To all our friends with connections in Utah

Our move is getting closer and closer. We are going to be moving the beginning to middle of January. Chris needs to be working here when he hits his 1 year mark because of his paid vacation. Anyway. Unless I come out earlier then him, finding an apartment will be tricky. That is where all you come in. We've never actually looked for a rental before, but we need one now. If anyone knows of a place or is willing to help us look...we want to be within commuting distance to Salt Lake...preferably with the ability for Chris to take public transportation to work. Anyway, if you can or want to help, email me and I'll give you more details. Heidi (at) setinteriors (dot) net

Our Primary kids

Sunday was our kids' primary program. Both Aimee and Betty had their parts memorized (Thank you Aunt Miriam!) and were excited. And they both did a great job! They said their parts nice and clearly and slowly. They were fabulous!

That morning, Betty had asked for two pigtails. I'd wanted to do something more interesting, so I turned them into messy buns...which when she saw she veto'd :( ah well. Then at almost the last song, they sang "Called to Serve Him" which has a nice marching beat to it...and she started swinging her tails very spiritedly to the beat. It was hilarious! She took up her "headbanging" during "I am a Child of God" too. Afterwords, we asked if they thought they had sat reverently during the program (neither of them really did, btw...they were quiet, but VERY wiggly). Betty's reply was "reverent as a chipmunk!" lol...guess that summed it up pretty well.

Home again...

I think we probably have the best doctor in the world. I generally don't get panicky over sickness...but I was freaked out with Katie being so sick. After the shot and the first breathing treatments, there probably wasn't a reason for us to stay in the hospital, and I trust Dr. H so well that he could have easily told us to go home and I would have...but he didn't. He could see I was more comfortable with her hooked up to the monitors so that when she did get fussy and worked up I could see she was still getting enough oxygen. She had shown no signs of needing to be there all day, and the nurse had already told us to be ready to go home after the doc gave his OK. When the doc was there the nurse said "so, they are going home?" and doc was all "no, because it's croup there is a chance it can get bad agian tonight." She didn't...she just slept. He stopped by in the morning, chatted about concerns with Aimee (I think she has asthma :(), and let us know the worst should be over with Katie. One of my big concerns with moving, is that we are going to loose our AMAZING doctor. I just pray we can find someone half as good and caring as our Dr. H.

So, now we are home....It's pretty bad when you prefer a hospital room to your own home (disclaimer....because I know family reads this..family who I live with...any statement I make here does not apply to you personally...I love my family, and things could be so much worse. This situation is bearable because you are here...). I'm really at a point where I'm want to move NOW! If anyone here doesn't know...background...we are living with Chris parents and sister's family. There are 13 of us here. There is space for us all...but it does get a little cramped. And it is hard for me, because I know it's not permanent. We moved in about a year ago...and almost all our stuff is still in boxes. Well, sorta in boxes, because it didn't get packed real well when we moved here. So we have piles in our room, and my girls room, and the living room (this one gives me a good deal of guilt because it is taking living space from the rest of the family that is really needed), and our storage room. And I need to go though it all and repack it for a move to Utah. So, to sum it all up...I hate it here. There is the not enough room issue, the living out of boxes issue, the too far out of town w/only 1 car which chris takes to work issue (I hate living so far out of town...even with 2 cars), the water issue (our well is dry right now, so we have to have it trucked in and ration it), the shared kitchen issue (we all eat together, but there is never enough communication, so schedules/menues/etc. are always making me stressed...and if I have to leave dishes, then I feel guilty cause they are there, or someone else does them), and the laundry issue (part of the water issue mentioned...),,,,

anyway, I could go on. I really hate it here. I'm trying not to. I'm trying to be happy with what I have. But I still find myself hiding in my room so that I don't have to pretend I'm not so unhappy.

So now I've said it...I've vented...I've whined...now to look for positives.

The other day, Aimee found a good thing to be thankful for during night prayer. "I'm thankful for.....um....nails that hold houses up..." lol. I just need to keep that in mind. Even though things suck, there are nails that hold houses up. And even though the noise of rain on this stupid metal roof drives me insane!!, at least the rain is not on my head.

My sick little Katie

Well, here I sit, posting to update...from the hospital... :(

Ok, it's really not so bad, so no one freak out.

She has the Croup. She got an ugly, barking cough that we went in for on Monday. Then we took her to emergency a few days ago because she was having trouble breathing, and I couldn't get her fever down and she was very lathargic. They said most of her breathing issue was from congested head, and he didn't think it was Croup. They got her fever down and she seemed a lot better so we took her home. Yesterday, she still was having difficulty breathing so we made another apt. at our dr office for this morning. The apt was with the nurse who looked at her Monday and she felt she wasn't getting better like she should, so she went and got our doc who felt the same. (and they both said definitely croup...idiot E.D. doc...) They did a breathing treatment and shot to bring the swelling around her voice box down, and sent me to the hospital so she could be watched closely today. When we got here, she needed another breathing treatment, but has been really good since. Seems she is just catching up on sleep she has missed now that she can breath again, and as long as she is realaxed she breaths just fine. We may get to go home tonight.

