Happy Birthday to Me!!!

So, today is my birthday - 36! Gosh, I'm getting old... and having baby #5 in a week and a half! Crazy! I woke up this morning to the house decorated with streamers and balloons, and breakfast being made by wonderful D! Now, I just have to ignore the mess left from the whole thing because I refuse to clean on my birthday! Then, on to the doctor's office, and the hospital for some testing, then a scrapbook store, and now I'm just hanging with the kids. Tonight we are going to P.F. Changs - a FAV! - and I told the doctor that I was eating whatever I wanted to!!! Gotta enjoy it sometime! Have a super my birthday!

Ok, so I so wish that my camera was back from the camera doctor, because the more I look at Chad, the more I am sure that he is part Leprechaun! Between his crazy hair, the freckles going across his nose, and his strange sense of humor with all his funny accents (including a really good Irish one), he could totally be a Leprechaun! Just gotta get him to wear a whole lotta more green!

Happy St. Patty's Day! everyone

Top o' the morning to you all! We just finished eating our green eggs, green pancakes, grapes and bacon for breakfast. Everyone was a bit turned off by the eggs, but they tasted pretty darn good. This is what happens when you have a giant leprechaun living in your house. We also set our "leprechaun trap" last night and were very happy to find a huge pot of gold - reese's peanut butter cups, rolos and almond kisses - turned upside down in our trap this morning with a note stating that we would never catch the leprechaun but he would share some of his gold with us. It's always fun to have some magic in your house... and a WalMart that's open 24 hours a day nearby so that you can go out and buy some gold when you don't have any already at home! Have a super St. Patrick's Day! Remember some of the magic!

Scrapped to death!

So on Saturday, and part of Friday morning, I went to a huge Scrapbook show in Portland - CKC-Portland. It was a lot of fun! But, when I originally signed up, back in November, I think, I didn't realize that I would be in my 9th month of pregnancy and not such a happy camper. After being cooped up, sick, in the house all week, I was so excited to go and spend some "me" time taking some scrapbook classes and making fun projects. I lasted til about 3:00 on Saturday, with still 2 more classes to go. I pretty much crashed in one of their hallways, then waited for the remaining two classes to start, went in, got my kits, and then left. Got home about an hour early, and was so wiped out and grumpy, I just wanted to be left alone! And then on Sunday, we went to church and I spent the rest of the day pretty much in bed sooooo, soooo tired! Just wanted to vent a bit (again)! Back to normalcy today - cleaning, doing laundry, chasing after Haley and Cooper. Have a super day!

Get your own countdown at BlingyBlob.com

Ok, so kill me now!

So, being in my 9th month of pregnancy, I'm already achy, uncomfortable and grouchy, but now add bronchitis to it, and I am one really unhappy camper! Sorry... just wanted to vent a bit. I hurt all over my back and hips, and now I am constantly holding my belly because I am coughing so much that I'm going to pop my overwhelming belly button and this baby is just going to come flying out! Somebody better be ready to catch him!

And poor little Haley isn't feeling so hot either, and Macy's been running a fever off and on. All the poor girls in our household are just having a rough time right now. If you're a girl, I'd stay away!

Oh, and random side note, Haley broke my camera last week so I had to send it to the Canon factory to get it fixed. Yikes! Lukie had a fun birthday dinner on Sunday with some family, and no pics to speak of! That's ok, we'll get some when we have his birthday party!

Scouting for fun?

First off, Happy March everyone! March is good. The year is already into swing a bit, hopefully the rain will be ending, or at least slowing down a bit, the flowers are starting to bloom - which I LOVE, Luke will be 9 on Sunday!!!, and I only have 5 weeks to go!!!

So, I spent my early afternoon at QFC which is an upperscale grocery store up here, sitting at a table selling girl scout cookies. Never done that before. I was there all by myself, because those silly Girl Scout people scheduled us to be there from 1-8pm, and the girls don't even get out of school until 3:30. So, now there are lots of girls there, hopefully, and they will sell more cookies - I sold about 30 boxes in 2 hours. Not too bad, but not great.

So then tonight we have the Blue & Gold Dinner for the Boy Scouts. It has a Hawaiian theme and they want us to dress up in Hawaiian gear, flip flops, the whole deal. A little hard when it's like 40 degrees outside and raining. Luke will be advancing to Bears, so that's exciting, and Chad will be getting a bunch of awards.

As far as Hawaii goes, we decided not to go. Darnit! Too pregnant! Funny thing is though, I had a scheduled C-Section on April 6th, the last day of our Spring Break, and then the Drs. office called the other day to say that the dr. decided to go out of town that week, so they are moving my C-Section to April 9th. How inconvenient for me! And I really don't like that date! Oh well! I tried to talk them out of it, but they were determined.

Get your own countdown at BlingyBlob.com

To Hawaii or not...

Ok, so totally random. First, sorry I haven't blogged in a while, just been busy, crazy, tired, achy, very pregnant. Those are all of my excuses! Only about 6 weeks to go! Yee Haw! Not sure I want him out, but really want my body back!

