our land of mischief

Yeah, I can see ninjas

2011-07-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was dropping Katie at school, and in the play yard there was a kid dressed in a NINJA suit!! Seriously. And I'm thinkin' "is it really a good idea to let a 4 year old wander around dressed as a ninja?" the teachers will be all, "where's Billy?" "who took that cookie?" "did someone drop this shuriken?" all day long. Then the parents would come to get him, and the teachers are all "was he here today?" and then there will be searches for a missing Billy, and lawsuits...it's just a big mess waiting to happen, I'm sure. If I ran a daycare, I would definitely have a "no ninja suit" policy.

Betty can see

2011-05-28T18:01:00.001-07:00

She's been having trouble reading so we decided to get her eyes checked to see if that would help. Turns out, there is a good chance it will.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Katie turns three

2011-05-23T18:59:00.001-07:00

I'll let her tell you about it if this video works. Chris has class tonight so we'll celebrate tomorrow.

YouTube Video

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Werewolves and force fields

2011-01-23T17:50:00.000-08:00

So, Thursday morning, we rounded the corner to the school, and there in the sky in front of us was the huge, full moon. Aimee and Betty were all "ooooo! pretty!" Then this conversation followed:

Betty: "What about werewolves! I was SO afraid of werewolves last night when I was sleeping!" (and I'm thinking...really? and you didn't know about the full moon until *just* now? lol)

Me: Oh, well, we have an anti-werewolf spell on our house so they can't get in.

Aimee: "There's no such thing as spells, mom" (Betty made some kind of agreement to this)

Me: So, Werewolves are real, but spells aren't?

Aimee and Betty: right.

Aimee: ...is it like a force field?

Me:....yes, it's like a force field. It keeps out vampires too. Really, it keeps out all monsters.

Aimee: What about Butterflies?!!

Me: What *about* butterflies?

Aimee: what if a butterfly comes in during the day, and turns into a monster at night?

Me: Well, basically, if anything turns into a monster, the force field will grab it, and throw it out.

Aimee: is there a button?

Me: button?

Aimee: to turn it off?

Me: yes, but I'm not going to tell you where it is, cause I don't want you to turn it off.

Aimee: But what about the monsters? what if they turn it off?

Me: they can't get inside to get to the button.

Aimee: Oh, the button is on the inside.

Then we were at the school and they ran inside. So, Werewolves, and butterflies that turn into monsters at night, are real...and so are force fields. But spells, do not exist. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Betty graduates from Kindergarden

2010-06-04T15:28:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry I wasn't able to get more pictures. I got there early and grabbed an isle seat about halfway back...but then about 20 parents stood right in the front of the isle the WHOLE time (If anyone reading this ever has a question about doing this...it's rude. Either get down lower or take the picture and go back to your own seat)...so this was the best I got as she was walking up the isle.

The program was lovely and the kids sang and danced to several songs then got their certificates. After, they had a party in their room with cake and all kinds of goodies. Her teacher said she is more then ready to start first grade and we are going to keep reading and practicing through the summer. I'm so pleased with her progress this year. She is growing to be such a nice, sweet, smart girl.

Katie turns two

2010-06-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

For this picture you have to imagine her popping her two pointer fingers up and saying "TWO" in her cute little voice. It's pretty darn sweet :)

So, what is katie like as a two year old? She is a handful! She has more attitude then any one person should have...particularly in such a little package. It's more attitude then can be contained. Even when she is completely still and quiet (....like when she's sleeping, as that is the only time she is still or quiet) her little body exudes attitude. It's really very endearing. She also get's a strong stubborn streak...I was talking about this with...Beth or Lydia. Sorry I can't remember which one..but they were saying how that side of the family is so stubborn and Katie has it too. Iwas saying that it's interesting because, Chris and Katie both have stubbornness in a way I wouldn't expect...they don't have to be stubborn for very long because they have the gift(? is that the right word?) of persuasion. Either of them can just charm what they want out of anyone! I think I'm going to make him deal with telling her no to things when she gets to be a teenager. Serve him right :)

Her words are so fun, too. These are some Katie words we love:

Fun = Mun
Funny = Munny
Aimee = meemee
Tickle = giggle
pickle = giggle
seagull = giggle
Get up = gup
come on = mon

"no" is her favorite word right now. No matter what you say, she will respond "no" before anything else. "is it ninight time?" "no", do you want lunch? "no", would you like candy? "no....uh hu!" (she won't say yes, it's always "uh hu!")

