12 years of bliss.

On June 29th Brian and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary! It was on a Sunday so the day before we went out for frozen yogurt and had an hour to chat without the kids. It was nice. That was pretty much all we did, but it was good enough. We're pretty darn happy together! I feel so blessed every day to have Brian as my husband and the father to our kids.

My favorite week of the year.

 The kids and I on Mothers Day!

My birthday and Mother's day are just a week apart so May is a pretty good month for me! On Sunday the kids and dad brought me breakfast in bed and Miles read to me from one of his favorite poem books "The Tighty Whitey Spider" while I dined. 

 My attempt at getting a picture of the breakfast delivery. Wes was mad that it wasn't for him so he joined me in bed.

 

 This was what I wanted for Mothers day - flowers in my flower boxes! They make me smile every day when I look out my window or go outside.

 Next up was my birthday! When we moved in to this house the main living room, the hall and the bathroom were painted with a paint that had sand mixed in with the paint for texture. Not sure who would actually want that done or why, but it was. And it was done poorly so there were many patches of thick sand and some areas that were more smooth. It would literally draw blood if you scraped your arm along the wall, it snagged my curtains and washing the walls was a huge pain! So for my birthday Brian bought a power sander and spent Friday night and about 6 hours on Saturday sanding down all the sandpaper walls. Friday night he even stepped on a big nail but didn't let that stop him from finishing on Saturday. Smooth walls for my birthday - yes!!!

 Because it was a Saturday the kids played outside a lot and Nora pulled a wagon around the block selling her balloon animals (it was also the garage sale weekend for our community).

 Later that day Brian went to help some friends with a move and I painted the living room Wickham gray by Benjamin Moore - with some helpers.

 After helping with the move Brian brought home some KFC and an ice cream cake for dinner. Yum!

 Such a yummy cake!

 It was a busy but great day! Unfortunately the next day Brian and I decided we didn't love the paint color I had chosen. I was trying to get a light gray but the one I chose was blue based so it ended up looking light blue. Darn it! When Monday morning rolled around Wesley and I went to the store and bought three sample colors and once I chose the one I wanted (the bottom one) we went and bought some more paint and I spent most of Monday repainting! But I had to get it done because I hate having my house torn apart (and we were having people over for dinner that night!)

Thankfully I really love the second color - Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore. Wesley was a cute helper, he loves to paint and he really is quite helpful. What a great few weeks for me!

Once again...

We told the kids over winter break that hopefully they'll have a new sibling this summer! I've been dragging my feet on making the official "announcement" that I am pregnant again. I finally posted it on facebook last week because the belly is getting hard to suck in (I sure pop out faster with each pregnancy!) and facebook is the easiest way to get the news out and stop all the questioning looks at church! :) I'm 16 weeks now and feeling much better in the 2nd trimester. I had an ultrasound at 11 weeks and found out I have another subchorionic hematoma (which is a tear between the placenta and uterine wall) like I did last winter, which led to a miscarriage at 18 weeks in February. So... I've been a bit anxious. It's a smaller one and I've had no bleeding so I am trying to not worry too much. But last time they told me I had "absolutely nothing to worry about" so it's hard to feel reassured. But there's nothing I can do about it, so I anxiously wait for each appointment so I can hear that precious little heartbeat. I think once I surpass 18 weeks I will be less worried, and after the ultrasound at 20 weeks when they can check the hematoma I will know if it's gone. Most subchorionic hematoma's resolve by 20 weeks, but sometimes they get bigger. The smaller the hematoma the less of a risk there is of miscarriage. So.... I am doing my best to not let it consume my thoughts and stress out about it, which isn't easy! And today I felt baby moving for the first time so that is a great feeling.

Anyway, we are so very excited to bring another baby into our family. It has been too long since I've had a tiny baby to hold and snuggle and kiss and smell! There is nothing better than a new baby. And we are going to find out the gender in February! With our last three babies we've waited until birth to know what we were having. And I truly loved that, but since we have an actual room to get ready just for the baby (so fun!), and with it maybe being the last one we are going to find out this time....which will be so fun! Hooray for babies!

Home sick

I stayed home from church with a sick Wesley today. Luckily it's a cold and not puking since he's still a poor aim when it comes to puking. He has a fever, nasty cough, watery eyes and rosy cheeks. I also kept Miles home for 2 reasons: I didn't dare ask anyone else to keep an eye on him during Sacrament meeting and I needed him home to play with Wesley, because even though he is sick he still wants to play Legos and Rescue Bots. It was a quiet morning for me so I got my sewing area cleaned so I can go ahead and mess it up again. Yay!

