Kids update....

So there are some funny things my kids have been doing lately that I don't want to forget that I thought I would just write down. Lately Hayden will tell me "I don't like that" to what ever the food is that she thinks she might not like. Even though sometimes it is something she has eaten before and loved! I don't push it I just put it on the plate and figure we'll see what happens. Most of the time she will see her brothers and sister eating this and she will taste it and then with a really cute surprised voice say, "I do like it! I do like this!" It cracks me up because it makes me think of Green Eggs and Ham. She will tell me she doesn't like it and then decide I do like it! She is also really into being "independent" She wants to do it herself. She will tell me "I do it!" What ever it is, buckling her seat belt, buttering her toast, cutting her food... what ever the task is. Again I figure why fight it she has to learn it some time anyway. So I let her try (unless I am in a huge hurry which involves a huge screaming fit) But after just a minute she will say, "I need help." I love that she wants to try but is still willing to accept help when needed. Even though most of the time she won't accept the help from daddy, only mommy! I think this will change when baby gets here... Hayden is also really into getting me to watch her do what ever it is she is up to. Usually her trick is jumping off of something (usually the bottom step of the stairs. She will tell me "watch me mama!" So I will look and she will count to 10 then say blast off! And hop off the step. It is pretty cute. She also knows most of her colors, and some shapes! I think she is brilliant! I know I am biased but I don't think Ethan could count to 10 before he was 3, or know as many colors as she does... I am sure it has a lot to do with the coaching she gets from her 3 older siblings but I think she is amazing!
The boys are very interesting lately too.... With the impending birth of our 5th child there have been lots and lots of questions from our boys! They amaze me at the things they ask about, and what they come up with. I don't remember having these questions as a kid but my mom didn't have a baby when I was 9 or 7. Her last one was when I was almost 3. But having bigger kids has opened up a whole new vocabulary at our house, as well as late night topics. Although not always late at night. We often have these questions come up on the way to school, soccer practice.... It is quiet interesting the things they come up with. But I feel confident that my boys now know exactly how babies are made, and how they are born. Both ways! Brock was very fascinated, and worried about the option of c-sections so we actually found one on line and let them watch and have explained that mommy will not die if they have to do this. I had a Doctor's appointment Monday and we knew there was a chance that I might go to the hospital to have the baby from there... (that was the hope anyway!) When the boys got home from school Brock walked in looked at me very puzzled and said, "did you have the baby today?" I chuckled a little and told him no, I wouldn't be home if I had. I told him that the baby was going to be born on Friday and then a whole other gamete of questions came as to how do I know and how can the Doctor make me have the baby.... It is kind of funny. My boys even know now that the doctors can take "eggs and seeds" and put them in another mommy so she can have a baby. It is pretty interesting the things we talk about in our house now days.
Amelia is kind of stuck in the middle of it all. She is loving kindergarten, and soccer. She seems to be distracted enough by all of that that she doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to the rest of the goings on. She will join conversations if the boys are asking questions and she is there, but I think she is just more excited about Grandma coming and spending some time here then any of the rest of it. Oh not to say she isn't excited about having a baby, I know she is going to love love love having a baby and will mother hen this baby, I just don't think she is as concerned with the hows and whys there is a baby coming. Either that or she is just holding it all in better because she is waking me up at least one time a week if not more with "bad dreams" Which I think could be stress related, I am not sure. She had me up 2 times last night which really stunk because it was the first night in a few days that contractions weren't keeping me awake! I think I am getting better at sleeping through them because I still hurt in the morning like I had been having them I just am getting immune to the pain...
It is quiet the interesting time in our house waiting for this baby to come! Only a few more days thankfully!!! We will post to let everyone know what we have when baby gets here!

Pumpkin Patch!

We have a favorite pumpkin patch. We have gone there almost every year since we have had kids! The last 2 years they were closed and we were very sad! We always get these giant pumpkins there and for the last 2 years we haven't had one because we haven't been able to find one! We were very happy to see their signs up again this year and went back to get our giant pumpkin!

They always have a fun little hay maze for the kids. They always like this part. They also have a corn maze, hay rides, slides, a corn box (instead of a sand box). And tons more! We love this place. Hayden just looked so cute sitting there I couldn't help myself.

We have lots of fun looking for the perfect pumpkin. We pick one giant one for the family and then we let each of the kids pick out their very own pumpkin. Larry and I always pick one or two too. I liked this picture of Amelia sitting in the wheel barrow of pumpkins. We filled that and a big wagon!

We gave Hayden a ride in the wagon on top of the pumpkins. She didn't like it so much because it didn't feel steady I guess and it was kind of a bumpy ride. But she sure looked cute sitting up there!

Our kids love the hunt for the perfect giant pumpkin. We started this giant pumpkin tradition the very first year we had Ethan. He was only 8 months old but I knew I wanted a picture of him naked in a big pumpkin so we bought one to put him in. We have done it every year since then. This year Ethan kept telling me that the pumpkins didn't look as big as the ones we usually get. I told him they are just as big as they always have been but they look smaller because he has grown so much. I reminded he would fit in there when he was little but now he is 9 and a half so he is bigger then they are. It made him a little sad that he couldn't get into the pumpkins anymore.

