First Snow Day!

So our first snow day was in the middle of January but I didn't have the pictures developed so I"m posting them now. Thayne was actually excited to go outside with the kids and make a snowman and fort with them. The kids were in heaven, as well. The snowman didn't quite last a full day but the fort was up for a week or so. Indi thought it was great to pick up some snow and throw it at the snowman and say, "Got you, snowman!".




















This is the beginning of the fort. The kids lost interest in making it so Thayne was on his own after this!

















The snow wasn't stopping the girls from playing on their outside slide n' climber



















It was quite a job to make Indi keep her winter clothes on. She was trying to take everything off several times. I think she might have been a little hot.



















Jaed was making snow angels everywhere



















Josie was in heaven making snowballs and eating them. Her face was smashed in snow most of the time trying to eat as much as she could.

Getting Ready

It's wierd to think that in three days I will have another baby. I've been trying to get ready: washing and organizing baby stuff, talking to the kids about what's about to happen, and making sure that everyone is taken care of while I'm in the hospital. I told Thayne that it's sad that I'm more excited to be in the hospital where others are going to take care of ME for two days and I don't have to worry about the day to day things of everyone else. This has been a stressful week already and we are still at the beginning of it. Our washer broke down so we had to buy a new one (with money we don't have), we found out that Thayne and I don't have insurance as of Feb. 1st (I have pregnancy insurance for the birth but that's it!), and I'm scared to death that someone is going to get sick and be sick when we bring the baby home. I've been having contractions A LOT lately but I know it's because I"m so stressed out. Everyone tells me (especially Thayne) that I need to calm down and relax but that's not going to happen. Hopefully, I hold out until my mom gets here!

Here are pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits ready for church:

NOT MY CHILDREN!

A friend of mine posted this picture and I thought I'd share it with the rest of you. I'm trying to decide if I should be thanking my stars that this hasn't happened to any of my children yet, or if I should be thinking that this could be me! I can see Indi doing this to the new baby.

Lost pics

Okay, here's the pics from Christmas Eve and we're still waiting for the pics from Christmas. The kids all opened one present Christmas Eve.

Jaed got a soccer ball!



















Indi got a weeble wobble play set!














Josie got a barbie dress up set!



















Josie and Indi are both enjoying Josie's dress up set.

Inappropriate word...

I picked Jaed up from school today and saw that he was in "yellow" for saying an inappropriate word. I was nervous to ask because here's a list of his inappropriate words:

- Buttmunch (thanks, Grandpa)
- Butthead (thanks, Thayne)
- Idiot (thanks, Me while driving)
- Dork (Thanks, Thayne)
- Gay (Thanks, Thayne)

I am sure that I could think of more but we'll stop there. As you can see, Thayne needs to clean up his act (hehehe) ! I think my word is excuseable because I am driving and I know he would pick up more things from my dad (Grandpa) if he was around him more. I knew it had to be one of those and I was praying that it wasn't the word I use. WELL.......his teacher told me that the word he used was "Freakin". HAHAHAHAHHA!!!! Thayne and I both say that......and neither of us discipline Jaed for saying it when we hear it. Jaed told me that when his teacher said, "Oh Jaed, we don't say that word, it is a bad word!", Jaed responded..."Well my mom and dad say it all the time and they let me say it!". OOPS.......! Jaed's teacher told me that he was playing with a toy that kept breaking and said very loud, "This freakin toy keeps breaking!". At least he is using it correctly in the sentence......hahahahha!Thayne and I still haven't decided if we are going to limit the use of the word or not. I think each family has a word that they use which may seem inappropriate to others. When I was growing up, we were allowed to say "Crap" and never were disciplined for it. BUT....many of my friends thought it was a horrible word and couldn't believe my parents let us say it.

Well I went to my Dr.'s appt today ready to cry HUGE tears if I wasn't dialated because my Dr. won't induce me if I'm not ready. I've been walking and praying that my body will behave and do what I WANT for once. To my amazement, the Dr. said he thought I was ready and would induce me next week. I wanted to jump off the table and hug him but restrained myself since I was covered with only a paper blanket :)>. He scheduled the inducement for next Friday (Feb. 9th) at 7:00 a.m.. My mom flies in the night before so everything will be set. I can't tell you how relieved I am. It makes things so much easier when you know the exact date. The Dr. is not thrilled to be doing an inducement on Friday because he usuallly only works half days on Fridays but I begged and pleaded and reminded him that with ALL three of my other children I was induced at 9:30 a.m. and had them ALL between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.. My main reason for having it done on Friday is so that Thayne doesn't have to miss more than one day of school. I think I bug my Dr. with my pre-made schedule but he is abiding by it with only a little hesitation. He cracks a grin every once in a while when I'm telling him how I want things to go but most of the other times he's all serious.

Hospital visit

I signed us up to take a hospital tour of the Women's Center so that the kids could see where I would be when I had the baby and where the baby would be after it was born. I thought for sure Jaed and Josie would be a tad bit interested with all the baby talk lately. I couldn't have been more wrong. The only spot that kept their attention for more thant 1 minute was the nursery because a nurse brought a baby to the window where the kids could see him. Jaed was asking every 5 minutes if it was time to go, and Josie was dancing and touching everything she could get her hands on. And, Indi just wanted to run the halls, so the visit was quite adventurous to say the least. When we were in one of the delivery rooms, Indi was smacking the bed and saying, "Get in, Mommy....right now!". She repeated it about 5 times until everyone stopped talking and laughed at her. Then she ran right over to me and covered her face. I think we were both a little embarrassed. So, I'm not sure if any of the kids listened or understood anything that was being said by the tour guide or Thayne and I, but at least they got a peek of where I'll be when the baby comes.

Thayne finally got all of his grades back from last semester. It was his best semester yet. He got straight A's (a couple A-'s, but close enough) which is a HUGE accomplishement in law school. A's and A-'s a extremely hard to get and are only handed out to a select few. In one of his classes, he was the only student to get an A. He worked so hard last semester, and it's nice to see that it paid off. He finished off in the top 10% of his class for that semester and will probably end up on the Dean's List as well. I"m so proud of him and I can tell that he's feeling pretty good himself. I hope this semester goes as well as last! (Don't tell him I told you this info, you're not suppose to share grades in law school, but how could I resist!)

Conversations about the baby....

Here are a few conversations I have had with the kids about the new baby:

Jaed: "Mom, what if the baby is a boy?"
Me: "Well we'll be happy if it's a boy or girl."
Jaed: "Well, I hope it's a boy cuz if we have another girl, daddy and me will get our bums kicked."
Me: "What? What do you mean?"
Jaed: "Well there will be 4 girls and just me and dad. We need some help so I hope the baby is a boy!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Josie: "Mommy, when the baby pops out can I hold and hold and hold her?"
Me: "Sure you can hold her but you have to be gentle!"
Josie: "Ok Mommy, I"ll pet her with one finger like I do Whiskers (gerbal at school)."
Me: "That would be so nice!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Me (holding Indi like a baby): "Indi, I love you. You're my little baby!"
Indi: "NO I not! Da baby is in your tummy (as she smacks my stomach). I'm a big girl, not a baby!"
Me: "You'll always be my baby Indi."
Indi: "NO I NOT, I a big girl!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Me: "Thayne, when the baby comes we can't even leave her alone in the room for a minute. Promise me that if I"m not home or you're in charge of the baby that you'll take the baby EVERYWHERE you go."
Thayne (barely paying attention): "Yeah, sure."
Me: "I mean it Thayne. We can't trust the kids to leave her alone if we're not in the room. So even if you have to go to the bathroom you either take the baby or make the other three go with you."
Thayne (rolls his eyes): "We all four can't fit in the bathroom and if I take the baby how am I suppose to get done what needs to get done? C'mon Ally, I think we can think of a better solution. How about putting Jaed in charge while we use the bathroom. He likes to boss his sisters around and if they start to get close to the baby he can yell for us or something."
Me (extremely sarcastic): "Yeah, let's even let him stand guard with his light saber and shield!"
Thayne (completely serious): "Sounds good to me."

Too long

I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted last. I'd like to say that it's because it has been so quiet and uneventful here but you'd all know I was lying. Never a dull moment in my house. We are almost back to our ole' routine with everyone back in school. My housecleaning routine has gone to pot but I blame it on this huge baby in my stomach. I can't bend over very easy and standing for too long hurts my back so I do the minimum amount possible and call it good. I have two and a half weeks to go and everyone in the house is helping me count it down.

