Shopping

I like to shop. But I can't do that much these days. Except online. The good part about shopping online is that it takes more commitment to buy something. At least for me, it seems more complicated online than just handing a credit card to a nice clerk in a store. So it slows down my shopping.
Which is good. Because I have quite a few things that I want! All baby-related, of course. Here's my current To-Get list.

Lucky me, I get to buy a new infant car seat for this baby! (Car seats expire, in general, after 6 years.) I'm in love with this great argyle pattern from Graco.

I'm also very excited to get a car seat "canopy". (I love the fabric on this one pictured) I've always just thrown a blanket over the top of my car seat to give my baby some dark or privacy or warmth, but these ones that strap or tie on are great! Genius! (And, as a bonus, I think I've convinced my Mom or sister to make one for me!)
Then there's these nursing covers that actually have a wire in them of some sort so that poor baby isn't quite so closed in, I can see him while he's nursing, he can see me, fresh air circulates, and he can't just pull the blanket off my shoulder - keeping my more modest.

And I've never had a great wrap or sling or anything like that that really worked for me. I think these Moby Wraps might be just the answer. It's basically just a long piece of fabric that you use to literally tie your baby to your chest.
And, last but not least, I want a stroller frame. No more lugging around a huge stroller. If I had one of these I could just pull out this small thing and snap the car seat right into it. It's lighter, smaller, and easier than a whole huge stroller.

So, that's it. Just a few things, right? The only thing that's really necessary is the car seat. But hey, a girl can dream, right?

Kids Day 2010

This year our Kids Day was a little different. With me pretty much out of the picture and Richard trying so hard to work full time and be Dad full time, there just wasn't much time for pampering the kids. Sure we gave the nanny a "Give the kids whatever they want" kind of speech, but that's just not the same. In the end, I think the kids felt loved, but maybe not quite as much as previous Kids Days.

Pretty much all I can do for the kids these days is give out plenty of cuddles. So we did a lot of that.

And Daddy bought the kids new pool toys. Nanny Amy played with the kids in the backyard.
Grandma Worth even stopped by (to clean the house - happy Kids Day to me!).
A friend dropped off this great big fruit platter for us and we let the kids have free reign of it with a side of Grandma-made banana bread.
And of course there was crazy dancing to loud music - a family favorite.
Later in the evening, Daddy took the kids to the mall for a ride on the carousel. I sent the camera with him with strict instructions to at least take one picture of each kid. ...But the camera stayed in the car instead of going into the mall. But, you know, taking three kids into a mall to ride a carousel is a tricky thing for a Dad to handle on his own at the end of a long day. So we'll cut him some slack this time.

Besides, in the end there were happy children. And that's what Kid's Day is really all about.

(As usual, I realize that there are very few pictures of Asher. He is just really not into the whole "stand still and say cheese" thing.)

27.5 Weeks

Forgive the unflattering shot of my armpit and a scowl on my face, but this was the best shot I could get of my little bump. Hey, at least it finally is a discernible bump! And isn't my shirt with the little footprints on it just adorable? It makes me happy. I love Etsy!

Isaiah's End of School Speech Update

I realize I haven't said much about how Isaiah is doing, speech-wise, lately. He is making awesome leaps and bounds forward! His speech therapy ended a couple of weeks ago and he won't be doing any of that during the summer. But he seems to be still soaking up language all on his own. The other day he said "Asher"! We haven't even been working on that one because the speech therapist told us it was basically impossible for him at this point. Isaiah has just been calling Asher "Ah". But, to my amazement, he just casually threw an "Asher" (well, really an "Ashew" but close enough!) into conversation the other day. And today he said "fish"! He has figured out and mastered the "sh" sound all by himself! And he often self-corrects. He'll say "I wah da." and then immediately pause and repeat "I wanT daT" just like his speech therapist would have made him do it.

Sometimes he is still totally incomprehensible, but usually only when he's in a rush or super excited about something. And he certainly isn't caught up with kids his age yet. But he has shown such strength and eagerness to learn and do it correctly that I really have every hope that he will have caught up with his peers before they can stick him with some awful nickname or stereotype.