Here is Ethan picking his pumpkin. He is so big!

Brock was pretty cute picking pumpkins. He liked the big ones, but liked finding ones that are funny shaped and colored. He found one that looks like a top, and several others that he thought was fun. But ended up finding the perfect one!

Hayden thought the whole thing was a lot of fun! I am pretty sure she doesn't remember last year since she was almost 2. So it was "new" to her. But she sure loved looking at all the fun pumpkins. She really loved the "baby" pumpkins!

Now our front porch is covered with beautiful pumpkins, gourds, and corn stalks. I am not really into all the ghoulish Halloween decor but love all the fall natural stuff. So most of my decorations get thrown away every year after Halloween because they are rotten. But it sure looks pretty now!!! Oh we have "added" spider webs and spiders to the front porch too. Well does it count if you just didn't sweep them away and they are "natural" also? Because technically I didn't put them there. I just left them there.
Oh and just so you all know... NO The baby has not been born yet!!!! I am now "over due" compared to the rest of my 4 children! I am praying this baby will come soon because my body is DONE! But I can't complain to much I guess because at least I am not constantly having contractions, although if I was I know I could actually have this baby pretty quickly since I am half way there anyway! Anyway we are doing good and holding on. Hopefully not for long!

Nesting and Memories

My due date is technically October 16th. That being said, I haven't once made it all the way to my due date. In fact the closest I got was 38 weeks. The other three were born either exactly on 37 weeks or a day or two into week 37. So you can guess that I am starting to do a lot of prep work as I will be 36 weeks this Friday! I can hardly wait. But also feel the strong urge that there is so much to be done that I need to work like crazy to get things ready, which means I may not be napping even when I really need to or want to, plus I haven't blogged any of my canning like I did last year. So I don't get to brag about a lot of the things I have done thus far. So you will have to imagine pictures of peaches, peach jam, pears, speghetti sauce (still in the works), whole tomatoes, jalapeno jelly (a new one for me!)... Much to still be done. If I had time there would be beats among other things. I think there will be prunes done this week as well! Anyway canning is being done and I am also working on getting the house ready. I know babies don't care if there is mess in a house but I want to not care about anything once the baby get here. So I am going to get things organized and in order so that if there are messes they don't bother me quite so much. Well that is the thought anyway. (I am not an imaculate house keeper typically but I do like some order so we can find things!) Anyway I am taking this project one room at a time. Unfortunatly (or fortunatly depending on who you talk to) I don't nest like Allison. You can see her nesting experiance on her blog to the right. I just want to get things organized and clean. Although if I had the money I would paint the entire down stairs I think!!! But I don't have $500 laying around for that. So I will just make everyones room clean and reorganized every container in the house. In the middle of this organizing I have found some treasures! While cleaing out the Nursery I found a box of old pictures. Most of them are from when Ethan was a baby (99% of them are just Ethan laying on a blanket drooling.) But we found some great pictures that I have wondered where they were since I never scrapbooked them (shockingly enough!!!) About 3 rolls of film that are of our 1st house from when we first bought it and it was a total DUMP and then quite a few of the remodle phase. I know there are more somewhere... We will find those I am sure in another room. Only one bed room to go but it is the worst one! (THE BOYS!) That one might take me till this baby is born! I plan on starting tomorrow!!! Amyway bellow are a few pictures I found in that same box.

I am wondering if anyone guessed that these are pictures of Amelia. I showed them to my 3 youngest kids and said who is this. All 3 of them said, "Amelia!" I chuckled and said, "Nope this is mommy when she was a little girl." The instantly wanted to know where the stroller was and could they have that. I told them I was sure it was broken and in a dump somewhere. I could see Brock's head working wishing he could get it and craft something out of it. (I am not joking that is what he does! He finds garbage and makes something new out of it. Then when I go to clean his room toworrow I will throw it all away AGAIN!) I don't know how old I was in the first picture.... I am guessing 3 or 4. Maybe my mom knows? The baby picture was taken on Chirstmas so I was only 6 days old. The last one is Christmas time when I was probably 5 or 6 I am guessing... Mom any clue? My kids thought they were great and it made me kind of laugh because they all thought it was Amelia, just like when we see kid pictures of Larry and they all think it is Ethan.

Maybe I will post some of our old house pictures if I get some time later. But for now I need to get back to laundry, then cleaning! We have a full week of soccer, extra kids, and cleaning and if I get behind now it will never get done! So off to the races! Oh and yes I will keep things updated enough that people will know when the baby arrives, please don't ask me every day if the baby is here yet, or if there is anything happening!!! I will drive myself crazy enough!

Kindergarten Girl!

 

Amelia was so excited for her first day of school! She hopped out of bed and got ready quickly this morning. She even held very still while I did her hair. She is typically very good while I do her hair but this morning was probably the most still she has sat in a long time! She wanted me to do her hair in what she calls "Princess Hair" I start with 5 pig tails on top and then split them and make 4 then 3 then 2 then 1 at the bottom and it ends up looking like a net. It is cute and she always gets lots of compliments on it.