It's actually really nice here. I may have to take some pics from our room...our view is wonderful! The nurse we had this morning was a girl I went to high school with, so it was fun to catch up, and everone has been really nice. I almost want to stay the night so at least chris can have a night to get caught up on his sleep...and this room is so peaceful and the bench/bed is really comfy...If I get to it, I may even try to get Aimee's birthday pics up while I'm here :)

Our soundtracks

I got this from Cari's blog. It was kinda fun :)

here's how it works:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, Etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press Play
4. For every question, Type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button

Heidi's List....

My opening Credits: Overweight – Blue October

Waking Up: Wild and Free – Rednex (wow, I wish I woke up like that everyday! lol)

First Day At School: Arms of an Angel – Sarah McLachlan

Falling In Love: Sunrise – Norah Jones

Breaking Up: Everytime We Touch - Cascada

Prom: Bleed It Out – Linkin Park (hmmm...guess I have some of my husband's music on my playlist...I'd never heard this before...)

Life's Ok: I Want to be Loved Like That - Shanandoah

Mental Breakdown: Old Pop in an Oak - Rednex

Driving: Amazing – Blue October

Flashback: Clumsy Card House – Blue October

Getting Back Together: The Long Day is Over – Norah Jones

Wedding Scene: 30 Munutes - Tatu

Birth of Child: I'm With You – Avril Lavigne

Final Battle: Hurt – Johnny Cash

Death Scene: The Prettiest Thing – Norah Jones

Funeral Song: Set This Circus Down – Tim McGraw

End Credits: Softer, Softest - Hole

And look, Chris played too :)

Chris' List...

My opening Credits: TATU – We shout

Waking Up: Snow Patrol - Beginning To Get To Me

First Day At School: All American Rejects – Move Along

Falling In Love: Peter Gabriel - I Grieve

Breaking Up: Hole – Northern Star

Prom: Tim McGraw - Forget About Us

Life's Ok: Blue October – Blue Sunshine

Mental Breakdown: Blue October – She's My Ride Home

Driving: Evans Blue - Over

Flashback: TATU – Ludi Invalidi (Dangerous and Moving Russian Version)

Getting Back Together: Cyndi Thompson – What I really meant to say

Wedding Scene: Snow Patrol - Run

Birth of Child: Blue October – Sound Of Pulling Heaven Down

Final Battle: Blue October – What If We Could

Death Scene: Alanis Morissette – Wake Up

Funeral Song: Metallica - Breadfan

End Credits: Blue October - Congratulations

After school fun!

I didn't get pictures, but I have to say, I LOVE this blog I've found (Thank you Cari for pointing it out!) Today we hunted for treasures in ice. I filled the ice with coins that they could put in their banks and marbles for our marble jar (we are working for a big family movie night with popcorn and ice cream and a movie chosen by the girls) At first they were all..."hu...I guess this could be fun." But as soon as they got the first "treasure" out, they got really enthusiastic about it all. So now, I am able to sit here and blog about it, and if I'm really lucky I'll have time to work on my blog layout....let's see how long our ice block (and Katie's nap) holds out.

More pictures (Katie...yeah, I know some of them are past due...)

Here she is with the men who helped with her blessing (about 2 months ago!) My mom made this dress...she made all my girls dresses...well, I helped with Aimee's, and Grandma C helped with Betty's. Their dresses are so special.

Here she is with here first pony tail at 7 weeks old. These were her first smiles caught on camera, too.

And here are all my girls this last sunday. Aren't they beautiful!

Pictures! (first day of school)

Ok, so this is uploading weird...but there ya go!

Aimee ready to head out the door.

On our way down the driveway to wait for the bus.



At the bus shelter (which it turns out we won't actually use, but it made a nice frame for pictures.)






Getting on the bus! Good bye Aimee!

So, after a week, school is going great. The second day Dylan picked a flower and gave it to Aimee on the bus ride home. Then the next day, he gave his flower to the bus driver. I think Aimee was a little jealous. lol. She loves her teacher and her classes. Betty misses her sister, but we are trying to find one on one things to do so her time goes by faster.

First day of school

Aimee went to school today. She got on the big yellow bus and it drove away. I am, surprisingly, sad about this. I'm so excited for her, and I know she's going to love it...but I am still sad that my baby is growing up. She was so excited. She was absolutely beaming as we got ready to go and walked down to meet the bus! I can hardly wait for her to get home so I can hear all about her first day. Betty keeps saying how much she misses her sister. I took pictures and will get them up when I can.

In other news...(since my blogging has been lacking...)

Katie is now 3 months old. She is working on using her hands, and has started smiling and flirting with everyone. She has the best little wiggle that goes with her wide mouth, gummy grins, too. She is such a little joy!

Betty is doing well, too. She wishes she were going to school, too. I'm going to try to find some good activites to do with her while Katie naps and Aimee is in school. I feel like she has missed out on 1 on 1 mommy time because Aimee was still so little when she was born. I'm cherishing that time I get with Katie now, and realizing that I didn't get it with Betty, so I'm going to start taking some time each day to just be with my Betty.

Chris and I have decided that we need to move forward with getting to Utah. We have had strong spiritual promptings that it is where we need to be...and we've had little faith in regards to getting there. We are planning to be moving before the new year...and are praying for a miracle to allow us the funds to do it, and the faith that the Lord will provide the way. For a long time the plan was that he would move and the girls and I would stay until he got settled, but that just doesn't feel like a good idea. We need to stay together, and I believe the Lord will help us.

