The Oler Project

Genealogy Post

2010-10-14T19:40:00.010-07:00

Sorry about this everyone, but I think it's the best place to put stuff so it's searchable.

On our way home from our Bear Lake camping trip we stopped in Coalville where Andrew's Salmon ancestors lived.

This is the LDS church in Coalville, Andrew's ancestor was a bishop for a long time in Coalville, but the church he attended has since been torn down and replaced by this one.

This is the stained glass window taken from the original church.

And a plaque about the original tabernacle that reads:
"Site of the original Summit Stake Tabernacle 1879-1971.
Soon after the Summit Stake was organized on July 9, 1877, it was decided that a tabernacle should be built. Thomas L. Allen was appointed architect and builder, and the plans for the building were approved by Church architect Truman O. Angell. Ground was broken in the spring of 1879, with the cornerstone being laid by Apostle Franklin D. Richards on Aug. 7, 1879. Construction of the tabernacle included 600,000 locally made bricks and 75,000 feet of lumber. Oregon red pine and native lumber from Echo Canyon were used, and sandstone came from the Coalville ledge quarry. Painters and artists for the building were Anthony Olsen and his son Christian M. Olsen. Gothic stained-glass windows were imported from Belgium. The tabernacle was dedicated on May 14, 1899 by President Lorenzo Snow. Seventy-two years later, on March 3, 1971, the building was razed. Stained-glass windows and portraits of Church leaders were preserved and can be viewed in the present stake center. The tabernacle and the stake center that currently resides on this location were built by members of the Church through their faith and testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

This plaque was placed September 17, 2005.

I'm not sure what this is, I'm guessing City Hall?

Wilford J. Salmon 1894 - 1894

Lusty - Elizabeth S. 1845 - 1931 and Charles J. 1844-1930 and May Jennie Amy

Robert Salmon Born 27 Apr 1812 - Died 9 Feb 1891
Mary Weir Salmon Born 22 Sep 1812 Died 18 July 1853 (Barrhead, Scotland)
Mary Hannah Salmon Born 27 Apr 1823 Died 22 July 1887 (Coalville, Ut.)

James Salmon Apr. 21 1834 - Oct. 14 1923

Our Loved Ones

As Mother thou wert blest.
A sympathetic comforter to the distressed.

Brother thou wert a true and loyal son.
A brother indeed to every one.

Lucille Salmon Nelson
Nov. 30, 1901 - Jan 15. 1990

Emma J. Salmon Nov. 9, 1869 - May 26, 1954

James Salmon Apr. 21, 1834 - Oct. 14, 1923

(Salmon)
Margaret R. Aug 8 1838 - July 20 1888
Robert R. Oct. 23 1859 - Nov. 15 1887
I think these are the people of whom the earlier poem was written.

(Salmon) William 1864 - 1943

(Salmon) Agnes 1872 - 1958

Franklin R. Salmon - Utah - 1 Sgt. 362 Inf. - 91 Div. - March 25 1937

Salmon - Mother Sarah A. W. 1867 - 1936
- Father Franklin D. 1867 - 1941

IVIE - Dau. of F. & S. Salmon Nov. 30, 1895 - Jan. 5, 1900

A lazy mom's guide to meal planning

2010-10-14T16:47:00.004-07:00

I've been doing this for 3 or 4 months now and I think I'm in love. It's saved me so many hours of time that I can use to do something enjoyable instead of getting a headache about meal plans. If you love cooking creatively, or if you're the type who hates reading the directions or sewing from a pattern this method is probably not for you. If you want something healthy, cheap and fast with as little effort as possible you might like it.

I said to myself "Self, why don't you accept the fact that a big part of your work is as a glorified lunch lady and copy the professionals." I thought of the old school lunch calendars my mom used to post on the fridge, that repeated every two weeks. I've been doing Sparkpeople for several years now and used their free meal plans as a starting point. I've figured out that Andrew and I and Lucy eat about the same amount of food, Benjamin eats about half of that, so I plan for three people, it's about 1600 calories per day. I wrote down all the meals that I would actually consider eating, substituting things I hardly ever buy, like cantaloupe, for things like bananas. This gave me about 15 breakfasts and 15 lunches to work with and maybe 20 dinners.

This is where it gets a little wonkish. I had made an Excel spreadsheet and had been keeping track of the price of things that I buy regularly, and figured out the lowest and highest cost per serving that I typically pay for each item. Using a little "lookup function" wizardry I pretty quickly came up with the cost I would pay for each meal if I got the items on sale. Then I picked out the seven cheapest breakfasts and lunches, and the fourteen cheapest dinners. I made a menu repeating breakfasts and lunches every week and dinners every two weeks, I was worried that we would get tired of them after a while, but we really haven't.

The beauty of this system is that I NEVER have to think about what to make, for any of our meals. I know exactly how much we're going to eat and can shop accordingly, which drastically cuts down on the amount of wasted food. Of course there are days when we eat more or less, but I'm surprised at how it usually evens out by the end of the week. I can cook food, for example rice, ahead and then freeze it in 1 1/2 cup portions which is the exact amount I use for all my recipes involving rice. I do a big shopping trip every two weeks where I buy all the nonperishable and frozen stuff that we'll need for the next two weeks, as well as stock up on anything that's a really good sale. Then every other week I just need to do a quick run for produce, milk and any other random thing we need. If a store is having a case lot sale on something I just multiply the amount on my list by 6 or 12 and I have a 3 or 6 month supply.

The breakfasts are all less than 50 cents per person, the lunches except one are less than 1 dollar per person, and the dinners are between $1.20 and $2.10 per person. We make our own bread, so you'll have to add that to the list if you don't. And I usually get some snacks for the kids that vary by week.

Here are the documents if you want the nitty gritty
Menu plan
Grocery list

My dream house

2010-09-20T21:14:00.007-07:00

I've been dreaming about how I want to decorate my house one day many, many years from now, when we finally buy a house.

Here's a little tour:

The living room (but I would use darker wood)

The kitchen

The bathroom

The bedroom

I think I would call it Swedish country style, but a little more modern.

Andrew's trip to D.C.

2010-06-21T21:52:00.006-07:00

Andrew went to Virginia for a conference at the beginning of this month, he was giving a talk on his paper that was published a little while ago. On his last day there he took a taxi to Washington D.C. and took a little tour before heading to the airport. He took some cool pictures, and I'm very jealous, I think I could spend a month there in all the museums.

The White House, the guy on the roof is a sniper.

The U.S. capitol building

Ford's Theater where Lincoln was assassinated.

Pennsylvania Ave., the White House is just down the street.

Benjamin's first haircut and Andrew's birthday

2010-06-21T21:30:00.007-07:00

Lucy worked very hard going to the potty so she could get 8 stickers and earn her garden shovels. She was so happy when she finally had enough stickers! The diaper-less method worked for us, and now she rarely has an accident. Hooray! I was seriously doubting whether this day would ever come, and then she was just ready and it was pretty easy.

Lucy at Baby Animal Days at This is the Place park.

Benjamin loved the little pigs, he followed them everywhere.

Lucy and her first pony ride ever. She wanted to go last year, but it was a little too scary. This year she hopped right on and loved it. She still remembers the name of her pony.

Grandma Oler getting into trouble again

Benjamin right after his first haircut. It took us forever because we didn't know what we were doing, and he was very patient with us.

Lucy's curly hair. I don't know where it came from, I don't really know what to do with it. I've finally figured out that I can NEVER brush it. I can comb it while it's wet, I usually need to put in a leave-in conditioner so I can get a comb through it, and then it's hands off unless I want it to be a frizzy poofy mess. Once she sleeps on it I have to spray it all down to tame it again. Since I figured all that out I think it's looked a whole lot better.

Andrew on his 29th birthday! He's the greatest husband and father ever and I'm so glad he's ours!!

Andrew's cake with whipped cream and pineapple frosting.

Lucy and her Grandma Oler

Easter and Discovery Gateway and some random pictures

2010-06-21T21:02:00.009-07:00

Driving with Daddy at Discovery Gateway

When Benjamin is really super pleased, the tongue comes out.

Lucy likes to get all ready to go out, even if we're only going to check the laundry. She can walk better in heels than I can.

Pigtails and our miniature bathroom

Benjamin's birthday and other March happenings

2010-06-21T20:40:00.004-07:00

We're a little behind on posting pictures, these are almost all Benjamin, I guess he was super cute that month.

Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks?

This is Benjamin wearing his birthday cake. I think it's a good color on him.

And Benjamin all dressed up for church. Thanks Julie!

This is Benjamin opening a present from Grandma. Apparently he has a wide range of emotions about it.

I know I already put this on Facebook, but he's so darn cute!

Both of the kids.

Lucy and Benjamin with their friends Alli and Tanner. They really loved them and we're sad that they moved. :(

Benjamin with his Grandma Harris

Peter Pixler Handwritten Affidavit 1913

2010-06-05T18:00:00.003-07:00

Peter Pixler being duly sworn says that on account of his failing memory resulting from old age, he is unable to remember the town or county in Indiana where he was enrolled.
Also for the same reason he don't [sic] remember the Town or County of his birth place in Ohio,

Peter Pixler

Subscribed and sworn to in my presence, at my office in Ringwood, Major. Co., Okla., this 31st day of May 1912 William Walt
Notary Public

Peter Pixler Declaration for Original Invalid Pension 1891

2010-06-05T17:41:00.002-07:00

Declaration for Original Invalid Pension

State of Oklahoma
County of Kingfisher

On this 25th day of March, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and ninety one, personally appeared before me, J.B. Campbell of the Co of Kingfisher, a Notary Public within and for the County and State aforesaid Peter Pixler, aged 49 years, a resident of Hennessey, County of Kingfisher of Oklahoma Ter., who being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the identical Peter Pixler who served under the name of Peter Pixler, and who was enrolled on the 4 day of Oct, 1864, in company I of the 48" regiment of Ind. commanded by ___________ and was honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky., on or about the 15 day of July 1865. That his personal description is as follows: Age, 49 years; height, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches; complexion, fair; hair, sandy; eyes, blue. That while a member of the organization aforesaid, in the service and in the line of his duty at Kingston, in the State of Ga., on or about the ________ day of Mch, 1865, he contracted rheumatism from exposure.

That he has not been employed in the military or naval service otherwise than as stated above.
That since leaving the service his occupation has been that of a farmer. That prior to his entry into the service above named he was a man of good, sound physical health, being when enrolled a farmer. That he is now disabled from obtaining his subsistence by manual labor by reason of his injuries above described, received in the service of the United States; and he therefore makes his declaration for the purpose of being placed on the invalid pension roll of the United States. He hereby appoints, with full power of substitution and revocation, George E. Lemon, of Washington D.C., his true and lawful Attorney, to prosecute is claim. That he has never received but has applied for a pension. That his postoffice address is Hennessey, County of Kingfisher, of Oklahoma Ter.