Anyways, back to the point of this blog. D came home last night and said that he found a deal on the internet - Portland to Maui, only $150 each way per person!!! Only problem is, you have to travel before March 22, about 2 weeks before our C-Section. Well, I asked the doctor if I could go, and he said it would be ok, so we might be heading to Hawaii in the next few weeks. Probably not, but the thought is nice!

Hair today... gone tomorrow!

The side she didn't get.
After

So, while she was supposed to be taking a nap, Haley was really playing "beauty shop" with her own hair. She found some scissors and managed to cut off half of it (and leave it all over our bedroom floor!), before she was done. Needless to say, I was very upset when I saw her (she's never had her hair cut before - other than her bangs by grandma) and I cried. She told me that she would put the hair back on later. Yeah, if only it was that easy. So much for having her pictures taken next week.

How many names does one dog need?

So, after a week of pretty much being nameless, while actually, having a different name every day (Joshua - that was the name the pound gave him; Barley, Murphy, Copper, Colby, Riley... ) we finally settled on (DRUMROLL PLEASE...) Cooper!!! Much to Luke's annoyance (he really didn't like it!), D went to WalMart and had a name tag made, so now the dog is officially named Coooper. YeeHaw! Hopefully the baby won't have to wait a whole week to have a name!

Only 8 more weeks to go! Planned C-Section on Friday, April 6th!!!

Now, back to the dog, if only I could potty-train him. Haley was a lot easier. The dog loves to be outside, will take long walks, smell everything, but hardly ever goes potty outside. Then, once we get back inside, he pees on the floor. It's driving me crazy! So, if anyone has any great suggestions (besides getting rid of him - he really is cute!), please let me know!

OK, so call me crazy...

(I'm sure you already do...), but meet the newest member of our family! Yet to be named, we can't decide, but he is a 2 1/2 month-old Yellow Lab, who already weighs 30 pounds (he's bigger than Haley whose almost 3!) and is going to be huge. Other than that whole potty training thing (finally got Haley potty-trained! WhoHoo!!! Now just gotta figure out how to do it to a dog), he's great! He's sweet and clumsy and totally puppy and the kids love him. He came as a surprise to D, not necessarily one that he was happy about (he wanted a medium-sized dog, not a GIANT!), but we are all loving him and are happy to have him in our home.

Our dog Baloo, is happily living in LA with Uncle Billy and his dog, Kiki. Baloo is getting older, and was starting to have a rough time with the kids, so even though it broke our hearts, we knew that it was for the best, and Kiki loves her new friend, so it's worked out for all.

Almost made it...

Well, with only about 2 1/2 months of pregnancy left, it happened again. I am once again diabetic (gestational). Could be the fault of all the potato chips, coffee ice cream, and m&ms that I've been living on... g, ya think? Oh well. The benefit (if there is one) to being diabetic during pregnancy is that they put me on a diet which really controls what I eat. I will have to eat TONS of protein - and that's about it! - but at least in Haley's case, she was much smaller (7'7" compared to 9'3", 9'4" and 8'8")than the other kids when they were babies, and I only gained about half the weight (20 pounds compared to 40)... so gotta love that part! Hate the needle poking 3 times a day (and no SUGAR!!!), but as long as the baby and I stay healthy, that's all that matters!

YeeHaw!!!

They're finally going back to school!!! After having Monday off, then Tuesday, Wednesday AND Thursday were Snow Days... they go back TODAY!!! They're driving me crazy (only Macy really - she gets bored so easily and needs to be entertained. And for some reason, my suggestions to clean her room just don't cut it!)!!! Even then though, they have late start, which means school doesn't even begin until 11! So after a week of no school, the only day they'll go will only be for 4.5 hours! Crazy! I never had a snow day as a kid. Rumor has it though, that they will have to make up the days in the summer. Then we'll see who's laughing!

Again????

Ok, so I know you are probably getting pretty bugged with all my snow, and for that matter, I am almost done blogging about it, but, I needed to say, IT'S A SNOW DAY AGAIN!!! After all the snow yesterday, it's still not safe to drive all the buses and stuff to get the kids. I had a hard time with D going to work today, but he promised to call when he got there. So, I wanted to post some pictures of a funny thing to me - D shoveling the sidewalk so that he could get his car out!

SNOW DAY Part II

Ok, so after having last Thursday be a Snow Day, and then Friday have 2-hour late start so the buses could get to all the kids, and then holiday yesterday, we got another SNOW DAY today!!! Let me tell you, a bunch of happy kids in our house! The boys went up to Mt. Hood with their scout troop yesterday and spent the whole day sledding, and today, they did pretty much the same thing, in front of our house. Even D was called from work and told he had a SNOW DAY!!! Gotta love it!

SNOW DAY!!!

The creek next to our house.


School just got cancelled! The kids are ecstatic! This is what happens when a group of kids from California have school cancelled due to SNOW!!! They are headed to WalMart right now with D looking for some sleds. Hopefully, there's not a run on sleds. Probably is though. Yesterday, it was a bit cool, with some light snow flurries off and on, but then bright sunshine. We went to Scouts at 3:30, and by the time we got out at 4:30, the sky was black and it was snowing! I got pulled over by a cop on the way home (he didn't give me a ticket thankfully!), but while he was talking to me the kids got out and were playing in the snow on the sidewalk next to the car. Talk about support from them!

