AT LAST, A FENCE (or two)

We FINALLY got our fence done. It proved to be a very frustrating process! The fence itself was done last Thursday but for some reason they did not get the hinges and latches for the gate. They said they would be back Friday morning to do the gates so we could free the dogs, but it didn't happen (big surprise - they have been SO dependable). We ended up freeing the dogs anyway, we just had to bungee cord the gates closed. They came yesterday to do the gates.

The dogs were so happy! The kids, they were SO happy too! Especially Andrew because he gets to spend more time out there when Mommy and Daddy don't have to continously chase him to keep him out of the street. He looks like a caged monkey now, though. He goes and hangs on to the gate at the driveway and yells to be saved!

Andrew and I went and bought him a big ball for out there to celebrate HIS new found freedom!

the front fence/gate across driveway
Front view, wood on the left, aluminum on the right
I HAVE A PATIO!!! And, I forgot how big it is when there wasn't a 10x10 kennel in the middle of it! The back fence line and the cross fence (to keep the dogs on one side of the yard) are also in this picture.
Bryce playing on the patio

Candy Andy

Daddy was trying to give me a slight break the other night and was trying to keep Andrew in our room with him. I did not know at the time HOW he was keeping Andrew in the bed, but I quickly found out when I found a very wired Andrew.

Daddy was feeding him candy. Endless. Amounts. Of. Candy.

Now, the mere sight of candy hypes him up.

Between the sweet "Peez" and "thank you's" and calls for "nanny" from him he is hard to resist. However, it is becoming increasingly easier when it comes to candy!

He now searches the house for candy.

Such a Sweet Boy (most of the time)

I DON'T WANNA GO TO BED!!!

Bryce lost his first tooth yesterday morning. He and Andrew came in my room about 5:30 am. Shortly after, Bryce jumps up all excited and told me his tooth fell out. It was SO tiny! (Excuse the vitamin in his mouth. I didn't realize it was there.)
He was very excited to have the tooth fairy FINALLY come visit him. It has really been bothering him that he was the only one (out of the older three) that had NOT lost a tooth.

As if Bryce doesn't have enough to talk about. ALL we have heard about for the past two days is his tooth and the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy NEVER has cash on hand. Luckily, she has a box she throws change into and she had a dollar bill she had pulled out of the washer on the dryer for the past month. So she was able to come up with the money to buy the tooth! When will the tooth fairy learn and when will the kids start accepting credit cards (I am sure they would love to accept the credit card and not give it back).
I expected him in my room early this morning. Andrew came in about 6:15. I figured Bryce would have his ziploc bag full of change shortly behind him. After about 30 minutes and no Bryce I went to get kids up for school. Bryce was still in his room. He asked if the tooth fairy came (the tooth fairy doesn't get teeth under pillows in this house, we leave them in the kitchen for her. No need to take the chance of waking ANYONE). I told him I didn't know, I had not checked and asked why he had not checked. "I didn't want to scare off the tooth fairy if she was still in there."

DANG IT - is it possible for him to lose a tooth every night? It might be worth it if it keeps him from coming to my room at the crack of dawn!

Here is a picture of my arm that met the wall. It did not get near as black as I thought it was going to from the pain and how bad it looked right after it happened. Paul, however, still prefers that I wear long sleeves if I go out. I am not going to put pictures of all the other bruises, this is the worst of it, thank goodness!

Ruined!

Paul's screwy schedule is ruining me for life! The past week, we have been asleep by 7:30, 8 the latest. It has been GREAT!! The strange thing is, I have been taking the Ambien (except the night I fell) between 7 and 730 every night. I sleep without moving until 1:30. Like clockwork. I wake up at 1:30 and spend the rest of the night tossing and turning.

When Paul goes back to his normal schedule, I don't know if I will be able to end the 7 bedtime!

Where's Andrew

I heard a muted AJ screaming "hello" and pounding on something over and over. I thought he was playing with his brothers, but when it didn't stop I thought I should investigate. He had locked himself in his closet and was kicking the door and hitting it with a shoe.

21 Month Vocabulary

Okay, Andrew's vocabulary is increasing so rapidly I thought I should make a list of what he is saying unprompted at 21 months. He will try to say just about anything we say to him (like pewple for purple). He constantly amazes me lately with all of his "new things" and growing up. :(

mama

daddy

muntie (monkey)

blankie

Babeb

Itick (started as I-Z)

BryBry (started as BrBr)

peeezzzzzz

tank tu

wub u

no

stop

hello

byebye

ball

candy

Ming Ming (from Wonder Pets)

Bob (Sponge Bob - BLAH)

Gorge (Curious George)

Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow

doggie

kitty

OUCH!!!

Someone likes to turn on the light in my china cabinet. Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I saw it was on and went to turn it off. I forgot on my way out of the dining room that Daddy had taken the tv out of Bryce and Andrew's room Friday night because they would not leave it off at bedtime.

The dining room was dark. I remembered about the tv, as I was tripping over it. I took a pretty nasty fall. We have huge columns in the kitchen/living/dining area to kind of seperate the open space. As I fell I hit the corner of the column.

I was already hurting yesterday, just baby pains. The aftermath of the fall....the top of one foot is bruised up (where I hit and knocked over the tv), I skinned both knees, bruised my rib, scraped the lower half of one arm, and completely scraped the inside of the top of the other arm, which is now black.

Luckily, I hit the column. The force of hitting the column turned me enough to the side as I fell so I did not fall directly on my stomach. Between my bruised ribs and the jolt my side and back are REALLY hurting today.

The baby is still moving around and all seems to be safe with her. I opted NOT to take my Ambien last night so I could be functioning enough to try and pay attention to the baby. So, between the neighbors dog barking (full moon or close to it), all of my bruises and the fact that I am just generally uncomfortable, I got NO sleep last night.

Daddy won't let me walk in the dark anymore. I knew the tv was there, but it isnt something that is NORMALLY there so I just wasn't thinking about it.

I Know WE Aren't Santa

Caleb has been in that phase where he KNOWS Daddy and I are Santa, until Christmas rolls around. Then he "believes" in Santa to humor us and get what he wants.

Well, here is the proof that we are NOT Santa, other than the obvious we don't have big white beards, long white hair and a jolly laugh.

First off, Santa HAD to be an only child. Because as someone who grew up with siblings and has multiple kids, WE would know to buy ALL the kids the same toys. It doesn't matter who asks for what and what who gets, everyone elses toys are ALWAYS way better.

Also, he would know that the boys are different ages and share rooms. So, you buy age appropriate but the big kids would rather destroy...errrr.....I mean, play with little kids toys and the little kids would rather choke...errrrr....I mean, PLAY with big kid toys.