So, that is a short update on us...Pictures to come soon.

Battles and Hickeys

The other day, Aimee showed me a red mark on her arm and asked me what it was. I looked and it was a hickey type bruise...so I said it's a "hickey bruise. How did you get that?" she said she didn't know. She's a busy kid with lots of bruises so I didn't give it much thought. Then yesterday she comes in and says "You know that one type of bruise I got? Did I get it like this?" and latched onto her arm with her mouth. LOL. I'm all "yep, that would do it!" So now she has a line of them down her arm that she applied before I told her that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

Later that day, I was telling them the story of Ammon from the Book of Mormon. We had talked about that story in Sunday School this week and I thought it would be an exciting story they would like to hear, and I'm trying to make it as dramatic as I can as I'm cooking grilled cheese sandwiches. They were really into it too with all the oohs where they belong. (I'll quickly tell the story for those not familure with it...)

Ammon was the son of the Nephite king. He decided to go on a Mission to teach the Gospel to the Lamanites who were their enemys and who didn't know about God. When he got there the Laminites tied him up and took him to the king who asked what it was he wanted. He said he wanted to serve the king. The king put him to work watching his sheep. When he and the other servants took the sheep to water, bandits came and scattered the sheep. The other servants were worried because, when this had happened before, the king had the servants killed, but Ammon told them to watch the rest of the sheep and he confronted the bandits.

This is where I was in the story when Aimee half stood out of her chair, made a motion of drawing a sword and slashes it down as she says "AND HE CUT OFF THEIR ARMS!!!" I guess she already knew that story. It's really nice to know that she is retaining some stuff she learns in primary...even when she is "taking a nap under her chair". And it was kinda funny to see that she has a small bit of her moms flair for drama.

Oh, and to finish the story for my readers here...

The servants were so astounded by Ammons strength that they took the arms to show the king. They told him that Ammon had great power. He then summoned Ammon and questioned him. "Are you the Great Spirit?" Ammon said that he was not but that he had the power of God. The king asked what Ammon wanted. Ammon said he wanted the king to listen to him and believe his words. Then he told him about God. The King believed and as a result his whole kingdom was converted to the Gospel. (My telling is a rather simple version with a few good points left out....read the whole story here. chapters 17-19)

Well, at least they are learning something

Aimee's primary teacher stopped me in church Sunday. She said that during the sharing time lesson, the teacher was talking about having a problem and Aimee stood up, put a finger in the air and said "A problem is a predicament!" lol. Sounds to me like something she learned watching PBSkids...and "Word Girl" in particular. They may watch too much TV, but at least there is something they are getting out of it.

The Celebration Betty Planned

Ok...these pictures take a long time to upload, so I'm only giving you a few :) Betty was totally in charge here. We did a fire and hotdogs and marshmallows...for lunch we had a toast ("toasts"...after we explained that it was different then the kind with butter and jam lol) and brownies. It was a really fun day.
Look at that pose...is there any question about who is in charge here? There is a lot of attitude for one little girl lol.

It was rather cool out, so Katie got all bundled up. (yes the hat is very big...I planned for a summer baby!)...she was disappointed that she didn't get a marshmallow.

Just some fun pictuers

Katie was in a good mood the other day so I put her in to have some happy floor time. I left the room for a moment and when I came back, Betty had discovered her sister laying there all alone and started reading a book to her. What a sweetie :)


I love this little sleeping pose!

and another...what a little angel baby.

I got a shot of her hair just after being washed...It goes in every direction!

Katie's first bath (1 week old)

Here is our little girl getting ready for her first bath...can you feel the excitement?


There are the two big helpers. They love helping take care of Katie.

In the bath she goes. Can you tell that a bath is nice and relaxing for her?

I love the look on her face. She was so relaxed...even with her sisters yammering on about wanting to help, and having 4 little hands grabing for the rag and washing her.

This one says "Mom, please don't let dad do my hair on a regular basis..." Her just washed hair has so much curl...then it mostly straightens out and will stick out in every direction. I hope she gets to keep her hair!

A side view of her just washed hair and "Look, I have a belly button!" Her cord stump fell of just the day before.

Katie is growing up!

Katie had her 2 week checkup today and is "growing beautifully" according to Dr. H. She is now 9 lb, 6 oz (from 8lb, 8oz...there was a miss read when the did her original weight that was caught when she weighed 8, 6 at 6 hours old) She has been rather fussy, (something I didn't have to deal with much with my other two) so we went over how to deal with colic. He recommended "the Happiest Baby on the Block" which I've heard from other people is very good, too. I think I'll be going and getting it in the next day or two.

After we had finished weighing her and everything, I nursed her while waiting for the doctor and she fell asleep. She breifly woke up when he shined the light at her eyes (cooperative of her, eh?), and then when I put her clothes back on. She then got her first shot (vit. K cause we didn't get it done in the hospital), where she wrinkled her nose and let out one fuss, then back to sleep. Then, we went to get her 2 week PKU done...again, a grump face and single fuss, then back to sleep. lol. And here I was trying to tell the doctor that I have a baby that is kinda fussy.