 

 

After we got to the school I could tell she was a little bit nervous she didn't really want me to leave. She didn't cry but she held on to me a little. I told her she would have lots of fun and I would meet her at the bus stop. I knew she was worried about the bus because she had asked several times about how she would know which bus to get on and when to get off and all of that. But I have told her several times that the teacher would make sure she got on the right bus and I would be waiting for her at our street. So there was nothing to worry about. They are doing slow start for Kindergartners the first week which means only a few from each class goes each day (Tues-Thursday) then on Friday they all go. Today was her day and she only met half of her class but I know she will love it!

 

When she got of the bus she was very happy and told me that she got to paint with her hands, read stories on the carpet, and play. She also reminded me that I forgot to pack a spoon in her lunch for her pudding so the school had to give her one, so next time I needed to remember to pack one. Over all it was a great first day! She loved it and can't wait to go back.
While she was gone Hayden and I went to my Doctor's appointment. I am almost 35 weeks and have gained 12 lbs. Which doesn't sound like a lot but I started heavier then ever and was hopping to not gain so much since I am now about 8 lbs heavier then I have ever been!!! But the Doctor says my weight is great and is not worried at all. (She doesn't have to loose it all though!) The not working out during this pregnancy is probably what is getting to me. Not that I work out a ton while I am pregnant but I do usually walk regularly. But I have been more "lazy" or easy going this time around because I get contractions very easy and didn't want to push it. But now that we are getting closer I am going to put my walking shoes on next week and see what happens... The baby is getting big (for me) and very active. Last night around 3 am I was laying awake (as usual) and the baby was jogging back and forth across the top of my belly. It made me kind of chuckle and I almost woke Larry up so he could feel it but I decided against it. It was really funny though. I love feeling the baby move and I really don't mind being pregnant but I have gotten to the point where I am uncomfortable, can't move, can't sleep, have heart burn all the time with out mega drugs, and am tired and crankier then ever... so it must be getting really close for the baby to come out! Maybe in a few more weeks!!! We will see. It feels good to be on the count down though. Now if we could just get the names picked out....

Weekend Up date

This weekend was so much fun! Friday we took the kids to Prineville for Grandma camp. We stayed Saturday and took everyone out on the boat in Prineville Res. It was a lot of fun! It was the first time my dad has been able to come out with us. The kids had soooo much fun with Grandpa throwing them overboard! They even "pushed" grandpa off once too. (ha ha) The only bad part was I got my camera out to take pictures of all the fun and found that my video card was at home in the reader!!! AHHHHH! So I have to pictures of all the fun. The kids had fun riding the tube, Ethan and Larry both water skied. And we all cooled off in the wonderful water! We got out just in time for the thunder and lightning storm to start. It was a beautiful storm and my kids were very impressed. We don't get those here very often. And I haven't seen one that big in a really long time! It was like God's fireworks! Way cool! Larry and I stayed till Sunday afternoon and then headed home with out the kids. I was soooo excited for this week to get some stuff done with out interruptions and a week free of whining and fighting... The farther we drove away I started to feel guilty, like maybe I shouldn't have been so excited, or maybe I shouldn't leave my children, especially Hayden. But I am feeling better about it this evening after getting a message from my mom. I knew they would have fun and they were just as excited as I was. So no more worries! They were all looking forward to this and I am glad that they love to be with Grandma and Grandpa so much. Plus I am so thankful for a mom who loves to do such fun things with my kids. I know she has a week planned of fun stuff. I will post pictures when they get back because I know my mom will send some. So my week is going to be jam packed! Today I went to my 29 week check up. I don't have diabetes! But I am anemic. Which is totally normal for me in my 3rd trimester. I have had this every time. So I will start my iron, and call it good. After the Dr visit. I did my normal pay day groceries shopping, and got home in the afternoon just in time to get my scrap projects started. I am excited about how much I have gotten done in just the few hours I worked on it today! Amazing how much you get done with out getting up a million times to get a drink for someone, take someone potty, get a snack.... Larry and I had a really quiet dinner where we could hear each other talk and not get interrupted at all. It was almost weird. Larry pounded the table a few times and whined that he needed to go potty just so we wouldn't feel to weird. The rest of my week will be filled with paper projects, a pedicure, and hopefully an afternoon at the movies! Oh and I will have to finish packing for vacation. But Larry and I will work on that in the evenings. Anyway Sorry no pictures again only boring journalling!