But mostly, if WE were Santa, we would NOT to go spend lots of money on toys for the boys and to instead spend it on ourselves. It does not matter if they spent ALL year asking for the same toys over and over (and then added to the list even AFTER all the presents were open and started new lists for next year). The day after Christmas, and every day thereafter, they will ALWAYS be bored.

See, I told you I could prove WE weren't Santa. Santa would not have a brain fart EVERY year that would keep him from remembering these things!

New Names

Andrew is repeating his brothers names this morning. We have "Babeb", "I-Z", "BrBr".

I think the fact that he is saying so many new things so quickly is proof that he could have started talking a long time ago. But when you have three older brothers that are always in your face and talking for you, why bother?

On a Roll and It's Killing Me

We always say please and thank you to Andrew when we would want him to say it. He got please, today he started "I wub u" and NOW he is saying "tank uuuuu"!

That is a lot for one day. I don't know how much more of this growing up stuff Mama can handle!

Making of a Christmas Card 2008

We didn't actually send out a card this year, but I did the pictures anyway. I usually get a bigger hit with the making of THE picture, than I do with THE picture itself, so the tradition is that I post them all. I am a little behind, but here they are.

So, I had a few people comment on this picture. Yes, Andrew actually DID turn into a monkey. Really, AJ was not cooperating with us and the whole picture thing, so I gave up and put the monkey in his place. That was great until Andrew realized HIS monkey was there and took it!

The secret to get pictures of these boys (the older three anyway), I have to tell them if they will work with me to get some good pictures, I will take some pictures of them being crazy. Andrew is almost two, there is NO reasoning with him if he doesn't want to do something!

Caleb's Pictures

Isaac's Pictures

Bryce's Pictures

Andrew's Pictures

Andrew said "I wub u" this morning. When I told Daddy, he said "Wow, another weapon."

He has "Peeez" with the perfect sweet, innocent grin and puppy dog eyes down perfect. If sees ANYTHING he wants he smiles a big smile and says "peeeeez" and holds it out until he gets what he wants.

Now, it will be "peeeeeez. I wub u!!" with his puppy dog eyes and big, sweet, innocent grin.

SLEEP AT LAST (some anyway)

I don't like taking new medicines without Paul being home because I react strangely to most medicines. Medicines that should make me hyper knock me out, meds that should make me sleepy can make me hyper. So, when the dr prescribed Ambien I was going to wait to take it until Paul would be home in the morning (just in case it REALLY knocked me out). Then, I found out he did not get a day off for two weeks and, well, with possible sleep that close to me, I did not want to wait two weeks to try it.

Last night I took half of a pill. Kind of testing the waters! I went right to sleep (which is never a problem for me) at 7:30. I STAYED asleep until 1:30!! SIX STRAIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP!!!!! The rest of the night I was in and out, but I don't remember the last time I got six straight hours of sleep.

I haven't decided if I am going to attempt a whole pill tonight. Six hours with half a pill is pretty good, and I really don't like taking it while I am pregnant because there have not been any extensive studies on the effect of it on the baby. Guess we will see how the day goes.

Yum!

Some parents catch their kids eating cat or dog food.

NOT my AJ!!!

I just walked in to the bathroom to find him on his hands and knees lapping water out of the cat's water bowl (guess it could be worse - could have been the toilet).

Is that better than eating catfood? Not too sure!

Oh, the best part....

His cup of milk was next to him on the floor. Not as though he was just thirsty. Guess it looks fun the way the animals drink.

Growing Up to Be a Clown?

Andrew has always had this thing that if he sees peoples shoes sitting around he has to wear them. He typically spends most of his time on the floor when he does this with mine or Daddy's shoes.

Today he is wearing my tennis shoes around. Everytime he falls (which is like every other step) he screams "shoes NO NO"

It was cute for a while, but he has been doing it for about 45 minutes now and the screaming at SHOES is getting kind of annoying.

I took them away from him. He ran to his room crying his eyes out. SUCH A MEAN MAMA!!!!

Work Hour Changes

Paul knew this month would be crazy at work because of some stuff they have going on that will mean a health and safety person there a lot, and as always someone on call.

Things are not going well with what they are doing, there are injuries and so now they have to have someone at the plant 24/7. That means H&S will not get any days off until the end of January. Paul was supposed to have off Friday :(

We were kind of concerned about what hours he would end up with. Can you imagine him trying to sleep during the day with all of our kids running around. Even if just Andrew was here...

He is working 5am-2pm shift. All the days he should have had off and won't will be given to him as vacation days. That will be nice when the baby comes! So, he got a decent shift (he will just have to go to bed an hour early) AND he still gets the days off. He will just have more than his three weeks vacation time this year. Softens the blow a little anyway!

At least he isn't out of town all the time!

Freaky

On my way to my appointment something very freaky happened to me. The weatherman this morning said the temperature would be going up and down today because there was a front that was going back and forth over us. I noticed when I was going in and out throughout the day talking to the fence people that the temp was fluctuating some, but nothing bad.

When I left the house the thermometer in my car said it was 73 degrees. The temperature quickly dropped to 60 degrees and went back up to 70 in a matter of about 10 minutes. In that 10 minutes there were two times my windshield completely fogged over to where I could not see out, but before I could even reach for the defrost it completely cleared.

Gives new meaning to the saying "if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes!"

Now it is in the 50's. I guess it finally pushed through.

24 Weeks

I just got back from my drs appt. It was very quick this time (thank goodness because it was a later appt than I usually go for and I was hoping I would make it home before the buses). Her heart rate was around 150 bpm. Everything seems great. I asked about how low she was staying. The dr says it is to be expected because this is my fifth child and that is probably where she would stay. The more kids you have yada yada yada....

I asked about when I could schedule an induction (which we had already discussed). I explained that I needed to get plane tickets so my parents could come stay with the boys while I was in the hospital. She had no problem scheduling it now, although she normally does it around 30 weeks. But she understood the problem. SO.....assuming she does not come early on her own, Mady's birthday will be April 20. The dr said she would be surprised if I made it until then though. I told her that us scheduling it and buying the plane tickets were a sure fire way of making her come on her own early.

She also gave me a prescription for Ambien to see if that will help me get some sleep. When I was asking about how low Mady was she said I would probably start feeling lots of pressure and pains in my stomach and back. I told her I already was and it was causing me to have a hard time sleeping. I did not pick it up yet, so I guess I will try it tomorrow night.

I start going every two weeks now. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but after I left I realized that I have never started going every two weeks before 30 weeks. Kinda makes me wonder exactly how soon she thinks this girl is coming! She did not say anything to make me concerned, but I wish I could have asked why already or it that was normal. When I go in two weeks I get to take the LOVELY (insert gagging face here) glucose test!