I know everyone is looking for pictures...I have them on my camera, and as soon as I have 2 hands and my computer I will get them posted. (I can only get them onto the laptop from the camera and Chris took it to work). So...coming up very soon...pics of Katie's first bath, a fishing trip with the girls, some cute outfits Katie was given, making brownies with Aimee and Betty, Dad feeds Katie, Our Celebration, and more.

Visit Katie's hospital page

Katie's hospital page is up. Go visit it here. Feel free to post in her baby book.

Introducing Katherine Miriam C.

I'm gonna cheat and just copy and paste from a post I did elsewhere.

Heidi was induced just after noon on Friday May 23rd. Things progressed well and the baby was born at 5:10 PM. She was 8lbs 4oz, and 19 1/2 inches, right about the same size as her older sisters when they were born. Both mom and baby did great. Heidi did it all with no interventions at all besides the breaking of the water to get things started, no drugs, no needles, all natural.

More pictures can be seen here. http://www.setinteriors.net/katie/

Eviction Notice is Given

Probably my last update before baby. I'm still not having very strong or very regular contractions....but, we need to get on with our lives (specifically, Chris can't keep calling in and getting days off work because "this *might* be it"). He has until Monday off...I'm dilating, completely effaced, baby is in perfect position, I'm having contractions....everything is just happening VERY slowly. So I go to the OB in a couple hours and we've decided that we will induce. My midwife said the most likely scenario is that, because of my progress, we can just break my water and send me for a walk and that should be enough to get it all going. I really don't feel it's medically necessary, but I see the need for us to do this even though intervention scares me to death. Please keep praying for us, as we will be having this baby tonight.

Betty has planned a celebration

I went in to the midwife today (that's right, still no baby). They did a non stress test and baby looks good and I'm having good contractions about every 7 min. She did an exam and says she would be surprised if I don't have this baby by tonight or tomorrow. I'm going to do what I can today to get these contractions going really well. So I relayed this information to my family and Betty informed us that we will have a celebration when the baby gets here. She even has it all planned. We will have a campfire and get "green sticks" for hot dogs and marshmallows, and have a picnic, and we will take their pictures, and make a cake, and have a toast. lol. We told her we'd have to see about all that, but it sure does sound like fun. I'll keep everyone updated as I have more to update on....let's hope there will be a new post or two today :)

Please send me Labor vibes!

Have any of you noticed that my baby ticker is now going up? I think all tickers should go to 41 weeks...Anyway, for those watching for updates...there are none. I'm still here. Baby is still not. We have our bags packed for the hospital, and everything else ready to go...just waiting...

Why I am a Blogger Looser lately...

So, my blogging has been slow. And I have several phone calls I should return. I've been staying pretty quiet in general and thought maybe some of you might wonder why. Well, to be honest it's because I don't have a lot to say. Every time I get on to blog I feel all negative and like I just want to vent...and there is enough of that in the world with out me putting mine out there, too. This is really the biggest reason, but there is also the fact that yes, I am STILL pregnant. And I'm trying not to think about it. Now that my due date is actually here, though, I figure I owe my friends an update on things. Especially all of those who have called and left messages for me. I really feel blessed that I have people who care and want to know how I'm doing.

So, for the update on what you are all wondering about....

Today I am 40 weeks pregnant...for those who don't know these things, that means it is my "due date". Last week, I was in a weird, impatient place were I just wanted the baby OUT, and I talked to my midwife about induction. She checked and found that I was ready enough that we could do an induction with minimal drugs to get things going, then let my body take over so I could have as drug free of a birth as possible. I decided to think about it, but pulled all the stops on "natural" induction methods with herbs, walking, spicy curry, etc. On Thursday, I woke early to fairly regular contractions...they weren't intense, but they kept up for about 2 hours, so I had Chris call to notify my Sister in law, Miriam, who is one of my support people. She got her girls together to watch my kids for the day and they came over. About then, things slowed way down. I'd have a group of contractions then nothing...and I couldn't do anything to get them going again. Since then, I've had no signs of anything going on and I've swung back to this place where I'm all patient and she will come when she is ready....but I'm hoping it will be soon. I had an appointment today and we didn't even check if I had dilated more. Tomorrow I have an appointment with the chiropractor. I feel that she is not quite positioned correctly, or that I have alignment issues that is preventing birth from starting. The midwife thinks she is probably pretty close to position if she is out, but agrees that it is reasonable to think that If I get adjusted it will help her drop right into place and labor will start. So, maybe tomorrow night :)

I hope that helps you all be at ease for a bit. I will try to post here before we actually head in to the hospital. Or general protocol has been that we call our parents and let them spread the news to everyone else. So I will do my best to update here for everyone who would not be on my parent's call list.

The Irony

As many of you know (or many of you who actually were around me then, know...) I had a pretty bad case of Hyperemesis Gravidarum during the early part of this pregnancy. Ya know how you aren't supposed to go losing weight during pregnancy...well, here is my weight chart. The blue line is my weight, and the others my range for goal weight during this pregnancy. I can't believe I'm actually revealing my actual weight to the world..but there it is. Pre-pregnancy I was 180 (as you should be able to see...). Lowest point is 153. If you ask me now, I can say that I've gained 2 lbs in the 36 weeks I've been pregnant lol.


