7 Interesting Things About ME?

I've been tagged, - for awhile, I am a slacker - and am supposed to let you know 7 interesting things about me. I can't promise they'll be enjoyable, but I guess interesting.

1. I am a "project person". I pretty much base my life around what project I have going at the moment. For instance, I will work on a quilt - all my free time is spent on the quilt, until it's done. I will work on a project for church until it's done. After I finish each project, I look to find a new project - whether it's organizing a room or even reading a book, or even more long term projects like training for a marathon. I guess it's my way of gauging what I'm doing with my life and gives me something to do with my time.

2. When I was three years-old I was kicked by a horse. The rather bright child that I was, went behind a horse - that was having a difficult time - and started petting it's hind leg. It kicked back, hitting my chest - breaking my collar bone - then it's hoof hit my face. According to my mom, I was quite mean with the doctors - refusing to be treated, then after they had me pinned down, I tried spitting at the doctor (all while my lip was split apart). I guess not much has changed. Which brings me to my next fact...

3. I have implants - well, I guess one implant. Because of the horse's kick, my permanent teeth got really screwed up. I went through elementary school missing a front tooth - but my teeth were so crooked, I really didn't notice it (that and I was too busy being a kid to notice). It wasn't until I had braces, that miraculously my permanent eye tooth (I still had my baby one at the time) shifted over to fill in for my front tooth. I kept my baby eye tooth until after I was 16 - it broke off just before going out on a date, a totally fun, sad, embarrassing tale in which I still went on the date after super gluing the tooth back in. I then got a tooth implant for that tooth, and to make my other teeth look "normal" we capped the front ones.

4. My thighs will often get tight, especially while sitting down. To relieve them I will punch myself in the leg. This is something that I do almost subconsciously, and have done since high school. I really don't notice when I do it, but Todd sure likes to tease me about it.

5. I am very particular about the clothes I wear. My clothes, top and bottoms, have got to match just right. I'm talking about the colors, the fabrics, everything. I'm almost a perfectionist about it. When other people wear stuff that doesn't match enough for me, I will actually not notice and think that their outfit is really cute. But if I were to try on the same outfit, I cannot handle it and am very self-conscious about it.

6. I do not like to shower. Well, actually, once in the shower I love it, and want to stay there all day. It's the getting totally undressed - and for the moment cold, then the getting out of the shower - and once again being cold. Then I really hate having to do my hair afterwards. I don't know if this is all because I am a very content person and therefore if I am content with how I am feeling I don't like to change things, so when I feel fine the last thing I want to do is get naked and wet (Todd doesn't like this fact about me). Or this not liking to shower may be heredity. I have a cousin that is the same way.

7. The only reason I have long hair is that I really do not frequent the beauty salon. One reason is that it can get quite pricey - I mean when you're putting down a hundred dollars just to get your hair done, you should almost expect your hair to brush itself for the next month. But the main reason that I hardly ever go to get my hair done is the time. Going and sitting for a couple of hours, talking to some random person is kinda annoying, and really difficult to come by when you have three babies. Then, even though I always stress to the receptionist while making an appointment that my hair is thicker and may take longer than their usual allotted times, the beautician usually runs out of time, meaning that I either go home with wet hair or that my hair is quickly brushed and styled without any thought of how it looks. But now I guess another reason that I have long hair is that Mikey constantly tells me that I look so pretty and am a princess. Right now his favorite movie is "The Little Mermaid" (thanks to my sister), and he loves to pull my hair in front of my shoulders and tell me that I look like Ariel. I guess if I cut it, he might still think I'm pretty and look like a princess but sometimes it's scary to chance it. Besides, when would I find the time to get my hair done - I'm barely able to go to the bathroom, and usually have an audience when I do that.

Happy Birthday to My Baby

William is now one! I cannot believe a year has already past. It seems like yesterday that I "popped him out", yet it feels like he's been in our family forever - well, I guess he probably has.

The Tongan traditions would not celebrate the birth of a baby, they would not even name the baby until it's first birthday. Then they would have a celebration for the baby 'cause the baby proved that it would survive. As odd as it sounds, I can understand this reasoning. Up until now, I wasn't sure William would be able to handle such big, and "mature" older brothers. But after being jumped on, pushed, squeezed, poked, hit by toys, and kissed too much, William has proven that he is here for the long haul - thank goodness.

I really am quite thankful for William. He has been the "perfect baby". Never cries too much, never demands too much, is VERY flexible (often putting off his nap for several hours due to convenience, yet no complaining), yet he always gives me a smile when I need it most - almost as to say, "Mom, I know you've got your hands full, but you can handle it, I'll help how I can".

Anyhow, here's to my boy. William I love you so very much - thank you for the joy you've filled our house with!