I have a great friend here who threw me a (wanted to be) suprise baby shower a week ago. I never thought I'd have another baby shower after my last one but, boy, did I need it. Living on a small amount of student loans, and having given all my baby stuff away, we were starting from zero. I got several packages of diapers, cute outfits, socks, and other great stuff. I truly felt blessed to have such great friends. My "need" list is getting smaller and smaller thanks to my friends and family.

Since Jaed lost his last tooth and got two quarters from the tooth fairy he has become obsessed with money. He's been searching everywhere in the house for money. I even caught him trying to sneak his hand in Thayne's pants pocket for coins. He did happen to find a dollars worth of coins and was determined to spend it on something. Thayne tried to give him the talk about saving but Jaed didn't want anything to do with that. So, we went to the store and showed him exactly what toy he could buy for a dollar and he wasn't satisfied at all. Thayne kept saying to him, "well, Jaed, you can buy other stuff if you save your money.", but Jaed either ignored Thayne or just responded with a "no". Finally after about 10 minutes in the toy isle he picked a hot wheel car that he could buy but you could tell he wasn't happy with it. Thayne tried one last time to talk to him about saving and even told Jaed that he would give him interest (and then had to take another 10 minutes to explain what interest was to Jaed) if he would save his money. At first, Jaed said no and we walked away from all the toys. Then Jaed stopped, looked at the car for a few seconds, put it down on a shelf, and said "Ok, I'll save and get interest." I'm still not sure if Jaed understood what "interest" meant other than he got more money but Thayne was thrilled. Thayne and I talked about doing a job chart that had little jobs that Jaed could do to earn money around the house and now Jaed constantly askes me to give him a "special job" so he can earn some pennies (every coin is callled a penny to Jaed, even after SEVERAL explanations). As of now, Jaed has about $2.50 saved. We know that because we count it about 10 times a day, upon Jaed's request.

Chores....

I have been given "jobs" to Jaed since last year and he does pretty well. I decided it was time for Josie to start getting "jobs" as well. One of Jaed's "jobs" was to unload the dryer into a basket (one thing I HATE TO DO!) and he did it fast and promptly. Well I thought that this would be a good job for Josie and I would give Jaed another chore. Josie seemed excited to get a job and was even more excited when she saw what it was. All I would have to say is, "Josie, go do your job please." and she would rush right in there and start. Unfortunately, it took her about 10 times as long as it did Jaed. Let me tell you why......she takes out one article of clothing at a time and says who the clothing belongs to and then delicately puts in the basket. Even when she is alone in the laundry room I can hear her saying "This is Jaed's.........this is Indi's" etc.. One time I wanted her to hurry up so I started helping her pull things out of the dryer and she started screaming, "NO, this is my job!!!" and everything I put in the basket from the dryer she would take it and put it back in the dryer and start over with one thing at a time. AHHHHHHHH!!! This is surely a trial of my patience. I want her to learn the importance of a "job" but she stinks at it in regards to time. I certainly don't tell her that and even compliment her with a tad bit of sarcasm and she is thrilled she's doing a good job and helping "mommy". I guess I should just be thankful that I don't have to fight her to do that. That will come later in life I'm sure.

Now Jaed......well his new job is to unload the dishwasher. At first he was excited and did it promptly and fast. But something happened.....cuz now he complains that it takes to long and then when I still make him do it, he starts playing games with everything he pulls out of the dishwasher. The utensils are swords, the cups are bombs, the plates are shields and whatever else he can find is a gun. It takes him soooooo long to finish but he sure has a blast doing it while I'm tapping my foot, pacing the kitchen and trying to keep calm while I wait to load it. One time I tried to help him a little and the next thing I know he was handing me dishes and ordering me around to put them away. Why and how I fell for it, I don't know.....but it won't happen again! I am starting to learn to tell him to do his "job" at a different time I want to load the dishwasher, so we are making progress. Thayne has to give him a talk about where things go about once a week because I start to find the cups in the pots and pans cupboard and the utensils in every other drawer but the one they belong in, but I think it's going to work out. I just have to keep remembering what my mom would say, "Jaed is 5 and you have to expect nothing else but a 5 year old job.".

Indi is dying for a "job". Almost everytime I ask her to do something (turn the t.v. off, shut the door, etc.) she asks, "Is tis my job, mommy?". I have to be careful how I answer that because if I say "yes" then nobody better EVER turn that t.v. off or shut that door but her or she starts screaming, "THAT MY JOB!". The job of throwing away her poopy diapers is not rewarding enough for her, I guess! You should all know how she feels about that (if you don't, read my Sept. 26th post and then you'll understand.). It is still a challenge for her and one she tries to get her siblings to do now. She's great at saying, "No not me, Jaed do it!".

Blame Game

The blame game has started in our house and everyone is participating. Someone threw toilet paper ALL over one of our bathrooms and I wanted to know who it was. So I made them all come in the bathroom with me and I asked who did it. Without a pause, Jaed pointed at Josie and said she did it, Josie pointed at Indi and said she did it and little Indi pointed back at Josie and said she did it. And then there was screaming and crying as they were trying to talk over one another and make sure I heard who they thought it was. Poor Josie was being pointed at twice and it really upset her. She finally fell to the floor in frustration and confusion, not knowing what to do. I was pretty sure Indi did it. I knew it was something Indi had done before. I also knew that if Josie did it, the toilet paper would have been soaked in water first, then thrown around. And I was hoping that it was toooo childish for Jaed to do. So, I asked Jaed and Josie to leave and I had a little talk with Indi. I had to ask her three times if she did it and finally she said yes, BUT....she kept saying Josie helped her. We talked about what toilet paper was for and not for and then she helped me clean it up and we left the bathroom. I made sure that Jaed knew that I was dissappointed in him that he would blame Josie for doing it when he really didn't know and all he could say was, "Mom, Josie does naughty stuff like that!". I had to remind him that when he was just a little younger than Josie he was caught in the bathroom flinging poop everywhere (thanks to his cousin for not flushing!). You should have seen his nose curl up and his eyes get big. He obviously didn't remember that event as much as I did.

Another tooth

Jaed had another loose tooth that he has been wiggling for about two weeks. I've been telling him that when I was his age, and loosing teeth, my dad would tie a string around it and yank it out. Thayne thinks that is HORRIBLE, but I don't remember it being that bad. I actually remember being nervous and excited to get it pulled out. I told Jaed that it did hurt a little but then the tooth was out and I could leave it for the tooth fairy.
On the way to school this morning he asked me if I would pull it out after school......I seriously didn't know if it was something I could do but I agreed to give it a try. WELL...when he got home from school he had his tooth in a box and said that I didn't need to worry about it anymore. One of his teachers helped him pull it out. I asked him if it hurt but he said "no" so I guess all is well. Everywhere we went today he was showing people where he lost a tooth.

Drama QUEEN!

I have been called a drama queen by my parents, siblings and even Thayne but I don't think I even come close to our little Queen Indi. Thayne said that the day she was born she started her reign as Queen Indi. Today was her day to perform, I think. Everything she did was to the extreme. She started out trying about 5 princess dresses on to find the best one for her debut. With every one she tried on it was a screech that she didn't like it and wanted it off. If I protested the screech got louder and the stomping of the feet started. So I just gave in and helped her take it off and put another one on. The final one was the least prettiest but that was the one she wanted. She then put her princess shoes on with several necklaces, rings and crown. She twirled with her eyes closed, lips pursed, and arms in the air. The more I complimented her the more elegant she tried to be. It was if she was a true Queen. I wanted to laugh so hard. She played the part so perfectly. Even when she fell from dizziness she rest on her bed sitting up perfectly and and her hands folded in her lap. Once she was rested the act started again. Josie participated a little but got bored with the scene really fast and went off to play with her ponies. Indi kept the facade up for quit a while as she followed me around the house. I'm sure she followed me around to keep the compliments coming. If I hadn't said anything in a few minutes she would say, "MOM WOOOOOOK!". She finally gave it a rest when spongebob was turned on. I guess it was intermission :)>!
Along with the pretty side of being a queen comes the not so pretty side. She can screech, yell and order others around just like a queen does. She even told me several times this morning, "Mom don't touch dis.....". Half the time I didn't even know what I wasn't suppose to touch. I heard her yell "YOU NAUGHTY, JOSIE!" a number of times as well. If she didn't get her way in something the fit started and it was well acted out. She covers her face with her hands, drops to her knees and cries LOUD! This scene can continue on as long as her dancing scene if I would allow it. I normally give her a choice to either go to her room or stop the crying. After several minutes of repeating her choice she finally stops the crying, sticks out the bottom lip and hangs her head.
I wonder if there is drama class for two year olds? We could be rich!