Peter Pixler

Peter Pixler Claimants Affidavit

2010-06-05T17:38:00.003-07:00

Claimant's Affidavit
Territory of Oklahoma
County of Garfield

In the matter of the claim for Original Pension of Peter Pixler, Pvt. Co "I" 48" Regt. Ind. Vol. Inftr.
Personally came before me, a County Clerk in and for the County and Ter. aforesaid Peter Pixler of Concord, Wood County, Oklahoma Territory,
a person of lawful age, who being duly sworn, declares in relation to the aforesaid claim, as follows:
that he did not at any time, prior or before February 7" 1891 make application for pension.

Peter Pixler Application for Reimbursement

2010-06-05T17:27:00.004-07:00

This form is really long, so I'm only transcribing the genealogically pertinent info.

Questions answered by Amos Pixler, aged 58 years, a resident of Roosevelt, County of Kiowa, State of Oklahoma.

Makes the following declaration in order to obtain reimbursement from the accrued pension for expenses paid (or obligation incurred) in the last sickness and burial of Peter Pixler.

What was your relation the the deceased pensioner? son
Are you married? no
What was the cause of pensioner's death? old age and general dibility [sic]
When did the pensioner's last sickness begin? about a week before death
From what date did the pensioner become so ill as to require the regular and daily attendance of another person constantly until death? July 22, 1917
Give the name and post-office address of each physician who attended the pensioner during last sickness Dr. F. F. Martin, Roosevelt, Okla.
State the names of the persons by whom the pensioner was nursed during the last sickness Clyda Pixler and myself
Where did the pensioner live during last sickness? lived at my home
Where did the pensioner die? at my home
When did the pensioner die? July 29, 1917
Where was the pensioner buried? at Roosevelt, Okla.

State below the expenses of the pensioner's last sickness and burial.

Dr. F.F. Martin Physician Unpaid $4.00
C. L. Brown Furn. Co. Undertaker Unpaid 45.00
Town of Roosevelt Cemetery Paid $10.00
Gresham & Co. Articles for burial Paid .75

Also appeared D.W. Tate and ________ who being duly sworn, say that they saw Amos Pixler, the claimant sign his name to this application; that they know the claimant herein and that their answers to the following questions are true:

1. Did pensioner (if a soldier or sailor) leave a widow or a minor child under age of sixteen years surviving? No
2. When did the pensioner die? July 29, 1917
3. Did pensioner leave any property? If so, state its character and value No
4. We knew pensioner one years. We believe above statements to be true because we have often talked with deceased and also with claimant as to affairs pertaining to his business and have lived adjoining farms to him for more than one year

Name D. W. Tate
P.O. Address Roosevelt, Okla

Name J. D. Griffs
P.O. Address Roosevelt, Okla

Peter Pixler Bureau of Pensions Questions 1915

2010-06-05T17:08:00.002-07:00

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Pension
Washington, D.C., January 2, 1915

Sir: Please answer, at your earliest convenience, the questions enumerated below. The information is requested for future use, and it may be of great value to your widow or children. Use the inclosed [sic] envelope, which requires no stamp.

Very respectfully,

Commissioner.

Peter Pixler
Hastings Okla.
698990 Act May

No. 1. Date and place of birth? Answer. Born in year 1832, State Pensvia
The name of organizations in which you served? Answer. 48 Indiana Reg

No. 2 What was your post office at enlistment: Answer. Burboun, Indiana

No. 3 State your wife's full name and her maiden name. Answer: Eliza Hipshire Maiden Name
Married name: Eliza Pixler

No. 4 When, where, and by whom were you married? Answer: Nathan Blake Justice Pease Nov. 19 A.D. 1852

No. 5 Is there any official record of your marriage? Official Record at Van Wert
If so, where? Answer Van Wert Ohio

No. 6 Were you previously married? If so, state the name of your former wife, the date of the marriage, and the date and place of her death or divorce. If there was more than one previous marriage, let your answer include all former wives. Answer. None.

No. 7. If your present wife was married before her marriage to you, state the name of her former husband, the date of such marriage, and the date and place of his death or divorce, and state whether he ever rendered any military or naval service, and, if so, give name of the organization in which he served. If she was married more than once before her marriage to you, let your answer include all former husbands. Answer: No

No. 8. Are you now living with your wife, or has there been a separation? Answer. Wife Died March 3rd 1909

No. 9. State the names and dates of birth of all your children, living or dead.

Answer:
Henry Pixler Born Oct. 30 1853 Dead
Silvia Jane Pixler Dec. 29 1854 Dead
Sarah Ann Pixler Born Oct. 20 1857 Dead
Amos A Pixler Born Sep 13 1859 Living
Angeline C. Pixler Born June 19 1862 Alive
George A. Pixler Born Oct 14 1864 Alive
Mary Elizabeth Pixler Born May 7 1857 Dead
William Pixler Born Feb 28 1869 Dead
Anna Elice Pixler Born Sep 6 1870 Alive
Edith Anne Pixler March 24, 1874 Alive
Elmer Pixler Born Aug 14, 1877 Alive

Date: April 10, 1915

Signature Peter Pixler
By Angie C Pixler
Daughter

Peter Pixler Bureau of Pensions Questions 1898

2010-06-05T16:56:00.003-07:00

Certificate No. 698990
Name: Peter Pixler

Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Pensions,

Washington, D.C., January 15, 1898

Sir:

In forwarding to the pension agent the executed voucher for your next quarterly payment please favor me by returning this circular to him with replies to the questions enumerated below.

Very respectfully,

McKay Grant
Commissioner

First. Are you married? If so, please state your wife's full name and her maiden name.
Answer. Yes, Eliza Hipsher

Second. When, where, and by whom were you married?
Answer. Van Wert, Ohio. By Justice Peace Oct 20 1852

Third. What record of marriage exists?
Answer. On record at County Seat Van Wert Ohio.

Fourth. Were you previously married? If so, please state the name of your former wife and the date and place of her death and divorce.

Answer. No

Fifth. Have you any children living? If so, please state their names and the dates of their birth.

Answer. Amos Pixler Born Sept. 13th 1859
Angelina Celestia Pixler Born June 19 1862
George Washington Pixler Born Oct 14 1864'
E... Alice Pixler Sept 6 1840
Edith Ann " May 24 1844
Elmer Daniel " Aug 14 1847

Peter Pixler (signature)

Date of reply, May 4 1898

Peter Pixler Declaration for Pension

2010-06-05T16:46:00.003-07:00

Declaration for Pension.

State of Okla.
County of Morgan

On this 28 day of Dec, A.D. one thousand nine hundred and seven, personally appeared before me a Notary Public within and for the county and State aforesaid, Peter Pixler, who, being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is 75 years of age, and a resident of Ringwood, county of Morgan, State of Okla; and that he is the identical person who was ENROLLED at Marshall Co., Ind. under the name of Peter Pixler, on the 4 day of Oct. 1864, as a Private in Co. I. 48 Reg. 2nd Vol. Inf. in the service of the United States, in the Civil war, and was honorably discharged at Louisville, Kentucky on the 15 day of July, 1865.

That he was not employed in the military or naval service of the United States otherwise than as stated above. That his personal description at enlistment was as follows: Height, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches; complexion, Fair; color of eyes, Blue; color of hair, sandy; that his occupation was Ditcher; that he was born July 15 1832, at Pennsylvania.
That his several places of residence since leaving the service have been as follows: Kansas - Missouri - Oklahoma.

That he is a pensioner. That he has heretofore applied for pension No. of Pension Cert. 698990

That he makes this declaration for the purpose of being placed in the pension roll of the United States under the provisions of the act of February 6, 1907.
That his post-office address is Ringwood, county of Morgan, State of Okla.

Peter Pixler

Attest (1) Mrs. Sarah Walt
(2) G. M. McBride

Also personally appeared F. E. Freller, residing in Ringwood Okla and G. M. McBride, residing in Arnes Okla, persons whom I certify to be respectable and entitled to credit, and who, being by me duly sworn, say that they were present and saw Peter Pixler, the claimant, sign his name to the foregoing declaration; that they have every reason to believe, from the appearance of the claimant and their acquaintance with him of 5 years and 1 years, respectively, that he is the identical person he represents himself to be, and that they have no interest in the prosecution of this claim.

F. E. Fuller
G.M. McBride
(Signatures of witnesses)

William Walt
Notary Public

Peter Pixler Correspondence about Request for Reimbursement

2010-06-05T16:22:00.003-07:00

Reimbursement

Certificate No. 698,990
Pensioner: Peter Pixler
Class: Invalid
Date of Death: July 29, 1917
Claimant: Amos Pixler
Post Office: Roosevelt Okla.
Received: Sep 22 1917
Oct. 8/17 (illegible)
Dec. 20 1917 Letter to Guy H. Parker advg of status
Dec. 20 1917 Call of Oct. 8/17 repeated

Math on other side of paper

17-7-29
5-3
_______
2 - 26 x 22 1/2

45.00
19.50
_____
$64.50

A & N Div.
Reimb.

Dec. 21, 1917.

Mr. Guy H. Parker,
Roosevelt,
Oklahoma.

Sir:

In response to your letter of the 2nd inst., relatives to the claim of Amos Pixler, for reimbursement in the case of Peter Pixler, Inv. Cert. 698.990, you are advised that the final settlement of the claim awaits a report from the Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners at Kobart, Oklahoma, called for Oct. 8 1917.

Very respectfully,

Commissioner.

A & N. Div.
Reimb.

Dec. 21, 1917

Clerk to Board of County Commissioners
Kobart, Oklahoma.

Sir:

To aid in adjudicating a claim for reimbursement in the case of Peter Pixler, Inv. Cert. 698,990, who died July 29, 1917, at Roosevelt, Oklahoma, you are requested to furnish under cover of enclosed penalty envelope, a report showing whether an allowance has been or will be made from county funds toward the burial expenses of the late pensioner, and if so, the amount and to whom it has been or will be paid.

The enclosed envelope for your reply requires no postage.

Very respectfully,

Commissioner.

Note on a piece of paper:
Topeka Agency
CY, # 698,990

Peter Pixler
Co. I, 48 Ind. Vols.
Act of June 27, 1890

P.O. Address
Ringwood
Woods Cr,
Oklahoma Ty,

By Phone from Auditors Office. Treasy Dept.

July 1/04

Receipt:

Roosevelt, Okla., July 29 1917
Mr. A. Pixler
In account with

C.L. Brown Furniture Co.

Furniture and Undertaking Supplies

7 29 To Casket 45.00

C.L. Brown Furn. Co.
By C.L. Brown

Statement
9 - 10 - 1917
Mr. A. Pixler
Roosevelt Okla.
To Grisham Dr.

