Merry Christmas!!

We started out the Christmas season at the Tree Jubilee in Ogden. It was like a mini festival of trees and just the right size for our little kids. Wes tried to touch every tree, especially the ones with treats and stuffed animals. We stood in line to see Santa and Mrs Clause. It was long but went fast and was inside, so it was the best experience I've had waiting for Santa.

Toasted cd

It's a challenge teaching kids to put everything away where it goes. (I have my own organizational issues...especially with paper.) But, I've realized the importance of it in more ways than one. The other night Ty was making toast to go with dinner. It started smelling like burnt metal, so we pulled the bottom off and looked in. There was a melted CD Rom. I think it goes to my scanner. I had taken it out of my laptop to listen to Dave Ramsey and left it on the counter. Wes found it and put it in the toaster. So I had a lot of emotions. I'm not sure which I should feel- angry at myself, angry at Wes, grateful that he put it away. It isn't funny, but it kind of was. There is never a dull moment....especially with Wes around. After that, there was tension in the house. I asked everyone how we could dissolve it, and Wes turned off the light. That made everyone laugh. He is the family clown.

Best Friend

Jacki was telling me about someone that was her best friend. Then she told me about several more people that are her best friends. It turns out she has a lot of best friends.

I don't have any video, but yesterday the boys were both singing. It was really cute. I want to remember times like that because Jacki just punched Wes and he just spilled oil on the floor then put his had in my cereal bowl to wipe out the remnants, so I need to remind myself of all the great moments.

Momma's Boy

I didn't realize that Tommy was a momma's boy, until I walked away. Today my mom was holding him and he saw me. When I walked away, he started to cry. Later, he was on the lov esac, and he was happy until he saw me walk by and thought I was leaving him.

Mother

Jacki calls me "mother." It sounds formal, so I told her to call me mom. She called me mom once, and now it's back to mother. It could be worse, so I won't complain.

Wes has started saying more than uh huh and un uh. Yesterday he repeated, "Ya, mom," after Jacki said it.

Cabin

We went up to Bear Lake over conference and saw all the beautiful colors of the canyon. The only bad news of the trip is that Jacki threw up, which she usually does when she goes through Logan canyon. The good news is that she threw up in a sack for the first time instead of all over everything else.

Bear Lake Raspberry Days

The kids went to the parade at Raspberry days for the first time. They loved the parade of animals, tractors, high school cheerleaders, and a lot of candy. The weather cleared up just in time.

Show & Tell

Jacki has show and tell every Wed. and she insists on picking what she is going bring. She let me pick once. She just told me she knows what she is going to take today. I asked, "What?" "I'm going to take my room," she told me. I can't wait to see how she takes her room to preschool.

Wieght Loss

Maybe it's because I put on more weight with this last pregnancy than I did with the other two, but it's coming off very slowly. I've been feeling a little better about it now that I was able to put on one pair of my pants that didn't have elastic and drawstring waist bands. This post really isn't about me though, it's about Jacki. My kids say and do so many funny things that I want to document better because I won't remember them. Yesterday Ty was talking about losing weight. He's lost a lot since we've had the baby and have been eating better, and he's been working out. So at breakfast Jacki asked me, "Why did dad lose weight?" I told her that he ate healthy and exercised. She said, "You need to lose some pounds like he did." I asked her why, and she said because she wants me to get fat like dad (who is actually getting skinnier, but I got the message.)

New Addition Coming

Our new addition is a computer (#7- crazy I know) but I'm excited about this one because it will be in the kitchen. Since I spend a lot of time there, it will be handy, and I'm determined to write more, even if it's only for 5 minutes. (Thanks to Lindsy for the reminder that it's been a while.)  Our baby is big and cute. I told him to enjoy the thunder thighs, because no one comes up to you when you are my age and tell you how cute your thunder thighs are. He is the happiest kid. He's always smiling at me. The other two kids are full of life. Wes hit Jacki a lot yesterday, so he is familiar with time out. He has a contagious laugh and is Jacki's shadow. Jacki is feeling independent now that she goes to preschool and comes home with an attitude, so I have to remind her how to talk to her mother. Ty has been good at working out in the morning, and I'm getting ready for a 5k.

I know kids don't like time out, but as a mom, I love to take time out, so I went with my neighbors to Utah State and heard inspirational speakers and singers for two days. I took Tommi, and after the second day, I was spiritually exhausted, I was so tired on the way home (sorry to the ladies in the car, I wasn't very talkative.) The kids love to be with their dad, and he took them to peach days.
This is a typical pic of Wes. He gives his funny mischievous smile, and Jacki looks thrilled, but they had a lot of fun. Here are a few more pics from Peach Days. (We don't know that man in the car picture, Ty just loves volkswagons.)

