Got a Couple Hours?

I LOVE this time of year.

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The kids helping, the yummy food we put up, and the feeling that I'm doing something good for my family.

It doesn't get any better than this. (Except maybe when it's time to do green chiles or apple butter. YUM!!!)

We're Having A....... (Try #2)

Ultrasound #2 was fun.

Emma was out of school today, so all the kids got to tag along with me to the Dr's office. Daddy had to work, so we threw a little "surprise" party for him when he got home to announce the news.

Emma chose the party music & Frank dictated where to hang the streamers & balloons.
Nice centerpiece, Emma. Very tasteful.

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And the "surprise"?

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Daddy had to examine the ultrasound for a LONG time to accept it.

I think he's still in shock.

I think we all are.

(In case you can't tell, I was SURE that this little munchkin was a girl. Therefore, everybody else thought it was a girl, too!)

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So baby #4 is going to be BOY #3.

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Oh, boy!

Is It Monday Yet?

Life is not always daisies & roses.

Our weekend, in fact, was more like sewer rats & root canals.

Enjoy knowing that this was not you!

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1. Emma trips in the driveway on the way out on our family walk, impaling herself on her Popsicle stick. Bloody knees, scraped elbows, sore chest, the whole 9 yards.
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2. On our family walk, Daisy the dog got HIT BY A TRUCK DRIVING 50+ mph.
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3. Family walk, remember? The kids got to witness the whole gruesome event- I can't even begin to describe the hysteria. Horrific, just horrific.
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4. While trying to hustle the kids into the shower to avoid the bloody dog outside, Jack gets cracked in the head with a cabinet door. More bruises & tears.
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5. Mommy seriously overdoes it on Saturday. Costco, Wal-Mart, baptism, canning peaches. Yikes! Contractions already? Ugh- I am going to have to watch it so they don't stick me on bed rest again.
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6. Sacrament talks on pornography, Beehive lesson on chastity. Super fun!
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7. Jack gets swarmed by an ant hill of giant black ants. More than a dozen bites all over his body result in manic tears & scraping his body on the floor all over the house.
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8. Allergic reaction to the ant bites! Where's the Benadryl??!!

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I truly cannot wait for tomorrow to get here.

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FYI- the dog is doing fine. She was heavily medicated & got to reside in the house with the humans for a while, but she's up, about, & chasing bunnies tonight. I think the prayers my kiddos & hubby were offering constantly had something to do with it. Seriously, after seeing that collision I can't even believe she's alive, much less healthy.

Want a SERIOUSLY TOUGH dog?

Get a heeler.

My Good Deed for the Day

As my act of service for August 3, I didn't punch an old man in the mouth.

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Yeah, you read right. Call me awful, mean, & just plain witchy, but I think you might feel the same way too if you were me.

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If you were sitting in a nice restaurant eating a nice meal, with 3 kids making almost no noise & stuffing their faces as fast as they could. (This is not usually the case, so I appreciate it when it does happen.)

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If you had a waitress bring an elderly couple to sit at the table next to you & the man says (loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear) "I don't want to sit anywhere near all those kids- I want to sit over there."

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If the waitress burst out laughing & led them to a table across the restaurant, with the other diners suddenly looking at you like your family has leprousy.

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I really do think that it was an act of charity for me not to go tell him just how I felt.

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Sigh.....be Christlike, Kris.

Maybe he has terrible grandkids & can't stand to be around anyone under 4 feet tall.

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Why did this have to happen when they were actually behaving themselves? And why did they have to hear it? Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if they were being stinkers & it could be used as a learning experience.

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Sigh.....this Mama Bear is going to bed now. Maybe tomorrow I'll take them for ice cream to show them that not all adults are mean.

Joy School!

My Frank is officially a big boy.

He started preschool this week & is VERY proud that he gets to go to school like Emma.

(Although Emma calls preschool "baby school." What a stinker!)

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He had a little trouble understanding why he goes to a different house every week instead of a school building like Emma, but he got over that quickly & is loving it.

Yep-- 4 boys & no girls in this group. This is going to be an interesting year! Do you think he digs the backpack?

He wears it about 75% of the time now, even in the car. I love this boy!

We're Having A.......

?????????????????????????????

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Yep, that's right. We've waited 20 1/2 weeks & we still didn't get to find out boy/girl info today at our ultrasound. The little booger is "way far" down in my pelvis, with legs crossed, totally breech.

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Well, I guess another 2 weeks of waiting won't kill us. Funny- this would've been making me CRAZY with my 1st or 2nd kid. I guess I'm just older & more accepting these days.

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Stay tuned!

You'll know when we do!

And She Didn't Even Look Back.....

There was a strange quiet in my house last night.

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The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of lunchboxes danced in their heads.

The backpack was placed by the doorway with care,

In hopes that the first school day soon would be there.

And so it begins.

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The first day of school dawned bright & early this morning, with Emma peeking into my room, fully dressed, at a quarter to 6.

"Yay, School" mumbles Mommy.

Emma was totally packed, clothes laid out, & ready to go at 5:00 pm last night. I LOVE that she LOVES school so much, & I LOVE even more that she gets the same fabulous teacher that she had last year. It makes sending her off to her first full day of first grade that much easier.

Her favorite part? Eating lunch & a snack at school. Second on the list? That would be recess. All the things that lowly kindergartners don't get to do, I suppose.

My favorite part of school? The rather random combination of the Barbie backpack & Scooby-Doo lunchbox. Gotta love my contradictory little girl!

Now she's home, gotten some BIG hugs from the boys, and is rarin' to go back already.

If only Mommy were as ready to start this madness all over again, too.