The Hulbert Family

Seize the day

2012-01-25T15:40:00.001-08:00

After reading an article my friend Ashley posted, I felt inspired to ignore my laundry and taxes and dishwasher and make cookies with Sam this afternoon. Sweet time together.:)

Valentines

2012-01-21T20:17:00.001-08:00

So... I'm crazy. I decided to take all four kids to JoAnn's with me today. I know, who would do that to themselves? But I really really really wanted to finish off the easter outfits so I could clean up the sewing mess and I needed double sided fusible interfacing so I could make booties for Ruby... you understand the urgency. And I had a whole day before me yawning ahead by myself with four kids... we had to do something.

So in exchange for good behavior, I bribed them with a visit to target's dollar bins (conveniently located next door). I also got an awesome clearance shirt that I embellished for Pearl's skirt, good day:) As we were perusing the dollar bins, I noticed both boy and girl flavors of valentines pencils. And I thought, I can do something with those... it's better for me not to have candy around this year.

So, at home, I hop on the internet, and lo and behold:

Really, someone was brilliant. But I don't have the energy or creativity to put these together, I was hoping for some nice little free printable, no such luck. But that got me thinking.... hey, I know some superheroes!!!!

A quick trip to the halloween photos (I have GOT to get my milelage out of those awesome costumes!!!) and I have my own homemade superheroes. My master plan is to poke holes and put the pencils in over the swords... not quite as cute as the lollipop from last year but pretty easy. The images have already been sent to Costco for printing.

I really wanted to do this picture for Sam:
But he really wanted this one, so I said ok, even though I think his pencil sword will cover up his face. Oh well.
I apparently really love being prepared for holidays. I wish I was as motivated to work ahead on something useful, like tax season:)

PS the kids really were good in JoAnns. Then we made it thorough Target AND Chipotle where I also had to nurse the baby. On the way out from Chipotle, a guy saw me from his car in the parking lot and commented on my bravery.... you have no idea... the courage I summon to take all four ANYWHERE!!! At least they are amazingly good kids!

PPS Annie - I have a couple of shots of Jack and some extra pencils if you want this for your valentine too... let me know and I'll doctor up the pics and send em over:)

Friday night party

2012-01-21T00:56:00.001-08:00

Guess what I did tonight? Easter outfits for the kids, of course! Jared is still gone and I was feeling bored of normal stuff, you know, laundry, dishes... So I did this. Tonight I learned about shirring, but in order to do it I had to take my sewing machine apart 3 times. Love how everything turned out, now I just need a sweater for Pearl:)

Brilliant. Really.

2012-01-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

We were reading the book "too many toys" and when we got to this page, Max busted out with LETTER RECOGNITION of symbolic letters AND phonics. I think he's brilliant. I had to run and get the camera.

Now if he only put his brain power into potty training....

Hex Bugs

2012-01-12T13:21:00.001-08:00

Max has a love hate relationship with the hex bugs.

Sammy got a really cool glow in the dark set for Christmas from Max, and Santa was kind enough to put a few bugs in Max's stocking so he could play with his brother. Max thought they were great until it turned on (they kind of vibrate on their rubber legs to move around pretty quickly and bump into things). He dropped it and ran away crying.

Yesterday, he played hex bugs with Danny. Two of the three (there were 5, who knows where the other ones went) were out of batteries, so we went to target to get batteries for the hex bugs. Let me tell you, there was much conversaion about "baddedies" for the hex bugs, and when I let him get a new multi pack to share with Pearl and Sam (Pearl was a little sad she didn't get any, go figure, we found her a purple one), he was so excited. So excited that when he dragged all 5 into the hot dog place for lunch, and I told him we would open them at home, he bolted his hot dog in 3 bites (I kid you not, I was very afraid of choking) and told me he was ready to go (I wasn't, but that's another story...). We got home, he slept with his red hex bug (still in it's tube), and all the kiddos got to play for a half an hour or so when he got up before we took off for achievement days/taekwondo/kickboxing.

So, this morning, thinking he was healed of his bug scare (I mean, he was fairly obsessed with them yesterday) I let him play hex bugs alone upstairs. First we spent quite some time looking for the red hex bug (his new one) to no avail. So, we replaced the dead batteries, and I went off to do dishes or whatever it is I do. All the sudden, I hear a scream and some hysterical crying. I race upstairs to see Max clinging to the banister in an attempt to not be on the floor with the escaped hex bug. Hilarious.

This brings us to the part of the day where I'm a bad mom. I got him down for a nap, then went for a walk with Ruby to give him some quiet time to fall asleep. We checked on grandma, and when we got back, I hear Max crying, which is quite unusual. That kid always goes down fine for naps. I walk in and he's standing in the corner of his room clutching his shoes and socks and shaking and crying. I look on his bed, and see the culprit... he found his red bug. It was there, buzzing away on his pillow. I turned it off and removed the culprit, but it took him some time to stop shaking and calm down.

I don't think he gets any alone time with hex bugs anymore. We need big brother (who is NOT afraid of the bugs) to play with them:)

So sore.

2012-01-08T20:10:00.001-08:00

I am so sore. And we had a level one class on Saturday. I'd better look SO GOOD by the end of this year...

Katie's Birthday

2012-01-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

Today is Katie's birthday. I can't believe she's 3! Mara had a small cousin party (the best... who needs friends when you have so many cousins?) at the park. It was sunny but BLUSTERY (as you can see by the windblown hair)! The kids all had fun, I was super proud of the present I made for Katie, matching skirts for her and her dolly, which she adores. Looks like I still need to make dolly a shirt:). She also asked for legwarmers, which she always sees Ruby wear. This was a post party picture Mara texted to me:

Katie is such a sweetie. Some of the things I love about her, are how much she loves babies (she ALWAYS wants to hold Ruby!) and how much fun she and Max have together. She's pretty sure that I'll show up whenever they go to Sam's Club (she and Max sit in the cart together and I feed them apple slices to keep them happy) and she LOVES to give goodbye hugs and kisses. She has the most beautiful hair. For the first two months of Ruby's life, she called her "Max and Ruby." "Amy, where's Max and Ruby?" I love kiddos this age, they are so much fun.

Plus, I think she and Ruby are going to look a lot alike... which makes her the most adorable person ever, of course:)

Happy Birthday, Kate-mate!!!!

Surgery

2012-01-05T11:55:00.001-08:00

Jared's headed into surgery in a bit here. Here's the before picture of his lump, as well as his in hospital entertainment:)

Kickboxing

2012-01-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

I started a kickboxing class today. Well... it's only partially kickboxing. It's more like whatever evil conditioning exercises Master Yi can come up with fired as quickly as possible over a 45 minute period. I really really really almost puked. As in laid outside on the very cold asphalt for 10 minutes after class so it would go away. It reminds me of the first day of taekwondo a year ago when Jared puked. That was pushing it for him, this is pushing it for me. Actually, I honestly belive that it's pushing it for any rational human being, but Master Yi assures me that he will push us harder. Goodie. It's been only an hour or two since class ended and I am already in pain when I walk or pick anything up. Tomorrow will be fun!!!!

I am going to be so awesomely in shape by the time I make it down to my size 4. And I'm already fantasizing about the very large and expensive shopping spree I will go on to buy fabulous clothes that all look fabulous on me. It's going to be awesome. And so worth it.

Plus my gloves are totallly cool. And pink. And official. Except for the flower I drew on them:)

Progress Report

2012-01-04T16:16:00.001-08:00

It's time. Time for new year's resolutions. No pressure on you, really, but even though it's kind of cliche I think it's a good idea. First, a progress update on last year...

1. I will cook a healthy dinner for my family at least 3 (I was going to put 4, but let's be real here) nights a week even when Jared is out of town. Progress: goal partially met. Continue. (this is how I word my speech reports... weird) I think I did 3 nights. I say this becuase I had a baby and I really don't remember... but it's still a good goal.

2. Take Taekwondo with the kids and finish the year with a green belt. (that's two belts up... hopefully I can do that!) Progress: Goal MET!!! WOOO HOOO!!!

3. Keep my buisness up, which I love! Progress: goal met:) Wasn't that hard, I love it!

4. Go out on a date (a real one with a babysitter and lipstick) at least once a month (I was going to put week, but let's be reasonable, chances are he'll be gone 2 weekends a month) with my husband. I kind of like him. Progress: Goal not met; continue. Yeah. I'm pretty sure we went out like 6 times this year. That's 50% accuracy:)

5. Get a good picture of each of my children at least once a month. Progress: Maybe? I'll have to look back. I know I got one of Max and Ruby every month, once again, 50% accuracy, eh?

6. Help Pearl sew 2 american girl doll outfits. (and if I don't make it, I'll have to buy four. That's the deal... Pearl probably prefers that I fail on this one... but it would be better for her and for me if we sewed together) Progress: Goal exceeded. So much so, that I ended up "needing" the serger that my super awesome mother in law bought me for christmas. And I've started making Ruby's clothes. I think a monster has been created:)

Ok, new goals:

1. Read my scriptures every day. Yes, it's time to add that one to the list again.

2. Make it to red belt by the end of this year:) This one might be a stretch... I'll have to work really hard.

3. Make it to my lifetime weight watchers goal so I don't have to pay anymore. That's 25 pounds from now, no big deal, right?

4. Go out with Jared once a month. I think that would be an appropriate goal to continue. This time, I'm going to schedule a babysitter TONIGHT for a once a month saturday job.

Once again, good luck to me and good luck to you:)

Ruby is 3 months

2011-12-31T21:39:00.000-08:00

I love this girl. She is so so so good. She is still a good sleeper (though she's gotten up one the past two nights, hopefully it's just a growth spurt) and she hardly ever gets upset at me. The kids still love her, and she gives her biggest smiles to them. Really, most of the time I think they must be annoying her, but she sure loves them! Her newest skills are increased head lifting ability and she's really been working on getting that fist in her mouth. She's still looking at those toys, and every once in a while she'll bat at them and something cool will happen. She is such a verbal baby, and will coo and smile at anyone who will pay attention to her. She's also working on growing some hair, and (holding breath) it's looking a lot redder than expected. Only time will tell... Ok, four kids is a lot, I'll be the first to admit it, but I sure am glad we have her. Couldn't imagine our family without our Ruby Lu:)

PS I just took her pictures in whatever random outfit she happened to be wearing that day... my mom happened to see her that same day and said "nobody's going to lose this baby in the mall..." Apparently it was a bit bright. But I LOVE her hot pink flame babylegs:)

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

We live in California. Right? So most of our Christmas Eve was spent outside in beautiful weather. Instead of wrestling with a flash for the indoor festivities (which involved eating copious amounts of pizza and the crazy crazy CRAZINESS of the cousin present exchanges) I decided to document Christmas Eve on the trampoline. My kids are very into zombies lately, thanks to Zombie Farm and Plants Vs Zombies, so even though the other kiddos have better parents that don't allow them to play those games, my kids could model zombies perfectly. In an attempt to actually get some pictures of them, I got on the trampoline and told them to pretend to be zombies. Then I would jump right next to them and shout "wake up zombies!!!!" I know. Very Christmasish.

But I kind of love the pictures:)

How very very blessed we are to live so close to so many cousins. Even though we have some in Bakersfield and some in Ukiah (not for long!), we are able to get together often enough that the kids LOVE each other and play so well together. Really, there is nothing better. Merry Christmas!

Family Pics

2011-12-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Lora! It's hard to get all four kids and one silly husband to smile:) I kind of love them all, (the kids, that is) even though there are so many of them. It's weird to look at pictures and see how big we have become!

Rocketship.

2011-12-21T06:05:00.001-08:00

I'm so behind. I've been meaning to do this post forever...

Last month I spent $95 on just diapers and wipes. That makes for a lot of diaper boxes. Apparently, it was worth the money, because not only do I REFUSE to do cloth diapers, I don't care how many landfills I'm filling, but just look at what can be done with the boxes...

