Author: soggycheerios

Tanner and I finished Island of the Blue Dolphins. I was surprised at his reaction to the book. He was very upset when the dog died, and asked me to read that page, we take turns reading pages. Emma has since joined us in our reading so we all take turns. We also finished Cricket in Times Square. They all liked that story, it was upbeat and happy. They loved it when they got a turn to read and it was the Chinese guy speaking, they really got into be theatrical with their reading. We took a week off and Tanner and Emma have been nagging me non stop to pick a new book. I finally did and we are reading Treasure Island. The language is more difficult, and it’s a hard book to ready out loud, exactly the challenge I was looking for. So far we are all enjoying it. Danny is reading Kirsten it’s an American Girl Story with Aubrey and Alyssa.

Tanner is really taken with 39 Clues. It’s written by Rick Riordan the same author as Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I really enjoyed his Olympians series, but 39 Clues is a little less mature, but Tanner really likes it. Book two came out in December, I haven’t’ bought it yet, I ordered it this week. There is a game online associated with the book, and they have to solve all sorts of geography and history clues to get to the prize. Tanner was funny, he told me to start staying home more because UPS will be delivering his prize. I hate to burst his bubble…

Someone, probably one of MY kids told Alyssa that she will get flushed down the toilet, so after 5 months of almost perfect potty training Alyssa has developed a fear of the potty. Of course no one will admit to it… I think she’s worked through it and will potty with a step stool for her feet.

Star Wars, YIKES, Tanner and Aubrey have been watching Star Wars this weekend, and now I know why I have never watched these movies. The noise that comes off of those movies without watching the story line is just down right nerve wracking! I’m banning Star Wars for at least a year.

4 days to my ultra sound, and 5 days until Danny’s parents come to visit. Should be a good week.

I took Alyssa to Walmart today. She’s a very unpredictable kid. There are times when I take her out in public, and if someone looks at her she yells she cries and when asked what is wrong, she’ll say something awful like “She’s looking at me”. Then there are other days when she goes to the store and feels like she has to talk to everyone she runs into. Today, she had to show everyone that her belly button popped, (it’s and outie) so she walked around the store pulling her shirt up to show everyone her belly button. I guess we are all entitled to our mood swings.

Anyway, I took all the kids for haircuts right after school today. Tanner instantly sat down and read Aubrey books while we waited and Emma held a sleeping Alyssa while I talked with the lady at the front. I guess I’m starting to look pregnant, because the lady in the front asked me if I was one of those ladies like on 18 kids and counting. If you haven’t seen that show, it’s a Discovery Channel show about a family, the Duggers, with 18 kids. I felt a little weird about her question, its like we’ve become some sort of a freak show. I had the counselor at the school tell us that we should just start having kids to sell… I wonder… just kidding!

While we were at the hair cut place my cell phone rang. My cell phone NEVER rings, so I figured it was Danny. It was Emma’s school teacher. She asked where I was, and said that she was trying to locate us. She then informed me that she was getting ready to leave the school when she noticed one of the kids had left their very important take home final. When she walked over to see who had left their books, binder and test, she was shocked to see that it was Emma’s. She said she went and talked with another teacher and they decided that they couldn’t do that to Emma, and so they tracked us down. The teacher even brought it over to the hair cut place we were at, came in and harassed Emma, and left. I was so amazed that she would go out of her way to do something that kind. It really would have been tragic had we discovered the missing test on Saturday. There was a brief thought in my mind that maybe Emma needed to learn that there are consequences to her mistakes, but the teachers point was that Emma is so good, and there are also rewards for hard work. I hope Emma learned that if she continues to work hard, be honest and try her hardest, things wont always work out, but people are more likely to show you mercy. Emma was very grateful though, and will have to bake her teacher some cookies.

Well it’s 4 in the morning, and I’m awake. I’m having a hard time sleeping, my good friends 14 year old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and is going in for surgery in a couple of days and it makes me so sad.
Anyway, I’m reading email, and came across this. It made me smile at 4 in the morning so I thought I would share it.