What a blessing that this has turned out so well so far. ...Man. Our family really is blessed. Repeatedly.

No New Is Good News

When I have no news, that's good news, right? Hence my absence in blogging. Here's some catch-up:

I made it to my third trimester! Samuel is now at 27 weeks. According to one website I was reading, he now has an 85% chance of survival where he to be born right now. While those odds are still not "good enough", they are a huge relief. I have another check up at the doctor Thursday and I fully expect nothing but clear skies to continue. Wa-hoo!

Naomi is all done with school. My big girl is no longer a kindergartner. Summer has kicked itself off here with mid-90's sunshiney days, so we got out the inflatable backyard pool. Amy, the nanny, has had the kids out there the last two days for hours.

Speaking of the nanny, Amy - she is great. We are loving her and feel oh so blessed to have found her. She is great with the kids and handles most situations just the way I would. Naomi and Asher warmed right up to her. Isaiah is still working on it, but at least he doesn't scream when she so much as speaks to him anymore.

My sister-in-law, and great friend, Stacy, came to spend last week with us. The plan was for her to help me with implementing systems, but she ended up spending much of her time helping with the kids. Each of the kids took turns having a quick-but-ugly stomach bug last week and we didn't feel like we could have Amy over (she brings her 8 month old son with her each day) while they were sick. Stacy was a lifesaver. For the kids, for the house, and for me. I just love having her around. Plus, she did get a TON done for me. She helped me unbury the end of the counter (paper, paper, paper) and my desk, made 9 freezer meals, cooked most of Father's Day dinner, let Richard go see two movies and go out to dinner with his brother on Saturday, cleaned the house, did the dishes, cooked delicious meals for the family, played happily with the kids, took Naomi to get a haircut, painted a cabinet that I had half painted in my bathroom makeover from months ago, and cheered my soul immensely. She is a superwoman in every sense of the word. Naomi and Asher sobbed for half an hour when she left. And I kinda felt like joining them.

I snuck out of the house and went to my book club last week. It was so great to be out that I stayed out until after 10! I'm such a rebel.

Stay tuned for more exciting drama from what has got to be the most boring part of my life!

Control

Richard and my sister Ruth just took the kids to the pool for the afternoon. At first I was feeling happy to be left alone - free reign of the TV and all - but then I noticed that the dishes weren't done. And laundry needs to be done. And the bathroom has dirt all over it from the kids coming in from outside and being sent straight to the bathroom to wash up. And it all started bugging me. I just want to get up and clean! Cleaning when the house is empty is almost pleasant sometimes. And I know that if I leave all these things alone, Ruth will come home and do them all for us. And that just makes me want to get up and do them more because Ruth has done a LOT for our family lately. Grrr. It's frustrating. Frustrating in a way that I'm not sure anybody can understand unless they've been there. Some day I'll look back on this post and think, "Man, if Ruth came over right now I sure wouldn't complain about her doing my laundry and cleaning my house while I lay around!" But after four weeks of being totally dependent on others, this is really tiresome.

I've come to realize that part of my frustration comes from feeling like things are out of control. Not just out of MY control - but not controlled at all. The laundry gets done when somebody comes over to help, but nobody is constantly aware of the laundry needs. The dishes get done daily, but the big pots pile up because nobody does a seriously thorough deep cleaning. Things are getting done, but they're not really "under control". Ya know? So Richard and I had a long talk about those kinds of things. Because I've been assuming that he would slowly take over being in control of those things. And he's been assuming that I'm still in control of them because they are getting done when people come over. What he and I concluded is that we need new systems. New systems that are just set so regularly that they never seem to be out of control. Like Monday is vacuuming, Tuesday is laundry, Wednesday is deep cleaning the kitchen, etc. And that if we have that kind of a system, even though I'm not the one doing any of it, I can still feel in control by making sure that thing gets done that day - whether that means telling Richard to do it or the random person who comes by to help. We really hope this will help. This coming week my sister-in-law, Stacy, is coming for a week. She and I will work on getting that system, and several others, working.

With all this planning and system-implementing going on, I am starting to feel a little better about life. But I still wish I could just get up and do things the way I usually would!