The drs office is at the hospital. So, you park in Timbuktu and hike to the office. We got down stairs to leave and it was POURING! Not only was it pouring but we have been having wind gusts up to 35 mph today. I took Andrew out of his stroller and folded it up (these are the times I LOVE his stroller that folds in thirds and had a backpack strap). On the remote on my car if you hold down one of the buttons (I think unlock) it puts all the side windows down. I thought I was holding down the button that opens the back door. I got AJ in the car and the stroller in the back. As I was going to get in my door I noticed all the windows down. It was POURING into the car! I was soaked, the inside of the car was soaked but AJ was dry and getting into everything (I did not buckle him in yet).

Finally!

Our oh so dependable fence people have FINALLY begun work on putting up the fence we ordered in October! I was having a slow start to my day yesterday, after getting no sleep and not feeling well. Andrew and I were laying in my bed watching tv when I started hearing some wierd noises outside. They never called to let us know they were coming this time (they have told us five or six times a day they would be here and never showed). I quickly got dressed and went outside. They were setting the third post already! Luckily we had flagged it all out back the first time they were supposed to come.

They got all of the wood post set and they got the fencing across the front at the driveway set. They have the back fence to put up and the cross fence. They also have to hang the gate and put in the electric supply for the fence opener.

We have gotten a lot of rain lately. The dogs will be SO happy to get out of their 10x10 (for three dogs) kennel they have been trapped in for over 6 months! Paul finished their dog house inside the shed a couple of weeks ago. We have been locking the big two dogs in the dog house at night so they stay dry. I feel so bad for them and how they have had to live since we moved here, but again, there is a lack of dependable customer service in this area!

Not So Baby Anymore

Do you remember the day you looked at your "baby" and realized he was no longer a baby? I had that devestating epiphany moment today. Bryce and Andrew were in there room sounding very rough. I opened their door to see what they were doing. They scattered like roaches and Andrew gave the most I'm-not-too-innocent-but-that-is-okay-because-I-am-really-cute, VERY boy grin. It hit me like someone had punched me in the stomach.

Over the last couple of weeks he has started doing so many new things and talking and he really is little boy now :(

It makes me treasure the moments when he lays on my lap with his monkey and blankie and sucks his thumb (yes, I am the same Mom that just posted how she wanted to BREAK the thumb-sucking, as cute as it is).

He is so lovey too - and I treasure that as well. I KNOW it will probably end all too soon! He likes to give kisses. He will take our face in his cute little hands and turn your head so he can kiss your lips. SO SWEET!

Daddy says he is like a lap dog. When we are sitting, AJ wants to be in our lap. He is usually climbing up for a minute and then climbing down, which gets old after a bit, BUT... after my epiphany today, I welcome it!

My last little boy (along with his three older brothers) is growing up way too fast. I liked it better before I walked into that bedroom earlier. :(

Almost There!

As much as I LOVE my boys and all of their energy, and as much as I have LOVED the time I have had with them the last couple of weeks, I am ready for them to go back to school!!

They go back tomorrow!!

It is just so hard to keep Andrew on a schedule with everyone home. Even if I make them lay down when he does so it is quiet - well it is never quiet! His routine on the weekends is no routine, but during the week when it is just us, he lays down around the same time just about everyday!

Two of the three boys are more than ready to go back tomorrow too!

Life's Challanges Raising Boys

This (lengthy but good) article is about why you don't see President's get elected that have boys. I never really thought of the fact that there have always been lots of little girls running around, but not many little boys. This author has a good point, that as the mother of FOUR boys - I would have to agree with!

Guess Paul has a long while before he can become president!

Smarty Pants

Andrew has lots of Shake n Go cars. He doesn't play with them on the track, just carries them around shaking them. When we would sneak them OFF he always would walk around shaking them and when they did not make sounds he would bring them to us mad.

He has figured out how to turn on and off the cars, by himself. Now if toys don't make sounds he instantly turns them over and looks for the power switch!

Sleep....What is That?

I am not getting any sleep lately! I just cannot get comfortable and I feel as though I have tried everything. My back has been hurting horribly lately, especially when I am lying down. If I wake up on my back in the middle of the night, my back and head hurt. I don't know if the headaches are my sinuses and lying on my back or if she is on a nerve or something. I go to the dr tomorrow and plan on discussing this all with her and see if she has any ideas of things I can try. I use a body pillow already. Yesterday I bought a wedge pillow thinking if I put that under my belly while I was sleeping it would make my back more aligned. Well, Mady did not like the pillow. It apparently pushes my belly in and takes her precious living space. So, she kicked and kicked and kicked until I removed the pillow. Then she instantly calmed down. I am at a loss!

I don't know which way the wives tale goes about how you carry showing the sex of the baby you are having. I also don't know if I look like I am carrying different than I carried with the boys (higher or lower), but I know I am carrying different. By now with the boys I was feeling them moving around high - like reaching into my ribs and I always felt them in different spots. While Mady moves ALL. THE. TIME. now, she stays in the same spot. I always feel her in the same areas. She is very low (always below my belly button) and having her constantly in the same area, kicking the same places over and over gets kind of uncomfortable.

Blankie Drama

I have been looking for the material I made Andrew's blanket out of (the one he carries everywhere with him) so I could make a second blanket. He has some kind of sixth sense that when I go to put the blanket in the washer he walks in as I am doing it and starts crying.

I have never found this material anywhere (I got it at Hancock Fabrics). Yesterday I found a Hancock Fabrics here and went in. I found the material, but not in yellow (his blanket is yellow with green trim). I found it in the same green color as the trim on his blanket. So, I thought I would do the oppsoite and make a green blanket with yellow trim.

He tried to carry off the material (he stole it out of the bag when we got home) before I even goot the blanket made. I thought this was a good sign that he liked the blanket and would accept it, at least when I was washing his other one.

Well, I made the blanket last night when he went to bed. I put it in my room. Guess who found it this morning. Now, he is carrying BOTH blankets. If I try to take one, he screams "BLANKIE" at me and starts crying.

I think what I am going to have to TRY to do is get the yellow one, wash it and hide it. Then go get some more green material and yellow trim while they have it, and make a second green one. Maybe, if I am lucky, I can get him to accept the green one as a replacement and only carry ONE blanket! The good thing about this is that I have learned how to make the blankets a lot better now. The yellow one looks horrible because I did not know how to do blanket binding. Now I do!

Oh, we have code names for the blankets because if we say blanket or blankie he immediately starts searching for it (which is bad if it is in the washer). His yellow blanket it Big Bird (because it looks like Big Bird). So, we named the green one Oscar the Grouch, even though it is not the same green as Oscar. He has not figured these names out....YET.