I took these pictures just as I was leaving for a rare night out to the movies with the girls. All I know is that it had to be dark so they could use their headlamps (it is dark in space, don't you know?) and that there were a lot of commands coming from Mission Control (Jared and Ruby) on the couch. These kiddos LOVE to play rocketship with their daddy, it makes me so happy to watch!

And again.

2011-12-12T17:58:00.001-08:00

How am I not supposed to laugh?

Sam forgot to put his underwear on before putting on his pajamas. This is how the conversation went.

"Sam, how did you forget your underwear. That's just not possible"

(eyes wide and very serious) "Yes it is. It just happened!"

"I think your brain is someplace else."

"No it's not. My brain is in my head. It can't go someplace else. It can't fly away like a bird."

Oh, sammy sammy...

Sam strikes again.

2011-12-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Jared - "When's the last time I wanted your grubby hands in the way when I was reading a book?"

Sam - "I don't know... HEY! There was never even a FIRST time!"

Exactly Sam. That's the point... how smart you are:)

As I was in the kitchen cleaning up (the scraps of the cookies on the cookie sheet:) he emerges from the bathroom. "Mom, do we keep all the doors and windows closed at night?"

Yes, Sam

"Good, then the vampire bats won't get in."

Oh, now I'm relieved, we'll be saved from the vampire bats:)

Me "I hate tomato worms!!!! They're the grossest things ever!!!"

Sam "But they're not in my 100 grossest things book. Poop is, though."

Sam and Pearl were playing outside. I went to leave and asked them what they were doing.

Pearl "we're having a funeral for a lizzard."

Sam (eyes wide) "yeah, mom, it's DEAD!!!!"

Good good. I'm glad we're not having a funeral for a live lizzard...

This was just today folks. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a hard time EVER taking him seriously:)

My Favorite.

2011-12-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

She has slept from 8:00 at night to a little after 7 am for two nights in a row. Not only that, I put her in her crib STILL AWAKE and walk away...

This makes her my favorite infant I've ever had.

Plus she looks pretty adorable in her uniform of patterned onesies and baby legs. Poor kid, she never gets to get dressed:)

She's lost her crooked smile. She has a real one now. Maybe some neurons made a connection. Though I'm happy her brain is working better, I'll miss her lopsided smiles.

She's starting to look at her toys now. She just knows they're cool. She hasn't figured out what to do with them yet, but she's studying it out.

She'll coo at just about anyone right after a feeding. What a happy happy girl!

Santa Claus 2

2011-12-04T21:11:00.001-08:00

Here are the rest of the kiddos with Santa... Pearl asked for Spy Gear... Sam asked for a pogo stick and a hex bug crab... Max asked for a big trampoline... and Ruby just wondered what was going on:)

Santa

2011-12-03T22:08:00.001-08:00

Just a teaser. But really. I think he's the cutest thing in the whole wide world. Except for maybe Ruby. Ok, and Sam and Pearl:)

Oh Sam...

2011-12-01T12:56:00.001-08:00

Sammy and I had a dentist appointment today, so I picked him up early and we had a lunch date. I thought if I really took the time to listen, I might have a clue as to what is going on in that brain of his. I listened, and this us what I got...

"look, mom, angry eyebrows!" (holding the crust of his french bread in a v shape above his eyes.)

"mom, did you know you can eat the soft inside parts of the bread without your teeth? Well, you need your teeth to bite it off, but that's it!"

Sam, can I have a bite of your cookie? (the huge one at la bou that's bigger than his head). "No."

What's going on in there? Not much.

Weight Watchers

2011-11-30T06:34:00.000-08:00

So, Jared and I started Weight Watchers together about 6 weeks ago. Together, we have 100 pounds to lose (actually, split pretty evenly too. Ok, I have five more pounds to lose than him...) As of this week we've lost 24 pounds together. (and yes, Jared has lost more than me, but he's a man, so I'm not taking it personally). Quite an achievement. He can wear a suit he hasn't worn in a while, and I noticed last night at taekwondo that he's looking a lot better in his uniform, namely the shirt that used to accentuate his belly is now baggy there. Nice job, honey! Looking good!!!

Ruby's 2 month pictures

2011-11-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

Here she is, two months old. I really can't believe it. She continues to be a sweet sweet baby. At her 2 month checkup yesterday, she was exactly 10 pounds. This makes her 25% for weight, 25% for height, and 35% for head circumference, which is a first for us. They boys have always had little heads. Which means she has to work harder at tummy time to get that huge noggin up:)

It was our last visit to this pediatrician, who has seen the kids since Pearl's first newborn visit. She will be sorely missed. Especially when she looked at the growth rate and mentioned that Ruby's rate of growth has slowed considerably, then in the next breath said that it was probably genetics working on her. How nice is it to have a pediatrician who knows without looking it up that all my other kiddos were 5-15% kids? Sigh.

Anyways, she's a perfect angel, one of her favorite things to do is lay on the bed and watch me fold laundry, which is win-win, because I can get something done:) She's spendidly arrayed in pinks and purples daily, but no pants, since I have discovered that it is SO MUCH EASIER to change diapers when they wear babylegs instead of pants.

She smiles and coos quite a bit, she's really got a nice sound repitoire, I would know:)

Still so so much work to lift that head....
And now she's tired:)

Sundays

2011-11-27T16:37:00.001-08:00

This is what I found when I came home from choir. I think the fact that the boys still have their matching ties on is especially precious:)

Twins

2011-11-26T21:37:00.001-08:00

For years, one of the joys of my life has been dressing Sam and Max in matching outfits. Every Sunday for church, probably since Max was 6 months old, they've been matching, or at least coordinating for church. In fact, their current outfits of khakis, long sleeved dress shirts, and matching ties is SO ADORABLE and I just haven't gotten around to taking a picture of it. But, I digress. I also love to put them in matching jammies. Such as seen in this fuzzy picture I snapped in the the dark in our hotel room without a flash (thus the fuzzy, I had to hold the camera still for like 2 whole seconds WHILE pulling the curtians back a bit... just enough to get the shot without waking them up...)

Anyways, one of the first things that Pearl asked me about when we found out we were having a girl, was could they wear matching outfits. Not so easy to do when there is a nine year age difference, as opposed to a three year one. But, I managed to find one (actually two) at Osh Kosh. Pearl is wearing the size below the largest available, and Ruby is wearing the size above the smallest available. And, of course, they were on clearance. Thank heavens for the internet! Ruby's been getting pudgy so I thought it was time to try the 3-6 month clothes... and this was the first outfit we had to try:)

These girls are so pretty they make my heart hurt.
And we see the full effect with the matching leggings:)
I think they love each other. Which is good. They'll be sharing a room for a while.
Love my girls! (so so fun that I can say "girls" instead of "girl" now!)

PS Don't tell Pearl but I did find them a pair of matching jammies for christmas!!!! She'll be so excited!!!!

The Beach

2011-11-23T06:45:00.001-08:00

We kind of have a tradition of taking the kids on a mini vacation during thanksgiving week. We like to go Monday/Tuesday while most people are still working. I approached Jared with this last week, and my thought was, "let's take the kids to the beach." (I love the beach. I'm pretty sure it's not a vacation if there is no beach involved.) Jared's idea was "let's take the kids to the mountains." We live in California, so we decided to do both, as well as visit my sister in Ukiah. All those goals in a short time made for a lot of time in the car...

So, since Jared insisted that we NOT go straight to Ukiah and head to her local beach, but first go south to San Francisco so we could then drive back up the coast (I know, I thought it was crazy, but, whatever) we left the house at 8:30 in the morning and didn't get to the beach until 3:00. We made a LOT of stops, and had to nurse the baby almost every time. The most hilarious one was the first one we made... we hadn't had breakfast yet, so we stopped for 45 minutes to eat and feed the baby before we even got on the freeway. Then, as we were getting on the freeway, we realized we only had about 1/3 of a tank of gas, so we stopped AGAIN 45 mintues later. Then, driving through San Francisco, we found the most country like place (a huge green belt with a playground) to stop. Apparently we're not city folk.

Anyways, we finally made it to the beach, and it was beautiful. Worth the drive.

Isn't she pretty? She's at a kind of (ok, REALLY) annoying age, but when I look at her I still think she's just a pretty girl.

And the boys... yup, they were once again not allowed to wear pants at the beach. It's just safer that way.
Sam and his sand angel.

This was Ruby's first beach trip. She spent the first half doing her favorite activity...
then the rest of the time wondering why there was so much wind.
The saturday before we were to leave, I asked Jared if we were really going to the beach, because I said if we were that I was going to buy a tripod at target. He looked at me for a minute, sighed, then admitted that he'd had one in the trunk of his car for a month to give me for christmas. So, we brought it, and I was able to use my remote to get us some family pictures on the beach:)
Us. On a side note, I decided that this is going to be my weight watchers before picture. I've been going for a little over a month now (lost 8 pounds, wahooo!) and still haven't taken a picture. This one is good... you can see my body but I don't look all miserable to be fat. We'll check in again in another 45 pounds or so...
The beach was fun. More about our trip to the mountains later:)

Baby Quilt

2011-11-10T21:57:00.000-08:00

This is my friend Luan. She is amazing, a true artist. I think if you asked her, she would say quilting is a hobby. But I kind of think it's a necessity for her. My first Luan quilt was purchased by my mother in law, Sherry, who just happens to be a very close friend of Luan's. It's currently on my bed, it's moved around over the past ten years, but every once in a while I get sick of my duvet cover and it gets moved from the living room couch back to my bed. I love it.

When Max was born, she gifted me a quilt for him. One of these days, I'll have to take pictures of his quilt too, because I absolutely love it. You see, Luan is a true artist, with the eye and the ability to take these tiny scraps of fabric, (even ones that would be ugly on their own) that I would probably throw away and make a masterpiece. So, when it was time for the big kids to get new bedding, I decided I'd rather spend the money on something so genuine than on another quilt from pottery barn kids that they would grow out of, so I bought one for Pearl and one for Sam. It's been about 6 months since I purchased them, and every time I walk by I have to look at them again, they are that beautiful. She now sells them on Etsy, you can see her shop here.

So, needless to say, I was thrilled when she said I could come pick out a quilt for Ruby. I know how much time goes into these quilts, it's an amazing gift.

The deal is, Luan gets to hold the baby while I pick out the quilt. Both parties involved (meaning Ruby and Luan) were quite happy about it.

Here is the one I picked. Not like I could have gone wrong, but Pearl's quilt is really bright with a lot of orange overtones, so I wanted something that would coordinate. This one happens to have been a joint effort between my friend Darlene, who made the squares in the middle then donated them to Luan. Then, Luan put it all together and added the boarders. So so crazy cute!
This pattern is called a Dresden Plate. I have always loved them, all flowery looking, and they're mainly the reason I picked this quilt. The yellow middles make my happy. I still don't see how she can take such a hodgepodge of colors and patterns and make them into such a cohesive picture! Then, she finishes it all off by hand quilting every seam. Gorgeous.
Max decided that the stripey pattern on the boarder was a road.
See, he even told me:)

It's nice and big, so it ends up being a fabulous place to chill...

and to practice lifting your head,
or NOT lifting your head as the case may be...
and to spend quality time with your big brother.
Or, to get poked, if your big brother happens to be Max:)
I love it so much, thank you thank you thank you Luan!

Go Pearl!!!!

2011-11-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

Pearl tested for her green belt this weekend. Last test, (I actually think I have to go back and blog about that still) she had a hard time... she got an incomplete for not being able to do her forms in all different directions, and it took her like 20 tries to break the board. She got kudos for perserverence, and she was able to finish her testing requirements during the next class, but it was a harrowing experience for her little soul.

Not so this time. She did an awesome job on her form, got complimented on her much improved balance, totally rocked the oral exam (Master Yi said she got 1000%:), and got an award for most improved in taekwondo.

