I'm a firm believer in "play"

I'm not a Mom that entertains her children. 

I mean, that's why I had more than one right? So they could play together. 

Raise hell together.

Beat on each other.

Learn to share.

Tattle on each other. 

Strongly dislike each other. 

Sure, I do a lot of yelling raising my voice. And I  referee more than I'd like to. I correct the usage of the word "hate". I kiss booboos and put toys in timeout that aren't being put away when I ask.

So when I get that moment in a picture of them perfectly loving life and who they are in this family....

It's so worth it.

Welcome to the world angry bird

My little angry bird came to us on June 19th. 

She weighed... 9.5 lbs! 

Measured 19.5 inches.

And is practically perfect in every way.

There is a pretty cool birth story,

Since I had her at home and everything.

But since it's only been just shy of four weeks, you can imagine what kind of chaos

my life is right now. 

You know, cause it's summer. 

And I have three others. 

So bear with me and enjoy this bundle of sweetness on your screen. 

Gender reveal!!!

Oh boy! I mean, I'm really excited about the ultrasound we had today. We saw lots of the new baby. The spine was fabulous, so much that the tech said so:) No cleft lip and all major organs are working beautifully. It took a good 20 minutes to capture the lip picture because the baby found the placenta to be a perfect hiding place. Needless to say, my midsection got quite a beating with all the jumbling to get baby to move. And I felt like I needed to go to gym with how jiggly it was...lol. But without further adeu, here are some pictures.

Good to see that the nose looks like the other kids'. 

 

And alien baby because we are only 18 weeks along so there's not much fat to show the features:) 

And I'm keeping the "goods" picture private since our little GIRL might not want that in public:) Yes, another girl. And little Miss couldn't be more excited:) Yay for us:) Now excuse me while I go live on pinterest for nursery ideas.

An early celebration

(click on images to make larger)

We celebrated she-devil's birthday a week or so early so that Daddy could be here. I'm not sure what it is about this girl's birthday parties but I stress out big time. Last year's party was super cute and I can not believe I didn't blog about it...hmph! Well anyway, it stressed me out. I blamed it on being preggers with boy number 2. So what is my excuse this year? No. I. Dea.
I'll just chalk it up to...just getting moved in. Yes! That will work. It worked out and, while it wasn't as elaborate as I have been known to throw, she seemed as happy as any two year old could be with her "birday" :)
I hold no promises to what will happen for sassy pants' birthday though. I'm thinking....

Aaaaaarg me matey!

Losing talents

I will have to agree and say that is really is true that if you don't practice the talents that have been given you by the supreme being...you lose them. I am referring to sewing. 

We have been able to sell some of our stuff in Utah.(we have a storage unit there costing us money) With the money we have made I've been able to get my in-laws to pack up and send us some stuff that we (I) have wanted. One of the big things was my sewing machine. Between having to fix pants, and darting a skirt that is way to big for Miss C, there's been some projects I've wanted to do also. A quiet book being on the top of my list. So to make a long pointless story longer and even more pointless, it's been a while since I have used my machine. Before Christmas last year I think.

I'm not proclaiming to be the worlds best sewer, just take a look at some stuff I've made, but I enjoy it. Making something from scratch and having people think you're like...amazing, is pretty neat. :) So I pulled it out tonight. (my machine people!) I wanted to make a 'baby doll sized' blanket for my daughter because trying to use one of her blankets to wrap up a doll that is, surprisingly smaller than her, is a pain. And if I can make the tantrums less and give me a moment of peace...I'm going to do it!

I used a cotton material and some minky. I know that it is easier to use a quilting foot with minky because it feeds through the machine sooo much better than without. I forgot, however, how to properly put the foot on. So when I started sewing the fabric wasn't going anywhere. Duh! I need to put the feed teeth down.

Nope.

Putting the teeth down doesn't do anything when using the quilt foot. Only when free-motion sewing. Way off base here.Well what's the problem? Put the feet back up. Hmmm. Well you big smart person you, you forgot to put the arm on the shank for the foot to actually go up and down properly. Yah. Special. 

The whole point is that, if you have a talent, practice it. If you don't you may just think you aren't any good and should just quit. That is usually how I end up quitting so many things. It's a vicious cycle in my brain:) But I am glad I have my machine and can practicing making things so that I can feel good about myself. And so I can remedy melt downs with a simple quick stitch. 