7-29-17

1 Pr Sox 35
1 Tie 25
1 Collar 15
________
.75

Paid 9 - 10 - 17
Grisham

May 4, 1917
To the Chief, Finance Division:

You are hereby notified that check #4800,413 for $67.50
dated Aug in favor of Peter Pixler
Post-office Roosevelt Okla
Certificate #698990
Section 4 has been returned to this office by the Postmaster with the information that the pensioner died 29 July 1917 and said check has this day been cancelled.

Very respectfully,
Guy O. Taylor,
Disbursing Clerk

Statement.
Roosevelt, Okla., Sept 10, 1917
Mr. Peter Pixler
Roosevelt Okla.
In Account With

F.F. Martin, M.D.

July 23 1917 2.00
July 28 " 2.00
____
4.00

F.F. Martin M.D.

Reim. Sec.
A. & N. Div.

October 8, 1917.

Clerk to Board of County Commissioners,
Hobart,
Oklahoma.

Sir:
For use in a claim for reimbursement in the case of Peter Pixler, who died at Roosevelt, Oklahoma on July 29, 1917 and who was formerly a pensioner under Inv. Ctf. No. 698,990, please state whether any allowance from the county fund under State law for the burial of indigent soldiers has been made to the Brown Furniture Company of Roosevelt, Oklahoma, or to any one else, or whether any application for such allowance has been filed.
An envelope requiring no postage is enclosed for your reply.

Very respectfully,

G. M. Saltzgaber.

Commissioner.

Peter Pixler Bureau of Pensions Letter

2010-06-05T16:18:00.002-07:00

Finance Division
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Pensions
Washington Aug 8 1917

Guy M. Parker
Roosevelt Okla.

Your enclosed letter does not contain the data necessary to identify the case. If you will return it to this Bureau, with this circular, filling in the blank lines below as far as your information will permit, it will receive prompt attention.
Certificate Number, 698990, Name of pensioner, Peter Pixler, Company I, Regiment 48, State Indiana, Army, Date of death July 29, 1917

Very respectfully,
(Signature)
Commissioner.

Peter Pixler Pension Record

2010-06-05T16:10:00.002-07:00

Act June 27, 1890.

Invalid.

Cert. No. 698990

Name, Peter Pixler
Rank: Pvt; Service, Co. I 48" Ind. Vol. Inf.

Original Roll: Topeka

1 Issue. Class Orig.
Fee, $10
Issued Jan. 11, 1892
Mailed Jan. 18, 1892
Rate and Period, $8, from Feb. 7, 1891
Disability: Rheumatism

2 Issue.
Class, Inc.
Fee, $2
Issued July 18, 1904
Mailed July 30, "
Rate and Period, $12, from May 16, 1904.

3 Issue
Class, Reis
Issued Jan 6, 1908
Mailed Jan 7, 1908
Rate and Period, $15, from Apl. 20, 1907

4 Issue
Class, Inc.
Issued Feb 17, 1908
Mailed Feb 18 1908
Rate and Period, $20, from Dec. 31, 1907

5 Issue
Class, Reis
Fee, $20
Issued Feb. 27, 1913
Mailed Feb 28 1913
Rate and Period, $22.50 from June 3, 1912

Dead

Dropped
Aug. 20 1917

Peter Pixler Pension Claim Surgeon's Certificate 1902

2010-06-05T15:57:00.002-07:00

Increase Pension Claim No. 698990
Peter Pixler
Company I - 48. Reg't Ind. Inf.
Claimant's post-office address: Concord

Address of Board,
Enid P.O. Okla. State. Oct. 1st 1902

Cause of disability: Rheumatism, disability from age, affection of kidney and chronic diarrhea.

He receives a pension of 8 dollars per month.
He makes the following statement in regard to the origin of his disabilities and date when first discovered by him: Had rheumatism in 1864, has no hospital record.

Birthplace, Ohio. Age 70 years; height, 5-7 in.; weight, 143 pounds; complexion, fair; color of eyes, blue; color of hair, sandy; occupation, farmer; permanent marks and scars other than those described below, No mark of identification.

We hereby certify that upon examination we find the following objective conditions:

Pulse rate, 80-96-146; respiration, 16-18-24; temperature, 98.5;
Palms hard, muscles flabby and soft, skin dry and sallow. Tongue flabby and slightly coated, tonsils, uvula, and pharynx highly inflamed.
Heart: - Apex plainly visible to inspection, apex 2 in. below area of cardiac dullness is 3/5 in. Rhythm is normal, increased feebleness.
No murmurs, some dilitation of left vent, no hypertrophy, slight dyspnoea, no oedema, no cyanosis. Chest 33-35-37 in.
Rheumatism: - In left shoulder and neck, hypertrophy of the trapezius muscle some crepitus in left shoulder joint, 16 1/2 left, 16 in. right shoulder measurements. Slight limitation of motion in left shoulder. All other joint muscles and tendons are normal.
Kidneys: - Urine pale amber alkaline in reaction. S.G. 1022. No sugar, no albu. There are no local oedemas or dropsies, no aenemia. The heart and arteries are in a normal condition considering age of applicant. There are no degenerations evident, no uremic symptoms.
Diarrhea and Piles - Stomach is tender to pressure, slightly tympanitic, liver is little enlarged, the upper border corresponds to the lower margin of the 7th rib; lower border corresponds to the lower margin of the 12th rib.
Piles: -Rectum is inflamed, not bleeding or ulcerated; haem. vessels engorged 3 tumers - 3/4x 1/3. 1/2 x 3/4 and the last is 3/4 x 1/2.
Sensitive, not bleeding nor ulcerated they are internal; no fissure, no stricture, no fistula, no prolapsus. Spleen is tender and enlarged about 1/3 rd.
Except as above no other disability is found to exist.
His disability for earning a support by manual labor is due to rheumatism debility from age affection of the kidneys and chronic diarrhea and warrants a rate of $12.

Peter Pixler Pension Claim Surgeon's Certificate 1899

2010-06-05T15:40:00.002-07:00

Increase Pension Claim No. 698,990
Peter Pixler,
Pt. Company I Reg't 48 Ind. Inf.
Hennessey, O. Ter.
Hennessey P.O.
O. Ter.
Jan. 25" 1899

Cause of disability. Rheumatism, disease of heart, kidneys and head. Chronic diarrhea and loss of teeth and all disabilities.
He receives a pension of Eight dollars per month.
He makes the following statement upon which he bases his claim for increase.
Have pain over body, more in right arm, knee and ankle. Have pain in region of heart and fluttering of heart upon least exertion of excitement. Pass water very often but in small amounts. Have pain over kidneys. Have diarrhea occasionally but not as often as before. Have (...) every 2 or 3 weeks lasting to 2 days.

We hereby certify that upon examination we find the following objective conditions:
Pulse rate, 79 sitting, 86 standing, 96 after exercise. Respiration 17 sitting, 20 standing, 22 after exercise, temperature, 98.6, height 5 feet 8 inches; actual weight 150 pounds; age, 66 years.
Rheumatism. Muscle of right hip atrophied. Muscles of right thigh soft and flabby. Right knee big and another one-half inch longer than left. Right knee and ankle tender to flexion and extension of leg and foot and motion limited. Tendons of muscles of right thigh tense. Except as above no stiff or enlarged joints, contracted muscles or binding or limitation of motion. 7,8 rating
Heart. Ana and apex beat normal. No valvular lesions. No, oedema or ... No rating.
Kidneys, Urine ph gr 10 22 Alkaline reaction. No sugar or albumen. No casts. No rating
There is slight hypertrophy of prostate gland. No evidence of ... or other disease of head. No rating.
Chronic diarrhoea - ... coated at base.
Conjunctiva clear. Tympanitis over stomach and bowels with slight distension of latter. Rectum ... No lumps. Nutrition fair. 4,,8 rating.
All teeth but three upper are missing. Gums firm. No rating.
Except as above all organs appear normal.
No signs of vicious habits.

Peter Pixler Pension Claim Surgeon's Certificate 1894

2010-06-05T15:27:00.003-07:00

Surgeon's Certificate

In case of
Peter Pixler
Co. I, 48 Reg't Ind Inf
Applicant for Increase
No. 698,990
Date of Examination:
Feb 7th 1894

A.L. Shaw, Sec'y

Post Office, Kingfisher
County, "
State, OK Ter'y

Increase Pension Claim No. 698,990
Peter Pixler, Rank, Priv
Company I, 48 Reg't Ind Inf Kingfisher, OK Ter, Hennessey OK Ter'y Feb 7th 1894

We hereby certify that in compliance with the requirements of the law we have carefully examined this applicant, who state that he is suffering from the following disability, incurred in the service, viz: Rheumatism, Dis of heart, kidneys and head. Chro Diarrhoea and loss of teeth

and that he receives a pension of Eight dollars per month.

He makes the following statement upon which he bases his claim for Increase

Because I am not able to work as my disabilities have increased

Upon examination we find the following objective conditions: Pulse rate, 78; respiration, 18; temperature 98 6/10; height 5 feet 8 inches; weight, 143 pounds; age, 61 years.
General appearance poor. Eyes sunken. Skin dry. Tongue fissured and flabby. Liver and spleen normal. Abdomen normal. Chest normal. Lungs normal. Hearts action normal apex beat in 5 intercostal space 1 1/2 inch left of sternum, beats clean and distinct, 78 sitting, 84 after active exercise. Applicant complains of pain in knee joints and right arm on examination find all joints, muscles and tendons normal. Applicant complains of head-ache which is the effect of sunstroke received 6 years ago. Head-ache comes on at night generally after twelve, and at times is so severe that he must rise for relief, also gets relief by bandaging head tightly. Cannot find any abnormal brain or spinal symptoms.
He states that he has not had chronic diarrhoea for last 4 years. Rectum found normal. Teeth on upper jaw are badly decayed and loose and has only 1 incisor 3 bi-cuspid and 1 molar left. On lower jaw had only one bi-cuspid, all other teeth gone. Gums are smooth and well healed. Applicant complains of pain in region of kidneys on examination of urine find it normal. Passes 50 oz 24 hrs. He says he has pain in bladder when it is full and has to rise 2 or 3 times during night to pass water. Prostate gland is slightly enlarged, causes him some trouble in passing water.
No other disability found to exist.

Peter Pixler Pension Claim Surgeon's Certificate 1891

2010-06-05T15:07:00.004-07:00

Surgeon's Certificate
In case of Peter Pixler
Co. I 48 Reg't Ind. Vol. Inf.
Applicant for Original
No. 989889

Date of Examination:
Sep. 23 1891

Post Office, Kingfisher
County, Kingfisher
State, OK Terry.

Attention is invited to the outlines of the human skeleton and figure upon the back of this certificate, and they should be used whenever it is possible to indicate precisely the location of a disease or injury, the entrance and exit of a missile, an amputation, &c.
The absence of a member from a session of a board and the reason therefor, if known, and the name of the absentee, must be indorsed upon each certificate.