New year, new classes!

At church yesterday, Josie was put in a new class because of the new year. She graduated from nursery and now is with the older kids at some part of the time. She was extremely hesitant and even cried but Jaed was so good to her. He showed her where she would sit and where he would sit. He tried to tell her all that would happen but I'm not sure if Josie was really paying attention to that part. Her teacher happens to be a friend of mine and when I told Josie that she seemed to calm down a little. All the kids get together at first to sing songs and have an activity, then they go with their teacher and other kids their own age for a lesson, and at then end they all get back together to sing a song and pray. Well Thayne and I are teachers for the 7 year olds so we're in the room with Jaed and Josie when we sing songs and when it was time for the us all to get back together for the last song and prayer we were waiting for Josie's class to come. The door opened, and in pops Josie with her hands in the air and says (quite loud), "WE BACK!!". All the teachers chuckled as she marched right to her seat after she made that announcement. Josie's teacher said she did really well which was great! It was nice to see Jaed try and take care of her and make her feel better about her new environment.

Jaed had a playdate today with a little boy his age. Him and his mom (a friend of mine) came over and Jaed was so excited. The problem was that the little boy had no idea what Star Wars was and had no interest in playing with swords. As a matter of fact, the boy was more interested in playing with the girls then he was with Jaed. Jaed came over to many several times and said, "Mom, he's not playing with me.". I finally told Jaed that he needed to find out what his friend wanted to play and then play that with him. So here was the conversation that happened when Jaed went over to the boy:
"So what do like to play at home?"
"Toys"
"What kind of toys?"
"Cars"
"I have cars, do you want to play with them?"
"No, I want to cook with your sisters."
"Oh, well they're girls!"
"Yeah"
"Well we're boys."
"I play with my sister sometimes."
"Oh, me too."

Jaed picked up some fake food and started playing "house" along with his friend and the girls. It didn't last long before Jaed came over to me and said, "Do you think Dad will play with me if I go ask him?"

Poor Jaed. He just wants a friend that loves the toys he loves and nothing else. His dad might be his only option :). Jaed calls Thayne his "Best Bud" and has started to use it to his advantage. For example, we went to the store and Thayne said that he would just run in and get what we needed while me and the kids waited in the car. Jaed spoke right up and said, "But Dad, I thought we were best buds.", and Thayne reassured him that they were which Jaed responded, "Well then we have to do everything together so I need to come in the store with you.". It's so funny to see how their little minds work and how early they learn manipulation :).

House of Sickness!

We have been the house of sickness since we returned from Christmas. With colds, ear infections, stomach flu, and bronchitis. The only one not affected by any of the bugs was Thayne. Somehow he has dodged every virus in our house so far. He's been the best Mr. Mom since I've been sick without complaints. I even had to go the hospital because dehydration and then the next day I returned because I had one of my heart episodes and Thayne was a trooper the entire time. He has truly been a lifesaver while he's been home between semesters. I can't believe that he has to start school next week.

Jaed and Josie are counting down the days until they return to school (me too :> ). I do have to say that it will be nice get back into a routine again. Josie will only be returning to her speech preschool this next semester. The co-op preschool we were participating in with four other mothers has started to dwindle. One mom needed to back out a couple of months ago and then one other mom felt like she needed to do something different so I just decided to back out as well. I didn't want to commit to more teaching time than I already had.

I am really trying to simplify my life before this new baby comes so that I don't feel so overwhelmed with everything I've committed to plus the stress of a new baby. I've resigned from a leadership position I was holding in my MOMS Club and haven't volunteered to host any events (which has been very hard!). I hope all this simplifying pays off and I don't regret it.

Happy New Year!!

Well christmas is over and we survived with nothing to report but good stuff. I got to see my mom which was great and we spent christmas eve and christmas day with Thayne's parents which the kids loved. They loved all their gifts that santa brought and were completely satisfied. When Josie got done opening her presents she looked at me and said, "Mom, Santa is a good boy!". How funny is that. Although she wasn't very happy that Santa ate her cookie she decorated and left out for him. I guess she didn't quite understand the concept of leaving a cookie for Santa to say "thanks for the presents". She wanted to eat that cookie herself but as soon as she saw the gifts she seemed to forget all about the cookie.

I think the best part about the whole present ordeal is when the kids run over to both Thayne and me and say, "Look what Santa gave me!" and then we act completely shocked and excited for them. When all the presents were touched and opened the kids didn't even know where to start to play. Thayne's mom tried to get them to eat breakfast but they couldn't be bothered with it.

Jaed was in heaven with his star wars guys and ships. I think I told him about 50 times to quit spitting on me. He would fly his ship around and make shooting noises with spit just shooting out of his mouth. I would tell him to quit spitting on me and that his dad really wanted to see his ship so off he went to spit on Thayne. Thayne never said one word to Jaed about the spitting so I don't know if he didn't notice or if he just chalked it up as a boy thing and let it go.

Josie loved her "My little ponies". She had them lined up and was giving them orders to be nice to one another when they played together (which tells me that she hears me when I tell her same thing but she just chooses to ignore it). She played along time with her ponies while she was dressed up in her princess dress that Santa gave her with a crown, necklaces, play shoes and barbie sunglasses. Jaed tried to get near her ponies with his star wars guys and Josie would screech and say, "Don't shoot them!". Of course, that just made it a game to Jaed. We had to tell him to stay away from her ponies multiple times.

Indi was the queen of the day. She carried around her princess barbies while she was also dressed up in her dress, crown, etc.. You could tell that she felt like the prettiest girl ever. Her barbies danced, kissed, and slept over and over. She never got tired of reenacting the same scenerio. She wasn't as bossy with her princesses as Josie was with her ponies, though. Sometimes she would set her barbies down on a chair and just start twirling around the room like dancing princess herself. Then when she was done she would do one of her famous bows right at where the barbies were all stacked on the chair.

I think the best part of watching them play was when Josie and Indi decided to play barbies and ponies together and Jaed wanted to join. So, Josie gave him a barbie and Jaed was not even a tad bit embarassed to play like the girls. He was saying stuff like; "Will you marry me, honey?"; "My dress is prettier than yours!"; "Let's dance around the room.". I thought Thayne might interupt and try to get Jaed to play his star wars but Thayne just sat still and smiled. It was a great day of much entertainment!

(Our camera stopped working so Thayne's dad took pictures and we're waiting for him to email them to us so I can put them up on the blog. Also, I bought all the barbies and ponies off of Ebay for a great deal. They were used but in great condition and my girls could have cared less!)

Great Christmas Present!

It's been great having Thayne home but my routine has gotten a little off. I usually blog while the kids are having "quiet time" but Thayne and I are using that time to play games or just hanging out so my blogs have been put on the back burner. The kids have been counting down the days until christmas. We didn't do a christmas tree this year for several reasons: first, we're not going to be here for christmas; Second, I don't need another thing to keep the kids away from; Third, I wasn't going to do it by myself and Thayne didn't have time during finals; and Fourth, we just didn't feel like it! I know...we're scrooges...but the kids didn't complain. We just kept telling them that Grandma and Grandpa have a tree up at their house just for them. So, we're heading to their house for about three days over Christmas. I'm a little nervous about it because Thayne's parents house is full of antiques and other fragile stuff and I know my kids well enough to know that they can't keep their hands to themselves. I hope I don't have anything broken to report when we get back!

Our HUGE Christmas present this year is.........THAYNE GOT A JOB!!!!! Yep, he got a call a couple of days ago with an offer. Right when Thayne told me that they offered him a job a HUGE cloud of stress dissappeared from above my head. I could tell that Thayne was stress free as well. It's a law firm in Terre Haute, which is about 50 miles away from where we are. Thayne really liked the firm when he was interviewing for them but felt like the interview didn't go as well as it could. Fortunately, they thought differently! The firm does tons of litigation (arguing cases in court) which is exactly what Thayne wants to specialize in. He loves being in front of a court room and judge arguing about cases. It's a twelve week internship so he'll be working the whole summer. They don't want him to work anymore than 4o hours a week so it shouldn't be that bad. We'll still see tons more of him then we would if he was in school.