Family Hike

I wanted to start going on family outings on Saturdays and decided to start with a hike a couple of weeks ago. We went up the nature center trail in North Ogden. Someone coming down warned us that he had seen a snake. Jacki was afraid to walk after he said that. Wes got tired of walking, even with his leash, Ty ended up carrying him on his shoulders, and he was fine with doing that until Wes pooped, and it stunk. It was pretty warm since it was 12 by the time we got out, but it was "fun family time," to quote from the Berenstain Bears. Next time we may try biking. The kids are not quite ready for hiking.

Flying with the baby

For a birthday present to myself, I flew out to see my family in Texas and took Tommi with me. We got to meet the twin boys and karaoke with my siblings. We also got to go to Jake and Luke's blessings, which was a super cool experience. On the way home, Tommi had a diaper blowout while we were boarding. We had the best flight attendant. We were on the back row. He gave me gloves and a bag and was just really funny and understanding. Plus I had two great friends flying with me - Mel and Lindsy- to assist. Thanks Ladies! Tommi was a great traveler too.

Choose the Right

Tommi and I went to his 2 month checkup yesterday. He has a flat spot on his head. The doctor said that he needs to "choose the right." So, I have to be more regular with tummy time and help him turn his head to the right. Now that the doctor said that, I notice that he favors his left side, even when all of his fun toys to look at are on the right. I thought that the flat spot was caused at birth. His doctor said that whatever happened in the birth control gets worse because the baby takes that tendency and sticks with it. Other than that, he did great. He was upset by the immunizations that he got. He calmed down quickly and went to sleep, but later on he was really upset, and I was exhausted by the end of the day. Ty came home and said the jeep "limped" home, and we called. It probably needs a new clutch $600. Bring it on.

One less bowl at our house

Why am I posting a picture of a Correlle bowl? Because Wes shattered one of ours. I thought our house was pretty kid proof by now, but Ty has been telling me that we're missing plates. Well, now we're missing bowls too. I gave Wes some Trix while I was making the oatmeal. He finished and must have got impatient. Little pieces of Correlle bowl were all over the kitchen floor. It takes him about 1 sec to make messes that take me about an hour to clean up. Time out, and by the time I took him out of time out, he had fallen asleep. I guess he needed a nap.

Tommi and I got to come home on Thursday. The labor was fast. I got started on pitocin, and he came out less than 3 hours later, which surprised the nurse. She ended up catching him because she didn't realize how fast he was coming. Our friend Lindsy came up to see him born, and she was a good assistant to Ty to help me unplug all my cords when I needed to get up. She is the one that first suggested "natural childbirth" when I was pregnant with my first, and I'm glad she did. It was an incredible experience. She took a picture of me having a contraction and holding on to Ty. I can't imagine not having him there with me, and when I look at that picture I tear up and realize how much he loves me and supports me (not just while I'm in labor). He helped me through each contraction (after I gave him a refresher course on telling me when to breathe,) and though the labor wasn't a walk in the park, it was very fulfilling- kind of like marathon runners feel when they finish.....exhausted and drained but with a huge feeling of having overcome. I'm totally in love with Tommi . He's sitting next to me and smiling in his sleep. He had a loose piece of skin hanging down off his upper lip, so it looked like he was giving a toothy smile. He's a pretty baby and is eating, sleeping, and pooping well. He's had a lot of firsts already- first hiccups, first spit ups, first pee while mom's changing you, first game of sorry, first baby weight check, etc. I feel totally blessed to have him and get to be his mom.

It's Official

We're home, which is so nice. We named the baby Thomas Steven and will call him Tommi or TJ.

Falling in love with baby

Jacki's bday

Jacki was excited for her birthday and had a count down.The birthday celebrations started at grandma Paula's with a joint birthday party for all the cousins in February. Brandon and Maddux turned 3 and 2, and Jacki turned 4. They had a truck/princess party, and Jacki loved "all of her presents." I just noticed in the middle picture that it looks like she has a big patch of dark roots on the top of her head. Her hair is amazing. Besides being super thick, it has looked like she had highlights since she was born, and it went dark to light and then dark again, so it looks like she's due to get her hair highlighted again.  She was very excited to get sung to at church and told me, "I had another birthday." Then, the birthday came at our house. I'm super practical and had only bought her a backpack, so we went on an adventure to Logan to check out the Magical Moon Store. Grandma Craven was so nice to take us since I didn't feel up to doing it by myself. I wish I had pics, but that store is amazing. I let Jacki spend her bday money, and I found some awesome puzzles, music toys, etc. (of course she broke the tamberine as soon as she opened it because she hit it with the triangle stick- oh well.) We also got treated to McDonalds and had a fun fun day.