We had two parties for her and got to use the tiki lounge for both. It was a lovely time, and so nice to have space to have people over and not be so squished in like our old place.

Fun with Aimee

2010-05-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

Don't you just LOVE this kid???!!! I mean, how can you not? She is all about fun and "cool" on her own terms.

Spring Dresses

2010-05-09T18:56:00.001-07:00

Grandma H. sent new spring dresses for the girls, and they LOVE them! See how cute they are. Aimee and Betty loved to twirl in them, but Katie couldn't twirl fast enough to make her's lift up...so she helped it along :)

I think I need to have Uncle Grady just follow my kids around with a camera all the time...They look all cute and sweet and lovable in all these pictures (not that they aren't those things in real life...but after telling them to quiet down and go to sleep 4 or 10 times, it's hard to remember those qualities...)

Banana?

2010-04-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

I guess banana is hard to say lol.

Funny...

2010-04-01T11:41:00.001-07:00

So, Mia has been hanging out at our house today. At lunch, both little girls wanted an apple so I just handed each of them one and told them to sit at the table with them...they were mostly good at that, but I did have to keep reminding them to take the apples back to the table. As we were winding down lunch stuff, I checked diapers (as they were walking around with their apples again...) Katie needed a change, Mia did not. So, I say "Mia, take the apple to the table...(they both head to the table) Katie, lay down for a diaper change. (they both turn to the carpet)" lol let's try this again..."Mia, sit at the table (both turn to the table)...Katie, lay down (both head to the carpet)" Silly girls...so, the third time..."Mia, apple at the table please" (they both walk to the table and I grab Katie and lay her down for a diaper change) And of course "Good listening girls!" lol

Cute kids

2010-03-26T10:02:00.001-07:00

No pictures in this post...just updates on what the kids are up to and some cute stuff they do...

Aimee is doing great. She is always so happy and loves life so much. She is doing great in school...she is reading and doing her math near the top of her class. She loves to go out and play with friends and is turning into a real social butterfly.

Betty is constantly wanting to be in charge, which can sometimes make her a great helper (and sometimes put her right in the way of what I'm trying to get done...) We were going for a drive the other day and it was getting late and Katie was grumping about being in her seat, so Betty stepped in and sang all the verses of "hush little baby"...I don't even know where she learned it all, but she did a great job, then sang it again and by the time she was done, Katie was relaxed and falling asleep. Betty is also doing great in school and loves her teacher and her class.

Katie is learning a ton right now and is in a really fun stage. She's learned several signs for words, which is nice because when we teach her a new concept, like "sorry", she can get the hand sign pretty quick and then work on the word as she goes. My favorite that she uses a lot right now is "please". The sign is an open palm in a circular motion on your chest. It's so cute to see her do it because she pokes her tummy way out when she does it...like she want's to make sure you can see it. When she is upset like she doesn't want to nap and is crying she will look at you with the saddest eyes and do the sign and say "Meeeeeeeeee!" (her version of please) It's the sweetest thing ever and takes a ton of willpower not to give in to whatever she wants lol. We usually encorage her to say please when she wants something. Today I asked if she could "ask nicely", so I got the please sign with "Niiiiii" lol (her attempt at "nice")

More fun Katie "talking" stories...

I'd had a bear of a day so we decided on happy meals for dinner. On our way to the drive though the other two girls were jabbering with what they wanted, and Katie started adding her order over the top of them with loud "jabber jabber jabber Frefries, jabber jaber jaber kin (chiken), jabber jabber jabber" lol

Favorite word she says right now "Money" (which means "funny")..Its the best after she's been laughing cause it comes out as a little sigh. She's also stated saying "Mon" for "fun"

Chris' Birthday party

2010-02-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Sunday we had a birthday party for Chris. It wasn't anything fancy...we had his sisters' and their families over for Zuppa. We were a little packed in this small space, but it was so nice to have everyone together. I don't think we do it often enough!

Lydia and Beth were noticing how much Betty and Laurel look alike. They really do! and we thought we'd show everyone how beautiful they are.

Just so you can see Katie

2010-01-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

She seems to be getting bigger and more grown up all the time, so I thought I'd post a quick video to show off some of her new skills :) Some of her signs are a little off, like doing "food" when she says "more"("Moe-e" lol, so cute!)...but since she usually is only asking for more food, we know what she means :)

It's that time of year again...