Bedrest: How It Feels

My ears and hips and head have gotten over their initial soreness from laying around all day. These days, instead of having a headache when I lay down too long, I get a headache when I stand up.

Guilt. I feel tons of guilt. Every time somebody cries and I can't help at all. Every time Richard is having one of those (common with three kids) moments when he's overwhelmed by multiple needs from multiple children all at once. Every time something cute is going on in the other room and all I can do is lay here and listen. Every time there's a mess I can't clean up. Every time somebody is here helping in whatever sweet way they can. Every time someone calls and mentions they've been thinking/worrying about me. Pretty much all the time.

Worry. I worry about Samuel, of course. And how scary going into labor will be this time - whenever it happens. And what if something else goes wrong before I go into labor? I worry about Isaiah because he's the one who's handling this whole situation the worst. I worry for the nanny because Isaiah is such a basket case right now. I worry about blood clots in my legs because I don't move enough. I worry about how flabby and weak I'm going to be when I eventually get off bedrest. Pretty much about everything. There's not much else to do, ya know? Not much to keep my mind off these things.

Boring. I don't think I need to elaborate much there.

Lonely. It's weird that I haven't talked to any random people. Is it crazy that I miss seeing people I don't even know at the grocery store or Target or whatever? I guess maybe isolated is the right word.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that sometimes it's nice. But only for a fleeting second here or there.

Weird. Weird to think that I haven't so much as walked into the kitchen in weeks. Or switched any laundry. Or tucked any children into bed. I feel a bit like I'm not myself since I haven't done any of those things. Those things really identify me as me at this stage in my life.

But, I am still taking care of a baby. I'm just doing it by laying around all day. I'm still me. I'm just me, horizontally!

Slow Weekend

A slow weekend was just what these kids needed. After three weeks of being carted off to this or that house to do this or that every day, they were ready for some good old fashioned stayin' home. Richard went to a short conference out of town and my sister Ruth came over to help with me and the kids. It was a much needed break for Richard, and fun for the kids and I. Aunt Ruth is always a treat!

Here are Naomi and Isaiah playing a computer game after a long Sunday nap.
And everybody got in on a rousing game of Guess Who with Aunt Ruth.
With plenty of time left over for cuddles and snuggles galore.
These poor children really do need some stability in their lives. They are all crabby and whiny and confused. They're explosive! Our sweet Isaiah throws colossal tantrums multiple times a day. They all just want their lives back. ...And I can SO relate.

Check Up

I went back out into the wild world today for the first time in weeks. I had a check up with my Dr and an appointment with the Neonatologist. My doctor gave me that shot that helps the baby's lungs develop a little earlier than usual - just in case Baby Sammy makes his appearance on this Earth a little too early. Then we went over to the Neonatologist's. There they did another ultrasound and we learned that my cervix is nearly as thick as a normal one! Thicker than it was when I left the hospital!

Clearly what we're doing is working! In addition to surgery, a great doctor and strict bedrest, the prayers and faith of many have brought about this true miracle.

It's so nice to be able to mentally relax a little bit. I've been feeling guilty every time I stand up or move abruptly. I haven't so much as sneezed without wondering if I've just done some damage to my baby and his safe womb. I haven't showered without wondering if I could have done it faster and therefore been better for the baby. Relaxing a little bit really does feel nice.

So did leaving the house!

Keep up those prayers, please.

***********
We hired a nanny who will start this Monday. She's a family member of someone we know from church. She has a ton of nanny/au pair experience. We are excited that next week will bring a little more regularity to the kids schedule, and a little less depending on the kindness of our sweet friends. I know they're more than happy to help, but it's gonna take me years to pay all this service back into the universe.

Fondness

There's just not much to blog these days. I lay around all day. I alternate between my left side and my right. Movies, TV and books. Potty breaks are my only excuse to stand up.

I realize that this blog is not entirely about me. I usually also blog about the kids and what's going on in the family. But it's harder to do that when I'm not really a part of any of it.

Yesterday the kids played with Grandma in the morning and then Richard took them to the pool in the afternoon. So I'm sure they had a fun Memorial Day - I just didn't witness any of it. So I have no cute stories to share.