 







We had the grandma's over for cake. Jacki got Dora. She loves Dora, but the morning of her birthday she told me she wanted Thomas the Train cake. I told her too bad. I had already ordered Dora, and it was truly "adorable". We took her and her Aunt "Yaren" to Toads. She got her first try at race car driving. My favorite part was the miniature golf. It was indoors and had the coolest decorating. It reminded me of the Mayan restaurant. It even had a waterfall, plus it had a whole lot of benches (one at about every hole)- my favorite part....so I could rest. Good thing Wessie was strapped in. He wanted to jump in the water. We had so much fun and ended the day with takeout from Dominoes...yummy bbq pizza...fun fun.

Cartwheels

The other day Jacki asked me to show her how to do a cartwheel. She told me that she learned off of the Dinosaur Train show that you do "hand, hand, foot, foot." The thought of doing a cartwheel 39 weeks pregnant was all I could do, and I told her I wouldn't be doing a cartwheel with the baby in my belly. She asked Ty to do one. He told her that if he did one that it would be "hand, head, hospital." But he did do a modified one onto the love sac just to appease her.

Spring

We've had the crazy Utah spring weather. Yesterday Ty came in to tell me that it was snowing and the sun was shining at the same time. It was beautiful and felt warm earlier this week (60ish degrees.) We get sick when the weather changes, and this time is no exception. Ty has had a bad cough for weeks. Right about the time he got over it Jacki got it. Wes woke up yesterday and was so unhappy. Good things have come out of the sickness though. #1 is that Wes cuddled with both Ty and I yesterday. He NEVER cuddles unless he is sick or tired. That is such a sweet moment when he does. #2 We've been relaxing. Friday we got to watch Princess and the Frog and get take out from Boccaias, which is one of our favorites. Ty got me a vegetarian calzone, which was so good.

Baby is moving a lot. Doc. Swift says that he seems pretty content in there, but I'm progressing every week. The baby is still growing, so I haven't decided whether to evict him or not. I liked going into labor on my own with Jacki, but I didn't like going a week over my due date. I can get started anytime after my next appointment on Wed. My mom leaves the following Wed. to stay with my sister Rachie who is having her cesarean section on the 31st. By the way, I had no idea how to spell that, I had to look it up. Anyways, my mother in law would like an April baby because we don't have any Craven birthdays in April. This is another example of not being able to please everyone, so I think I'll just let baby come when he wants to- even though that will probably mean going in for non stress monitoring....I still hope that every time I wake up during the night, it's a contraction waking me up, but nope!!

The kids are ready for spring. They love getting outside. Jacki has been "helping Ty" in the garden. He had to move a pipe that was buried very deep. She found a purple rock, and brought it inside. I made her take it back out. Wes heads straight for the sandbox as soon as we open the door. He loves it and can go up and down by himself (except for the steep ladder that comes out of the tunnel.)

Who wants to say the prayer

I mentioned before that the coveted task in our family is pushing the garage opener. The runner up is saying the prayer. Jacki has to say it. If someone else says it, then she says it when they are done. But, I still ask, "Who wants to say the prayer?" Wes always raises his hand. He doesn't know what he's raising it for, but hey if Jacki wants to do it, so does he. I just asked who wants to go to grandmas, and he raised both hands....touchdown.

Why I get nothing done

It took us all morning to get the rooms clean. Jacki had so much drama, "I can't clean my room by myself. It's too hard." Wes helped clean his room more than she helped do hers, and of course that totally wore me out.

I got on the computer to respond to an email....5 minutes tops. The kids went upstairs to the kitchen. Jacki told me she wanted some yogurt. She can handle that by herself. I heard the microwave and asked what she was putting in the microwave. She said yogurt and apples, so I went in there. The oven was on and heating up to 275 degrees. There was an apple in there that was sitting on the bottom and burned where it was sitting. I opened the freezer to get them a Creamie, and there was a large bowl in there with yogurt and oatmeal. Then, there was oatmeal and yogurt all over the floor (How far can one little container of yogurt go?) Ty's going to be mad that the kitchen is a disaster when we just cleaned it....welcome to my world. I can only imagine what they've done in the time while I've been writing this, but I didn't want to forget!! At least Wes is strapped in eating his Creamie, so the worst that he can do is have ice cream in his hair, outfit, chair, table, rug....do I dare look?

Helpers

Last Saturday Ty started a loft building project in the garage to give us more storage space. He is very handy. He got two little helpers that came with the project. Jacki didn't want to get her clothes dirty, so she thought she could just wear her underwear out there. We told her to find her pants that had holes in them. Instead, she took out all of her summer clothes, clothes that we are saving because they are too big, and her floor was covered. Wes didn't care that he had a sopping wet (and poopy) diaper and wanted to go right out with Ty. He was really mad at me for changing him....what a mean mom to not let him run around with a wet diaper. I really can't believe it doesn't bother him. Wes crawled all around the garage and got dirty and was so excited to be out. Jacki tried riding her bike in the garage, which didn't really work since there were engines, boards, saws, etc. What was I doing while all this was happening...cooking, and I thought I'd hurry and get in a shower, but I only got half of my legs shaved before I heard screaming. Wes was grumpy, so Ty had sent him inside. Despite all of this, Ty got most of the loft done.

