March's Mayhem

Here's the quick recap of the other events that took place in March...

{...SWEET LITTLE BABY FACE...}

Why do we feel the need to take so many pictures of babies when they are young? I don't know, but I'm extremely guilty of it.

{...ARTSY FARTSY...}

Shaylyn is a great artist and shows such great promise. Here's a look at one of her first art assignments for a class in school. They worked on drawing pictures using a grid on the original. She hadn't quite finished the assignment when I took the picture, but it still looks good.

{...SO SLEEPY...}

I love watching babies sleep...no matter how old the baby is. Plus, sometimes you get some awesome pictures.

{...ZOOTOPIA...}

On a bit of a whim, we decided to take the kids to see the new movie, Zootopia. The kids all enjoyed it and Zach made it super easy on us and slept through the whole thing.

{...BIG SISTER SNUGGLES...}

If there's one good thing I can say about the age of selfies, it's that Shaylyn is good at taking some with her siblings. I wouldn't get some of these moments without her.

{...HE MAKES IT LOOK COOL...}

Shaylyn got a pair of costume glasses for a decades dance she went to at school. Since then the little kids have found it fun to put them on. Gotta say, Jace looks pretty cool with them on.

{...BROTHERLY LOVE...}

Sometimes Jace enjoys being with his brother...

{...DOWNSIDE OF THE DIGITAL AGE...}

And here's the downside of kids in a digital age. You find all sorts of fun things on your camera when you let the kids borrow your phone...

 

What Happens Next...

Girls Day Out

I ran away last Saturday, all day and all night long. I left all the kids (minus Jace) with Eric for 12 hours. I had good reason to be gone that long. Really I did.

We had a baby shower for my big sister at noon, but my mom needed help setting up and decorating. Because it takes me an hour to get to my mom's, I left at 9. This got me to my mom's by 10 and we had a couple hours to decorate, do last minute food prep and then I took time to actually 'get ready' for the day.

The shower was nice. A steady flow of people came and most stayed the entire time. My sister got lots of fun new things for her baby girl and it was fun to watch her get excited. We spent time visiting with family we don't see very often and my wonderful aunt, Linda (she's my Dad's baby sister) wanted to get a picture of all her nieces. My cousin and I were surprised to realize there's only 5 of us. We both thought, for some odd reason, there were more. I guess it's just cause all of us cousins played together for the most part, so not having the boys with us was odd. Anyway, we posed for this picture. I'm glad we have it, but it makes me feel fat looking at it...

We had to sit down because my little nephew was SLEEPING. But, of course he woke up minutes after the picture was taken....

After the shower we cleaned up and while my Mom and older sister went to another baby shower, my little sister and I ran to a store. We weren't there long, but by the time we got back to my mom's it was about time to get ready for Women's Conference.

We went to Women's Conference in the building where I went to church growing up. My parents moved out of that ward like 10 years ago, so it was weird to be back in that building. I was nervous that I wasn't going to get much out of conference because Jace had been taking 5 - 10 minute cat naps most of the afternoon and I was afraid it was going to continue. Thankfully, I got him to sleep just before conference started and he stayed asleep.

I can't say that I really 'remember' much of what was said at conference, but I do remember it was nice and I loved what Pres. Monson had to say.

After conference we went back to my mom's so my little sister could feed her baby and then she could leave him with his Daddy while we went to Leatherby's. We got to Leatherby's at a prime time and didn't have to wait for a table. (Okay, my older sister might've since she left before us...)

We had a fun time visiting over our ice cream and the night ended way too soon. After Leatherby's we headed back to my mom's so I could feed Jace and pack up before heading home. After I got Jace fed we headed home. He slept the whole way home and even stayed asleep when I transferred him from the car seat to his bed, which was nice because I had to do some last minute cleaning of my house to prepare for Jace's blessing the next morning...

Stay tuned for that story.

What Happens Next...

Gender Revelation

Alrighty folks, today was the day. We got to find out what our little peanut is. Eric was hoping for a boy. I was hoping for a girl, slightly. I've been more anxious that there's something wrong with our little peanut, so I just wanted to hear that it was healthy - regardless of the gender.

I got just that news. Spine looks good, brain looks good, stomach looks good - they were even able to check the lips for a cleft palatte(sp?) and didn't see one. The dr. asked me if I wanted the blood draw for Down's and I told him no. Eric and I have always kind of felt that we'd cross that bridge when and if we had to.

Anyway onto the big revelation...I decided to have a bit of fun with the kids, so we taped it. YAY!!! Enjoy the short little video. It's the only way you'll figure out what this little peanut is...

What Happens Next...

A Secret I've Been Keeping

This beginning of this story actually takes place in December. Like early December. One Saturday morning (December 8th to be exact) Eric and I decided to buy a 'new' (read used) car. I'm serious. We woke up that morning, Eric looked online and we saw the type of vehicle we've been wanting for awhile and it wasn't that much. So, we decided we'd go take a look.

