Thanksgiving

We unexpectedly spent Thanksgiving in Idaho this year. We have stayed at home the last couple of years, so it was fun to "home" again. We spent it with Scott's family. Almost his whole family was there, so it was a really great Thanksgiving. The kids were able to decorate gingerbread houses. Then today we were able to attend my nephew's blessing and see most of my family. The trip was well worth it, but I am glad to be back home.

Its official

Scott received his CPA license today. So as of Monday the 9th he is officially a licensed CPA.

My Babies Are Growing Up

This has been the week for growing up. Biggest news first, My little Emmie is getting potty-trained. She has only had a few accidents, but is doing so great, even at night. She is so proud of the fact that she no longer wears diapers. Mary is now walking along everything and really babbling. She can say mama, dada, and baba. I'm just amazed at how quickly my children are growing.

Halloween Candy

I was reading my friends blog and she had her kids sell their candy to her for a new toy. Scott and I thought that was a great idea. So we came up with a few special activities the kids like to do and put a price tag on them. We had a camp out with movies worth 20 candies, trip to library- 15 candies, TV time- 15 candies, and one-on one time with mom and dad- 15 candies. So the kids decided what they wanted to do and each one was able to buy three of the activities and still had a small handful of candy left. So now everyone is happy. Thanks for the Idea.

HALLOWEEN

Those of you who know me really well know that I hate Halloween. Halloween and Valentine's day are my least favorite holidays. However, this year (thanks to Scott's Aunt and Uncle) my kids pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me celebrate Halloween. We made treats, and decorated sugar cookies, decorated pumpkins, carved pumpkins, dressed up a lot, went trick-or-treating, and made donuts & homemade pizza and had a party. Hopefully, I don't have to do all of this again next year. yeah right, huh? :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Brooke, this is for you. Since I can't remember to give this to you I thaught I would post it. I got this recipe from my friend in Tooele. (thanks again Emily)

chocolate chip cookies
1 c butter melt a little in the microwave
2/3 c honey
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
mix well for about a minute on high.
3 c wheat flour (if it looks like it needs a little more add 1/3 cup to that)
2 c chocolate chips
1 c almonds or any other nut that you like. (optional)
mix well and bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

MY BABY

This is how I find my baby these days. She thinks she's a big girl. I want her to stay a baby but I can't stop her. I'm worried she will be walking no later than 9 months.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

Scott has finally passed all of his CPA exams. Now we just need to apply for the license and he will officially be a CPA. We just got the score and I am so excited I am having a hard time paying attention to Conference. :)

Family Pictures

We got family picture last night. All I can say is I have the cutest kids ever. :)

I AM SOOO TIRED

This weekend was literally spent in the car. My sisters, mom, and I got together for a mini vacation. We went to Temple Square, drove up to Heber, stayed up most of the night, drove to Provo, looked at a couple of museums, drove to Mt. Timpanogas Temple, and drove back to Sunset. Then shortly after returning to my house, my parents, my sister and nephew, and I drove out to Nebraska for my nephew's baby blessing. As soon as we got there my sister-in-law got us back in the car and took us to the apple festival, then we drove an hour to the zoo, came back, next morning drove half an hour to go to church, and after Sacrament Meeting we drove all the way back home. Depending on traffic, construction, and which way you go it is a 12-16 hour drive. It was a great weekend and I loved seeing my brother and his family. I missed my family terribly though. And now I am ready to stretch out on my bed and catch up on all the sleep I missed.

Update

Mary is now 6 1/2 months old. How quickly time flies. She can now sit up on her own, crawl, eats some table food, and has 4 teeth (all came within 3 days) with 2 more on the way. And all of this has happened in a 2 week time span. My baby is no longer a baby and it makes me sad.

Hannah, Jordan, and Emmie are all doing school. I wasn't planning on starting until yesterday, but my kids were super anxious and have almost finished their 3rd week. But hey that just means we get to start summer vacation earlier.