2010-01-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Resolutions!

Everyone else is doing it, so I figured I might as well write down and make my resolutions for this year public as well :) Then I'll feel more accountable or something :p

So, this next year...

Our family is going to work on reading the Book of Mormon. I've created a scripture wall where we are trying to create visuals for each chapter to hang up. We are also keeping a reading chart where we can put stickers to see how well we're doing, and we have a monthly goal written down with a reward for finishing it...this month, it's to get though first Nephi and we'll have a root beer float party at the end.

I want to do (finish) something at least once a week that makes me smile. This week, I'm going to work on this little flock of birds. I made one to see how it would turn out the other day. At first I thought I should have enlarged the pattern, but once I got it stuffed, I fell in love! The one little guy I have makes me smile HUGE! I'm excited to see what a flock on a branch over the computer desks will do. I have a small list of sewing and art projects that I'm really excited about, and I want to feel like I'm getting through them this year instead of continuing to add to them...I'm tired of feeling like I'll smile someday...I'm going to start creating my smiles on a more regular basis. Plus I'd like to get my craft blog going and I hope this will help me breath some life into it.

I'm going to be better about keeping the house cleaner....at least clean enough that I feel we can function in it. I've never been very good at keeping a clean house, and I don't see that changing overnight...or even over the course of the year. But I'd like to focus on doing better...things like keeping the kitchen clean enough that I can cook in it without needing to clean part of it first, and making sure that the clothes we need are at least clean and dry when we need them. I know that may not seem like a huge goal, but it will be a big improvement on my stress level if I can stay on top of it better then I have.

I'm going to work on being more patient with my kids. I'm going to focus on answering their questions better instead of saying "*sigh* don't worry about it". I'm going to tell them "later" much less often. And I'm going to take the opportunity to stop whatever I'm doing to let them show me what they are doing every time they ask.

I'm going to find a way to be more active. Last year I tried to start running...but I can't start with the hills around our house, so it felt like a big production to get out and go to the park to run...a 30 min run would turn into an hour and half of my time, and it fizzled out pretty quick. Right now, I'm walking Betty to and from school daily, and that helps, but I'd like to get some more exercise. I'd really like to get an elliptical, but we'll have to see if we can fit it into our tax return budget. So, right now, the exercise goal is in the planning stages, but I'll do whatever I can to make it happen.

So that is my list of goals for this year. I hope to keep on top of them.

My husband's mind

2009-11-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

So, people always post cute and silly little things their kids say...well, here is one from Chris. This is an email he sent me from work....

I just had a hangnail that was bugging me, so I grabbed my fingernail clippers and took care of it. Fascinating I know. Then as I was putting it away, my mind wandered to flight regulations and improvised weapons, and then it jumped to Samson killing 1,000 people with the jawbone of an ass (yes it literally jumped from killing people with fingernail clippers to killing people with the jawbone of an ass).

Which of course derailed for a minute when I had to ask myself again, “how the Hell (or maybe Heaven in this case) could the jawbone of an ass last long enough to kill 1,000 warriors that were armed and presumably armored?”, and, “Did he just carry one around knowing that it wouldn’t be viewed as a weapon?”.

So anyhow, back on topic, I know of 1,000 people that have been killed with the jawbone of an ass, but I know of zero people that have been killed with fingernail clippers (though I have to assume that there has been at least one). So if I went to board a plane with the jawbone of an ass in my bag, (which as we now know has more deaths attributed to it) would they confiscate it as an improvised weapon?

What if you were an ass farmer (ass rancher? Whatever it is called, I don’t want to have it as my title)? Would it make you less likely to have the jawbone confiscated?

Just thought I would share my thoughts and musings with you.

First Snow and Halloween

2009-10-31T19:54:00.001-07:00

We had our first snow the other day, and the girls were very excited to go play in it. How cute are they?!

Not long after that, Katie spent a few days sick...fever, throwing up...overall not feeling well. She had slept all morning on my lap, so during her regular naptime, I didn't figure she would sleep, so I put her in front of a movie...where she fell asleep, poor thing. but I got a cute sleeping baby picture out of it :)Tonight was Halloween. The girls had SOOOO much fun. We are used to having a Church party sometime before, then not doing much on Halloween itself..well, we didn't do anything big, but we did trick-or-treat around our neighborhood. This is the first time we've lived in a neighborhood where we could do that. It was great fun, and we all enjoyed the brief socializing we got to do with our neighbors. Aimee wanted to be a fairy, Betty a cheerleader. My sister-in-law, who is the most amazing shopper, went out and hunted down costumes for them...even came back with that adorable chicken outfit for Katie. I was so grateful for her help (especially because with Katie sick, I had been less then motivated to get stuff together).