My point is...I was VERY sick, and food and I didn't get along for several months...to the point that I didn't leave bed. There were a few things I could tolerate in small amounts, like Pasta Roni's Fettuccine Alfredo (which I can't bring myself to eat now). But at one point I actually started craving something. This wasn't like, "hmm, that sounds kinda good." It was a full out, pregnant lady, Willing to kill for, absolute NEED to have item.

That's right...a Yoo-hoo. And not one in a can or box...I needed one in a glass bottle. When Chris went to the store (where I frequently had bought them as my shopping trip treat), I asked if he would pick one up for me. The idea of me consuming anything sounded great to him, so he said he would. However...there were none to be found. He even tried several more stores with no luck. I didn't have the energy to push him to look more, and I couldn't go out questing, so I simply went without. However, I always look when I go to the store because that craving has never quite gone away.

Then, yesterday, there they were...right where they'd always been before their long absence...right at waist level in the cold beverages section where they were easy to grab...and on sale too! OH THE JOY! I could have wept right there in isle 3 of Fred Meyer! In fact, I'm tearing up a little right now, just thinking about it. Chris asked if I wanted to go see if they had a case. I should have taken him up on it, but showed some restraint...I bought 2. And now that I see they have a strawberry flavor, I may be going on a quest this week....mmmmm, strawberry.

5 Empty boxes...

That's what we have accomplished today. Chris got boards cut to create shelves for our books, and we got most of the book boxes empty...though I'm sure we will find some more before we are done. Now, all we have left is all the rest of the boxes that are piled in the living room. *sigh* Those all need to be unpacked, gone through, thrown away, given away, put away, or repacked. Then the ones in the storage shed, then the ones at my parents house. After being married for just over 7 years, I have to wonder...Where did all this STUFF come from??? Many of these boxes were never even unpacked when we moved the first time. This is simply ridiculous. I was reading comments on a friends blog and she mentioned a visit that is happening right during my due date. She said "see you guys in a little over a month"...I'm all "that's just over a month????" Yikes!!! What does this have to do with emptying boxes? Well, this is only part of what needs to be done before Baby C gets here. I'm feeling overwhelmed and stressed today....I'll try to focus on the 5 boxes that are empty....

Sick of this sick!!!

So, my in-laws both got this awful flu....they were both down for several days and pulled out of it and I was relieved that it looked like we had been spared. Then, Betty started running a fever and developed pink eye! None of the rest of us seemed to be having problems. We treated her eyes, and she got better about a day before *I* came down with it. I ended up on antibiotics for ear infections and pink eye...right as I get well enough to be up and around, Chris gets it and Aimee a bit (not pink eye, just the flu!) So it feels like our family has had the flu for 2 months now! I'm DONE! I want us to be well. I don't think we are going to church tomorrow for the 3rd week now as I think it's best for our family to stay quarantined...especially since Aimee hasn't really gotten this thing full blown yet and Chris is in the middle of it so I wouldn't be surprised if we are carrying it around. And I just know that Spring would clear this all up! I just want to scream for it to STOP RAINING!!!! so we can get better.

*Sigh*

Holding Hands

This morning, I was soaking in the tub and feeling my LO move around when I got a push in my belly button. I put my hand there and tried to figure out what it was. It wasn't long like a foot would be, but more like a tiny ball...so I figure it must have been her fist. With my hand right there, she just kind of pushed back a little and left it there against my hand. It was almost like we were holding hands. It was such a sweet moment. :)

Ditsy, Ditsy Spider...

Today in the car, Betty was singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider. It sounded weird so I listened closely.

"The Ditsy, Ditsy Spider went up the water spout"

LOL. I couldn't help but think what a Ditsy spider it must be to get washed down and then climb the same way back up again....silly spider!

Taking Care

A few days ago, I got my first serious leg cramp of this pregnancy. I've been doing a lot to avoid them...drinking as much water as I can remember to, stretching my calves a lot, and not pointing my toes when I'm in bed...I've been pretty lucky with them so far. Well, this one hit hard and fast as I was about to get up for the day. I yelled. Betty was in our room trying to get us up and was concerned. She started trying to hug me and saying "It's ok mom. I'll take care of you." How sweet!

Now she has developed pink eye, poor thing. She also has been not feeling well overall with a temperature on and off and a bit of a cough. Yesterday, Chris and I went to put her eye drops in...I've never seen a child fight as hard against things as she does. She even admits they don't hurt, but still, she fights. She clamps her eyes so tight that we pry them open and it just turns them inside out! So, I decided to try affirmations with her. She would repeat after me "Mom and Dad love me, and only do what's best." Don't know how much that helped.... When we got all done, I was snuggling her (as she cried all her eye drops out) and she looks up at me and says, "Mom, that was not taking care of me!"

Happy Birthday My Betty Boo!

For Betty's birthday, she wanted a skating party. It was a fairly small group, with family and just a few close friends, but we had so much fun!


Betty and her dad skating together. It was so cute. She was bugging me when I was trying to finish frosting her cake in the party room so I told her to go skate. She looked out and they had the lights all out with the disco ball. She turns to her dad and said "Come skate with me in the dark!" It was so cute.