Labor day was really great this year. Scott didn't have any studying to do, so it was a real holiday for us. We took the kids to the park, then they ran through the sprinkler, we had a cook out, and ended the night by roasting marshmallows and making smores.

Life is busy, but good.

Mushrooms

Funny story. I have this plant that I got about 6 years ago. I got it at a time when I got a lot of plants. I love plants, but sometimes you can have to many. Well, I can't just throw a plant out so I tried to kill my plants. I have 3 plants now, a cactus (my favorite), an aloe vera, and this one. I don't even know what it is but it survived my attempts to kill it, many moves, etc. Well, I went to check on it last night and it seems that not only can't I kill it, but I can grow mushrooms with it. I think this was a test of loyalty to see if I have really grown to love this plant or not. I decided that I really do love it, because first thing this morning, I got a new pot and fresh new soil for my plant, and hopefully I won't be growing any more mushrooms.

CANNING

We moved too late to plant a garden this year, but thankfully we recieved a lot of food to can. I got 21 quarts of green beans, 35 quarts of potatoes, 21 quarts of carrots, 58 frozen cobs of corn, 10 pints of pumpkin, and 6 pints of jam. This was also my first year of mostly canning on my own. (I made several phone calls to make sure I was using the canner properly.) Thanks to my mom for teaching me how to can, my sister for answering all my questions, and Brooke for being a lifesaver and letting me use her foodprocessor. I have got to get one of those.

Raspberry/Huckleberry Jam

My first attempt at freezer jam didn't work quite right. But thanks to my sister, it was salvaged and in the end worked out. It looks pretty and tastes good too. My mom is coming next week and hopefully she will teach me how to make jam right.

This Weekend

We went to Idaho this weekend. My brother from Nebraska was there with his family. We got to see my new little nephew. It was great. My parents decided to redo their roof, so the first 2 days Scott helped on the roof and got very sunburned. Then the next day I helped do the stairs. My brother owns a decking business so he redid the front and the back stairs. They are very nice now and I am amazed at how new just a few changes made the house look. My brother is awesome at his business and he was great to let me help and teach me some of his vast knowledge. Then Scott and I were able to go on a date with my brother and sister-in-law. Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law. The only time Scott and I really get to date is when she babysits. I am so grateful to her. I was also able to do some huckleberrying and (again thanks to my mother-in-law) I also picked some raspberries. I am going to make freezer jam. It will be my first attempt so we'll see how it goes.

AIR!!!!!

We finally have air. I am so excited. In fact the kids woke up begging me to give them their coats. That's how well our air works. YEA!

Sunset

I forgot to mention to some that we moved to Sunset. For those of you that don't know where Sunset is, it is just north of Layton and just south of Roy. It is a very small city, but I love it. The best part is that I am only 5-10 minutes from everything. I have my choice of at least 5 different grocery stores and at least 6 different clothing stores. I LOVE IT! Yes, I know that is weird to hear from someone who hates shopping. The only down side is that our new home did not come with A/C and as you all know this last weekend was terrible without it. We actually had the a/c installed on Thursday, but there was some incompatible parts and so it doesn't work. Hopefully by the end of the day we will have cool air.

HI AGAIN!

We are finally in our new home. I did not realize this process could be such an emotional, stressful, enjoyable, etc. adventure. But we made it. We moved on Tuesday and right off the bat we had help from the Elder's Quorum and visits from the Relief Society. And we didn't even tell them we were coming. Isn't the Church great. The kids are so happy to be here. I can't hardly keep them inside (especially Emmie). They are so excited to have a yard. And I am so excited because it is fully fenced. There are some advantages to buying an older home. The kids do miss all of their friends from Tooele though. Hannah is glad that our computer is up and running so that we can read everyone's blogs together. Hannah went to her first Diabetes camp this week. She loved it and really grew from it. It was great for her to see that there really other kids her age that have diabetes too.

