Grammie's visit

I'm finally getting to his post. Grammie came for a short visit to meet Greyson and spend some time with the boys (and us). Everyone had a great time! She got to see our new house for the first time also so that was fun! This time she stayed at a hotel nearby in Delafield and one of the days we took everyone over for some pool fun. They had a blast!!! We ordered pizza and ate it in the lobby afterwards. It felt like we were on vacation! One other day we drove to Chicago to experience Legoland. The boys enjoyed that as well. They all liked playing with all of the Legos and we got to see some pretty cool professional creations like the life-sized Darth Vader, which Hunter thought was really cool. We also got to see how Legos are made in the factory and the boys left with three bitty Lego skeletons as souvenirs. Grammie's visit was so much fun!

Tee hee!

Greyson giggled for the first time tonight and he gave himself the hiccups! It was so cute!! He was crabby beforehand so I was carrying him around the house trying to get all of the boys in bed. Tyler and Brody were down for the night and it was Hunter's turn. He wanted me to read to him (as always) so Greyson came along for the ride. It's tough to hold him and lie on Hunter's bed to read so I was looking around for anything to put him in to keep him somewhat content and of course, safe. His little bathtub was the closest thing I could find without having to go downstairs so I plopped him in there (without water, of course) and rocked him in it manually to calm him down. It worked! He was giving me lots of smiles and then giggled. Hunter was upset that he missed it because he was busy trying to find a book to read.

Speaking of Hunter, he has been so so sick this past week. It started with a bad cough and turned into a high fever that lasted three days. He did not eat a single thing for two of those days. Today we managed to get him to eat one bite of a PBJ and half of a pancake. He missed school on Wed, Thur, and Friday and religious education on Wednesday night. Today he was crying on the couch complaining that his ear hurt so John ended up taking him to Urgent Care. His ear is pretty badly infected so he is on Amoxicillan now. He is like a different kid since taking the medicine. Smiling and everything! Tyler, Brody and Greyson are all sick as well. The twins have a fever but so far Greyson does not (knock on wood). Greyson has a congested chest and cough. John and I have escaped this one so far. I hope that lasts. Tonight at dinner Brody was telling us that his tooth hurt so I'm debating whether or not to bring everyone in to see the doctor tomorrow. John said that Hunter's Urgent Care Doctor said that it probably started as a sinus infection. The fact that Brody's teeth are hurting makes me think he might have one too. They have all been so sick so far this season. I just want it to end!

200!!

Wow! This is my 200th blog post! Pretty crazy. I haven't posted in a while so I have a lot to write about.

First of all, things around here are really great! I love all of my boys (including John of course)!!! And I love our new house, neighborhood & community! And of course I love all of you, my friends and family! Life couldn't be better over here!

Speaking of family, my mom came to visit recently to meet Greyson and spend some time with us. Stay tuned for a post dedicated to our time together...

Speaking of Greyson, he is cuter and cuter with each passing day! (I'm definitely not biased about this. Grammie and Nona agree!!!) He has started to sleep better at night. He is two months old and now sleeps a 5-6 hour stretch at night. I still get up with him around 4 a.m. to nurse but then he usually sleeps until 7 or 8 after that. I'm not complaining about that. He has always been in his little Moses basket right next to our bed except for a short stint in the crib before I decided to paint his room. I'm still airing it out before putting him back in there even though I bought the VOC-free paint. I still like to play it safe. He sleeps the majority of the day also. His most awake period is between 8 p.m. and midnight. I took him for his 2 month checkup today and he weighs 13 lbs. 9 oz. He's a chunk!! That is in the 83rd percentile. He is 24.25 inches long (86%) and his little peanut head is 15.5 inches circumferance (29%). I think he has my small head. That's okay because I'm pretty sure our other boys all have John's big head! They gave him three shots. Boo! And he was so happy and cooing right beforehand too. It was soooo sad. But he only cried for a minute. He has been pretty smiley lately and I'm eating that up! Hunter, Tyler and Brody continue to be great big brothers to him. Hunter really enjoys trying to get him to smile at him. Tyler and Brody both come over to him during the day and say, "Hi Greyson!"

We are all in the Christmas spirit over here. We've already decorated the inside and outside of the house and started a new tradition...roasting marshmallows over our fire pit for s'mores while Daddy hangs the lights on the house. The boys loved it! We are all very excited for Christmas. We are hosting this year in our new house!

Stitches

I got a phone call the other morning from John asking if I had talked to the school. Confused, I said, "no, why?" He proceded to tell me that the school nurse had been trying to reach me for the last half hour because Hunter had had an accident while walking into school. Apparently he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and had walked into the gym door and split his eyebrow open. I felt like the worst mother in the world for leaving him in the nurses office for that long with no response! We got new cell phones about a month ago and I never hear it ring. We hadn't had a land-line hooked up yet and were doing a trial run with just using our cells as our home phone. After this episode John called the phone company to hook one up. When I arrived at his school and saw the damage I didn't even think he'd need to be checked out but the nurse said it would be a good idea. She had put on two little butterfly bandages and the cut seemed to be holding together nicely. After calling the doctor's office from the car to see if they could put stitches in if needed they referred me to urgent care. So off we went! When the doctor took off his bandages I realized the cut was pretty deep. In the end Hunter needed two stitches and I learned that keeping four little boys entertained for several hours in the ER is tricky business.

Randomness at the Collins household

What I just heard happening in the basement while cleaning up the kitchen...

Brody half-way crying
Hunter: "Oh...you got an owie?"
Brody: In his sad voice..."yeah."
Hunter: "No...I'm not going to kiss your butt."
More crying from Brody
Hunter: "Okay, I'll kiss your butt."
Not sure what that was all about.

And another something I didn't want to forget...Brody has been stealing bites of food off of Tyler's plate and while he does it he says, "Yoink!" He definitely learned that from Daddy!

Lastly, Hunter's conferences were this week and Mrs. Nickel said Hunter is performing at above grade-level (second grade) in reading and spelling. She said he is so much fun in class and while he is very bright she loves having him in class because he still loves to learn and isn't "too cool for school" like some of her previous students who excel like Hunter. She showed us some of his journal entries called "small moments." They write these "stories" every day and then share their best work with the class occasionally. Hunter wrote one about the time he got "grounded" for going outside in his socks. Let me give some background info on this. Hunter has been struggling demonstrating his listening skills and while I have asked him numerous times not to go outside with his socks on he hasn't obeyed. So I finally broke down and told him that the next time he would be grounded from going outside for the rest of the day of the offense if he was outside with socks. His journal entry went something like this..."Yesterday I was grounded for wearing my socks outside. I just went to get the mail and didn't know Mom was in the garage. Suddenly, she caught me. Then there was drama." She thought that one was particularly entertaining.