My kids make me laugh

This is one of those days that my kids made me laugh. They are cute little people- even if Wes did just throw the case of blank cds at my foot....Ty we really need to organized the office. Speaking of organizing, it didn't work to have one big bin for all of Jacki's toys, and I didn't like the organizers that are out there because they don't have lids and aren't see through, plus I think the kids will grow out of them. So, last night I took the night off and went with a friend to bunco, and Ty and Jacki built shelves for the small Tupperware that we got to hold each different type of toy. This morning I was helping her get the room put back together and let Wessie play. I couldn't hear him, and I knew that silence means trouble with him. I found him in my bathroom putting on mascara. He was poking his eye with the wand. He looked so funny, I didn't wash it off all morning because it just made me smile too much. The picture doesn't do it justice because he was moving and we need a new camera, but to top it off, he's wearing his inmate outfit that my mom gave him.


Jacki's birthday is coming and the celebrating has started. The other day I was making pizza, and Jacki said that she wanted a Dora pizza. This was the result....we used our imagination and had a lot of fun. Afterwards she wanted to put candles it it like you would for a cake, so I had to explain why there was melted wax in the pizza.  She got to celebrate with her two cousins that have birthdays close to her.  The morning after, she came into my room when she woke up and was wearing her tiara and dress she got and said, "I loved all my birthday surprises."

A little bit of everything

Ty and I have been taking the kids out one night a week and going out by ourselves another night. The kids love to go to Lowes, and we always need something there, so it works out good. I'm reading how to get organized in a year (yes I'm sure it will take me that long since I do random things like put the cheese in the cupboard and the spices in the fridge. Ty asks me where something is, and then usually follows up with the question, "and if it's not there?" So, last week I was reading about organizing the closet. Our closet is a small walk in, but there is NO LIGHT and there WAS no shelving, so our Lowes adventure was to find a portable light that wouldn't burn out and find some kind of portable shelving. SUCCESS! Shelving was on sale- only $10 per shelving unit. Then, there were insert shelves for shoes for $7. I think this may be the best $10 we've spent. (I may even forgive Lowes for the $13 bag of garbage bags that I bought that said there was a $10 coupon inside. The coupon was there- too bad it expire in Aug 2009.) Anyway, we had fun shopping at Lowes and of course came out spending a lot more than the $30 worth of shelves. Ty spent the next day building them, and what a difference, I love my closet now. Well, we also got an LED light to put in the closet.

When we got home, Ty made Jacki some hot chocolate and mounted the magnetic light on the fridge. They drank their hot chocolate by that light. Jacki turned to Ty and said, "That light made all my dreams come true." Now, we laugh so hard whenever we hear or see that phrase. Where does she come up with this.

Before the Lowe's adventure was the Chili's adventure. We tried to think of somewhere besides Chuckee cheese or McDonalds (Jacki's top choices) that the kids would like and thought Chilies would be good. Next time they are getting McDonalds and going to grandmas. Wessie was squirmy and didn't like being strapped in. He wanted to eat the salsa, which was too spicy, so we were glad when the food came. Jacki didn't like her meal. She didn't like the fries because they were too "spicy" and didn't like her grilled cheese (we don't know why.) Ty pulled apart Wessie's quesadilla. The cheese stretched, and it scared him so bad (once again we don't know why). So, he's screaming at the cheese and really upset that he was trapped. He did like the fries. Now we remember why we don't take the kids out much.

The ultrasound doc called today. My MRI showed that the ACC (agenesis of the corpus callosum) is present, which means that the corpus callosum is not present. But, the good news is that they didn't find any other condition or missing part with it. The doc told me that there are people without the corpus callosum and you would never know it because it was before ultrasounds, and they live totally normal lives and never find out that they had that condition. Even though I've felt assured that the baby is okay, it's nice to hear good results from the MRI, and I'm even more grateful for all the prayers that friends and families have done for my little family. Speaking of the MRI, wow I have a lot of empathy for anyone who has had one done. Mine was around the belly, so it wasn't enclosed, but I still had to have them pull me out because it was too hot and I knew I would be claustrophobic. I told the technician that I would be fine if they could make it cooler. She turned on the fan, and that was so much better. The ladies there were so nice and did all they could to make me comfortable (they propped me up on my side, etc.) But, it was impossible to be comfortable, and the baby didn't like the loud noises, so I tried to hold still even though my baby was doing what felt like somersaults. I wondered how they would do the MRI since they can't tell the baby to hold still or put him to sleep. They take short segments and have to redo them if the baby moves too much (so they had to redo several.) Ty was supportive and took off the day of work to take me down. It was boring for him. He had to sit in the waiting room, but he's so supportive. That was our date outing for that week.