I also got the same material in red to make a blanket for Mady. Maybe I should make two for her too! But let's be realistic. If she IS going to get attached to a blanket, it will be a blanket that there is only one of and that I can no longer find.

PEEEEEEZ

We have been working to get Andrew to say please when he wants something for a while now. Last night, he actually started saying it. Today, I think he has mastered it!

It is very hard to say no to the little blond hair, blue-eyed boy that says "peeeeez" with a big smile while dancing around and giggling. SO SWEET!

I am wanting to start some stuff with Andrew, but I am afraid now is so not the time.

Number one: I would love to end the thumb-sucking! As cute as it is (except for when he sucks his thumb while also having one finger up his nose which is his new thing), it is not cute when they are older and still sucking their thumb or when their teeth are messed up from sucking his thumb.

I also want to try and get him potty trained. He shows interest and signs of readines, but he is not even 2. We have been "playing" with it since June, but that is it. I have not pushed him at all.

My concern: we have a baby coming in a few months. How much will he regress when she gets here. I am more concerned with him regressing with the thumb-sucking than I am the potty training.

What is a Mom to do?

Busy Baby

I went from being concerned because I was not feeling Mady very much a few weeks ago (and Paul and I were both feeling the boys by that point in my previous pregnancies). Now we are at the opposite extreme.

I told Daddy last night that I had a feeling I would actually go into labor with her before a scheduled delivery (all of the boys were induced). She does not seem to like her confinement now and she still has quite a bit of growing to do!

She moves all the time now and if feels like she is always stretching out. A couple of nights ago, I am not sure what she was doing but it was hurting BAD! I tried sitting, walking, lying down, changing my position, a hot shower, pushing on her. NOTHING would get her to move.

We are only going into week 24, so she still has lots of time to grow and get stronger. Hopefully she will have some mercy on her Mom!!!

:(

Daddy had to get up early this morning and go to work. It has been SO nice having him home with us for a couple of weeks and we got SO much done around the house. Next week he has Friday off so in a two week period he is only working a week. STILL SUCKS!

We got the nursery done, as I previously posted. It is so nice to go hide out in there in all the girliness in there. I am SO not used to that!

We also got all the living room, kitchen and boys hall painted. Last night Paul got pictures, shelves, etc hung on the walls that have been painted.

We got all the Christmas decorations, inside and out, taken down. Between the kids and the Wii and Andrew, the poor tree was just in the way.

We FINALLY got the storage closet in our garage cleaned out. We had no idea what was in there! We got a lot of stuff put out in the storage shed. Our next project will be putting up shelves in the storage closet and the shed. But, at least for now, we know what is where and our garage is cleaned up. It is amazing how much bigger the garage seems when there is nothing in it but a refrigerator and cars. The boys bikes, scooters, power wheels, etc. take up a LOT of space!

We even found time for play and laziness! All in all we had a good Christmas break!

AJ's Newest Tricks

The last couple of weeks AJ has really been trying to copy everything we say. I knew it was a matter of time because he has been really good at following directions for some time now, and even following multiple-step directions.

I was hoping he could TELL us what he wanted by the time the baby is here. Looks like he will be!

His bad habit at the moment....taking off his diaper! He especially likes to take it off when you put him in his room so you can do something (like clean up a mess or for him to take a nap). Guess who has to have pants on ALL the time now. Elastic waisted pants don't work too well either. He has learned how to pull them down. He slept the entire night the other night with his diaper half undone AND his pants UP. Guess who got to clean bedding the next morning.

New Year's Eve

Last night we listened to over six hours of continuous fireworks. They were fun to watch, for a while. But, when you have four kids that need to sleep.....well, you see where I am going with this!

They started between six and seven last night and ended at about 1 am. They were mostly from three or four different houses, so obviously there were some people that spent major money on fireworks. They were not just bottle rocket type stuff either, Almost the entire time it looked like professional fireworks!

Andrew made it to 8:30 pm and the other three made it to almost 11. I can't say much because this is the first year in MANY years I have actually stayed awake to see the ball drop - and I just barely made it this year.

We got the boys some sparkling apple cider. Caleb was a bit of a baby about it, but the other three seemed to like it. Especially Andrew! He was gulping it down so fast that his face was turning red and he was choking himself. I wish we had gotten the video camera out for it. He was quite funny with it!

Daddy and I played Wii all evening. That thing can really wear you out!

What an exciting New Years Eve, but I wouldn't trade it!

As for our family, 2008 was not too bad on us! I know many who did not have a great year, for whatever reason and for you all I hope 2009 brings much better things for you. We had a major move (actually a summer of major moves), a new house, Daddy home all the time, the economy did not hit us as hard as many (and hopefully THAT trend will continue on in 2009). We also got the wonderful news that not only were we expecting again (surprising but wonderful), but that we were expecting a GIRL, finally!

We have watched our children grow another year older. We have watched our baby turn in to a toddler (watch out terrible twos and torturous threes....and ferocious fours - he is entering at an amazing speed) that is into everything. We watched our oldest turn 10! Double digit age :( He is still trying to convince us he is already a teenager (sadly he already ACTS like a teenager). We have watched Isaac excel greatly in first grade and watched Bryce enter and learn how to do the whole school thing.

Our major loss of 2008 was watching Aunt Mary pass. It was so neat to watch the kids with her in her final days and moments, but she is still greatly missed. She was a major part of our holiday season and it was saddening to think of the traditions we had with her. But we know she is in a better, happier place with her husband and nephew (Paul's Dad).

Here is hoping you ALL have a great new year. We hope our 2009 will be at least as good as 2008! And we cannot wait to meet our long-awaited little girl and introduce her to everyone!

Warning:

Three hours of Wii for a pregnant woman may be over-exerting yourself a little too much!! I am hurting, don't know if it is the actual playing of the Wii or laughing so much at "Daddio" playing the Wii!!!

Happy New Year/New Year Resolution

I am going to make a resolution I KNOW I can keep this year. So, my only resolution for this year is to lose weight by May.

Hopefully I can keep my ONE resolution!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Here is the picture for the Christmas card - which I never did this year!

The phone....err, deodorant?.... is ringing!

He heard a telephone ring, was carrying deodorant for some reason, and answered it.

Mady's Room

I have had request for pictures of Mady's room, and we got it basically finished this weekend. So, here is her room. It is a very small room - which made it hard on me because there was SO much I wanted to do. It has been great having Daddy off work and here to help out in getting it done!





This is the table I have been trying to figure out how to do. I had bought the material for it, but could not get it to look right. Thanks Nana for your help with it while you were here! It turned out exactly how I had pictured

Time to Move the Seasonings

Andrew loves to get in to our seasoning drawer and pick out seasonings. Tonight he was getting seasonings out (for no reason). He brought the Italian seasoning, ground sage and taco seasoning to me. I thought I would teach him a lesson and put them on his thumb (that he sucks).