Original Pension Claim No. 989882
Peter Pixler, Rank, Pvt Company I 48 Reg't Ind. Vol. Inf. Kingfisher State, Hennessey Sep. 23, 1891.

We hereby certify that in compliance with the requirements of the law we have carefully examined this applicant, who states that he is suffering from the following disability, incurred in the service, viz: rheumatism and head trouble and that he receives a pension of _____ dollars per month.

He makes the following statement upon which he bases his claim for Original

rheumatism commenced in 1864 while in the Army, Head trouble commenced about Eight years ago can perform about 14 manual labors

Upon examination we find the following objective conditions: Pulse rate, 85; respiration, 18; temperature 98 degrees; height, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches; weight, 159 pounds; age 59 years. General appearance of applicant very feeble. Skin dry and harsh. Liver enlarged and tender to pressure extending an inch below the free (....) of ribs. Spleen normal. Tongue normal. Hearts action normal. Biceps and deltoid muscles of right arm very sore and sensitive to any manipulations and action. Sight and measures over belly of biceps 10 1/2 inches deep 10 1/2 no enlargement of joints - non contraction of muscles on tendons. Knee joints painful and gives pain at times when moved. Attacks of vertigo and nausea every two - three days. (...) says that hands are numb most all time but pin points detected no paralysis. Says that he don't sleep well and he had sunstroke a number of years ago. No want of coordination. Physical examination reveals nothing abnormal with eyes Right = 20 Left = 10/20 Hearing normal. No other disabilities found to exist.

Peter Pixler Pension Application Proof of Disability

2010-06-05T14:52:00.005-07:00

Proof of Disability
Claim of
Peter Pixler
Co. "I" 48 Ind Vol

No. 698,990

Act of June 27, 1890

Filed by C.E. Foote, Kalamazoo, Mich.

State of Oklahoma
County of Kingfisher

In the matter of the claim for Pension of Peter Pixler personally appeared before me, a Notary Public in and for said County and State aforesaid, N. Rector a physician, aged 54 years, who being duly sworn, declares in relation to said claim that I have examined Peter Pixler and find the following. Hearts action unsteady no valvular disease that I can detect. I think there is enlargement of the organ his Pulls [sic] are unsteady 100... 80... Specific gravity 10 no Albumin Sugar present about 10 percent Albumin Sugar. I can't say what quantity but sufficient to show its presence. Applicant has no teeth that corespond and they are rottenly worthless to him. Expansion of chest only one inch. His general appearance would indicate a man in poor state of health.

He further declares that he has no interest in said claim and is not interested in its prosecution, and his Post-Office address is Hennessey Oklahoma
Signature Newton Rector M.D.

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 28 day of Dec 1892

Nelson D. Fowler Declaration for Pension for Children

2010-06-05T14:38:00.002-07:00

Declaration for Pension for Children
(Act of June 27th 1890.)

State of Kansas, County of Pratt, SS.
On this 5th day of June, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and ninety one personally appeared before me an officer duly authorized to administer oaths, within and for the County and State afore-said George W. Burnett resident of Pratt County of Pratt State of Kansas aged 41 years respectively, who being duly sworn according to law, makes the following declaration in order to obtain the Pension provided by Acts of Congress for children of soldiers of the late war. That they are the legitimate children of Nelson D. Fowler who enlisted under the name of Nelson D. Fowler at Bourbon Ind on the 8th day of July 1862 in Co. F - 12th Reg't. Ind Vol's, in the war of the Rebellion who died at Tipacanoe [sic] Town. Ind on the 3rd or 4th day of June A.D. 1879 that he left a widow surviving who is the mother of Grace L Fowler and Charles A Fowler that the above-named are the only surviving legitimate children of said soldier, who were under sixteen years of age at the time of his death, of whom Grace L Fowler and Charles A Fowler are still living, and that said children were the issue of soldier, as follows, the dates of their births being as hereinafter stated:
Grace L Fowler of soldier by Sylvia J Fowler born March 11th 1877
Charles A Fowler of soldier by Charles A Fowler [sic] born March 2nd 1879

That the said mother was married under the name of Sylvia J Pixler to Nelson D Fowler there being no legal barrier to such marriage; that the said children have not aided or abetted, the rebellion; and that a prior application has been filed under the old law and that declarant hereby appoints, with full power of substitution and revocation, A.M. Legg, of Washington D.C., his attorney to prosecute the above claim; and I hereby consent and agree to the payment of a fee for his services if he is successful in getting the pension. that my postoffice address is Pratt, Kansas.

Robert Brown
... (paper folded, name illegible) Jackson

George W. Burnett
Signature of Claimant

Nelson D. Fowler Pensioner Dropped

2010-06-05T14:35:00.003-07:00

(Pensioner Dropped.)

U. S. Pension Agency

Indianapolis,

Jan 24 1880

J.A. Bentley (?)

Commissioner of Pensions.

Sir:

I hereby report that the name of Nelson D. Fowler, who was a pensioner on the rolls of this Agency, under Certificate No. 159256, and who was last paid at $8, to 6 Feb, 1879, has been dropped, because of Death

Very respectfully,
Fred J. Miller
Pension Agent.

Every name dropped to be thus reported at once.

Nelson D. Fowler Pension Files

2010-06-05T14:25:00.002-07:00

I ordered these files from the National Archive several years ago, I thought I'd try to transcribe and post them so that anyone else searching for them could find them. And so my family could read them. If you're related to me and know anything else about Nelson Fowler please let me know, I'm pretty stuck.

War Department

Adjutant General's Office
Washington, May 18, 1883

Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Pensions.

Nelson D. Fowler, a Private of Company "F", 12" Regiment Indiana Volunteers was enrolled on the 18" day of June, 1862, at Bourbon for 3 years, and is reported: Present on rolls from enlistment to Aug. 31" 1863 - Sept. Oct. 1863. Absent sick in Hosp. Memphis Tenn. since Oct. 11" 1863. Same to June 30" 1864. - July Aug 1864 present. (last Muster Roll on file)
Returns for Dec 1864 Jan. Feb & Mch. 1865 report him absent sick since Dec 7" 1864 Not absent on Returns for Sept. Oct. & Nov. 1864. Returns for Apr. & May 1865 not on file. Mustered Out with Co. June 8" 1865 at Washington D.C.
Nature of sickness not stated.
Company Morning (?) Reports, and Regimental Hospital Records not on file.

Assistant Adjutant General

Plants and animals in Zion

2010-05-16T20:50:00.004-07:00

This is a summer tanager, I was pretty excited about this one, as it was a first sighting for me. It's not a common bird in Utah. It had just rained, bad weather drives all the birds down into the canyon so you can see a huge variety right after a storm. It was an awesome birding morning, but we only took this one picture.

An enormous beetle on our tarp

A female hummingbird sitting on her nest. Unfortunately I couldn't tell which species it was, female hummingbirds are tricky for me.

A lizard, we saw a lot of different species but only took this one picture

Joshua tree (in the Mojave)

A cactus (in the Mojave)

A flowering cactus (in the Mojave)

Landscapes from our Zion vacation

2010-05-16T20:16:00.005-07:00

This was taken on the Pa'rus Trail at Zion the first morning we were there.

So, here's a really sad story. We drove two hours from Zion to go to the Grand Canyon and kept seeing signs saying the road was closed for winter. I hadn't seen anything on the Grand Canyon's website about any closures, so we decided to be optimistic and assume that since it was May 12th, the road wasn't actually closed for winter and someone had just forgotten to switch the sign. No, it really was closed for winter. Apparently, the road opens on May 15th, the day after we planned to go home. So that was disappointing. But we decided to persevere and find something else cool since we were already in the middle of nowhere. We drove through the Vermillion Cliffs area, which is breathtakingly beautiful.

We found this random house in this little spot called Cliff Dwellers. Apparently, a couple's car broke down in the 1930s while they were driving across Arizona, and they spent the night at this spot. The woman decided that it wouldn't be a bad place to live, so they built a house out there around one of the rocks. Later they turned it into a restaurant and gas station.

Another view of the house

Then we found this nice place called Marble Canyon and watched the sunset. It wasn't exactly the Grand Canyon but it was still beautiful.

Another view of Marble Canyon, right on the edge of the Navajo Indian reservation.

The next day we went back to Zion and spent the whole day hiking different easy trails with the kids. Lucy hiked the whole day and never once complained or asked to be carried. A girl after my own heart. This is a waterfall by the Temple of Sinawava.

These are the hanging gardens. This picture doesn't really do them justice, they were really beautiful.

This is along the trail to the Lower Emerald Pool

So is this

These are the three patriarchs, the mountains are named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We took a little side trip to the small area where the Mojave desert stretches up into Utah. It was sagebrush, joshua trees and cactus as far as we could see. It's amazing to me that life can survive in such a dry place, but it does.

I have to say that these are a mere shadow of the actual scenery, apparently our camera isn't equal to the light and color at Zion. We'll have to go back when we have a better camera.

Our most excellent adventure in Zion National Park

2010-05-16T19:47:00.006-07:00

Lucy learned all about cacti

This was our campsite for 5 days

Us, it rained that morning so it was still pretty cold

My typical hiking stance

Benjamin's typical hiking stance

Nothing can bring a family together like a pair of sunglasses

The Gifts of Motherhood

2010-04-23T14:54:00.002-07:00

I really liked this post on Passionate Homemaking about the different ways that being a mother and a homemaker helps us grow personally. I especially identified with this, on authenticity:

It’s like a magnifying glass over the things I’m incompetent in: cooking, keeping house, self-care, and more. But it is precisely because of this that motherhood offers us a way to grow into the person we truly are. We learn to be painfully honest of our weaknesses while we gratefully embrace our strengths.

I think that's so true, there are so many things I wish I were better at, but I love the challenge of finding my own unique way of making a home and being a mother. The kids and I all have the sniffles and it's been rainy for the last couple days, so this little dose of inspiration was a welcome boost.