Moving

Well, its official. We are moving. We just heard from our landlord and he has someone that wants this house. So, we have to be gone by May 31 at the latest. I will miss you all so much, but hopefully we can keep in touch and maybe you will let me come visit every so often.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to you all. My wonderful children gave me cards and a bag of reese's peanut butter cups(my favorite), let me nap, and made me cookies, all with Scott's help. Scott got me another season of the old Mission Impossible tv series. We took a family walk this evening. It was a great day.

Amazing Mom and New Couch

Yesterday, I had an Amazing Mom moment. I got all four of my kids to nap at the same time. It was great especially since Hannah and Jordan don't nap anymore. Scott's aunt got a new couch and gave us their old one. We love it. So here are pictures of the kids napping on the new couch.
(the little bundle of blankets is Mary)

Mary's Blessing

Sunday was Mary's bleesing. It was a wonderful day with many of our family visiting. Mary, as you can see, loves her binkie and wouldn't be happy for me unless she had it. Overall though, she was a very good, beautiful baby.

My Birthday

I use to work in a flower shop and can be very picky about flowers. Because of this Scott doesn't buy me flowers very often. However, yesterday was my birthday, so tonight he surprised me with this absolutely beautiful vase of flowers, then he continued to surprise me by having gotten a babysitter so we could go on a date. He took me out for mexican, which happens to be my favorite. It was a really great birthday.

I Am Too Cute!

Mary will be 2 months on Saturday. Time flies way too fast.

All About Adrina

My sister-in-law Tara had this on her blog and I thought I would do it on mine.

5 strange/unique things about me:
-I have never been on an airplane
-I have visited almost every state in the Continental United States
-I have have been to 2 foreign countries
-I love both my parents and my in-laws.
-I dislike coloring eggs at Easter and carving pumpkins for Halloween (probably just because of the mess) Tara and I are the same on this one.

5 things I LOVE:
-Mint Chocolate Chip Ice cream
-My Family
-Hot baths
-A clean house
-Reading

5 things I hate:
-Utah Drivers (yes I know I live in Utah and so do most of my friends)
-Seafood
-A messy house
-Mushrooms (I'm Allergic)
-No Sleep

5 of my fave. things to eat:
-Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
-Enchiladas
-Lasagna
-Jelly Beans
-Chocolate chip cookies

1 Month

I can't believe it, my little baby is 1 month old. And she is cuter than ever. We have been having so much fun with her. Mary just absolutely loves to be cuddled and of course the kids are more than willing to hold her. The problem is that not much gets done around the house with Mary here. But hey that's ok because they are only babies once.

Spiders

I hate spiders. I can stand them more than some things, but I still really can't stand them. There has been an explosion of spiders in my house this week. I found them in my bed, on the walls, ceilings, and even in my microwave. I hope that its not going to be this way all summer.

Thanks

I just wanted to say thanks to all of my friends that have brought me meals, offered to or taken my kids, visited, and just been super supportive. thank you all, I really appreciate my wonderful friends.

My Husband Is The Absolute Best

I have read several blogs about how wonderful your husbands are. Well I know for sure that my husband is the best. He has very unselfishly been catering to all of my needs, the kids needs and Mary's needs 24 hours a day. He gets up with Mary all through the night so I can get some rest and still gets up each morning and works all day long. Then he comes home and takes care of the kids, does dishes and cleans up the house, so that I can have the time I need to heal. And He hasn't complained at all. That to me is the best way he could show me he loves me. He truely is the best husband.

Mary Miller

Mary was born Saturday February 21, 2009 at 12:29 p.m. She weighed 6lbs 10 oz and is 19 inches long. We are both home now and doing great. Labor and delivery was really quick and easy. Delivery took less than 10 minutes, start to finish, so it really was great.

Please make up your mind

The doctor told me that when I had contractions 6 minutes apart to go to the hospital. So Saturday they were 4 minutes apart, we went to the hospital, and of course they sent me home. Its so hard to know when to go in when the doctor doesn't even know.