And she broke her board in one try. I showed my mom the video. She said (with surprise) "she even looks graceful." Yes, that is what 18 months of taekwondo will get you:)

So proud of you Pearl!

Blessing.

2011-11-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

We decided to have Ruby's blessing during sacrament meeting the same day the children had their primary program. Pearl was asked to play "I am a Child of God" for the children to sing, so I told my parents if they came to the primary program I wouldn't invite them to the recital. Lucky them. (She did absolutely amazingly fabulous, by the way, she even followed the conductor and everything, I was so proud of her!). Anyways, it was a busy morning, we have early church and live about half an hour away from the building. I got up and got myself ready, got the boys ready, and at the last minute, got the baby dressed and sat down to feed her right before we left.

See? What a pretty dress! It's the same one that Pearl and most of the Weir girl cousins were blessed in... it's beautiful. She should have been honored to wear it.
She wasn't. Five minutes after I got it on her, she had her 2nd blowout in her entire life. Seriously. You wait until today? We had 10 minutes before time to leave, so I quickly slipped the burp cloth underneath her so she didn't get me, finished feeding, snapped a few pictures (yes, these were post-poop) and got her in one of her regular church dresses.
So, this is what she got blessed in. She's still adorable, and I daresay, much much cozier. Do I think she did it on purpose?
Yes. That is one smug little smile:)

How I know...

2011-11-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

I have a crooked smile. In fact, I think my whole face is crooked.

How do I know that Ruby is my daughter? Take a look. Totally my kid.

'Cept I think she's cuter than I am:)

Family

2011-10-31T15:52:00.001-07:00

This is us. Boy, there are a lot of us now. We walked into a restaurant last week and they nice lady said "how many?" My first thought was, too many. Too, too many:) Here's to lots of years of craziness as a family of six!

Repentance

2011-10-30T22:51:00.001-07:00

Sam and Max love each other so much. Sam is usually so patient with him, as Max likes to sit on him, hit him, and show him a lot of tough love. Sam always forgives (he forgives Pearl too, who most of the time is a little less deserving...) and is happy to play with Max.

Except for tonight. The boys were showering together, and Max wouldn't listen to Sam, so he hit him. For which he got in huge trouble, well, a spanking and a 30 second lecture. He burst into tears. I went back to check on him and tell him that I loved him a few minutes later, and he was still so sad. I asked him why, and he said he just felt so bad that he hurt his little brother. Never have I seen such remorse for sibling violence. Once he got out, he was still upset, so he got dressed and gave hugs and was still a bit teary eyed, so Jared helped him say a prayer of repentance, and when he got to the part where he said he was sorry for hitting his brother, he teared up AGAIN.

Now, Max is sick, so this could just mean that Sam is on his way down, but I think it shows such a sweetness of spirit. Sam holds a special place in our family, and though he never listens and he's such a poky and I'm very afraid of how he's been behaving in school, he has such a tender, loving heart. We're so lucky to have his little spirit in our family.

He says he'll never hurt his little brother again. Here's to hoping! And actually, I think he really will. Try, at least:)

Max

2011-10-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of blog catch up to do. And I will do it, I really don't want to let that slide.

But Max is in the ER with Jared. And I'm worried. It's also 10:48 pm and I'm very tired, so I think I will TRY to get some sleep. He's not breathing well, they're checking for pnemonia now because he has a pretty high fever for a little guy. So so sad and pathetic.

So, as I was downloading the 600 pictures on my camera to add to the 400 pictures I still have to go through, this one caught my eye. It's one of the reasons I love Max. He is always SO HAPPY!!!! I think that 2 year olds are my favorite, I haven't had too bad in the terrible twos department, so I still like that age. Well, I'd have to, I work almost exclusively with 2 year olds for my job. And I still like them.

Some things I love about Max are: he is always happy, he is SUPER cute when he says "love you mama" when I put him to bed, he always says "thanks" unprompted, and I love watching him try to keep up with Pearl and Sam. Every once in a while he can be on the fringes of their game (for example, if it involves a chase of some sort, he gets that part), and he loves it so much!

Love love love my boy. So glad to have a Max in the family.

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

This was again another year of TONS of halloween parties. The last one was the church trunk or treat with our friends, the Larsens. It was great, they did it early, so it was light enough to see the kiddo's costumes and to not have to worry so much about where the boys went. We got to have Maya with us for some our Halloween festivities this year, which was super extra fun:)

As you know, the big kids had He-Man and She-Ra themed costumes. Well, we couldn't leave Maya out, so she became Swiftwind, She-Ra's trusty steed. In preparation, John and Lora let her watch a few episodes of She-Ra. We had them watch one together, in fact, and she spent the entire time pointing at the screen and saying "SHE BAAA!!!!" Funny. I'm not sure that she ever pointed out Swiftwind, or even totally made the connection, but her costume was awesome. And she liked the candy.

This is Maya... what? I'm her sidekick?

Tornado spin? Count me in!!!!

Pearl and her bestest friend Makayla. Aren't they getting so grown up?
Sam and Evan. I can still never figure what it is they're talking about, but they seem to be communicating...
Chow time for the Masters of the Universe.
And sweet Ruby... rockin' the Baby Legs:) But no candy for her.
Super fun. Thanks, Larsen family, for inviting us!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!! Ruby looked adorable and slept through most of the experience:)

Three Weeks

2011-10-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

She's three weeks old. And I haven't taken any pictures in like two whole weeks. Poor fourth baby. Max escaped the curse because I had JUST gotten a new camera... and I still love it, I do, it's just all I can do to fold 3 loads of laundry every day:)

Anyways, here she is. She's still SUCH a good baby, sleeping in 5 hour chunks at night (bless her!) and she hardly ever cries. Really. I think Heavenly Father sent her as the fourth baby on purpose, so we would all survive the experience.

And Max? Well, he's decided that this baby thing isn't quite so bad...

Rocketship

2011-10-14T19:17:00.001-07:00

The kids have been playing rocketship on the couch with Jared. He told Pearl to punch in the coordinates for the alien city on Jupiter.

Max misunderstood and punched his brother in the face. Apparently we're still working on words with multiple meanings.

Good day.

2011-10-14T15:04:00.001-07:00

Good day so far. I stayed up after the 530 am feeding to shower and put makeup on. I didn't yell at my kids when they were getting ready this morning. We were running late, but I read 5 verses of scripture to them anyway. Baby nursed when she was supposed to, right before my first client. Got to do some therapy, then off to my first weight watchers meeting (this go round...). Maybe I should have eaten more yesterday... Oh yeah, I had pumpkin pie for breakfast and a box of trader joes maple leaf cookies for lunch... Making it through piano lessons with all 4 kids (thanks to 2 sleeping babies and a video player). Good, good day:)

Random thoughts

2011-10-12T21:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I asked Sam if he had a good day at school. "well, it was kind of a good day and kind of a bad day."

"did you get your name on the board?"

"yes"

"Oh, were you not listening again?"

"no, Joshua said something mean to my friend so I threw his boot at him"

"WHAT!!!! You threw a boot at someone's head?"

"No, it hit his hiney(sp?). Then he pushed me on the ground and I fell on my hiney."

I'm very afraid of parent teacher conferences this year.

Having a baby girl to dress up is so much more like playing dollies than having a baby boy. It just is. She's pretty much perfect, she's sleeping 4 hours at night, and for the last 4 or so nights she's been on the same schedule, which is nice for me. I like schedules and predictability. Today she took her naps in her cribs (she has one in Max's room and one in my room) and she ate only every 3 hours all day. Love her!

Somehow, when I was 6 1/2 months pregnant, I decided it would be a good idea to plant an entire bed of pie making pumpkins. Well, today Jared started cleaning out the garden, so I harvested a wagonload of the little beauties, and decided to roast and puree a batch. I'm smart enough to try to bake something with the first batch before I decide to puree the rest of the 100 pounds of pumpkin... so I made pumpkin pie tonight. Which means my kitchen is a mess. Which means I had to get in the big bathtub with Ruby tonight because her sink was less than sanitary. (I totally didn't mind that part, though, we like our baths:) Where do I come up with these ideas? Oh, yeah, too many cooking blogs. Pies just out of the oven, so I don't even know the verdict yet... we'll find out tomorrow morning at breakfast time. Mmmmmm. I hope. The puree was a bit watery... I'll have to strain the rest. See? I'm totally crazy. I GAVE BIRTH like not even two weeks ago, and I'm talking about pureeing pumpkin. Somebody, stop me!

Pearl loaded the dishwasher tonight. Love having a big girl around! She complains about how hard the exercises are at taekwondo, but I've caught her doing extra sit ups and pushups every night. Last night she told me she did it because she wants to keep her belly slim and trim, because she thinks it would be hard to carry a big belly around. Really? Thanks, Pearl:) Did I make it look that terrible?

I miss Taekwondo. I haven't even gotten to wear my green belt yet. I think I'll start again next week, and hope I don't tear any stitches or anything.

Ok, I must go to bed so I don't fall asleep and drop the baby at midnight. Or at 4 in the morning. And maybe it will be easier to roll out of bed and be kind to my children in the morning if I try to get enough sleep tonight...

In the mind of Sam...

2011-10-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

This year for the primary program, (a program where the children all speak in the main meeting at church), the presidency asked us to ask the children about a topic and e-mail them the responses, so that the children could have parts in their own words. My children were asked to comment about the topic "my body is a temple."

Pearl said lots of normal expected things...

treat our bodies with respect, take baths and keep our bodies clean and brush our teeth and floss, and don't get tatoos or piercings, wear modest clothing, go to bed on time, and eat healthy food.

Sam, on the other hand, had a not-so-typical response:

the same thing as her, except for different stuff, important stuff like don't try to die and don't break rules and tell the truth and if you want to go for yourself don't listen to your mother and father. Don't hold your breath for too long because you might do it forever and die. Try to keep your balance, try to get out of mischief becuase you could get a spanking and that would get an owie. Think smart thoughts. If you need glasses, put them on. Save your dessert for after dinner. Don't do too much screen time because your eyes will get swirly.

I was furiously typing on my phone at the time, and may have missed a word here or there, but you get the gist. Seriously, this boy kills me. As in, tears streaming down my face trying to keep the laughter in as he was talking. "important stuff, like don't die" Where does he come up with this stuff! He's so smart, just this week I realized that he reads well enough to read scriptures with us in the morning, and yet, most of the time, I feel like his mind is a million miles away... though I guess the advice about not holding your breath forever is timely for some:) I am very curious to see just what poor Sister Seymour comes up with as a part from this raw material. At the very least, I hope she gets a good laugh out of it!

These Days...

2011-10-06T09:35:00.001-07:00

Four kids... no big deal. Really, things are going MUCH more smoothly than I thought they would. I've even left the house TWICE to run errands (without Max, which helps). It helps that Jared is home... you know, to watch the sleeping babies while I take the kids to school, to make sure they brush their teeth when all the sudden I need to nurse, and to take one of the parent-participated bath times (they boys need a parent, and Ruby gets one all to herself... thank goodness Pearl is almost nine and can be semi-trusted with her own hygiene!) Actually, what I need him most for is early mornings and evenings, so we should be just fine when he goes back to work. I hope. For now, he's spending his vacation working on a computer program for his dad (NEVERENDING PROJECT) and doing his usually fatherly contribution:

We spend much time gazing at and adoring Little Miss Pinkness...