The Profession of Motherhood

2010-04-15T15:17:00.004-07:00

One of the big challenges for me in staying home is that I don't have a specific job description or handbook or anything to tell me what I should be doing. A lot of the time I get to the end of the day and wonder what I've accomplished. There were a lot of talks in General Conference this month about being a mother and teaching children, which I really appreciated. It made me think about my job as a mom and how I'm doing. I feel like there is so much expected of us as mothers, sometimes it's easy to feel overwhelmed by everything and the fact that we can't do everything all at once. So I've been trying to clarify to myself the most important things that I want to accomplish as a mother. Then I won't feel as much pressure to keep up with everybody else or measure up to society's idea of a supermom. I also tried to write down what I need to do specifically to make those things happen. This is what I came up with. I'm mostly posting it here because I'm sure I would lose a paper copy. :) But I'm also interested in what other people think about motherhood and what their top priorities would be if they had to choose 4 or 5. This will definitely keep me busy for the next 20 to 25 years. :)

Teach values
-teach and live gospel principles
-pray for my children
-teach modesty
-have frequent, open discussions with children about sexual matters
-provide limits on type and amount of media in home
-daily family prayer
-daily scripture study
-weekly family home evening
-weekly church attendance
-participation in church activities
-teach children to recognize the presence of the spirit
-read them books about great men and women
-involve children in family service activities
-let children be involved and see me be involved in my community

Teach social skills
-provide unstructured time when relationships can deepen
-give children opportunities to play with other children
-listen to my children
-laugh with my children
-play with my children
-have daily family mealtimes
-organize fun family and holiday traditions
-plan regular (& cheap) :) family vacations
-help children recognize and express emotions
-do activities with children that create opportunities for conversation - like fishing or walks or household chores

Provide nurturing home environment
-provide nutritious food
-provide clean clothing
-help them establish healthy sleep habits
-create loving atmosphere
-help children feel safe, physically and emotionally
-be available and interested in activities of children
-keep an organized (enough) and clean (enough) home
-don't over schedule myself or my children
-encourage physical activity
-be aware of individual needs of each child and provide ways to satisfy them
-be aware of children's special talents and capabilities so that I can nurture them
-set age-appropriate limits for children
-be consistent with discipline
-praise appropriate behavior
-establish routines for homework, play and bedtime

Teach self-reliance
-give them choices when appropriate
-teach them to work
-give age-appropriate responsibilities and follow through
-teach setting and reaching goals
-allow children to experience natural consequences of their actions
-teach money management skills
-guide them in finding solutions to problems instead of solving problems for them

Give children a love of learning
-daily reading together
-limit time spent watching TV or playing on the computer
-plan daily activities that help with early development
-provide toys that help them learn
-be involved in children's school when older
-make sure kids do homework, supplementing with extra activities if needed
-build a home library
-sing together, encourage music
-take kids to museums, exhibits, parks, other places where they can actively learn

I heart Sparkpeople

2010-03-14T22:24:00.004-07:00

This is a tribute to Sparkpeople in honor of Nutrition Month. And in honor of me wearing a skirt to church that I haven't been able to fit into in years. Hooray! I finally got back to my pre-Lucy weight again this month. This is the kind of fare we've been eating at our house for the last 2 months. I really love the Sparkpeople meal plans because:

1. I'm a serious portion-distortioner, I don't realize that I'm eating 3 or 4 servings of something, and with Sparkpeople I've tried to measure everything out so I know how many calories I'm eating.

2. It helps me eat well-balanced meals. I tend to eat lots and lots of carbs and lots and lots of milk and not much else when left to my own devices. With Sparkpeople I eat more protein and vegetables, which help keep my cravings in check and keep me full.

3. I can still eat a ton. Usually I can't even eat everything I'm allowed to have because I'm too full with all the fruits and veggies. I guess it helps to be 5'11" and breastfeeding too. :)

4. I don't have to think very hard about what to eat. I can print off a meal plan and grocery list from their site. Of course, I have to tweak it a little bit because I like to buy seasonal produce and use stuff we already have around the house. It usually takes me about an hour on Saturday to plan out our meals, which is kind of annoying at the time. But then I don't have to think about it for the rest of the week. I know exactly how much rice we'll be eating, how many hard-boiled eggs, etc. and can just make them all at the same time and stick the extras in the fridge for later.

5. It gives me lots of great ideas for meat-free meals. We've been eating a lot more nuts and beans and other alternative sources of protein. We probably only have meat for dinner once or twice a week now. I feel like we're a little more in line with the Word of Wisdom, which is nice. We still spend a little bit more on groceries now because of all the extra produce we're eating, but it's worth it for me if it means our family is healthier.

6. The meals usually have only 6 or 7 ingredients in the entire meal. So I can cook simply and get dinner on the table pretty quickly. When you're not making complicated dishes with lots of added fat and salt all the time you start to appreciate the taste of a tomato or an apple or a piece of whole-wheat bread. Mmmm....

So, there's my commercial for Sparkpeople. :) You should check it out. Did I mention it's free?

Lucy's birthday party

2010-03-14T22:11:00.003-07:00

This is my first attempt at decorating a child's birthday cake. It was made without a lot of talent, but with a whole lot of love... and a whole lot of frosting to fill the gaping hole in the middle of the cake. :) Lucy was so excited about it, she kept throwing open the fridge during the party to yell, "Look! We have a cake!"

The birthday girl

She loved all of her presents! I love three year old birthdays! You kind of forget how exciting birthdays can be until you have a preschooler and can experience it all through their eyes.

Free day at Hogle Zoo

2010-03-14T21:58:00.001-07:00

We went to the zoo at the end of January. It was a little chilly, but it was free, and we all had a great time. Andrew and I both loved watching the baby meerkats run around. When Lucy and Andrew were looking at the tiger it came right up and pressed against the window.

Benjamin is getting so big, and he and Lucy have a lot of fun playing together now. They'll go play and giggle together in their room. It's very heartwarming.

My political rant of the month

2010-03-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

I've created a separate blog to keep my occasional indignant outbursts separate from our family blog. :)

If you're interested, you can click here, hopefully I can update it fairly regularly, or at least when I get really steamed about something.

Some family pictures

2010-02-06T06:38:00.015-07:00

We spent Christmas with Shannon's family in Boise and had some pictures taken since it had been years since we'd all been together. We love our family!

All the Harris cousins

Benjamin

Lucy and Stanley

Here's everyone

Stanley

Henry

Lucy

Mary

Benjamin

and Little Calvin

Hooray!

2010-01-14T18:08:00.005-07:00

Halloween

2009-12-08T16:06:00.004-07:00

This is Lucy as a lion

This is Lucy in an Indian dress

And Benjamin as a duck

Lucy's first date

2009-12-08T16:03:00.001-07:00

Lucy and Andrew went on a date to Red Butte Garden back in October. She was so thrilled, we're going to try to keep that tradition going so she can get some personal daddy time.

Reunion

2009-12-08T16:00:00.002-07:00

This is my lovely sister (far left) and two of my best friends from college. I can't believe it's been more than 10 years since we met. It was so fun to see them again!

My two favorite men

2009-12-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

Fish 'n chips

2009-12-08T15:45:00.003-07:00

No, we don't usually feed this kind of stuff to our kids, but we had oil in the deep fryer from the doughnut episode, so we decided to make some fish 'n chips. We still reminisce fondly about this dinner, it was one of those meals that was so good it almost moved me to tears, kind of like the day I first discovered basmati rice.

Here are the recipes from the Joy of Cooking

Fish and chips:

Cut into thick uniform strips slightly larger than French fries:
4 large peeled baking potatoes
Soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
Stir together in medium bowl:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Add and stir until smooth:
1 cup milk or water, or a combination
1 large egg
Set aside. Heat to 350 in a deep-fryer or deep heavy pot over medium-high heat:
3 inches vegetable oil
Drain and dry the potatoes. Drop the potatoes about 1 cup at a time into the hot oil and fry until the spattering ceases, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a brown paper bag or paper towels. When finished with the potatoes, increase the temperature of the oil to 365. Dip into it one piece at a time, letting the excess batter drip off:
1 1/2 pounds dogfish or other white-fleshed fish fillet, rinsed and patted thoroughly dry (we used tilapia)
and slip carefully into the oil. Increase the heat if necessary to maintain the temperature. The fish is done when golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
To finish the chips, fry the potatoes in small batches until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Arrange the potatoes and fish on a platter and serve with tartar sauce.

Tartar sauce (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Combine:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. drained sweet pickle relish
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Thin the sauce with a little lemon juice

mmm... doughnuts

2009-12-08T15:36:00.003-07:00

Andrew and I made some doughnuts a while back for Family Home Evening. We forgot to take a picture before we ate the really nice looking ones, so these are a little strange looking but they were delicious. The recipe is on allrecipes.com, if you're interested search for "crispy and creamy doughnuts." They were fairly close to the misspelled version available at some unnamed chain doughnut shops. And if you live nearby, borrow our deep fryer. Mmmm....

Nap time gone awry

2009-12-08T15:30:00.002-07:00

Yes, this is paint. Apparently Lucy can open the craft supply drawer by herself now. :)

Fair Boundaries

2009-10-15T14:48:00.005-07:00

Or, at least it should... This is one of my rare political posts, so if you're not interested feel free to stop reading. I'm not really a big admirer of either political party, but I am an admirer of democracy. If you live in Utah please consider signing the Fair Boundaries petition that is going around. You can find a full copy of the initiative here. It's been endorsed by the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune, with KSL also supporting the general idea. I especially like the idea that political boundaries would be drawn by an eleven-member independent commission who would follow anti-gerrymandering standards and keep local communities intact. If you look at maps of legislative districts in Utah right now it's pretty obvious that many of the lines are being drawn to further someone's own political career rather than to fairly represent Utah's communities. They need to collect 94,522 signatures of registered Utah voters by next April to get the initiative on the ballot in November 2010. Go get 'em, voters!

My Mothering Style

2009-09-29T14:33:00.002-07:00

I got a book from the library today called MotherStyles that talks about the different Myers-Briggs personality types and how it relates to your parenting style. I thought it was interesting. This is me:

The "Tender Loving Care" Mother

(Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging)

Gentle and kind, the ISFJ mother provides her children with generous amounts of tenderness, affection, and the comfort of daily routine. Her aim is to "be there" for her children, physically and emotionally. She is sensitive to their feelings, offering closeness, understanding, and quiet support.
Loyal and devoted, the ISFJ mother has a strong sense of duty and consistently puts her children's needs first. She delights in taking care of the little things that matter to a child, making each one feel loved and special.
To provide her family with security and warmth, the ISFJ mother tends to the practical and domestic, aiming for a smooth-running household and an attractive home. She also observes and conveys the value and importance of family traditions.

It's an interesting little book, of course it has to over-generalize a little bit, but I think it's nice to figure out some of your strengths so you can focus on them instead of feeling guilty about the things that you're not so great at.

Our happy boy

2009-09-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

How romantic

2009-09-29T14:26:00.001-07:00

This is a slice of one of our garden tomatoes

It begins

2009-09-29T14:23:00.003-07:00

At our family reunion in August a little boy knocked on our cabin door with a little bunch of wildflowers and said, "These are for Lucy" so I let him in and he gave them to Lucy, who was very gracious. Of course, they were distantly related, but I still thought it was cute.

Holy Pelicans, Batman

2009-09-29T14:14:00.002-07:00

Some Pelicans at Bear River Bird Refuge, you can click on it for a bigger picture

And a cool spider

And three adorable baby pied-billed grebes

Housekeeping routine

2009-09-10T20:45:00.006-07:00

Some people have been interested in what I do, and I'm always interested in what other people do, so here are my two cents. This is how I try to keep house. I don't always get everything done, but this way I don't have to spend time every day trying to decide what needs to be done. And it gives me a stopping point, this way I can give myself permission to do other things without feeling guilty about what hasn't been cleaned yet. I know I will eventually get to it. If I make sure I don't start any big projects until I at least get the daily and weekly chores done than we at least always have clothes to wear and food to eat and an inhabitable home.

