False Alarm

My worse fear (okay not my worst) was realized as I was sent home from the hospital tonight. For two hours at home I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart. I called my OB who said to go to the hospital. We got the kids a place to stay and got everything ready and headed over. I was in the triage room for over an hour answering questions and being monitored. Unfortunately even though the contractions started coming 3 minutes apart I didn't dilate any more and so they sent me home. I was thoroughly frustrated and disappointed. But what could I do? So now I am home, having stronger but less frequent contractions and praying that my water will break so they can't turn me away. I guess I will just wait until I am in A LOT more pain before heading back there. Oh well.

6 Days or Less!

The doctor says I am now a solid three, so not much difference. I am having some contractions though today thanks to a little trip to the park with Annie. For over three and a half years I have been the mother of three children. We have grown and learned a lot these past years and I have come to love these three little hoodlums more than I could have ever imagined.

Nathan is definitely growing up. He wants his independence more than anything else right now. He hates when we get mad at him, but just isn't always ready to listen when we try to explain consequences. He is an amazing reader. Just today he finished reading "Harry Potter 3". He says it was his favorite but I think it is mostly because we didn't read it together and he was able to shoot right through it while the other two books took us at least a month to read together. Nate also loves math and is really good at it. I was in his class the other day and there was a sub. The sub asked for help understanding the teacher's notes and I noticed that there was a part that said, "Some of the kids might not understand but Nathan and Tyler will probably be able to help." Cub scouts is another big thing for Nathan right now. He loves passing things off with Dad and coming to scouts with me. He is a great helper at home and is always ready to help out, especially if it involves reading to a younger sibling or teaching one of them how to do something. I love my big Nathan.

Ryan has grown up so much lately. Kindergarten had me really worried. Ryan is a bit more rambunctious that his older brother and I was really worried about how he would handle school. But according to his teachers (one who lives in the neighborhood so I can talk to her all the time) he is AWESOME. He listens so well and always is on task. He whispers (what?! Ryan can whisper?!) and is nice to other kids and is just a great kid. When I first heard all these wonderful things I had mixed feelings. First, why can't he be more like that at home and second, thank goodness he is good at school. I do have to say that Ryan has mellowed a lot this year. He loves Star Wars and playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii. He will do practically anything to earn time to play. He is a great friend to the kids in the car pool and always makes plans to get together-even though they don't always come to fruition. Ryan is anxiously awaiting his new sister and can't help but give my belly hugs and kisses every time he walks past. I love my Mr. Ryan.

Annabelle has been my baby (I mean big girl) for almost four years and I can't imagine life without her. She is so sweet and loving with Greg and I, as well as her big brothers (she refers to them as "my boys" or "the brothers"). We started a little preschool with some neighborhood kids and while she was the youngest and I was a little worried about how she'd do, she is awesome! She loves to learn how to write her letters and how to memorize rhymes. She loves to color and is getting really good and staying in the lines and using more than just one color. Annabelle also loves to dance. If she is ever bored all I need to do is put on some music and she will start up. It is a treat to watch. While Annie loves girlie stuff she isn't afraid to wrestle with the boys or be a pirate or a T-Rex. She loves to watch them play Wii and isn't too bad at some of the sport games we have. Annabelle is a little girl and she does have a drama side to her that sometimes really grates on me, but most of the time she is nice and if I ask her to try again she will say something in the sweetest voice. A few times in the last couple weeks she has been scared to go to bed alone. I think she is really excited to have a roommate soon so she is no longer alone. Annabelle is a great helper, just like her brothers, and her smiles and hugs really help get me through the day sometimes. I just love my little/big Annabelle.