She's especially pink on her pink throne in the kitchen with her pink jammies and her pink blanket. Can we say I've embraced that my last baby is a girl? We have girl flavored everything around here, with no guilt or thoughts of "what if the next baby is a boy..." because there IS no next baby:)

The kids continue to adore her...
Max is even starting to tolerate her. He'll kiss the air above her head sometimes. That's about as far as it goes.
I have been feeling SO MUCH BETTER now that I'm not pregnant... really, I hate being pregnant. Even though I'm up at night feeding, I'm MUCH less tired now than I was last week. So, we've been out in the stroller every day this week. I'm in love with the rain cover, as we've had our first little winter storm, and some days have been windy/rainy, but I get to go out anyway with the kids in their "tent" as Max calls it:)
Max FINALLY got his hair cut the day after I came home from the hospital, a testament to just how much better I feel. If you refer to the video in one of the previous posts, you will see that he kind of looked like he had a lion's mane, but I was just too tired every night to fight him about it. Not so anymore:) We're also working on some unplugging... as you can see, it's going so-so. He usually just gets it while I'm nursing and daddy is busy sleeping (or right now while I blog... I know, bad mom:)

Thanks to Jared, the big kids have been able to keep their usual routine of school and taekwondo, and have adjusted to a little less attention just fine. They really are good kids and they make my life SO much easier than it could be:) Here's to 4 kids!

Announcement

2011-10-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ruby Lu

2011-10-01T14:45:00.001-07:00

Here she is. She's beautiful, and sweet, and doing everything she is supposed to like a champ. She loves her pacifier and her mommy, being swaddled, and napping. She doesn't like NOT having her pacifier (see last picture!) Here's just a few snaps I got today, I'll do another shoot in a day or so once everything around here calms down... I think she's pretty:)

Meeting the Fam

2011-10-01T14:37:00.001-07:00

The kiddos didn't end up coming to the hospital to see the baby. They were busy with school and piano lessons (what a mean mom I am!) and we kept thinking we were going home soon, so they stayed up late and didn't get to meet her until we got home. They were SO EXCITED - I think Sam even more so than Pearl. Sam is the one who has been talking to my belly the most, asking me occasionally if she's going to be cute, and otherwise interested in the baby. I think they're going to have a special relationship... once, while we were at Target about a year and a half ago, he asked me where she was. I think he knew she was coming:) There has been a flurry of handwashing and holding her last night and this morning, I don't think she minds too much.

So the kids are happy to meet her... Max... not so much. His attitude hasn't changed since she got home, we're hoping for some progress in the near future, but not holding our breath...

Welcome Baby

2011-10-01T14:27:00.001-07:00

So, on Wednesday, thinking I was never going to have the baby... I went into labor:) We got to labor and delivery at about 1 am after contractions every 3 minutes... and I was only 3cm:( But, lucky for me, the contractions were consistent enough AND I was group B Strep positive, so they admitted me so that they could make sure I got all my doses of meds before delivering baby. SCORE!!! After 8 hours of antibiotics, I was only at 4, so they started Pit. A few hours later, I got an epidural, and slept for a bit. Nice. By 6:00, I was STILL only at a 4, but she kind of thought she could feel baby's head. She kept saying that my cervix was so soft it was hard to tell... that baby just needed to come down! She was still afraid to break my water... so I was all settled in to wait some more when the attending came in and made the call to break my water. An hour later, I was ready to push! She was still a bit too high, but they asked me if I thought I could push her down, and I said YESSSSS!!!!! So, as with all the other babies (except this time I got to see it, I asked for a mirror) they said, ok, go ahead and try to push, and halfway through the first push they yell STOP!!! They got the doc all gowned and ready, and she was out in one push, well, one and a half. Which meant she spent almost no time in the birth canal, and that she has the most perfectly shaped head for a newborn:) It was bizarre to see it, I asked for the mirror because it was my last child... and I'm kind of glad I've never seen it before. It may be amazing, but it's not pretty.

We were able to have a short hospital stay, just barely over 24 hours, so I only had to have baby in there one night. Which was awesome, the second night is always the WORST because baby isn't sleepy anymore and you're stuck in a tiny room with nowhere to walk. She was still up all night last night, but we could move to different rocking chairs and look at halloween lights and just be happier in general:) The stay was so short, and she was such a good eater and pooper, I didn't really take many pictures... but you get the idea:) She's beautiful, I am SO GRATEFUL for all of my healthy children, truly, it is an amazing thing.

Baby News

2011-09-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

Jared thinks I should include a picture of my belly. I'm pretty sure I want no recollection of just how HUGE I was with this baby. Some things are better left to the imagination. Suffice it to say that the receptionist noticed a change in my size in the 5 days since my last Dr's appointment, and the Dr says this will be my biggest baby. She's predicting 8 1/2 pounds, a pretty significant change from my largest so far, which was 7 lbs 1 oz. I sure hope she still comes out in one push!

So... not much going on still. I'm 50% effaced, 1 1/2 cm dialated, but the baby is hanging out so high up, the Dr had a hard time finding her heartbeat and had to get the ultrasound machine out to make sure she was still head down. So, even though my body is trying to be in labor, if baby doesn't cooperate, it's a no go. Stinker. I did get an eviction date, October 7th, which is a relief. After my last appointment, this was the soonest I could have hoped for. So, now we're mere days (well, like 10, which is better than two weeks...) away from a certian end, maybe I can relax and be patient. Maybe. The Dr kept saying she hopes I go on my own, and I certianly do too, but it feels better knowing that there IS an end to this, because I'm not counting on this baby ever wanting to leave. Maybe it's a foreshadowing of things to come... she will be the youngest. Either she's really stubborn or she's a homebody. I keep trying to tell her that it's great out here... maybe she fears change (which may be a genetic trait...). Oh well, I guess I'll just keep thinking of crazy projects to get done so we can just relax when she finally makes an appearance!

More nesting...

2011-09-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

So, I've pretty much accepted the fact that it will probably be another two weeks (that's the soonest my Dr will induce). So, the nesting is in full gear. Cleaned out the pantry this morning, headed to the fridge next. As I recall, with Pearl, when I finally decided she wasn't coming yet, I pressure washed the porch. Tempting. Maybe when it's not quite so hot. I'm sure I'll be happy all these projects were done before she gets here... though as I recollect, I tend to do crazy things after the baby because I finally feel like a person again. Maybe it's not nesting, maybe it's just my brand of insanity.

Today

2011-09-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

I went to the Dr today. What's going on? A whole lot of NOTHING. She is way too cozy in there. Dr tried to massage/strip my membranes, and I'm so long that she couldn't reach the sac. Nice. What's that about the last shall be first and the first shall be last... maybe the last baby will be my first experience with going overdue. Lovely. Well, that should certianly cement her "last child" status, maybe that's what she's going for. I'll truthfully be ok as long as she comes BEFORE Sherry leaves for Michigan... I just don't trust Gary to get Sam and Pearl ready for school, and I doubt he wants to take Max appraising with him. Though Max might think it's a party:)

Random thoughts

2011-09-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

My hospital is on strike today. So, I can't have the baby. Contractions all day yesterday, so I took baths, laid down, and in general tried to prevent labor. Now it's noon, and they baby has to wait until 7 am tomorrow at least, so it's another lounge around day. I'm kind of annoyed. At this point, I should be jumping on trampolines to get her OUT, not holding her IN because of a bunch of stupid nurses who are sympathy striking even though they HAVE a current contract.

This nesting thing is getting out of control. Today I finished her Christmas stocking. Seriously, I have nothing left to do. I think I'll take a nap.

Last night, as he was going to bed, Sam called us in for a great discovery. "Dad, I know what 3 times 4 is!!! It's 12!" That's right Sam, how did you know that? "Because Monster Mash has 4 feet and three toes each!" I'm not sure that Pearl is understanding that concept yet (in fact, I know she's not, because I have to help her with her math homework every day). How can a child be so brilliant, and yet so spacey at the same time? The other day, I caught him trying to put his shoes on FIRST while getting dressed, as in buck naked, no socks, and we think the SHOES come FIRST?!?!?!

I found my flash. It was on the windowsill behind my desk for the whole month I was looking for it, and then for another 3 weeks after I ordered the new one. Maybe Sam gets his spaciness from me.

If you ask Max where the baby is, he'll happily lift my shirt to show you. If you ask him if he wants a baby, he most definitely says no. Pretty smart of him:)

Now we just wait... tomorrow, baby. Tomorrow would be a good day.

He Man

2011-09-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

Soooo.... the wig was a big no-go. I was waiting for the wig to do real pictures, but it's kind of shiny, and even after we cut it it looks really girly. And it itches. So, no cool 80's bob for He Man. If I do say so, his costume did turn out pretty awesome anyway. Still working on the sword attachment, and closer to Halloweeen I'll take better pictures, but you get the idea...

He's so dang scrawny the muscle suit makes me giggle EVERY TIME he tries it on. It's pretty much awesome:)
Yeah, totally the master of the universe, right?!

She-Ra

2011-09-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't cleaned up the office yet. Instead, I spent the morning working on Pearl's She-Ra accessories. I was waiting for her leotard and skirt to come in the mail, so I didn't think I'd be able to finish it today, but, as a plesant surprise, our nice mailman delivered them to us at 10:00 this morning, so I was able to finish the whole thing (which, if you know me, makes me SO HAPPY, I love it when a project is DONE!!!).

The real She-Ra (see below) is somewhat skanky. She's also very gold with lots of wings. Sam thought that if he was getting a muscle shirt, that I should order Pearl some boobies. No. Not a chance.

So, not only did I have to make it modest, but Pearl already has these silver boots she picked out to wear this year... so as not to let an opportunity go to waste, we went for a silver She-Ra. I figure, nobody really remembers what she looks like, right? So, she's minus the wings and the skank, and here's our version!
I probably should have made the cape a little bit longer and fuller... but guess what, it's done, and I just don't care, and Pearl thinks it's great!
I'm not sure where to put the sword... seriously, She Ra has no clothes, where on earth does she keep her scabbard? I think Pearl will just have to carry it, but I promised her we'd glue a jewel to it.
Now we're just waiting for Sam's muscle shirt! I made the shorts already, he says they're not short enough (He Man wears booty shorts) but I reminded him that we're trying to be modest...

Orko

2011-09-09T21:23:00.001-07:00

Did you know that Netflix is streaming season one of He-Man? I totally remember that show. Apparently, it was 1983, and I was very impressionable. I didn't remember much about it, except for the "I HAVE THE POWER" and that He-Man was COOL. Sam is in love. Then Pearl watched She-Ra, Princess of Power. Now she's hooked. So, the kids decided they wanted to be He-Man and She-Ra for Halloween. Yeah, take a look at them some time. They totally have no clothes on. Wish me luck!

So, Max gets to be Orko. I didn't think he'd really care, I tried giving him Pearl's old black witch hat, but he threw it on the ground and said "RED." Apparently, he likes He-Man too. Orko is He-Man's sorcerer friend... here he is:

And this is our version:

I am especially proud of the hat. I love the hat! It fits him perfectly and it's extra stiff so the brim stays out of his eyes. And the ears are adorable:)
He wore it tonight as soon as it was finished, he wanted to wear it to bed, but I vetoed that one. He knows Orko does magic, so he walks around wiggling his fingers and making "magic" sounds. Pretty dang adorable if you ask me! And I JUST realized that the O is supposed to be black, not white... I'll have to fix that tomorrow.
So, here's my crazy for the day:) My office is a MESS, and I'm about 30 seconds away from being declared full term (37 weeks tomorrow!!!) I think I'll clean the office in the morning. Hopefully, she doesn't come tonight. Yeah! One costume down, two to go!

Possible

2011-09-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

I think it's possible I may be pregnant forever. At least, that's what it feels like.

School Pictures 2011

2011-09-02T21:11:00.001-07:00

Little Max... just the past few weeks I've realized he's not so little anymore. He's talking up a storm, and has his own little ideas and jokes, just like a real person. He joined in on the photo shoot, and I'm pretty sure I think he's the cutest two year old around:)

Sammy... kindergartener. He's looking so much older to me this year. He's reading like a champ (we're hoping his writing catches up...) and enjoying school - especially recess!

Pearl - she's in third grade this year. So far, it's a LOT of homework, and she works hard every day after school, with homework, piano lessons, and taekwondo. She's getting so big to me, she'll be nine soon! What a great big sister she is, I'm lucky to have her as my oldest, she helps me out so much!
And, it's a relief to see that yes, her teeth will eventually fit in her mouth!