Daily

Make the bed

Andrew makes bread if we need it

Empty the dishwasher

Before bedtime:

Straighten the house with Lucy

Do dishes, change towels and dish rags, run garbage disposal, wipe off table, stove and counters

Sweep kitchen (I do every 2-3 days now)

Take out garbage as needed

Weekly

Bathe kids and clip nails (twice weekly)

Monday:

Clean kitchen (outside of fridge, microwave inside and out, sinks, countertops, tabletops, mop floor)

Laundry (whites)

Clean bathroom (toilet, sink, tub, mirror, floor if needed)

Tuesday:

Water plants

Wednesday:

Laundry (colors)

Iron

Vacuum

Dust

Clean out fridge

Change towels, pillowcases, sheets every two weeks

Organize top of dresser (our miscellaneous dumping ground)

Thursday:

Plan menus and make shopping list

Download credit card and bank statements into Microsoft Money

Clean off desk and file papers and pay bills

Answer e-mails (I’m terrible at this one)

Friday:

Grocery shopping

Saturday:

Take out recycling

Run errands that we didn't get to during the week

Monthly

Change foil on stove drip pans

Wash off kitchen chairs (especially the kids’!)

Clean dish-draining rack

Wash and sanitize garbage cans

Go to bank and deposit checks

Wash shower curtain, rugs and bathmats

Spray for mold in bathroom

Recycle old magazines

Sweep entryway

Pay rent last Friday of month

Get haircuts (every 2 months)

Every 3 months

Clean drains

Clean oven

Organize freezer

Recycle plastic bags at Smith’s

Vacuum couches, chairs

Rotate mattresses

Wash pillow covers and mattress cover

Wash or air pillows

Disinfect toys – especially bath toys

Organize frequently used drawers, cabinets and closets

Clean light fixtures

Every 6 months

Go through closets and give away or throw away unused or worn-out clothes

Take items to D.I.

Move and clean underneath stove, fridge, washing machine

Wipe down all appliances

Wash quilt

Empty and clean all closets, drawers, cabinets

Wash windows, storm windows, and screens

Organize food storage

Get ring cleaned

Make dentist appointments

Mending

Rotate stuff in 72-hour kit

Every year

Wash blinds

Wash curtains

Do taxes (February or March)

Go through and organize bank statements, insurance, other financial documents

Update household inventory (for renter’s insurance)

So there you have it. What does everyone else do?

Pictures of our summer

2009-09-10T14:15:00.009-07:00

The kids looking pleasant. They really are pretty happy most of the time and so fun to have around.

Andrew's dad's property in Purple Springs, Alberta

Waterton National Park in Canada

Benjamin is eating his first solid foods, well unless you count the ice cream Andrew was always slipping him. The problem with waiting until they're six months old is that they are more interested in grabbing the spoon than they are in eating. It's fun to make baby food again!

Pictures of baby Calvin from last month

2009-09-10T14:10:00.007-07:00

I can't believe my little brother's a daddy!

YouthCity Artways

2009-09-10T14:01:00.002-07:00

I met a lady at the library last week who told me about some low-cost classes for kids at the local community center. They have music, dance and art classes for 1 1/2 - 3 year-olds along with a lot of classes for older kids. It's $30 for two months of weekly 50-minute classes. I figure that's reasonable at about $4 a class. We signed up for the music class and Lucy went to her first day today. She was so happy, she just glowed through the whole thing. There were lots of other kids her age and music and dancing and stickers and instruments to play with. If you live in the Salt Lake area you should check it out!

Interesting article in NY Times

2009-09-10T13:51:00.002-07:00

This op-ed piece by Michael Pollan has an interesting analysis of the relationship between the American food system and our health care industry.

Some family pictures

2009-08-10T20:58:00.002-07:00

Some random pictures from June

2009-07-25T12:54:00.005-07:00

Here's our big little boy

Andrew was trying to make bread the other day and couldn't find the yeast. Eventually we found it in Lucy's purse along with some other must-haves.

Here's our sweet little girl at the Nature Center in Boise, we had a lot of fun there with Grandma Harris and Michael.

We tried to go to the Bear River bird refuge on the way back from Boise but the road was closed for construction. We did get to see this nest full of baby kingbirds on the way back out, though.

This food has already been blessed for your convenience

2009-06-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

This post and subsequent comments made me giggle.

You know you have too much time on your hands when...

2009-05-29T13:20:00.001-07:00

It's hard to capture the full effect in a picture, but this is our laundry hanging out to dry, rainbow style.

Fingerpainting

2009-05-29T13:15:00.003-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we took Lucy outside for FHE and played with some fingerpaints we made. The recipe is in the old family home evening manual.

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
food coloring
3 cups cold water
2 cups hot water
Add salt to flour, then pour in cold water gradually and beat mixture with egg beater until it is smooth. Add hot water and boil until it becomes glossy. Beat until smooth; then mix in coloring.

Chubby cheeks

2009-05-29T13:13:00.001-07:00

Our little Benjamin was 14 lbs. 4 oz. at his last checkup, he's turning into such a chunky baby!

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

2009-05-29T12:50:00.006-07:00

This isn't the greatest picture, but we're pretty sure these are all mosquitoes. They were gathered in big clouds just off the side of the road and whenever we stopped they'd swarm all over our car. Needless to say, we didn't get out of the car much. Lucy really loved the trip, though, and now she always tells me, "Want to go find birds." All the smaller species of birds were babies and all the bigger ones were mommies. :)

At the very end of our trip we started taking some pictures of the birds, these are some that were close enough to the car to get a good shot of. We also saw an oriole, a first for both of us, but it flew away before we could get a picture. This is an American Avocet in breeding plumage. I can't get enough of these birds, I think they're gorgeous.

This is a White-Faced Ibis, also in breeding plumage, most of the time they don't have that reddish hue to them.

This is a Black-Necked Stilt.

This is a western kingbird.

In Memoriam

2009-05-29T12:42:00.002-07:00

This was the little jumping spider that lived in our bathroom window. I was going to squish him like the one we had crawling on our bedroom ceiling a couple of months ago, but I could close the second pane of glass to keep him out of the house, and he wasn't hurting anybody, so I didn't have the heart to do it. This week we found him all curled up hanging from one of his threads. Poor little guy, I kind of miss seeing his cheerful little self every day.

Sister love

2009-05-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

Our adventures at Discovery Gateway

2009-05-29T12:22:00.006-07:00

Do you think this is enough cheese?

My cute family

Lucy driving away with a chicken in her arms. I don't know why I find this picture so hilarious, but I do.

A postpartum thought

2009-05-06T19:13:00.003-07:00

I just read this quote in a Women's Conference talk given a while ago.

"Some women are worried about their physical bodies. Do they stand outside Wal-Mart and compare themselves with the average of the first one hundred bodies to walk though the store? No, they look at Cindy Crawford or Britney Spears and think, ‘Oh, that’s the national average and certainly the goal I should aspire to.’ ”

Ha ha! Maybe I should go to Wal-Mart tonight and cheer myself up. :).

Easter dress

2009-05-06T19:10:00.003-07:00

This is the dress I sewed for Lucy, it's the first article of clothing I've sewn all by myself besides pajamas, so I'm pretty darn proud of myself.

Some kid pictures

2009-05-06T18:57:00.006-07:00

Welcome Home, Benjamin!

2009-03-13T13:14:00.010-07:00

Benjamin Andrew Oler was born March 11 at 12:01PM, weighing in at 7lbs 10oz and measuring 20.5 inches. He was born a week and a half earlier than his due date. Labor lasted 5hrs from start to finish, which made Shannon very happy. Mother and baby are very healthy. We brought him home today.

Here's Shannon looking good and holding Benjamin after the delivery. She's happy to have a new baby.

Here's Andrew holding the baby after they checked him. He's completely healthy. 5 fingers, 5 toes, all that good stuff. He had a hard time adjusting to the light so most of the pictures for the first few days have him with his eyes closed. Lucy keeps trying to tell him "Awake!"

Here's Benjamin sleeping in his hospital bassinet. Shannon was only pushing for about 5 minutes, so he came out with a nice round head instead of a cone-shaped head.

We had a visit from Lucy and the grandmas at the hospital the day he was born.

Here he is all curled up after a feeding. After having a 9lb baby (Lucy), we almost don't know what to do with a 7lb baby. He's so little. We're not quite sure who he looks like. He just looks pretty babyish right now. He has much lighter hair (light brown) than Lucy did, so he might have Shannon's color of hair.

Here's the traditional picture of Dad burping the baby. Shannon was feeling so well that we had a game of cards while she was in the hospital. Some of you might recognize this game....

Here's a cute pose of him sleeping after a feeding.
(Don't worry, we don't let him sleep on his belly normally.)

He's a pretty happy baby, but he can sure yell when he wants to.

He likes to keep his hands up by his face. His fingernails are kind of sharp so he scratched himself up pretty good in the first day before we got some socks to put on his hands. I think he was even scratched up when he came out.

Here's Lucy holding Ben. When we got home from the hospital, Lucy was out on a walk with grandma Harris. The first thing she said when she came home from the walk was "I want to hold it baby." (Lucy is talking really well these days.) So we got her up on the couch and let her hold him. She gave him kisses and snuggled him for a few minutes. Then when she was done, she said, "All done. I don't like it" and tried to push him away.

Lucy loves her new little brother "Benjins," as she calls him. She's very helpful whenever we change his diaper. She likes to go find the pad and wipes and everything.

Adventures in frugality

2009-02-13T12:24:00.005-07:00

Yesterday Andrew and I went to see Romeo and Juliet at Pioneer Theater. The great thing is that if you're a U of U student you can pay $10 for the season and then you can get two free tickets for preview night for all the plays. Anyone else want to come with us to the next one?

Also, thanks to my new sharp knife I can finally successfully go from this:to this:

Ta da! Recognizable drumsticks, thighs, wings, and breasts! We got two chickens for .59/lb, I roasted one yesterday and cut one up to cook later this week. And I'm making stock for soup with all the leftover bones and random parts. It took me about half an hour to cut it up, but maybe I'll get faster after I practice a couple of times.

Surprising

2009-02-12T14:46:00.004-07:00

This is kind of old, from 2004, but doesn't it seem like we should be doing better than this? The year they put out this report we were #29, tied with Poland and Slovakia. I wonder why... The people who wrote the report think it's linked to a rise in preterm births in the U.S.

New bed, haircuts, trip to Texas, and various other happenings

2009-02-12T13:58:00.017-07:00

Here's the toddler bed Lucy got for Christmas, due to the imminent arrival of another child who needs her crib. She loves it, and once we moved her blankets and stuffed animals onto it she accepted it as her new place to sleep. It's so nice to have an easygoing child! We got the bed and mattress for $20, which was a real blessing to our Christmas budget.