Lunch with Ty

We got to go to Ty's work and eat lunch with him. We all got our rooms clean, so I let the kids get fries on the way, which Jacki loved. She also loved her "frosting" (frosty.) Ty's been working a lot, so I've tried to find ways to see him more and have more "quality family time" (to quote the Berenstain Bears.) I've had Ty start taking me on dates again too. It's been fun. One night we went shopping, last week we went out to Avatar and Iggys with Ty's brother and wife, and this week we had our family date, and the kids loved getting out. We've gotten so busy, and by the time we are all home- we just want to relax. More often than not, I go to bed early, so it's been good to do things together.

Elmo got hit with a stick

Jacki just woke up and came in and told me that Elmo is hurt. Elmo is her big stuffed red animal. I went in with her to see what was wrong. She said that someone hit him with a stick. (We had watched Anne of Avonlea recently, and one of the students "was administered the strap.") I had to try so hard to not laugh as we examined Elmo.

Toddler Time

I don't think we've been to the Treehouse with Wes yet, so we went for Toddler time today. By the time we got there, only 1/2 hour was left, which was enough for me. It was hard to keep them both in sight. I needed leashes. They had fun. Wes did get scared of the talking man display that you can see in the back of the picture where they are on the horses. I think we covered the whole place in that half hour. It was packed but good to get out.

You're gonna miss this

Yesterday we had a busy day. Ty had to work and get a barley blend made. I had to get ready for our dinner group with couples from the ward (I'm really glad I had an excuse to have to clean and bake, but I didn't get a lot done while Ty was gone.) I'm loving trying out new cheesecake recipes. My family knows I love cheesecake, so Jojo and mom gave me a spring form pan, and I am glad for any excuse I have to make one. I've made the blue ribbon and the New York Cheesecake. Blue ribbon is my favorite so far. Ty and I are learning about cheesecake recipes and baking processes. It takes a whole day to make these (figuring in the chilling period.)

Ty got home in the afternoon. Even though he shoveled before he left, he had to shovel two more times that night. He also helped me clean. Jacki didn't want to have a nap and had to be coddled (she had to sleep in mom's bed and I had to lie down with her, which I was more than willing to do- yeah for nap time. None of those things worked, so when Ty came home, he made her go to her room to sleep. Wes woke up right about that time and wanted to come in the kitchen with me. I tried to barricade him out with chairs, but he made it in and slipped on the wet floor that I was washing. Then, I tipped my bucket and spilled water everywhere. He came in again and slipped, so he had to be caged in his crib for a while so I could finish. He got the most hysterical he's ever been. As soon as I finished, I got him out, and he wanted to be held, so it was hard to get anything done.

Then, Jacki woke up and wanted to go to grandmas, and I wanted them to go to grandmas. Ty went into Jackster's room to figure out why it stunk so bad and found two diapers she had stashed. He made her throw them away, and she brought them down to the kitchen and filled the room with the smell of urine. I made her trudge right out to the garbage can with her boots on and tried to keep from gagging. As I took them over, the country song, "You're gonna miss this" came on the radio. The words are coming from someone older with kids raised to someone raising kids. The young parent is glad to get through each stage, and the older parent says, "You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish this time didn't go by so fast." My friend that has five young children said she hates it when people tell her to enjoy the time while they are young because it goes by fast because it doesn't feel like it's going fast some days. I can relate. Some days feel so slow, but I totally trust the wiser ones that have been through this, so I was thinking about the things I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss watching Jacki learn how to do things like talk. The other day she said to me, "Don't eat with your mouth full." I'm going to miss Wes laughing hysterically whenever I do a coughing sound at him (hard to explain.) He thinks it's so funny. I'm going to miss seeing the kids play with their daddy. They light up around him and are so excited to see him. I'm gonna miss Jacki coming in to my room to give me a hug and a kiss and tell me her bed is too hard. I'm gonna miss hearing Wesley babble and play in his crib. I'm gonna miss Jacki's honesty, "I see a bum. I see a belly poking out (both said to me.) So, ya when I think about it, there is a lot I'm going to miss....but not the stashed diapers or tantrums!

Klondike

Here are pictures from the Klondike. Ty said he was plenty warm. The scouts were pretty impressed with his homemade chili (made by dumping cans and adding a little chili powder.  Ty said that they were amazed with the bread sticks and cookies that he brought up. That made me smile.

Water mustache

We had a family date night last night. We went to Lowe's to find some boards to help me in my quest to overcome my weakness of disorganization. Right now I'm working on the pantry. The kids were so happy to get out of the house. Jacki loves Lowes and "The depot." Ty played with
Wes. He had his measuring tape that he would flip out towards Wes. Our lil guy loved it when it was close enough that he could touch it, and he laughed. Lowe's has drinking fountains. Jacki went over there a couple of times. She told me she couldn't drink anymore because she was going to get a water mustache.  We drink a lot of orange drink at our house, and if Jacki doesn't use a straw, she ends up with an orange mustache, so she figured that she was going to get a water mustache.