During the first few weeks of school the parents were invited for an information night in the classroom with their child's teacher. This is to familiarize parents with procedures at school and such. While John and I were walking down the hallway we noticed a bulletin board with pictures drawn by Hunter and his classmates and sentences down below the drawings. These all started with "In first grade I hope to..." and most of his classmates wrote "learn to read" or "make friends." Hunter wrote "learn to drive a car."

Fall fun!

We have ventured out twice in the last week as a family of six and things have gone swimmingly! On Thursday night we went to the Halloween Haunts at the Wehr Nature Center and walked through the forest lit by hundreds of hand-carved pumpkins on either side of the path to meet the creatures of the night for their annual program. We love attending this event but were worried about how Tyler and Brody would handle being out at night in the forest. They handled it just fine! I had Greyson in the sleepy wrap and he slept the entire time and John and I held Tyler and Brody's hand to guide them through. They weren't scared at all and seemed to enjoy it. The people at Wehr recommend this program for ages 4 and up but we still don't have a babysitter in our new community so we braved it and thank goodness it worked out! We all had a great time!

Then this afternoon we hit up a new pumpkin patch closer to our new home and I'm a big fan! I got the recommendation from my boss, who lives out this way. If anyone is looking for a good one it's called Ebert's in Ixonia. The boys had a blast! They each picked out their own pumpkins, which was the highlight I would say, and Hunter played some games like pumpkin bowling, golf and a fishing game. Tyler and Brody didn't quite understand that they each got to pick ONE pumpkin and kept going back for more to put on our cart. On our way out we asked a stranger to take our first family picture since our new little addition joined us and amazingly everyone is looking at the camera (with the exception of Greyson who is sleeping in the wrap). Everyone was having so much fun that I had to go buy a bag of popcorn to lure them back to the van without a big fight. Whatever works!

Future daughter-in-law saved!

Today Hunter's friends were over as they have been almost every day since we've moved in. When I say Hunter's friends I mean Avril and Christopher. They live two doors down. Avril is in 1st grade like Hunter (different class though) and Christopher is in K5. Apparently Avril is a self-proclaimed monkey and loves climbing trees. We have some pine trees that are awesome for climbing in our yard. Their most recent activity of choice is to try and climb them. Avril climbs up SUPER high. Well, today they were out back climbing and John, Greyson and I were inside. Christopher came in and was telling us very animatedly, "Someone has to come and look at Avril! She is WAY high up and stuck up in a tree! We need help!" Well, Christopher is somewhat dramatic and so we didn't jump and run immediately, thinking that all was probably okay. But John did decide after a few minutes to go and check (I was nursing). After about 10 minutes John came inside panting and told me he had to climb up 30 feet into the tree (in his socks) and save Avril! She had been suspended with her hands on a branch but her legs dangling mid-air. On his way up to get her she was saying, "My hands are slipping!" YIKES!!! Thank goodness he reached her in time. She would've been seriously injured had she fallen. Later John told me that Hunter came up to him and said, "Dad, thanks for saving the life of the only girl I'm gonna marry."

Family visit

Yesterday early evening the family came to visit Greyson and I in the hospital. John's parents brought the boys and it was total chaos. I got a glimpse of how my life with four boys will be and then took promptly took a nap after they all left. It started out really sweet though with the boys very interested in Greyson, especially Tyler. He has a little baby doll at home that he loves to care for and I think it was a real treat for him to see and hear a real baby. We inherited the doll from a friend during a playdate that he just couldn't part with when we were leaving. He loves to take the baby for walks with the play stroller she also gave us, tuck the baby in to go night night, give kisses and hugs to the baby, change the baby's diaper, even give the baby time outs! He straps her into the time out chair and when I ask him what baby did wrong he says, "Climbing" or whatever offense he has most recently committed. It's really sweet to watch his compassionate side grow as he learns how to properly care for someone else and I thought it great practice for when Greyson would be in our household; however, he has recently taken to jumping on the baby which of course concerns me greatly. I make crying sounds for the baby when this happens and tell Ty that it hurts baby. He then picks her up, gives her kisses and hugs and then jumps on her again. EEEK!!!

Getting back to the visit, Ty barely left Greyson's side the whole time. He was pointing to all of his parts and saying, "Baby eyes" and "Baby nose." Everyone thought it was really cute when he asked, "Baby toes?" and was looking under the blanket for his toes. He also (unasked) gave Greyson lots of kisses and hugs. He patted Greyson's head a lot too and kept saying, "See! See!" if I was holding him so that he wasn't able to see him well. Brody was more interested in turning on and off the lights in the room, opening drawers and jumping on the bed. Hunter was very sweet also. He immediately saw him when he walked in and said, "Awwww...he's so cute!" He insisted on putting Greyson's hat on and showing him off to everyone in the room with his new look. When they all left he said, "See you later Harvey!" (What he insists on calling him.) They stayed for about half an hour and managed to set off two emergency alarms in the room and the nurses came running for nothing. Boy is it hard to watch four kids at once. I'm getting nervous...

What a week!!!

This week has been easily the busiest in our lives. We moved on Friday to our new house, closed on Monday and had a baby on Wednesday (yesterday). First topic...the move! We kept Hunter home from school on Friday so that he could be a part of the action. He was such a helper! He probably carried 20 boxes all by himself out to the moving truck. One of the movers even commented, "Wow...Hunter's puttin' me to shame. I've gotta pick up the pace here!" It was really cute. We were thankfully able to move in a few days before closing because the previous owners of our new house allowed it. The closing on our house in Milwaukee kept getting pushed off because of some minor paperwork issue with the buyers. It was a mess but it all worked out. We absolutely LOVE our new community and our neighbors are awesome! There are a lot of kids in our neighborhood for Hunter to play with. It's everything we wanted and more!