I started with the italian seasoning. HE LIKED it. Sage - he liked it. Taco - he liked it.

NASTY!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

The boys were not as excited about the Wii as we thought they would be. Caleb kept saying they didn't know how to play. We got Caleb and Isaac playing (Bryce was more interested in his firestation). They played for a bit, but while playing boxing Isaac got two knock-outs on Caleb and Caleb became a sore loser and quit. Isaac loves the Wii!

As far as the scooter incident - Isaac was the last one to pick. He didn't seem overly excited about it (although they have ALL been asking for one). Daddy just within the last 20 minutes "noticed" the scooter was broken and told Isaac. Isaac was disappointed until I told him he could go pick whatever scooter he wanted. AND, it is raining - so all is at peace with that situation!

My Home Depot presents, which several were wanting to hear about. The boys picked out their presents to me from there. So, from Caleb I got a Grow Some Luck kit (green pot with everything to grow clovers). From Isaac I got a new showerhead (I have really been wanting one). Bryce got me a PINK tool bag full of tools (screwdrivers, hammer, picture hanging supplies, all kinds of tools I can use around the house and not have to dig through Daddy's stuff to find). Andrew got me a plant stand. Then they filled my stocking with LOTS of candy, nail polish, a Hannah Montana flashlight (thank you Isaac), a game for my DS, etc.

Daddy got me a new mini laptop. It is very small and light and boots up instantly. It has a very small harddrive and then also has a flash drive. And, it is PINK! I love it! I will try to post some pics when things calm down some. I have Christmas pictures I took for our non-existent Christmas cards for this year!

Enjoy your day!

Santa's Screw-up

Okay, so here is Santa's plan to take care of the dilemma. So that SANTA does not have to be the bad guy and choose who gets the broken scooter, I...I mean, SANTA....folded all the scooters back up. They are all sitting together and which ever scooter each child grabs in their frenzy of excitement is the scooter they get! Then we will play up that the one who gets the broken one gets to PICK their scooter out!

Yeah, I know - we are still praying for rain tomorrow. Hopefully the Wii will keep them REALLY occupied until we can hit the store again.

Santa

Trivia Time - Answer

The answer to the trivia I posted last week (and forgot about)....

It is a wasp catcher.

You put sugar water in it, the wasp fly in through the hole and drowned.

AWESOME Christmas present.

Santa Messed Up

Lesson learned - don't wait until 8 pm Christmas eve t0 put together Santa gifts. The boys are all getting new scooters. I took it out of the box - thinking it was as easy as that - but when I unfolded one of them IT WAS BROKEN. So, Santa ran to Walmart (hopefully they are still open) to hopefully get a new one!

Fingers crossed!! I would hate for a child to get to stare at a broken scooter while his brothers are riding theirs. And how do you choose WHICH kid gets the broken one?

FINGERS CROSSED!!!


Update: Walmart employees are enjoying their families and Santa is bringing a flawed scooter! Guess who will be in the LONG return line!?!?

Plan B: PRAY FOR RAIN ALL DAY (it is in the forecast)!!!!!

Should I Be Nervous?

As I stated earlier today, Paul took the kids shopping for my Christmas stuff tonight. I already know the big gift he got me, so they were getting a few small things and stocking stuffers. Right before he left he asked if there was anything they SHOULDN'T get me. I said the normal "no vacuum cleaners or appliances that mean me working for you all."

They went to Walmart here in town and it was packed. They went to the only other store here in town open.

Should I be concerned that they got my gifts from Home Depot?

Andrew's Favorite Game

Andrew really likes to play the "Where's your ...." game. He can tell you where his hair, hands, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, feet, knees and elbows are. But, my personal favorite is when you ask where his belly is and he giggles and lifts his shirts in anticipation of the tickle he KNOWS is coming.

After he shows us where everything is on HIM, he starts pointing them all out on US!

Merry Christmas Sweetie!

Daddy was FINALLY able to put his tank together this weekend. Everyone got their acts together and got him all of the parts, plants, etc that he was supposed to have a while back. It has been torture for him. Since we have been together - 13+ years - he has had at least a 29 gallon tank. Well, when we moved to LA, knowing it would be at least two moves in a small amount of time, Daddy sold him tank and everything in it instead of trying to move it a couple of times. He has not had anything larger than a 2 1/2 gallon tank since. 7 months without a big tank.

He ordered his tank over a month ago. They said he would get it in a week - but he only got half of it. He got the actual tank the next week. It has been sitting empty in our living room since. Talk about real torture! He has always wanted a plant tank or a salt water tank. He opted for a plant tank (that is what his small tank was). He ordered plants online and was told 3 different dates he would get them - never did. He finally got them Friday night.

My camera battery was dead when I went to take pictures of it. I have this one picture and that is it! I will post more tomorrow (hopefully). This tank is cool though because the lightening he put in it has moon lighting. The picture below is with the moon lightening on. Makes a great nightlight in the living room all night!

Double click the picture to see it enlarged.

Silent Night....

Tonight.

Can't wait.

Every year, Paul takes ALL the kids shopping for my Christmas stuff....stocking stuffers, presents, etc.

I think it is funny (and very sweet) because not only does he HATE to shop, he also HATES crowds - yet he always wait until the last minute and takes ALL the kids, by himself.

Tonight is the night. He has to work today, but has the rest of the week off. I think he is hoping it will be less busy tonight than during the day the rest of the week, but GOOD LUCK.

Personally, I plan on doing nothing. Curling up in front of mindless television. Or sleeping. Not sure. What I AM sure about is I will NOT be cleaning, painting, etc. If I am REALLY lucky, they will go to Baton Rouge - that is an hour of drive time. :)

Every year I consider this part of my Christmas present! And the boys love getting to pick everything out (and I love that they do it) and then come home and say things like " I am not going to tell you that we got you ....(fill in whatever they got me)..for Christmas" while going to help Daddy wrap the presents and hide the stocking stuffers.

This is one tradition I hope carries on as long as the kids live at home!

Painting

Yes. We. Are. STILL. Painting!

If it seems like it is taking a long time that is because IT IS!

Let me insert here, though, that I did all of the kitchen by myself. I did the boys bathroom by myself. I did most of the living room by myself. Paul helped me with the last couple of walls of the living room yesterday and he helped me with the dining room when we did it.

We ran out of paint for the living room. I have one corner that needs a second coat (where the Christmas tree is) and I need to paint the hall. Then we are done with the main living area.