We live at the base of a hill, and after about an hour of this, our road got closed right past our house. When D got home, all these cars were parked in front of our house because people had to park their cars and walk home. Crazy!

I did it!

Ok, so it might not seem like much, but I was on my elliptical machine for 2 WHOLE MINUTES this morning!!! And then, totally out of breath. That's what happens when you've tried very hard not to move for the last couple of months. Made me feel good to do it though!

Talk about indulgences...

So no, I have yet to exercise... it's only day 1 after all, but after a long day of first going to the Washington DMV to get my official Washington license (oh my gosh... I have never not had a California license!), I then spent the entire day painting our bedroom. Yikes!!! Not so bad, and I'm getting to be a pretty good painter, but it sure does take me a lot longer than it takes D, and it makes my back hurt! Besides that, I can't move furniture very well, so I painted all but behind the bed, and then made D finish that up when he got home.

So anyways, back to the indulgent part... I just took like an hour and a half bubble bath! I watched a video about this lady I know and she said that she takes a bubble bath EVERY night - it helps her unwind from her day. Totally not my kind of thing, but we moved into this house with this big jetted tub and so far only the kids are getting any use out of it (Haley seriously took like 6 baths today! She would get out, without letting the water out, and then would come back like an hour later and get back in - all while I'm painting, so I could watch her)! So, I decided to try it out. I can totally lie in it, all the way flat, and then have to use my tip toes to prevent myself from going under. Crazy. Never had such a big tub before. So, I just sat there, reading a book, staring at all the Little People lined up on the end that Haley likes to play with. Let me tell you, tomorrow I'm headed to Target to get one of those bath pillow thingys and some good bubble bath, other than the kids' stuff!

Random thoughts...

I have not blogged in a while, and Derrick, who in no way is involved in my blogging, told me that I need to update more often. Where's he? He is more than welcome to update the blog. Anyone is for that matter! (He claims he doesn't know how to blog... but really, it's not hard at all!)

Anyways, done with the venting. The holidays were crazy, as I'm sure they were for everyone else. We stayed home, in our new house, which was really nice. We have two (gas) fireplaces in our house, but no chimneys, so the kids were concerned about how Santa would get in to leave presents. He didn't seem to have any problems! There were lots of presents when we woke up on Christmas morning. As I said, Santa has his ways! We spent Christmas Eve at my sister-in-law's, Heidi's, house, then had everyone over to our house for Christmas brunch, and then on to Bob and Susie's house for Christmas dinner. Let me tell you, a lot of eating was had by all!

We were also very fortunate to have Grandma Helen and Grandpa Fred here with us for the holidays which the kids loved. They really miss all their family from California that they are so used to seeing all the time! Grandma Paula is coming in April, and they are excited for that too!

So then, on to New Years. We had everyone over for games, snacks (!!!) and silly string at midnight. Again, we all had a great time and no resolutions were made!!! Always fun!

So now, it's just on to cleaning up from Christmas and adjusting to a new year. Adjusting to being pregnant - oh my gosh!!! Almost 7 months along, and we're going to have a baby in our house shortly! Crazy. Every time I think of it, it makes me a bit nervous. Right now we are desperately trying to potty train Haley, and she's really not very interested. (We really don't want to have two in diapers, but it looks like it might be that way, at least for a while.) If I leave her naked, she's great at going on the potty; but as soon as I put a diaper, pull-ups, or panties on her, she goes in those. All of the other kids were potty-trained at the YMCA, so we really don't know what we're doing!

Today I was asked to come up with a goal for the coming year. I signed up for this online scrapbooking class, and it's called "A Year in Review" (with Heidi Swapp - I love her! She's one of my favorite scrapbookers!). I have to come up with some sort of a goal (not a resolution), 5 reasons why I want to accomplish this goal, someone to help support me with my goal, and photos of me working on this goal. Really hard. Especially since I am always used to thinking of things for the kids, not myself. Part of me says that my goal should be to get Haley potty-trained. Another part of me says that I need to be better at exercising. Not losing weight - back to that 7 months pregnant thing - just exercising so I'm not always so sore at the end of the day. I think I might try to do that. I HATE to exercise! So today I got Kathy Smith's Pregnancy Workout DVD in the mail from Netflix, and tomorrow we are going to work on organizing the garage, so we are going to get my elliptical machine out of there and into our room. I'm hoping between the DVD and my machine, I might be able to accomplish 20-30 minutes of something every day. Also, because I am pregnant, I am CONSTANTLY eating!!! And really, I mean potato chips and ice cream. Seriously, anyone walks over with food, and I dig in. Doesn't really matter what it is, but the worse it is for me, the better!!! So again, not to lose weight (I haven't gained that much - not sure why!), but to try and balance out all the eating!!! And try not to have such a sore back at the end of the day. So, wish me luck!

That's about it for my random thoughts today. Will try and post some pics from the holidays, and be better about blogging more consistently.