I try to be involved with the kids as much as possible, even from my prone position. But it's very overwhelming to talk to three kids when you are lower than them. They crowd around and over me and I quickly feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed. I try to have one on one time with each kid each day. But even that usually ends with all three kids piled around me in chaos. It's good chaos for them, but it's ... a lot... for me.

I'm really not fond of this helpless, totally dependent, me, me, me state that I'm in. When I can see that Richard is overwhelmed or even just pinched for time, it's so hard not to just get up and help. Shouting orders from the couch only helps so much as far as "help" goes.

...As you can see, it's getting harder and harder to stay cheery. But I thought I might want to remember some of this. ... So that some day, when I look back on it, I can remember it with fondness.

There's not much fondness at the moment.

Edited later to add:
My mother in law, Margaret, just left such a lovely comment that I had add it to the text here so that you would all be sure to see it:
"I enjoy playing with your kids, since you can't. A great story from yesterday (Memorial day) and one which I will always remember and treasure. The kids came in from playing outside and I was going to vacuum in the family room-which they don't like due to the noise. They said "can we play outside?' "No" I said, "I just got you clean and dry" (we had been playing in the water table). They said, "we can't play in the family room- it will be too noisey. "Can we play in the front room ?" "No" I said "the front room is always 'off limits'" "Can we go see Mom?" "No" I said, "she is resting right now." "Can we play in the basement?" "No" I said "Your dad has his office in the basement and he is working right now."
They looked dejected, they were out of ideas and all of a sudden Naomi said "Let's go to my room, I will read you a story!" And off they all went as happy as can be!!! Hooray for kids who can problem solve and be pro-active. That Naomi is a trooper!"
So, see, they're still cute. I just don't know about it.

So Many Reasons to Give Thanks

Samuel is, for the moment, safe in my belly.
Medical advances are helping to keep him there.
While he's there I'm able to be at home with my family.
Richard is working from home and able to help with the kids (and me) whenever needed.
The kids are growing closer and closer to their father, who they love so much.
So many people in our church are being so, so helpful.
Within 20 minutes of telling our Relief Society President about our situation, three weeks of babysitting had been lined up for my kids.
Dinners are now coming in twice a week.
All those dinners are coming from people who I have had the blessing to serve in their times of need. I feel that is a huge blessing - to have led a life (up til now) where I am able to serve others whenever needed.
A friend stopped by today just to clean up whatever little thing I needed her to do. I lay on the couch ordering her around like the worst kind of boss. And she felt blessed. And I felt awful, and so blessed at the same time.
Did I mention that baby Samuel is safely inside me still? Can there be any bigger blessing than being able to bring a wonderful little soul into this world?

So if you call me and ask how I'm doing, and I rattle off a list of complaints a mile long about my ears and hips hurting from laying so long, and how bored I am, and how sad Isaiah is that I can't play with him, etc, etc, etc, please know that I really am incredibly thankful to have those things to complain about. And then call me. Cuz I am BORED. And my hips hurt. ...

Samuel

I'm gonna get a little more detailed here than some (men) may be comfortable with. So stop now if you don't want to know...

Yesterday (Friday, May 14) at about 5pm I noticed that I was spotting (bleeding) a little bit. I blew it off. But I noticed again an hour later and again the next time I went to the bathroom. Finally, by 9pm I was no longer able to blow it off as a fluke and I started freaking out. First I called my Dr. to see what he would say. He told me that it was probably fine, but that I should come in to the hospital to have it checked out anyway. So I called my sister Ruth, who left an art gallery in Washington DC, abandoning the friend she had taken with her, and came straight over. In the meantime a good friend came over so that Richard and I could go straight to the hospital.

