Blog Much?

I have been so busy working on New Beginnings for the YW, I haven't had time to blog. It was last night, and now I feel relieved. (it was really great though, well worth the effort)

We have had little ups and downs, as life does. Kate has a bad ingrown toenail (sorry, gross, I know) ... we have to have her on antibiotics and I have to soak it and try to push the skin back ... she won't be a happy girl with that. She also has croup and yesterday the stomach bug (she actually threw up several times poor thing).

I have been feeling pretty good considering I'm pregnant. Sometimes I feel so great, I wonder if I'm really pregnant; but then I'll feel nauseated and remember that I am. This pregnancy has been completely different than the others ... with all the girls, I was so sick everyday all of the time. Now, I am sick some of the time, but the majority of my day I feel ok ... as long as I keep food in my stomach. I'm happy about this of course, and am counting it as a blessing.

We haven't had too many other exciting things happening. Life as usual I guess.

That's probably a good thing.

Stroller Giveaway

Who doesn't love a fabulous giveaway?

"I Never Grew Up" is having a great giveaway. If you have little ones, and could use a nice double stroller, you should check it out. It's for a double Bumbleride stroller. Super nice.

Check it out!

Did I Forget To Tell You?

Tessa Rose is potty trained! Yahoo!!

Santa was the smart one who prompted the change. He brought her a little Dora the Explorer toilet seat that sits on the big toilet. She saw that and started to want to use it.

She has been wearing underwear for a week now, with only a couple accidents. Yeah!!

Even at church she has done pretty well. (although, yesterday, she had to go twice during sacrament meeting, so I only heard about 5 minutes of the last talk)

We're pretty happy around here. Only one set of diapers now! (well, until the new baby in 7 months ... but that's a 7 month break for me)

Congrats to Tessa!!

Bored Already?

It's just barely 9:00 in the morning, there is no school, and Brielle is already crying because she is "soooooo bored."

I have given her many great suggestions to cure her boredom ...

• clean her room
• pick up the family room
• play with her sisters (who are all playing upstairs nicely)
• read a book
• think of things to say that aren't whining

None of these have seemed to entice her.

Here is her list of things she wants to do:

• play the PSP (we have a rule about playing electronic games when you haven't done your "chores" for the day)
• paint her nails
• get into all of Matt's Cd's and find one to listen to
• take over the computer
• lie around in the dark family room and waste the day on TV

I wish her list and my list were more compatible. She hasn't figured out yet that she has to do a little work to get to do the fun stuff she wants to do.

We sure can't wait until summer break!

I Guess I'm Old

This morning on the way to school, we were listening to the radio. Borderline (by Madonna) came on ...

Brielle: "Mom, why is this song on the radio, it's old."
Me: "Some people like older songs."
Brielle: "Eeew ... it's from the 80s ... it sounds so weird."
Tessa: "I like this song"
Brielle: "I hate this song."
Tessa (screaming): "I LIKE THIS SONG!"
Me: "I like it too Tessa"
Brielle: "It's so weird."
Tessa: "grumble, grumble, whine whine"

Can you believe that just from the sound of it, Brielle thought it was weird and gross?

Too funny.

It Looks Like a Bug?

This is what the baby looks like right now ... Brielle thinks it looks like a bug with arms. It's hard to believe that it will turn into a normal looking baby. Kind of miraculous, don't you think? It's also hard to believe that this thing causes so much change in my body. What an experience.

Conclusion

I finished this week's quilts. They are for Brielle and Linzi to take to a birthday party (they're the gifts).

You know when you make something, you're way more critical of the work than if somebody else did it? That's how I feel about these.

I love quilting though, so it's a great way to pass the time.

Blech

I feel sick.

Morning sickness is kind of a joke. If it was just in the morning, a person could cope ... but technically, it can be at any time of the day or night, or ALL day or night. What a pain. You know, it's really hard to feel motivation to do anything when you're trying not to throw up.

Hopefully it doesn't last too long. And so far, I've been able to kind of "control" it if I make sure I have food in my stomach.