Katie is really hard to get a picture of right now...you turn the camera her way, and she charges for it to see herself on the screen.
The first house...Katie's first time trick-or-treating...She really was confused about the whole thing for a while. Before long she figured out that people would come to the door and put stuff in her bag. She'd push though her sisters to help knock on the door...then she was very "businesslike" about the whole thing. By the time we were done she was trying to say "Trick-or-treat" (which sounded a bit like "Eeee-eee") and "bye-bye" when we were done.

At the end, I had them knock at our door so I could get a good picture. Overall, it was a fun night, and they pulled in a good haul...I made them put all the candy in one bowl that we will all share. (notice the bags? I think next year I may make some halloween themed ones just for trick-or-treating...they were perfect for it!)

Pumpkin patch festival

2009-10-24T16:36:00.001-07:00

So, I've been bad with pictures mostly because my camera had been broken. Then my dad got me a new one for my birthday! Yay Dad! Then, I got sick, so I haven't taken many pictures...but now I'll do better...

So last night, we went with Chris' sisters and their family to a pumpkin patch. We had a great time and were so glad they called us to join them!
They have evenings were there are booths and hay rides and they play Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin in a big field. We had dinner while we watched.

Then we went on a hay ride. Not a lot of great pictures because it was pretty dark by then.
At the end, the girls got their faces painted. Betty wanted a black cat...Aimee wanted to be pink lol.

It was a really fun night. We didn't get pumpkins last night because there were so many other things to do.

Pictures of the bags

2009-10-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

So here are the pictures of my new grocery bags. I must say, I've discovered that having pretty grocery bags is truly one of life's simple pleasures. I love little things like that that make me smile...and it's so much better having made them myself! I've used them 3 times now (yeah, I forgot things that many times...good thing we have stores that are close...) They guy at wal-mart said he liked them cause they fit really well in the loading area, unlike the ones that you can buy at wal-mart. (he just slid the handles right where the holders were for the plastic ones). The lady at the store tonight asked if I'd made them and said they'd turned out really nice. I also like how sturdy they feel when they are loaded with groceries. And, I keep them in a little stack (gotta find a good place to keep it) and then I can slide my ongoing shopping list inside the pocket of one...that way I'm less likely to forget them when I go to the store and I have a place to keep a list of things we need. Oh, I'm so going to have to make more of these, so I can get a whole week's worth of groceries in them. And I was thinking they'd make great bags for the girls for Sacrament meeting...maybe with slightly longer handles....hmmmm...now where did that stash of fabric go??? :)

Yay me!

2009-10-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

So, for a while now I've been wanting some good reusable grocery bags...and I've secretly been coveting really pretty ones(like these maybe or These...). But so many are so expensive, and I couldn't see spending a ton on grocery bags. So, I looked up a pattern and found this one. I've made 3 now. Mine are a little...lumpier, then the one here, but they are so pretty, and I'm so proud of myself for how they turned out. Especially since I don't sew very much. Plus, I spent only $9, and have lining for 3 more(and fabric for more if I could find it...), so I think I did pretty good. And I think mine are prettier then the other ones. Of course now Chris has put in a request for some that are a little less..."girlie". we're going to take them out shopping and see how we like them today, then maybe I'll throw some more together...

I'd post a picture, but my camera is broken, so I'll see if I can get Grady to take one for me later.

Are you ready for General Conference?

2009-09-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, I've started thinking about what we are going to do for Conference this year...this will be our first one with just our little family...no planned trips, or friends, or family staying with us. I really am wanting to form some great traditions surrounding this so it can be a weekend to look forward to twice a year...so here is my game plan. Feel free to share any other ideas anyone may have.

First, we don't get TV signal (I know, dad that you gave us the money to get the signal box thingie...just haven't done it yet, and I'm actually kinda liking not having TV on all the time). So the computer will be on, but ONLY to watch conference...no games, or Facebook, or surfing. All weekend.