So now I get to start planning my summer vacation :). I'm going to take the kids to Utah for a week or two and then we'll head to Washington to spend a week or two with my sister. I'm a little nervous about being away from Thayne for that long with FOUR kids so we'll see how things plan out as time gets closer. I've never been away from Thayne for more than two or three days since we've been married. He might have to fly out and meet us for a weekend or two while we're traveling.

We mailed out our Christmas cards out only three days ago, so hopefully you'll get them soon. We hope you all have a safe and Merry Christmas and that the new year is full of blessings for you and your family!

Happy Family

Thayne finished his last final today and he's home with us for several weeks. He had an 8 hour final today. He was telling me that the final consisted of 3 questions. Can you imagine spending 8 hours on three questions? I don't know how he does it but after the final he said he felt like it went very well. I think I would have given up after the first two hours. I have no patience for that kind of stuff. I'm so proud of how hard he has worked this semester. He was studying non-stop, it seemed. The kids are so excited that "Daddy" doesn't have any school for a while. They each gave him HUGE hugs when he got home tonight. Thayne has been so stressed, anxious, and distracted lately because of finals that, when he came home tonight, he almost seemed like a different person. He was relaxed, happy, laughing, and truly enjoying himself with the kids. I left him to "party" with the kids while I went to "party" with my friends at BUNCO. Life is bliss at the moment!

A Cheerleader for both sides!

Jaed got into quite a bit of trouble this morning and at one point he turned and ran from Thayne. As he was running away, Indi yelled, "Go Jaed, Go!". Thayne got up to chase after him and this time Indi stood up with her hands in the air and yelled, "Go Daddy, Go!". Thayne stopped, turned around, came back into the room and started laughing. He tried to tell Indi that we didn't need her help but couldn't quite get it out. Indi shrugged her shoulders and started watching cartoons again.
I was at the store yesterday with all three of the kids and Indi was in the cart. Josie and Jaed were taking their own sweet time to catch up to Indi and me. Indi finally got her finger out, pointed right at the two of them and then at the ground where we were and yelled (very loud), "Get here RIGHT NOW!". Of course, they ignored her. I can't imagine where she heard or saw that same thing being done. If she hears you tell Josie or Jaed that they are doing something naughty or that they are being stinkers she speaks right up and says, "You naughty" or "You a stinker".

It's amazing that I had one bossy child, then a quiet (not bossy) child, and then another bossy child. Hopefully our next one takes after Josie. We are getting way to many chiefs in our family and not enough indians.

Embarrassing moment!

I am really surprised that I don't have more embarrassing moments to blog. Well me and the kids were shopping yesterday afternoon and I stopped by JoAnn's (fabric store) to pick up a couple of items. Once we entered the store I smelled poop and my eyes went right to Indi. Yep, it was her. I decided to stick it out and grab the two things I needed and then change her when we got back out to the car (I should have known better!). Halfway through the store Jaed yells, "MOM, Indi is poopy!". I immediately tell him to not be so loud and that I am aware she is poopy. Jaed was constantly looking at her bum with huge eyes. I was afraid to look, so I didn't.

After I got the things we needed we headed to the cash register where there were 10 people in line and one cashier. It was obviously going to be a long wait. The whole time in line I'm telling Jaed to calm down and quit being so loud with his shooting sounds (he was aiming at everything with his finger gun and shooting it), I was telling Josie to stop touching stuff which didn't help because she knocked down two big displays, and Indi was whining non stop because I wouldn't let her out of the cart. I finally made the two older kids come and hold the cart because it was more than a little wild but as soon as Jaed grabbed the cart he looked at Indi's bum and yelled "MOM, Indi's poop is coming out of her pants and it's going to fall on the floor!". We were still number six in line and there were atleast 4 more people behind us. All eyes went right to Indi who yelled, "I NOT POOPY!". I wanted to cry and then scream but instead I just started to laugh. I looked behind Indi and sure enough poop was bubbling over her pants. I shoved her shirt down in her pants because I had no wipes on hand. I know everyone was disgusted around me but I just kept giggling and shaking my head. We finally got up to the register, I paid for my things, and we made it out to the car without loosing any poop on the ground. I had to strip Indi naked, change her diaper and she rode home in her carseat with just a diaper on. All the way home Jaed kept saying, "It stinks like poop in here Mom.". He said it about 4 times with absolutely no response from me. We all were suffering with the smell, except Indi. Even Josie said to Indi, "You're naughty for pooping your pants, Indi!". Which resulted in a very loud scream from Indi followed by, "I NOT POOPY!".
When we got home, I turned cartoons on for the kids and laid down on the couch to rest!

No party on Sunday

Jaed was invited to a birthday party for his friend at school, but it is on Sunday. When I picked him from school he asked all the way home if he could go and I just kept saying, "we'll have to talk about it.". I knew that he wasn't going to be able to go but I didn't want to tell him without Thayne and I talking to him first about why we he can't go. We decided before we had children that Sundays were for church and family time which meant no parties, no play-dates, etc.. So, when Thayne got home we sat down with him and told him that the party was on Sunday and asked him what we usually do on Sunday. He answered, "go to church", but he wasn't very happy about it. We told him that Jesus would really want us to go to church and spend the day with our family and he said, "Well...Jesus wants me to be happy and the party would make me happy!". Thayne and I just sat there for a few seconds trying not to laugh at how cute he was. Finally Thayne said, "Jaed, Jesus wants us to go to church so we can learn about him and you can't do that at the party. Also, mommy and I have a rule that Sunday's are for spending time as a family after church so that's why you can't go to the party.". Jaed was so sad. I almost just wanted to say, "Ok, you can go!" but I knew I couldn't. Jaed cried in his room for quite a while. Thayne and I decided to tell him that he could go to the store and pick out a present for his friend even though he wasn't going to the party and Jaed turned his frown into a huge smile and said, "That will be great!". So, we all took a trip to the store and Jaed could hardly stand it. Everything he saw he said, "I know Ritchie would love this!". Thayne had to help Jaed pick out a gift while I tried to keep the girls from grabbing stuff and throwing it in our cart. They couldn't quite believe that they weren't going to get anything. We did leave the store with Indi crying because she saw a princess that we had to pry out of her hands but by the time we got home everything was fine.
Jaed took the gift to school with him this morning and he went right up to Ritchie and said, "I can't come to your party because we go to church on Sunday but here's a present for you." We were so proud of him.

Fire alarm = dinner's ready

The apartment we lived in, before we moved in the house, had a VERY sensitive fire alarm. I could make toast and the alarm would go off. The kids, well Jaed and Josie at least, soon learned to grab a book or paper, run over to the alarm, and wave it as fast as they could to get it to shut off while Indi ran around screaming. Thayne taught the kids to say, "Moms burnin' down the house" so they would chant that as they waved the papers or books at the alarm. This little scene occured several times a week as I cooked dinner so I assume the kids associated the fire alarm with dinner being done. Since we've been in the new house, this has not happened which should tell you that I am a pretty good chef and don't burn everything I cook. It was the sensitive fire alarm not me! Well, Thayne asked if he could help me make dinner last night and I assigned him the garlic bread. He had to butter the bread and broil it in the oven. I knew it wasn't going to work very well when I saw him running up to his computer every 30 seconds to check on football scores. I was busy cooking the rest of the dinner and started smelling something burning. I yelled for Thayne and he came running down, swung open the oven, and a cloud of smoke burst out. There was the bread, black and very crunchy looking. And then the fire alarm went off. All three kids came running up the stairs chanting, "Mom's burnin' down the house", and then sat at the table where Josie announced, "Dinner's ready!". I was not amused but Thayne certainly was. He even had the gull to chant "Mom's burnin down the house!" with them with a huge grin on his face. I was going to protest and make sure my children knew that it was not me who set the alarm off but I turned the other cheek and let them have their fun. It's amazing that I can be in a house full of stinkers and not be one myself!