No picture yet of number four, since of course she is not here. Lately I have been doing some thinking about her though. She will be her in the next week. It is no longer measured in months or weeks, but days. I am so looking forward to that moment when Callie is put into my arms and I get that feeling. That wonderful feeling that this gift from my Heavenly Father is mine, is our families, and that she belongs with us. Right now it is hard to imagine another child. It is hard to picture her around the table or even hanging in a picture frame. It is even a little weird to hear her name said aloud, or even written. But in the few moments after she is born and placed in my arms it all makes sense. I can't wait for that feeling. I can't wait to see what our little girl looks like, what she feels like outside of my belly. It is such a wonderful experience and I feel so privileged that I have been able to do it three times already. I am so lucky that I have had three beautiful and healthy children. I pray that this one will come into this world as healthy as the rest of them.

Buddies

Annabelle and Ryan were the first two up this morning. While I took a shower they got into the world of imagination and had a lot of fun playing together. When I came down the house was a bit messy, but watching them play together was a blast. They were a princess and a swordsman, they went on a safari, and they built a pirate ship which also served as a stage and as a tank to hold the 9 basilisks to kill the said pirates. While the basilisks come from Harry Potter, there was a lot said that I have no idea where it came from. Take the word, "wicked". Ryan says this word all the time when something is cool. I don't think Greg or I say it and the kids don't watch much TV so I guess that is just one of the great things about public schools. Then there is Annabelle and her dancing. She loves to dance. Her ballet teacher says she is great at remembering choreography and I have to agree-she is adorable when dancing.

Annabelle made a bunch of puppets this week. One day I was really tired and laying down. She kept bringing me paper and asking me to cut out animals and then she would go and color them. We did a cat and a dog, a family of ducks and a family of butterflies. She loves making them make noise and talk to each other in the form of a puppet show. It was wonderfully relaxing then, as it was today, to just sit back and watch her little imagination grow. If only all days (or even all of today) could be so happy and relaxing.

My Big Bro

I am the second oldest in my family. I have an older brother, Conor, and while we couldn't be more different, I still enjoy spending time with him. During his 2 week R & R from Afghanistan he decided to take his daughter on a road trip to see some family. With my family all over the map I lucked out and was one of his stops.

Conor and Ashley got here Monday and just barely left ten minutes ago. We all had a fun time together. It was nice the first couple days so we were able to spend a lot of time outside at home or at the park. We had some cousins over to celebrate Ashley's 5th birthday (no comments on my horrible profile). Annabelle has the nicest ballet teacher and let Ashley come to class. I was amazed at how well Ashley knew the words to the songs and also was able to keep up with the dancing.

Conor and Ashley were able to come to Nathan's pack meeting and see the craziness that can sometimes (okay all the time) occur at such meetings.

The boys loved Conor. Ryan got to spend more time with him since he only goes to school half days, but they both loved rough housing with him. Conor tried to win Annabelle over the whole week. I definitely think she was getting there near the end, but she is a stinker when it comes to people other than mom and dad and maybe a choice others that she knows REALLY well. He tried candy, donuts, and more candy. I truly think she wanted to give him a hug at the end but is old enough to know that denying it was the stinker thing to do.

While Conor and I may not have always got along growing up, I love him and wish him the safest trip home and then back to Afghanistan. It is crazy to think that he gets shot at daily out there. It is crazy to think that many of his friends have been killed or injured. We pray for him all the time but after spending these past 4 days with him I think my prayers will have a little more life to them. We love you Conor and Ashley and can't wait to see you next time.

Hanging in There

Today I had another doctor appointment and he said I was almost to a three, so not too different, but something. I have been feeling okay, just sore and stretched out. I have been trying really hard to be happier and not let my tired body make me a grumpy mommy and wife. Here are some fun things from this last week:

One of my friends is lucky enough to be on a cruise right now and I was more than willing to go get my nails done with her before she left. It felt great and now, even though I can't really see my toes, I know they look nice.

My kids love Lego's. Nathan and Ryan are always building spaceships and robots and then placing them on the playroom ledge so I don't put them away or so they are safe from smaller hands. Some are pretty intricate and some are very simple. BUT, the boys are SO proud of each and everyone one and could tell you all about them and how to play with them properly.