Check that off my list! One more thing I got done before baby gets here. I keep thinking, now I'm ready, she'll come... well, now I'm REALLY ready! Come, come!!!

Getting Ready

2011-09-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time getting ready for babies. I think I'm forever scarred by the loss of my second. I was, of course, ultra organized and prepared, and I think one of the hardest things I have ever done was to pack up the crib and all the baby things after coming home from the hospital. In fact, it's one of the first things I did when I walked in... I think I slept for an hour or two, then could not do anything else until all sign of baby was erased.

At some point, though, you just have to get ready. I'm not sure why it was easier with Max than it is this time... maybe because I was just getting hand me downs out of the attic, and this time, I've had to buy all new things... I've still only washed two outfits and one set of onesies and one blanket, I just can't take the tags off... but enough of my crazy.

So, this week I decided there were some things that just HAD to be done... as an act of faith if nothing else. I think I was spurred on by seing my friend Tami's nursery (if you know her, ask her to post pictures, you'll see why my guilt spiraled into overdrive after seeing her PERFECT nursery...) This whole time, I've been in temporary mode... the babies are going to be together for just two years until Ruby is ready for a toddler bed, then that room will be the boy room and I'll have to re-do everything. I didn't even buy a dresser when I was getting things set up in there, because when the boys move in, I'll have Gary custom build me another bunk with storage, so they get tacky rubbermaid drawers:) And, it's painted snot green. Very boyish, kind of hard to think "nursery" when you're thinking "snot," but I like that color with the boy's bedding so I wasn't about to re-paint.

So, it started with one pink sheet. I wasn't even going to do a crib skirt, because they were all expensive and really needed a motif which I have no energy for. I also really struggled with what to put over the blank wall, because I don't like to put anything that would kill the baby if it fell (you know, heavy picture frames, books, etc.) So, I went for functional. My favorite things that I have bought have been her dresses, but I really have no place to hang them (or anything else, for that matter... remember, no closets). So after a trip to target where I found a bedskirt I liked (in full, I cut it down) and a curtian rod and some nice infant hangars, here we have it...

I'm still waiting for Jared to put her letters up above the dresses, but I really like how it turned out. I'm really more one for function than decor, but I think this combines it all nicely.
One of the other things that went up yesterday was the new crib mobile. It was a very freeing thing when as I was looking at them I realized I'm not having any more kids, so I can choose the girl flavor of everything with no guilt... it won't have to be passed down (well, at least not to another of my children). So, she gets a new pink mobile. Max has been busy trying everything out, we've had a lot of "goo goo ga ga" going on this morning.
My favorite part was when he brought his pillow and blankie into my room and insisted on getting set up in the co-sleeper (which I set up to check sizes and such, luckilly, no large re-arrangements will be necessary). He then requested books, a water bottle, and some fruit snacks and spent a very happy 20 minutes pretending to be a baby:)

Now at least I can say that I put some effort into her arrival:)

Grateful

2011-08-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

I am very (35 weeks) pregnant. It's uncomfortable, and I'm still kind of terrified at the thought of being outnumberd 4 to one. Plus, my friend Tami had her baby this week, and I'm just a teensy tiny bit JEALOUS that she's done.

Soooo... it's time to write down some thoughts to help me remember to be grateful.

This is the baby I never meant to have. Jared and I always talked about and agreed on 4 kids, even before we were married. I also had the ten years of childbearing rule. When Robbie died, one of the thoughts that I had in the days following were that I guess I was meant to have more than 4 kids. I'd like to think I'm not THAT stubborn, and that if I knew number 5 was waiting, I would have done it, but perhaps my Heavenly Father knows me better than I think.

Before this pregnancy, I was really dragging my feet. It had taken over a year to get pregnant with Max, and I was getting older, and I really didn't want to do the whole thing again. There were a lot of reasons... not to have another. I liked my three, they were all good kids, I'm happy with three, and TECHNICALLY, I've already had four. So, I made the decision to try, thinking that if it took forever again, I wouldn't really try that hard and it wouldn't be my fault.

So much for that plan. About 2 seconds after it was possible, I was pregnant. Blessing number one. Then, for the first trimester, I was... well, not exactly sick, but nauseous a lot of the time. Just enough for me to not gain any weight during that first three months (a major concern of mine)... blessing number two. In fact, at this point, I've only gained 15 pounds, which is fairly miraculous because I've had 4 other pregnancies and have gained 40 pounds with each like clockwork.

I've been feeling so good this pregnancy, I was able to do all sorts of things, like walking (until it got too hot), taking taekwondo class until I was 33 weeks, taking the kids to Sunsplash all summer... all things which in every previous pregnancy would have been impossible, because my body likes to contract every three minutes or so starting at about 20 weeks. Not this time... just normal BH contractions starting at 8 1/2 months.

And... the most miraculous thing of all... I'm still sleeping. My hips don't hurt, the insomnia isn't that bad (or that often)... never before. Yet another blessing, I'm sure.

So... I think she's meant to be a part of this family. I'm so grateful that this round has been easier on my body and my mental health. And I can't wait to meet her, because of course, she's going to be one special lady. And I think she'll be relieved that she made it... barely...

Books

2011-08-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

So, I have to read to Sam for 20 minutes every day, and I've been trying to find books that are above his reading level that he would find interesting. So, we started with George's Marvelous Medicine, he totally ate that up. We finished The Twits last night, and tonight started on The Chocolate Touch when it became apparent that I didn't have the copy of The Witches I thought I did. There is something so fascinating about women whose sole purpose in life is to get rid of little boys because they smell like fresh dogs droppings. Sam was intrigued when I gave him the teaser, he even prayed that I would find it, which I didn't, but I WAS able to order it on his next book order... pretty sure he'll be the only kindergartener with that book:) Now I need to find a copy of Danny the Champion of the World.

ANYWAYS, I know lots about little girl books... in fact, Pearl has read some of my childhood favorites this summer (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Mandy, though she thought sideways stories from wayside school was disturbing... hmm, Sam would probably like that one) but I don't know what little boys are supposed to read. Help! Any suggestions?

...

2011-08-20T22:04:00.001-07:00

... and, he just fell out. Back to the crib.

Big Boy Bed

2011-08-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

We put Max in a big boy bed tonight. It's ten, and he's still livin' it up. How different he is from Sam... I may have to go put him in the crib...

Green Belt!

2011-08-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

I did it. I passed my belt test and am now a green belt at 33 weeks pregnant. Yeah! Now, I think I'll take a break until this baby is born...

This picture makes me laugh... I look like I can barely be standing up straight, let alone doing a high block:)

New Room

2011-08-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

I live in a small house. Not that I'm complaining... usually. There are things that I absolutely love about my house, like the relative size of the kitchen to the rest of the house (it's actually pretty big) and the fact that my pantry is bigger than my guest bathroom. I love that we have a funky loft/attic space that we've been able to convert to a tv/playroom. And of course, I love the outside space (I believe I have waxed poetical on that several times.) Really, the one thing that requires careful thought and organization are the kids rooms. We were lucky enough to be able to add on a few years ago so at least we have 2 small kids rooms instead of just one... that really would have been a nightmare! The rooms are long and skinny, and have NO CLOSETS (which is really the hardest part for me). But, they have 9 foot ceilings. AND I happen to have a pair of men on the property who don't mind making crazy custom furniture for me. All in all, it works:)

This wasn't my first experience having Gary (my talented father in law) build a bed. In fact, the base of the current bunk was one he built for me when Pearl was ready for her big girl bed. At that time, I didn't really know what I was doing, and the finished product was totally awesome but pretty much took up the whole room... a little overpowering. The base originally had two very tall very solid bookcases as the header and footer... one facing the bed for Pearl, and one facing out of the bed that was Sam's changing table and toy shelves. When we built the second room, it became apparent that the taller of the two bookcases was never making it out of the room alive, so one stayed in there to house Max's changing table, toys, clothes, and the upper shelves are perfect for my therapy materials. The shorter one made it into Pearl's room and was converted to a closet/bookcase, it actually works really well. (you can see it in the bottom picture)

When I found out I was having another girl, I switched from worrying about how I was possibly going to fit 3 boys in one of those tiny rooms to now being able to design two rooms for two kids each. Upon further reflection, I decided that I needed a few years of big kids together and babies together... just for synergy of school, diapers, toys... you know. So, the current plan is to have Sam and Pearl bunk together for a few years until Ruby is ready for a big girl bed, then the nursery will be converted to a boy room for Sam and Max. This is really nice for me, because I also do therapy in the nursery, so without any big beds in there I'll have some extra space for a few years before I have to figure something else out.

When we switched Sam from a toddler bed, I bought this bed which was awesome because Max's crib fit underneath. But upon reflection, it really didn't work in the room for two big boys with two big beds, so I sold it to my friend, Ashley, whose bedrooms are bigger and whose boys will certianly enjoy it:) So, the option that was left was to convert Pearl's current bed to a bunk... so here we are!

It is BEAUTIFUL. Some of the things I love about it are...

-the drawers are HUGE. They seriously are half of the bed in size, so each kid has one and I can fit a full dresser full of clothing inside.

-Since it was custom, and we have really tall ceilings, Gary made the top bunk quite high... high enough so that when I am standing next to it and bending over to take care of Sam, the bottom of Pearl's bed clears the top of my head by a few inches. Sam can even stand up in his bed, though jumping was a failed (and painful) experience.

-Gary and Jared work differently.... I made it clear to Gary that I wanted it to look NICE.... unlike some other pieces of furniture he has made (ask Maryann to post a picture sometime of the tripe decker toddler bed... very functional, but not very pretty) so I trusted Jared to do the finish/painting work. I knew it would be FABULOUS, and it is, I really don't think I could have bought something with a prettier finish, but I also knew it would take a LONG TIME, which it did. This project was started in March:) My complaint that I couldn't possibly take care of a sick Sam on his current toddler mattress on the floor (don't ask) gave him the impetus to finish, so Pearl only had to spend one night curled up in a toddler mattress with Max begging to be released from his crib and read books:) Anyways, the upshot is that it really looks beautiful... couldn't have asked for anything nicer.

-Max can not climb to the top bunk. YEAH!!!!!

-the quilts.... they are amazing. My friend Luan Zenk makes them, and the amazing thing is that she mostly uses real scraps and hand quilts them. They are beautiful. When I decided to put the big kids together, I wanted something that went together but wasn't too matchy and would definitely create a girl space and a boy space. I am so happy with the current look. You can see more of her work here. I'm lucky I got to go to her house and pick them out, the kids will have them forever.

- Sam likes to hang a blanket from Pearl's bed to make a tent. Quite the rage at the moment:)
Ok, enough verboseness. Since they don't need dressers, I opted for a desk for each of them, to give them their own space. Pearl already had a large desk and corner set aside, so I squeezed in a desk for Sammy with what was left. I found something that was cheap enough, narrow enough, with a few drawers for his toys (he's still so little!) and that would fit the office chair we already had for him that coordinates with Pearl (floor models from the days I had eyes at Pottery Barn Kids a few days a week:)
The kids are happy, the room is full, but it works, and the new bed is wonderful. Thank you Gary! Now I have a few weeks to put finishing touches on the nursery (like actually setting up the toddler bed for Max) before things get crazy:)

Danger

2011-08-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

It's 9:21. Max has been in bed since 8:00. I finished working on the computer and heard him talking, so I went in to check on him and cover him up with his blankets once again.

I was greeted with "pants" (holds pants in the air, this is not totally unusual when he's not quite ready to sleep)... and "diaper" (holds up diaper... sigh). This was then followed by "potty." After a quick bed check, I realized we were safe, and it was a request to go to the potty (which he's never done, but he really likes the book). Sigh. Again. I put the offending articles back on and tucked him in with a sound GOOD NIGHT!!!!

That could have ended badly.