Monday's closing went off without a hitch! I was over at the house on 39th Street for the last time that morning to pick up one last thing and it was bittersweet walking through those doors for the last time. We made some really great memories in that house. We brought our babies home there and watched them take their first steps, eat their first foods, and smile their first smiles. We really did love that house and will miss it. But our new house is even better and we have plenty of memories to make there! We'll be taking home our new baby there which brings me to our final topic...

Yesterday morning I had a doctor's appointment and learned that I was dilated 5-6 cm, 70% effaced and my doctor mentioned that all I needed was for my water to break and that baby "would just fall out!" We made plans that if I didn't go into labor naturally by next week, she would admit me to the hospital and break my water and make it happen. The reason being that now we live further from the hospital and need to wait an hour before even leaving for John's parents to arrive from Madison to take care of the kids. Since I was already dilated so much she feared I wouldn't make it to the hospital. I agreed that it was a good plan. I did not want to end up delivering at home or on the freeway, especially given that I wanted a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) which is already somewhat risky. The rest of the day I spent unpacking boxes and chasing after two toddlers as normal. By the time we walked down to the bus stop to get Hunter I was feeling somewhat regular contractions and decided to start recording them when I returned home. They started about 20 mins apart, moved to 10 pretty quickly and were about 6-7 when I called John at about 4:45 p.m. to alert him to hurry home. He was already on his way and called his parents to come on over. John's mom's best friend Laurie lives in Hartland, which is much closer and she asked her to come to cover the interim between when we left for the hospital and when they arrived. Laurie and her husband arrived about 10 mins later and we were off. By the time we got to the hospital the contractions were about 3-5 mins apart but not too intense. I was still 5-6 cm dilated a few hours after arriving and at 8 p.m. my nurse said that Dr. Schell's orders were to allow me two more hours to progress naturally and if there was no change in my cervix by 10 p.m. we could return home. She also gave me the option of breaking my water to send me into more active labor. I opted to hop in the whirlpool tub and let things progress naturally. And they did. After an hour of the whirlpool my contractions picked up and were much more intense. By 10 p.m. I had progressed to 6-7 cm and 100% effaced. They told me I was staying. Dr. Schell was finishing up a few more charts in her office and would head over to the hospital afterwards to break my water (upon my request). When she got there I was at 8 cm and was having what I think were pretty violent and super unpleasant contractions every 2 mins. She broke my water and went to change into her scrubs. My contractions became even more intense and less than ten minutes later Greyson was born. I had the urge to push even before she made it back into the delivery room. I thought for a second that the nurse was going to catch the baby. I told the nurse that I needed to push and she said that I could bear down but "don't push the baby out." I said, "How do I do that?" I tried my hardest to control the urge until Dr. Schell returned, which seemed like an eternity but was really only about two contractions more. When she got there I told her I had to push and she said, "Well, let's check to see if you're ready." I WAS READY, believe me!!! She said I was at 9 cm but I didn't care. I was pushing no matter what. She said she wanted me to contract which she was checking me to see if I could push past that last centimeter. That was super uncomfortable but worth it because she said, "Yep...One good push and she should be able to do it! Let's get her ready!" I pushed twice and he was born. Greyson Pierce Collins was born at 11:13 p.m. and weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. We are all so relieved that the VBAC went well, no ruptured uterus and that he is healthy. I am especially thankful that I will never have to experience childbirth again. Not fun. But the end-result is soooo worth it! He is so precious!

Box hunt

The other day we ran out of boxes so I called around to Target, Wal-Mart, and some grocery stores to see if they had any and they said they either crush them immediately in their compactors or I should come back late at night to see if I could get some. Neither option worked for me because I had two friends coming over to help me pack that evening and no boxes. So I loaded up Tyler and Brody and drove around to the backs of stores to check dumpsters for boxes. I was desperate! Luckily a bunch of the dumpsters were labeled "cardboard only." Unfortunately most of them were either locked or empty. I checked one behind a craft store and to my surprise found all these crafts that had just been thrown away! I couldn't believe that this store would throw away perfectly fine merchandise for no reason at all. Why not donate it? So, being the resourceful teacher that I am, I collected some things that I could give away as prizes in my classroom. Afterall, they were in original packaging and clean. I also grabbed a few things for Hunter. I feel that if I can save a few things from ending up in a landfill and make some kids happy in the meantime it's win-win! When I picked him up from school that day and gave them to him he was very excited and asked to see the dumpster. I took him over there and he was elated! That evening when my friends came over he was thoroughly thrilled to tell them of our adventures at what he called "the magical dumpster." I couldn't stop laughing at that one. The next morning and every day since then he has asked, "Mom...can we go back to the magical dumpster today?"

Learning to pronounce

Tyler and Brody are talking so much that it's really hard to even keep up with them! They learn and say lots of words every day and it's so fun to finally be able to peek into their little brains to see what interests them. Some of the pronunciation of their words are very cute and I just had to document how they say some of their common words.
"Me-mow" is Mater (one of their favorite characters even though they've never seen the movie)
"Yehbow" is yellow (and every color is yellow to them at this point)
"Beh-mmm" is basement
"Unc-unc" is uncle
"Wowow" is water
"Biko" is blankie
"Neh-Neh" is Hunter
"Scee-wee" is scary
"Dee-oows" is stairs
"Nuggy" is snuggly
"Owiy" is owie
"Garbige" is garbage
"Bee-oow" is bear
"Doo" is two
And speaking of "two" they are learning how to count! They will repeat all numbers to ten when Hunter asks them to repeat after him but they know one and two by heart. The other day Tyler was walking down the stairs and saying, "one, doo, one, doo, one, doo" over and over until he got to the bottom. This is the way they count! So cute.