After checking several things and listening to the baby's heart beat (he's still a major wiggler and kept moving away from the heart rate monitor), two hours later they sent me home. While I feel relieved that there is nothing major...

~~~~~~~~~

I wrote the previous post last Saturday morning. I stood up from what I had typed above and passed out.

So then we knew, maybe there was something major and went straight back to the hospital. In the hospital they whisked me in to an ultrasound and discovered that my cervix was less than one centimeter thick, where normal would be 4cm. Upon this discovery they immediately put my head down and my feet up, letting gravity do its work. The hope was that taking the pressure off my cervix would help it thicken back up.

And so I stayed for five days, upside down, in the hospital. After 48 hours, they did another ultrasound and discovered that it was working--my cervix was thickening up and was already back to 3.5cm. So the plan from there was to do a little surgery that would basically tie my cervix closed and keep that baby inside longer.

On the Sunday after I checked in to the hospital, many family and friends were praying and fasting for us, and we felt the benefit of those prayers very much. We decided that this baby who we were praying so hard for needed a name. We had a couple of picks and after Richard and I separately thought it over and prayed about it during church hours, we decided this baby's name would be Samuel, after 1 Samuel 1:20, which says,

"she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord."

Being in the hospital for that long upside-down was certainly difficult but I tried not to linger on the difficulty because it's a price I'm willing to pay to have our baby be in our family here on earth.

So Tuesday evening I had the surgery and there were some risks, but everything went wonderfully. And by Thursday afternoon I was allowed to go home.

I am now on complete bed rest, flat at home on my couch. It looks like I will be on bed rest the rest of this pregnancy which hopefully will be a very long time. We are working on hiring some kind of nanny/helper and are feeling very blessed that in the meantime Richard is working from home and so many friends are helping us out. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers and calls. We really do feel the blessings pouring in. This situation has turned into the very best of the worst case scenario.

{Thanks to my sister Angela for being my scribe for this post. Typing is very difficult when you're laying flat.}

Growth Spurt

This little guy in my tummy must really be growing right now. He's sucking the energy out of me so much I can hardly move. And I've gained nearly 2 pounds in the last 2 days (which I'm blaming on his growth spurt, not the chocolate cake).

... I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to lengthen this post, but really that's all I've got. That's it. Baby's growing. I'm tired. The End.

Isaiah Turns 3

He's 3. My baby is 3! (Good thing another baby is on the way!) We went really low key for Isaiah's birthday this year. We took the kids to a bounce house place in the afternoon and met one of Isaiah's friends there. Then after an hour of bouncing, we all went back to our house for an oh-so-deluxe meal of Mac N Cheese and Taquitos. With a leftover-Mother's-Day-chocolate-cake chaser. But a good time was had by all - and that's the truly important part.
Isaiah said at the beginning of the day, "Asher NOT the birthday boy anymore. *I* the birthday boy!" (Really what he said was "Ah NOT be-dah bo an-mo. *I* be-dah bo!" But that's the real English translation.) Clearly he understood that this day was about him!
Isaiah loves the big slide at the bounce house place the most.
To make the leftover chocolate cake a little more special (and birthday-y) I put these sugar decorations on each slice. I thought it was totally lame, but the kids loved it. And that is some friggin' good chocolate cake, so nobody really cared what it looked like.
Presents were opened on the day of, but were mostly played with the next morning. Here Isaiah is enjoying his new "pu-pee" given to him by his Aunt Ruth.
And here he is (a little later in the day) riding his new horsey from Mom and Dad. He yells, "Gi-duh" (Isaiah translation: Giddy-up)
I surely do love that boy. He just so dang sweet. He has so much compassion and love of life. He reminds me of his Daddy in so many ways.

Mother's Day

I see where people are coming from who say Mother's Day is a silly, commercialized holiday. But I also totally soak every bit of it up. Because there are plenty of thankless days in Motherhood. So why not honor the hard work of Mother's once in a while? And, yes, it's a little ironic that I want to be honored in my motherhood by having a day off motherhood. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I still want to relax.