A Visit to Santa

I took the kids to see Santa no Saturday. We had to explain several times to Jaed and Josie that they would not be recieving gifts on Saturday, but would be telling Santa exactly what they want him to bring them on Christmas day. I was so worried that Josie would get there and wonder where her gifts were and it would be me dragging her to the car after seeing Santa. Fortunately, it went so much better than that. Last year, Indi didn't want anything to do with Santa. She screamed and cried everytime we got her close to him. This year we were there waiting for Santa to show up and when he sat down he said, "Who wants to be first to sit on Santa's lap?", Indi was the only child who ran right to him. I was shocked. Josie, of course, was right behind her ready to be the next one in line. Indi told Santa that she wanted "pwincesses and a plute (princesses and a flute)" and Josie told him she wanted "ponies and a plute". Now Jaed, well...his list was a bit more detailed and a little longer. He wanted a blue and purple lightsaber, a new lego-starwars game, and more. I could see Santa wanting to move on but Jaed wasn't getting off his lap until his list was completed. I think the best part about it was when he tried to lift Jaed on his lap....hehehe... Santa gave a little grunt but got Jaed up on the second try.
The kids talked about seeing Santa all the way home and then again when Thayne got home from studying. It feels good to know that we got them the things they mentioned to Santa. I know that we won't be able to do that every year but it will be nice for this year.

Pregnancy brain..

I’m in the seventh month of my fourth pregnancy, and I have “pregnancy brain”. Yes, this extremely scientific-sounding disease, is just another way of saying I’ve become forgetful. Really, really forgetful. I have noticed that it gets worse with every pregnancy. I went to the grocery store the other day and had to sit in the parking lot for over 10 minutes because I couldn't remember the one specific item I needed to get. Thayne sent me to the store another day with a request for me to get two different things. I went over and over the list in my head all the way to the store but by the time I got home I only had one item.

I have been thinking about my lack of memory and wondering, why does this happen? I know it’s hormones, yada, yada, yada, but why? Supposedly it affects about half of pregnant women. What a weird side effect of pregnancy!

I’ve always heard that certain symptons of pregnancy are supposed to prepare the new mom for actually being a mom. One example almost every pregnant woman has heard is that being uncomfortable at night and having trouble sleeping (either because you can’t get into a comfortable position being so huge, or because you have to go to the bathroom 80 times) is a way to get you ready to pull all-nighters with your new baby. Of course, whether I believe all these “preparation” tales, I can’t really say. But, if pregnancy symptoms are stages of mom training, I find it ironic that forgetfulness is one of them. What is it really meant to prepare you for?

Forgetful-preparedness seems especially harsh considering that, when becoming a mom, you have about a zillion things you need to remember, for example:
Who is allergic to what foods, what soaps, detergents, sunscreens and fabric? Who will eat what kind of veggies? Who hates juice? Whose toothbrush is whose? Who needs to be where at what time and when they need to be picked up? Who will only wear one particular kind of dress to church? Who will only eat the purple chewable vitamins and who will only eat the orange? Is there any milk left in the ‘fridge?

Of course, that’s only the “mom” part of life. There are whole other parts of life to remember in areas such as spouses school/work, extended family, friends, bills, clubs and community. The list goes on and on.

When I looked up “pregnancy brain” and “forgetfulness” in my go-to guide for pregnancy (written and published by a top-notch medical institution, I might add) it talks about this being a normal part of pregnancy, due to hormones, etc. It provides a few helpful hints such as “keep lists” and “reduce stress”. It also says that this is the time to “have a sense of humor”. Hmmm. Is that very helpful?

Oh, the joys of pregnancy! There’s the gassiness, constipation, queasiness, and exhaustion, the forgetfulness, crankiness, the frequent mood swings, the crying for no reason, and the constant worry. No woman can avoid all of these symptoms or discomforts and humiliations, but most are too polite to complain or too embarrassed to talk about them. Not me! I have ALL of the above and more!

This is how my kids look at me all the time now. I'm sure they are constantly wondering, "Who is this lady and what did she do with my mommy?". Poor things, they looked so confused and stressed out!

Jaed turns into DarthVader

Jaed came into our room today looking like the picture below. I asked him what he was and he said he was "Darth Vader". I thought his costume was quite creative for a five year old. Those are Thayne's church socks on his hands and feet. What a physeec!!

The holiday is over!

I SURVIVED! I decided on to do much preparation for Thanksgiving dinner until my "guests" got here so they could help out. I figured even if we didn't eat until 6 p.m. it was better than being a crab and exhausted all day. When they showed up my Dad started helping me right away. Him and I put the whole Thanksgiving dinner together within two hours and everyone was smackin their lips. There were several comments about the amount of food there was because I seem to ALWAYS over do it when I cook a meal. Thayne thinks it's a funny idiosyncrasy I have. For example, I made a jello salad and used 10 boxes of jello plus 4 cans of fruit. I wanted to make sure we had enough....well....my dad suggested we invite the nieghbors on the block to eat it with us. I think they should just be thankful there was enough for seconds =). By the end of the day I was exhausted but I felt good about what "we" had accomplished together. My father sure was a life saver!
The kids had so much fun with their cousins and it was nice not to have to check on them every ten minutes. My older nephews kept a good eye on them and let me know when things were getting out of hand. They all loved the new house and said so many times. It felt nice to be able to host that many people and still felt like there was a space in the house you could go if you need a few minutes to yourself and it wasn't the bathroom!
Jaed turned in to some strip-tease boy for most of the time my family was here. I started to worry about him a bit. He thought it was so funny to take his clothes off and run around the house laughing and saying, "Look at my bum crack!". I was pretty embarrassed and smacked his bum a couple of times but it didn't stop him. Now our little Indi is smacking our bums saying, "bum crack, mommy". I know that I"ll have to have a parent-teacher conference with Jaed's teacher because he'll be mooning his class and yelling, "LOOK AT MY BUM CRACK!". I guess humiliation comes with being a parent.
Josie, Indi and their two twin (four year old) cousins played "princess" most of the time they were here. Everytime you turned around they were in a new princess dress. Although the constant dress changing is very typical for Indi. She loves to put a new dress on more than she poops her diaper and she does that at least 4-5 times a day.
My dad stayed with us for several days after my brother and his clan left. It was nice to visit with him and see him get to know my kids again. They all wanted to be by his side constantly which thrilled me. It was sad to see him go because we don't know when we'll see him again. I hope to get to Utah for the summer but without a summer job for Thayne and don't think that will be possible. We'll see what happens, I guess.
I really do miss my family. More now then I have since I moved here. I think it's because I've always been around family when I had my other children and it feels very scary to have a child without that support right at my fingertips. I never had to worry about who would take care of my kids so that Thayne could stay in the hospital with me, or if my kids were driving them crazy because they loved my kids even with their naughtiness. I try not to think about it too much because it stresses me out so we'll see how things unfold as they come our way.

One holiday down and one to go!! I might have been a little harsh to say that I would NEVER host again but it will be a very long time before I offer.

(My Dad, my brother's six kids, and my kids)

Hosting...

Ok, I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in my life, I'm seven months pregnant, I have zero energy, and I'm emotionally unstable. Do you see a problem here? Um....yeah! I WILL NEVER HOST THANKSGIVING DINNER AGAIN!!!!! My brother,his wife, their six kids, and my dad will not be here until Thanksgiving day around noon so I"m left to do all the prep work. I'm not a happy camper and when I'm not a happy camper neither is my little family. Poor Thayne, every little thing he does wrong I point it out. My kids have had tons more time outs than normal only because my patiences is very thin and their all riding on my very last nerve. I'm a wreck. Maybe I'll wake up sick, really sick....like the flu or something and I'll have to stay in bed all day. Wow, that would be bliss. Can you pray for things like that? My luck, I'd pray for it and then I'd come down with walking pneumonia with bronchitis on the side. It's a toss up which would be worse at the moment. I hope I have more positive things to say tomorrow night AFTER the "party" is over.

Housekeeping stinks!

I am so tired of cleaning my house. If I miss one day of cleaning it's a TOTAL disaster. I feel like going on strike as the house keeper but my husband isn't around enough to care, my kids love messes, so in the end I"m the only one that would suffer. I did find these rules of housekeeping that I might start living by:

Ten Rules of Housekeeping

1. Vacuuming too often weakens the carpet fibers. Say this with a serious face, and shudder delicately whenever anyone mentions Carpet Fresh.

2. Dust bunnies cannot evolve into dust rhinos when disturbed. Rename the area under the couch "The Galapagos Islands" and claim an ecological exemption.

3. Layers of dirty film on windows and screens provide a helpful filter against harmful and aging rays from the sun. Call it an SPF factor of 5 and leave it alone.