Cub Day Camp and more

This week was Ethan's Day camp for Cub Scouts. Of course because it was the hottest week of the year!!! He handled it like a pro and didn't complain. He even came home willing to mow the grass! He loved every day and had a great time passing stuff off, building things, and being a typical silly 9 year old boy. I went Wednesday as a parent helper, of course because I am 7 months pregnant and it was 106 degrees that day!!! I think I was more miserable then the boys but I tried not to complain because they were being so good. There wasn't any fighting, or complaining! I was so impressed with the boys. I also had to laugh because of all the times a day I think that my child is annoying, or goofy, I went there and remembered, ALL 9 year old boys act that way!!!! I am very very sad to say that I got there and realized that I had forgotten to take my camera! This is not a regular thing for me so I was sad to miss getting pictures of him shooting bows and arrows, Beebe guns, and building stuff. But a sweet friend of mine showed up the last hour and took a few shots for me so I am hoping to get a few of them later on so that at least I can scrap book it later. Brock and Amelia got to go to the child care there that is always really fun for them. They get to do lots of crafts and have tons of fun. They beg to go every day with Ethan. Hayden got to go play with her best friend all day because I knew she wouldn't take the heat, no nap, and port-a- potties so well. She had more fun with Claire anyway! The rest of the week we have gone swimming, played out side, (the kids NOT me!), and ate lots of ice cream (probably more me then the kids!). Thank goodness we have AC and I am able to sleep at night staying cool.
I spent Monday morning getting my glucose tested. I will find out the results Monday. I assume if it was to bad they would call before that. I don't know I haven't ever had a problem before. I hit 29 weeks tomorrow. Things are going pretty smoothly so far. I did go and pick green beans in my garden this morning while it was cool out. I did half of them and knew that I couldn't do any more. But it felt so good to be out in the cool, and working in the garden. I really do love gardening it is just hard when you have a giant watermelon in your belly kicking you and stopping you from bending very far. "Five" is very active lately. Larry can feel the kicks just while I am laying next to him snuggled up for the night. Sometimes they are so big the surprise me. I checked out a book from the library that was for the kids called "What's in My Mommy's Tummy?" It talks about how the baby grows from month to month, tells how big the baby is, what it can do, and all that kind of stuff. My kids thought it was really fascinating. It was kind of fun to show them in terms that they can understand and it seems more real to them. Just today Brock and I were talking about when the baby comes out and Hayden seemed very surprised and said "Baby! Come Out!?" Like she didn't understand yet that the baby was going to come out. I guess we hadn't talked about that enough yet. We will talk about it a lot more as time gets closer though I am sure. It has been a busy and very exhausting week, since we have been getting up earlier, and it has been so hot. So I am very much looking forward to next week while this children go to Grandma camp!!! They are all very excited about it too. Even Hayden can hardly wait to go to Grandma's house for a whole week! I have big plans too!!!

Hot days!

Today I made the kids help me dust and clean up all the mess from the wood floors now that they are all done! We spent hours dusting, wiping, and vacuuming. I promised them if we got it all done with out fighting we would go to the pool. This was the first time we have gone this summer. I know sad and what a bad mommy I have been but what else would I want to do on my 28th week of pregnancy. Of course put on a swim suit and head out to the public pool! So that is what we did today. Hayden is our "cautious" girl. She doesn't even get in the little pool a lot at home. She loves to play next to it all day and now she will walk around in. Anyway she was a little timid to get in to the water that was deeper then her tummy but she did really well. She fell and went under twice but she was a brave girl! Plus mommy pulled her up really fast!

Amelia and Hayden both played fetch with me almost the entire time we were there! They were my puppies and I just threw the ball for them the entire time and they would bring it back. It was pretty cute.

Brock loved jumping off the side and "swimming" under the water. He has no fear and is very comfortable in the water.

Ethan is doing well with his swimming and will even jump in the deep end and is very capable of getting him self to the side and up and all of that. He only spent part of his time with us in the "baby" pool. The rest of the time he spent in the "big"pool. We were there just over and hour and someone threw up in the other pool and they had to close the whole pool. My kids were kind of sad but I was a bit relieved. I was ready to go home and I knew Hayden was getting ready for a nap! So it kind of saved me! Oh well we had a good time and cooled off. I will take them again very soon they were so good!
I think that "five" liked the water also. I felt a lot of rolling and kicking going on. It was nice to take the weight off for a short time. I can hardly wait to spend a week at the lake where I can relax on a floatie or with a noodle and really get the weight off! I think it will be very relaxing! I haven't ever been this far a long in a pregnancy during the summer before so this is new to me. But I can't complain about the heat since I have AC and a ceiling fan in my bed room! I am having trouble getting out of a chair lately, off the couch and I roll out of bed. I think I am out growing my clothes..... Oh well with any luck only 9 weeks left, maybe 10!

A Day at the Beach.

This morning Larry sanded and put a coat of finish on the floor and we figured in stead of being cooped up, and keep the kids out of the mess! So we headed off as soon as he got things finished up and I had packed a bag of clean clothes, and snacks. It was a beautiful day that the beach!!! I know I put to many pictures on but I thought I had some cute ones I wanted to share! Plus my batteries died while I was there and didn't get pictures of a few things I wished I had. Like Larry building a dam with the boys in the little river. Lincoln City was packed! The beach we normally go to (D's river) was so full and we weren't going to drive around and around till someone left. So we drove down the road a way and found a beach access sign and followed it. It was perfect. Much smaller, not so crowded! The kids loved finding a "new" beach. Plus because it wasn't so busy there were TONS of shells. And huge ones at that. I just loved these pictures of my girls feet! I was trying to be "artistic" and thought they were kind of cute. I love toes in the sand and water. Hayden was really hesitant about the water. She didn't want it to touch her. I am sure I have talked about her being our more reserved child. Not super adventurous, and a little timid about new things. But I made it fun for her and didn't push it and just made it kind of a game about the water getting our toes and she was soon loving it. As long as it was just our toes and feet.