I will be printing out Conference packets (this is April's, but it looks like fun, and I'll watch for an October one on Sugardoodle.net over the next few days....there may be one on there that I'm missing) These worked great for at least one session in April.

Another part of my plan has to do with food. Smell is a big trigger for memory or whatever, so I'm planning a really fun menu for the weekend. Bacon and Egg Pie, Roast and potatoes, french onion soup, pumpkin pie, cookies, muffins...I'll make a big batch of bread dough to turn into cinnamon rolls, scones, and dinner rolls....basically we're going to try to focus on filling the house with yummy smells all weekend...and keep the sugar content down as much as possible...plus the girls can help with the bread dough during one session of conference! Keeping hands busy will hopefully help keep mouths quiet.

Along with keeping hands busy...Chris and I will play quiet games with the girls when we are not doing conference packets...pulling out Katie's toys, coloring with them, checkers, etc. I'm going to order some Chinese jump ropes for cat's cradle and get some fuzzy posters for them to color.

I'm really excited for this next weekend and hope it will be great. Aimee told me today that she doesn't like Conference...I really hope I can change her mind about it.

Catching up

2009-08-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

So I've been kinda lazy this summer, and haven't blogged much...honestly, not much has happened. Everytime we wanted to camp, it rained....when we planned to hike, we got sick. We actually spent a good deal of our summer sick. Between getting hit with swine flu and tummy bugs...yeah, didn't think most people wanted to read about those....So, I just haven't written much because "we sat at home today" doesn't make for the most thrilling of blogs.

Now, that should all change. School has started, so I may be getting some quiet time during the day.

School started for Aimee on Monday. Her first grade teacher seems really nice. Yesterday, when we asked how her day was, her response was "long." lol. I talked to her teacher today (taking in some supplies) and she said they are doing things like lots of recesses and snacks the first week or so to help the kids adjust to full days. I think Aimee will do really well once she adjusts to it all.

Betty had an orientation on Monday, then they are doing individual testing this week for kindergartners. We'll go in tomorrow afternoon. Then she actually starts class on Monday. She will be with the same teacher we had with Aimee last year. We really liked her, and I think she will be good for Betty too. She is so excited. She even has her best friend from church in her class.

I know I'm a looser and have no pictures of the first day of school..the batteries in my camera are dead and I didn't think of it until Monday morning. I'll try to get some start of school pictures taken soon.

Katie is doing normal Katie stuff....she likes to scream as her sole means of communication, which makes for a noisy house. I'm hoping that phase passes soon. Last night, she slept all the way though the night for the first time...I could live with that becoming a habit :) Of course, I kept coming out of sleep around the time she normal wakes up, and then slept lightly the rest of the night waiting for her to cry. She is a climber, so we have to keep the kitchen chairs on their side to keep her from sitting on the table.

Messy!

2009-07-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is what you get when you give a baby chili...

Crazy Hair, and other fun stuff.

2009-06-29T16:24:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when ponytails come out right before bed.....She is just waking up, and a little frustrated that I ran to get the camera instead of picking her up.

I had to tell this great Aimee story. The other day we went to this fountain at the mall. It shoots water out of bunches of jets all over the sidewalk, and kids can go and play in it. Betty, walked around and kind of got close to the water, but wouldn't actually get in it. Katie ran right in to where the other kids were playing, stood right over a water jet (it was during a lull in the water shooting) and got hit in the face with it...she screamed and I couldn't grab her right away and she got hit with it again (didn't hurt her, just freaked her out)...so she wouldn't' get anywhere near the water the rest of the time...and if the wind blew water to where we stood, she would freak out again. Aimee, however, loved every minute we were there. She ran and played and got soaking wet. We were getting ready to go and the loudspeaker said they were going to shoot the water high...they will do it to music and the water gets pretty intense. So all the kids pulled out of it, including Aimee, who was just told we needed to get ready to go. Next came the testament to how well behaved this child can actually be. The music started and water gushed out of the middle of the fountain, and ALL the kids squealed and ran back in...Aimee started in and stopped and looked at me with this "OH, PLEASE mom!!!" Look on her face....It was so sweet, and the fact that she didn't just go in. All I could do was shoo her back out there and say "go!" lol. She is such a wonderful kid!

Kazoos are fun

2009-06-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

What an adventure!

2009-06-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days that is so packed with pure bodacity that there are simply not enough words to convey it to others? We were lucky enough to have one of those days yesterday.