4. Cobwebs artfully draped over lampshades reduces the glare from the bulb, thereby creating a romantic atmosphere. If your husband points out that the light fixtures need dusting, simply look affronted and exclaim, "What? And spoil the mood?"

5. In a pinch, you can always claim that the haphazard tower of unread magazines and newspapers next to your chair provides the valuable Feng Shui aspect of a tiger, thereby reducing your vulnerability. Roll your eyes when you say this.

6. Explain the mound of pet hair brushed up against the doorways by claiming you are collecting it there to use for stuffing handsewn play animals for underprivileged children.

7. If unexpected company is coming, pile everything unsightly into one room and close the door. As you show your guests through your tidy home, rattle the door knob vigorously, fake a growl and say, "I'd love you to see our Den, but Fluffy hates to be disturbed and the shots are SO expensive."

8. If dusting is REALLY out of control, simply place a showy urn on the coffee table and insist that "THIS is where Grandma wanted us to scatter her ashes..."

9. Don't bother repainting. Simply scribble lightly over a dirty wall with an assortment of crayons, and try to muster a glint of tears as you say, "Junior did this the week before that unspeakable accident... I haven't had the heart to clean it..."

10. Mix one-quarter cup pine-scented household cleaner with four cups of water in a spray bottle. Mist the air lightly. Leave dampened rags in conspicuous locations. Develop an exhausted look, throw yourself onto the couch, and sigh, "I clean and I clean and I still don't get anywhere..."

Josie's big sickness

After I picked Josie up from school today she started to complain that her stomach hurt. I thought she might be hungry so I fed her lunch but the complaining didn't stop. Several times she was bent over in pain almost in tears. I asked her several times if she needed to "poop", but she always answered no. I finally gave her some tylenol but that didn't even help. Josie has a very high tolerance of pain so I knew that it had to be something that really hurt for her to keep saying "It hurts, mom, it hurts!". I called the Dr. and got her an appointment. I started to worry (paranoia) and think the worst. She wanted me to hold her, kiss her, rub her tummy, etc.. These are not typical requests from Josie. Finally we got to the Dr.'s office and they wanted her to pee in a cup so I took her in the bathroom and she pee'd in the cup and then did a HUGE number two. When she got off the toilet she said, "It doesn't hurt anymore, Mom!". WHAT?! That was it? All she needed to do was a HUGE poop and the pain went away? Hello...I'm a mother of almost 4 and I didn't get that? I wanted to leave the bathroom and go directly to my car, but I didn't. I went back to the room with Josie and we waited for the Dr to return while Josie was bouncing off the walls, laughing, talking and giggling. I wanted to tell her to lay down and act sick but I resisted. Finally the Dr came in and all she said was that her urine looked very clean and that she must just have an upset stomach. I agreed and we quickly left.

I was totally bugged with myself all the way home. How lame could I be? That's totally something a first time mom would do, right? When I was telling Thayne all of this he said, "Ally, you are mom that gets her kids into the Dr. when they say something hurts. I think that's great! There are a lot of moms who wait until it's so severe because they think it's nothing or it'll go away. You're a great mom!" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! That is exactly what I needed to hear. I guess I would rather be safe then sorry. I'm sure I will have many visits like this to the Dr. in the future and probably be just as embarrassed but I'll know I"m being a great MOM!

Girls Room

I finally got things up on the gir'ls bedroom wall, so I took some pictures. They love their princess comforter set, especially. Sorry some of the pictures aren't great. Our battery is going out so sometimes the pictures come out a little discolored. Notice the wooden letters that spell their names. My sister and I did those while she was here a month ago.

Slips or dresses?

Indi and Josie found some slips that I bought a while back and decided to put them on as dresses. The one that Indi is wearing is actually a size 12 months but she loves it! They dance around and call themselves "Princesses" (of course) and love the way the slip twirls around them. I don't think I'll ever be able to use them as slips since they've been used as dresses, now. Josie put hers on this morning and Indi didn't want to put the other one on because she already had a princess dress on and Josie got so upset. She came crying to me and said, "Put this on Indi, PWEEEEZ!". I tried to convince Indi to wear it so that she could be a princess like Josie but she wasn't going to do it. Josie sat on my lap and just cried. I couldn't believe how upset she was that Indi wouldn't wear the slip. Finally Indi dissappeard in the playroom with the slip and came out dancing with the slip on. When Josie saw her she jumped off my lap and started to dance with Indi. They danced all around the room together. Girls are so funny!

A proud wife

Thayne entered into a huge competition at the beginning of the school year called Moot Court. In the competition the participants (about 200 law students) have to write an appellate brief (around 35 pages) and compete in three rounds of oral arguments. The first round they have to argue their own brief, the second round they argue against their brief and then the third round they find out 24 hours before the argument to see what side they'll be arguing again. They argue their briefs infront of Legal practitioners and judges from around the state who donate their time and lend valuable insight to the Law School by serving as competition judges.

After the three rounds are over the judges take several weeks to decide who will move on to the next part of the competition. Only 32 participants are chosen to move on out of the 200 who signed up to participate. Thayne worked really hard on his brief and I could tell that he was so proud of it. He loved arguing infront of the judges as well. Today he found out that he was one of the 32 participants to be chosen to move on in the competition. He was a finalist!!!! Not only that but his brief got HONORS which is a huge deal. I am so proud of him. His hard work paid off and I know that he is feeling pretty good right now. I think he really needed this ego boost.
Next semester he has to write another brief and argue it just like before. We find the results of that part of the competition in late Febuarary. I know he'll do a great job!!

A night to party

I get to host a party tonight and it's one of those parties that people invited HAVE TO show up to. My kind of party to host!!! I participate in a Bunco group once a month and this month is my turn to host. Bunco is a game we play but in reality it's just an excuse to get together with 11 other girls and gossip, chat, and laugh the whole night. We start out with dinner and then play the game and end with a delicious dessert. I look forward to this "get together" every month. The group will get together one week after I have my baby....do you think I'll go?......hmmm.......if you know me well enough you know the answer to that one! Let's see how many of you know me...

Family coming to town

My dad called me last night and said that he's coming in town for Thanksgiving. I haven't seen him in almost a year so it'll be good to spend some time with him. I'm sure he'll be surprised to see how much the kids have changed too. My brother, wife and their six kids are also coming for Thanksgiving so we'll have a full house for the turkey holiday. I'm so excited for them to see the new house and enjoy it as much as we do. I"m sure it won't seem that big to them, especially with so many people here but it's like a mansion to us! I haven't told the kids that everyone is coming next week. I think I'll wait until the day before because they seem to get so excited when visitors come that they forget the rules around the house and are jumping off walls with excitement and anticipation.

Thayne is starting to get really nervous about finals. He only has two more weeks of class and then it's complete study time. I'm gearing myself up for 'single parent' mode for the next four weeks. He may still come home for dinner (1 hour) but then it's right back up to school. The only thing that will get me through it is knowing that he'll have a whole month off of school and can play Mr. Mom the ENTIRE time. No word on any jobs yet. He hasn't gotten any rejection but no offers either. We just keep praying and trying to have faith!

Jaed has been doing so well in school these last two weeks. He did get into a little trouble a couple of days ago because he picked his nose and wiped it on the carpet. His teacher gave him a "yellow" (warning) for it. Thayne and I had to wait to talk to him about it until that evening because we knew if we did it earlier we would both be laughing during the "talk". So right before bed we talked to him about using a tissue and not the carpet, his clothes, under the table or another person to wipe his boogers on.

Josie has learned the word "hate" now and uses it all the time. I heard her say to Indi "I hate you" and I almost cried. I took her aside and told her sad that it makes me feel to hear her say that to Indi. We talked about "love" and how the word "hate" is a naughty word. I introduced the pepper to her and told her that if I hear her say she hates someone then I'll have to put some pepper on her tongue. My fear is that she'll like the pepper and it won't phase her a bit. What next? Cian pepper? Hmmm...we'll see what happens. Maybe I won't even have to use it at all.

Tooth Fairy came to visit

Well Jaed's tooth finally came out while he was eating some waffles. He was so excited he even danced around the room. Our little boy is growing up, that's for sure.







































I even make Jaed a tooth pillow with a little pocket for his tooth. The Tooth Fairy came that night and took his tooth but left 50 cents in the pillow pocket. The next morning, Jaed yelled, "I feel somethin in my pillow pocket. I think she left me a lot of coins.......SHE DID, MOM, SHE DID!". He carried that pillow around for most of the day and kept checking to make sure his money was in it. He even made Thayne sit down beside him so they both could really look at the money and talk about how wonderful it was.