You can see my tulips and daffodils behind these two cuties. We have LOVED the spring weather lately. It feels great to have the sun on our skin and to be able to play outside. I especially love the colors that start to shoot up everywhere. My kids are most excited about Popsicles. I make them do a little running around before they get one-they have to be hot. I love orange sherbet push-ups, they remind me of good times at "the ranch" when I was in high school.

We finally got the crib all set up. Nathan was a great help, for a little while. Annabelle also. Her room got significantly smaller, but I think she is really excited to finally be able to share a room like her brothers. I think we are pretty much ready for this baby to come. 3 weeks or less, I guess two until I get induced. I can't wait to meet our new baby girl.

Way to go Greg!!

Greg has been playing volleyball the past couple months and had his final tournament last night. The kids and I made it to the first 2 games and brought dinner. We had a little tailgate party before it all began. We left at about 7:20 and Greg played about 4 more games before he got home at 10:30. But the great news is that his team won every game and the tournament. Way to go honey. We love you!

36 weeks!!

I'm getting closer and closer. I had my 36 appointment yesterday and the doctor said I am dilated 2 cm and 80% effaced. He also said that those numbers don't mean much since it is my 4th pregnancy. BUT, I am hopeful that I will have a April baby. I am definitely winded more, definitely sleeping less, and definitely feeling pain in places where it is not fun to feel pain. We have talked to the kids about how it could be anytime and I need them to be better helpers. I think they will be awesome. I also had Nathan memorize Greg's cell phone in case I needed him to call him (though he did call Greg once last week to tell him I was being really mean so I kinda wish I didn't do that).

I have been trying to get everything together and ready. I have the bassinet put together. I plan to pack my bag sooner than later, maybe today. I washed the car seat cover and can't figure out how to put it back on, but I am sure I will figure it out before it is too late. I am pre-registered at the hospital. I need to get the baby clothes out of boxes and organized. So much is so unknown. The doctor said maybe this week, maybe in three weeks. I am a planner and babies just don't like to be planned. I hope I am ready for my organized life to be jumbled up for a year or so. Ready or not I guess. Oh, and sorry about the below picture. I don't have a belly picture from any other pregnancy so I thought I should have at least one.

Ryan Lost a Tooth, Finally

Ryan and Nathan have very different teeth. I think Nate is more like me while Ryan has his dad's teeth (lucky him). He has had 2 loose teeth for awhile and Greg finally got one of them out. My little Ry is getting so old looking, especially now with a cute little gap. He was very excited to show everyone his 2 quarters the next morning. Now Annie wants to start losing teeth.

Spring Break

This year, for obvious reasons, we bummed around town for spring break. I tried to make things fun and exciting, but thanks to multiple ear infections and allergies we didn't get to do as much as I had hoped.

Besides doctor appointments we spent a morning at the library picking out books to hopefully last the week. Nathan picked out 6 chapter books-he loves mysteries right now and read two before the day was over. I am pretty sure that he has read them all by now. Ryan even picked some books that he could read-he is getting really good! We also visited a local museum. I had taken the cub scouts there before Nathan was in the group so it was our first time and Nathan had a blast doing the scavenger hunt and earning a patch. I loved how Annie and Ryan ran from one thing to the next, but Nathan was really into learning about the displays. Their favorite room was the rock and mineral room-it had some amazing specimens and the Wild West room where the boys got to go inside an old jail cell (I wish I could have left them there :).

We also made it to a jumping place and the kids all had fun running around, sliding, and jumping on huge blow up toys. Too bad I forgot my camera.
I decided to have scouts even though it was spring break and had 7 out of 10 boys show up. We made kites and it was a lot trickier than I thought it would be. But once the boys all got outside I think they had fun trying to fly their works of art.
We finally got some sunshine on Thursday and so we spent some time outside. We went to the park and rode bikes out front. While it did cause some itchy eyes and runny noses, it was nice to be outside for a bit.