On the brighter side of things, supposedly if you're sick, that means your pregnancy is healthy. (hard to believe nausea means health ... but that's what "they" say)

Even so ... I am still happy to be pregnant. That's something.

More Applique Love

I just think it's too fun.

"It Looks Like Fire"

That's what Tessa said this morning as we were driving home from dropping the girls off.

The sun is actually shining. She thought it was offensive and too bright. I, however, wanted to go outside and soak in as much vitamin d as I could ... but it's TOO cold. Brrrr. I'll have to stick with the sun that's filtered through our windows.

It is nice though, to see a little brightness ... the winter is so gloomy here.

I'm in Love ...

...with applique.

Is that weird? I started a quilt yesterday, and had this perfect fabric to match it, but didn't have a big enough piece for one of the squares. So I appliqued the smaller pieces on. I LOVE it!! It's so fun, and looks so interesting. Now every quilt I do I'm gonna want to go applique happy.

I love discovering new things.

Time Flies

You know, if you've ever been pregnant that is, that 9 months feels like FOREVER; especially when you're sick and your body is changing so fast, and you're excited for this major life change that's going to happen. So, I've decided to try to not lie around and wait for September to come ... I'm going to try to get as much done as I can between now and then. So far I'm not feeling too horrible, which is nice. This week I'm going to finish a quilt I started, do 2 more, and work on my lesson for next Sunday. Hopefully that will keep me busy.

I'm assuming that this is our last baby, so I am going to try to appreciate each stage as it comes, but I know myself enough to know that I am impatient. Hopefully I can keep myself distracted so I don't get too impatient.

We'll see.

The Luck of the Draw

Last night the girls had a lovely time drawing pictures; Matt brought home large pieces of paper with blueprints on one side ... they use the other side for big poster pictures. Brielle drew a nice one of the whole family. I especially love my tiny waist and ankles, and Linzi's blue dress. She did Matt's curly hair too. Linzi, of course, did an animal drawing. And Tessa received a little help, although she did color it herself.

I can remember loving to do this kind of stuff, so I guess I can see why Brielle was perfectly happy skipping dinner so she could finish her drawing.

Mama Saw the Doctor (week 5)

I had my first PRENATAL check up. That was weird. (actually having other people telling me I'm pregnant and talking about it ... so strange) She didn't really say anything about the due date, so in 4 weeks I am going to have another ultrasound to figure out the dates more accurately. For now, I just keep moving along, and hope the time doesn't go too slowly. I did have more blood work and my weight checked, and all that stuff they do.

I guess it's all good.

(it's completely probable that this blog will turn into something that resembles a pregnancy journal ... so sorry. I have found it impossible to think about much else, so baby is on the brain. Hopefully I'll manage to remember my other children in the midst of all the excitement!)

Color Me Happy

The rain stopped. This morning when we were driving to school the sun was shining. I actually needed sun glasses. Don't you just love the colors that come out when the sun shines? And after a really good rainfall, everything looks cleaner.What a lovely world we live in!

Why Do We Need the Rain, Anyway?

It's SERIOUSLY raining. Brielle keeps thinking we're going to have a major flood and not be able to stay in our house, or have school cancelled. I told her that's unlikely.

Maybe because I grew up in a rainy part of the country, but I love to listen to the rain fall on the roof. I think it's a comforting sound. (as long as I don't have to go outside and be in it, that is)

The girls got to use their umbrellas today. I guess where we live, umbrellas are actually a good investment. I find myself thinking it to be easier just to get wet most of the time though.

I guess we're in for a soggy week.

The Truth Hurts

(it will in 9 months anyway)

Well it's true. I'm pregnant with #5. I am excited I think ... although with last night's episode, I'm nervous that something is going to go wrong. But a positive attitude always helps. Let's hope it's a boy right? (although we do love girls, so if we get a little girl we'll be happy as well)

I'm sure I'll keep you posted on all the latest "news." I see the dr. tomorrow, she will no doubt help figure out when I'm exactly due. (the u/s I had last night suggested I am not as far along as I think I am ... although it's all a matter of days. At least the baby was properly implanted into the uterus and all that jazz.)

