Help!

So I have been noticing on some of my friend's blogs (OK- mainly Jessica's) that there is this new fad going around- and it looks like something that I would really like to get in to- but I have no idea how to get going in it. Does anyone out there who reads my blog (which is pretty much nobody by the looks of my comments) have any hints or suggestions on digital scrapbooking. Ross has always wanted me to get into scrapbooking, because we have so many pictures that are displayed nicely in a box. A big box. I, however, have always kept far away from the whole scrapbooking frenzy because I have no original creative thoughts, and because I HATE the messes that come from paper and glue and all the other crap that goes into those super cute pages that I have no patience for (to make- not to look at). Anyway- after looking at all of Jessica's way cute pages on her digital scrapbooking album thing (which is super cute!) it occurred to me that she was able to do all of those pages without ever making a paper mess. It also seems that there would be something in the program like an undo button- I want that! Also- all my pictures would be on teh computer, so if I decide I want to change the size or the color options, or anything of that nature- I can! This pretty much sounds fantastic- except for one thing. I don't know where to go or how to get started. Is there a site you do it on, or do I have to download a program, or am I too dumb to attempt something like this?

Ross Broke the Baby!

Emma had kind of a rough day on Tuesday thanks to her two horrible parents!! We were all enjoying Ross's day off on Tuesday by window shopping in the mall. We were playing the famous one, two, three, wheeeee game that little kids love so much, when Emma just started screaming. I figured she was just tired and teething. She had been cutting a new tooth for the last few days and she had not had a nap that day. So we went over to Orange Julius, and I shared some nice cool smoothie with her hoping that would calm her down. It did- kind of. While she was sitting in my lap she was fine, but any time I tried to move around she would scream again- and let me tell you, that girl has some lungs on her! She cried all the way out to the car, and it only got worse when we put her in her car seat. She finally fell asleep on the way home- much to our relief- but she started screaming all over again when we pulled her out. We got her back asleep on the couch- but it was not a very restful sleep. Anytime she moved at all she would wimper.

When she woke up an hour later, Ross so observantly noticed that she was not using her left arm. He said that he remembered feeling a little pop when we were playing the swing game, and he wondered if he had pulled something. I tried to look at her shoulders- but neither of them looked swollen at all- but anytime I moved her left arm she would scream all over again. We called our pediatrician's office and asked a nurse what might have happened and what we could do. She said that it is very common for elbows to get pulled out that way- they have even nick-named it airplane arm, because it usually happens when swinging kids around in a circle by their arms. Just as she said that I looked at her elbow and it was all red and swollen. She said to put some ice on it and run on over. They were wonderful- especially since it was 8:00 at night. When we walked in they knew just who we were and they let us right back. Within in ten mintues they had popped it back into place, and the relief for her was instant!

The rest of the night Ross kept apologizing (because he was the one on the left side) and he was afraid to pick her up. Luckily, Emma did not hold a grudge, and was very sweet and cuddly for the rest of the day. We felt so bad that we had made her suffer for so long, especially since it was so easy for them to fix it for her. Anyway- we are bad parents, and we are very lucky that Emma still loves us even though we break her and make her suffer.

Hot, Hotter, and Hottest
Anyone who has seen the news knows that our lovely three digit weather out here, mixed with the lovely dryness of our state has produced some lovely fires that have destroyed over 700 square miles of our lovely state. This has left our air full of some lovely smoke that makes me sneeze and cough- all of which makes my lovely and shapely stomache contract and causes some lovely pains. Now- as if all of this were not enough to make us completely miserable- our lovely air conditioner has decided to retire at the lovely age of 25 (that's like 150 in A/C years).

Our little family has been living in our stuffy little apartment for two weeks waiting for our land lord to finally get up out of his comfy chair in his beautiful air conditioned 3 million dollar home, and make a call to someone other than his golf buddies (unless of course one of his golf buddies moonlights as an A/C repair man). The coolest our apartment has reached in the last 10 days was a nice 81 degrees. If I turn the oven on for anything, it quickly rises to the 90's.

Our land lord has been kind enough to give us some pointers on how to stay cool. For instance, he suggested that we simply open the windows so that we can get some air circulation. Unfortunately, when the air outside is 105 degrees, and the air inside is 88 degrees, all that does is blow hotter air into our hot air. He also sugggested putting fans in all of our rooms so that not only do we blow all the hot air around, but we also raise our electric bill exponentially. Actually, we do keep a fan running, and while sitting in the direct lane of the air flow from the fan, it can be nigh comfortable. Unfortunately that means that we can't move anywhere else in the house without quoting one of the most annoying lines from the Wizard of Oz.