We had started out Friday night, toward the San Rafael Swell area. We'd intended to camp, then hike and explore on Saturday. All of the campsites were full by the time we got there, so we ended up in a stuffy, overpriced motel. Saturday started early. We headed out to Black dragon Canyon to see some petroglyphs. There were some cool caves created by the fallen rocks (my little family pictured in one of our favorites above.) We drove most of the way to the petroglyphs then explored the canyon for a while. It was spectacular, with walls towering hundreds of feet up.
Here is a picture of some petroglyphs. I don't know much about them, but they were really cool to see....Then it was off to Goblin Valley...

They have actually used this place to film sci-fi movies. It really does feel like you've stepped off the planet Earth. They call those mounds "goblins". The panoramic at the start of the blog is from here, so you can get an idea of how vast this place was. We explored here for several hours and had a blast doing it.

Katie rode in the pack most of the day, so she was thrilled everytime we were able to let her down to explore. Here she is in a wash at Goblin Valley.

Driving in to Goblin Valley State Park we'd noticed a sign for Little Wild Horse Canyon. Chris had seen pictures of that hike and said it had looked cool, so we headed there to check it out.
This hike wound though a massively deep canyon, that is filled with water part of the year. One of the singularly most awe-inspiring places I have ever visited, and even these amazing pictures (thank you Grady!) don't begin to express its amazingness.

In this picture Betty is scolding Chris because she is afraid he will fall and die. lol
Can you see Aimee in this picture....really gives you a sense of scale, hu?

As Katie wasn't able to walk and explore much, she would explore in any way she could. She would reach out to touch the rock as much as possible, and luckily for her it was possible a lot, as the walls were often no wider then shoulder width. It was very interesting to look at the walls and see what kind of power water has over rock like that. Katie loved these holes that we'd come across and could be happy sticking her hands in them all day.

This tree interested me as we came in, but after we came out of the dried riverbed, and saw the force the water had though the canyon, this tree really caught my attention. This tree has obviously seen a hard life, between being in desert dryness part of the year and in a torrent of water another part of the year. The cracks in the bark are 3 inched deep, and it is the most gnarled looking thing I've ever seen....but then it is covered in all these amazing, new, green leaves. Kindof gives me a sense of hope looking at the thing.

We then drove home though the San Rafael Swell...The vista's were incredible. So much so, that by the time we were coming out of it, Chris said that he'd been so overwhelmed by coolness that day, that his brain could no longer process it all. And Betty said "It's too pretty to see!" I feel like it was so much coolness that it must have taken DAYS to experience it all...when we were really only gone for a little over 24 hours.

I think I've learned to love Utah!

Most pictures here were taken by my talented brother, Grady. You can see more on his flickr account. Photos by my amazing husband on his talented cell phone can be seen here.

Too cute!

2009-06-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

So, Katie is finally walking and it is TOO CUTE!!! I had to bribe her to get her to come to me, but here it is for you all to see.

In other news...It appears we are now owners of a Green (or maybe teal) 94 Suburban. Wow that thing is big! But it sure is nice to be able to get all the groceries in and have a seat to go places with my brother and have us all in one car. We're talking about doing a camping trip to break it in soon.

Aimee finished Kindergarten top of her class. We're having a b-day party for Katie tonight, and I'll get pictures posted in the next day or two. My parents are visiting and we are having tons of fun. I'll get those pictures posted soon too.

Digital scrapbooking...smaller...

2009-05-10T18:18:00.001-07:00

I decided to make one of these digital scrapbooked things for Katie's b-day party invites. They are made to be printed on 4x6 photo paper. It turned out so cute and was so fun, I decided to make Aimee's graduation ones, then I could send them to grandma's too...well, then I had to do one for Betty, and because mother's day was coming, I also bought little photo books for grandma's to put them in....then I'd have to make more for them as special things happened. If only I'd remembered to buy my own book...I think I'm really going to like this mini-scrapbooking. It's going to make it easier to share these memories with our family....plus they are a nice size to post on my blog too :)

And here is the one I made today...(look for it in the mail in the next week or so Grandma H. and C.) We cut Katie's hair yesterday...she was awfully wiggly, but it's out of her eyes. When it all get's longer, we will do something more...professional.

Catching up

2009-04-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was thinking how much I needed to do some blogging and looking though pictures I realized I really have ALOT to blog about....so, in no particular order of time or importance...here is what has been happening in our lives.