Surgery

2011-08-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

We had surgery today. First, I must express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for such healthy children. I work in a field where I know first hand just how lucky I am. I know families who have to go through this kind of thing time and again, I'm just grateful it's so infrequent for me and mine.

Sammy did great, as to be expected from my mellow middle child. This morning, he reminded me that the nurse who did his pre-op appointment said he could wear his pajamas to the hospital, I was shocked that he had even listened to her at all. So, he wore his super warm jammies to the hospital in 90 degree weather complete with a pair of fuzzy slippers. On the way he had lots of questions, mostly about how much it would hurt and when it would hurt. The upshot of this was that he was "a little nervous" by the time we got to the hospital.

We had been through this type of thing several times with Pearl, so I was prepared. I had a new magnadoodle ready for the waiting room, and as soon as he got his nightgown on, I handed him his leapster with a few new little games and a new camera accesory. It was a hit. He was thoroughly entertained.
Then they brought the verset (sp?), which is a relaxing drug they give kiddos before anesthesia. He started to droop, so I switched to reading Georges Marvelous Medicine (which is a completely marvelous book, by the way). When he started asking weird questions with blurred speech, we turned the lights off and just let him be.

He was pretty loopy. Here is a little video of him staring at his hands in the air... he kept telling us about the shapes he was seeing...

Once he was in recovery, they brought me back, and we walked right by his bed because he was curled up in a ball of blankets way on top.

Once he woke up, the first thing he did was ask for water, the second, for a popsicle. We had promised him as many as he wanted. He started chomping away at the popsicle and shivering, and was doing this when the Dr. came by. She had us take it away and get him a warm blanket:). He was in a lot of pain, so they gave him a narcotic and let him sleep a bit more, but he didn't really sleep until we got him home and into Pearl's bed. After a good long hour nap, he came and found me and said "mom, remember how I'm supposed to have lots of screen time?" So that's what he did. I was able to give him pain meds at about 5, and at about 530 I had him come to the kitchen to eat a popsicle. I was making scrambled eggs and chicken sausages for me and Max, and Sam really wanted some... so I let him go to town. I have NEVER seen that kid eat so much. By the time he was done, his belly was bulging and he said his tummy kind of hurt. I figure by tomorrow the big pain meds will have worn off, so I should get food in him while I can:) What a great kid. But after today, I think we'll BOTH be taking it easy for a week or so:)

First Day of School

2011-08-08T13:56:00.001-07:00

First day of school... and no tears were shed:) To be fair, I was busy worrying about Sam, who was the last (ok, 2nd to last) kid off of the playground after the bell rang, and who got so caught up in meeting the boy behind him in line he almost didn't make it into the classroom.

I spent much of the day worrying about a call from the school (like that ever happens) then... the phone rang... luckilly, it was Pearl's teacher because for some reason Pearl didn't know how she was supposed to get home. Silly Pearl. Of course I made you ride the bus on the first day:)

While the kids were at school, Max and I had an AMAZINGLY productive morning. I forgot how easy one kid is. People were still looking at me sympathetically because I'm obvously very pregnant with a 2 year old... but they don't realize how hard it COULD have been:)

So here are the pictures... Max demanded his backpack too, and had to join in... he was a little sad when he couldn't play on the playground, but he got over it ok. I have about 5 more minutes until the bus comes... good, good day:)

Pearl was very helpful in showing Sam the ropes... she's king of the campus now. I'm glad they'll have one year together before she heads off to the big school. Love my big kids! So happy for them, here's hoping they have a great school year!

Listening

2011-08-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

I got back from kindergarten orientation... this is how the conversation went.

"Sam, guess what the first rule of kindergarten is?"

"What?"

"To be a good listener!"

"(looking a little panicked) but I have fluid in my ears!!!"

Oh Sam, you won't have that excuse for long...

PS he took the news that he could have chocolate milk every day for lunch and pizza on fridays with more enthusiasim:)

Benefits

2011-08-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

Last night in Taekwondo, Master Yi had some horribly torturous exercise planned for us, that involved increasing numbers of situps and pushups and rolling around on the floor. I, for obvious reasons, could not do this. So, I got to do some stretching and yoga poses. Hmm. I think I'll be sad when I have to do class NOT pregnant:)

Fair

2011-08-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

We've enjoyed the state and county fairs in the past but they can be a big tiring ordeal, especially the state fair. Amy just wasn't up to it. So I took the kids to the cute little Amador county fair over in Plymouth, which for us is probably as close as the El Dorado county fairgrounds. It was all a fair needs for the kids to enjoy themselves:
Some carnival rides to get them smiling,

a few pigs, sheep, cows, and goats to, um, befriend?

tractor pull, couple of live bands, and some good old fashioned fried
food to choke down.

It was small enough that I walked the whole circuit with a two year old, no problem. Everyone was real nice, especially the carnies, who let us ride free on two separate occasions. I even talked a vendor into giving us a hunk of discounted cotton candy because I only had a single dollar left.

Max came home and reported to Mom, "Slide. Pig." He loves the big tall burlap sack slide, and had a memorable encounter with a wet nosed pig.

Pearl enjoyed the bumper cars alone.

And Sam did the slide by himself, and they got hotdogs and shared a sno-cone. We got home a little more than two hours after we said goodbye to Mom, having done all the fair we needed.

2 year checkup

2011-08-02T03:40:00.001-07:00

Max had his 2 year appointment today. He's chubby this time... 25% for weight, 4% for height. The doctor was amazed that he knew all his shapes and colors. He was SUCH a good boy, she kept commenting on how mellow he was and how well he would do with a baby sister (which remains to be seen....) The nurse and I were chatting during his one shot, so he didn't see it coming, and then right after it was done I pulled his shorts back up and told him it was time to go... so his half formed fuss turned into a hysterical giggle at the thought of escaping more shots:) The nurse said she's NEVER had that reaction!

On another note, he had his first tantrum today... wow. To be fair, he was tired and hungry and overdue for tylenol, but he was completely irrational. Poor baby. He lay on the floor crying for 10 minutes and the big kids and I just sat there, and they were looking at him like he was a stranger. Seriously, never happened before. Once I got some tylenol in him and convinced him to sit with me and eat his snack (which he calmed down to accept once he saw Sam try to claim it...) he was all better. Must be hard to have your brain so incomplete! Here's to hoping it doesn't develop into a habit... I can handle the "no no no no" that he gets over in 5 seconds, but if I have to endure rounds of crying every day, I might not make it...

Puppy

2011-07-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

Max found the puppy mask this morning, and after painstakingly putting it on, he crawled all the way down the hall for breakfast, woofing the whole time. It was so popular, we had to leave it on while we ate, and then we had to add it to the church backpack. Funny baby!

How I know.

2011-07-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

How do I know Max is now two? Usually, when I say "it's time for a nap" he smiles at me and giggles from his little pillow and quietly goes to bed. That was the one year old Max. The two year old version arches his back while getting his diaper changed, informs me "no no no no no" and "play trains." I think I like the one year old version better.

Birthday Party

2011-07-29T16:37:00.001-07:00

I know what you're thinking. She is so pregnant, WHY are we haiving a party for a 2 year old? Well, it was just going to be cake and ice cream and homemade pizza, so I decided to invite the Weir clan up as well. Plus, it was Sara's last night here (she's been up working) so I thought it would be fun. And my grandpa recently moved in with my mom, and he's always asking about my house, so I thought he would like to see it. So, up they came. When Mom got here, she saw the cake and the dinner, and asked me if I was crazy. The answer... yes. I really don't know what possessed me. I did so good on Sam's party, we went somewhere else, had pizza at round table, I didn't even really take pictures. Sigh. Good thing we have no more birthdays until this baby comes (well, except Jared, sorry babe:)

The cake tops the crazy list. What has come over me this week? I have had this cool cake pan since Sam's first birthday, and it really is ADORABLE. Unfortunately, there's a little problem with the cakes coming out without falling apart, even when you use the recipe it comes with. I forgot, with Sam, I had to do a SECOND batch of batter and use a pound cake recipe. As the first cakelets came out all terrible, I cried and ran to the internet, but by then I was tired and everything else looked really hard... including the option where I went down to Sam's club for cupcakes. So, I went back... and once they cooled down a lot, the rest came out easier.
So, I glazed all the mistakes away and covered the whole thing with candy. Done. It's fine. Right?

At least Max approved... and he did get that it was a train. That's the whole point, right?

We really tried to blow, but ended up needing a little help from Sam (who was so helpful, he was blowing candles out before we started singing, stinker!)
All the kids just wanted to eat the candy. I don't think they actually ate cake. Next year, I'm putting a candle in a bowl of candy.
This is one of my favorite things he does... he's been doing it since he was really little. Whenever you ask "where" something is (in this case, the presents), he puts his hands up. Now that he's verbal he's added a "don't know?" Well, Sam knew where they were, and he was HAPPY to help:) In fact, today he was HAPPY to help Max play with all his new toys!
Happy Birthday, sweet pea! Off to the train museum tomorrow to finish off the celebration! (ps, the train museum WAS supposed to be the whole party... what a sucker I am!)

Trains

2011-07-28T08:23:00.001-07:00

So, I had this brilliant idea to get Max some thomas trains and a table from craigslist for his birthday. I even started looking a few months ago, and content that I could pretty much find one any time I wanted, I figured I'd look again. On Saturday morning, I woke up in a sweat and realized that I NEVER DID IT!!! So, onto craigslist I go, and after a whirlwind day, I ended up getting a set and a table that my Dad picked up for me (long story... I actually went down there to do it, then I didn't think I got them, then when I was almost home I DID get them...). Then, on tuesday night at Taekwondo, our friend asked if we wanted his son's hand me down Thomas stuff, hilarious, huh? So, that night, I got the stuff from Mom and Dad, and from my friend, and on Wednsday washed a HUGE assortment of wooden trains and accessories. My kitchen table was COVERED and I was really glad we washed them, they were very dirty!

After the kiddos went to bed Wednesday night, Jared and I (ok, really Jared) set to work, taking the table apart and gluing it together (he likes to do that sort of thing) to make it more stable, and by about 10:30 I needed to go to bed... at this point we hadn't even started setting up tracks. I set out the few things that HAD to be included on the table, and off to bed I went. At 4:30 I woke up, and Jared still wasn't in bed, so I went up to check on him. He was still trying to set up tracks. Yeah. It's harder than it looks, aparently. He kept complaining about the roundhouse, but I told him that was non-negotiable.

In all honesty, Jared really created an engineering marvel... as in he glued round pieces to make a two story track... amazing. There is one spiral that still needs to be glued, and one set of ends that needs to be cut off and glued, but the whole thing is pretty much ready to belong to the table permanently.

So, when Max wakes up, we take him upstairs...
I think he loves it. It's been an hour and a half, he won't come down for breakfast. He was pleased with the track and the one train that was sitting out...

but then we showed him the drawer full of trains. That's when he got really excited!
I sat there with the camera for half an hour or so, but only got a few smiles,
mostly because he was SO FOCUSED on his playing!

One way we really know it's his 2nd birthday... I'm hearing a lot of MINE!!!! even as I type this. Good thing there are two of several of the popular cars... Happy Birthday, baby!

A case of the Crazies

2011-07-25T21:38:00.001-07:00

This is what comes of a) never wanting to stand up again and b) looking at too many craft blogs. I did make it a goal to get the cousin christmas presents done before I have this baby, and didn't have much on the schedule today, so I decided to start. As we can see, I got a little bit distracted...

I was making a prototype, and as I looked at the fabric I had left, I thought, hey, that's just enough to make a skirt for Pearl! Well, it turns out it was MORE than enough, and I ended up hemming the whole thing like 15 inches (that's what happens when you just make things up) but after a few modifications I really like how it turned out. So, I used stuff I (and Sherry) had laying around and made a super cool me and my doll ensamble. Very frugal and recyclish of me.
These are the christmas presents I set out to make. Finally finished them this evening, and somewhere in the middle of the day I thought I might make skirts for the dolly mammas too... but now it's late and my fire is burning out. We'll see. If Maryann gets me her girls measurements before I'm sick of the project, they may end up with matching skirts too.

