Listen to your wife!! SLOW DOWN!

Let me tell you a little story. Last night Ed and I were on our way home from visiting Brook & Kaylynn. We were driving on Shoreline and Ed gets a little excited when he drives my/our car b/c it's fast. :)

I looked at his speed and he was nearing 60mph. Then we passed a speed limit sign that said 35mph! I wasn't surprised, but a little upset he was driving so fast so I proceeded to lecture him that it was NOT okay to drive 20+ miles over the speed limit...Dangerous...Reckless. As I continue to go on somewhat joking yet serious, Ed smiles and laughingly says, "Honey don't be mad...there's a cop behind us." In a disappointed whiney voice I continued lecturing, but kind of laughing because I pretty much predicted it and thought it served him right...except the hefty ticket awaiting us. We lucked out and got a nice cop that asked if we were in a hurry to be somewhere. I told the cop that we weren't necessarily in a hurry but I had just seen the speed limit sign and that I was lecturing Ed just before he pulled us over. Honesty must have paid off? He let us go with a speed warning, but cited Ed with a fix-it ticket to get his CA Driver's License. Any fines if any will be less than the ticket price for going 20+ over the speed limit!! It was somewhat funny, but I hope you learned your lesson DEAR!!!

5 Month Old Sarah!

New milestones...Sarah is:
-starting to sit up (still wobbley) and stand in her new exersaucer


-loves bath time and started to splash (daddy does baths)
-can grab & hold toys
-is growing more & more hair
-started to laugh and has some ticklish spots
-just noticed she has a thumb & sucks on it sometimes
-has an exciting new scream
-wakes up in the night every once in a while
-is very manageable
-has irregular naps
-eats very well, and likes to stop and look up at me while doing so. SO CUTE!
-size 2 diapers are getting tight
-fits in most 6 month old clothing
-rolls onto her side
-likes to chew on everything
-loves to look at herself in the mirror
-is very alert & friendly
-smiles often
-misses her grandparents & aunts/uncles/cousins and wants them to come visit! hint hint

DMV=all day affair

Let me tell you about my experience at the CA DMV. I needed to renew my Drivers License so I looked up what paperwork I needed and made an appointment- hoping to save myself some time. I got to the DMV at about 3:15pm. I waited for about 15 minutes and while reading the back of the paper I filled out (by their request)...I missed my number being called by one. My bad, but you'd think since I noticed right as they were calling the number right after mine they could get me in to the next agent. Oh no...I was told to pay better attention next time (which I understand, but was still frustrated) and take another ticket putting 10 more people in front of me. Oh well, it went pretty fast. I waited another 15 minutes and my number got called. The woman helping me looked at my old license and my birth certificate and then told me that my last name was not Harman on the birth certificate. DUH!! I obviously wasn't married at birth. Nowhere online did I see that I would need my marriage license. My old license and my SS card have my married name already. Bringing my marriage certificate in to UT was not enough. I needed it in CA too! I was SO bugged, but I called Ed and he was sweet enough to load up Sarah and make the 15 minute drive to the DMV and bring it to me. You would think that was the last of my delays, but no. Of course right after he brought our marriage certificate, the computers at the DMV went down. Are you kidding me?!! While waiting for the computers to come back up 5 o'clock hit and they closed anyway...meaning I still needed to go back to take the CA written test.

Day #2 of the DMV I arrived at 10am. I didn't read the CA book of driving rules thinking... I know how to drive. How hard could the test actually be?? I forgot how horrible I am at taking tests. I didn't realize the test was 36 questions and I could only miss 6. I took my chances, but failed the first test by missing 8. I went back through the line and figured I'd take my chances again (10 minutes later) without reading their book. Once again I failed written test #2 by missing 8 again. Are you kidding me!! I went back through the line a 3rd time. This time the woman told me that I only get 3 chances to pass the test before I have to pay again. Great!! So what did I do...definitely didn't take my chances. I sat down at the DMV and read the 80 page booklet (I read SO slow) on the driving rules of CA. What I thought would take an hour or so ended up taking 3 hours!! This is why it is hard for me to finish college. I know there will be test taking involved! However, I did finally end up passing the test. Thanks Ed for doing so well with Sarah while your challenged wife took at total of 5 hours to renew her drivers license!

Here are a few of the questions I missed:
-What is the Blood Alcohol Level limit?......0.8%. How would I know...I don't drink. :)
-You must make a written report to DMV within 10 days if you?...Are in an accident that causes $750 in damage.

Bad Stones!

Sarah snuggling with her sick daddy

Ed woke up last weekend on Saturday morning at about 4 in the morning with horrible internal pain in his back up to his stomach area. When I came downstairs his whole body was quivering and that's just where it started. I asked him what organs were on his right side and he mentioned his kidney. I don't know much about kidneys, but my first guess was kidney stones. We looked up the symptoms online and they seemed right on. We waited it out a bit until the pain got much worse and he started throwing up. Finally at about 5:30am we headed into the ER. By the time we got there Ed's pain was at the top of the charts. He continued vomiting and screaming in pain. I was reminded of my labor. He looked somewhat similar. :( The hospital finally gave him some pain killers and anti nausea medicine, followed by a CT scan and some x-rays. It turned out just as we had suspected...a medium sized kidney stone. After 6 hours of being monitored in the ER we finally went home with some pain killers and a little filter for Ed's pee. :) He had to filter his urine until he passed the stone so that when it finally passed he could go see a urologist to examine the stone and tell him what to do to prevent him from getting any more stones. Kidney stones take anywhere from hours to a month to pass! Ed obviously couldn't work on pain killers so we were hoping his stone would pass soon. After seeing a urologist and discussing surgery as an option, getting some Flomax and drinking cranberry juice (we're not sure what did it), Ed finally passed the stone on Wednesday morning.