Our family adventure also took us to Hastings. I promised Jacki that she could get a new strawberry shortcake movie if she had a nap and picked everything off the floor so I could vacuum (anything to avoid bending over.) She was so excited. She liked that store and all the candy toys. We had to keep telling her to come with us. Come to think of it, she ran away at Lowe's too, and one of the workers told Ty which way she went.

We ended our night out with a pizza to go from Pizzeria. It was bbq chicken. They put a little fresh parsley on it, and Jacki said, "Yuck, there is salad on my pizza." (She's not a fan of salad, and we like to tease her about that.)

Missing Dad

My friend Pauline gave me an amaryllis bulb to watch grow. It just bloomed this week. On wikipedia, the amaryllis is described as follows:

"The botanic name Amaryllis is taken from a shepherdess in Virgil's pastoral "Eclogues," from the Greek ἀμαρύσσω (Latin amarysso) meaning "to sparkle."^[4]

As a flower symbol it has come to mean "Dramatic"."

Pauline gave the flower to me to remind me of my dad and grandpa who have passed away. Then, I read my friend Edythe's blog about her memories of her dad and listened to music on it called Daddy's girl, and I teared up yesterday and hope that I have a couple of guardian angels that are helping me from paradise. I am a lot like my dad. Grandpa was my mentor. I spent a lot of time with him the last year or so of his life, and he adored my little girl and loved our visits. I'm really glad that I've had these reminders of these two important people in my life. I had a brain hiccup, but I just remembered where I was going with this and came back to finish this post. I know that they are a part of who I am-- just like all other friends and relatives that have impacted me. Elder Anderson gave a recent fireside. He said, "Just as our life began before our birth into mortality, our life does not end with the stopping of a heartbeat. We will continue on. Who you are—you, the distinct individual—you will always be you. Some may say, “I don’t like myself.” Sorry. You can shape who you become, you can be more than you are today, but you will always be you." I know that my dad and grandpa are continuing on and have thought about my life and what I need to do in life as the "distinct person" that I am. I love the general authorities way of encouraging us to all "sparkle" like the amaryllis no matter where we are or how the world sees us. I think it's so important to teach our kids that they are special. Already, my three year old says things like, "I can't do that good enough, etc." I help her as much as I need to and then let her shine. There is nothing like the glow that comes through her face as she says, "I did it." Ty has done this for me. I told him that he has always treated me like a 10 cow wife (jonny lingo). He doesn't care about mistakes. He openly admits to the ones he makes and moves on. I hope that our kids are able to cope with life like Ty does and realize how great they are.

Enjoying life without letting the policeman run us over

The kids have been feeling better, and Jacki was really excited to go to the library. I told her it didn't open until 10. She looked at the clock and said it was nine (she doesn't understand how read the minutes yet.) We read a few books and then went. We had gone a couple of blocks when she told me that she needed to put her seat belt on. I told her that we need to wear seat belts so we can be safe. She said, "Ya, and if we don't, the policeman will run us over." It took me a second to realize that she meant to say "pull us over." I told her that they pull us over not run us over. She told me that there weren't any policemen out, so I went back to telling her that we need to wear seat belts so that if we get in a wreck we don't go through the windshield. She couldn't understand why that would happen. So, we moved on to eye spy.

On a different note, I felt like I needed to quit my job at the end of October for a lot of reasons that I won't go into. I have really tried to enjoy being home with the kids, but I admit that there are times that I miss work. Whenever I hear stay at home moms say that they love every minute and there is nothing they'd rather be doing, I wonder what's wrong with me. Last night for example, Jacki and I were making dinner- potato logs, and I told her she could do the shaking after I finished cutting up the potatoes. When I was ready, I yelled to her, and she didn't answer me. I went up to find her. She was in her bathroom with poop all over her and in her pants. I dropped everything to clean up the mess and give her a bath. We had a talk about not messing her pants.

After dinner, we were hanging out on my bed getting ready for scriptures, and I smelled poop. I didn't know if I was just imagining it, but it wouldn't go away. Ty came in and told Jacki she stunk and had to go take care of it. It turns out she had pooped her pants again....de ja vu....So, like I said it was one of those moments when I wasn't loving being at home. I talked to Ty about it, and he said that there are plenty of times that he would take poop and doing dishes over what he has to do, and I realized once again that there is poop that we all have to deal with (literal and figuratively.) I know that work isn't a fairytale either. I've been there, but this last time that I did work I tried to really appreciate the opportunity, even though I didn't love everything about it. I've realized that those people that say they love their jobs (stay at home mom, career, whatever it may be.) don't love the crap, but they don't let it ruin everything else that they do love. I won't ever love changing poopy diapers.