Pregnancy and moving

At my 37 week appointment three days ago I was told I am now 3-4 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I'm having contractions that I wasn't feeling then but am feeling now. I also have had a persistent back ache the last day or so but I attribute that to bending over while packing a million boxes. I will forever be grateful for the friends and family who have come over to help us prepare for our move. They have been such a tremendous help. My in-laws were here on Sunday to help with the basement. Then Shelly, my close friend and rock-star Realtor, came over on Monday to help with the kitchen. On Monday night my dear friend Sara came over and helped put the boys to bed, then packed more of the kitchen and some of our bedroom. Finally, last night two of my closest friends Becky and Keem came over and helped empty the storage off our master and bring down all those boxes as well as helped me pack up a bunch of miscellaneous stuff in various rooms throughout the house. I always hate asking for help but feel so good when I do. It's so nice to know that your friends and family are there for you when you need them most. I could cry! It also made the process a lot more fun! It is very, very hard to get anything done during the day with Tyler and Brody digging through boxes and pulling out everything you've just done or getting into trouble elsewhere in the house. The only time I really have is while they're napping and I have other things to do during that time that pull me away (like blog, ha ha!). Seriously though, I haven't taken much time to myself and I just had to update my blog today. Not even counting the work involved with packing, there is SO MUCH that has to be done when you buy and sell at the same time. There is ridiculous amounts of paperwork and forms that need to be signed and forwarded to appropriate parties, the coordination of the movers, changing your address with dozens of companies, canceling and setting up new service with utilities/phone, etc. I will be so relieved when this is all over and we are cozy in our new home. I'm so grateful that Greyson is staying put for now. I am very much hoping that he waits until after the 16th (closing/moving day) to arrive.

Brody's gagoos

These are my gagoos. I love them so much! They used to be my big brother's but he never used them. As you can see I wear them all the time! I love them while I am eating, taking a bath, even sleeping (but Mom & Dad don't let me do that anymore for fear of choking on the strap). I always ask for my gagoos. Sometimes when we're driving in the car I want them but they're at home. Then I'm a little bit sad. Lots of times I wear them for most of the day. My gagoos are the best!

Hunter's a First-grader!

There has been a lot of anxiety leading up to this first day of school for Hunter. Something came up on the appraisal of our house that led to a delay of a week in the processing of the buyer's loan. We were anxious enough to think that this move may not happen at all so we didn't know where we should enroll Hunter in school. In the end we ended up moving forward as planned and Hunter started at his new school this morning. He told me on several occasions that he was scared and nervous and I told him it was perfectly normal for him to feel that way and that many other kids feel the exact same way right before school starts. We went to the school's open house on Tuesday night, which eased a lot of his fears because he was able to see his classroom, meet his teacher and tour the school. He was very excited to have his own desk for the first time. By his reaction, it was as if I was performing some kind of magic trick when I showed him how it opened up so he could store his belongings inside. He said, "Wow! And it stays up all by itself!"

This morning he woke up early all on his own. When he came into our room all dressed and ready to go I knew that he was excited about school. Sure enough when I kissed him goodbye he ran to John's truck in anticipation of the day.

When I picked him up he looked pretty tired. It didn't help that it was 90 degrees and humid today. He was waiting outside the school in the hot sun in a line of other first-graders who were waiting to be picked up. He will eventually ride the bus when we move into our new house but for the first couple of weeks we will commute him. I asked him to pose for one picture in front of the school since John dropped him off and I was unable to get this shot. His reply was, "No...because then you'll just want to take like 10 of them because they'll be blurry or whatever." I convinced him that I would take JUST ONE and he complied. He told me his day was "good" and that he met two new friends. One friend was named Olivia and the other was a boy but he forgot his name. He told me he has a job, which is paper. He gets to pass out and collect all papers in the classroom for two weeks. Not everyone gets a job and in Kindergarten the jobs lasted only one week. When he told me he gets to do it for TWO weeks he was excited. When I asked him what his favorite part of the day was he said, "Just sitting in my desk doing nothing." He complained that there was no "lounge." I wasn't sure what this meant but after some prying I now understand that in Kindergarten he got "lounge time" on the carpet when the kids could just lie down and read or rest. He also mentioned that his teacher "took forever" to go over the rules. I know it may not sound like it but I think he does really like his new school. It's just tough being a first-grader!

36 weeks

I'm 36 weeks today and had a doctor's appointment this morning. She told me I'm 2-3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. The dilation doesn't alarm me at all because women can stay dilated for weeks before delivery but that much effacement is concerning to me. Effacement is the thinning of the cervix in preparation for delivery of the baby. 100% effacement (or completely effaced) means that labor is right around the corner. I read online that if you are a first-time mom your cervix will usually efface before it dilates. If you are a second-time mom your cervix will usually dilate before it effaces. I wonder what the statistics are on a fourth-time mom... Ha ha! No, but seriously, this baby cannot come early. I'm trying to talk to the little guy (Greyson) about it. We close on both houses on Sept.16th. That's a little over two weeks away. We do not have time to deliver a baby between now and then. This whole entire house needs to be packed up and moved. I'm a little panicked. Upon hearing the news from my doctor's appointment John told me I need to stop doing so much and sit down whenever possible. In his words, "Enough being super-Julie." So, I guess I'll get out my magic wand.

Talking

In the last few weeks Brody & Ty have been little chatterboxes. They have suddenly just started saying so many words I can't even count them all. They imitate all sorts of words and phrases they hear. The ones that make me laugh the most are "Oh boy," "Ah geez," "Holy Moly," and "No way José." They still say "Nih Nih" for Hunter, "Unc Unc" for Uncle Mark and they use signs for certain things like kitty and cracker vs. attempting those words (I think out of habit mostly). They have started to put little baby sentences together like "Bye Bye Daddy" and "Big Owiy" (Owie) but their spacing of words is very deliberate and cute. They'll say "bye bye" together but wait a second or two before saying the second word like "Daddy." They both know their names and can say them but when they first started saying "Brody" it sounded more like "Boobie." They also know when they are being funny and will say "Stinker!" because that's what I call them when they are trying to get away with something naughty (but not too naughty). It's so cute! I love this age!!

Offer!

Our lives have been beyond busy the last week or so since AT LAST a buyer has fallen in love with our house and we have accepted their offer to buy. We had several showings and two interested parties last week. One apparently fell through and neglected to call back our realtor after seeing it and expressing an interest but I wasn't too disgusted being that the showings were a day apart and the house was already clean. We are so relieved and excited with the news of the offer. There have been multiple inspections (one regular and one involving a basement specialist) and we have an appraiser coming on Monday. The buyers have an FHA loan, which means that the appraiser that the bank sends is very picky about certain things, one of which is peeling paint. So we were instructed to re-paint the garage and a few areas around the outside of our house (basement windows, back door and an old milk door that is no longer in use). This really aggravates me because I just repainted the garage two years ago and cannot believe that the paint is peeling already. I even took the time to scrape and prime it beforehand. AGH! So my brother and I have been out there painting for the last few days getting ready for Monday. We have a lot more to do so thank God John's available and not working weekends anymore. My inlaws are taking the kids all weekend so that we can get this done in time. The first time around it took me several weeks to complete the job but I was doing it by myself. Unfortunately there is rain in the forecast so I'm praying that the weathermen are wrong. We need these buyers to have their financing approved so we can get out. John is still driving to Whitewater every day for work (over an hour each way) and the baby is coming in just over a month. The closing is set for Sept. 16th and Greyson (the name we have chosen) is due to arrive Sept. 27. Eek! I'm overwhelmed with how much has to be done before then but am also very excited at the prospect of finding a new home. We have found one possibility in Oconomowoc but are still looking around a bit more. We need a community sort of in between Milwaukee (where I work) and Whitewater and we really like Oconomowoc. They have great schools, nice lakes with public beaches and conveniences of a bigger city but still a small-town feel. We just need to find the right house for what the bank will loan us. It's all coming together!