Pics of kids

Here is pictures of the kids when Thayne's parents were in town. They're sitting on our new window bench in our living room. They love to climb up on it and watch out the window for Thayne to come home in the evenings!

Parents and making out

Thayne's parents and sister were in town for the weekend. They never stay for very long but the kids love every minute of it. They were putting up blinds in Jaed's window and I walked past the room and they were making out. Without even thinking, I said "Get a room!" and kept walking. I don't know if I was more embarrassed that I saw them passionately kissing or that I blurted out the above remark. Which ever it was, I was pretty embarrassed. Thayne was coming up the stairs and I said loud enough for his parents to hear, "I just caught your parents making out!". Thayne responded, "That is sick. I don't need that image in my head.". Thayne's mom laughed a little and then said something about it being okay for older people to do such a thing and Thayne shook his head and said, "Stop talking about it because it's making me ill!". We all laughed and that was the end of it.

The first six years of our marriage I don't remember seeing Thayne's parents be very physical (holding hands, etc.) with one another. But in the last three years it has been obvious that they have rekindled something. Thayne's mom said that she read "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura and it changed their marriage, so maybe the magic is in the book. It's so funny to me to see Thayne get so creeped out about his parents closeness. I wonder if our kids will be like that when we're old and kissing? I guess we don't even have to be old. If we kiss now and Jaed's in the room he yells, "Stop guys" or something like that.

Bully in the making

Thayne and I (and kids) went to a party tonight with several other couples and their children. Most of the night we were hearing kids crying and found Indi in the middle of it everytime. Sometimes we would find her laying on the crying child, pinning the crying child in the corner, chasing the crying child, and hugging the child very tightly. We could not believe what a bully she was being. We tried to talk to her about being nice and she would answer, "Ok, Mommy", but it would happen again shortly after the little talk. I was hoping she was just going through a stage but I'm starting to think she's just a bully in the making. I'd like to act like I am appalled and can't believe that a little girl could be so mean, but I think she's taking after her mom. I was held back in kindergarden because I had "social problems" but it really was because I was a bully, I think. I'd like to think that I grew out of it so hopefully Indi will too. I"d like to know how to speed it along :).

I use to think that Jaed was a bully but I realized that he just didn't know his own strength. The only time I see him get aggressive with others is when they are aggressive with him or one of his sisters. Josie is very unpredictable except when it comes to protecting her brother or sister. We were at the community center a little bit ago and a little boy came up and pushed Indi down. Josie wasn't that close to them but she obviously saw what happened bacause she marched right over to that little boy and shoved him to the ground and said, "Don't push my sister!" and hugged Indi then walked off. I went over and talked to Josie and told her I was glad that she didn't want others to hurt Indi but she shouldn't push them back. Her response was, "but he pushed Indi first!". I tried to teach her that it was okay to use her words but not okay to push back. I'm not sure she got it so I guess will see what happens the next time someone tries to hurt her sister or brother.

Recent conversation with Jaed...

"Mom, is Grandpa and Grandma (Thayne's parents) married?"
"Yes, Jaed, they're married"
"Is Gram and Bompa (my parents) married?"
"No, Jaed, they're not. They were married when I was a kid but not now."
"Why not, Mom?"

VERY LONG PAUSE (I was hoping he would get distracted if I didn't answer for a bit)

"Mom, I asked you a question!"
"Oh, what was it?"
"Why isn't Gram nad Bompa married?"
"Well.......um....because they don't want to be married anymore."
"Why not?"
"Jaed, sometimes people who are married don't get a long and need to not be married anymore."
"Was Gram and Bompa mad?"
"Probably, but now they're not. They're friends now."
"So why don't they get married again?"
"Because they just want to be friends."
"Well who takes care of Grams now?"
"Grams takes care of herself."
"Who takes care of Bompa? His dog, Buddy?"
"Bompa takes care of himself and I'm sure his dog helps."
"Oh."

I never learn..

So this is my fourth pregnancy and you would think that I have things under control. Well, you thought wrong. I have a real problem remembering to drink water. With Jaed, I was in the hospital three times because of dehydration, with Josie I was in the hospital three times and with Indi I was in the hospital twice. It's a very LONG day when I have to go in. They put an IV in my arm, pump me full of...whatever the liquid is and then give me drugs for pain and after observing me for 3 or more hours they send me home. The pain is like one VERY LONG contraction that never stops and the time spent in the hospital is extremely boring and dull. Why don't I learn?

Well, I got dehydrated again. It ruins my whole day. I pretty much have to lay around and not do anything which may seem nice but not when I don't choose to. It's only nice when I choose to lay around. At least, Thayne stayed home with me so I wasn't totally bored but I swear this is the last time I am going to have to learn this lesson. Especially with Thayne around. He has turned into the waterboy and is continually harrassing me about drinking now. I'm sure the next step is to put signs everywhere in the house that say, "DRINK MORE WATER or GO TO THE HOSPITAL!".

What a cutie!

We were at the store today and Josie found a pink hat and matching gloves that she fell in love with. She put them on right away and wore them around the whole store. She would stop people in the aisles and say, "I'm a princess". Of course, many didn't know what she was saying but they thought she was so cute. Thayne said he can't believe how obsessed Josie and Indi are with princesses and pink stuff. I don't think it's much different with Jaed and star wars. He sleeps with his star wars guys and plays with them constantly when he's home. I'm glad we have a house full of princesses (and a Queen, of course) instead of house full of Luke Skywalkers. And we are adding another princess in a few months. YIPPEE!!

I called Indi a stinker today and she said, "I no stinker, I princess Indi!". Enough said!

(Josie is ready for the snow!)

Rough Day....

Wow, Jaed had no school today and I cancelled Josie's school because she seemed pretty sick the day before. Well she was fine today and Jaed was...well...I found a cartoon that described how he was. It's probably a little inappropriate but it made me laugh when I saw it so here it is:

(I'd like to say that the girls were the Dr. and nurse but they
were heading down the same naughty rode Jaed was. His briefcase
would say "The Little stinker who never stopped"!)


















We've been telling Jaed since he turned five that he needs to do more things on his own such as (put his shoes on, put his clothes on, pull up his underwear after he goes to the bathroom, etc.). These are things we know he can do by himself but he LOVES to be helped and served. He really thinks it's a punishment when we ask him to do these things. He stomps off and says he's not going to do it and that he doesn't know how. It's a daily routine for us. I found this cartoon that reminds me of these little arguments we've been having with him:




















Will this be Jaed when he's finally decided to do things on his own?


















Running on to these cartoons made me laugh which was a great medication for a rough day. I do love my kids and especially Jaed, but today was a little rougher than normal. It was raining so going outside wasn't really an option and he had TONS of energy to burn.

New house, old house

Jaed asked me today that when our "new house" gets old, will we move to another new house? I did tell him that when Thayne is done with school we'll move to a new town and new house. He wanted to know who would help us and if they would forget his bed. I assured him that those that help us will make sure to remember his bed. He then wanted to know if the the new baby would be moving with us. I had to chuckle. Does he really think we would leave anyone in our family behind? I guess he just can't imagine a baby being apart of our family. Right now it's just an idea to him, maybe. I told him that the new baby will be apart of our family and will go wherever we go. He said, "Oh good!". He is fun to have a conversation with. His innocence is refreshing and I always get a big smile on face when he asks questions.

I had my six month check up last week. Can you believe I only have three months left? Wow, time is going by so quickly. I feel less prepared for this baby than I have in the past. I think it's because we don't have the money to go buy a bunch of stuff that we need like I did with the others. By this time with the others, I had stacks of newborn diapers and wipes, every piece of clothing you could think of for a newborn to six months, and much more. You could say that I was OVER prepared with the others. It's a wierd feeling not to be like that with this one. Oh well, we'll manage and I know things will work out okay.