Aimee is getting really good on her skates. She is getting to be so big.

At Skateworld, when you have a party, they will call the party girl out to the middle and give them a crown and sing. Betty even got to pick her birthday crown. What a treat!

Jenalyn, Aimee, and Betty waiting for cake.


Betty managed to blow out her candles all by herself. We told her to make a wish and after thinking for a bit she said "I wish we could all be nice to everyone"....ahhh! What a sweetheart!


Grandma and Grandpa H got her a ballet dress and ballet shoes...just like she asked for. We didn't even wait to get the tags off before trying it on.

Independence ....well, almost.

My girls amaze me every day by how big and grown up they are getting. I've started teaching them to cook. Aimee can now make her own bowl of cereal (as long as the milk is almost empty). This was a big step for her. Now we've started making omelette's together. I make them one at a time, so it's great for them to get to make their own breakfast. I deal with the hot pan and crack the eggs, but they are learning to do everything else. Yesterday they both pored in the milk (just a tad!) and stirred the eggs. Betty laughed because breaking the yolks was tricky as they kept slipping out from under the whisk. Then they grated their own cheese and watched as I cooked the omelet. They even sprinkled the cheese on before I folded it over.

Then, last night, we made english muffin pizzas. They were all just canadian bacon and pineapple. I cut the muffins and spread the sauce, but the girls put them together from there. They are so proud of cooking their own food, and eat so much better when they participate. Now I just need to plan more meals with that in mind.

Betty got kicked!

The girls have been so excited to feel the baby move, but have a hard time being patient and sitting still for it. Last night, Betty was "listening" to the baby when the baby kicked her! She sat up and looked at me and I said "Did you feel that?" She starts giggling and says "Yes! I got kicked in the EAR!" She put her head back down on my belly where she got kicked again and giggled. She thought it was great. It was so fun to see how excited she was about her baby sister.

Honoring our Prophet

This email is going around. I've signed up. It's pretty cool that it tells you how far you have to go and everything. Just wanting to get the word out.

As most of you know, our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley passed away at the age of 97. His funeral will be on Saturday, February 2nd.

I was thinking of how I could honor his legacy and I came up with an idea. My friend and I have created a challenge for those willing to accept it: Read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. We are trying to get everyone to start on the same day. Here are the details:

• Goto www.hinckleychallenge.com and create an account (free, of course).
• On Feb 4, 2008 (the Monday following the funeral) have an FHE lesson on the Book of Mormon and begin your reading.
• Each day you read, record what page number you are on by going to www.hinckleychallenge.com

We would like this challenge to be heard all around the world! Please forward this message to everyone you know. We would love to see over 1 million pages of the Book of Mormon read by the time this challenge has ended.

Do you want to show your support? Do you want to follow the prophet? Do you want to get rid of all of your excuses for not reading and become a warrior? Then join me in this challenge!!!

We are going to spread this throughout the news media (TV and radio) and we've already contacted Fox news, KSL, CBS, and ABC. But we cannot get the word out to everyone without your help! Please forward this on to EVERYONE in your address book. Time is of the essence!! This will be the one forwarded message that everyone will be happy to get .

http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/createUser.php

-Jake Andersen
P.S. You can always see an updated list of those who have accepted the challenge by clicking here (www.hinckleychallenge.com/warriors.php)

Preparing for Birth

I know I've got a good way to go, but I'm already starting to get mentally prepared for this process. I delivered both girls without pain meds and as naturally as possible (we used a little pitocin right at the end with Aimee). My plan is to have a natural birth again this time. I'm looking into a self-hypnosis program called Hypnobabies. I'm really excited about it. Both previous births were wonderful...but I would definitely call them "difficult"...each for different reasons. Though I never found the pain beyond management (and no, I do not have a high pain threshold). I've been reading a lot of birth stories by moms who used Hypnobabies, and they are so wonderful. If anyone wants to read beautiful, empowering, natural, birth stories, you should check out this website. Most of the stories follow hypnobabies theories in helping mom-to-be avoid scary stories. Birth is treated as a natural process and not a medical procedure. Generally "pain" is a "four-letter word" and is written p**n or described as "pressure", you don't go into "labor" but you experience a "birthing time", and there are no "contractions"...they are "pressure surges". Just focusing on these little things has helped in my mindset and anxiety over giving birth again. Now I just want to be able to get my home-study program so I can start really practicing. This is going to be my best birth yet.

Snow day pictures!

Betty is a Sunbeam!

Ok, so almost a month late I'm getting around to this, but here is a picture of Betty on her first day as a sunbeam.

She was so excited to get to go to Primary like a big girl! She has been doing so great in there and is having fun learning new songs. I'm so proud of her!

Stuck in the snow

Well, we got snow on Sunday. What a fun day! By the time we got out to play we had enough snow to build an 8 foot snowman on our deck! We even pulled the sled out and went sledding on the driveway. I'm going to try to get pictures uploaded later today because it was so much fun! Now, however, we are stuck. My in-laws had chains for their car, so Chris and his mom can get to work, but our car is not going anywhere on that slick driveway. We have a playdate scheduled for tomorrow that we are really looking forward to...I hope we get enough melting that we can make it...