This is what she gets

Now to make some clothes for the exhibitionist doll!

Bananas

We've got a new snack in our house. OK, it's not really new as in we thought it up but it's not something we have always eaten. It's bananas and peanut butter. It's so delicious! So needless to say we have been eating a lot of bananas. That's mostly ok for me being on weight watchers...the fruit is free! I haven't been over loading but I've been enjoying myself:)

But I bet you didn't know what else bananas are good for? Surprises! Especially for Dads when they go to put on their shoes and the big toe smooshes into a banana that has been hidden! Yes, our sly daughter, at some point in the day, shoved the rest of her half-eaten banana in Matt's shoe. hahahahahaha! How nasty! HE stuck his foot in and made this like weird noise and I thought he had squished a bug or something and then he pulls out this slimy, piece of banana. It made my night. :)

I picked up Nutella. From listening for a long time about all these people rave and hoo-yah about it, I thought I better try it. I think it actually did the opposite. I tasted it. It was ok. I guess I will try it on a banana. And that's what I have to say about that.

A tale of tall tales

Sitting at the computer writing this post

Hear Miss C start crying a hurt cry

Go in to see what happened

Pick her up

me "what happened"?

B "She was trying to get in between here and I didn't want her to so I [gentle sweeping motion] moved her back"

me "you pushed her down"

B "no...I didn't want her to get squeezed so I just moved her back"

me "you pushed her down"

B "well, I moved her back and I didn't do it very nicely"

me "yea...you pushed her down"

A day in the life

On a daily basis I observe the following:

sudden onset attacks to un-assuming victims

the distinct sound of a Tasmanian devil

the exchange of words in another foreign tongue

a diva trying to put 3 or 4 shoes on at once

random acts of violence

self inflicting pain in the form of flailing around

periodic moments of seeing if the tv is working by turning it off

If you or anyone you know has an 18 month at home...please.. call your local someone for help! You don't have to suffer alone. 18 month olds aren't a joke...they can hurt!

Sleeping 2

So I think everyone is aware now that we are staying at my in-laws. They have a five bedroom home but we are staying in the dungeon as some put it. This works for me. It's a place to let the kids run around like banshees when they are hyper. A place to send the eldest to watch tv when I'm about to rip my eyes out. And generally just where I'd rather be. It works out perfectly. Except. At. Bedtime. 

Last night was a rather special one as you could tell from my post. Sorry about that. For starters, the last week or so has been rough because my baby has been teething, which has caused loose stools. I know...TMI. But it's relevant to my insanity. Her bum is red and has open sores on it from the numerous BM's she has a day. I have quit counting because it has already started making my eye twitch. I am using baby powder, and Balmex, and Desitin, and a bath in baking soda. whew...back to the point. She likes to have one of these movements after I put her in bed...for like the past week. She can't just go to sleep because she is sharing a room with her brother. They like to entertain each other. Cute right? No. Especially when I have a cramped back from all this diaper changing business and want to use the jetted tub down in my dungeon:) So I get done blogging and go to get in the bathroom and my eldest is peeking out of his room, with a green shirt on. you've got to be freaking kidding me  So I stomp up the stairs and into his room. He has on his church shirt, a tie, dress pants, and shoes with no socks on...over his pj's. "what are you doing? it's time for bed"!!! "FINE! I am not going to church ANYmore". "No you aren't...because church isn't at night"!!! 

I make him get undressed and get a faint whiff of poo. C if you've freakin pooped again I'm going to kill myself. -smell- you have GOT to be joking me!!!!! So I take sore bottom girl and change her yet AGAIN, all the while cursing her butt:) Get her back in bed, and threaten my son with a spanking if he doesn't go to sleep. An older child would have mocked me because it has been a very long time since I have spanked him and it's now an empty threat. I left. And went to my rocking chair. Wanting to cry but not. I'm hoping for a better night tonight. One with a little less poop and more sugar plums dancing in heads. Till the next fun-filled adventure,

-Meg

Little things

Do you ever want to stab a fork in  your eye? Yea, me neither. I do however imagine flying off the side of the highway while I'm driving. lol. Don't worry...it's only a fleeting thought...I've never thought about it enough to try:) 

