It ain't over til it's over.......

I shall now share with you the joy of really bad days

It started at 9:30 PM last night.
J threw up. When he got off the school bus yesterday he told me that his tummy hurt. I forgot about it. Then at bed time he told us his tummy hurt again. It wasn't until he threw up that I recognized that he hadn't really been his normal energetic 5 year old self in the afternoon and evening. He was able to go back to sleep.

At 4:30 AM, B was crying. B kept saying "I want to go to school" I had told J that I would probably keep him home from school, and I figured B thought I would make him stay home from school too, so I reassured him that he could still go to school. At this point J started begging to go to school. He claimed he felt so much better. He loves school. He wanted to go to school. I got back to bed pretty quickly BUT the baby was awake and kicking up a storm. Neither of the boys ever gave me sore spots from their kicking, but this little girl has a couple of favorite spots and I'm pretty sure I have internal bruising.......and when someone is kicking a bruise- it's kind of hard to sleep.

SO, at 5 AM I was trying my best to figure out what to do about J. Keep him home or send him to school. I Googled "Vomiting without Fever" and the first thing that popped up was about how the stomach flu can present as vomiting without fever. SO, I decided to keep him home. Then I kept reading other things. He had only thrown up the one time and there was another article about what to do with a sick child that said to send them to school if they had only thrown up once and then felt fine. So I put it to Facebook- and 90% of respondents said to keep him home. BUT that wasn't what sealed the decision in my mind. The child slept in. he normally is happy and awake at about 6:30 to 7. His brother woke him up at 7:30 and J freaked out in a major way, he was tired. He was staying home.

We did J's homework in the morning and I let B watch some videos about diesel trains on the computer while he waited for our neighbor to pick him up for Preschool. This was a mistake. When the time came for B to leave for school he freaked out. He so rarely throws a tantrum that I'm never quite sure what to do with him. I didn't want to force a screaming child into a car with my really nice neighbor so B stayed home from school too. When B got back inside the house he ran straight to the computer and the tantrum got even worse when I turned OFF the videos. B was sent to his room until he could calm down. In the back of my mind something told me that sending a screaming, barely potty trained, child to his room would not end well.....but I ignored that. A few minutes later when the crying had stopped I opened the his bedroom door and started talking to him about how he made the choice to throw a tantrum and to not go to school and the consequence of that choice was that he couldn't watch any more train videos today.....it was at this point that I realized he was standing near a wet spot. He had wet his pants. Ken called at this point- I had emailed him and told him about B's breakdown and how he was in his room trying to calm down, Ken was calling to give me support.

After we had all calmed down, a not quite dressed again B and J had a snack. Yogurt. I went in the other room for a while to decompress and a happy little B skipped into the room to find me after he was done with his yogurt. He smelled, there was poop smeared on the front of his lower legs and the top of his feet. SOOOOOOO it became bath time. I considered running away, but instead I dipped vanilla wafer cookies in peanut butter.....it was surprisingly good.                                  

J went downstairs to play while B and I colored. I figured B needed some time with Mommy while she wasn't scowling or about to cry. It worked, my happy little B came back, he took his picture of a train downstairs to show J. I let both the boys play with toys downstairs while I tried to get my house in order a little. Dishes were done, laundry was folded. More laundry was washed. Lunch was served and Nursery Rhymes were discussed. I had emailed J's teacher and asked her which rhymes she was talking about during the class today and to my surprise J already knew both of them. He colored some pictures of the rhymes and now I think were done with trying to learn things for today. After-all, I've been awake since 4:30.

What did I learn from today. Sometimes things don't go as you've planned....at all. Sometimes the people in your life are replaced by weird screeching aliens who smear poop on themselves and their kitchen chairs. And sometimes you will be given just enough strength and patience to see past the strange screeching aliens and clean up and keep moving forward until the tilt a whirl that your world has become suddenly stops and almost everything and everyone is back to its normally abnormal self.

Hopefully, in about an hour B is going to go down for his nap, and J and I are going to clean up all the books that got thrown around while he was searching for one of the nursery rhyme books (because the one I wanted to read from just wasn't good enough.) THEN I'm going to take a nap too, while J rests on the couch- Peter Pan might be involved in that adventure. It may or may not work, BUT as I've learned today, It ain't over til it's over, hopefully when this day is finally over, this morning will seem really really funny and the rest of the day will just have been your normal, every day kind of Thursday. Hopefully.                                                                                          

Me and my little Belly Bean

Well, here you go. Here's a picture of my belly- and my legs. This is my fabulous view. Some future morning when I've done my hair and don't have a goopy eye I'll see if I can get a good standing up picture of what I believe is called my "baby bump". But for now, enjoy the same view of my belly bean that I get each day. Also feel free to praise me for being dressed! That's right people, I was done exercising this morning at 8:15! which means I was DRESSED in non-pajama and/or work out type clothing when I took my boy down to the school bus. Win!