Becoming "The Belly"!

Heidi no longer exists. She was once here and people talked to her about interesting things like life, work, design, real estate, books, marriage, games, dessert...But Heidi is no more. The only one left is "The Belly!" The extent of questions asked of "The Belly" : "How are you feeling?" "When are you due?" "Are you sure there aren't twins in there?" "Is it a girl or a boy?" "Do you have a name for her yet?" These are the only questions that seem appropriate for "The Belly"...yet, I feel that Heidi is still hiding in here somewhere...waiting...for any questions addressed to her and not "The Belly"...She is not offended that "The Belly" is here...She doesn't mind waiting for "The Belly" to answer "It's" questions. But she is getting a little lonely in here...

It's done...

Well, after an exhausting weekend, we are completely moved out of our house. It was frustrating to only have a few hours every day to be in the house because of the lights being off, but we were able to get it done. My parents helped and took a lot of stuff to their house to store, and some good friends helped and stored some more stuff, and Chris' parents helped and we brought everything else back here.

How sad it was to walk through my house for the last time. Seeing all the projects we had done, and personalizing. And also looking at all the projects I had planned or unfinished. In one bedroom there were 2 small closets and I was going to turn one into a little reading nook and paint a tree in it. It was all going to be African savanna themed...I never even got around to painting that room. Then the room we had just turned into my office. We'd painted it such a nice soft blue that was perfect for me right now. And my girls "princess room"...we did pull down and keep the light fixture. We kept the one in the dinning room, too. I'd found it at a garage sale for $2, and LOVE it...I'd never find another like it, and someone else would just throw it out probably. I couldn't live with that. I also have this blue shelf that we hung in the yurt when we lived there. I'd kept it meaning to hang it somewhere someday. Chris wanted to leave it, and my father in law was also keen on trashing it...glad I'm pregnant and emotional cause I cry easily right now...especially over something that important. The shelf is now hanging on a support beam way at the ceiling of the shop and I plan to take it when we move.

Now all our stuff is in piles in our room, and the girl's/play room, and the downstairs almost blocking the entrance. My job is now to go through everything. Decide what we need out and in drawers, what we need to keep but can pack, what we can get rid of...and I need to get on it and get it done as fast as I can. I can't believe how much stuff we've accumulated!

Well, off to "phase 1" of sorting...cleaning my room, folding and doing laundry, finding room for the crib in here, and making room for the rest of the project...I think I need some ice cream...

Moving day :(

So, our house is no longer ours...and tomorrow we will be getting the last of the stuff out. We had it staged, so we will be moving all the furniture and some other stuff...mostly it is all moved except the kitchen and linens. This makes me sad that tomorrow could be my last time inside my family's first home. Anyway, if anyone has an extra set of hands tomorrow and want to stop by we wouldn't say no to the help. I'm hoping that we can have it done tomorrow, but the power is out there so we only have until dark and Chris works until 1pm. I'm planning to go over by late morning to start packing.

My sweet Aimee

So, today I was feeling a little blue, tired and unmotivated. The girls were playing nice so I decided to lay down for a few minutes to rest and see if I'd feel better. Aimee came in and asked for something...it wasn't an immediate need, so I asked if she would wait until I'd rested a bit. I told her I was feeling sad. She said "I can cuddle you!" At first I wasn't interested because she is an awfully wiggly cuddler, but I decided to take her up on it. She snuggled up in my arms and lay so still we both fell asleep, and Betty played quietly by herself in the other room...for 2 hours! What a refreshing nap that was. After we woke up, I asked Aimee if her nap was good and if she liked cuddling with mom. She said "Yeah, and I liked cuddling with the baby too." LOL. She is going to be the best big sister!

Update...

I've updated my blog so anyone can post comments to it. So, if anyone has been reading and wanting to post comments, please do! We love to see who is reading.

Selfish me!

So, in my post last night, I was so worried about how *I* would do today. I didn't even think how this was going to effect the girls! How terrible am I?! Betty seems to be OK, but Aimee is having a very hard time. She is grouchy and we have spent a good while cuddling with her in tears because she misses her dad. :( What a blessing it has been for them to get the last while to become so close to him. I hope they are able to adjust soon, but that they can continue to feel so close to and depend on their dad.

Yay for employment!

Tomorrow Chris starts training for his new job! Woohoo! It's very exciting to go from where we've been, with no income for so long, to looking forward to a regular paycheck. And it's in a field where he can and does see himself for long term. I'll let him write more about job specifics when/if he wants.

Me...well, I'm a little nervous about being the full time parent again. I'm not giving up my career at all, but I am the one with the flexible schedule that I'm going to plan on being more part-time. Last year we switched to Chris being at home...then I was sick and he took on full responsibility of family and house. So it's been almost a year since I've been the primary caregiver. And for the last few months, Chris and I have worked together at everything...and honestly, I've been letting him take on most of the responsibility out of habit. I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with two little girls. Or that I'll be lonely with out Chris around to laugh and talk with. Or that I will simply get so stressed out at it all and spend the day yelling at my kids. It seems such a strange thing to feel stressed about; being home with my girls. But I am not sure how I'm going to do. I'm sure I'll get it before too long...I'll just have to take it one day at a time.