I love this spot. I picked up this lovely piece on the curb in Michigan. Score! Yes, it's missing a few handles - but no biggie, I can still get them open. I also love my ancient sewing machine. My dad bought it for my mom as a wedding present and it still works like a charm. My mom has sewn a great many things on this machine; from my baby clothes to prom dresses (and plenty of lovely 80's wear in between) to Sophie's blessing dress (which was made from the train of my wedding dress). I'm not the seamstress my mom is, mostly sticking to blankets, skirts and other simple projects - but many doll clothes have been churned out of this spot in the past few years, maybe one day I will branch out and attempt bigger and more complicated things...as long as my sewing machine holds up :)

32

I turned 32 this month and it was fabulous. I had a pretty regular day at home and later that night a good friend watched our kids while Brian and I went out to dinner and then to some stores to just look around. We picked out a mirror for the house (my gift!) and picked up a few odds and ends at the hardware store and a few more odds and ends at the thrift store. It was great to just walk around together and not be chasing or hauling the kids around. On Sunday we had some friends over for cake and ice cream and I made two cakes, a white strawberry coconut and a chocolate. Sadly, I barely got a taste of the chocolate one because I was so full of the strawberry one. :) I pinned this list on pinterest a while ago called "30 things my kids should know about me", and even though I always feel weird posting things just about myself I think it is a fun list and I'm sure when my kids are grown up they will enjoy reading some of these things. Obviously tackling all 30 in one post would be ridiculous, so I chose 5 of them to write down this year. Happy 32 to me!

1. What are 10 things that make you happy right now:
Spending time with my husband and kids, watching my kids make good choices, having a clean house (or... mostly clean), running in the mornings, being outside, listening to the kids playing together, having conversations with Wesley, eating in the backyard, planning/decorating/fixing up our home and chocolate!

2. List your 5 greatest accomplishments:
1-When Brian finally asked me to marry him
2- Sophie
3- Nora
4- Miles
5- Wesley

3. What's your favorite quality in your spouse:
This is a hard one because he has so many amazing qualities; funny, kind, helpful, unselfish, a great father, patient, encouraging, dedicated, hard worker, honest, genuine, handsome, smart.... I feel like I hit the jackpot when I married Brian. He really is the most amazing man I know, which is why when I first met him at age thirteen I said to myself "I'm going to marry that boy!" But if I had to choose one favorite quality it would have to be his dedication to the gospel that I admire the most. Because I know without that, he wouldn't have a lot of the other qualities that I also admire.

4. List 5 things you would tell your 16 year old self if you could:
1- Don't worry too much, you'll marry Brian eventually!
2- Spend more time with your dad and take more pictures with him
3- Help your mom more
4- Be better at saving your money
5- Start thinking about what you want to do after graduation

5. List 10 random facts about yourself:
1- I am not an adventurous eater. Not exactly picky, but I'm not good at trying different cultures cuisines (well, besides Italian and Mexican). Brian will try anything so he finds this hilarious, especially if we eat with people who have made something for us that he knows I don't want to try!
2- I am an animal lover. I grew up having dogs, cats, hamsters, guineau pigs and gerbils (not all at the same time) No surprise that we now have a dog (and I'm his favorite).
3- I love being pregnant and giving birth. Probably 10 seconds after Wesley was born I said, "I want to do that again!" Looking back I'm sad I didn't try to deliver Nora naturally because, for me, the boys' natural births have been two of the most amazing experiences of my life. Of course, both of the girl's births were equally amazing in regards to the excitement of meeting a sweet new baby, but I can't deny that I loved the two natural birth experiences more than the c-section and epidural births.
4- Unless I'm pregnant I'm always trying to lose weight, lame but true. (Which is probably one reason why I love being pregnant! Haha!)
5- I love watching action movies.  Brian doesn't mind this at all :)
6- I love to swing. When I take the kids to the park I love taking a turn on the swing, if it's not busy. (I'd hate to plow a kid over who walks in front of me! Embarrassing!)
7- I am a "yes" mom. If my kids ask to do something and it fits my requirements (it's not dangerous, doesn't interfere with bedtime and they must play with it/do it longer than it takes to clean it up) -  I usually say yes. Can we bring abandoned duck eggs home from the park to see if they'll hatch? Can we bring a turtle home from the lake? Can we sleep together in the closet? Can we put make-up on to look like zombies? Can we turn the sandbox in to a mud pit? Can we bike to the park?  Can we paint? Build a fort? Bake bread? Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes. This probably explains why when I do say no they often find it hard to accept! 
8- I love any dessert that has peanut butter in it. Mmmmm.
9- I make my bed every single day. Occasionally on Sundays I won't because the mornings are hectic getting the kids ready by myself, and on the perfect Sunday afternoon I get to crawl back in bed after church and read while the kids watch Veggie Tales. That is blissful.
10- I can't go to bed unless the kitchen is clean. Everything else can wait, but if I wake up to a dirty kitchen it just starts my day off on the wrong foot.