After a whole day at the dealership and running to get emissions and safety checked at Jiffy Lube, we brought this home:

(Not our actual vehicle, Eric's gone and he's got it with him at the moment)

It is a Ford Expedition - Eddie Bauer model. Okay, so we really didn't care about the brand name, that's just what it happened to be. We loved that it was blue and it came with a HUGE monitor for playing videos for the kids. HECK YES!!! That was worth it in and of itself. It's been a huge lifesaver.

We waited an anxious weekend to hear back from the bank and we had some issues getting the emissions to pass, but after the weekend we heard that the loan was approved and a few weeks after that we finally got the emissions to pass. It was wonderful news and a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders.

Now maybe some of you think there's more to the story. There is.

The reason we rushed out that Saturday morning to buy a car was because of this:

(Top Stick - Friday Night Test, Bottom Stick - Sunday Morning Test)

I had been thinking I may be pregnant for a few weeks. Something just told me. So after I had gone to dinner with my sisters on Friday the 7th, I stopped at a store and bought a test. I went home and took it. Eric was asleep and so I didn't tell him.

It took me awhile to get around to telling Eric on Saturday morning. I wasn't sure how he'd feel about it. He could tell that something was on my mind, so I told him then. He reacted better than I expected. That's why we rushed to buy the car - it's an 8 seater AND it isn't a mini-van!

Eric didn't think the positive on the first test was positive enough and told me to test again. Because we were gone all of Saturday, I decided to wait until Sunday morning's first urine cause you know it's stronger...LOL!

Because of my miscarriage earlier in the year, I was very hesitant to tell people. I didn't even call the doctor for a few weeks. I finally decided I should call the doctor anyway and make an appointment. It was scheduled for January 16. I was on pins and needles up until that day. I knew that the appointment would give me some peace of mind one way or the other.

We go to my appointment and get all set up for a quick scan. My doctor does it every 1st visit, so I knew I'd be getting one. First words out of his mouth, "There's a nice strong heartbeat." I was so relieved. I hadn't said a word to my doctor about my anxiety and my mom had told me with her miscarriage that they couldn't find a heartbeat. So to hear those words was wonderful. We then got this cute little picture:

I love that because it's a couple weeks later than the 1st ones I've had with my other kids, you can see the head! It's so much more real than just a jelly bean shape.

My due date is August 16th, which is my maternal grandmother's birthday. I'd be okay waiting for the actual due date just this once. (I say that now, I may change my mind in a few months) I'm still super anxious and afraid that something is going to go wrong, but I think I think too much. 

What Happens Next...

November...In A Nutshell, Or Rather One Long Blog Post

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

To start off the month of November, Indiana Spud decided he'd like to go for an all new adventure and tried stealing Halloween candy...

He did a pretty good job of it and since he is somewhat lacking in pockets, he decided to keep some for later in his fedora.

(Nate was really the one who decided Indiana Spud needed to try the fun that is sugar...)

On the 14th of the month, Eric decided he wanted to channel his inner Robin Hood and went shooting arrows at an archery place with his older brother.

November 15th I left the house around 8:00 PM to go to dinner and a movie with some friends. My friend, Sharla is my birthday twin (we were born the same year, even) and last year we went to see Breaking Dawn: Part 1 the midnight showing on our birthday (the 16th) and this year we decided to go see Breaking Dawn: Part 2. We got an 11:15 or so showing, so we ended up getting home at a fairly decent time in the morning. It was just like a book club night.

The next day was my birthday. YAY! It started out like any other morning, except that Shaylyn was so excited to give me my present (hand made by her) that I hadn't even gotten out of bed when she brought it to me. This was her present:

She even monogrammed it which comes in handy, because the way my brain's been acting lately, I just might forget my initials.

I had a good portion of the day to sit and think on turning 33. This was the first year my age has really gotten to me. I wasn't so much sad as I was just overwhelmed that I am over 30...Age used to be just a number, but I sure felt a change this year.

When Eric got home from work, the two of us went out to dinner at my favorite place, Olive Garden. We had a long wait because it was a Friday night, but that was okay. We weren't in any real hurry to get anywhere.

When we got home I had another gift waiting. This was one from Eric and the kids. Tanis was super excited and told Eric he needed to get this for my birthday. I think he just wanted the game. But that's okay, it just means I have someone to play with.

We spent the rest of the night playing my game and just being silly.

My children then decided to show their turkey feathers. We made our annual Thanksgiving Turkeys on Sunday the 18th. A good family activity for a slow Sunday evening. Sadly, Nate was asleep so I had to make his (and I don't think he really even realized he had one) and Ailey truly went about making her own one WITHOUT anyone's help.

Because life wasn't exciting enough, Shaylyn decided she needed a black eye. She had a cast for a good chunk of November last year and this year she needed to do something! Therefore, she decided to trip and fall over a playground spider-web climbing thing. I wasn't there, so I don't know EXACTLY what happened, I can only go by her words and know she came home looking like this:

By the next morning she looked like this:

That night we went to the BYU Basketball game with Eric's dad and our family friends, The Wildings. We arrived late (I figured we had plenty of time, but I forget that basketball games aren't very long) and so we didn't have a whole lot of time to visit with our friends or see the whole 1st half of the game. We did see the 2nd half and the Cougars killed it. It was a good game to watch.