Chris has been wanting to get some guns for both work and hunting, so we finally got them. We visited some friends to help us learn about them and how to handle them.

This was only my second time handling a gun...I look so pro! lol. I even managed to hit something.

Aimee and Betty each got to try out our friend's .22. (with sufficient help from dad).
And for Grandparents or friends who would wonder why we'd let such little kids shoot a real gun, here is a quote from a great site called Cornered Cat that sums it up.

the more times a child has been to the range, the better: each trip defuses a little bit more of that dangerous childish curiosity, and gives the parents one more chance to talk to the kid about safety around firearms.

Here is Katie, waiting for her turn with the rifle...we told her she would have to wait a bit before she got a turn.

Next up...Aimee lost her tooth!!!! It was so exciting. Chris finally ended up pulling it for her because we could tell it was ready, but she just wasn't getting it out. He said once he got his fingers on it, it came out with no resistance. The tooth fairy brought her a whole dollar! Now, her second one is loose...we'll see how long it takes that one to come out.

EASTER! I thought I had more pictures then this...but oh, well....We went to an egg hunt at the park...it was rather chilly. We stood waiting for about half hour and then the horn blew and the eggs were gone in about 1 minute. It was a blast. Then we did an egg hunt at Aunt Beth's house that was lots of fun, and we had a quiet Easter dinner at home with just us. It was very nice.

And finally (though I think this is the oldest....) We had a get together with some friends...and well..sorry Cari, I just HAD to post this picture :p. Some friends were visiting from Oregon, other's we'd never met in person before. It was a great night, with good food and great company.

Trouble with a capital K

2009-04-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure these pictures even need captions....

The pan cupboard...

Isn't she a daredevil?
Yeah, that's the dryer...
I have a picture of each of her sisters sitting in a drawer like this....she just needs to take things to the next level.

Time for Nursery yet?

2009-03-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

So, generally the mantra during Sunday School time is "can't wait for Nursery" because it means you get to send you baby to their own class and you can start enjoying adult company again. 18 months of age can't come soon enough with that incentive in front of you. I imagine it's a great time for the kiddo, too...I mean, instead of having just the hall to roam in, they get a room full of toys and other kids to throw said toys at. Well, Katie is now 10 months old, and as that 18 month mark get's closer....well, she has found the loophole in the system. When both parents get called to serve in Nursery, a 10 month old gets to go too! What a lucky kid is she??

Family Pictures

2009-03-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

Uncle Grady came and took some pictures for us recently. Here is the link to them if anyone is interested. I think he did a great job! Thanks Grady! We can hardly wait for you to move here so we can play with you all the time :)

Clicky Clicky!

Katie's teeth

2009-03-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

Oh, first...Uncle Grady has been here this week and he's been taking some great pictures of my kiddos! If you're not already, you should keep an eye on his work at Blipfoto. Not just to see my cute kids, but because he is taking some great pictures.

Anyway, so Katie is getting new teeth...3, from the looks of it. She already has her front bottom two. I would expect her front top two to be next...but nope, she's an oddball. She is getting her second top two, and one little fang behind those! Weird little kid...

Betty is 5!!!!

2009-03-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

What a week it's been! Betty turned 5 on the 22, but we didn't do a party until yesterday, so I was waiting to post it all at once.
Do you see that little monkey? We had a lady from Church stopping by and I told her that we were doing dinner for Betty...It was Sunday when I told her, and I'm sure she didn't stop by the store or anything...but she came up with a gift for her. A little basket with nail polish and this little monkey, who she adores! Our upstairs neighbor also came up with a last minute gift for her..bath soaps and a little handbag...PERFECT! What wonderful neighbors we have!As usual, we started out with a Birthday Breakfast...Betty chose yogurt, but we decided they needed toast and eggs too. Oh, and hot chocolate. Her pick for dinner was hamburgers and potato chips (because "everybody likes that"...what a little hostess!) Her cake had to be "raspberry"...so I did chocolate cake with raspberry jam filling and buttercream frosting with raspberry jam on top. It was really good! She is so creative.

For her party...well, we haven't met a ton of kids her age yet. We invited the ones we had met, and cousins. Unfortunately, our cousins got sick and we missed them. One little girl's mom droped her off and asked if we had enough kids. I told her it would be a small party, but we'd still have fun. She asked if I wanted her to ask another little girl on our road, which she did...and her mom came up with a last minute gift too! (I think I need to stock up on little kid gifts...just in case...) The kids decided to play hide & seek. We did some other games...but the kids didn't know each other, so they were all a little shy. If I'd thought about it better, I would have prepared some more organized "getting to know you" type games.