Anyway ... bring on the fun!!

Kristy

Today is Kristy's 31st birthday. Today is also the 1st anniversary of the day she died. (for the story go here) I still think about her throughout the little things I do; often when I'm playing the piano or singing. I still miss her ALL the time. Sometimes it's hard to believe she's not really here ... I guess that's how this kind of thing goes though. I'm sure for most of us, we feel the same way. Sad it happened how it did, but happy we knew her while she was here.

So I am going to think about all the things I love about Kristy today. I loved her smile and her laugh, and I loved the spirit she brought when we sang together. I will miss that until we meet again.

Testing, Testing?

So last night was quite the night. I went to the urgent care because I was breathing kind of funny. They did an EKG and 2 chest x-rays ... blood tests, urinalysis, and checked me out. Everything seemed ok, except for the random breathing difficulty, so they sent me home and told me it was probably just stress. They did mention that they would call when the blood tests results came back.

So I get home and an hour and a half later I get a call. They told me that the blood test (a test they do to measure for some sort of blood clot in your lungs) came back abnormal.

I was a little stressed. She told me to go the ER right away and they would figure it out. So I leave Matt and the girls at home and drive to the ER. I guess it must have been quite the night, because the waiting room was packed. Literally every chair filled. They did the intake/triage, and then I waited over 3 hours to go back.

8 hours, another EKG, 2 more chest x-rays, a lovely catheter, leg ultrasound, more blood tests, and lots of waiting, later, I was luckily released. They told me that I seem to be fine, but since I'm pregnant they can't do a CT Scan which would completely rule out a blood clot in my lungs. So now I have to just watch for any worsening symptoms. (they did say that being pregnant sometimes causes an elevated level on this test, but there's no way to know either way)

Can I just say, that coming home when you would normally be waking up is sad? Knowing you have to get the big girls off to school and watch the little ones. Thank you to Aunt Karen who came over last night so Matt could waste his night with me.

I'm tired now. And I could do without ballooning things into my bladder. Yuck.

I actually feel worse now, than before I went. (although I realize it's better safe than sorry and all of that)

Back in the Saddle Again

Phew. School was back in session this morning. The snow last night scared me for a minute, and the girls really didn't want school to be cancelled. Luckily, this morning, it was mostly melted. I am glad to be back in the swing of things. Something about a regular schedule really makes life easier.

* * * * * * * *

Last year went by so quickly. I know this year will be equally swift. It's strange to think that in just a few months, it will be daylight savings time again, and the days will be lighter. I am glad about that.

* * * * * * * *

Our new church time is 1:00. Yesterday we got out of church and it was getting dark. So weird. That'll take some time getting used to.

* * * * * * * *

Well ... have a great week!!

Better Late Than Never

We had our Christmas party at church last night. The theme was "Christmas in Zarahemla." It was actually fun, and I know the girls had a good time. They made headbands and other people made sandals .... we had tacos and yummy fruit. We made a family Title of Liberty. (ours said "it's good to share cookies" the girls came up with that all by themselves) The girls acted out the nativity (in Bethlehem) .... Linzi played Mary and Brielle an angel. The only thing I had to do was bring a dessert; I especially loved that part.

All in all ... not horrible.

Quiet Time

I guess that's what you would call our today. We haven't done too much. Linzi got her hair cut, we picked up the house, I went grocery shopping, visited with friends (thanks Drew and Jen for coming ... we LOVED seeing you), and are having quiet relaxing time until we go to our ward party this evening (which will be the opposite of quiet) ... I like days like this.

*sigh*

It's snowing again.

2009

Well, the new year is here. Last night we had a little family get together with the Beechers. And then we rang in the new year Beecher style.

Brielle and Matt and I were the only ones actually awake for the event. (we were all pretty tired)

Another year is before us. I guess that's exciting in a way ... a fresh start. Although, I don't have any major resolutions. How about you? I think I should resolve right now to do the laundry everyday ... maybe I'd be able to keep up on it then.