I had a doctors appointment this morning. I’ve been dreading this appointment for days now, knowing that I haven’t seen him since right after Thanksgiving, and I was worried about the weight gain. Good news for me, made my day, I almost bought me a milk shake, but settled for a tootsie roll instead, but I only gained 1 pound. I almost did a little dance in the office I was so happy. With Alyssa I gained a total of 16 pounds, and I’m up 6 pounds total now with this baby and half way there, so here’s hoping that I can keep the weight gain under 10 pounds…

I know that there is no scientific proof that a heart rate can tell you the sex of the babies, but today the heart rate was in the 140’s, and all of my girls have had heart rates in the 160’s. I love my girls, but really, how many pair of mary janes shoes, and tights can one woman endure? Not to mention the amount of time it takes me to do hair in the mornings, and I think Danny is really scared I might buy more hair things, and he and Tanner will be over taken by bows, ribbons and barretts. But girls are so much fun, and really very easy. I know I don’t have teenagers yet, and it’s very possible it will change, but really people should stop scarring me about teenagers. Can they really be that bad? If I hear one more time from complete strangers, and people I know how bad my life is going to be in a few years, you’re really scaring me, they should not warn me. Ignorance is bliss, and I’ll deal with it when I have to. I’m such a worrier anyway, I really don’t need the pressure. Kind of off topic there… sorry.

It’s been a week since I blogged last. My schedule has been a little altered, Danny has had the last two weeks off work, and it’s been great, but I am looking forward to getting back to my normal schedule.
So I’m down to 10 days until we have our big ultrasound. Hopefully everything is good with the baby, but I must admit, I will be a little upset if we can’t figure out what this baby is. My doctor, the little stinker that he is sometimes, doesn’t think that finding out the sex of the baby is important, so if he happens to notice it, he might tell you, and then again, he might not. With the last two babies, he’s given me a 60% chance of a girl, I think I could have guaranteed myself those odds without his expertise. Anyway, I’m tapping into my not so reliable woman powers, and they say this is another girl. I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks. This is what the family is thinking:

Danny- boy
Emma- girl
Tanner- boy
Aubrey- boy, although has changed to a girl since that is what Emma answered
Alyssa- boy

As for this week, We’ve painted my bedroom, saw Bedtime Stories, and went to Scheels. Over all I think the kids had a good vacation, there is a part of me that is sad to see the kids go back to school tomorrow, but such is life.

I put a poll in the top right corner, you can vote there.

We got to church 15 minutes early, and I was feeling like I was on top of everything. Diaper bag was packed, everyone was dressed, all hair in place, even curled. We sat down and a deacon came and asked Danny if he would help pass the sacrament. Our ward is short on youth and the men help out the young men every week. The bishop asked us if we’d give the opening and closing prayers… So things had gotten a little busy, but everyone was being pretty good. Anyway, Danny was gone and the wrestling with Alyssa began. She wiggles, climbs up on the bench and down, and then up and then down, I think you get it. She is on my lap, off my lap, up down, on, off etc… After the opening song I get up to go say the prayer trying to get Emma to take Alyssa and my shoe catches on my skirt, like the whole shoe wrapped in the skirt, I knew if I took a step my skirt would come down. So I hop out of the row with my foot stuck, and holding onto my skirt for fear the jarring of my foot would pull my skirt down. Finally I get out and and try to keep my composure not sure what my skirt is looking like in the back, but walk up and say the prayer. Then back to my wrestling match. Danny finally joins us and church finishes up with me feeling a bit over stimulated. Danny gets up to say the closing prayer, and Alyssa decides she has a booger, and sticks her finger up her nose. So I quietly pull it out and she yells pretty loud, I can’t get my booger, over and over through the entire prayer. The lady in front of me has lost it and is laughing hysterically, finally I just let Alyssa get her booger, Danny finishes the prayer and it’s off to primary for me to sing with kids… YIKES. I know there is a reason I go to church, sometimes though I forget, and I just go into survival mode. The fun of little kids, I can barely control the 4 I have, do I really have any business having another one. More fun is all I keep telling myself. More fun!

Sharing some pictures of our Christmas morning.

Our PERFECT children

Our REAL children…

The news reports snow, but we never see any of it. We’ve had the cold temperatures, the high winds, but NO snow. This morning, we woke to a dusting of the white stuff. Everyone was excited and had to go play in it. Looks like it might be a white Christmas, but that sun is shinning awful bright, I’ll bet the snow will be gone by lunch. Sigh…