I have been homeschooling Hannah for kindergarten. She had a goal to be done with school before the baby came. She pushed herself and accomplished the goal on Friday. I am so proud of her.

Countdown Continued

Only 5 weeks left. Its funny because this whole pregnancy, with all its complications and bed rest, I prayed for time to go by fast. It did, but now I'm not sure I am ready. Now I want time to slow down. I am such a woman. I apparently can't make up my mind.

Crazy Things

We went up to Idaho this weekend for my niece's baptism. It was great and I got to see a lot of my family. Traveling was quick and thankfully the roads were clear. Earlier in the week I had been having some pain in my eye and thought that I had gotten a cold in it, by Thursday it was beet red. All weekend I felt like Ruldolph with my extremely red eye. By Saturday I was in so much pain I couldn't stand it. Thankfully my brother has a lot of medical knowledge, so I called him and got a hold of my sister-in-law instead and she told me what I needed to do. I have UV-itis. And now the pain is basically gone, there is still some red, and I am almost completely blind in my eye, thanks to the medicine making my eye so blurry. But hey I can stand some blindness as long as the pain is gone and it is necessary for my eye to get better. Hopefully by the end of this week I will be back to normal.

Another crazy thing is that we have this toy train that we got as a hand me down 2 Christmases ago. The engine was supposed to make noise and sounds, but it never worked and so my kids have been having fun with it anyway. Well all of the sudden, about a month ago, the kids were playing and the whistle started to make noise and then the light started working and now the engine works like it is supposed to.

Sometimes Crazy things just happen.

Countdown

Finally, I can start counting down. The Dr. said that I have to go at least 2 more weeks, but then I will no longer be considered pre-term. So I now have anywhere from 2-3 to 7 weeks left. Yea!

Stress and Blessings

I have felt so stressed out lately that it has really affected my mood. It seems that it is constantly pouring at our house. Every time I think things are going to be ok with the pregnancy then we find out about something new. For instance we just got good news that I had quit hemorrhaging in the placenta, but then found out that I was borderline with gestational diabetes. The kids don't let me sleep. Scott's working on his last CPA test , and the list can go on and on. There are so many days when I just want to scream and make it all stop. But then I got on the blog last night and saw Emily's blog about being grateful, and realized that I needed to focus on my blessings. So here is my list.

1) My kids - with all the trials and miscarriages I have had, I am really grateful that I have the kids I do. I love them so much and am glad that Heavenly Father let me keep them.

2) My Husband- he works so hard and even though we struggle, he has always made it so that I could stay home with the kids. I am really grateful for that.

3) My Friends- you all seem to always know exactly what I need when I need it. Like the other day when Ann brought crafts and bread over. Thank you, it was wonderful. I know that you guys will pick me up when I need the extra help.

4) My Calling - I am grateful that at least once a week I can go to Church and focus on all those kids and what they have to offer me. And for three hours everything else seems to disappear.

5) My family - I love phones and e-mail. I am so grateful that even though I live away from most my family, I can pick up the phone and they are there.

6) I am grateful I am not alone. I am grateful that there is always someone there for me, to help me and guide me and teach me all the time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Let's just say sleep deprivation. The last two weeks seem to have rolled into one day. That's how little sleep I got. It was great though. We did mostly homemade gifts this year, which I always think are more fun, and more stressful : ). The kids loved them. The next great thing was that my sister and her family came from Idaho to visit. They went 35mph the whole way, but finally made it. We played lots of games and ate lots of snacks. I swear I have gained all my required 20-40 pregnancy pounds in the last two weeks. My goals for the new year are:

1) Make it through the month of January and first week of February without having the baby.

2) Have my baby. (no duh right)

3) Get to the point where I can finally play with my kids again.

4) Play, Play, and Play lots with my kids.

5) And ultimately just have a good year.