where has the time gone??? I made a goal this year to do a better job of journaling and I think I did ok for about 3 months then life got crazy and I slacked off. The last few days, my kids have been so naughty and so funny. I have laughed so much. I was laying in bed last night and was thinking about how blessed I am and all the reasons why, and I decided that if I didn't write things then they would soon be forgotten. So, tonight I am up with heartburn and ready to vomit so I am updating my blog to try and get my mind off of feeling so crummy.

To start with, the reason I am nauseous is because I am pregnant. That happened since I last visited my blog. I am about 17 weeks along and still super sick. I wasn't sick with my first 3 pregnancies and I wonder how women can be so sick and feel so crappy and keep getting pregnant. I am about 90% positive this will be my last child. Regardless of the sex of this baby I am thinking I am done. (We will find out what we are having on January 6th I think) People ask if we will try for a girl if this one isn't a girl. My thoughts are if Heavenly Father hasn't given me a girl in 4 tries, (and whose to say I really want a girl anyway) then why would he with 5 or 6 or more unless He just felt bad for me after a while. I don't think I want a girl that bad and I know I don't want that many kids. My patience isn't that great. Plus I have 20 young women that I can to some extent call mine and that is enough estrogen and moodiness for anyone to handle. I do love them though. The problem is going to be picking a name for this baby, regardless of the sex. we have used all the boy names we like and we can't agree on a girl name.

I think the boys are excited to have a baby. They don't like that I throw up a lot but are really helpful when I start gagging when I change a diaper or something smelly like that, they all go get me a bowl to puke in. A few months ago Corbin chased me to the bathroom in Sam's Club (luckily my mother in law was with me that day) and after he watched me throw up a few times said, "Mom, I don't think we should have this baby any more, it makes you throw up way to much." How do you explain to a 5 year old that it is ok and that you can't really give it back once it is growing inside of you.
So on to the funny stuff. And the cute stuff. Levi will be 2 the end of this month. He has grown up so much the last little bit. He watches what goes on around him and then he figures out a way to do it. He is such a visual learner. He follows the other 2 around saying what they say and trying to keep up with them. After school Corbin and Gabe will be doing homework and asking me how to do things so Levi gets a book or a piece of paper and will come up to me a say "What me do here?" what do you tell a 2 year old, "Go scribble on the paper, the PAPER not the wall." He is so funny. The boys like to shovel the snow so Levi follows them around with a broom. This afternoon they went to take a present over to our neighbor for Christmas (the guys is probably pushing 50, he is single, has no kids, still lives with his mom, and my kids love him. On the way back Levi fell in the snow, sideways. I heard him screaming so I went outside an he is crying trying to get up and the other 2 are standing by him laughing at him. It reminded me of "The Christmas Story" when the kid falls with all his snow gear on. I picked him up and brushed the snow off and aside from the scratch on his cheek he was fine.

Monday night for family night we took treats to our neighborhood friends. I was driving so I didn't have to get in and out of the car. Adam decided he wasn't getting in and out either. So, Corbin and Gabe were a team. Gabe is afraid of animals and Corbin was just afraid. So Gabe protected Corbin and Corbin's job was to protect Gabe from cats and dogs. At every house they would try and decide who got to carry the bag. Levi would sit in his chair, "my turn, my carry the bag." He never got to carry a bag and he was soooo upset. He never even got to get out of his seat. It was icy on most of the driveways so it would take them about 5 minutes to walk up the drive way and then a few minutes to get the courage to knock. they kept slipping and sliding. At one house there was a cat on the porch. Instead of running away, the cat just sat there and hissed at Corbin, Gabe stayed in the car for this one. I bet we sat there for 10 minutes and all I could do was laugh. the family kept looking out the window trying to figure out what was happening and who was at their house. At a few of the houses Corbin would knock and if the curtains were open he would run to the window and wait to see someone and then start waving. If people took to long to answer, he would try and open their doors. When people weren't home it was really interesting to see where they would put the bag around the door so that it would probably never be found. I needed good laugh and that was a great opporitunity to laugh a lot. What a fun night.