Yesterday after we got the living room as done as we could, we started Mady's room. We got one coat up over the entire room (nothing in the closet yet though). Daddy helped lots with that room. I think she already has her Daddy wrapped around her finger! The bedding we got for her is white with lots of flowers in different shades of pink and red. We matched the paint to the light pink flowers in the bedding. It, of course, is darker on the wall than it looked. Luckily, we did not have a lot of solid pink in the room for decorating, so hopefully the whites and other colors will kind of dilute the pink.

The boys are getting SO excited. The more pink and girl stuff we get in the house, the more excited they get. I put the crib together Friday night (FYI - I might have a little too much experience putting that thing together. I had a ziploc bag of screws and the crib parts and I had the entire crib put together in about 15 minutes - no instructions, no help!). When the boys got up and saw it Saturday they were really excited. Guess it just makes it all real for them.

So, one coat in Mady's room and the hall and I am done for a bit. I told Paul that I think since the main area is done, I will start doing one room every couple of weeks. I need to have it all done before Mady gets here because it will be a little difficult (and stinky) after she gets here.

Four bedrooms, a utility room, master bathroom and half bath to go!

22 Weeks

I am 22 weeks pregnant and Daddy can finally feel Mady moving around. He has felt her a few times in the past, but only her strongest of movements. Saturday night he was able to feel her just moving, not necessarily kicking.

It seems that the boys were being felt way before now. I think I was even feeling the boys move more earlier than I did with her. I guess that should help me know she is a girl - not as strong as the boys? I still have this thought in the back of my head that we could go have this baby and come home with a BOY!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY ISAAC!

Okay, I am a couple of days late.....BUT, we had a busy weekend and I am just now getting some time to do it!

He got up and came running in our room yelling "I'm SEVEN!!"

SEVEN? Someone put on the brakes of all this growing up my kids are doing! It is all happening a little to quickly for this Mama!

We had a few errands we had to run, but he REALLY wanted to open his present. I wanted to do the grocery shopping early (because I was too busy waiting on everyone Wednesday-Friday last week) since it was the weekend before Christmas and I KNEW things would be insane! Even early, it was pretty busy - but we still did much better than going when we normally do.

He got a basketball game for his birthday. While we were shopping there has been this gravity car that drives on the ceiling and walls that he has been wanting. He got $20 in the mail from Nana and he went and spent it on that.

He chose a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, that I made. Then, we had a package of 4 different color choices of sprinkles. Everyone got to choose which sprinkles they wanted on their slice of cake.

Isaac, I hope that you had a good birthday even though we didn't do a party this year. You are growing up way too fast. As much as I love watching you grow up and mature, I still miss my little baby that LOVES to cuddle. You have come a long way in seven years and we are VERY proud of you. We love you!

Limited Days

Bryce just asked me how old I would be when I have my birthday. I told him I would be 30.

"But, that's when you die!"

I told Daddy that he needed to figure everything out with the house and kids because my days are limited. He said he was older, so he would go first. I told Bryce.

"Oh, well BOTH of you can't die. Just you."

How sweet.

Dependability (or Lack Thereof)

One thing I find important to teach the kids is the importance of being on time and dependability. This is something I am struggling with right now - not me personally, but dealing with others who are not dependable.

It doesn't seem to matter how much money is involved either. You would think with especially the way the economy is now, customer service would be a top priority with ALL companies. Seems to be worse.

We bought our car and what we were told would be a three hour fix of my cruise control turned into three weeks of me only having my car on the weekend (because the dealership didn't work on the weekend and we needed something the family could fit in).

Our fence should have been up over a month ago. It has been rescheduled numerous times. But, we don't typically get a phone call to tell us it is being rescheduled, it takes numerous calls to them from Paul and few emails to get anything out of them.

Paul ordered an aquarium. It came a week late. He ordered plants for his aquarium - they should have been here three weeks ago. He has been given four different delivery days - and told they are signature required so someone has to be home. Two of those days I sat and waited for Fedex (like yesterday). They were SHIPPED yesterday from South Dakota. I spent all day yesterday waiting (when I REALLY needed to be grocery shopping before this weekend).

I waited Monday for the cable guy. Of course he came late. He got here, did NOTHING and said that someone would be out Friday. It is an ALL day appointment! I am supposed to sit ALL day and wait on them, even though it is THERE screw-up.

When our new dining room table was delivered the day before Thanksgiving, it was crushed completely at one end. Today, I have to wait on them to deliver our table (they did give us one they had just picked up from someone else because it was scratched.

My MORTGAGE company (for the house in Arkansas) failed to pay our house insurance, so it was cancelled. That is kind of a biggie isn't it?

It is a very frustrating feeling when it seems like everyone thinks you have nothing better to do than sit and wait on them to do what they were supposed to have already done. I will miss all the Christmas parties today to sit and wait on something that, if it shows, I am positive will be late (unless of course I am not here).

Boys: When you say you are going to do something (especially when it is your job) - DO IT - WHEN YOU SAY you will. It is that simple. Leave early if you have to. Give yourself extra time if you have several things to do. CALL if you will be late. Your time is not the only time that is precious. When you are late it could affect a whole string of people/things.

Dependability ranks right up there with responsibility. It is YOUR responsibility to be dependable!

Oh, the Excitement!

Today is party day for all of the kids. The excitement has been building all week. The school is helping the build! They started half days on Wednesday (Wed-Fri half days for Parent teacher conferences). Thursday they stopped homework. Isaac had his Polar Express Party (kids get to wear pjs to school, watch Polar Express and drink hot chocolate). Friday EVERYONE has Christmas parties and it is the last day of school.

Here, though, the excitement carries on PAST Friday. Tomorrow is Isaac's birthday. His present has been sitting under the tree with the other gifts (it is wrapped in birthday paper though - not Christmas paper). He is just itching to open it and his brothers are just itching to see what they can beg to play with!

Then we start the excitement countdown to Christmas. Then to Nana and Aunt Lindsay coming. TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT FOR ONE MOMMA AT ONE TIME. I am in midst of excitement overload!

Trivia Time

Do YOU know what this is? Paul got it as a Christmas gift at his office party.



one hole in the middle of the bottom.

Kitchen

I have had several request to put up pictures of the kitchen since I finished painting it. I don't have curtains or all the stuff that goes on the walls, but here is the color - which is what most of you want to see.

Now we just need new countertops and backsplash!

Early Morning

I am usually up early, but this morning Bryce woke up about 5:30. He hit his nose on his bed and was crying. That woke up Andrew. I went to see what was going on and got Bryce back down but AJ was ready for his day to begin.

I made them stay in their beds. Andrew screamed for about 30 minutes - I am surprised he didn't wake the other two up!

Hopefully this will mean a good nap for one! He hasn't had a good one this week because his brothers wake him up before he is ready!

Bryce's First School Program

Part 1 - too long to make all one YouTube video, but the program isn't very long.