So let me tell you how things have changed a little since my last pregnancy update- which I think was about 15 weeks ago. Well, the baby has made herself known. She loves to move. At about 5 AM each morning she has a little kick-fest, which is just fine with me. I am no longer addicted to the Doppler but I will admit, there have been times in the past few weeks when I have pulled it out just for a little extra reassurance that she's doing okay. And guess what? She is doing okay......I just thought- did I actually make the announcement that we're having a GIRL? If not, then Guess What?!?!?! We're having a girl :)

Every pregnancy is different, and this one has it's ups and downs. I am healthier this pregnancy than I was during my first two. With J I worked full time and I didn't get much exercise at all, I gained about 60 pounds, and I was happy. I weighed about 230 pounds when J was born. With B, I walked about 3 miles 2 or 3 times per week, I  had gestational diabetes and gained about 30 pounds before I was diagnosed. After being put on the GD Diet I lost 5 pounds before B was born...so I actually only gained 25 pounds that pregnancy. I was tired and went to physical therapy because of some sometimes unbearable pains in my lower back and hips. If I remember correctly I weighed about 208 pounds when B was born.

This pregnancy I've been exercising 5 to 6 times per week, I ran a HALF MARATHON and I've gained about 30 pounds. I PASSED my glucose tolerance test. Whether I passed because my pancreas is actually doing its job or because the lab kind of forgot I was waiting for my blood draw and drew my blood a little late.....we may never know. BUT I felt like I needed to eat a little better and so I've been doing my best to follow the same GD diet they gave me when I was pregnant with B. I haven't gained much, if any, weight in the past 6 weeks. Right now I weigh about 192. I'm hoping that I can keep my weight below 200, that would be AWESOME.

Don't worry about my lack or recent weight gain. Belly Bean is growing well. Starting at about 20 weeks doctors measure a pregnant woman's belly, from what is called the "pubic symphysis" to the top of the uterus which by this point can be felt in the upper part of her abdomen. The measurement, in centimeters, usually correlates quite well with the number of weeks that the woman is pregnant,- that's right I have 1- read books about pregnancy and 2- had previous children, I know fun stuff like this. So, back to me, at my 28 week appointment I measured a little small, 26 cm instead of 28. But earlier this week at my 30 week appointment my belly measured a whopping 32 cm- So yeah, that's pretty much solid proof that baby and I are growing just fine, even if my weight gain has plateaued. What am I eating. LOTS of veggies and protein and less carbohydrates from breads and pastas and sugar. And you know what, I'm feeling pretty good, pretty healthy. Body wise.

Emotionally, I have my moments of anxiety still. I am 100% sure this is normal. With my first two pregnancies I was blessed not to know or think about what could go wrong. But now, after last years miscarriages, I know that not all pregnancies end with a healthy baby. And yes, there are times when that knowledge makes my day hard. There are days when getting up, feeding myself and my children and making sure none of us run out in front of moving vehicles is about all I can do. And I do it. We all survive those days, we don't get much done, but we survive. Other days I feel great emotionally BUT tired physically. Who knew that what "Advanced Maternal Age" really meant was "You will feel as if you stayed up ALL NIGHT LONG for weeks BUT you will have a sweet baby if you survive". Both of these things (hard emotional days and super tired days) have combined over the course of the past few months to produce a somewhat messy house. I feel bad about the state of my home, BUT, I've been taking care of myself and my family to the best of my abilities and that's what counts right? I'm also 100% sure that there is a special place in heaven for ladies like me, who tried! However feeble our attempts....we tried! I mean, I've vacuumed a couple of times recently AND I even mopped a couple of weeks ago. So really, I kind of ROCK.....kind of, if you catch me on the right day.

So there you have it, Kate and Belly Bean at 31 weeks. We're doing pretty good today and I promise there will be an update again soon.

Some September "Firsts"

Here is a picture of the first time J showed an interest in a career as a PE Teacher. He dressed himself, pulled up socks and everything. Wow, he is CUTE!