Last night we went with Adam to the singles ward Christmas party. Adam is on the high council and is over the singles ward. we were eating and because we waited until the end to get our food and our seats I didn't get to sit right by the boys. Adam was sitting next to Levi and then the other 2 were on the other side of Levi. I was on the other side of the table and a few people down. A girl came up to Adam and said something like, "did you bring your little brothers with you tonight? that is so sweet." Adam just laughed and the lady said "wait who are you?" Adam replied,"who are you." she was one of the councilors wifes and was totally embarassed when she realized who he was. I was cracking up, then thought how bad would it be to have a 28 year old kid and a 2 year old. that is a lot of years to have little kids.

We are pretty much ready for Christmas. Gabe's favorite, almost famous saying these days is "Santa is gonna put you on the naughty list for that!!" We just need to wrap presents and get the stocking stuffers from santa. I think Christmas is going to be so fun with the kids this year. they are all old enough to get it and young enough to be cute about it. (and they are getting everything they want except for Mario Baseball for the Wii) I'll write about it!!

Good night and happy holidays.

Time sure does fly when you having fun.....or busy, or going crazy! Lately life has been crazy busy. I fell down my stairs and broke my tailbone and I started babysitting a 2 month old baby. I forgot how much energy and work a newborn requires. This week we had a really great day. I got up, Noah came over, we ate breakfast, left for the gym. When we got to the gym the kids went the day care and I went to my class. While I was in my class Corbin and Gabe were talking about all their girlfriends. All of Corbin's "girlfriends" have a little sister that Gabe calls his girlfriend except for one who only has a brother. Gabe, being the smart kid that he is, decided that since Cassy doesn't have a sister Caleb, her little brother could be his boyfriend. It took us the whole ride home from the gym and then some to talk Gabe out of wanting to have a boyfriend.
When we got home it was lunch time. I started make lunch and Gabe needed me in the bathroom. I went in and he had pooped. I was helping him wipe and walked out and he said their was poop on the floor. I looked down and their wasn't a little poop on the floor, there was a trail of poop from my foot. He had pooped on the floor and I stepped in it and didn't know because I had socks on. So, I started to clean the poop mess up that went from the toilet to the kitchen. Yes I really did walk that far before I realized I was trailing poop through my house.
After I started a load of laundry with that mess I came back up stairs and walked in the living room just in time to see Corbin shake a bottle of Sprite with out a lid up. You guessed it, Sprite everywhere. All over the couch, a bunch of blankets and the floor. We cleaned up that mess and i took the wet blankets downstairs and came up in time to see the kids stomping on something on the living room floor. Corbin had a bag of chips and someone, I still don't know which on, dumped it out and they all were jumping on them.
Then, while trying to clean up that mess Noah decided he wanted to poop and eat. So we took care of him.
Finally 2 and a half hours later we had our lunch. By 5:30, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I had to keep moving so I wouldn't crash. What a day. and I am so lucky I get to do it again day after day, after day!! And some people say being a stay at home mom is boring. Obviously they have never been one. =)
Like I said, time flies when you're having fun.

Where has the time gone??? My plan was to write everyday and since I broke my rear end, I have been a pretty useless person. I have had the opportunity to have some pretty hilarious conversations with my boys as i have been laying on the couch. One day we talked about dating and getting married. My four year old thinks he has 3 girlfriends (little does he know that when the time comes, one might be more than he can handle) His "best girlfriend" that he is going to marry is another 4 year old he has known his whole life. Adam and I are friends with her parents so we spend time with them. One day we were getting things ready to have dinner and hang out with them. I needed Corbin to buy a pizza so we could use 2 coupons (beating the system right!) We were standing in line and he said "It's probably a good thing that I am buying this pizza for my date with Reese tonight huh mom?" I laughed and the guy at the counter chuckled at Corbin's comment. i asked him if he thought he was old enough to date. His response was "No mom I'm not 13 yet." Then I asked him when he thought he would get married and he said, "when I'm 15, Silly!" So there you have it....you start dating at 13 so you can marry at 15 ( and he is going to live with Reese's mom after they get married because she makes really good Mac and Cheese.)
Kids are great.