This was my first time working with knit fabrics... (the shirts)... let me just say... never again (dang it, I have to sew knits for the boy projects I had planned.... ok, never after that). I broke a needle, it got all bunchy and stuck several times, and I ended up modifying it so I could have used cotton fabric after all. Grr. Anyways, they are really cute. The other funny part was that I went to Wal Mart looking for knit fabric for the shirts, but they didn't have any, so I bought a $3 mens t-shirt to cut up, but while it was washing I couldn't wait (part of it was for another project, don't worry) so I cut up one of my OLD t-shirts instead. Brilliant. It made me feel like my super talented sister in law Sara who is always making clothes for her little girl out of my brother's worn out clothes. Hmmm, watch out Ruby:)

By the way, Ruby kicked the whole time I was sewing... I think she wants a doll too:)

Seaweed.

2011-07-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

Mom, what are we having for dinner? SOBA NOODLES!!!! Yes! Do we have any seaweed? Yup, you heard it, Sam asking for seaweed at dinner. Actually, I made Thai Peanut Noodles, which are fabulous by the way, and they use Udon noodles, which are pretty close to soba... anyways, one of the things their Daddy has brought home from asia is a love of cold soba noodles with sesame oil and seaweed/sesame seed topping. The kids are fans, thus, they love the roasted seaweed snack from trader joe's. No kidding. I don't particularly care for it, but I figure it's Omega-3 straight from the source, so I keep buying it for them. So, I just wanted documentation that Sam who is so picky his list of intolerable foods includes beans, olives, potatoes, and blueberries (I think he has a problem with round food) EATS SEAWEED. Weirdo. Max was enjoying stuffing sheets of seaweed into his mouth so much, I just had to document it. The incidence right before I got the camera out, he was a little overzealous and chomped on a finger, so this sequence doesn't have quite the abandonment it should, but you get the idea:)

Beach

2011-07-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Part of our super exciting San Francisco Zoo trip included a half an hour or so at the beach. The zoo is super cool in that it's less than a block from the ocean, so we walked out of the zoo and onto the beach in a matter of minutes. Previous beach trips with my boys have taught me to simply remove the pants... good thing I did:)

Max was really proud that his feet were all dirty:)
Sam in his underwear glory... good thing he wore the boxer briefs that day!
Boys.
Sam did pause to smile at me... once... then he was back to work, doing something, I don't know what.
Showing off those undies... I'm sorry to say that our recent family home evening lessons on Modesty have not affected him much.
Pearl girl. Looking for shells as usual. At least she didn't collect a pile of seaweed this time:)
My boys together...
Unfortunately for Sam, Max's favorite game was "dump sand on your brother." He was tired and HYSTERICALLY laughing every time he did it. Sam didn't even seem to notice. That's what makes Sam such a good brother... he simply doesn't care:)

How we love the beach!

Little Puffer

2011-07-21T08:58:00.001-07:00

No trip to the San Fran Zoo would be complete without a ride on the steam train. It's really cool, and we have a train lover in our midst, so we just had to!

To keep Max happy in line, we let him hold a ticket. He was quite proud.
Hee hee, I have a ticket!
Look at that!
See?
All aboard!
Ridin' the rails!

2011-07-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach this Saturday after picking Jared up from the San Francisco Airport on his way home from Asia. I just had to post this picture... working on the rest. But seriously, isn't he just the cutest baby? Love this boy! Can't believe he'll be 2 in less than 2 weeks!

Nikki

2011-07-12T21:47:00.001-07:00

As I have been working on blog books recently, I've really enjoyed all the pictures I have of my nieces and nephews in there too. I figure when they're older and they come to my house, they might like seeing themselves too. So, here are some recent pictures I got of Nikki, who just turned one.

She is getting so fun, developing a little personality. It's funny to look at her, because she looks SO MUCH like her big sister Lizzie, only Liz had these startling blue eyes, and Nikki's are brown. What a cutie!!!!

Day at the Park

2011-07-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Just a beautifully random day at the park. Max will be two this month, and I know all sorts of craziness is about to ensue with the new baby, so I cherish his chubby, dirty, face all the more. What a joy this one is!

I WON!!!!

2011-07-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

I won a photo contest!!! It's not really a huge deal, just a gardening website that I order from a lot, but I get free seeds AND they are using my picture to sell the product! You can see it here! Mine is the pretty one in the bowl. Does this mean I can claim to be published?:)

Pearl Girl

2011-07-08T20:27:00.001-07:00

I am so proud of my Pearly. She played "I am a Child of God" for her best friend Makayla's baptism tonight. Yesterday, she didn't want to. And this morning, she REALLY didn't want to... as in Pearl, you're wasting time crying when you could be practicing... and then when she played it to warm up for prelude at the baptism, she only made it halfway through. So, I prayed and prayed she would have a good experience, because I KNEW she could do it, and she did FABULOUSLY. She made a few minor mistakes but just kept going, I am so proud of her. And I'm so grateful that it went well - this means she'll try again and be less nervous next time. She's growing up so fast! What a good girl. Love her so much.

Happy 4th

2011-07-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! Doesn't get much better than naked sparklers in Grandma's pool:)

As a side note... on this particular day, after "going" accidentally in Grandma's pool, I caught him sitting on the side holding his boy parts and saying "go, go!!!" Sorry buddy. Doesn't work that way:)

Hot Dog

2011-06-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sure every mom thinks their baby is the cutest. Max has been ESPECIALLY cute to me lately... I really love this age when they start talking and they still love you so much (not that my other kids don't... baby love is just different). I also think I'm spending extra time to baby Max because he is the first of my kids that will have to share his mommy before turning 3. I'm sure he'll be fine, but I'm a little sad we won't have that extra year to do mommy and me gymnastics while the big kids are at school (Sam and I had a fabulous 2 going on 3 year with Pearly gone every day). Anyways, he came to me the other day insisting that I put the hot dog costume on him... he kept it on for about half an hour, pleased as punch. So, here he is, in all his hot dog glory!

Aww, come on, you know you think it's cute too!!!

Brilliant.

2011-06-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

It's official. Max is brilliant. He's just 22 months, and he says all his shapes and colors (well, most of them). The sad part is that he learned his shapes with an iPhone game (which is actually pretty impressive to watch), but the colors are definitely from me. Being an early intervention speech therapist makes me extra aware of his skills... we've been working on labeling colors for a while. Over the last few months he's been putting words together, and saying multisyllabic words like "cheeseburger" (embarassing, I know!), and he learns new words every day... right on target! We've also been working on our prepositions (for a while everything was up) but now he has up, down, in, and out pretty well mastered. Here is a little video of his colors and shapes... I pretty much think it's the cutest thing in the world when he says "triangle" and "yellow":) Enjoy!

Sunsplash.

2011-06-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

No pictures. I will not risk my camera anywhere near a waterpark!

With some slight misgivings, I signed myself and the kids up for season passes to the waterpark. I was thinking, oh, I am so pregnant, that doesn't even sound fun... well, it is! I stand there in my long sleeved swim shirt (the kids are similarly covered, and everyone has water shoes, there shall be no skin cancer this summer!) with my belly floating and my kids happy! Max LOVES the waterslides, Sam does pretty good at listening, because, let's face it, it's so loud there, I can't really give him any directions. Pearl has gotten brave and is gradually increasing her repitoire of slides she will go down. I am amazed every time we go at how good they are and how they have so much fun! It's been 8 days since our first trip, and we've gone 4 times. Sick, I know, but much better than watching TV all summer! Not only did our cousins get passes, but the kiddos two best friends, the Larsens, got passess too, so there is always someone to play with!

So... if you don't hear much from me this summer... it's because we're at the waterpark!!!

Poor Sam.

2011-06-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sammy Sam. The only thing he EVER gets in trouble for is not listening... and it's been worse lately. Wonder why? Oh, probably because he's had fluid in his ears for about a year and failed his hearing test today. Yup. So, it looks like baby boy will be getting tubes (and hopefully losing his adenoids and tonsils) before kindergarten. Maybe this will change his reputation. Maybe that's too much to hope for. :)

Jack turns 4

2011-06-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 4, and as usual, Annie had an amazing themed birthday party. This year, it was a camping party, complete with a campfire and hot dogs on sticks and smores... so much fun for the kids. The crazy thing was she moved the next day... I'm still not sure how she did it.

I'm so happy for her family, but we will miss Jack and Scott a lot. Sammy and Jack were just starting to really get along this year, they finally figured out that nobody wants to play sticks and dinosaurs with them but each other.

Silly boys!
Seriously, I didn't get one normal smiling picture of Jack. Oh well... we at least will remember what he looked like!
The birthday boy. He had such a great time!
Everyone wanted to pose in front of the fish. Not sure what the allure was, but ok!
Baby Mara.. awesome picture, but just as I was taking it Katie decided to grab the camera... oops. I like it anyway.
Katie Kate. She is SO hard to take a picture of! She is such a pretty girl though!

We are so blessed that all the Weir cousins have been together for so long. Thankfully, nobody is too far (like New York), so we'll still have opportunities to see everyone, which the kids love. Nothing like cousins... makes it so you don't have to work so hard for friends!!!

Near Death Experience.

2011-05-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

We had a near death experience today. We're all fine, but our fish, Mickey, may be a little worse for the wear.

The kids were all inside, Pearl was doing her piano lesson and I was outside vacumming the car, when I hear Pearl sobbing, and Sam comes outside yelling something. Reluctantly, I go inside to check it out (I hate leaving a job unfinished!). Once I got to the door, I realized there was a real problem, because Sam kept saying "Max killed Pearl's fish!!!" I ran through the house, knowing exactly what happened (he's gotten close to dumping the tank before). I pass Pearl on the piano, asking her "where is he?" but she's too hysterical to answer. I get to her room and find a very guilty looking Max and a fish flopping around on the carpet. "Pearl get me some water, QUICK" Pearl - "BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND ANY!!!!" Luckilly, she had half an old school water bottle on her desk, so I quickly put it and Mickey (yes, I picked the fish up with my hands, gross gross, I love my kids that much!) in the tank and rushed to the kitchen. Amazingly, he recovered nicely, along with the two water snails that share his tank. Pearl says "It's a MIRACLE!!!!" Yes, dear, it's a miracle. Poor fish. He's already been with us for 10 months (which is a record) and if he makes it through this, I'm a believer. She then finished her piano lesson, composing a song about the miracle. Funny kid.

Max seems to be untouched by all the reprimands, though he did keep saying "Mickey, Mickey" and signed sorry to Pearl whenever he was asked to. I don't think his memory is quite long enough to avoid a repeat, I think Mickey will have to find a new (higher) home:)

Five.

2011-05-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sammy turned 5 this month. Oh, where does the time go? He's sure all sorts of priveleges are his now that he's five... like blow pops, playing on the school playground with the big kids, and he is SO READY for Kindergarten!

Sam loves to be funny... unfortunately, this means a lot of silliness at school and at taekwondo. And, unfortunately, he's still so dang adorable that all the grownups laugh, encouraging him... sigh. Sam can still talk me into things, like last minute trips to the zoo (not the Folsom zoo, Mom, the SACRAMENTO zoo), and he's still such a good big brother to Max, who simply idolizes him. He's a super smart kid, reading everything he can get his hands on. Today, his hands were covered with marker, so I asked him what he was drawing. "Oh, I was just drawing the Crutacious (sp? Sam could probably correct me) Period." Oh. Love, love, love my Sammy boy!

Garden.

2011-05-27T11:15:00.001-07:00

I. Love. My. Garden. I know, I'm weird. I should be blogging about all the cute things my kids are doing, and I do have pictures, and plan to do that, but what I really want to share is my beautiful garden.

