Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for so many things but I am not going to post about them. I have love-love-loved reading about stuff that everyone else is thankful for.

I am going to mention a few posts that I've meant to write about but haven't -

Post #1 - Boo had surgery. She was brave. She had a big hairy nevus (that's a mole) from the back of her hand removed. We paid lots of bucks for a plastic surgeon to do it hoping that she will have less scarring. She had 21 stitches all of which dissolve except one long one that the surgeon took out last week.

Post #2 - Little B turned 5. I made two cakes (one for family and one for friends). Dirt Bike cake and a fish bowl cake. Thanks K for helping me out with them. B had great fun and was especially excited about his hot wheels cars and track. Ever since his birthday he keeps telling me how he can do things now that he is 5. I think he has decided that his muscles are bigger too. Also, he got a medal at gymnastics for learning how to do a cartwheel. Go B!

Post #3 - My DH turned 40! We sent him on a scavenger hunt (which required me to figure out how to use the GPS). The clues led him to his presents which included a weekend getaway with me. (Thanks Mom and Dad for babysitting).

He hasn't even done anything crazy like a mid-life crisis thing or anything! He teased about jumping out of an airplane (with a parachute of course), but I don't think he feels 40 so why go freaking out about it.

Did I mention that I dragged him to see New Moon on his birthday weekend getaway? I liked the movie much better than Twilight. It was action packed so I think DH liked it too. Baby E did NOT like the werewolves and started fussing everytime they started growling. Freaked her out.

The scariest thought occurred to me yesterday. I was driving the kids home from school. I was behind a boat. Not a real boat, just one of those old cars that are so long that you call it a boat. It was a Crown Victoria - I think - anyway, there were three teenagers in the front and one teenager in the back, then they pulled up to the school and in went three elementary age kids. No seatbelts! At the next light the teenagers have the windows rolled down

yes it is cold here, no I don't know why the windows were rolled down except so they could yell out the window and wave and generally make a spectacle of themselves

then the light turns green and they peel out and I'm thinking wow I wonder if their parents know they are driving so nuts, and then I realize that my oldest is 14 years old and in two years he is going to be driving and then I get really scared. How am I going to know if he is being a good driver when I'm not around? What if he does goofy showing off kinds of things or races his friends like I did in high school (don't tell him, oh and sorry mom).

Now I'm really really scared!

Now I'm really thankful that my son isn't old enough to drive.

112 days

I spent some time yesterday taking pictures of the baby instead of getting dinner ready. This was way more fun.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Right Now -

Right now --- two of my kids are reading, two are playing with dump trucks in the back yard and two are asleep. Any guesses which ones are doing what?
From oldest to youngest - reading an Anime book, playing with dump trucks, reading The Candy Shop War, playing with dump trucks, asleep, and asleep. I know you were all dying to know.
:)
Right now --- I am thinking about the upcoming primary program. I'm starting to get nervous and excited all at once. The kids are working so hard to learn the music and I just hope that when they sing, the Spirit will be present and the truths that they are singing will touch the hearts of all those who listen.

Right now --- My computer is acting sluggish. I'd better stop blogging.

This is what keeps me going . . .

My four year old "little B" had me smiling this morning --

Little B: "I want a short sleeved shirt!"

Me: "It's cold outside, let's find you a long sleeve shirt to keep you warm."

Little B: "I want everybody to see my muscles!"

He is a little obsessed with his muscles lately. Last week I found him flexing in front of the mirror with his shirt off!

I'm not sure what to blog about. I've reached a point where I'm just playing catch up with my blog/journal. Too much has happened and I don't have time to go on about it. Maybe a quick recap:

• Watched laundry pile up after washing machine died.
• Little B and S found a new favorite past time - riding their dump trucks down the slope in our backyard. Okay, now they have graduated to riding their dump trucks down our steep driveway and all the way across the street. Little B jumps out of his seconds before the truck hits the curb. FYI - I make them wear their helmets and try not to swallow my stomach during their kamikaze shenanigans. I know, I'm the cool mom.
• Hiked the Y with the kids. (It was soooo hard, I was sore for days afterwards, but I felt like I had accomplished something so it was worth it.) Notice that none of the pics have my oldest son in them. He bailed out a 1/4 of the way up the mountain - I have given up trying to get him to like hiking.

• Washed dishes by hand after our dishwasher died (bonding family time?!)

• Bought a used washing machine from our neighbor that works great!
• Labored on Labor Day canning peaches and salsa.


• Received anonymous gift of dishwasher (answer to my prayers - thank you to the generous person(s) who helped our family in this way. I plan to pay it forward in the future.)
• Had 6 of the 8 in our family checked for strep throat. Only Little B came out positive.
• Took my tearn teaching preschool.
• Instituted a new token system to regulate media time with kids!
• Boo turned 10. The kids all helped decorate the cake. Boo and I went shopping at Gateway. Her favorite place is Build-a-Bear.
  
• Went to the pet store for a preschool fieldtrip. Little B held a guinea pig and a ferret, pet a chinchilla, and fed a tortoise. He loved it!


• Had my thyroid checked again. I have to go back on medication :(
• Ran out of tokens to give the kids.
• Brandon Mull book signing - We had all of our Fablehaven books signed by the author.
• Car race - DH took G to the races.
• Our microwave died (I see a pattern developing).
• My DH and I are having a mid life crisis - one word . . . teenager!
• Received a new microwave from my mom and dad! Wow! Thanks mom.
• Reading all of the "Ranger's Apprentice" books I can get my hands on.
• Put the baby in the bike trailer and got some exercise yesterday. Gotta love endorphins.
• My torn abdominal muscle is healing. I'm going to try Yoga next week.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading my blurb.