4th of July

I think this might be my favorite picture I've taken this summer. I took this at Jackson Park while we were waiting for the fireworks display to begin. Hunter and I went alone this year because Tyler and Brody are too young to stay up that late and so Daddy stayed behind with them. Hunter went with John and his friend Adam last year so I got to take him this year. We brought all the essentials; blankets, mosquito repellant (Off fans), sparklers, lighter and camera. Unfortunately I melted the lighter shortly after arriving trying to light too many sparklers at once so we had to borrow from someone sitting nearby. Hunter was very excited to light sparklers this year. We've of course enjoyed sparklers with him in years past but he was a little more cautious than he was this year. We had lit some sparklers in our yard the previous night when John's parents were visiting and Hunter seemed more interested in attempting to set fire to things with the sparkler than with the sparkler itself. He tried the grass, the fence (which we had to put a stop to immediately), the tree, sidewalk, you name it. Luckily, he didn't try any of these shenanigans at the park. My main concern was keeping the sparklers a safe distance from other people and their blankets/chairs. Once the display began it took some convincing to stop with the sparklers and enjoy the actual fireworks. I snapped a few pictures in the beginning and then he took over. He's a little camera bug. He took the next 50 and I got in a few at the end. I don't think he saw more than seven or eight fireworks with his naked eye. He was obsessed with capturing his favorite fireworks on film. We had a lot of fun together just the two of us.

I'm a goofball!

Love, Tyler

Locked out!

This incident happened a little over a month ago but I still wanted to blog about it because I still can't believe it happened. Hunter was at school and Tyler & Brody were in the family room playing with some toys. I ran downstairs to throw some laundry in (usually takes less than five minutes so I usually sneak away before anyone even knows I'm gone). This time one of the boys (I suspect Tyler but I can't really blame him because I didn't see it happen) walked over to the kitchen door that separates the basement stairs and back door and locked me out! The door was already closed because I always close it so they can't walk up and down those stairs by themselves so all he needed to do was turn the deadbolt. Little stinker! I could get outside and had access to the basement but I couldn't get back into the rest of the house. I called both boys over to see if they could unlock it for me and could hear them trying but they were unsuccessful. I left the house and started knocking on doors. Nobody was answering (it was the middle of the day on a weekday). The fourth house I tried was Dick's. He's like 80 years old and (obviously) doesn't work anymore. He lives kitty corner from us. I asked to borrow his phone to call around. I called my brother Mark because I thought he might have a key. No answer. I called my friend Shelly, who is also our realtor, to get to the code to the lock box on our front door (which has a key in it) but no answer. I called John at work to see if he knew the code. He didn't and started panicking. He suggested I call Joan (the owner of the real estate company Shelly works for). I said, "I don't have their number. Would you look it up for me?" Then felt really stupid when he told me to just look on the sign in our yard! I called Joan and she knew it right away and one minute later I was in. I was gone for probably 20 minutes total and it was evident that the boys had their own little baby party while I was away. Woo hoo!!! Mom's gone!!! They had climbed up on their high chairs to get up on top of the buffet to get a box of Cheerios down and proceeded to whip the box all over the floor. They dumped their entire laundry basket of toys all over the floor. They got into some of my potted plants in the kitchen and dumped dirt all over the floor. They also got into a container of monitor wipes and pulled every single one out and distributed them all over the living room floor. I took this picture only after I had cleaned half of it up (the thought hadn't occurred to me to take one right away). You can't see it in this small picture but there are Cheerios all over the hardwood floor. Thankfully everyone was safe and unharmed.

Little pro

Hunter learned how to ride his bike a few days ago (July 5th). YAY HUNTER!!! The evening of July 4th John took him out in front of our house on the sidewalk and ran with him several times back and forth and said the last couple times he was barely holding on. We told Hunter that we'd take him to the park to practice on another day because it would be easier for him to learn there (more space) and of course, he wanted to go right away. Being that it was the 4th of July the park was jam-packed full of people for the fireworks display that evening so we told him we'd try on another day. The next day he asked to go so I took him (and Tyler and Brody) down there. I had to put his bike on top of the stroller in order for it to happen. Thankfully we have a heavy-duty stroller that could withstand the weight!

We found a great spot to learn that had a gradual downhill path with an incline about 150 feet long. I parked the stroller at the top of the incline so Tyler and Brody could face Hunter and watch. I ran alongside Hunter only three times (round-trip) and he got it! A car drove by on the grass (not sure what that was all about because cars aren't usually allowed in the park) and a man shouted out the window, "Now that's a great Mom!" It's not everyday you see a woman 7 months pregnant running alongside her six-year-old on a bike but that thought didn't occur to me until after he had said something. It was a really good thing that it only took him three tries though because I don't think I could've run a fourth time. I even told him, "Mommy needs a break after this one." He continued to ride by himself five more times down and back while I let the boys out of the stroller and allowed them to roam. They were cheering for Hunter saying, "YAY!"

I honestly didn't expect him to learn so fast...I didn't even have a camera or videocamera with me to capture the moment and it was KILLING me! I thought it would take him at least a week of practicing. He's a pro! Since then he has been trying some "tricks" like riding only one handed and riding while standing up on the pedals. I wish our neighborhood had less traffic so that he had a bigger area to ride. If only our house would sell!

Happy birthday boys!!

Well I am finally getting to this post almost a month late. For being on summer break, things around here have been hectic. I haven't made time for my blog. But I plan on doing some serious catching up this week so expect to see more posts soon!