I have put up most of the pictures on facebook. I'm too lazy to put them on here too. That's the problem with all these social networks! -sigh- 

So life isn't quite normal yet. I am just now,today, doing our laundry. The son's bag is still sitting on the living room floor waiting to be put away. Sad. Oh well. I went grocery shopping today. It was thrilling because what would cost me almost $200 at wal-mart, only cost $122 at Winco! Yippee! I know...it's the little things:) 

My baby is crawling now! She has also popped out a bucky beaver tooth on the top gum. Hehe. It amuses me. Her crawl is quite amusing too. She gets excited and stutters her movements.

Had my Dr appt yesterday. Everything went well. I was up a few too many pounds. I blame it on sitting in the car for a loooong time:) So my goal is to not gain anything for my next appt. I can do it...I can do it. My doc came in and asked if I was ready to find out what we were having. "no". Ok, well I'm glad you told me. So that temptation has been averted! The last one will be in 5 weeks for the anatomy u/s. It shouldn't be a problem though. I really think we have the willpower and excitement for it to be a surprise. Sorry! :) ok. I'm done for now. Till then,

Meg

Will the excitement never cease?!

I really should have been writing this whole time with all the crazy things that have gone on. But alas, my energy faileth at the end of the day. I know...how much energy does getting on the computer require? I will tell you...a lot! Not so much physical obviously...but my mental power is lacking. I also need to write down this fact, as to why one should never have children so close together, your brain goes into hyperdrive for brain cells spewing out. I constantly find myself going in circles trying to remember what I was doing or what I was getting. It's insane. 

So, I'm on "vacation". Ha! I think I will be on vacation when I get home:) Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed my time here. Really,...I'm not just trying to convince myself. What has happened since we entered New England. 

1. my niece was super cranky when we arrived and her Mom just attributed it to schedule change because,well, her daughter doesn't do change well. But she took her to the Dr's for some goopy stuff taht was going on in her eye...turns out she had an ear infection and the start of another one...so on antibiotics she went. Well...since my baby was rather cranky and showed some of the same behavior I decided to take her to the Dr's as well. So off we went to the insta care...and 4 hours later we discover she had a residual double ear infection...so on to antibiotics she went. 

2. The antibiotics she is on gave her some loose bowels. We went to drop off my FIL at the Hartford airport which takes about an hour with traffic. Well on the way back my eldest tells me that his sister pooped in her carseat. I thought he was referring to the time when she was newborn and made a ginormous mess in her seat. So I brushed it off. Drive a few more minutes and I get a whiff of something of the poo nature. Hmmm...so I ask...."son, is there poop in her carseat"? "yes". Great!!!! "and she's got it on her nose". Awesome!!!! All I could do was laugh. Laugh at the insanity. Laugh at the mess I was going to have to clean up. I look back and she's got her legs up in the air and of course they are covered in poo. lol. The luck. 

Ahh...yes. Vacation. My niece, while cute and fuzzy, has the biggest stubborn gene. It's mixed in with being contrary. Poor Jen really lucked out...not only do her kids look like Erick,...they both act like him too. Not saying Erick is a bad person, but his kids don't know how to control their controllable genes yet:) To each our own though. Aside from the baby who hasn't felt good until a few days ago, the eldest has been a pain. He definitely has the mother hen thing down. Which is amusing to me because he's been an only child for 4 years...and I really doubt 9 months of his sister has done it to him. Nature. Weird. 

Fun things you ask? Sure! We went to Mystic Village and bought the BEST Vermont sharp cheddar I've ever had! I'm not one for munching on just cheese...but oh boy did I with this stuff! Also got some tasty Moose tracks fudge which probably has added a pound or two to my butt:) We went to the ocean. It was colder than a witches(fill in the blank). The kids had fun. Jen's girl discovered sand and was rolling around in it like a sports illustrated bikini model...lol. My girl liked picking it up, squishing it in her fingers and then eating it. 

There it goes,...the brain power. So till the time I muster more up,

Meg

I was going to update this thing with a new recipe...and a tutorial on how to make a super-hero cape, like the one I made for B. But it's late and I'd like to get in bed before 10:) So instead I'll just put up a few pics of what's been going on lately. 