School

School is in!

up at 7:00 am

packing lunches

carpool

washing clothes

homework

piano lessons

scouts/activity days

dinner

dishes

reading

bed

Random journaling

GOOP - Acronym for Girls Only - Out Partying!

Every other year my daughters, mom, sisters, sisters-in-law, nieces, and grand nieces get together for a girls only weekend. This time the theme was "pampered weekend" and we did just that! We gave each other pedicures and manicures. We watched movies and played games. We hired a masseuse and a skin care specialist for massages and facials. We had a yoga class and went to the aquarium. Mostly we just goofed around and relaxed. It was a much needed retreat for me. There were plenty of willing volunteers to hold my baby, and soaking my feet in lavender smelling epsom salts was soothing! I even painted the babies toenails -

Home Imrovement - I've been decorating the baby's room - okay, so my DH did all the painting, but I cleaned the blinds and hung the valance and wallpaper! Here's a sneak peak of the nursery-

My mother-in-law decorated this dresser using her Cricut and vinyl -

I still need to hang some pictures and a shelf. It is looking so cute already!

Friends - I was so lucky to see several of my out of town friends this summer. These are the women in my life who have changed me for the better! I loved visiting with each of them.

My childhood friend - Of the two of us, I was the rebellious one. At least, that's what her mother thought. LOLMy high school/college friend - The stories she could tell!

My college roommate - She's holding my baby! Doesn't she look content? My 'talk me into doing crazy things' friend - Like teaching preschool, taking the kids swimming, or going for bike rides to the river.
I miss you guys. I wish you all lived closer.

Swim lessons - it's all about the treats on the last day!The baby's blessing day - It was the perfect day. Thank you all for joining us on her special day.Boo's prize cabbage! She grew this in our garden -
Little B having fun at the Gateway Olympic Fountain. He stayed in there for the longest time.
Boo with her friend from Colorado. Nothing says fun like shopping! My kid's with my friend Cheri's kids plus one -
The Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house -
A's 14th birthday! He got breakfast in bed (crepes), he went with a friend (from Pennysylvania) to see the new Harry Potter movie, and had friend's over for pizza and a movie (in our newly finished basement).

Boo got braces! Those gaps between her teeth have already closed. She has a major underbite too, so the braces will be on for a long while. Hopefully she won't need surgery like her big brother.
Water bottle rocket competition! This competition escalated until my van windshield was broken. That's okay, it already had a crack all the way across it. Now it has another one. Oh fun.

Sports Injury

Apparantly - I have a sports injury. I guess child birth is a sport. Who'da thunk it?

I've been feeling pain near my belly button every time I bend over or turn or pick up something heavy. Two doctor visits, 4 blood tests, and one ultrasound later - it turns out that I've torn an abdominal muscle! Ouch. The good news is - it will heal. The bad news is - I'm supposed to rest and not do anything that causes pain - yeah right.

The baby was soooo worth every bit of pain and sickness I endured over the past 9 months. I was looking forward to feeling better after I had her, but I guess I'm not done yet. What lesson am I supposed to learn with this one??

By the way, I read up on torn abdominal muscles and apparantly it can happen if you don't warm up and stretch properly before exercising. I didn't know I needed to warm up and stretch before pushing out a baby. Ha-ha. Seriously, I think my abdominal muscles were already stretched to capacity and being so sick during pregnancy made it virtually impossible to retain any muscle tone whatsoever. I'm getting too old for this!

Novella -

WARNING - You are about to read a seriously long post -
There is a story behind this picture. Elyssa is one week old here. Her big brother G is holding her for the first time! I told the kids at the hospital that they would need to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer if they wanted to hold their baby sister. Well, G has a serious aversion to hand sanitizer and the only time he'll use soap is if he is home and can use perfume free bar soap in his bathroom. If he even smells hand sanitizer he begins gagging and often throws up. He throws up every time I put on the sunscreen or the bug spray too. Anyway, G finally decided to get his chance at holding his new sister and washed his hands just to do so. Don't think that G only washes his hands once a week. I actually make sure he washes several times a day, it's just that it is a big ordeal for him. BABY STEPS -
The kids just finished a session of swimming lessons. They are all so excited because they each passed their swimming levels.

If you know where this is, you should get a prize! My DH went on sort of an adventure to find this rock made of black basalt. It is covered in petroglyphs. He's been uncovering clues to its' whereabouts for a couple of months. Now he has found the elusive rock!

The 4th of July!

*Thanks to our family who showed up on the 4th of July to paint and work on electrical! Next up - CARPET!

*Here's Grandma L holding Elyssa. The baby got lots of hugs and kisses from Grandma's, Aunt's, and Uncle's that day.

*For the 4th we had a BBQ with our neighbors and my brother. We played Bocce ball and Croquet. Then went to see the fireworks display in Grantsville. We had a blast!

5th of July -

Here's our latest attempt at getting a picture of our whole family.

Here are the sweetest pictures of Elyssa that I took yesterday. Isn't she adorable. Oh how I love babies! I can still say that after she kept me up half the night.

Announcing Our New Arrival -

Oh happy day!

Little Elyssa is here at last.

She came without parade or much fuss,

but come she did, and fairly fast.

7 lbs. 5 oz.

20" long

She had a little jaundice on day 3 and had to be under the bili lights for a while.



Here she is today. She is 5 days old!

- Our Littlest Sweetie -