No hope for good education

I remembered a scene from the movie Baby Boom yesterday. The mom's are sitting around at the playground watching their kids play, and one mom is really upset because she just found out that her child didn't get into the preschool that she wanted. She says that if he doesn't get into the right preschool, he won't get into a good primary and secondary school, and then he can forget an ivy league college. Then, when Diane Keaton admits that her child isn't signed up for any schools and can barely hold a cup, the upset mom said, "I thought I had problems."

Well, yesterday I started calling preschools. My baby girl wants to go, and I think it would be good for her. I thought that I was calling in plenty of time (they don't start until fall.) Well, the first one I called said that she would put me on her waiting list. In a couple of weeks I would get an email either saying it was full, or saying there was room. The next one told me that her 4 year old class pretty much fills up automatically because she has a three year old class that just moves up. She did think she has at least child changing schools and one opening. My mother in law referred me to her. She actually taught my husband. When she found that out, she said she would move us to the top of the list. So maybe I haven't ruined Jacki's chance for a good education after all ....hahahaha.

I'm going to press the button

Jacki and I are both ready for dad to come home. Jacki just asked me, "what's taking dad so long?" We've had a big day. Jacki just said, "You really wear me out but I love you anyway mommy." That's from one of our favorite books, (but it's the other way around.) I thought I'd better update our blog. I've been putting it off because I really want to put in pictures from Ty's Klondike which aren't on the computer yet, so I've been procrastinating.

At our house the coveted task is to press the garage button. If we want to light a fire under Jacki to get her out of the car fast and into the house, we say, "I'm going to press the button." Wes has caught on to and wants the be the one to press it. He has enough motor control now and is strong enough to do it. Yesterday when Ty came home from work he came in and said, "I pressed the button," (just to rile up Jacki.) It worked. She said, "aaaahhhhh."

My brother Jord just sent me these pictures he took while he was visiting us. We miss JOJO! We had fun with him. Jacki loves to cheese it!

Haiti

K, so I was having a pity party yesterday- not really feeling and dealing with kids that hadn't had naps. I've been watching the news lately, mainly for the weather, but fox13 was covering the earthquake in Haiti. They said it is estimated that 50,000 people have died. I thought maybe I had heard wrong, but in the recap they said it again, and I just saw some of the pictures on msn's home page. Unbelievable....I really am so blessed. I took a minute to put life into perspective and realize that just to be in a warm safe house with my little kiddos was such a blessing. I'm impressed with everyone who is helping, and I'd like to help in some way. I don't have money or ability to go over there, but I'm determined to find some way to do something. Right now, all I can think to do is pray for those people that are affected.

I spy with my little eye

When we ride in the car, Jacki and I play I spy. We have our own simplified version. For example, instead of saying, "I spy with my little eye something red (fire hydrant), we say I spy a fire hydrant. The other day she said, "I spy with my little eye something with glowing eyes." I wondered where she had picked up on the "my little eye" part and where she thought of the glowing eyes. As I'm sitting here typing, she's watching her Bernstein Bears movie, and brother bear said, "I spy with my little eye something with glowing eyes." He found the neighbor's cat while they were playing the game. She really remembers what she sees and hears.

Chocolate cow

Well, I didn't sleep well. I went swimming with Elise Hardy this morning and came home and went back to bed. I didn't get up until the kids got up. In order to buy some time to dry my hair, I let Jacki watch Bernstein Bears Fun at the Park movie. She was really upset when I told her it was time for breakfast, and she would have to pause her movie. She threw a tantrum and slithered on the floor like a snake. She gave in when I gave Wes chocolate milk. We don't usually buy it, but Smiths had it on sale, and it's her favorite. She cheered up and ate her rice crispies after that. I asked her where chocolate milk comes from. She said that milk comes from a cow, so chocolate milk comes from a chocolate cow. The other day she told me that rice krispies are her "very favorite" cereal.

REALLY????

My sweet brother Jordan is still in town on his school break, and so I took advantage of it and took him shopping with me. (He had to chase Wes around the store carrying a stuffed animal.) Jacki made him look at the toys.

Well, I'm getting to the part in pregnancy where nothing is comfortable, and though people tell me "you're tiny," it doesn't make the pants fit. I don't like prego pants either because they hug me too much. I just want to be comfortable. I found a pair of pants under $3 at Ross....yeah...until I took them out of the bag at home and saw that the gray plastic tag that beeps when people steal items was still on there. It did beep when we left, but the loss prevention lady told me that it was because we bought a movie (which was the Berenstain bears movie that Jacki got Jordan to get for her. I didn't even give permission for that one.) I asked her if I could take it off. She said that I would have to bring it in to the store.....REALLY....that's totally not worth it. What a pain, but I turned it into an excuse for Ty to take me on a date yesterday. My mom told me that she had the same thing happen at kohl's, so we took hers back too. I told Ty I couldn't believe that they had put a tag on a $2.50 pair of pants. We figured that they put those on everything when they come in- no matter the value, but we still had fun cracking jokes: "Don't let the pregnant lady get away with the $2 pants."