 

 I took some pics of Miss C and her Daddy. Before I grabbed my camera she was looking at him so cute. Like deep into his eyes telling him the mysteries of the world. But go figure...I grab the camera and she quits. Such is the life of a mom trying to capture "moments". 

 

If you are asking yourself "did you guys really let him do that"? The answer is yes! Why, I don't know. Because he thought it would be fun. And he did have a blast until he decided to try it on the bigger stairs and chin-planted! lol. He was ok...just scared him...for about 5 seconds and he wanted to do it again. 

 

I made him this cape today. I was finally able to find a king-silky pillowcase at a thrift store today. I went to two yesterday and they had maybe 5 between the two of them. I told my SIL that if I went to Savers(the thrift store) and they didn't have anything I was going to move in with her...just to shop at the thrift stores. The traffic that we get in these is less than par:) 

 

We went to our wards chili cook off on saturday evening. These are Matt's eyes after preparing some onions to go into the chili. We should have won. And I'm still a little butt hurt that we didn't. Oh well. Better luck next time:) Alright my merry weather friends. Till I get ambition to log some recipes,

Meg

Gorgeous



I have gorgeous kids, WE have gorgeous kids. Even if the elder is a weanie.

Baby C has turned 4 months old. Amazing, crazy, amazingly crazy! She has learned how to roll from belly to back! She is sooooo close to going from back to belly....she gets up on her side looking at things and just a small breeze would push her the rest of the way:) She seems to be doing good on formula, bulking up a little bit. I hope it's enough for her pediatrician...not sure what will happen if it's not. Haul me off to jail I guess:)






My crazy, out of control, ADHD son is great. He never ceases to amaze me in things that come out of his mouth. I have noticed that I don't photograph him much anymore on a daily basis, and it's because I get pictures like this:


So please don't think it's because I don't love him as much(although some days that may be true :P) it's just....he doesn't sit still much:) But...I know I should be embracing that and snapping away. Alright...you made me feel bad enough I will. hehe.

Projects. I have one that I definitely need to get done before a little baby enters my sister's life, to go along with her other...ahem...daughter. I've got so many things I want to do, but how to find time for, quilting, photography, blog design, being a Mom, wife,travel.....-sigh-...it's overwhelming. Maybe my "new" year should be scheduling and tasking:) I guess I need to start my days at the butt crack eh? That probably would help the weight loss:P

So till the next post(hopefully soon),
Meg

We are fast approaching Christmas! Can you believe it? I can't. Another year come and gone. Time to start thinking of the new year's "resolutions". Lol....what a joke:) They don't change much year to year,...eat better, lose weight, do better in a church calling, read the scriptures. It certainly would be nice to accomplish all of those things and turn them into habits. Ah well. Anyway! haha. This past weekend was good for us. I went shopping with my MIL on Saturday while my son and his uncle spent some time together and were able to see a bald eagle. If you haven't seen his pictures yet, go here.
Then on Sunday...yes I know, we took B to see Santa at the mall. He was fairly excited to see him. He's getting more and more excited for Santa to come this week. :)




I was BUSY yesterday! This is the kitchen before all the festivities started. :)



I looooove love love my mixer! I should clean it up more than I do but then you don't get the ambiance that a mixer is supposed to have. The flour spewed every where, stuck on molasses from ginger snaps:)



The final product form a hard days work. Treats in a cute ginger bread man bag. I had fun but it certainly was tiring.


I also took Miss C to the Dr's yesterday. Her general visit went well except for the fact that I have apparently (without my knowing) haven't been feeding her enough. Yes, I have been breastfeeding 5-6 times a day but my body has decided not to produce the amount she needs. So, besides feeling like a failure, she is on the bottle now. I definitely have mixed emotions about it. I was ready to stop, but wanted to do it on my terms, not because I had to. Blah blah blah right:) Hope everyone's holiday season is going smoothly!

Meg

This and that

It's the third week in December. It has snowed and been super cold up until this week. I have been studying and researching photography, web design stuff, and figuring out how to work Abobe. I will say that my brain is tired, but I'm loving it. Life is so much better when you have things to keep you busy:)



Miss C has been a riot this week. She is perfecting a new "screech" that she's figured out she can vocalize:) It cracks me up. I don't remember laughing at B like I do her, but I was telling my preggo sister that I think it's because I need the comedy relief from the stress of my 4 year old!