Richard let me take some "time off" on Saturday to go get a haircut, do some shopping, and have lunch alone. While I was gone he and the kids bought me a lilac tree to plant in the yard! On Sunday Richard was super helpful and sweet to me. We went to dinner at his parent's house with Kevin and Kelly and Ruth. It was a lovely day.

I felt very honored and loved and appreciated. And that is the point.

Big Truck Days

(This is a post-dated post. We all went to this event more than a month ago but the pictures never got posted so I thought I'd add them now. ... Seeing as I've got plenty of time these days...)

A nearby town once a year holds an event called "Big Truck Days". They get all their construction vehicles out, clean them up nicely, line them up in a parking lot, and let the kids climb all over them. For free! It's an awesome small-town event. And perfect for our truck-loving family!










Pure kid heaven! Throw in some free cookies and punch and it was a perfect afternoon for the kids. (And one of the last things we did as a family before I was put on bed rest.)

One At A Time

When I'm pregnant, I live in fear of being put on bed rest. Not because I would have to rely on others and who would take care of my children or any of the other usual worries. I fear it because I know that my wonderful friends would be over here in a heartbeat helping. And then they'd discover the ugly truth! Which is that while my front room always looks lovely, and my family room looks just as messy as anybody else's with three little kids, there are some scary parts of my house. Parts that don't get the regular cleaning that they should. Icky parts. Embarrassing parts. So while other mothers-to-be are nesting because of their maternal instincts by decorating a babies room or folding tiny clothes - I am cleaning the icky parts of my house.

Today's task: the laundry room. Piled with stuff and fluff. ... Not to mention the un-done laundry.

And here's the after. What? I never claimed this was about doing the laundry! This is about those piles on the dryer being gone and the floor being clean. Laundry to be done is to be expected. Dirty floors are not. The pictures aren't really doing this justice. But take my word for it, the laundry room is now clean.
Next up: bathrooms. {insert theatrical "duh-duh-duuuuuhhhhhh!" here}

20 Weeks

Here's my belly at 20 weeks. Not that different than the 15 weeks shot. People still regularly remark that I don't look pregnant at all. But it doesn't bother me quite as much anymore since I've seen this baby and I know he's a normal size and healthy as can be. Why I'M not a normal size is still a mystery, but as long as the baby is healthy I can live with that.

Pay no attention to those Easter decorations behind me. I swear I'm taking them down today. But they're so happy and sweet and they match my pretty yellow room so well!

It's a ...

It's a...BABY!! Just kidding. Well, I'm not kidding, it is a baby. But what you really want to know is that it's a baby BOY!

Here he is with his hand up by his ear. Isn't he a looker?
And here's his profile. That big balloon looking thing on the right is his stomach. He had his head cocked to one side so that his ear was on his shoulder and we are looking down from above him kinda.
This guy is a wiggler. He was just in constant jiggly motion the whole time we watched him. A hand moved, a head cocked, a foot adjusted. He's a busy guy, even en utero.

Welcome to the fam, little guy. We've already been busily discussing names. We've already rejected Caleb, Samuel, Eli, Jacob, and Carson. We'll keep working on it.

**I want to make it clear to everyone (including this baby) that I am in no way disappointed by today's news. I am thrilled. I am overjoyed that there is a healthy, wiggly, baby, of any sex, in my tummy. We'll take whatever The Good Lord sees fit to give us - and we'll take if gladly!**

***Naomi, however, does not feel the same way. She cried when we told her it was a boy. And NOT with tears of joy.***

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

School Pics

I wasn't planning on buying school photos this year since we just did that professional photo shoot in the Fall and got those fab pictures. But have you ever seen such a stunning school picture? She looks angelic! She looks like a supermodel! She looks like she came with the frame! ... So I bought it. I had to.
Note to all Grandparentals: If you want a copy of this photo, speak up now. Because I'm not planning on buying you a copy unless you really are dying for it since I just sprung for pics for ya'll in the Fall.

Vote Now!

Tomorrow we get our Ultrasound and see whether this baby is a boy or a girl. So now's your chance to put in your vote! What do you think? Boy or girl?

I've mentioned before that we hope it's a girl. But on both sides of our family we have families who have all boys - so if that's a genetic trait we might be in trouble. Sure, we've already broken that mold by starting with a girl, but "they" say that once you have 3 boys in a row the odds of having a girl are pretty small. So does that mean our odds of having another girl have already diminished by having two boys in a row? ... I'm babbling.