Out with the SKINNY and in with the LARGE

It's that time again. It really does start feeling like a yearly event, but no, what I am talking about isn't dictated by the calendar nor the weather. What I am talking about is MATERNITY CLOTHES!! With my first one, I was so excited to get big that I started wearing my maternity clothes before I really needed to. My last two, I prolonged it as long as I could. I know people say, "but being pregnant is so cute!" But in reality, as wonderful as pregnancy is, being big is not something I crave. I went on wearing "normal" clothes much longer than I ever should have tried. This pregnancy, I've given up on looking good in any way, so I actually pulled out the maternity clothes quicker - funny what kids do to you - I've lost all pride and sense of decency.

Do you remember when you were little, and all of your pants had the elastic waistband - and I mean all, including the jeans! My question is why did we ever leave this practice? I know that many of you are thinking "because it's not too fashionable to have an elastic waistband!". But think about it - if all of us wore pants with elastic waistbands, then it would be hip.

Now the reason I think that we should go back to elastic is for this reason. Have you ever (recently) pulled up pants with an elastic waistband? It is amazing. It is so fast. How nice it is to go potty (or the bathroom for those without kids) and just pull up and down your pants. When I have to get ready in 3 minutes (which let's face it, it happens with kids) I save seconds not having to try to squeeze into jeans, then zip them, and then button them!

Todd always teases me when I'm in my pregnancy pants, saying that I am just like a little kid with the elastic band. But I must say, I do enjoy having pants that are so easy on and off. Maybe we can start a revolution with this thing - or maybe it's the pregnancy hormones talking.

In Memory of

I am sure many of you have heard of the four small children that were thrown off of a bridge by their father. I have been thinking so much about these precious little ones. I think one reason is because I can imagine and understand the loss a little bit more fully. I say this because the children were my children's ages: a 3 year-old, a 2 year-old, a 1 year-old, and a baby (which I will have in a couple of months). I can relate how each of these children were and can envision how devastating it would be to have this happen to them, to not only loose them, but to know that they had to go through something so terrifying. I like to think that the moment they were let go, God's angels caught their little spirits and swiftly took them "home" to God. There they were immediately put into Heavenly Father's lap, where He got to hug them, express to them how He had missed them, and let them know how sad He was about the way their lives were treated, but that everything was going to be okay for they were now with Him.

I really haven't had anyone too close to me pass away, and I really don't think I can fully understand what this family is going through, but I do mourn with them. I am so saddened by what they have to deal with. Especially the mother, who no longer has her sweet babies with her. I pray that she will gain strength and have faith that one day that she will be with them again. I also am sorry to any of you who have lost someone close to you. I pray that you will find comfort. I do believe that there is life after this, and for anyone interested in what I believe in it, click here.

OUCH!!!

This morning I took the boys to the library, planning on letting them have some fun before we would go and conquer Costco. The library has small children's tables, and William, being at that age of loving to stand, was walking around them, holding on to the tables. Something happened and he fell, which happens quite frequently - he is at that age. But unfortunately, he hit the small chair in front of him. I immediately swept him up and cuddled him, and quickly noticed he was bleeding. He is my third boy, so this did not scare me, I just grabbed a tissue and tried to wipe away the blood to find out where he had injured himself. It was in or around the mouth somewhere. I had finally determined that his injury was in his mouth, but I couldn't see where - you know how cooperative these little kids are sometimes. He cried for like 5 minutes - which is actually abnormally long for him, and he was bleeding a bit more than I would have liked, so I forced my way to see inside his mouth. To my horror, he had sliced his tongue! The end of it was hanging off.

After trying to call the doctor, I finally just drove to his office. Upon getting there, I explained what had happened, and the nurse informed me that once the doctor returned from lunch, William would be the first one seen. I ended up waiting over an hour. I still hadn't fed the boys lunch, so the boys were a little upset seeing that this all happened around noon. I got into the doctor's room around 1:30 - so exciting. My only complaint about my doctor is that he is a pediatrician, why does he not have any kind of toys in the waiting room, or in the examination rooms? Do they want the children to destroy their expensive medical equipment? I swear they were going to loose a stirrup (why does a pediatrician have stirrups anyhow?)
After waiting half and hour in the examination room, the doctor came in and spent 5 minutes looking at it. He said that because it was on the tip of his tongue and had come apart so badly, he wanted to consult a specialist. He left, and after another 15 minutes he came in to inform me that the specialist wanted to see it himself, that he couldn't say over the phone.
Luckily, Todd called me as I was driving over to the specialist office, so I sent Todd to the doctor's with William and I took the boys home to feed them lunch. About an hour later, Todd came home. The doctor had looked at it and said that they do not even sew it up unless the cut is longer than 4 cm - where on a baby's tongue is there 4 cm?!
So, after hours at doctor's offices, I found out that it has to heal on it's own - frustrating!!! And now, my little angel has to be careful for the next two weeks!

Christmas 2007

I realized that I hadn't posted anything about Christmas - which may show what a boring time we had. Actually it was jammed packed with fun and excitement, that I am still recuperating from the whole experience. Here's a brief description of how the trip went.



