Baby Girl Nursery Idea (1 of ???)

I have had a few moments to troll the net for some ideas and here is one I really love.  It feels girly but not too princess-y plus kinda cool and vintage.  Great combo!

Pics found here

Its time for Merry Christmas!!

Can we just say it already?  It seems like in spite of the decor being all around since Halloween, no one is ready to say "Merry Christmas" yet!  I think its time.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And the lucky winner of all my money is....

ZARA!  Take a look at the following and you will see why.  Dear Jared, are you ready for this???

Its PINK!

We are all in shock.  This baby is a GIRL!!!!!!   AAAAAAAHHHHHGHGGGHHGHHHH!

My reaction: "I don't know how to do hair!"

Jared's reaction: "How will we protect her!?"

The boys were all super happy.  I was tickled with how excited they were.

Then last night Tyson had a concern.  "Mom, I feel bad for our baby girl.  I mean come on!  Who has FOUR older brothers!?"  I just told him I can think of several young ladies who do and from what I can tell, they are seriously loved and protected ladies.

I am over the moon, as you can guess.  I know I would have been happy for a boy again but come on!  Now I will get to shop on the pink side, which has heretofore been known as "the Dark Side."

Total joy.  :) :) :)

11.11.11

Marabeth is obsessed with the number 11.  And cupcakes.  And she is amazing at getting people together and having fun.  Combine those things, consider the date and you have a reason to celebrate! (I work for Hallmark on the side.)

Halloween Happened - 2011

In spite of my efforts to the contrary, things keep happening.  Alas, Halloween was a fun day and here is the proof.

This year was pretty easy costume-wise, thank goodness.  Will wanted to be Sherlock Holmes, which just involved teaching him to say "Elementary, my dear Watson" and giving him my tweed coat to wear plus a great hat and a homemade cape.  Oh and a magnifying glass.  Tyson wanted to be Cookie Monster, purportedly because can do such a great imitation of the voice.  He borrowed the hat from a friend, found blue clothing and painted his own face blue with some blue eyeshadow.  He insisted on tilting his head down for all pictures...   Zach decided to dress as Harry Potter at the last minute.  He was very cute and had that fact verified to him by a group of teenage girls, which absolutely left him beaming.  Oliver stayed home with me but was dressed in the boys' old froggy suit and was adorable!

We had an awesome crowd at the house and enjoyed food and general silliness.   Baby 5.0 and I
are sooooo glad its cider and pumpkin cake season!

And then there is this mildly disturbing photo.

Last but not least, here is what I did with the loot.

I'm not sure how this idea was born but it is working out great for us.  First, I told the boys to pick their top ten favorite treats that they could keep and not share and eat at will.  This was soon negotiated to 11. :)  Then we sorted all the candy and ranked it in order of yumminess.  Next, we assigned the candy a Monopoly money value and made a chart depicting how the boys can "earn money."  Their tasks are just their everyday things we ask them to do, like practice instruments, do chores, read, etc...  I am loving this system because the candy is leaving slower, hence no upset tummies or sugar buzzes.  I also love the motivation it added to our daily routine.  I was the banker at first and now I just kinda watch and let them work it on the honor system.  And yes, there is a parental tax on the candy still.  Ha!

Nashville Footloose Premiere

So I started writing a play-by-play of the screening and the premiere I attended with the Hough family last week and I think I got sick of hearing my own words.  So to spare you the same fate, here are the photos I took from the ol' cell phone.  I can always give you more details if you wanna know.  :)

After-party:

You can see more pics here...

Another round of Name That Baby!

Can you name these two boys of mine??  Hint:  The first three are the same kid and the second three are the same kid.

Zach's BCBS Commercial

YAY!  We finally found it!  This little commercial spot is even better because the little girl with the magnifying glass is Zach's friend from church.  You will see Zach getting his ears checked and also in the white swimsuit with stripes on it as the kids run through the sprinkler.

These commercials kids do require an AMAZING amount of work and patience on their part.  The day they filmed, Zach's spot was filmed last so he arrived in the morning and left around 9:30 at night.  He truly earned his wages!

I took a few shots of him on set...

About to run through the sprinkler!

On the monitor.

Post-sprinkler run, in the trailer.  He wanted this pic because he was just amazed at this motor home!

A few recent photos

Poor me.  I am sick today.  Really I am fine, just honestly happy for the excuse to sit right here and not move except for occasionally getting up to grab a snack.  ;)

Here is a glimpse of a few recent haps...

Love this pic of Ollie "driving" Dad's car.