My baby B is not a baby anymore. As we prepared J for kindergarten B started asking about when he would start school. I hadn't registered him for preschool because he wasn't potty trained. I told him that AND I told him that when he was potty trained we would find a preschool for him, or at least get him on a waiting list. Well, guess how kicked it into gear and pretty much potty trained himself in a week. This guy! He then cuddled up to me and said "Mommy, when do I go to school?" so I put out some feelers and I was able to get him registered for a local preschool two days before classes started.  

Here he is, my Big Boy B on his very first day of Preschool. He too loves school.

One of our neighbors is in his class and so we Stroller/Car Pool, B says that she is his Best Friend.

Here is a picture of B's first invention. It's a kind of soft helmet....do you think it will catch on? 

The other day J asked if we could make frozen chocolate dipped bananas. Being Mom, I was about to say no, when I realized, we had everything we needed to actually make frozen chocolate dipped bananas. SO lucky J had quite a treat and I made my very first frozen chocolate dipped banana. I couldn't resit taking a picture of him after he had eaten it. By the way, frozen chocolate dipped bananas are super easy to make if you happen to have a jar of homemade magic shell just sitting around begging to be used. J actually had 2.

J set up his very first art studio. Every " Natural Artist" needs a studio after all.

And finally, with Ken's new calling as ward mission leader we have been seeing a lot more of the missionaries than we ever did before. And this week we experienced two missionary firsts- 1- we hosted a new member discussion in our home. It was a fabulous experience. And 2- our first missionary transfer. Elder Bennett, from Canada, on the left, has been a missionary serving our stake for about 10 months. He and his Companion Elder Allal, from France, on the right, have been helping Ken acclimate to his new calling. We haven't known them long but we know they are AWESOME! Elder Bennett was transferred to Vernal this week. I don't know Elder Allal's new companions name just yet, but he is from Switzerland and I think he speaks German. I'm sure we'll have a picture of them soon.

Those are some of our firsts from September. I'll be posting an update about my sweet growing baby soon. Maybe even tomorrow! We'll just have to wait and see :)

KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!!!

How did this happen? How did my baby, that tiny little baby J grow up! I mean, he's 5 and he is now in Kindergarten. I don't know if there has ever been a happier Kindergartner. He rides the bus! Something he has been hoping to do for 2 years or more. I love to watch him do a happy dance as the bus arrives each morning. The bus driver seems to like his dance too. 

Before the first day of school we visited J's new classroom and teacher and she gave him this little person to decorate and turn into a mini version of J. I think it's awesome! Right down to J's "Jingle Bell Necklace" 

We arrived at the bus stop on the first day of school and J was just too cool, as you can see from his "I'm so cool" stance here. I got a couple of pictures and then my camera died!

I followed the school bus to school. I had to, my baby was on that bus I needed to make sure it didn't explode or anything similar to that. I was not the only one either. Also, I didn't cry. I did kind of gasp for air for a few seconds but there was no crying.

Once at the school I, and all the other parents, watched our sweet little babies play on the Kindergarten play ground until the fateful moment came and the kids were asked to line up on their teachers line. J remembered which line was his from when we visited his class during the open house. And just a minute later......my baby was in his classroom.

B and I attended a meeting of Kindergarten parents, where we were given donuts. I didn't eat any donuts, but B had two. About 2 hours later my little big baby boy was dropped off by the bus. He LOVED school then, and he is still loving it to this day- 3 whole weeks into his public school career. Last week I found out that J does have a bit of a time management problem. So we've been working on finishing tasks quickly and moving on to the next task. His teacher told me this week that she is seeing some good improvement. I've been trying hard to express to him that he is a fabulous and smart kid and I'm pretty sure he knows it's true. He's learning that he can do hard things, and that's fun (though sometimes kind of frustrating) to watch. He also has announced that he is "A Natural Artist". He loves PE and Art and Computers and everything else that is Pure Kindergarten (because I don't remember PE or extra Art teachers AND computers were NOT in my school when I went to Kindergarten.) What a wonderful boy I'm blessed to have. I love him oh so very much.

August! It flew by.....

So, I'm desperately trying to catch up on the blog, so this post is going to be lots of pictures and some brief explanations. You'll forgive me, I'm sure!

This first picture is actually from the very end of July- We sold my car, the 2000 Subaru Outback that we purchased about a month before J was born. See, here's photographic proof- I'm great with my first child!