The kids love taking pictures and I let Ryan take a few as the kids played nicely. We are hoping to get new couches sooner than later so I hope they will be able to remember the new rules about the new couches. We have pretty much let them do whatever to these old ones.
Here is me, so happy after a 6+ hour date with Greg. You never know when the baby will decide to make her appearance so we got out for a full day together. We made it to the temple, out to lunch and even saw a movie. We came home to happy kids and a pretty clean house.
I can't say it was the most exciting spring break, and I am ready to send the kids back to school, but I think we all had a little fun and didn't drive each other too crazy.

Easter Celebrations

We had a very nice and relaxing Easter weekend.
On Saturday we had a little neighborhood Easter egg hunt in the backyards (no fences make it nice most of the time). The kids LOVE to find Easter eggs so there were no complaints about the cold. After the hunt we had an egg toss, an egg race and a silly string war. I was surprised how hard the boys seemed to be throwing their egg without it breaking, but it did eventually happen. After the fun we had a little BBQ (inside due to cold) and it was so nice to chat with some of our neighbors that we haven't seen much of all winter.

It was General Conference this weekend so we were able to catch some of the sessions on Saturday and then all day Sunday. We stayed in our jammies and listened to the prophet, his apostles and others share their testimonies and speak on the importance of strengthening families and homes (something that has been on my mind A LOT lately), amid other topics. The kids did really well and loved listening for certain words and phrases. Both boys expressed the desire to go to the Conference center and be in the room with the prophet. For reverence reasons you have to be eight, so maybe in the fall we will take Nathan.

We of course did an egg hunt in the morning, and then the kids hid the plastic ones for each other throughout the rest of the day. My children love hard-boiled eggs. We cooked 19 and they are all gone!! We had them for breakfast, lunch and finished off the last 2 this morning (with Ryan asking me to cook some more). I had hoped to make deviled eggs but oh well, maybe next year. Normally I would have made a succulent lamb for Easter dinner but being the lazier person that I am right now we just had something simple. I did, however, make Hot Cross Buns. I guess they are some sort of Easter tradition that I have never done. We all enjoyed them as part of our dinner.

Nathan remembered that he had an old piano song called "Hot Cross Buns" so he found and played it for us. Then Greg taught him a duet to play together. And of course Annabelle had to dance.
We ended our relaxing day, still in jammies, and finishing up Harry Potter 2. Ryan got pretty scared so I am thinking it will just be Greg, Nathan and I watching the movie sometime this week. It was so nice to not go anywhere and relax as a family all day/weekend long!

Class Parties

I figured this was my last chance to help in the boys' classrooms (the first for Ryan since his teacher swears she doesn't need any help) and so today has been a bit crazy. I started in Ryan's class and was assigned to BINGO, or rather SPRINGO. My El Ed degree came out as I had the kids read the words on the back of the cards and not just look at the picture. They all did great so I suppose it was okay.
I dropped off the carpool, picked up Annabelle, had a quick lunch and then headed back to the school for Nathan's class party.

Again I was assigned the BINGO table but I have no complaints since I was able to just sit there. Plus Ryan and Annabelle were great helpers so it worked out well. I felt bad that I had my two little crazies, especially since I wasn't the only one, but everyone seemed to have fun and it is always fun to see my kids be nice to each other. Nathan's room mom always plans for extra kids anyway so they were able to participate in all the festivities as well.
So there was my morning and afternoon, and the day isn't near over. Oh well. I hopefully will be able to take some sort of a break when the baby comes, but for now I will just keep going, and make sure I put my feet up at the end of each day.

April Fools

Thanks to Family Fun magazine and all of their fun ideas, we had "Eggs and Fakin'" for breakfast. The kids love eggs and bacon and so they all came to the table quickly. But they were not so easily fooled and enjoyed their candy food. The eggs are made from melted white chocolate and an M&M. The bacon is made from a tootsie roll and a caramel.
I had some leftovers so I gave them to my preschool kids. They thought is was pretty funny. It was interesting how the kids who are the oldest children in their family didn't really know what April Fools was, but by the end of preschool I think they had all told me I had a spider on my head at least 5 times (each). They loved it when I would yell a little and slap the "spider" away from my head. Hooray for a day of teasing!