We did have a great date though. I read my friend's Marisa's cool blog post about their marriage counseling session and just preventing problems. I don't have the luxury of having free counseling, so I thought I'd be my own counselor/therapist and counseled myself to go on more dates to spend time with Ty without the kids. It was great.....hard to breath though....the air was sooooo cold. Ty noticed a big dent on the passenger side of my car when he opened my door.

Wes is trying to put his fingers in the shredder and crying, so that's all of my "really" moments for today.

Baby

I haven't said much about the baby yet. Ty thinks this is our most active baby yet, which is saying a lot. Jacki made my belly do the wave. I believe it. I'm so exhausted. It must be from being pounded from the inside all the time. I told my doctor that I had so much more energy with the other two during the 2nd trimester (I wondered if depression or anxiety was making me tired.) He didn't seem concerned and said that the reason why I had more energy is because I didn't have the other two. He compared them to the dementors (spell check doesn't like this word by the way.) in Harry Potter that suck all of the energy out of you.

The picture on the left is our baby's first picture.

We had the typical 20 month ultrasound in November. The doctor couldn't find the corpus collosum. It's that gray part in the middle of the brain in the picture below. The doctor said it separates the left and right side of the brain, and they don't know exactly what it means if it isn't there. So, I haven't said much about it (since we have no idea what it means.) I did tell my mom about it, and she told my sister that there is something wrong with my baby. She's been really worried about him and prays for him a lot.
This baby has had an extra ultrasound, and we go in for a MRI the end of this month. I don't want people to worry, but prayers are always appreciated. (I am worried about being claustrophobic in that machine they use. (Of course I'm taking my MRI knowledge from fox 13's series House, but the ultrasound doctor suggested maybe I should take a Valium....good idea....maybe I should take a Valium to deal with the rest of motherhood too. That might help me chill out next time I have to help Jacki clean out her toy chest.

I'm going to have a photo album full before he even comes out. I like that each of these ultrasound pictures say what they are. The ultrasounds have gotten better with each child, but I still like the helps. So, here's the face, and the doc said that he is very good looking.
Here is a foot.
We're getting excited to have another baby around here. Wes isn't a baby anymore!!! It's also going to be fun to have a baby the same age as his cousins. (Rachie's twins will be born within weeks...maybe even within days of our sweetie. We'll see where this baby takes our lives. I've quit my job....it was too much, and the boss needed someone who could work more and whenever he needed them, and it was too hard. I told him that it would be easier for him to find another accountant than it would be for me to find someone to watch 3 kids under the age of 4. I've tried to really enjoy being home and spend more "quality time" with the kids rather than just babysit.  Jacki and I worked on her first talk this week. Every day she asks me what day it is. Today I told her it is Saturday, and she said, "What do we do on Saturday." I sang her the "Saturday is a special day it's the day we get ready for Sunday song." She got excited and said that Sunday is when she's giving her talk. I've also been reading her Disney stories. (We really want to go to Disneyland now.) We played the wii too, and she was able to do a fast serve on the tennis game and got two strikes in a row in bowling. I adore these kids!!!!

Where's the binky

Binkies disappear so fast. Wes will have one in his mouth, and then it's gone seconds later. It couldn't have gone too far. One time I found it under Ty's desk. This week I found toy in Jacki's toy chest. I think the craziest place I've found one is in the bag of flour. Then, I found one in the toilet. Where's the binky is a constant adventure around here.

A stitch in time saves nine

"A stitch in time saves nine." Ty taught me this phrase the other day after I spent FIVE hours stitching up the bed. The stitching and binding on our mattress started coming undone, and then the kids helped it by pulling the string. They thought that it was a lot of fun to pull it and wrap it around them. So, new years day, Ty took Jacki to the Princess and the Frog movie, and Wes was having a nap. Ty had washed the sheets, and I figured he was giving me a clue that the bed really needs to be stitched up. He told me later that he just hadn't made the bed, but I figured it was about time that I fix it. It's one of those projects that I never seem to have time to do, so I made myself do it. My back hurt so bad after that and needed some major adjusting. Ty is my personal chiropractor this pregnancy. My back needs to be popped everyday.

This baby must be doing cartwheels inside of me. It feels like a big stomach ache. Ty likes to feel the baby and the other day he said, "whoa, that was a big one." I gave him some attitude and said, "Really, honey if you can feel him, I can definitely feel him." I also give him attitude when he tells me that my belly is getting big, "Really???" I've whined more this pregnancy than the others. Ty's handled it well though and hasn't complained about my whining or lack of energy.