We have had Emma sleep with us every night so that she doesn't over heat in her room. We all sleep on top of the covers and try to not touch each other so as not to contract any heat from anyone. It is a fun game! This horrible heat has been really hard on me and little Fuzzy. I have found myself praying to the Porcelin Gods much more often than I like to admit.

Yesterday I was here at work just shivering because it was so cold. I was complaining to the maintenance man and asking if he could fix it for me. He went and looked at the thermostat and laughed because it was 75 degrees, and he is supposed to keep the waiting area at 72 degrees, or he gets in trouble for over heating our clients. I have become so acclamated to stifling heat, that I can no longer be comfortable in climates that are appropriate for normal upright bipeds. I guess I will have to join the desert dwelling nomads out in the desert- all because of our lazy, rich land lord (who is actually so pleasant while in my presence that I can't be angry with him until he leaves my presence and I remember that I am now doing twice as much laundry because everything I wear gets sweat-soaked in less than an hour).

The moral of this story is that I am HOT!!!

OK- So I have known for a while now, but have been afraid to post anything about it, because I know I have a lot of friends who look at this page who are having certain struggles with fertility. I am in no way trying to rub it in anyone's face, and Heaven knows we have had some struggles in getting to this point. I am just very excited about it, and want everyone to know how happy we are. I have been much more sick this time than last time, and according to everyone I have talked to- that means we are having a boy this time around. I am trying not to get my hopes up- but Ross has already dubbed my tummy "Little (name that we chose, but don't want to disclose just in case we decide to go another way- and because we don't want anyone to STEAL it!)" I have preferred to go a more androgenous route, and call the baby bump "Fuzzy". Just like last time, the little bugger is growing pretty fast, and at 12-ish weeks, I already look like I am twice as far along. I kind of like that because it means that it is obvious, and no one wonders if I am just letting myself go. I also enjoy wearing all of the fun maternity shirts that my aunt gave me- Thank you Laura!

My New Nameless Nephew!

Congratulations to Jim and Melissa!! Ross's sister just had a baby boy yesterday morning. I haven't had many details because they all came second hand from a conversation Ross had with Melissa, and boys really don't pay too close attention to stuff like that. All he could say was, "It was a boy and he is alive and they haven't named him yet." Anyway, I hope all is well over in the Russell household while mom is away. I hope you don't stay too bored Melissa- Ross told me to post more stuff so that you had something to do. We love you and are excited to meet the new little addition when Joe goes through the temple.

The 4th of July

Let me just start this post by saying that I have an amazing husband! He is so good to me. Anyway, knowing my love for fine fireworks, he volunteered to drive a bunch of trucks from the dealership over to the Stadium of Fire. For this service, which was supposed to take about half an hour, we were suposed to get free tickets to the show, and free back stage passes to meet Brooks and Dunn. Unfortunately, Ross forgot one main rule of life- Nothing is ever really free! A bunch of the guys who were supposed to help with the trucks didn't show up, so I got roped into helping and instead of half an hour, it took 3 1/2 hours. At that point we raced to drop Emma off at my mom's house, run home and take a shower, and google Brooks and Dunn so that we knew what songs they sing. (It would have been embarassing to meet them, and not really know for sure who they were.)

When we got to the meet and greet thing we were 15 minutes late, and it was already over. The bouncer guys felt bad for us, so they let us into the VIP area where we got to eat their amazing food and talk with all of the celbrities there. I got an autograph of Corbin Bleu for my little sister (he is a teen-pop guy in High School Musical), and we chatted with Fred Willard for a while. Ross even got a picture with Miss Utah- who towered over him.

It was fantastic. Later we found out that had we gone to the meet and greet, it would have been totally lame. I guess they only showed up for about 10 minutes, would not sign autographs, and had people take pictures that they charged for. Later those people could go online and download the pictures if they were any good. We definitely got a much better deal! It was also fun that Ross's boss started off the big show. He plays lead guitar in a rock band! Oh, just wait- it gets better! Their keyboardist is Utah's governor. The whole night was a lot of fun. The fireworks were not the greatest- but for the bargain price of 3 1/2 hours of stress, we got a pretty good show.

Independance Day has always been something special for me because of the emphasis my ex-Marine dad put on it. It is nice to be married to someone who has the same passion for our nation and the freedoms we enjoy. Happy Independance Day!