I was the "mystery reader" in Zach's class.  I'm not sure why, but reading to kids is one of my favorite things ever!  Note how Ollie is licking his blanket.  Pretty sure that is his bliss.

I've been telling people to watch for me and Zach in the commercials we shot recently.  Luckily, someone spotted Zach's and I will get to see it soon but I still am not sure if mine is out.  Look for me in a Sylvan Learning Center spot!  And please let me know if you see it... even better, record it for me!  :)

Thanks--

Guess what Oliver LOVES

I spy two of my guys!

Can you find Jared and Oliver in a photo in this commercial??  Look fast!

We must be able to laugh at ourselves..

Teehee... :)

Love even when it looks like no love

Sometimes brothers look like they rather dislike one another.  But for the record, these boys are great friends.

I shouldn't be surprised

Honestly, its pretty tough at church right now.  Oliver is at that age where sitting still for longer than it takes to drink a bottle is pretty much out of the question.  Jared is busy with many obligations so I end up taking Ollie out a lot and leaving the other boys alone, hoping that my ward family will help if they need something or get out of hand.

Since it was fast and testimony meeting today, I reminded Will (somewhat jokingly) that as a middle schooler, he might be more apt to share his testimony.  To my surprise, he quickly agreed and marched up to the stand.  It was an utter delight and frankly a surprise to hear my boy bear his own testimony in his own words, built upon his own feelings and experiences.  The feeling his sweet and true words evoked were so wonderful and divine.  

Basically, I am just glad that I was able to have that little moment today, because the rest of the three hours was brutal: me chasing Ollie around, shushing him when he screamed and digging through the diaper bag hoping to find any sustenance for a starving pregnant mommy.  

When we got home, I put the baby down for a nap and came down to find the kids looking through the mountain in the corner of my bedroom.  They found their baby books (totally incomplete but stuffed with pictures and mementos) and wanted me to sit with them and tell them stories about themselves.  We laughed so hard as we looked at pictures of them and read stories I had written down in little books so I wouldn't forget.  Will's book was sweet and tender, Tyson's was lively and descriptive and Zach's was pure comedy, which I find so indicative of them as individuals.  

Some highlights from Zach's funny stories you might enjoy:

"You think this is your house, Mom, but its MINE."

After learning that we were having another boy, I asked Zach what he thought he might want to teach his new little brother.  His response? "To be quiet."

I caught Zach about to pick his nose.  He quickly yanked his hand back down and stammered, "I... I... I just thought there was a toy up there!"  

Ew huh :).  Love my boys.  Basically they surprise me daily with their abilities and their sweetness but really, why am I surprised?  They have an awesome dad who is such a good example to them and they are obviously strong spirits saved for this particular time in history.  I really shouldn't be surprised.  

Getting to know baby number 5

Well, for one thing this baby is HUNGRY.

Baby takes ALL of my energy.  I have watched a lot of NetFlix stuff lately, trying to keep my many meals down.

Baby will not be here for a looong time.  

Oy.

The Brood is Expanding (again)

Well, since it is already apparent when you see me, I guess I will come right out and tell you that I am expecting baby number five!  I have never felt a little spirit so intense about getting here.  Now it is his (or her) turn and we couldn't be more thrilled!  :)

I am a little over 2 months along which means the baby will come whenever the heck it is ready sometime in March. And now for some real life questions (actual ones from both this and my last pregnancy), followed by my answers.

• Are you hoping for a girl? (I am hoping for a healthy baby.)
• WHOA!  You look like you are just about ready to POP! Are you overdue? (NO.  I AM 6 MONTHS ALONG.)
• WHOA!  Are you SURE you aren't having twins??  (I feel like breaking something.)
• Do you always carry so... out there?  (Yes. Grr.)
• Are your babies enormous?  (Not at all.  Just me.  Please run now.)
• Are you sure you should be __________?-fill in the blank (Are you sure you should be asking me that?)

Etc etc.  I am coaching myself to be resilient but I fear that these kind of insensitive comments will be too much to handle this time.  People.  How hard is it to keep those kind of questions INSIDE?  If you must ask, ask someone else.  I know many who would disagree but I would prefer rudeness behind my back than to my face.  Ignorance is bliss.  

And every pregnant lady needs all the bliss she can get.

Vintage Printables

I saw a link on DesignMom's blog and followed it to find this great site.  It is a compilation of out of copyright art.  Which means it is public and free to print.  I found sooo much that I love!  Check it out here.

I love this one for Tyson.  He is such a little scientist and I know he would love this.

Some others that caught my eye:

Great stuff, huh!