...I love that the 3 of us are all looking in different directions...

The next day was Thanksgiving and well I don't have any pictures from that day. We went to turkey dinner at Eric's parents at 2:00 and had fun visiting with his extended family members that we haven't seen in 2 years or so and had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.

At about 5:30 we decided to head over to my parents house where the kids went crazy with the cousins, Eric played games with my Dad and the other men, while I played easier games with Tanis, my brother Donovan and little sister, Kaeloni. When we weren't playing games we were convincing Kaeloni's baby Ryan  to make his arrival...He didn't want to listen. We had a late night and got home probably around midnight, but it was all good - no one had to get up to be anywhere the next day.

The next afternoon, however, Eric and I were taking off to celebrate our anniversary. (Which is actually, today - but since it's not the weekend, well...) Some of our great friends gifted us with a hotel room for our birthdays and anniversary with some of their reward points and even volunteered to watch all of our kids. Well our friend is 8 months pregnant with baby #6 so there was no way I was gonna let her take all 5 of my kids. Luckily, Eric's mom had volunteered earlier to watch kids.

We decided that Lex and Nate would do best with our friends and Tanis, Shaylyn and Ailey would be best with Grandma. So around 1:00 we all set out. We dropped off Lex and Nate down the street and then headed to Eric's parents. We dropped the other 3 kids off and got to have turkey leftovers for lunch and then we were on our way.

We drove downtown to the hotel and got all checked in and then decided to hit the downtown malls. The hotel we stayed in (which was AWESOME by the way) was just down the street from The Gateway and we decided we'd just take Trax to City Creek.

We hit City Creek first and then decided to walk over to Temple Square because it was the night they did the lights. Well it was CRAZY crowded (which, I expected) so we didn't spend a whole lot of time there. But we made sure to take some pictures of us...

Sick of us yet. Okay, well here's a picture of me:

...Why yes, I did go shopping at The Disney Store and yes, I DID play Santa for a couple kids...

We then got back and Trax and headed to The Gateway. We decided to look into the Laser Light shows at the Planetarium. They had a Christmas one at 8, and a few others later. It was too close in time to hit the 8:00 show if we went to dinner first, so we opted for a 9:00 show, which was a Rock On Demand show.

We went to dinner at Tuachan and ate too much, but still tried to eat a huge brownie with ice cream. Yeah, only got halfway through. Then we had a bit of time to kill and so we stopped in a couple more stored at The Gateway.

We got to the Planetarium about 10 minutes before showtime and we were able to get awesome seats. The show was pretty cool, I just don't know a whole lot of the songs they played - but I still really enjoyed it. We really want to take the kids to the Christmas one they've got going. Hopefully we'll make that happen.

Then because we are old people now, we went back to the hotel and were in bed by about 10:30.

The next morning we took it easy. Check out wasn't until noon (Hallelujah) and I hadn't slept well that night so I tried to sleep as much as I could. We decided we should go get breakfast around 8 and it was a good thing too, a lot of it was out...However, they still had enough that I think Eric and I both had a good breakfast.

After breakfast we went back to the hotel room and finished getting ready. During this time we got a text that  Kaeloni had little Ryan. Sadly, he had an issue with his blood though so he had to be put on an antibiotic IV, which means he's spent his first few days of life in the NICU. He's there until Thursday. And because only parents and grandparents are allowed in the NICU, I haven't been able to meet this cutie yet. Hopefully that time will come this weekend.

...My sister texted this picture last night, isn't he a cutie??? Can't wait to snuggle him all up!...

Before heading home we decided to look for a new tree or at least new lights. I was hoping for a new tree cause I don't want to try stringing lights, but after looking - we just didn't want to give up our tree and we opted for new lights. But I'm making Eric string them, I'm nice like that.

We went and got the kids from Eric's parents first and once again, were blessed to have a free lunch! The kids had already eaten, so we just finished off some of what they had. We then decided it was time to rescue our friends and grab Lex and Nate.

We were home for about 3 hours when our friends decided they all wanted to go see the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I'm always up for a night out with friends so we went. I did feel slightly guilty that we left our kids again when we had only been home a couple hours.

The movie was much better than I thought it'd be and I really actually liked it. That being said, I've never actually seen a James Bond movie before, so don't take my word for it. After the movie we headed over to Cafe Rio and had a wonderful time visiting with our friends and enjoying our meal. I then decided I was pooped and needed to get home to bed, so we did.

And as I was typing this, look what arrived for me:

I'm spoiled, I know. I love Eric and I am happy to have spent the last 16 years of my life with him, with 14 of them being married to him! Happy Anniversary to us!!!

And that folks is our November - with a bit more to come. And yup, every November ends up being at least slightly this crazy!

What Happens Next...