Ethan on the other hand I have to watch because he would be out to his chest if I let him. But the waves make me nervous since he isn't a strong swimmer. But he is good about staying knee/ leg deep.

Amelia just liked chasing the waves and not really getting in.

Brock on Bay watch!

This is a very typical picture of Brock on the beach. I think most of my pictures of him on the beach look just like this. Brock digging! This is what he loves to do when we are on the beach!

I was taking some pictures of Hayden and she all of a sudden became aware that there was water out there! So she said "momma water, take picture of water!" So I told her go stand over there so I can see a pretty girl by the water. She is so stinking cute I could just hug and kiss her all day long!

Ethan was holding the kite while Larry was trying to get everything ready to fly them. It was a little windy which made it "cold" for some. Mostly Hayden but for me it felt like HEAVEN!

Larry working on the kite! What a hunk!

Yes I know there are no pictures of me but there won't be any till my mask of pregnancy is gone. It is getting much darker, and I really hate even looking in the mirror at this point so it isn't going to happen. Plus on top of it yesterday afternoon my eye started burring, then by night I knew I had pink eye! Good thing we have lots of meds at our house! It is all goopy and everything! I couldn't even open my eye this morning. Good thing is that the medicine is really helping and it doesn't even hurt this evening. It is still a little swollen but not painful. I am not sure where I got it though it is really weird. None of the kids have had it! Oh well, at least it is me who knows about washing hands and can keep it to myself I hope! Anyway it was a really fun day for all of us! We topped it off by eating at our favorite place in Lincoln City Mo's! YUMMM! (My favorite is the Marion berry cobbler for dessert!)

Week 25

So I am now 25 weeks along. I went in for my monthly check... which I often wonder how necessary it is. All they do is weigh me, take my blood pressure, and listen to the baby's heart beat. Which is all well and good, but wouldn't I know if there was a problem. Oh well I am sure it is good just to check in. My next appointment I have to do the wonderful glucose test. So as of week 25 I have gained a whopping 6 lbs. I am up a little higher then I would like but the Doctor is happy so I guess that is good. I can't complain anyway. Things are going good, baby is growing, moving, and all that good stuff. My blood pressure was a little high which is unusual for me. She wasn't worried though. My blood pressure is never ever the same it varies but it is always a "good" number they tell me so I doubt it is a problem.

Now onto earlier this week. Monday Morning I set off with the kids to visit my family in Prineville. My nephew Brigham was getting baptized on Tuesday evening so we went for a short visit. It was a lot of fun! My mom bought this pool the night that we got there and the kids could hardly wait to get it set up and in on Tuesday morning. We had to fend them off the whole time it was filling! It was hot and sooo tempting that even Grandma, Aunt Jenniann and I got in for a little while. (no pictures required!) The part that made me laugh was that the kids kept saying "Grandma is the best Grandma ever! She is awesome....."

This is a picture of Brock having some time to himself in the pool. He was having a blast making the "seas" be rough and crashing his plane in!

My brother Sam's horse Luna had a baby just a week or so ago so we had to go see the baby while we were waiting for the pool to fill. Hayden was very excited. She loves all things that are mammas and babies. She calls everything where there is a big thing and a small thing mamma's and babies. It is pretty cute! She loved seeing all the animals on our trip. (We drive by lots of cows, sheep, horses, llamas...)

The highlight of the trip was getting to see my nephew be baptized. It is always so amazing to me that they are getting big enough to be making these choices and that they are so ready for them. We are all proud of you Brigham!

Cravings!!!

Last year during the summer we had dinner at a friends house and she made the yummiest pork I have had! I told her then I wanted the recipe and meant it but hadn't gotten around to getting it. But as with most pregnancies I think most of us start to fixate on a food and want that food and only that food will do! Well this is the food I have been fixating on for over a week. I have wanted it like crazy!!!! So finally Monday morning before I headed out to do our bi- monthly shopping trip I call my friend Jessica to get her recipe. Good thing I did because half of it is stuff I don't have on hand all the time. I made it today (it takes all day). I have been smelling it cook all day in my crock pot just short of drooling I couldn't wait for dinner. I was sooooo happy when I took my first bite and it was just as wonderful as I remembered it!!! OOOOOOHHH I am sooo glad it makes so much so I can eat it for lunch for a few days. Usually I send left overs with Larry, and I almost never eat left overs this will be the exception! He will be lucky to get any more after tonight! I just might hog it all!! YUM!!! I thought I would share the recipe just in case I am making you drool too!
Jessica's shredded pork
4-5 lbs of Pork roast
put in crock pot in the morning 1/2 covered with water
cook for 1/2 the day (around lunch time)
drain the water and add
12 oz bottle of taco sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP ground cumin
20 oz Coke
Cook the rest of the day
About 2 hours before serving remove the lid to cook out the juices so that it isn't too runny when you serve it!
Serve with rice and beans
We like black beans I just warmed them a little bit and the rice I cooked a little "fancier" I sauteed the rice with some garlic and cilantro and then cooked regular with just a little lime juice in the water!!!
Oh and this is not complete with out the sauce!!!
Sauce
Ranch
2 tomatillos
cilantro
1/2 jalapeno
(Larry said I could have used the whole thing but I didn't want to scare the kids!)
Blend till smooth
Serve on tortilla
Enjoy till you feel like you are going to explode! Well at least I did!!!

p.s. I didn't even own a blender but wanted this so bad I had Larry buy me one! It was worth every penny!