Almost 22 weeks

Today we went to an appointment with the midwife. The girls got to go so they could hear the heartbeat. They were so excited and cute. They are both going to be such good big sisters. Betty keeps saying she wants the baby to come out so she can hold her. Aimee is a little more patient, but is excited to be able to feel and see her move in my tummy. They both even have name suggestions for "Baby C.". Betty wants to name her Elise, and Aimee thinks she should be Pearl. We keep telling them we'll think about it, but mom and dad get to choose her name.

I'm healthy and baby looks great. Measuring right where I should too. Everything was well within the normal range on my ultrasound and blood tests. They changed my due date from May 15 to May 13. Because of my habit of going well over my due date, I'm going to keep it around the 20th in my head. I even got a friend to take my first belly shot today.

IT'S GONE!!

So, I generally take some time in the evenings to do "belly time" with my baby. It's a chance for me to sit back, talk to Chris, and pay attention to all the wiggling my little one is doing right now. I do this in my bedroom so I'll have a bare belly and use it as a chance to put lotions on it or whatever. Last night, when I looked down I noticed that my belly button disappeared! It was there the day before, but now all I have is a round expanse with a pink dot!

Reading Lessons

Aimee's goal this year is to learn to read. Sometimes she amazes me at how fast she picks things up. Today we started working on vowels. I've found the best way to work on things is to start talking about them when we are waiting for other things to happen. So during breakfast we talked about different types of letters. I told them what the vowels were then had them repeat it with me a few times. With only a few times through, I had Aimee try by herself...and she had them down! A few more times and Betty could do it to. Now we just need to keep working on them. They are so smart.

New Year Resolutions (Week 1)

My Resolutions

• Track the food I eat (eating what I should will come later this year)
• Exercise weekly (M-W-F strength work, walking every day I can) and track my exercise
• Go to bed before 11pm and be up at 8am (moving that earlier as the year progresses)
  
• Do a weekly meal plan and stick to it
• Read my scriptures daily (Personal study for me is the New Testament this year)
  
• Weekly Family Home Evening
• Attend the Temple at least 6 times this year

I think there is some kind of conspiracy among the gods of resolutions. They set out to test you the moment you start. Here we are getting sick and still in the holiday celebration mode..making exercise and meal planning very hard. I'm not expecting perfection of myself. I'm only focusing on a few of these right now and plan to work on others as I get better. My overall goal for the year is to become a more disciplined person...doing what I know I need to do, when I need to do it, and following through on what I say I will get done on time. My main focus this month is reading my scriptures most days, tracking my food and exercise, and getting to bed on time.

So, how am I doing on day 5???? Food tracking is going well. I don't hit my target calories most days and I could definitely be eating better (chocolate from my stocking first thing this morning probably wasn't the wisest choice....), but I'm keeping a record, so that's my start. Exercise...well, I track it when I do it...now I just need to do it more often to keep track. Actually I've done pretty well this week. Only 1 walk, but exercise 2 days, and I think I can get some in today. For only being on day 5 that's not too bad. Now, for getting to bed on time....I think this will be more of a struggle then I thought. I haven't hit 11pm yet...most nights it's after 12 and last night we didn't get in bed until 2:30! Needless to say, I am not getting up on time, either. This goal is going to be something I really have to work on. Especially now that I'm getting into my 3rd trimester and have to wake so frequently in the night to turn over or go to the bathroom.

So, there are my goals...feel free to ask me how I'm doing whenever you talk to me. I like the idea of being accountable for these and the more people know the more I feel compelled to follow through.

Things to do today...

So, here I am sitting at my computer in my pajamas....and it's almost noon! How pathetic am I? It's not like I don't have anything to do today, either. We need to...

• Unload the Landcruiser
• Go to the other house
• Mop the kitchen and dinning room
• Sort out what we are keeping
• Load the Landcruiser
• Set up my computer station(so I can stop stealing Chris')
• Get out an important email for work (should have been done yesterday)
• Grocery shopping
  

Then the everyday stuff of

• Getting dressed
• Feeding kids
• Bathing kids
• Playing with kids
• Music lessons
• Reading with Aimee
• Exercising

Yet, here I sit...on the computer...in my pajamas....I'm pathetic lol

The name conundrum

So, as many of you know, we are expecting our 3rd little girl on May 15th. Before we were pregnant with the first two, we knew what we would call them. So, with them, as soon as the ultrasound tech said "Looks like a girl" we were all "oh, look! There's Aimee!" or "There's Betty!" This time, though, we have no ideas. We don't even have a list of "maybe" names. Girls names just sound dumb right now. And it seems weird to have this person growing inside me and not know who she is. I guess we still have several months to figure it out...and worse case, we wait till she can talk and let her name herself. lol

Hello to 2008!

Looking forward, this is going to be a big year for our family. We have lots of changes planned with a new baby on the way, a move to a new state, a new job and career for Chris, and our oldest starting kindergarten! With all of that, plus the fast changes that happen in a family with small kids, I thought a blog would be a good way to keep up to date with our friends and family.

You won't see many pictures here yet, because of a slow internet connection, but more will come as things get settled.

So, HELLO to 2008 and all the many exciting changes and adventures it will bring!