So, we vote girl. How about you?

The Auction Fundraiser

It was a huge success! It was looking incredibly iffy right up until 15 minutes before it started, but it all came together in the end. Not too shabby for an event that I planned, pulled together and happened all within a single week.

In the end, it was a raccous party. The Young Women did a great job of singing songs, reciting silly poems, and telling their favorite jokes. The audience did a great job of hooting and cheering during and after each auctioned item. And of being generous with their "donations". The most coveted item in the auction was a plate of cinnamon rolls - followed closely by several Bolivian dishes. All told, we raised 70% of the money that we need for Girl's Camp. Which is far more than I was expecting!

There was some drama for me leading up to this fundraiser, but I learned some important lessons - about how to do a fundraiser and about life. I feel very good about my accomplishment and blessed to be in Young Women's. I love working with those girls.

Bugging Me

See that bug? I kill at least one each day in my house. It was like that all last summer, too. They don't bite or sting or anything, they're just annoying. They fly around buzzing and freaking out the kids. They don't come in through the doors or windows so I knew they were getting in through some crack or something somewhere - but I didn't know where. Until now. I have figured out that they're coming in through the chimney. We haven't used our fireplace in several years because the chimney really needs to be swept and I don't want to pay for it. So apparently an infestation is going on in there now. But what do I do about it? The chimney is three stories high, so I don't think spraying something up there is going to work. And the top of the chimney is totally unreachable even from the top of the house (if we had a way of getting up there, which we don't). The thought occurred to me to just build a fire - maybe that would smoke them out. But if they have a nest in there somewhere it seems like that just adds to the fire hazard that has kept me from building a fire prior to this.

What do I do?

Pitch In

So I'm planning this big fundraiser for our Young Women to raise money for Girl's Camp. The fundraiser is this weekend. I started planning it last weekend (because that's when we found out we needed a fundraiser). We're doing a baked goods auction and in between auction items our Young Women will be performing camp song and other silly little ditties. The idea with the songs and silly ditties is to keep the energy up. To bring the fun spirit of camp into that room so that people will be generous.

I've run out of ideas for the "silly little ditties" so that's where I thought you might be able to help. I'll tell you a few of what I've got so far, so that you get the idea.

We will, we will, CAMP OUT....CAMP OUT!
You will, you will, BUY CAKE... BUY CAKE!

Roses are red, violets are blue
We love camp,
So buy a pie or two!

Any commonly known song or poem would work. So whatcha got for me, you clever people, you?

A letter

Dear Baby #4,
I know you're in there! I can feel your sweet little life-affirming kicks. Wiggle and kick to your hearts content, Baby! Grow, grow, grow! Suck up all the nutrients you need. We'll see you next week (in black and white and gray on Ultrasound). We can't wait to see if you're a boy or girl. We'll be thrilled either way. Don't you worry - your job is just to grow, grow, grow, grow, grow!

All My Love,
Mom

Boggle

How about an online game of Boggle? How many 3-letter-or-more words can you get from this board? Basic rules: You can not use the same letter tile more than once in the same word. You can go diagonal and in weird patterns. The next letter in your word just has to be touching the previous letter on a side or at a corner. ... I just did a horrible job of explaining the rules, but I guess I'm assuming most of you already know how to play.

I K A H
X T E N
T L T N
A L A O

Don't list your words yet so that nobody can cheat - but give us a count. Technically you're supposed to play Boggle in one-minute rounds or something, but this way will be fun, too.

Flip Flops

The weather around here has been flip-flop friendly! So I had to go out and buy this years round of cheap-o sandals.
... But clearly nobody has their Summer tan yet!

I'm feeling...

Leg cramps

Grumpy

Way-too-frequent headaches - which are brought on by nothing at all. The other day I was sitting in total peace and relaxation and all the sudden my head was killing me. Apparently it's because of all the extra blood pumping through me right now.

Tired - no matter if I get 7 hours of sleep or 10.

Annoyed that people keep saying things like, "You don't even look a bit pregnant!" like I'm supposed to be happy about that. Because I sure feel pregnant. And if I'm gonna feel like crap all the time I want credit for it!