The Name Game

Larry and I are trying to get a little more serious about coming up with names for this little one on the way. Since we are not finding out what this bundle of joy is we have double duty of coming up with both boy and girl names. We probably will go in with a few of each that we like and choose when baby is born. But I thought it might be fun to do a little poll to see what other people think of what we have come up with so far. I will list the names here and then put something for you to vote on on the side. Our middle names are Ben or Curtis for a boy and Donna or Amy for a girl. (They will depend on which first name we finally choose) If you want to leave comments on the names feel free. But understand that we will do the final choosing (mom!) This isn't a democracy, highest votes don't win, and this is a non scientific pole. But we would love a little help. Thanks! Oh and if you have write in votes you can leave them as comments.
So far for boys we have come up with Steel (Larry think my dad will like this one) Carter, Grant, Calvin, Porter, Sawyer or Carson. For girls we have come up with Naomi, Esther, Lily, Sage, and Ruth

Last week updates

Last week was extremely busy! We went from one thing to the other and unfortunately because of my pregnancy brain I was double booked a few times and missed a few things I was suppose to do also... I guess I will have to get better at using my planner! Anyway Monday was our yard work, BBQ day, Tuesday Amelia had Gymnastics. She only has one week left. She has loved it and I am amazed at all the things she can do and do well. I love watching her on the balance beam.

Later that night Larry and I were going through a bunch of stuff to take over to our friends garage sale and I saw a raccoon run across the street right towards us. I told Larry and he went to look and it ended up climbing onto our roof. I know you can't see it very well in this picture but it was the best I could do. Larry ended up chasing him off the roof because he was trying to break in through our roof vents. We really don't need a Raccoon living in our attic!!!

Ethan had another game Wed, which was great but I missed a Cub Committee meeting I was suppose to be at at the same time (one of my many double booking). Then Thursday Amelia had gymnastics again and we missed a little get together things for Brock and all the Mentors at school that come work with the kids who need a little extra help with reading, math... what ever their need. Brock's happens to be a reading buddy. But the school counselor had told me his mentor wouldn't be there because she was out of town. Then Thursday night I was babysitting the little boys I watch and Ethan had a Pack meeting (more double booking) I would have had Larry take him but he was working late that night so he ended up going with another family in our ward. Sorry bud I missed it! But Such is life for right now. Anyway Friday Ethan had another Baseball game. (They won! and Ethan hit 2 times!!! DQ is making big bucks off my kid this year!) Oh and this was after a day of taking stuff my my friends garage sale, watching her little boy so she could run the garage sale, and having 3 of my other boys I watch on Fridays! It was a boy crazy day!!! But it was perfect weather for it. They rode bikes, and swam all day long!!! Lots of fun! Oh and we went to the school because Brock got Student of the month again and we went to see him get this award. I was so proud of him! I failed to get pictures because I had one of my extra kids with me and he is a busy kid so I never had a minute to get a few shots. Plus I showed up just in time for them to call his name so I wasn't even ready! But Yeah Brock! Saturday was filled with our Primary activity (which I forgot to make my treats for until that morning so I whipped out some no bake cookies at 8:30 am to take. My mom has also arranged to do my Grandpa (her dad's) temple work. So due to the timing of the schedule Larry and I were able to stay at the activity long enough to watch all the kids perform but needed to leave as soon as that part was over and leave clean up to everyone else. Thanks to all who helped. We made it to the temple and were able to spend the afternoon with my parents, and 2 brothers in the temple. It was a wonderful afternoon!!! We also got to have "lunch/dinner" together when we were all done. We headed home and picked up our kids from our wonderful sweet amazing friends who are moving away next week!!! Oh and while we were gone all day Ethan had 2 baseball games! (more of the doubling up on schedules! ) Luckily there were great mom's willing to get him to his games and keep him in between! What would we do with out great friends?! Anyway it has been a very busy week and I am ready to have a "quieter" week this week. Oh and all of this was on top of having my 2 little boys that I watch about 5-5.5 hours a day. (Good thing they are such sweet and easy boys!) Oh and my ultrasound was thrown in there on Thursday along with a hair color and cut before I went to my ultrasound! I was way over due! But since I have pregnancy skin I am unwilling to post any pictures of myself with the new color (the cut isn't different just a trim). This week should be "quieter" as in Ethan has one game (HIS LAST!) and Amelia has her last 2 days of gymnastics. No other major extra things other then a relaxing dinner with friends who are moving away, and my follow up appointment with my Dr to get all the results from the ultrasound and check everything out. I haven't been for over 6 weeks so I guess it is time. (I spaced them out with this one so that I don't feel like I am there ALL the time. I think it will help the pregnancy go faster too! Look we are already over half way there and I have been in 2 times, plus the ultrasound!) Yeah! Anyway it was a busy week with a very busy Sunday to wrap things up. Sunday we had church (normal) but it was one of those kind of crazy Sunday's in primary. (Which still beats any day in Relief Society for me but I won't go into that.) Then we came home, fixed dinner, (while Larry was Home teaching) ate dinner, our Home teacher came over I left before he did to go to our Primary Teacher improvement meeting, which I taught half of. And then home just in time for 1/2 hour of family time and bed time! WHEW! Part of me felt overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of this, today as I have already mopped the floor, only have one load of laundry left in the house (this included my sheets!) and a few other house hold things including paying bills I am feeling like I can conquer anything! Look at all I have done in a week and with 1/2 my day! Plus I am blogging it all! So at the risk of jinxing myself I am going to say "Yeah me! I can do anything... with lots of help anyway!:)" Here is to being busy, staying busy and hopefully taking a nap!