Since we've had the playground outside right next to the garden, I've been able to spend a few minutes out there every day. Sometimes, it's half an hour, but most of the time it's pull a few weeds, plant a few seeds, harvest a bit, with an occasional 2 hour stint on a Saturday. The thing I love most about it is that it's just so dang cute.

Last night we ate (we being primarily Max and Pearl) our first handful of blueberries! Yum! I have a hard time picturing us EVER growing enough to have some actually make it to the house!
Carrots - they are a most popular vegetable. Every day the kids ask if they can have one... we eat a lot of baby carrots. But that's the point, right? Who cares that I will NEVER be putting carrots in a salad or cooking them... they are just for the kids to eat when they come into the garden.
I love my lettuce. It's so nice that it's not rotting in the fridge, when I'm ready, I just go pick a head and we eat it for dinner. So pretty too!
My strawberry plants are impressive... unfortunately, we haven't eaten a strawberry yet as some animal (maybe a racoon or squirrel) considers it his personal buffet. Sigh. Bird netting is temporary until Jared can figure something out better for me!
Aah, the peas... they're gone now, but we had a glorious several weeks in April eating handfuls of snow peas every time we went into the garden. Lots of salads with just garden lettuce and pea pods, so yummy! But don't try to put regular ranch dressing on, it ruins it. You have to do a homemade vinegarette:)
For the past week or two every time I need an onion, I just run out to the garden and pick one. The time was finally here, and yesterday I pulled one full bed out to cure (they have to be in the sun for 2 weeks to dry out so they'll store better). Saturday, I think that bed will be home to some purple bush beans and beets and MORE CARROTS!
Ok, seriously, if you were a ladybug, wouldn't you want to live here? This bed has garlic with baby lettuce growing up in the middle. My plan is to not buy lettuce any more. We'll see how it goes. I've had months at a time so far, but have to get the trick of planting more seeds even when the current lettuce isn't ready to harvest. I'm learning. The cool thing about the garlic and lettuce is that the lettuce likes the shade from the garlic and the garlic likes to keep it's roots cool, which the lettuce provides. Win Win!
I swear, the tomatoes I started from seed are more beautiful and healthy than the one I bought at Lowes. Totally worth it. This is the first year I've done the red plastic... so far it's been really good because we've had a cold spring and I think it's keeping the tomatoes warm.
I am in love with my cute potatoes. They were part of the winter garden this year, and some plants got frost damage and are suffering from some sort of fungus. About 4 of the yukon gold plants were pretty much gone, so today I thought I'd pull them just to see what we got. I was surprised to get a whole bowlful from 4 dead(ish) plants. Max was having SO MUCH FUN grabbing the potatoes out of the dirt, that we decided to pull 3 red/purple ones too. Amazing! I did potatoes last year, and they were certianly not this big when the plants were still so immature. I guess they really do like winter better, working harder underground than above, which, for potatoes, that's really what you want! Better than growing weeds all winter:)
Ok, my other favorite are the 3 sage plants that overwintered from last year. They were scrawny seedlings when I put them in, and now they're big and beautiful and they smell so good. The other thing I love is that they really attract the good bugs, fat fuzzy bumblebees and lots of ladybugs.

So, if you want to sit and enjoy nature, come on by! We'll let the kids run amuck and sit and drink lemonade and look at the garden:)

Funny kids.

2011-05-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sam - reading his Spiderman Sticker book... upon seeing Dr. Octopus...

"hey mom, instead of Mister Octopus, it's Dister Octopus!" Pretty good for a 4 year old!

Two days ago Pearl came to my room SOBBING that she just wasn't sure about sharing a room with Sam... (babies are going together once Ruby arrives)... I had to break it to her... living in your own room is pretty much over now. She'll have Sam for a bit, then Ruby until she leaves, then she'll go to college and get a roomate, then she'll get married... life's tough!

Every time Max gets within 2 feet of you with a book, he turns around and backs into your lap... it's slow and painful and pretty funny.

Even though kids are a pain, they make me smile sometimes. I suppose that's worth it!

Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-05T21:15:00.001-07:00

Max highly approved of Margaritas and Nachos for dinner. Happy Cinco!

Silly boys.

2011-05-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Max just went from MOMMY! MOMMY! to outright crying, so I went into his crib to check it out. The problem? The silly band that Sam had given him was broken. The solution? A new silly band around his little wrist. When did he get so big? Now he's all tucked in but the silly band arm is out of the blanket so he can stare at it lovingly and show it off if he gets the chance:)

PS I did not know that Sam was giving him silly bands. They are both supposed to be sleeping.

PPS I had to tell Sam to at least read his book more QUIETLY so Max could sleep! Roommates!

Happy Easter

2011-04-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

We had to do cousin pictures with all of our matching easter outfits. Needless to say, it's almost impossible to get a good group picture with 7 children (especially when 3 are one year old, one is two years old, you get the drift). So, here's what we got! Happy Easter!

Belt Test

2011-04-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

The whole family (except Max) has been taking Taekwondo since January. Pearl and Sam started last June, then the grownups joined. We go to class 2 nights a week, and I must say that I LOVE it. I had to talk Jared into it initially (by the time we pay for 3, he's free), but he likes it now too. I think my favorite part is that we see him earlier on class days (5:45) than we ever do at home. Sam takes a kid class, then Pearl, Jared, Sherry, and I are in family class together.

Saturday was our first belt test (except for Pearl, she's done it 4 times now). It was fun to all be together, and it was fun to get a new belt! Sam is pretty much a goof off in class, I was sure he was pretty much never going to be invited to test, but Master Yi took pity on him. He was excited all week, and tried really hard in class. Of course, during the test, he had an audience and had to be a clown, but that's only to be expected from Sam, right?

Sam is still pretty much a wet noodle. I think he's gotten better, but it's pretty obvious in class who the Hulbert kids are... the ones with no coordination!!!
He was SO PROUD that his board broke into THREE!!!!
See the amazement!
His best friend Evan takes class too. Evan is much more coordinated. As they grow up, I'm worried about these two sparring. I'm pretty sure Evan is going to cream him, especially after Master Yi matched them up to Promise Fight (promise not to touch each other) and Evan slapped his fist in his hand like a threatening gangster. I hope Sam gets good enough to match him at some point!
Pearl has definitely shown the most improvement. She works really hard, it's not easy for her. But just look at her, she looks pretty good. It's still hard for me to take her seriously with those cute pigtails, though!
She graduated to a grownup board thickness this time, MUCH harder! She was a champ, and she's getting stronger all the time. Good thing Master Yi was there to help!
Sherry and Jared doing their oral exam. I must say, Sherry is quite impressive during class. Master Yi even once said (in surprise?) that she has really strong legs. Thus is the Madsen legacy.
Jared still had a big piece of board left after kicking, so Master Yi had him break the rest with his knife hand. Jared's really strong, he pretty much demolished it. I'm pretty sure I don't have the power to punch a board.
Amazing for a grandma, huh?!
My friend Kevin got this shot of me doing my forms. As we can see, by the size of my belly and the shortness of my belt, it was time for a new one. My new one is bigger than Jared's, hopefully it will last a while!
I did a roundhouse kick to break my board. Got it on the first try, Yes!!
Isn't she beautiful? She's so proud of her color belt - she's still one belt ahead of the grownups. It's amusing when she gives us pointers or tells us to listen in class:)

Go Elite!!!

Tadpoles

2011-04-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

We caught tadpoles tonight. Maybe they'll live this year... we have Auntie Maryann who is experienced with such things:) I should have taken pictures, but was TOO TIRED to go get the camera... I know... I'll get some tomorrow... or the next day... or at least before they turn into frogs... (the tadpoles, not the children)

I have a sister.

2011-04-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

We have some stick on gems. They have been popular lately as face decorations. I'm not sure who put the first one on Max, but he leaves them on ALL DAY. This day, he totally picked out the huge purple butterfly and decided it went on his head. When you ask him about it, he'll show it to you:) I think the next day it was a big red heart, and it stayed on through errands... can we tell he has a sister?

Vacation

2011-04-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

I took a vacation. From blogging. Oh, and we went to Disneyland too.

I didn't take a single picture. Not even with my cell phone.

Shocked? I made a command decision that I wanted to have hands free to enjoy Max without wrestling with a camera. Maybe I should be sad, but I'm not. We had the most fun ever. We got to hang with Aunt Crystal, eat a live (well, it was until we picked it out of the tank and the guy threw it into the steamer) crab, visit my grandpa, go to the beach (where Pearl got wet in the waves for the FIRST TIME EVER), attend the singles ward (Pearl was so nervous Jared and I were going to get kicked out, because we were married... I didn't have the heart to tell her that kids weren't allowed either!) and have days of fun at Disneyland. Max loved Small World (of course), Casey Jr (train man) and the forever favorite Astro Blasters. His version of that ride was to hold the gun and continuously shoot the laser into his eye... one time he even ended up with 1000 points, I have no idea how! He also loved the Jungle Cruise... his favorite part was the piranhas, he kept signing more and saying "ish, ish" when we passed. He also liked to point out things and say "uh" until finally he was too overwhelmed and just waved his pointer around saying "ahhhhhhh!" Sam was super brave and tried new rides like Space Mountain (after which he exclaimed to me "Pearl was REALLY RIGHT!!!! That ride is TOO SCARY!!!!"), Thunder Mountain, and Tower of Terror (both of the kids were angry at Crystal for taking them on that one. Jared and I laughed the whole time). Pearl really enjoyed her time with Crystal, especially the last hour of the day when they got to go off by themselves without stinky boys, how cool is that?

It really was a fun vacation. It's funny how now we are a big enough family to make quite the vacation on our own... we loved it. Goodbye, Disneyland! See you in a few years!

Quad

2011-03-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Uncle Brian is cool. We all know this, and the kids especially love having him live near us for a bit longer. WHO ELSE would decide to take the dust-laden quads out of the barn (technically, they belong to a friend of the family) and give the kids rides around the property on a rainy day? You're right... no one. That's why Uncle Brian is so cool.

Sam was a HUGE fan, just look at his face as he was running home to tell me how awesome it was. (PS it was like 1:00 on a Saturday and yes, the kids were still in their pajamas. Yup. That's real life, folks!)
So, Max and Jared decided to give it a try.
Hmm... not so sure...

Ok, really not a fan. Maybe he would have done better if Uncle Brian had been driving? We'll never know, because I'm pretty sure Max won't be getting back on!

Pearl Sews

2011-03-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Remember my new years resolutions? Well, it was Lizzie's 5th birthday, and Pearl and I decided it was a good day to make sleeping bags for Felicity and Lizzie's birthday doll, Ashleigh. Instead of a party, Liz got to have Pearl spend the night, so we figured the sleeping bag would be appropriate. Off we went to the fabric store (technically the back corner of Grandma Hulbert's office) and thanks to some velcro I had on hand, we got to start sewing right away. We recently made a quilt in girl scouts, and Pearl had sewn Felicity's quilt and mattress with her grandma, so she's gotten pretty good with a sewing machine. I made the sleeping bags, but Pearl made the pillows and sewed them onto the bags ALL BY HERSELF - no joke. She sewed, stuffed, tucked and topstiched those pillows.

And, it's safe to say, that they were a big hit! The dolls were cozy, and everone was happy (except poor Katie, I'll have to find an excuse to make her one soon:)
Check for me!

Rain.

2011-03-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

It has been raining so much. The whole world is wet, and it's during this time of the year that I really wish I had a garage. The kids have been stuck inside, which is hardest on Max, who has the least capacity for self entertainment. He kept escaping out the side door, so I finally had to get a latch for it, I was so tired of changing his clothes 5 times a day! Today, he was begging so hard to go outside, and I was trying to make dinner, so I put his jacket on and gave in. He had a blast, he stayed out for like 20 minutes, then he came in happy:) At one point, he tried to take shelter under his slide, but I think the cold was finally getting to him, so he and his little red nose finally came inside. Whatever works to keep us both happy! He then took a warm sink bath while I finished up dinner... win win!