Yesterday was full of productive-ness! My MIL and I (and a little help from B) made some fun Christmas food. She found a recipe for soft sugar cookies. So we made some up.




yumm-o! They were soft and were quite close to the cookies at walmart with all the fatty frosting on them,...you know the ones I mean:)



We only had one casualty batch!




I had the pleasure of making my FAVORITE cookies ever. I thought they were some awesome secret family thing, but after looking on the label for calories, (these are 192 by the way!) I saw the recipe right on back. So go buy some white chocolate bark(my personal fav) and whip up a batch:)



Merry Christmas!
Meg

Happy Fall....sort of:)

Happy Fall everyone! We are officially in the season...but Utah hasn't figured that out yet:) As I type it's about 80 degrees out..phooey! Not too much exciting going on around here. We went up to Idaho this past weekend and visited Marc and Stacie. B and his youngest cousin had an awesome time playing together. They didn't fight like cats and dogs, so it was very nice:) Stacie has pictures from the weekend on her blog.
Miss C turned a month old on Friday! How crazy it is how time flies by. She is changing every day. I think she has bulked up a little bit in the last week. And she is practicing her smiling:) I get them very rarely compared to how hard I try to get one out of her:) But it's all worth it to see her mouth do that weird crooked, gumless, face contortion:)
Our realtor gave us some tickets to a fall farm bonanza thing:) We went a had a pretty good time. B went down this ginormous slide thing a few times. His last round up he turned around at the top and went back down! Matt and I were like...uhh what's he doing? So I walked around and looked and they had it so you had to climb up a big rope net thing...and he was playing on it! Oh he's a dork sometimes:) After that we went out on the tractor ride to get our pumpkins! It was fun and B really enjoyed himself! So here the pics from that and our pumpkins on our steps:) Till next time,
Meg






way too bright out here mom!

2 weeks already

So...it's now been over two weeks since our new baby has been born:) Wow. 2 weeks and I haven't killed myself yet:) It hasn't been too bad around here. Mornings are definitely a lot slower:) We have gotten out of the house twice this week. I have showered and gotten dressed 3 times this week:) Probably shouldn't write things like that:x Oh well:) Our nights have been going really well. She consistently sleeps at least 4 hours a night between feedings. Matt helps me by getting her and changing her and I feed and put her back to bed. It seems to work ok and Matt hasn't had any complaints:) We have a Dr appt tomorrow. I am going to brave it and bring B along:) We'll see how it goes. My MIL offered to watch him, but what's the fun in that:) Maybe I'll be singing a different tune tomorrow:P
Anyway, I made some oatmeal bread today...so I will write the recipe on here for all those that asked:) Along with a picture of the finished project and a video of C on her belly:) Hope everyone is good! Till then,
Meg

Oatmeal bread
2 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tblspn melted shortening

mix in order given. bake in a loaf pan at 350 for 45-1 hour. serve warm...ENJOY!


yumm-O!!!!!!





playing outside:)

Bath time:)

She was pretty hungry during this...that's why she was fussing. And of course I had to pick this night to video her bath:)

sleeping babes

Sleeping babies are so cute...with their eyes all rolling back in their heads and mouth twitches:) C is a very good sleeper. We have been having just as good luck with her as we have with B. It has been very nice. She seems to be putting on weight which is also good and I am pleased to report that she is having bowel movements:) She also loves her hair being washed. I need to take a video of it with my camera:) As for the mother of these 2 fine individuals...I am doing good. I'm grateful for the fact that I don't seem to suffer from the baby blues. I had one day where I was a little overwhelmed, but I think that's because I caught a cold and was really tired. Other than that I'm chipper:D Jen left today. We are sad to see her go but know that she really was ready to get home and get back to her routine with her daughter. Her parents leave in about 3 weeks I think it is to go back East and make the yearly visit. I'm bummed I can't go. Well, I could, but it would definitely be very interesting. And I think I would miss Matt too much,...and his help :P So instead we are going to soak up the "vacation" away from his family...lol. Anyway. Hope everyone is doing well and know that we love you! Till then,
Meg