We named her Bandit way back then and she has served us well. She protected two of our babies and taught them the joy of traveling. Now she is gone. It's been 7 weeks or so since we sold my car.........and yeah, it might be a few weeks more before we announce that we've purchased a Van. Hopefully the Van announcement will come before the announcement of our Baby's birth. One car with 2 boys, I'm learning to deal with, one car with 2 boys and a newborn....I think I would go insane. 

And here's a picture of me, with that same car, plus my First, Second AND (in my belly) Third child :)

Little B turned 3 in August. I made him this cake. It was supposed to look like his giraffe. 

B was a very happy birthday boy.

Also in August we took our yearly trip to Bear Lake to spend a long weekend with 91.6% of the Turner family- one of my sisters and her husband couldn't make it, but other than that, everyone was there! On our way up we stopped at Maddox for dinner. As you can see, B was very happy.

J as well was quite pleased. The boys had kids meals that were served on a Frisbee, which is awesome.

We've finally got the boys trained well enough that they can actually SLEEP while we are at the cabin. Each Sister/Family is allotted one of the rooms there at the cabin, and so most of the children sleep on the floor of their parent's rooms. In the past the boys have had some issues with this arrangement, but this year they did really well. It was magical! And no one got stuck under the bed this year. 

Buying the Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag a year or two ago was a stroke of genius on Ken's part. It makes trips like this totally fun for the boys.

There are two things that absolutely must be done at Bear Lake, 1- you must wade out INTO Bear Lake and 2- you must have a shake or two. I'm not going to post pictures of our shake gluttony, for that would just be unfair to those who have not been blessed to partake of a shake in Bear Lake recently. But here's some pictures of our fun at the lake.

J and I got out pretty far into the water. It was a decent temperature and at one point J was on his tip toes telling me he was just fine, that he could go farther. I didn't agree.

B enjoyed "swimming" yeah, I need to get him in some more swim lessons so he understands what really swimming is like.

The boys made a sand castle, really just a mound of dirt surrounded by a mote, but they had fun making it and that is all that matters, right? Right!

My Mom mentioned that she was interested in renting one of the bike surrey that the KOA there at Bear Lake offers. I've been interested in trying them myself since the first time Ken and I stayed there in Bear Lake when J was just a little guy. So, Mom, Dad, Ken, J, B, Cousin C and I all went down and lucky for us they had a surrey that seated 4 adults and 3 or more kids. It was basically 2 tandem bikes with bench seats and canopy. I thought to myself "I ride my exercise bike 3 times a week, I can totally do this" AND there were 3 other adults there to pedal as well.....we rented the surrey for an hour- we lasted 30 minutes. That was HARD! Most definitely got my workout in that day.

For almost 2 years, Ken and I served as the Stake Young Single Adult Advisor Couple. At the end of August we were released and Ken was called as our Ward Mission Leader. We had the Annual Bowling and Pizza activity all planned, and to help with the transition between us and the new couple in that calling, Ken took J to the activity. They had lots and lots of fun.

I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly BUT I think J may have beaten Ken in one of the games they played.

And that was most of August. One more thing happened, but it was WAY TOO EXCITING and needed it's very own post!

July 2013- Ryan, our very first exchange Student

In July we had the honor and pleasure of hosting an exchange student. Ryan is what we call him and he was one of seven exchange students who came from Taiwan for a fun filled month in the United States- 3 weeks of which Ryan spent with our family. The students spend about 8 hours a day- Monday through Friday, with their Teacher, Sterling, who lives and teaches in Taiwan but happens to be from American Fork! Here is just a few of the fun things we did while Ryan wasn't in class.We started out with a trip to Wal-Mart! It wasn't mind blowing, but the 5 students we had with us that day found it to be quite interesting and made some pretty interesting purchases. 

After Wal-Mart we treated the students to some Little Caesars Pizza- Yep, we went ALL OUT!

Jared tried really hard, for about five minutes, to learn how to use chop sticks.

On the second Saturday that they were here we took the 6 students who were staying in our neighborhood to Cabela's. Once again, fun was had by all!

We really enjoyed having Ryan with us. If we ever get the chance again, we will most definitely host another exchange student. Our boys loved having their "cousin" here every morning, and for days after he left they would ask where Ryan was.

There is much more I could share, I am sure. BUT I'm kind of a lazy pregnant woman right now......and my memory is going. I may revisit some of these posts later, but for now- know that we had lots of fun when Ryan came to visit :) We miss you Ryan.