Dec. 15th - Flew into Las Vegas. My parents surprised Todd and I with two tickets to Celine Dion's last concert in Vegas that night. They took the boys to their home in Utah while Todd & I got to pretend that it was just the two of us again. What I enjoyed most? Being able to walk to places without turning and waiting for Roger to catch up while trying to get William out of the cold - strange the things you learn to appreciate.



Dec. 17th - Went on a walking Christmas party, where we stopped at several spots to learn about what the prophets had testified of Christ's coming. Afterwards we went on a short hay ride. Mikey loved this. We were there with some older kids, who sang Christmas carols. Since Thanksgiving I had been playing Christmas music in our home, so Mikey knew a lot of the songs. I think he really enjoyed feeling like he belonged to some kind of club because he knew the words.



Dec. 18th - Went to Delta, Utah (a really big and happening place in Utah) to watch my sister, LeNae, play basketball. It's really good that I did, 'cause she's a senior this year, and last week she had a snowboarding accident that will probably prevent her playing the rest of the season.





Dec. 19th - Went on the "Polar Express" with my whole family. It was a lot of fun, and very anticipated. I had shown the boys the book and movie weeks ago in preparation for this experience, and they were excited for the trip. I think they were a little disappointed that the waiters didn't dance around and do flips, but they did love getting "the first gift of Christmas" and who doesn't love riding a train?



Dec. 21 -We celebrated my brother's birthday at a "no kids allowed" dinner, which was great. Then later I went to a party where I got to meet up with my friends from high school. A lot of the people I hadn't seen since high school, so it was kind of weird going and realizing that we're not as young or hip as we use to be - oh, well.
This is a picture of me and my family - minus my brother that is on a mission. Todd always teases me saying he got the "short one", in this picture, I understand what he is saying. The only one shorter than I am is twelve years old!


Me & my sisters in front of the Disney Castle!

Dec. 22 - Went to Disneyland!! It was amazing, and very crowded. The boys loved it and were so interested in all of the sights and sounds. They loved driving a car, riding a train, spinning in the tea cups, and most of all, riding a roller coaster! Who are these kids? As a kid I always loved Disneyland and the magic it holds, but I love even more watching my kids love it.

Almost a complete family picture

Look at that joy - or confusion

William's First Christmas!!
Dec. 24,25 - Celebrated Christmas with my family. Lots of food, fun, chaos, and love. The most interesting part was watching the boys open starbursts. Yes, starbursts as in the candy. Mikey would not even try opening them up by himself, and would complain if we even suggested that he try to do it himself. Roger, on the other hand, refused to allow us to help him. He would open them himself and would complain if we even offered to help him. He started feeding some to William because he was unwrapping too many too fast. This is just one example of how different Mikey and Roger are from each other. Definitely fun to see.

The boys with all their cousins. See if you can pick my boys out

Yep, that's Roger opening his candy, and Todd opening Mikey's

William's favorite part - sucking on a clementine




Sugar crash later


Dec. 26 - Went to the Jazz game. It was so much fun! Being outside of Utah, I don't keep up with them much, but there were some familiar players - like Matt Harpring!!! He is Superman to me.


Dec. 27 - My sister went through the temple for the first time. It was an awesome experience, and I got to see a lot of my extended family. I do believe there were more people there than at my wedding, but who's counting?


Dec. 29 - We regrettably returned home - but we did bring back with us my 12 year-old sister. She is amazing! This also allowed me the opportunity to get back into the swing of things by going grocery shopping (you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to go with 3 kids), unpacking, cleaning, and all else.

My sister and Mikey

We also were able to see one of my favorite people, my cousin Natalie, her husband Nick, and their boy Weston. Nick's parents live near us, so they were visiting for Christmas.

Mikey & Roger with their 2nd cousin, Weston. (Notice my kids have their clothes on - look how on top of things I am - or maybe they just slept in their clothes)

So, even though it took me a while to post how our Christmas went, it wasn't because it was too boring, it was because there wasn't a lot of down time. We had a great time seeing family and sharing experiences with my kids.

It's a .........

We had our ultrasound the other day, and can you guess what it is? Based on my history, one would guess that we're having another boy. If you are one of these people, you would be correct. We are having our fourth boy! Can you believe it. I actually had a feeling it would be a boy, and a boy is actually, believe it or not, what I was hoping for. With three older brothers, all being still quite young, I wanted a boy 'cause scars on girls are a little bit different. Also, I have the clothes for a boy. With a girl, I would have to purchase all new clothes. Can you see me going to the store and shopping for clothes with my 3 boys - yea right. And let's face it, when do you have a baby shower for the lady that is having her 4th child in 4 years - the excitement just isn't there. (I'm actually starting to feel like I bring out the maternity clothes like some people bring out seasonal clothes). Anyhow, we are super excited, which I know may surprise some people, but boys are so much fun. Plus, with having a boy, I'm not creating any competition for myself. I still remain the only girl; therefore, I am the "different" and "exciting" one.

We're thinking of naming him Grant. If you can think of a good first, or middle name to go with Grant, let me know. I would love any suggestions.

Note: That's not a picture of my baby, mine is much cuter.