Part 2 - this has my favorite part - the song they play the bells in. They did a great job.

Loose Tooth

Bryce has been upset for a while because he had not lost any teeth. Caleb and Isaac lost their first teeth pretty early, so we have had teeth coming out for a while and it makes him mad because his aren't.

He came home today all excited because he has his first loose tooth. He showed it to me and then said he accidentally punched himself in the mouth. HMMMM?

Tooth fairy JUST came for Caleb (he lost a molar last week).

Oh, ALICE is loosing HER first tooth too. He always talks about Alice. First crush.....

New Favorite

Andrew LOVES corn - but he wants it on the cob. That is fine with me - he eats more of it that way than with a fork!

Baby Name

We had decided we were going to name the baby Mia Elizabeth. The boys have been calling her "Baby Mia" (which is so easy for Andrew to say).

We pulled our normal name switch, after much thought back and forth, and have decided that we are going to change the name from Mia to Madeline Elizabeth (Maddy).

I really like Mia, but we hear it is a popular name right now (which seems to be what happens when we choose a name). I recently saw the name Madeline and really liked it.

I asked Caleb if he liked Madeline. He said he liked it better than Mia. He has made it clear over and over he doesn't like Mia. This, however is the child that wants us to name her Henrietta, Harriett or Emerald. (P.S. to Caleb's future wife - YOU choose the baby names!)

Andrew Giving Daddy THE Look

He WILL Kill Me For This

I ordered this tutu last week and got in the mail tonight. I was looking at it and Andrew kept lifting his leg trying to put it on, so since he kept annoying me, I put it on him. Then we HAD to get the matching bow out!

I am one of THOSE mom's, but it is his fault for annoying me and being nosey (aka curious). Can you say senior slide show?

Handsome Bryce

Bryce had to wear black slacks and a white button up shirt for his program this morning. He said a girl in his class said he looked handsome. Along with a teenage girl, a teacher AND he got TWO stickers instead of one on the bus because "he is just too handsome".

I, of course, agree!

School Gift Exchanges

I understand the fun and idea of kids getting gifts at their school parties, but I honestly hate the process of buying a $5 gift for a kid that I don't know. Not only does $5 not buy much these days in the way of a toy, there are also restrictions about what you can give (no makeup, candy, jewelry, etc).

This year, Isaac's teacher has a GREAT system for their gift giving. Instead of the kids buying a toy for someone else, she has the parents buy THEIR child a book. I am supposed to not let him see it and send it wrapped. Doing it this way, each child still has a gift to open, but the parent knows the child and what they like. AND, we don't end up with MORE Hot Wheels (about the only boy thing I could find at Walmart for $5).

Bryce's First School Program

Last Thursday, when we were "snowed in" Bryce was SUPPOSED to be having his first Christmas program. They rescheduled for today. I went and watched and Bryce was SO cute (oh, so was the program). The boys were dressed as toy soldiers and the girls little dolls.

He did not smile at all during the program, said he was nervous. He did do his part in it all though. I was kind of nervous as to what he would do - I have visions of past programs at church where he danced and made faces in front of the entire crowd while all the other kids sang. Not this time. I guess he is growing up. Honestly, I MISSED the way he has always been in past programs. It could be a little embarrassing at the time, but he was having fun and enjoying himself and was acting his age. Today he seemed to....not him!

My favorite part was the bells. They played the bells for one song and did such a good job. Each child had a certain colored bell. The teacher held up signs with which color bells should be playing. I was impressed.

Of course, I sat at the wrong side of the stage. He was at the opposite side, as was the teacher. So, he was turned watching his teacher (as he should have been). It isn't the best video, but captures the moment anyway.

I will TRY to get the video on here later today. Daddy did not get to go so he will have to watch it tonight with Bryce. I only got a couple of still pictures :( It is hard to deal with Andrew (who was GREAT), a video camera and a still camera - all on my own!

Busy but Productive Weekend

If your house is anything like mine, when you have no electricity - the house tends to get destroyed! It is a strange thing! We had sleeping bags and blankets all over, the living room got rearranged so everyone could fit in front of the fireplace, the fact that kids were home all day so I didn't really get much time to clean - all equals a MESS!

Weekends are already hard to keep the house clean - kids home all weekend, stuff thrown everywhere - so Mondays are normally a big clean-up day! It is only 8 am and I have showered, dressed, partially cleaned the house (read on and you will get an idea of what a big feat that is), ironed clothes for Bryce (school program today), put faceplates on all of the outlets/lightswitches in the living room and kitchen, signed all of the kids notes, sent money for all of the kids, fixed breakfast and got three kids dressed and off to school! A full day's worth of work!

So, the weekend....we spent Saturday running errands and trying to recoup from the crazy end of the week. We were on the go most of the day. The snow storm and or power outage really screwed up a lot of peoples cable. Our HD/DVR box has been getting really hot (like, can't touch hot) since we got it. Well, when the storm hit and our power came back on it quit working. I called customer service and she tried to reboot several times, but apparently that is part of the problem. The box spent two days constantly trying to reboot and then her trying to send a signal to reboot and we found out you can't try to reboot that many times so close together. Of course, WE weren't the ones rebooting it - it was doing it to itself. So, we went to trade in our box. They were packed! Everyone doing the same. And, the guy in front of us got the last two HD/DVR boxes! They gave us just an HD box and told us they would hold a box for us and call Monday to have it picked up. We get home and plug the thing in - it doesn't work either. Now they are saying there is a screw up with the signal somewhere. I have to wait on them to get here this afternoon and try to fix the problem (or find the problem).

We also hit Babies R Us, got some bedding for Mia and started figuring out what all we need. Of course, once again, we had a garage sale before we moved down here and got rid of things like swings, bouncers, bassinets, etc. ARGHHH!

Sunday, Paul worked on the doghouse (we are SUPPOSED to have our fence this week) while I painted the house. I got the kitchen completely done (in a bright green) and the living room over half way done (in a pale yellow). My goal is to have the main living area of the house completely done by Christmas! Then I will start on bedrooms. I hate picking paint colors - by the way! So hard to look at a little swatch and imagine it in a WHOLE room, and it seems the color always comes out different! And, paint is NOT cheap! Especially not when you are painting an entire inside of a house.

I do love how the kitchen turned out though. Living room I am still not sure if I like - but I am not repainting it for a while :) Hopefully it will grow on me.

Best Idea?

We got a shed a couple of weeks ago. Paul is working on building a dog house in one corner of it so when we (if we ever) get our fence, they will have a warm, dry dog house to sleep in! Yesterday evening, he was cutting the hole in the side of the shed for the doggie door. Bryce stood over him while he cut the hold, hands on his hips "Daddy do you think this is the best idea?"

Paul explained why he was doing what he was doing.