For the party we did cupcakes and icecream sundays. The kids got to pick what they wanted.
So, that was Betty's birthday. It was great, we met some nice new people, and had a lot of fun! I sure love this kid and enjoyed celebrating her this week.

Aimee has a loose tooth!

2009-02-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

If you couldn't guess....she is REALLY excited. It's just a little wibbly wobbly right now, so it will still be a bit before it comes out, but we'll keep a close eye on it and let everyone know when we can expect a visit from the tooth fairy.

Also, you should all go check out my new blog that I'm hoping will help me keep up with more activities for my girls. Here it is, and if you have any ideas, please comment or let me know. We are going to have a really fun year.

Curls

2009-01-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

All of our stuff has been in boxes...for about a year and a half. Now that we have it all in one house, I'm finding some fun things I'd been missing...like my curling iron. Yesterday I got to curl my little girl's hair! It was so fun and it turned out so cute. This was the very first time I've ever curled one of my girl's hair. I'm going to have to do it more often...and get into some more of these boxes I haven't looked in for a very long time to find the rest of my treasures.

2009-01-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Katie enjoying her bath. She is so cute. Now when we take her near the bathroom, she starts kicking wildly. It's so cute. We're going to have to get her some toys for the bath now.

Our big move

2009-01-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

So I was a little exhausted when we started our trip and didn't get around to taking pictures until our second day on the road.We spent the night in Onterio. Here is a picture of the Girls with grandpa in the motel room. We walked in and Betty looked around and there was a fridge to keep our food cold and a microwave to warm it up...she exclaimed that our room was "Magical!" lol

We saw a lot of windmills on our journey. This was the best picture we got of them. They are really big! We saw one of the blades being transported...it took up a WHOLE semi-truck!
There goes all our stuff! Well, almost all our stuff...we didn't quite get everything in the truck.
After several intense days of packing, and two days on the road, you get a little loopy.

Katie decided we were all too tired to drive...she thought she may be able to help with a little pick-me-up.

That sign really does say "Welcome to Utah"....Didn't really show up, but there it is.
And our truck...Chris did the last of the loading. By the end we were having to make some tough choices about what would go and what would stay...we got all the most important stuff...some things, like my wedding dress and our snowboards will have to come on another trip.
And here is the view from our appartment. We'll loose most of it when the trees have leaves, but we will still be able to peek at the mountains.
So, now we are getting settled in...most stuff is still in boxes which are still in piles everywhere, but we are slowly getting though it as tghe baby gives us two hads to get it done. Chris will start work next week after he gets his Utah certification. Aimee started school this week and has a great teacher and is enjoying meeting new people.

I'll have more pictures as we get settled in. We miss Oregon, but have felt a very warm welcome from everyone here.

Back to Blogging!

2009-01-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

A new year and a fresh start...and a whole lot of blogging to do. I'll start with Christmas pictures. We had a very nice Christmas. We spent one day with G&G H for a holiday meal and presents. Then we did Dinner at our house with everyone on Christmas Eve. Sariah and Amber helped me put the table together and made the place cards with me. It was really fun.

This was our totally rockin' tree! It was so fun.

Aunt Miriam made these hats for the girls. Aren't they wonderful? Don't know what is up with the girl's faces in these pics...but the hats are REALLY cute.And just because Katie is so cute and this was her first Christmas...here she is.

Later today, if I can get my hands free at all, I've got moving pictures.

To all our friends with connections in Utah

2008-12-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

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...)

2008-09-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-09-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-06-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

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

Introducing Katherine Miriam C.

2008-05-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-05-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-05-13T22:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-12T22:31:00.001-07:00

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...

2008-03-28T17:39:00.001-07:00

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!!!

2008-03-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-03-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-02-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-02-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-02-04T21:10:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-04T10:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-29T16:10:00.001-08:00

Betty is a Sunbeam!

2008-01-29T15:45:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-29T10:30:00.000-08:00

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"!

2008-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-01-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

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 :(

2008-01-18T21:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-01-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

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!!

2008-01-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-05T13:29:00.001-08:00

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)

2008-01-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-01-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

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!