Hungry - this pregnancy is all about food for me. Not one specific food, just food in general. I want it. All the time. And it all seems to like me back! Food is my friend.

Non motivated and at the same time like there is something urgent that I should be doing that I'm forgetting. (It's probably to clean the toilet.)

Frumpy

Happy that I've still hardly gained any weight (and yet irritated by that at the same time since it's what causing #5 up there).

Basically... PREGNANT.

Asher's 4th Birthday

Asher had a grand day on Saturday. We celebrated his birthday a little early to take advantage of the weekend. He started the day with a Daddy-Asher date to see How To Train Your Dragon. While he was gone Naomi and Isaiah helped me clean the house and make the cake. After naptime, the party began!

Asher's favorite thing right now is swinging. He can pump by himself, but he loves to have somebody push him anyway. Aunt Ruth happily obliged for at least an hour!
My big present to him was this embroidered pillow that he calls his "Pillow Pet". The design was inspired by this painting.

We had a great dinner of Kraft Mac and Cheese (with steaks and asparagus for the grown-ups).
And then chowed down on the train cake.
The presents were all a hit.
And the company was great. (This is Aunt Kelly with baby cousin Ethan)
Everybody had a great time. Here's Uncle Kevin holding Isaiah holding Ethan.
In the end we were all fat and happy. ...Even the grown-ups.
I think we did a good job of making it a very special day for Asher. He woke up the next morning asking if it was his birthday again. We had to sadly answer no, but lucky him, it's his birthday again tomorrow when he brings cupcakes to school.

Isaiah Says the Alphabet

(well, sorta)

See the below video for some our favorite things that Isaiah says these days. And some rockin' bed-head.

Isaiah: Nobody get my stuff from Richard Worth on Vimeo.

At the very end you hear him say, "Now let me see!" And at the beginning I asked him to say, "Nobody get my stuff" because I just think it is adorable how he says "no-biby". He says that sentence often as he sets down a pile of this or that to eat a snack or something.

I love that you can see the shape of his mouth so clearly in this video. You can really see how he struggles to get it to make the right shapes. He's watching my face intently as I say each letter of the alphabet and then he's trying so hard to mimic it. He's learning to get the right sounds, but he's not really using standard technique yet. But we're thrilled anyway!

Patience Update

Well, after careful thought and consideration (thanks for all your comments) and after listening to General Conference, I decided that my problem with patience was really mine. My kids are at an appropriate stage for their ages. Sure, I could work on teaching them about patience some, but mostly what prompted me to feel impatient with their impatience was ME. Ya follow? So I'm working on that. I know that I get grumpy when I'm pregnant and I guess I can add "impatient" to that list.

So there you have it, my piece of humble pie.

Patience

I am at the end of my rope.

My patience is running thin because of how impatient my children are.

Someone is constantly hollering at me that they need this or that while I help someone else. It doesn't matter if I have already said, "Yes, just a minute" or anything similar. While I'm in the middle of our two-minute routine of getting breakfast for everybody (the exact same way that I do every other morning), three children ask me for at least 3 things each. I think they should know that I can't do anything else for them at that moment. I cannot dole out bandaids, go over homework, and play catch while preparing breakfast. Sorry, kids. Naomi is by far the worst offender. Just now I sent her to her room for impatience and within a minute she was hollering, "Mama!" because I wasn't coming up to talk to her as promised. It's bad. How could I have failed to teach this to my children? It seems that in a family like ours they would have learned to wait their turn, but suddenly I wonder if instead they've learned to forget waiting and yell their way to the front of the line. Has that worked for them in past? I don't think so, but maybe I haven't been strict enough.

So, I'm putting my foot down. Impatience will no longer be tolerated. I haven't decided yet how I will manifest this non-tolerance policy or what the appropriate punishment should be. But I just can't ignore it anymore.

Suggestions?

Spring Break

We've been living it up this week, on Spring Break. We haven't done anything really momentous or anything, we've just enjoyed playing and being together. We've been to the mall, played outside endlessly, bounce housed, dyed Easter eggs, picniced, etc. And we've done much of it wearing shorts and t-shirts! It rained the first part of the week, but the last couple days have been positively gorgeous. Today's high is 79!

Tomorrow we are all heading off to D.C. to see the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin.

Pictures will follow when I'm not too busy having fun!