air and watching them land in places where no human can possibly reach.

And this is how I found Emma. . . .

Such a sweet baby.

Andy Kaufman - Mighty Mouse

My mom used to impersonate Andy Kaufman's Mighty Mouse routine when I was a kid. I loved it and I've done it myself quite a bit.

Years ago the movie "Man on the Moon" with Jim Carrey playing Kaufman came out. I wanted to see it really bad, but it was rated "R". I was very excited to see the original act available on Youtube.com

So here it is for all to enjoy. If you want to learn more about Kaufman, go to wikipedia. Here's the address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_kaufman
Read the Foreign man, Milk and Cookies, and Professional Wrestling sections. Those are my favorite stories about him.
He wasn't a traditional comedian, in fact he never considered himself a comedian at all.

Enjoy!

Hooah!

Nathan is officially a dental student. Friday afternoon we attended his White Coat Ceremony. The White Coat Ceremony is a lot like a commencement ceremony, except backwards. Instead of saying, "Good-bye, hope you remember what we taught you," they say, "Hello, open your brain because we have a lot to put into it." Oh yeah, and they help you put on a white coat and shake your hand once it's on.

They had a few speakers, the dean, a few professors (dentists), and then a keynote speaker who is a very well respected dentist in the community. Then they had all the students stand and one by one they called the students up so the dean could put their coats on them.

It took place in a chapel on Case's campus. The chapel had wooden pews and Jeremy kept laying belly down on them so he could pull himself across them with his hands. Each time he'd say, "Look mom, I'm a fish!" It was really funny. It would have been even funnier if it wasn't during a ceremony where everyone was supposed to be quiet. Megan continually threw up one of the receiving blankets over Emma's head and then shrieked with laughter. Literally shrieked-the girl is a harpy sometimes.

Afterward they had a reception which was very nice. Yummy food, but I didn't get to eat much of it. We were busy talking to the Army guy. You see, Nathan has decided to join the U.S. Army. The Army will pay for his schooling, give us a signing bonus, and give us a monthly check. When dental school is over he will automatically have a job, we can pretty much decide where we want to live, the Army pays for the moving expenses, we will have health insurance, good pay with no student loans to pay back, no malpractice insurance to worry about, and the chance to take our kids to another country. There is next to no chance that we'd actually be asked to go over seas, but if Nathan and I decide we want to live in Italy for three years, we could. We prayed about it last week and both felt like it was the right thing to do. The Army, not Italy. Yet.

Megan is a Musical Genius

I am right now doing work on my laptop and have my blog open so I can listen to the music that plays. Megan is sitting next to me eating a bowl of cereal for dinner. Hey, I'm not a bad mom, we went to a reception and ate dinner there, this is basically a before bed snack. Anyway, The Beatles' Strawberry Fields came on and Megan stopped mid-bite and asked me, "Is this The Beatles?"

Have I converted her or what?

When I asked her how she knew it was The Beatles, she said, "Because it's The Beatles. It's the Strawberry Fields song, one of your favorites. I know them. Why did that mean man want to take away Ringo's ring?"

Oh my gosh. I think the last time I saw Help! was back in February. She remembered the five or ten minutes she saw of it.

I love Megan. She's so funny. . . .

Look Who's Two

Here are some of the pictures we took of Jeremy for his second birthday. He is just so dang cute!

Here is Jeremy's New Dance. I love his dance. He started doing this while Megan was in her dance class. I guess he felt left out and wanted to show me he could dance, too.

His Fishy Face. Isn't it hilarious!

Jeremy loves airplanes. I made him a quilt with buttons and ribbons and zippers to play with. His favorite part of the blanket is the underside because it has airplanes on it. He calls it his "Airplane Blankie." This airplane used to hang over his bed when we lived in Logan. I have yet to find a spot for it here.

Oh. My little boy is growing up. He's my little man now.

Remember When . . .

Here is little game I saw on Sara's blog.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Thanks for the fun idea, Sara!

Here I Come to Save the Day!!

Here's a Foreign Man video, it's hilarious!

Vacation!

We drove to Palmyra on Friday to see some of the Church historical sites. School starts for Nathan on Monday, so we wanted to have at least a mini family vacation before then.

This is the Moroni Monument on the Hill Cumorah.


























Here's me and the kids on the Hill.


















Here we are at the Visitors' Center at the Joseph Smith Farm.


















In the Sacred Grove. We were able to have a family prayer in the Grove. It was a really great experience to pray as a family in the Sacred Grove.


















The Palmyra Temple


















Grandin Publishing House where The Book of Mormon was printed. Emma spit up all over Nathan here.


















On Saturday we drove to Niagara Falls. Here's the view from the U.S. side.


















Jeremy with the Falls and Canada in the background.


















Falls from the Canadian side


















Double Decker Bus named Bloombury


















Nathan, Megan, and Jeremy with the Falls


















We watched this glassblower work for about 20 minutes. It is really amazing that he can create a beautiful vase that will sell for about $100 in only 20 minutes.


















On the way home we stopped at the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse that is only about an hour from Shaker Heights. It was closed by the time we got to it, so we couldn't go in. Nathan said that the lighthouse is important in Church history as well because many Saints came this way on their way west.


















There was a park at the beach near the lighthouse. We let Megan and Jeremy play for about 10 minutes before we left for home.































































































I'm here, too!