The stone was the size of a grapenut. :) It's amazing to think that something the size of a grapenut could be so painful...and expensive!! So far the ER visit is totaling around $16,000!!! We're praying that insurance covers a large portion of that. What causes kidney stones? You're welcome to do more research but it's basically a mineral imbalance (calcium, potassium) and not enough fluids. We/Ed learned the hard way. I'm hoping this post will help you all. Drink more water!!
Happy Ed after his stone passed, just getting ready to take it in to be tested

Car Show- Ed's Thing

I'm trying to play catch up since I've been slacking on posts.

Ed and I went to the San Jose car show January 12th. Ed oogled over a lot of cars and of course...he wants to buy them all!! If it was Ed's choice he would have about 10 cars. :) Here's a few pics of our afternoon.


Yummy Hot Dogs...very healthy

The new Bimmer Ed really wants

Sarah's New Thing

Husband tag!

I was tagged by Alisha and Mindi.

What is his name? Stephen Edward Harman
How long have you been married? 3 1/2+ years
How long did you date? 8 months before marriage
How old is he? 32
Who eats more? Probably me. Maybe equal?
Who said "I love you" first? I think Ed?
Who is taller? Ed
Who sings better? We're about the same
Whose temper is worse? Ed's temper is shorter, but I'm moody more often
Who does the laundry? It's one of my jobs, but Ed helps fold sometimes
Who does the dishes? Mostly me. Ed hates dishes, but he's always willing to help.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Looking at the bed, it would be Me
Who pays the bills? Ed does a great job
Who mows the lawn? What lawn? We haven't had a lawn yet. :(
Who cooks dinner? It's pretty equal. Ed's great at the BBQ.
Who is more stubborn? Probably me.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Ed is very good at this.
Whose parents do you see the most? We try to keep it equal when we come in town
Who proposed? Ed sang to me. Loved it!
Who has more friends? I think I make most of the girl friends when we move, but then we hang out with couples.
Who has more siblings? Ed
Who wears the pants in the family? Sarah

I will tag Jennie, Jenna, Kira and whoever else has a husband and wants to share!

NYE celebration!!

Happy 2008!! We welcomed the New Year at the Layton's playing games & eating snacks! We had a lot of fun! The 4 babies went down to bed while the adults partied! Ed and I very rarely stay up past 12am. It felt really nice with great company! We have high hopes this year!

Have you met my cutest baby Sarah?? She's 4 months!!

I need to start by saying that I LOOOOOOVE being a mother. I am POSITIVE that NOTHING in life brings me more joy than being a wife and mother. Today we're focusing on motherhood. :) Sarah had her 4 month check-up and here are the updates. :) She weights 14 lbs. 6 oz. and she is 2'.75". She is getting so big!! I can't believe I'm lugging around 15 lbs. :)

Sarah's new developments?
-She has almost full control of her head.
-She rolls (mostly accidentally) from tummy to back. Can roll to her side. Seems close to rolling from back to tummy.
-Grabs & Holds things, plays with her hands, eats her (and our) fingers.
-Babbles, coos, blows bubbles and lightly giggles. SO cute!!
-Smiles most the day and rarely cries/fusses anymore.
-Starting to notice & grab her feet.
-Flailing arms and legs when excited.
-Sits/stands with help. Sits in her bouncer. Kind of stands in her new exersaucer.
-Loves bath time.
-Since UT trip is waking once in the night?? I'm hoping it's just because she is hitting a growth spurt.
-Sleeping 2+ hours during daytime naps. Takes 3 naps.
-Size 2 diapers
-Clothes size 3-6 months

Christmas trip recap

We had a great time in UT! It was so great to see family & friends. This trip seemed a little less hectic and a little more relaxed, and of course we loved everyone oogling over Sarah. :) Nothing replaces the feeling of family wanting to see your baby, having their help, holding and love.

We arrived in UT Sunday evening (Sarah did great on the flight) and drove directly to the Harman household for an early Christmas dinner and rice alemond (Mormor's Danish dessert tradition where an almond is hidden in rice pudding and the one who gets it hides it in their mouth until everyone is finished. Then they get a prize.) Then we did our Christmas gift exchange.

Monday was Christmas Eve and since we flew to SLC we had a couple last minute gifts to purchase. We did some shopping in the morning and then headed to the newly remodeled Harker household (Johnson family) for a Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange.

Tuesday, Christmas Day Grandpa Steve made us his yummy hash-brown breakfast and the rest of the day was spent napping and later we went to the movie National Treasure. It was Sarah's first movie, and although we were nervous, after the first 15 minutes, she slept like a charm through the rest of the movie and then some. This good napping thing definitely carried over into Utah!

Wednesday was a relaxed day and then dinner with the Harman's at Mi Ranchito. Everyone is sick in UT...my cold started tonight. :(

Thursday was spent visiting with Land & Deb, playing Guitar Hero, meeting up with some of my friends, and watching a movie at Stew & Nicole's newly finished basement.

Friday was another relaxed day, lunch with some friends, a quick visit to Grandma Grace's (she's been sick) and then a later hang out at Grandpa Dave's. Poor Ed got the flu tonight. :(

Saturday was a rushed morning, but ended nice after meeting up with some family members at the Jordan River temple. Such a great and peaceful place! Later that afternoon we met up again at Cami & Aarons.

Sunday we went to church with G&G Harman, packed, stopped by Gma Grace's, had lunch with our Denver buddies the Cheney's right before our flight back to CA. Sarah was a trooper and had another good flight after she fell asleep. :)