We decided on a combined birthday "bash" for the boys this year since last year was such a lot of work planning two separate parties only a few weeks apart. To help make it extra special we bought a bounce house as a gift to the boys. We've gotten our money out of it already. They've bounced almost every day since we got it. Tyler and Brody especially love it and everyone is getting a whole lot more exercise!

The theme this year for the party was "Star Wars" per Hunter's request. I made Yoda ears for all the kids at the party (mostly Hunter's friends from school) and put them in their goody bags. They were all pretty cute wearing their ears while playing the games. The kids were Jedis in training at our party as they had to complete several different challenges to become fully trained. They started out by pairing up and attempting to keep a balloon off the floor for 30 seconds using only their light sabers (also part of their goody bags). Then they moved outside to destroy the Death Star (drawn in chalk on the sidewalk out front) with black water balloons. The next challenge was to destroy yet another Death Star by throwing popsicle stick bombs at large bins. The winning team was the one that got the most shrapnel in their bin. They won pop rocks. Luckily, Hunter was on the winning team!

After the games we all ate, opened presents and had cake (like any other party!). We had a few Star Wars-related food items such as Yoda Sodas and Wookiee Cookiees but other than that it was your typical party fare. Hunter had his name on the big cake and Tyler and Brody each had special cupcakes they devoured after most of Hunter's friends from school had left. They opened their presents at that time too.

Hunter whispered to me later that he liked this party better than his Scooby party last year so I guess it was a success! The weather was better last year for both parties, a lot cooler, but at least it didn't rain.

More tinkles!

Brody tinkled for the first time tonight! YAY Brody!!! He finally got to have his first M&M. Poor guy has had to endure 2+ weeks of watching Tyler get rewarded dozens of times without one single M&M for himself. But tonight was his night! We are sooo proud of him! And Grammie was here visiting to help celebrate with lots of clapping from all of us afterward.

Surprisingly he accomplished this big milestone while being soooo sick. He has been sick since Monday (two days after the big party) and deteriorated fast. He has had a terrible, terrible cough, had a mild fever and threw up three times yesterday (I think due to the cough). He started wheezing yesterday which is why I took him to urgent care last night. They took a puls-ox reading on him when we arrived and it was at 93. A healthy person's is 100 and the nurse told me that a sick child usually is at 95-96 so they admitted him. When the doctor was able to see him it had dropped to 91 so they gave him a breathing treatment, which he hated, but that opened up his airways a lot so that he stopped wheezing. He screamed and screamed and succeeded in pulling the mask off by his own strength. It was awful. We had to switch positions and I held him in my lap in a bear hug with his arms by his sides and was able to keep him from taking it off for the five-minute treatment. I tried to distract him by reading a book to him and about three minutes into it he finally relaxed and looked at the pictures with me describing every detail on the pages. I was even able to let go of his one arm so that he could point to the pictures by the end of it. By the time we left (after 10 p.m.) he was back up to 93 which is still low but better. At least he wasn't wheezing anymore. Today he seems a lot better. I haven't noticed much retraction (caving in of the neck and chest) signaling labored breathing like I did yesterday and no wheezing today. We have been giving him albuterol several times a day with an inhaler tube even though he fights us like mad. He also has a prescription for prednisolone which I have been administering at home and the combination of the two is helping him on his road to recovery. So far Tyler does not have it.

I have been fighting off something similar since the day of the party. I lost my voice that day and the next day the terrible cough came on. Trying to get rest in this house is next to impossible but I was finally able to sneak away for a nap today while T&B were down for theirs. Hunter and Grammie played together so that I could finally lie down for a while. I was thinking it would be easier to get some extra rest while my mom is visiting but she's sick also. She already had something the day she arrived (Thursday). Not to mention we have had three showings on the house in the last three days, which is great, but not conducive to finding time to rest. We had so much to clean up after the party and my garden beds had been neglected for too long so I spent several days of those nap times pulling a billion weeds while Hunter jumped in the new bounce house and my mom napped. It has been a crazy week so far but hopefully everyone will be back to their usual healthy selves soon.

Tinkle tinkle!!

Tonight Tyler went pee pee on the potty three times in a row intentionally!! I know you think that's highly unlikely because he isn't even two years old yet but I am not kidding. I am BEYOND excited!!! The interesting thing was it was Brody's idea to try. Brody was pulling at his diaper while I was in there washing my hands and so of course as soon as I got him all set on the training potty Tyler wanted to hop on the "big" potty (normal-sized). He sat there (facing the tank, that's how Hunter trained also) for less than a minute looking down and truly concentrating when he started tinkling a little!! Hunter and Daddy rushed in and we all clapped and he joined in of course. In my opinion that is one of the cutest moments of toddlerhood. Watching how proud he was with his giant smile and little hands all spread wide and clapping together sitting with his little naked butt. It doesn't get much cuter! His reward was an M&M, of which he loved and wanted more. When Hunter told him he would have to earn it by going potty again, he hopped back on and went some more! So he got another M&M and of course wanted more. So he repeated the whole process a third time and went for a long time to finish out the session!

Brody tried but was unsuccessful. He has been very very sick the last few days, with a high fever, runny nose and constant cough so I was surprised that he even had any interest. He has mostly been just lying on someone's shoulder all day today very lifeless and sad. John's parents were in town visiting today so he spent the morning with his little head on Nona's shoulder. Then it was mine. Then he finished out the evening on John's while I took Hunter to Monkey Joe's for his reward for filling his pom pon jar. He barely played at all today. It broke my heart to give Tyler his three M&M's and Brody none when he clearly wanted one too. :( Poor little guy. I just have to keep reminding myself that his time will come. There are many M&M's in his future.

But we are very very proud of our little Ty guy. I'm sure Brody will be close behind once he feels a little better. They both are very interested in the potty and have been for at least a month now, which is why I even have tried putting them on the potty at all. They notice when Hunter is using the bathroom and run in there to watch. In my head I thought it was too early to start but as long as they were interested I wanted to encourage it. We've tried about five times prior to today without much "luck" There were two other times that Tyler did pee but he started peeing on the bathroom floor and I quickly just plopped him up on the potty to finish up. That doesn't count. Tonight was different. Yay Tyler!!!

How nice would it be to have a month or two diaper-free before the new baby comes. I know I am getting ahead of myself but one can hope!

One week later...