Oh baby!

Today I had my "20 week" ultrasound. Everything went well. Some of you know that we are not finding out whether the baby is a boy or a girl. We have 2 of our 5 times and it was fun that way to. But since we have 2 of each, have everything we could possibly need we are going to wait and it will be a surprise! This has been fun too! I have to admit it was tempting when the tech said, "now, I am going to take some pictures of the bladder so if you don't want to know you might want to look away." But I was a "good" girl. I wouldn't peek at my Christmas presents so I am not going to peek at this one. It was a lot of fun looking at baby though. I feel a lot of movement with this little one and it was really funny to see what was going on while I was feeling it. There was one point where she was measuring the legs and the baby literally crossed it's feet! CUTE! Baby like to put "his" hands in his face too. (I only say his because I don't like calling the baby it!) This is the first time I have ever had a 3D ultra sound. The whole thing wasn't done this way which I am glad because personally I think they look creepy. No offence, but they do look like aliens and I seem to be able to see what is going on in the "old school" ultrasounds just fine. But she was trying to get a traditional side view of the face and this little wiggle worm wouldn't hold still! So she switched over to 3D and took these instead. She tried again after she took these and baby was still not cooperating. Funny! Baby was really still until she started prodding around down there. Then baby woke up and decided to dance, and wiggle. The scans didn't come out really great of these pictures but it is the best I can do so sorry if they are a bit blurry.

Here is a picture of baby's face with a hand up by the ear.

This one baby is hiding the face with his arm and the hand is up by the forehead in a fist.

18 weeks and counting!

Last night we hit a milestone! Larry was able to feel the baby move for the first time. Baby's movements are starting to get much stronger. Which is a peaceful feeling for me. I like knowing things are going on in there and baby is growing and getting stronger! I know Larry loves feeling the baby move to. I know it is our 5th child but I don't think it will ever get old. Other things that have been going on is the crazy dreams. I usually have weird dreams when I am pregnant. With most pregnancies I remember them being related to pregnancy, this time they are very random. I always wake up wondering what they heck was that all about. For example I have had dreams about going back to the prom, only I am still the me I am now including being pregnant with my 5th child! Last night it was a dream about King Kong destroying this giant building we were in. After he left a Sister in our ward (I don't know if she would like me to use her name?) was trying to have an Easter Egg hunt for all the kids in the building that was falling apart! That is to name a few that I have had in the last few weeks. There are many more! Usually every night I have crazy dreams. In the past I have had dreams that I was pregnant with a litter of Kittens... I don't know anything about dream analysis but I think they might have fun with me now.

I weight myself and haven't gained any weight as of yet. All my weight is kind of shifting around though. My skin is starting that is starting to clear up. But I have a lot of those spots that can come with pregnancy. I don't know the real name for them. But I look like I have giant clusters of freckles on my for head. I am trying to be a good sport about it and know that it is or should be temporary. So hopefully they will go away after baby comes. Not wait for 18 months like they did when I had Hayden. At least they are in a less embarrassing place this time. When I had Hayden they were on my upper lip so it looked like I had a mustache! I really hated it and was ready to look into skin bleaching when they finally went away. The things we do to get babies into our homes! Good thing they are worth it!

I am starting to get some energy back. I can make it through the day with out having to have a nap. They help but I don't feel like I am going to die if I don't. I am ready for bed in the evening though. Which also means I am often able to get more things done in a day. Like yesterday I swept, and mopped my floor, along with cleaning up the living room, ran errands in the morning, and got a ton of stuff done for primary. Tuesday I was able to totally clean the bathroom (as in toilets, tub, sinks and floors),and the living room! A few weeks ago I would have barely made it through one of those with out being very very tired. I remember one day I got the living room picked up and vacuumed and then I had to leave the vacuum out for the rest of the day because I was to tired to put it away. Anyway I am feeling good and technically for me I am basically half way! Yeah! Sorry another post with no pictures! Maybe later today I can think of something cute to post!

16 weeks!