Girls vs. Boys

Why is it so hard for some people (mostly guys) to understand the differences between boys and girls? It seems like in the last couple if days I’ve had to remind Thayne that the girls are GIRLS and he has to treat them as such. It’s like he forgets that we’ve had two girls in our family and not three boys. I know that they are extra sensitive and more emotional than normal while they are sick, so I should give him some slack, but I haven’t. When Jaed gets hurt you pat him on the head or even give him a quick hug and he’s ready to play again. With the girls, well…it’s a little more than that. You have to hug them, hold them, kiss the spot that hurts (which I did with Jaed until he was 2 ½ then he didn’t want it anymore) and wait until the are ready to go play again which could be a.s.a.p. or 5 or more minutes. If you don’t do it that way the girls will keep crying and then the small things turn into big things and they’re crying about 10 different things instead of just that one thing. I think I’ve shared this lesson with Thayne TONS of times since we started having girls and he normally does really well but this weekend he’s slack a little. He did make some comment about wanting his girls to be tough (and if you know my girls you know that they are tougher than Jaed in most circumstances) but being tough physically and being tough emotionally are two very different things.

I know it’s a little more extra work to calm the girls down than Jaed but in the long run it saves time and energy. Thayne has learned that lesson the hard way again this weekend. At one point he said, "Raising girls is a lot of work and exhausting!". HEHEHEHE!!! I would think he would have known that being married to a girl. AND we're having another girl in three months. There's no hope for him and his ideas that girls need to be tough. He'll be surrounded by girls and their emotions for the rest of his life. Wait...does that mean I'll have to keep reminding him about the differences between girls and boys are? Probably.

I do have to say that I have to remind myself to hug Jaed, kiss his cheeks and tell him I love him more. The girls come to me for it but now that Jaed is getting older he doesn't come for those things as often. The same situation happens to me with regards to Jaed. Even though he is a boy and seems to be tough emotionally he needs the hugs, kisses and "I love you's" that I constantly give the girls and sometimes I forget to do it as much as I do it with the girls. I want my kids to grow up feeling very comfortable hugging and saying "I love you" to family members and to help this along I need to work harder on saying it constantly to Jaed.

What type of sick person are you?

We have a house full of sick kids right now. That dang cold hit our house hard this weekend. Although, I do like to have all of them sick at the same, that way they get done around the same time too. It's funny how different they all are when they are sick. Jaed wants to be cuddled, hugged, mauled, and waited on. Josie wants to be left alone and checked on every once in a while and Indi....well...she's just a mean emotional sick person. She cries about everything, screams if you try to help her and hits and if you're not doing it right. WOW! I hope she doesn't get sick a lot in her life. Her poor future husband! Anyway, Jaed is a lot like me. I like to be cuddled, mauled and waited on constantly. It makes me feel like someone cares that I feel so sick. Josie is like Thayne. He just wants to be left alone and if I try to take care of him too much he feels bothered. He doesn't like to be touched or talked to when he is sick. Who knows where Indi gets her behavior from. It might be the worst of both me and Thayne put together.

It's hard to treat someone how they want to be treated and not how you would want to be treated. Even after nine years of being married we have to remind each other how we want to be treated sometimes. I always miss my mom when I'm sick because she knew exactly what I needed when I was sick. I love having a warm washcloth over my forehead, warm blankets, and I love to be asked about a million times if I need anything else. I could say "I don't feel good" as many times as I wanted and she would always respond in a very calm and caring way, "I know you are, Sis, what can I do for you?". Now I have to fight my kids for attention from my husband when I'm sick and I have to act like I'm dying to get the kind of sympathy that I want. It's pathetic. Oh well, that's life as a grown up, I guess. Maybe that's why I have my mom in the delivery room when I have my kids. She steps in and does the things that Thayne forgets (ie, washcloth on forehead, rubbing my arms, etc.) and when Thayne steps up to do it she backs off so he can feel like he's important. They make a great team and I feel well taken care of the whole time I'm in labor. What would I ever do without my mom? Not something I want to think about.


(Jaed, Josie and Indi laying on the couches watching a movie while they have a fever, runny noises and coughs. Poor guys!)

BIrthdays....blaww!

Today is my birthday. I've been trying to avoid it but it's not possible when Thayne has been counting the days down with the kids. My birthday use to be one of my favorite holidays. I think it was because I'm the youngest of six kids and was always so spoiled on my birthday by gifts and attention. It was great! Well, now that I'm a mom....it's just another ordinary day. I still have to cook, clean, referee, discipline, changed poopy diapers and wipe poopy bums. It stinks (literally, too). I think it's almost more of a depressing day...... of course, by my own choice. I miss having those birthday parties and inviting a tons of friends over to chat and gossip. But now with my party phobia, I don't think I would attempt that :).

Thayne really wants to take the kids to the store and let them pick out a gift for me. But I think I"m going to take them to the store and let them choose a toy for themselves. I really can't think of anything I want (that is within our budget) so I'd like to see my kids thrilled and excited. When my kids are excited and happy, it warms my heart. Thayne tried to argue with me about it but I reminded him that it's my birthday!

On a side note, Jaed has his first loose tooth. He's so excited about wiggling it. I get to wear another hat as a mom, the tooth fairy.

Pretend or not pretend...

Well I came home tonight from my craft club and Thayne and Jaed were watching star wars. This isn't the first time Jaed has seen star wars so he was familiar with the movie and knew what was going to happen. In the very last part of the movie one of the main guys is in a light saber fight and he ends up dying. I look over at Jaed and tears are streaming down his face. I asked him if he was okay and he said, "I hate this part, Mommy!". It broke my heart. (I know most of your are saying to yourself, "He's too young for those movies!", well....try telling his dad that. I tried for months and lost the battle.) I looked at Thayne and I could see in his face he was just as concerned as I was. So for the next half hour Thayne and Jaed had a huge discussion on pretend, acting, and movies. I really think Jaed got it and understood that it wasn't real. Thayne has a great way of communicating with Jaed and doesn't stop until Thayne is convinced that Jaed understands.

After Jaed went to sleep I said to Thayne, "What do you think about what happened?" and Thayne mumbled something about Jaed being a little to young for that movie. I could have responded with "I told you so" but I've matured a little and decided that he knew I was right. I don't know if I'm mature enough not to bring it up in the future, though!

Candy for everyone!!

Wow, what a Halloween. I forget what it's like to go trick or treating in a neighborhood where people give out more than bubble gum and suckers. As soon as it was dark the kids were ready to put those costumes on and get out the door. Before we left the house we had a big discussion on saying "trick or treat" and then saying "thank you". We practiced it a couple of different times to make sure they each knew what was expected of them. We even talked about only knocking on doors that had a light, which Jaed made it his job to look for.

The first couple of doors were pretty successful. Great chocolate candy and happy kids (and parents!). Then Jaed started to get lazy with the "trick or treat" and "thank you" part and Indi started saying it before she even got to the door so the person couldn't hear her. We started to fall apart as a team. SO we re-grouped and went over the expectations again which seemed to take care of it for the most part. One thing we didn't go over is that you only knock, not knock and then open the door. Jaed did it the first time. He knocked, turned the door knob and opened the door. Thank goodness the man was almost to the door. I was so embarrassed. We apologized about ten times and then had to have another huddle about that one forgotten rule. Indi did it the second time, but she just knocked and pushed the door which happened to not be closed all the way. Again, there were several "I'm sorry" 's and another huddle. Finally about half way around the block we had things under control.

There were two houses that gave out normal size candy bars. Thayne and I were shocked. A lot of other houses just put handfuls of candy in our kids bags. I was a prepared mom and had brought extra bags in case the kid's bags got to full. I had to empty their bags twice in to mine because they got sooo much candy. The best part was it was all GREAT candy. Does it seem like I'm a little obsessed with the candy part? Well, I guess I am. The priviledge of being a parent was in my mind as I thought about how I couldn't wait to get home and go through their bags with them and pick out the ones I wanted. When I told Thayne that he just rollled his eyes but guess who was right beside me digging in their candy too. THAYNE!!! Yep, he was picking out his favorites and putting them aside. I know, it sounds so childish and ridiculous but it was soooo much fun.

We gave the kids 15 minutes to eat as much candy as they could (we didn't tell them that though, we do have some parenting skills) and then we put the candy away for the next day. I got the girls ready for bed and we stayed in their room singing TONS of songs since they were both on a sugar high and Jaed got to stay up with Thayne and pass our candy out to the trick or treaters. Jaed had so much fun doing that. I hear him say to some kids that came to the door, "Do you want two pieces or seven pieces". One boy responded, "Two" and the other one took the offer and responded, "I'll take seven".

Halloween was super fun and WE all are enjoying our trick or treat candy!!!

(Indi as a beautiful princess!)



















(Jaed as a ninja)




















(Josie as a unicorn)