I have had a week to digest the news of the addition of a fourth boy to our family and I'm feeling better about it. I know this must be happening for a reason and frankly, I don't have time to feel sorry for myself any longer, with mouths to feed, papers to correct, people to serve, a house to clean, a garden to put in, lessons to plan, laundry to do...you would not even believe the amount of laundry in this house. And it's about to get even worse! I re-read my last blog entry and wish I could take some of what I said back. I don't want this baby to ever think that I don't love him or didn't want him. I also don't want to trade everything I've ever wanted or will want for a girl. That would mean I would trade the health of Tyler and Brody away. With that risky pregnancy I wanted healthy babies more than anything and prayed for that for so many months. I could never imagine my life without them as they are. They bring me such immense joy. They, along with Hunter, have been the best distraction I could have hoped for and lucky for me they have been extra cute and funny lately. The other day Brody was in his time-out chair and Tyler went over and unstrapped him, setting him free! Little stinkers! I couldn't help laughing at that!! And Hunter had his Spring Concert last night and was the cutest boy on stage for sure!!! The K5 class all sang "All Star" by The Barenaked Ladies but with some changed lyrics to make it sweeter and they all dressed in baseball gear and had motions to go along with their song. I was eating up every second. Life moves on. I'm not saying that every time I see a cute little girl all dressed up that I won't feel sad about not having a daughter. I doubt that feeling of loss will ever go away. But my boys are special blessings that I will always cherish...all four of them.

Fourth boy

I had big plans on Friday...walk into my doctor's appointment, find out that the baby is a girl (I was thoroughly convinced) and head to the mall to buy her first dress. I couldn't wait! That all changed when the technician broke the news that this baby is yet another boy. And so instead I cried. And cried. And am still crying over thoughts that I will never know what it's like to watch my daughter in a dance recital, or shop with her for prom dresses or help throw her baby shower. But what bothers me the most is not missing out on events such as those. It's the mother-daughter relationship that I will never have that I am anguishing over. I have dreamed of that for what seems like forever.

I have many emotions that I'm trying to work through and next in line after sadness is tremendous guilt. The technicians and doctors also came to the conclusion with all of their measurements and observations that all signs point to a healthy baby. There are so many people in the world that cannot even have one child and I've been blessed with four. Or there are others who have multiple children with major birth defects and spend much of their life in and out of hospitals. I have no right to complain and I feel awful for having the feelings that I do. Yet I cannot deny how I feel.

I will never be the mother of a bride. I mentioned this to John and he said, "Think of how I feel...I'll never walk anyone down the aisle." That thought never occurred to me and so I feel more guilt. John wanted a girl very badly as well. And he told me he really has nobody to even talk to about feeling this loss. His friends are pushing 40 and unmarried with the exception of one or two who have unique experiences all their own and he doesn't want to talk to me about it because I'm such a mess. I feel awful for him.

At the restaurant last night I waited on a family of four with one girl and one boy. As I was pouring water in to the glass of the girl, who was about 9 years old, no ice cubes happened to fall into her glass. Her mother turned to her and said, "You really wanted ice in your water, didn't you?" And she said in the most dramatic fashion, "It's really hard to drink water without ice." And in my annoyance of having to go get a different polished glass and pour her some new water making sure there was plenty of ice in it I had an epiphany that maybe I wasn't cut out to mother a girl. Boys don't care about ice. They are so much more laid back and I love that. Maybe there's only room in this house for one princess and that's me. I actually started to feel better about things until moments later when I looked over at another table nearby with the most adorable little girl (about 8 months old) who was wearing this sweet white knit hat with a big purple cloth flower attached to the front of it and tears started welling up in my eyes again.

With the exception of one person who thought having my hopes and dreams shattered into a billion pieces was pretty funny, my friends and family have been so supportive of me by lending a sympathetic ear and by choosing not to lecture me about how I should be happy that it's healthy no matter the gender. Of course, I know this already but it doesn't change how sad I am. I also know it's not easy to call when you know the person you will be speaking with is in turmoil over something and there is nothing you can do or say to help and I appreciate those calls very much.

I called my dad yesterday to tell him the news and after much consoling he said, "Sometimes in life we don't get what we want." I wish I could trade everything I've ever wanted and will want in the future for this one thing. My heart is breaking.

Hunter's tooth

When my brother and all the boys picked me up from school yesterday Hunter said, "Mom, look!" and opened his mouth so I could take a peek at the tooth that has been loose for probably a month now, which was hanging by one tiny thread all twisted and crooked. It looked like it could fall out at any second. He has been trying to avoid the inevitable and hold onto this tooth for as long as he possibly can (just as he did with his first loose tooth). He is so funny! John even offered to up the ante a few weeks ago and offered him MORE than the tooth fairy's going rate if he would just pull it out himself. He considered it for a long time but decided against it, which was why I was surprised to see that when we got home he actually tried to pull it out himself for a while. He wasn't having any luck getting a good grip on it though and so I suggested an apple. He went for the idea and low and behold...it came out. So he has officially lost his second tooth and has a gaping hole in the bottom front row of teeth, which I think looks so cute. Last night before bed when we were getting the tooth ready in his "Twinkle Toof" and setting it in place for the tooth fairy he told me, "I hope I'm awake when she comes so I can see her. Then I'll know for sure if she's live or fake."

Help on the stairs

Tyler and Brody are really good at climbing up and down the stairs. They get lots of practice with our two-story house. Tyler has even attempted a few steps (going down) with no hands holding onto the railing, which makes me very nervous. I'm always there to hold hands and supervise just in case. Yesterday we were making our way down to the living room and both boys were on the stairs. I was lower down in front of them holding one of each of their outside hands. Brody was a step or two closer to me and Tyler was still up on top of the landing when suddenly Brody stopped, looked back at Tyler and reached his available hand for Tyler's as if to say, "I'll help you little guy!" Tyler grabbed his hand so their inner hands were together and I still had hold of their outer hands and we walked down a few steps like that. It was the cutest thing EVER!!! They are such little buddies. If only I had an extra set of hands I could've snapped a picture to share.

Our Father...

The last few Sundays we have been able to go to church as a family because John now has weekends off with his new job. It is so much easier on me having that extra help getting everyone ready and into the "crying" room. Last Sunday at the part of mass where you recite The Lord's Prayer Hunter piped up and started saying it verbatim at the top of his lungs. He was SO proud of himself that he could participate! I didn't even know that he knew it! He must have been practicing it at Religious Education. It was adorable to watch and something I'll always remember.