So we are in week 16 of this pregnancy or I guess just finished week 16... how ever it works. I have been fairly lucky and can't complain much. I do have to say the insomnia is a little old. I doubt it will go away. It tends to come in waves. I have no problem falling asleep since I am always tired. But I can't stay asleep at night and I will wake up and stay awake for long periods of time. Although some nights I fall asleep quickly I just wake up a whole bunch!!! So I wake up not rested. I am getting through the days a little better with out HAVING to have a nap. I do better if I can rest for a little while but don't have to sleep at noon. I have to admit I get grouchy with my kids because my hormones kind of swing and being tired on top of that I can be a grouch. I try really hard to be patient but it can be rough. Sadly harder with my older kids. Although they understand more then the 2 year old so... My stomach is a little less queezy but at lunch time I still stuggle to find something that sounds good. I know I am hungry but nothing sounds good at that time of day.
I have my 20 week ultrasound scheduled for the last week of May. We WON'T be finding out if it is a boy or girl. My mom wants me to have the DR send her a note so she can buy stuff and name the baby. I don't know what she is going to buy we have boxes of everything since we have boys and girls at our house. Although new stuff is always fun! My big problem is coming up with names that I love! We plan on going in with a few boy and girl names and picking when baby gets here. (We have done this before!) But I am having a hard time coming up with anything I really am sure I want to put on the list for sure... When I bring it up with the kids they just get silly. Amelia wants to name the baby (if it is a girl) Princess Rosie Bellie (this is her name for her favorite Barbie.) I have suggested the name Calvin for a boy. I am not sure if Larry is humoring me or not but the boys love it because of Calvin and Hobbes! I would love some good suggestions!!!! Maybe I will do a contest later on but I need suggestions! I do have middle names kind of picked out since we do family names for middle names. I would like Curtis or Ben for a boy's middle name, (after my dad or Grandpa) and for a girl either Amy or Donna (both my grandma's). So what ever we come up with should go with one of those...HMMMM
I am feeling chubby. I feel like I look pregnant to me but I am sure to others it just looks like I am fat. Although technically I haven't really gained weight. I think it might be 2 lbs. I am very likely only going to gain another 8. Don't freak out and complain to me about it because I have started out heavier then I have ever weighed in my life. I put on a lot of weight after I weened Hayden and couldn't seem to loose it even when I was trying really hard I only lost 3 lbs! So I started out at only about 8 lbs under where I am when I deliver a baby! ( I usually top out at the same weight with in 3-5 lbs!) So I am hoping that I will follow my last few pregnancies and burn my own fat and put it towards pregnancy... but watch I will eat my words and everything else in site and gain a good 20 lbs and be gigantic! (FOR me that is not to say that gaining 20 lbs is wrong because it isn't I did with my first but after that I was always heavier so I didn't gain as much...) Anyway I am not going to focus on my weight to much because I figure it isn't that important and I know there is only so much I can do... Anyway I am feeling pretty good and getting a little more energy as long as I could sleep better at night.
I have felt the baby move a little bit. Which is exciting to me. I am kind of anxious to feel it more strongly and more often. It is a peaceful secure feeling for me to know that all is well with the baby! I hope it is a mover and a shaker because personally I prefer it that way. Hayden was really active and I remember loving it. I always knew she was doing good and getting strong!
I was thinking earlier while rocking the baby I watch. I was thinking I am ONLY 16 weeks, then I thought well I haven't ever gone past 37 weeks... that means only 2 weeks until I am at MY half way! Before the end of the month I will be half way. Then school will get out, summer will fly by, school will start and I will just have enough time to get my house in order and the baby will get here! That is the plan.... So maybe things will speed up.
On other news. Ethan had a game Monday night. They beat the other team so bad it was almost sad!!! They won 18 to 7!!!! It was really exciting. Ethan walked at his first up to bat and made it around to home. Then his second at bat he was walked again and made it to 3rd base. The 3rd baseman held on to the ball for a while and everything settled down and Ethan stepped off the base so he could lead off to go home and the kid tagged him. I didn't even know he still had the ball! So he was out! Oops! The next at bat he had a strike out. But it was still a really exciting game!
Both the boys missed 2 1/2 days for pink eye that isn't really pink eye. I am so sick of them they are going back to school no matter what!!!
Larry caught a frog and brought it home the other night and the kids had a lot of fun with it until Ethan dropped it I am pretty sure he died shortly after we let him loose! He looked like he was exploded from the inside he was all swollen! GROSS!

Cravings and true love!

So at 13 weeks pregnant I have had some off and on food cravings. My husband has learned that if I start fixating on a food it is much easier to run out and get it for me (because I am to lazy to do it my self!) then to listen to me keep going man I really want..... for days on end! So Last night I just kind of mentioned the fact that I had been craving pie for 2 days! He very sweetly said what kind do you want. I tried to do the "no, you don't have to I don't NEED pie." But he asked what time the store closed and decided he better do it now asked what flavor I wanted and headed out. The phone rang a few minutes latter because they didn't have the kind I had asked for. I ended up with Half a very yummy apple pie and me being the big pig that I am lately ate all but about 5 bites of it. Larry came in to finish it up and said, Mmmm what I could taste was really good. He is so nice to me and I was so selfish and pigged out! What a wonderful husband! I actually considered taking a picture of the pie last night for proof but I ate it too fast so sorry the only proof is the wrapper in my garbage can!