6. Name a pet peeve you have: 

1- I think the phrase "OCD" is way overused. If someone tells me they are OCD about having their house clean, my first thought is that we probably can't be friends because then I'd have to make sure my house is super duper clean before they come over or they'll think I'm a slob. :)

Me on my 32nd birthday. Life is good.

Mothers Day

Mothers Day is the best! This year the girls set their alarm for 6am so they could make me breakfast in bed.....unfortunately this made them super tired the rest of the day! But it doesn't get much better for me than having my sweet kids bring me breakfast in bed with handmade cards and a cute song to go along with it (Mother Dear, we love you so....)

Good morning mom! Wesley was asleep and we didn't dare wake him and unleash the beast.

Both Nora and I still look a bit sleepy... and Miles gives great hugs!

 Miles colored a "wordle' that the kids made with Brian that had all the words the kids came up with to describe me (energetic, joyful, exquisite, cuddly, faithful, crafty and tick checker to name a few) It was very cute.

Here are the kids and I with one of the hanging baskets they got me.

Nora planned a game for us all to play called "mother dare", you had to pull a piece of streamer down and it had a dare on it (like sing a song, pull a funny face, etc) then you had to pop a balloon to see who had to do the dare (can you tell I'm the primary chorister... pretty sure this had something to do with Nora creating this game!)

Cute Batman Wesley. This was Sunday afternoon but Wesley insists on wearing his Batman jammies every day/all day. Getting him to change for church was tricky (and may have involved a sucker).

Daddy and Nora singing a song for their "dare" :)

Nora taking a turn

Silly Sophie doing a dance (and song?) for hers. She's quite the comedian lately.

I am often overwhelmed at how blessed I am to have these four amazing children to mother. Each one of them is so incredible in their own way. I love watching them learn and grow and helping them become the little people they are meant to become. Motherhood is definitely hard and I am learning and growing along with them. But even in the hardest or most frustrating moments I wouldn't trade what I am doing right now for anything. I love taking care of our home, planning our meals, doing the laundry, helping with homework, packing lunches, reading stories, playing games, going on walks to the park, drying tears, kissing owies, giving baths, fixing hair, brushing teeth, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, tickling bellies, getting hugs and kisses and everything else I get to do every day. I dread them growing up and leaving me and I dread not having little ones in the house. I am sure when the time comes I'll be ready (maybe?), but I know that these are the times I'll look back on and remember as the best of my life. So grateful I'm a mother.

There are lots of good people in the world...

So it's really too bad one of them did not find my phone yesterday! Walking to pick Sophie up from school yesterday I lost my phone between our house and a nearby stoplight - only like two blocks of sidewalk away - I thought I was going to be late picking Sophie up so I figured I'd have the kids help me look for it on the way back, I was gone only like 15 minutes. But the phone was gone. We live in a pretty blocked off neighborhood but there is an apartment complex at the end of our road that sends some pretty shady characters walking by our house every day. I may be wrong but I am pretty sure it was one of them that picked up my phone. So we kept calling my phone from Brian's and eventually someone texted back from my phone saying, "What's up?" So we texted them and said, "Hey, we lost this phone today could you tell us where you are so we can come pick it up?" But we got no answer. Then we texted and offered 20 bucks for its return and they said they'd bring it by and we wouldn't have to pay them. But no one brought it back. Brian checked my minutes and texts on-line and found two numbers the person called from my phone and he called them and they didn't answer. So we called and had the phone cancelled and now I'm phone-less. Boo. Mostly because I just got this phone a few months ago and will have to pay for a new one. At least it wasn't my wallet!