Today I saw the brains of a 4, 3 and 1 year old put to work. I haven't been the most fun parent since I broke my tailbone and the weather hasn't been all that wonderful the last few days. Corbin, Gabe and levi have been pretty bored. This morning they started out the day playing with their nerf guns, shotting each other. Gabe came to me every few seconds and needed me to "pull the gun back please" and then he would say, "I said please so you have to do it." Levi walked around with a gun trying to make a "BANG" noise pretending to shot. After a while that got boring so they all found a platic tote that would fit on their head and face and stood on different sides o the room and charged at each other banging heads. They laughed and laughed. It looked pretty painful, but then again, they are kids. Some times I miss the thrill of being little and figuring out life and things. Oh to be a little boy.

The armor of God takes on a whole new, more real, kind of meaning when it is a bunch of cut up pizza and shoe boxes on a 6 foot 5 inch (or so) tall, African American....Tonight we had Family Home Evening with the Missionaries and a family in our neighborhood. Undre, the dad, is preparing to be baptized next month and so the missionaries came and did a lesson on the Armor of God. After reading the verses about the Armor of God in Ephesians (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) Undre was volunteered to put on the Armor which consisted of loins girded with "hot and fresh" pizza box sides, a pizza breast plate, shoe box foot shields with pictures of the Savior over his feet. A garbage can lid for a shield covered with the Savior and a broom for his sword. Then the 6 small children, the missionaries and Heidi were able to throw all the temptations they could find at him. They found pillows, balls, pill bottles, girl scout cookie boxes and I think a few fist to throw at him. It was pretty funny but, I think in a round about kind of way, it got the point across that if we do all we can by reading the scriptures, praying, living the commandments to the best of our ability and trying to be a true disciple or follower of the Savior, Jesus Christ, nothing, no matter how strong or fast it comes at us can get past that armor. But it takes work on our part every day.
It was a good reminder that we are all fighting a battle, not with swords or guns necessarily, but with the devil, everyday. The better we prepare ourselves and our families to face the trials of the world, the better we will be shielded. What a blessing it is to know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and has given us all the tools we need to overcome temptation of any kind. He wants us to succeed and be happy, but we have to do our part-daily.

Today has been horrible....the last 26 hours actually. Often times since I have had kids, I have wondered when falling hurts and gets embarassing. You watch a kid fall and they hop back up. A few weeks ago Gabe, my 3 year old decided to ride a bouncy ball down all 13 or so of our stairs and he laughed when he hit the bottom. I am not that tough i guess. Last night I learned that the embarassment and pain that comes with falling happens sometime between 3 and 29. I had a friend come over to borrow some movies. I was holding Levi and went to walk down the stairs. I can't remember if I was dodging a kid or what happened but next thing I know my butt was hitting the stairs instead of my feet. I was in sooo much pain. Then I remembered that Sarah was right behind me. She grabbed Levi to make sure he had survived the fall and I just sat there wishing there was a hole I could crawl in or some other place I could be.
I spent the day at the doctor and the hospital get poked, prodded and x-rayed. The final result is a shattered tailbone, with out a lot of hope for a painless recovery and a very bruised and swollen pelvis and hip. The only help the doctor could give me was a bottle of Lortab and the advise "If it hurts to doit, you probably shouldn't try." Some one should have told me that before I tried going down the stairs like kids do (on my butt not my feet). So for all of you who need a quote for the week, here it is...."if it hurts, or looks like it might hurt, DON'T DO IT!"

So, the last few days I have played the role of a single parent. It has been mostly aweful. If any of you know Gabe, I don't need to say anymore. For those of you who don't know Gabe, he is the 2nd child and a boy.....not the easiest combination for a little person to be. After the last few days my heart and energy goes out to any single parent or a parent whose partner is out of town a lot. Gabe was pretty cute one morning. The boys were all wondering when their dad was going to be home, we talked about what would happen every day before Adam would be home on Sunday. Afew minutes later Gabe decided if he woke up the next morning (I think it was going to be Thursday) and put on his church clothes and combed his hair (something done only before church at our house) his dad would be home. I wish it would be that easy to get Adam home. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could just put something on, like your church clothes or your saturday lounging clothes and automatically it would be that day? We have missed Adam and I think we will all be happy to see him tomorrow. Levi can stop walking around the house screaming aaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmm (that's what he calls his dad) and maybe he will sleep better after he sees his dad again. Thanks for the idea Cris.....I was going to write about Corbin's dating and marriage ideas-they are pretty funny.