"And you can't come up with a better plan than cutting a hole in the building?"

We have been working on problem solving (logical problem solving) with all the boys a lot lately. Guess he is trying to come up with the best way to solve the problem?

Andrew's Transition

Andrew transitioned to the new bedroom a lot better than I thought he would last week. After his little bout of denial Friday, I was not too sure what to expect. He has been in the room with Bryce since Friday and done great. When you tell him to take something to his room or get something from his room he goes to the correct room.

We got on to him one time this weekend and he ran to his old bedroom - that is the only time he went to that room though. The door was closed so he just sat outside it crying. :(

Bryce is doing great with the transition too and they both seem to be sleeping better. Andrew had gotten to where the last couple of weeks he was waking up in the middle of the night screaming. It would take us a while to calm him down and be able to leave the room without him crying - he has not woken up crying once since we moved him. Bryce used to insist on his closet light being on at night - it has not been on once since Andrew moved in and Bryce has not gotten upset about it.

The sweetest thing is that when we put AJ to bed, he usually cries for a minute of two as soon as we close the door. Just his attempt at letting us know what he thinks, I guess. If you close the door and listen - Bryce sits in his top bunk and tells Andrew it will be alright and he is right up there and Andrew stops crying.

Now....I have to figure out how to merge Bryce's fireman decor with Andrew's monkey decor. Monkeys driving firetrucks?

Nursery

I worked this weekend on what I wanted to do for the nursery...trying to figure out what all I needed to get. Since this is the only girl, I kinda want to do it all - fun and colorful, elegant (in a baby kind of way), sweet, etc.

I was headed more towards "elegant" and making everything because I could not find anything I liked (actually I did find some bedding I liked - it was $1200). After some looking this weekend, Daddy found a bedding set he really liked and I liked it to, so I changed my plan. This I don't have to try and make and honestly I was a little nervous about MAKING everything because my sewing is not that great!

The bones of the room will still be the same and I am working on choosing a color for the walls. The bedding has lots of shades of pink and red. I am waiting on a blanket that goes with the set that I had to order to see the colors on it.

The boys are getting really excited with all the decorating for their baby sister (except Andrew, of course).

GIRL NURSERY and Transitions!!!!!

Yesterday, Paul and I left because of the cold, but didn't really have anywhere to go, so we started shopping for the nursery. As I have said, I have this image of what I want in my head, but can't get it out. It is coming out now! After lots of looking online and in stores and not finding what I want, I have started piecing things together and making stuff (kind nervous about that part).

Part of where I was getting "stuck" in my idea was that I have all natural wood furniture for the nursery. I have always envisioned white or dark wood for a girl nursery. I really don't want to go buy new baby furniture for the last baby though. After talking to my mom and telling her some of MY ideas, she helped me piece some things together (thanks Mom).

We got home and I wasn't planning on doing anything in the nursery yet, because I was going to let Andrew stay in there as long as possible. Andrew made me rethink that. He has had stuff in what will be the nursery and in what will be his and Bryce's room. He has not had any problems with that until yesterday. He went in the nursery and started carrying everything pink or white out. He would then go in his and Bryce's room and start carrying stuff back to the nursery (which WAS his room). I kept telling him that Baby Mia was going to sleep in there and he was going to share a room with Bryce. He would say "NONO" and carry pink out.

With that, we decided that it would NOT be smart to wait until right before Mia got here to move him. We are already expecting some jealousy issues with him when she comes. I am afraid he will see all this change AND Mia coming home and it will make things worse.

Yesterday, I had him help me move his stuff to his new room and do some work in the nursery. That seemed to help, although we are still having some denial issues. :)

I am not going to lie, although I did not want to take Andrew out of the room just yet, I am not at all upset that this means I can start decorating my ONLY girl nursery!

The only thing I will say at this point is that the room will colors will be natural wood, white and pink accents. As I get some of it starting to come together, I will take pictures.

Where Are We?

When we moved to Louisiana, I was told it rarely to never snows. We have told the kids over and over that they will likely not see snow unless we were visiting elsewhere. Well...here is what happens when you tell the kids one thing. You will usually be proven wrong! :)

This is the picture from our back porch when we got up Thursday. We had heard that there would be a wintery mix of snow, sleet and rain, but that there would be no accumulation because we were not going to get to freezing temps. Imagine our surprise!

I got Caleb up for school and told him to take the dog out. All the other kids were still sleeping. Caleb gets the dog and quickly comes running to our room screaming - as loud as he can - "WE ARE FLOODED WITH WHITE. THERE IS SN...WH....THE GROUND IS ALL WHITE WITH SNOW." And he starts dancing (really - he could not form the words he was so shocked).

Needless to say he wakes EVERYONE up. The boys are all screaming and dancing, except Bryce - who had disappeared. A few minutes later (and the older two still dancing and screaming) Bryce comes in decked out in his play clothes and rubber boots and coat.

At this point, I am watching the news and looking online and cannot find where their schools were closed. I told Bryce it looked like he still had school and he started bawling. He was supposed to do his first Christmas presentation of his school years. I tried to get him excited about ME being excited about seeing it. It didn't work. About 30 seconds later I finally found where the school was closed. That may have been more exciting to him than the actual fact there was snow!

Shortly after, our electricity went out (about 6:30 am). We have a fireplace, but the previous owners never bought the gas logs (you would have thought they would be in the fireplace when the house was built, but ANYWAYS). So, we ventured out in the snow (this is the ONE time Daddy's four wheel drive Jeep came in handy) and went to Home Depot. We got logs and came home and after a long time of working on it, another trip to Home Depot (unsuccessful at finding what we needed) Paul was able to get the logs working (with no gas leaks!!).

That was our only source of heat for the rest of the day. We kept waiting on the electricity to come back on. We went to bed with none. We all slept in our room with the door closed. The three oldest slept on the floor together with sleeping bags and three blankets. Andrew slept in our bed (which made for a LONG, little sleep night!).

When we got up the temperature in the house was 60. It was COLD! The boys had school and as soon as they got on the bus, Daddy and I left. We got home around 1 and the electricity had JUST come back on.

When all was said, Zachary had 5 1/2 inches of snow (Baton Rouge got about 3 1/2). The second highest amount in Louisiana. There was a parish at the Mississippi/Louisiana border that got 8 inches. Louisiana had not seen "any substantial snow fall" since 1988.

Is it a sign when as soon as we move here we have the worst hurricane in history blow through the area and we get major snow (for this area) when snow had not been seen in 20+ years?

It would have been much more enjoyable if we had had some electricity too!

Caleb shaking the snow out of the crepe myrtle. It was sagging and droopy!

Isaac playing in the snow

the view looking down our road The boys cuddling down for a COLD night!