This is me pre-haircut.

This is me post-haircut. I think I'm permanently done with long hair now.

This is how long Lucy's bangs were.

Her cute little baby curls

First haircut. We brought a sucker for her and she didn't make a peep the entire time. She loved the fish cape too! Go Great Clips!

And this is her haircut. It looks a lot better, and she still has curls. Yeah!

This is Andrew's sister and her family who we visited in Texas over Christmas break. We had a fun time with them and loved the nice weather.

This is us before we left on our canoeing trip down the bayou in Caroline and Barrett's backyard. It was really nice. We sang a lot of Row, Row, Row Your Boat for Lucy.

This is the puppy that Grandma Oler brought home. That's the look of pure excitement right there...

The cute puppy and Grandma

This is Lucy and her friend McKayden. McKayden brought some princess dresses to share and they had a fun time playing with them.

This is Lucy and McKayden, I thought it was cute how they both had their dolls. Lucy's starting to really enjoy playing with other kids, it's fun to watch.

More pictures: September through November

2009-01-19T16:03:00.022-07:00

This is Lucy sleeping, we just thought she was cute with her bum up in the air

We found Lucy's little shoes put away neatly in our closet one day

This is Lucy trying to put on all her clothes at once

This is Lucy and her beloved pumpkin, we got it at the farmer's market and she carried it around for several days

This is the mouse that tried to get into our apartment. It stuck it's nose under our air conditioner while we were sitting on the couch, about 10 inches away from my face. I didn't scream but I told it very emphatically that there was no way it was going to come into our apartment. He definitely chose the wrong place to come since one of my former jobs involved breaking mice's necks and feeding them to snakes. We finally convinced him to leave peacefully.

This is Lucy's Halloween costume from the back. She has since worn these wings to several other functions when it was not Halloween.

Lucy getting ready to go trick-or-treating

Enjoying her spoils

She successfully put a bead on each finger

Looking very grown up

Lucy with her cousin Evey

I came in after one of her naps to find her like this, a sock on one hand and her pants down around her ankles

It's definitely time for a haircut

Lucy shopping at the Discovery Center in Boise. After this picture was taken she filled her shopping cart with all the cans of coffee on the shelf. Apparently she needed to stock up.

Trying to decide what to make for dinner

Last Summer's Garden

2009-01-05T11:28:00.003-07:00

This is our garden from last summer. We had two plots next to each other this time and we got a lot of vegetables out of it. We got a book called "How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine" that was pretty helpful. I think it's better for people living in California where the author lives than in Utah, though, some of the planting dates and stuff were a little unrealistic. Next year we'll start things inside a lot earlier and put all the hardy vegetables outside from the start instead of trying to transplant them.
This year we did beans, broccoli, head and leaf lettuce, three kinds of tomatoes, scallions, beets, swiss chard, radishes, carrots, spinach, peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, zucchini, butternut squash, yellow summer squash, and peas. Everything worked out pretty well except for the peppers, cantaloupe and watermelon, which never work but we keep trying them anyway. And we planted the lettuce too late, so it didn't work out either, but it should next year.

Scallions

Cucumbers

Tomatoes, our favorites were the Mr. Stripey heirloom kind, we definitely have to plant more of those next year.

Zucchini, flourishing, of course. We got a dwarf kind without spines that didn't take up as much room, it was nice.

This is our little tiny watermelon. We've tried to grow watermelon every year and it never works out. At least this time we got a little fruit.

I planted a bunch of flowers and herbs in one corner, then they got completely overshadowed by the gigantic broccoli plants we put in there. We had no idea broccoli took up so much space.

Here's one of our broccoli plants while it was still fairly small and innocent. We did get a lot of really tasty broccoli this year, even the stems were really tender and Lucy absolutely loved it. It's a surprisingly easy plant to grow and keeps producing broccoli all summer.

Pictures from this summer

2009-01-05T10:54:00.013-07:00

This is a picture Shannon's family will appreciate. Lucy's dipping homemade bread in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. She loved it!

This is Lucy on the 4th of July

Our big fat canning pot on our little tiny stove, and some cherries. We got about 50 pounds of cherries from Andrew's mom who has a cherry tree, so we should have fruit to last us at least a year now.

This is some cherry jam we made, we also canned pie cherries, salsa and apricots this year. Andrew was a hero and did a lot of the work because Shannon wasn't feeling very well with the morning sickness and everything.

Lucy's cousin Henry, all of Julie's kids are so darn cute

A small part of the enormous Harris extended family. We loved seeing a bunch of our cousins!

Lucy and her cousin Henry playing with bubbles

Lucy playing with Grandma Harris. I can't quite figure out what's going on in the TV show in the background. Any guesses?

This is Lucy hanging out with her Daddy. Andrew takes about 98% of the pictures in our family, which is a good thing. Otherwise we'd only have about 12 from our whole married life. Thanks honey!

Lucy loves to color and she's pretty good at only coloring on paper, which makes her mommy happy.

Who wants to make Christmas ornaments?

2008-11-16T14:04:00.002-07:00

I'm really excited for the holidays this year, I think it's because I'm nesting, and Lucy's old enough to get excited this year. Here's a website from HGTV with a whole bunch of cute ideas for homemade Christmas decorations. Some of the glass ornaments look easy enough that even I could do them. Hmmm... now I just have to figure out where to put a Christmas tree in my 600 sq. ft. apartment.

My online grocery pricebook

2008-11-14T14:11:00.004-07:00

I did my weekly grocery shopping and am pretty proud of how much I saved. I stocked up on a lot of things, spent $61.41 total and saved $27.92, which works out to be 31%. I know, a lot of people could probably do better, but I'm pretty happy with it for the 10-15 minutes of effort I put into it. Ever since we've been married I've been trying to find ways to save money on groceries.

I've tried couponmom.org and clipping coupons from the paper and matching it with sales. But I found that most of the coupons are for name brand items and the store brand was still cheaper than the name brand, even on sale and with the coupon. If I could find a store that allows double coupons it would definitely be worth it, but I haven't heard of any stores around here that do that.

I've tried putting the prices of everything I buy regularly into a spreadsheet and tracking the cost so I know when it's a good deal. But I'd have to do that for at least a year to see when the really good deals are, especially since a lot of the deals are seasonal, and I just don't have the patience for it. Plus I want to compare between stores, but I don't want to go to multiple stores every week. I've gotten better at recognizing good deals for produce and milk and cheese and stuff like that, but with things like pancake syrup that I only buy once in a while I have a hard time recognizing a good price. So here's my current favorite money-saving tool...

There's a website where you can enter your zip code, select the stores you're interested in, and it will tell you how great the deals are on different items they're advertising. They give it anywhere from a half a star to five stars, with five being the best sale price yet. They've been tracking the prices for 19 years, so I trust their opinions more than my own little price book. And they're based in Salt Lake so they have a ton of stores to choose from, at least if you live in Utah. So I jump on the website, find the items with four or five stars that I use regularly, put them on my list, stock up on them, and voila, I'm done. The only thing I wonder about is if there's any way to control for inflation. Otherwise, if food prices keep going up all the sales will be marked as not very good but they still might be the best deals I'll get anytime in the near future. But it seems to be working fine so far, so I'll just rejoice in my slightly increased frugality for now.

mmmm....

2008-09-18T13:38:00.002-07:00

I've been eating a lot of freezer dinners lately and I just pulled out a box that says "Boneless Pork Rib" in big letters and then in smaller letters underneath "...Shaped Patty Meal." LOL

Morning sickness

2008-09-12T15:40:00.005-07:00

**Warning** This is probably going to be boring and too much information for most of you, so you don't have to read this. I'm just hoping that someone might stumble across it on Google or something and that it can be helpful to them. I know it really helped me to hear about other people's experiences who have severe morning sickness and what helped them. If anyone else is going through this and I can be of any help to you drop me a line. There's also a really good website called HelpHER.org that was really helpful. I don't get as sick as a lot of the ladies on there, but it gave me a lot of information that was very useful.

I was really sick with my first pregnancy, I started feeling slightly nauseous when I was only 4 weeks along, and I guessed that I was pregnant even before I took the pregnancy test. I steadily became more and more nauseated until at about 6 weeks I started feeling constantly ill and then started throwing up. I figured that was just what morning sickness was like and tried to just get through it. I would sip Powerade all day at work and go throw up in the public bathroom.
Eventually I would sometimes throw up 10+ times a day and then dry heave even when there was nothing left and lost 15 pounds from what I'd weighed before I got pregnant. Luckily my boss was very understanding, but it was still really stressful for me to be calling in sick all the time and I felt terrible about it. I would go for days only being able to eat and drink small amounts if anything. I called my sister who also gets pretty sick and she suggested that I try Unisom and B6 which helped for a couple of days, but then didn't do anything.
I remember laying on the bathroom floor too weak and miserable to move. I often wished that I had never gotten pregnant, even though we had really wanted to have a baby. My throat was sore all the time from all the stomach acid. I felt like my whole life revolved around food, I was starving but the thought of eating anything made me gag. Eventually I called the doctor and they gave me a prescription for phenergan. That helped a lot when I could keep it down, but I would often throw it up and was too scared to take another one because I didn't want to accidentally overdose or hurt the baby. I should have called them a lot sooner before I was so far into the vomiting/dehydration spiral.
I had been counting down the weeks until my first trimester was over, and then was crushed when 12 weeks came and went and I was still throwing up. I was scared that my entire pregnancy would be like this. I finally decided I had to quit my job and called my boss to set up a time to come talk to him about it. Luckily over the weekend I suddenly felt 100% better. One day I was miserable and the next I felt great and could eat whatever I wanted to. I spent the next couple of days eating everything I could get my hands on. That was at about 15 weeks. The rest of my pregnancy was great, and once Lucy was born it was all worth it for me.
When we started thinking about having another baby I felt like the time was right but I was anxious about putting myself through that first trimester again. I thought maybe it wouldn't be as bad this time. I did a lot of research about morning sickness and tried to learn everything I could that might help me the second time through.
I started feeling sick again, this time only 3-4 days after I was supposed to have ovulated, which was a scary sign for me. When the pregnancy test was positive half of me was ecstatic and the other half of me was terrified, thinking "Oh no, what have I done?" I started taking Unisom the instant I found out I was pregnant because I'd read studies that showed that it helped a lot of women to preemptively treat the morning sickness. That helped enormously and even though I still felt nauseous all the time, I didn't throw up very much at all.
When that stopped working and I started not being able to keep anything down I had my husband get me some Dramamine. We found a generic brand at Walgreens that worked very well for me. I didn't even know I could take Dramamine with my first pregnancy and it was a miracle worker for me this time. Of course I would still throw up regularly and feel sick all the time, but things didn't get out of control and I didn't get as dehydrated or lose weight like I did before.
When the Dramamine wasn't enough I called the doctor and they got me a prescription for Phenergan. They were going to give me the tablets, I think it's ridiculous that I call and say "I can't keep anything down" and she says "OK, swallow these pills." Did you not hear what I just said? I asked if there was phenergan in a suppository form and she said there was and she'd give me that instead. That was another life-saver. I tried not to take it unless I really needed to because it's expensive and it's a stronger drug, but it was such a relief to know that once I'd taken it, it was physically impossible for me to throw it up (at least as far as I know). :) I think having that as a backup was the most important thing that helped me get through this pregnancy. And emotionally it made me feel like I had more control over the situation.
I was also very careful to try to eat at least every two hours and to avoid all spicy or greasy foods or anything else that would be hard to digest. Easily digestible carbohydrates mixed with a little bit of protein worked the best for me. When I couldn't keep anything else down, I could sometimes drink Carnation Instant Breakfast and the protein in it would help me feel a little better. And it tastes the same coming up as it does going down, which I can't say about most things. :) And I would keep trying to drink Powerade or watered down fruit juice even if I kept throwing up, hoping that at least a little bit of it would be absorbed first.
It also helped to stay as still as possible, especially after eating or drinking, I was much more likely to keep food down that way. My husband was an angel taking care of dishes and house cleaning and grocery shopping and everything for me, so I didn't have to move around a lot.
Now I'm 13 weeks pregnant and starting to have some hours of the day when I feel almost normal, which is so great. It's nice to know that I've almost made it through this and that I can have a normal life soon. I appreciate even little things like being able to take Lucy outside, or do the dishes, or visit friends. I wish I could always stay in that frame of mind when I'm thrilled about every little thing. I still don't know if I ever want to do this again, but it is really nice to know that I can take some steps to make things go a little easier. And hopefully someone else will read this and be able to find something that will help them.

Good news

2008-09-12T14:46:00.002-07:00

For those who haven't already heard, we're expecting another baby, hopefully in the middle of March. We're very excited and heard the heartbeat at our first doctor visit last week, which is always fun and reassuring. Being pregnant the second time is a lot different from the first time. I'm not as excited about "being pregnant" this time, I mostly just want time to go by quickly so I can have my baby. And I'm busy taking care of Lucy so I don't have as much time to think about it as I did last time. I'm also not as apprehensive about labor and delivery, I had a storybook delivery with Lucy and so now I know that odds are everything will go fine with this one too. I'm really excited to be able to give Lucy a little brother or sister, too. I loved growing up with my little sister who was less than two years younger than me and I want her to have that joy too. I added a little ticker to the bottom of our blog if you're interested in how far along I am.

Little Helper, part II

2008-07-25T13:20:00.001-07:00

Saying some words

2008-07-25T13:11:00.002-07:00

Popcorn popping

2008-07-25T13:00:00.002-07:00

Some pictures from June

2008-07-25T12:51:00.006-07:00

Andrew went to a research conference in Quebec City in June, this is a picture he took from a bridge. I'll have him post more pictures later since I can't really comment on them, but it was really beautiful there. He had a great time meeting all the big players who research Pol III.

Here's my brother Andy on his mission in Buclovice, Czech Republic

Lucy with her cool sunglasses

Beethoven

2008-07-24T22:22:00.002-07:00

Lucy showing us her skills on the piano.

Little helper

2008-07-24T22:19:00.001-07:00

Playing with bubbles

2008-07-24T22:06:00.003-07:00

This is Lucy with her friends Mikayla and Natalia

Lucy eating a lime

2008-07-24T21:52:00.002-07:00

Catching up on May

2008-07-24T21:31:00.010-07:00

Lucy in her cute outfit from Aunt Rachel. She's starting to wear 2T clothes already, I can't believe how big she's getting!

Lucy sleeping with her doggy. She's such a great sleeper! She falls asleep on her own for naps and bedtime, and usually doesn't even fuss when we put her in her crib. And she sleeps through the night 99% of the time. We're so spoiled! There's nothing I love more than 8 straight hours of sleep.

Andrew made bison jerky in our own oven-turned-dehydrator. It was really tasty. He's really glad he's done with the bison study, (eating 12 oz. of beef or bison every day for fourteen weeks) and is a big fan of chicken and fish right now!

Lucy fell asleep with Grandpa Christensen, so cute! She usually never falls asleep if she's not in her crib, so she must really like him!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T06:56:00.004-07:00

10 Reasons why Andrew is a great Dad

1. He gets up with Lucy pretty much every morning and has oatmeal with her, and he lets her feed herself and cleans up after her.
2. He always plays with Lucy when he gets home from work, and she's so excited to see him.
3. He gets up with Lucy in the middle of the night to give her a drink of water or some medicine if she's teething.
4. He takes lots of pictures so we can remember when Lucy was little.
5. He makes up all sorts of little games to keep Lucy happy and quiet during church. And he takes her to elders quorum every week so I can go to Relief Society by myself.
6. He's always been good at soothing Lucy when she's upset. He listens to her and can usually figure out what's wrong. When she was a newborn he was often the one who could get her to calm down and fall asleep.
7. He knows how to adjust the car seat and set up the crib and I don't have a clue.
8. He can hold Lucy and feed her and eat dinner all at the same time.
9. He's introduced Lucy to pickles and potato chips and ice cream and stuffed green olives and cocktail onions and steak sauce and soda pop...
10. He takes good care of me so I can take care of Lucy too. His family is his first priority and he works hard to provide for us and gives us most of his free time too. He's a thoughtful and loving husband and dad. He's our hero and we love him.

Hair spray

2008-05-22T20:54:00.003-07:00

I just looked up hair spray on Wikipedia, because I really don't know how to use it and I would like to have at least a theoretical understanding of the principle behind it. This is how bad things are with me and hair. I just needed to get that off my chest. :)

Afterword: Wikipedia wasn't very helpful, it didn't actually explain how to use hair spray. However, I now know that before hair spray was invented in 1948 women used filtered cat urine which apparently had approximately the same effect. Pondering that last sentence makes me think maybe my hair spray free lifestyle is okay after all.

Running in the rain

2008-05-22T20:29:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to go running. Yes, me, running, at 6:15 a.m. Unbelievable, I know. Everyone who's ever lived with me knows I hate waking up early and I hate exercising. I'm slowly starting to change my ways. I usually go with my friend Cyndi (you're awesome, Cyndi, if you're reading this) a little later in the morning but her baby was sick. We have an agreement that if there's any kind of precipitation outside when we wake up we don't go running because neither of us is that crazy about running to begin with. When I went outside it was starting to sprinkle and I almost went back inside, but I was already up and dressed and I thought the run would help me clear my mind. By the time I got halfway around our apartment complex it was really starting to pour and I was drenched, but it felt really great to run in the rain. For the first time I felt like an actual "runner", not just someone who runs when I got a good night's sleep and the weather is nice outside. I was running because I wanted to, almost needed to, and because it made me feel good.

Lucy is easily amused

2008-05-04T20:38:00.003-07:00

This is Lucy with her friend Chase

Lucy working the soil

2008-05-04T20:34:00.002-07:00

Our garden

2008-05-04T20:17:00.007-07:00

This is the flat of peas we planted in mid-April.

These are our little sprouts. We have Granny Smith heirloom tomatoes, beets, carrots, and some broccoli and lettuce. The peas are already out in the garden and they seem to be happy, even with the little snowstorm we had last week. I planted a bunch of zinnias and stocks but they didn't come up so we'll have to try again. Andrew and I have had a fun time planning and working in our garden. I most plan it and he mostly works in it. :) If anyone wants any Granny Smith tomato seedlings let me know, we'll probably have a bunch of extra plants.

More pictures of Lucy

2008-05-04T19:53:00.006-07:00

Grandma Oler gave us some beets, so after they were in our fridge for a couple of months I decided to do something with them. I found a recipe in my Joy of Cooking that called for beets in sour cream. I think beets are tasty so I thought beets in sour cream would be even tastier. The sour cream instantly turned hot pink when I stirred it in with the beets. Hot pink food is a little bit of a turnoff, and the horseradish they had me add gave it a kick but in a bad kind of way. I had a feeling as I was adding the horseradish that I shouldn't do it, but I hate to question Irma Rombauer et al. Andrew thought it was okay, though, or at least he was sweet enough to say so. And I think Lucy liked it.

Lucy excitedly showing all my credit cards to her friend Eric. She's dreaming about her big shopping spree at Toys R Us. This was right before she hid them under the carpet.

Lucy and Eric were having a ball getting pushed around the apartment. I give the knees in my new pants another month before they're shot. :) Look at her little arm around his shoulder. I think she'll be a good big sister someday, she really likes little kids.

Lucy's excited about the new apostle

2008-05-02T15:02:00.002-07:00

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

2008-05-02T14:07:00.015-07:00

Our little girl looks less like a baby and more like a toddler every day.

She's discovered the joy of yelling.

Lucy likes to sit in boxes.

Our camera has a cool panorama function we were testing. This is our living room.

This is our kitchen, which doesn't always look so messy, but sometimes it does. We have a bunch of canned food on top of the cabinet which might save us for a little while in a food shortage situation, but might seriously injure us in an earthquake situation. We'll see which comes first.

Lucy's gotten to the stage where she holds socks and shoes up to her feet. Daddy's were big enough that she could get her feet into them herself. Here she is looking very proud of herself.

Brian and Erin came over for conference on Saturday. We always love seeing them. We watched conference together and played For Sale and watched "I Love Lucy" reruns and worked on our soil testing extravaganza.

Our little soil testing setup. This was even more exciting than our homemade drain cleaner experiment a couple of months ago.

Using our cooling rack as an impromptu tube rack we can see that our garden is low in nitrogen, very low in potassium and has a medium amount of phosphorus. Our pH is slightly on the alkaline side and the soil has quite a bit of clay in it. We also had an earthworm in our sample, but we lost it. We really hope Lucy didn't eat it. This is the day Lucy learned the word "dirt."

Here's a family picture of us at Aunt Caroline's house in March.

Happy Birthday Lucy!

2008-02-29T15:41:00.002-07:00

Some videos

2008-02-29T11:23:00.006-07:00

These are of Lucy using her walker, starting to walk, and eating with a spoon. She started really walking a couple of days before her first birthday.

February pictures

2008-02-29T11:03:00.008-07:00

Here are some more pictures of our adventures in University Village

We have a herd of deer that frequents our court and nibbles on the bushes outside our window. Lucy seems unimpressed so far, but we think it's pretty cool.

Eating some cake and ice cream at Lucy's birthday party

Lucy playing with a toy she got from her Grandma Oler. She doesn't bother with the little switches and buttons on the bottom, she just pries the covers up.

Lucy got a brush and comb set for her birthday and she knew just what to do with it.

Lucy and her friends working on their piano trio.

Lucy loves to climb up on the arm of the couch and look out the window. She'll amuse herself for half an hour or more.