Nighttime reading

Lately after we tuck Hunter in (and read him stories) I have caught him sleeping with a book or children's magazine (National Geographic Kids) lying next to him or close by. I think he is sneaking a little nighttime reading after we leave. I haven't mentioned anything to him about it because I don't think there's any harm in it. As long as he's quietly in his room I don't have any complaints. I can't force the kid to sleep! Anyway, several nights ago I found him sleeping with the book still open in his little hand and I had to run and get the tripod so that I could get this shot. So cute!

Look Mom! No hands!

Both Tyler and Brody like to occasionally eat their meals with no hands, just their tongues feeling around for food on their trays. It's hysterical! I'm not sure how it all started and it's not every time that they eat. Here's a picture of Brody seeking out some grilled cheese bites.

Brody's blankie

Brody is very attached to his blankie and I think it's adorable. I oftentimes will catch him face down on the floor hugging his blankie. He will also wrap himself up in it and hold it with one hand right by his neck like a cape. Today he insisted to eat lunch with it and I had to capture this moment.

Anonymous good deed

A few weeks ago Hunter received a "Family Lent Calendar" at Religious Education with ideas of different good things to do each day of Lent. He especially liked the idea for April 4th, "Pick a friend or neighbor and perform an anonymous good deed for him or her." I had to explain to him what "anonymous" meant and then he decided that on April 4th he was going to do this deed for our next door neighbors, Renee and Joe. Well, unfortunately April 4th came and went and we forgot about our calendar. When he found it on April 6th he said, "Oh no! I forgot to do the anonymous good deed!" and quickly headed over to their yard. When he returned I asked him how it went and what he ended up doing for them. He said, "I picked up all of the leaves and put them in the street! Then I heard their front door opening so I hid behind the tree." I thought it was a really nice thing that he had thought to do for them. A little while later he said, "I promised Renee I would come over after I did my homework and made my bed. Can I go over there?" I replied, "Sure, but did you call her first?" He said, "Oh! Right" and went and got the phone. He dialed their phone number while telling me, "I know their number by heart!" This is what I heard him say..."Hi! Are you home and can I come over? OK! Oh! And did you see the anonymous good deed that I did for you? I picked up all of your leaves and put them in the street! OK, bye!" and he headed out the door.

12 weeks!!!

I think I may actually be measuring a few days past 12 weeks according to ultrasound but on the calendar today marks 12 weeks. Tomorrow will be a great milestone to me because my first miscarriage happened at 8 weeks and the second a day after 12 weeks so I guess I will feel "safe" tomorrow. They say that once you've made it past the first trimester that the likelihood of losing the baby is not great. So yay!

You may or may not be able to detect a baby in this picture but he/she is there! I've tried to point out his/her main body parts to help. I think it's so cute that his/her legs are crossed! What a sweetheart!!! I'm so excited! April 13th cannot come fast enough. That's the date we find out if it's a boy or a girl.

John's BIG news

Woooo hoooooooooooooooo!!!! Yipppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! John got the job at UW-Whitewater!!! Can you tell we are just a little bit excited over here?! It has been a long five years since he changed careers and this is his first "big break." He has been at Geek Squad for a while now but to him that was just a job to give him some experience so he could move on to bigger and better things. And now it's happening!!! I cannot express how happy I am for him. You can literally see the weight lifted off of his shoulders since he received the phone call with the offer. I just know he is going to be happier there. His official position is "Tier 2 Tech Support" and they must have thought pretty highly of him because they offered him several thousand over base pay. He is so thrilled. Now we just need to sell our house! It has been on the market for almost two weeks now and we haven't received a single call about it. John's commute is going to be a little over an hour each way and with the cost of gas going up every day to say we are anxious to get out of here is an understatement. He starts two weeks from Monday so hopefully we will have some prospective buyers come through real soon. One can pray and hope, right?

Sweet big brother

I know I've said it before but Hunter really is such a sweet big brother! I love watching him interact with his little brothers. He has a way with them that surprises me all the time. Many times if one of them has something they should not (a choking hazard or an electronic device that I don't want them having) and I need to get it from them I will ask Hunter to ask them for it because 9 times out of 10 they willingly hand it over to him without a big fuss. That's usually not the case if I ask them to hand it over. Typically they will run in the opposite direction shaking their head back and forth and when I finally have to force it from their hand a big crying fit ensues.

A few nights ago Hunter was helping me put Brody and Ty to bed and as he was kissing them goodnight he told them in his little high-pitched voice he uses when he talks to them, "I love you even if you're crazy crying or not!" They weren't even crying. I think he was thinking back over the day at times when they do cry. And I'll admit that it's not a pleasant sound, especially when in stereo, but he is a true trooper and hardly ever complains about it. The only time it gets to him is when he is trying to hear the t.v. and can't because of some baby crisis that is interrupting his show.

Hunter is so sweet even to his unborn baby brother or sister. The other day he told me that I should wear a warm sweater "to keep the baby warm." We are so blessed!

For sale

John and I put the house up for sale a few days ago which explains my absence from all things on the internet. Haven't checked email, haven't been on Facebook and of course, haven't blogged. We've been SUPER busy packing, cleaning and staging our house. Attempting this with Tyler and Brody awake is a futile task. At one point Tyler threw a nailpolish in the bathtub and shattered it, leaving a pink painted mess in his wake. Then moved on to the master bedroom where he got ahold of a basket of 150 clothespins, dumped them all over and proceded to kick them in every direction giggling all the while. The same day I caught him (always Tyler) sitting down on the floor with the window cleaner pointed at him with his little thumbs spraying the nozzle right at his face and all over his shirt. He thought that was pretty hysterical. Thank God I only use organic non-toxic cleaners in my house. Oh and he took one of my bras and threw it in the toilet! I could go on if I had time to think of the MANY other shenanigans that have transpired over here of late.

My friend Shelly is our realtor and came on Friday to take pictures. You can see them at www.creamcityre.com if you are interested. So far no calls but it has only been listed since Sunday p.m. In this market we will be lucky to sell our house within the next six months. That's why we tried so hard to get it up early in the year. We'd like to be in our new home by September so Hunter can settle in to his new school, wherever that may be. Wish us luck!

What's that noise?

I was in the kitchen last night preparing dinner when I heard a strange noise followed by baby laughter. Then it repeated. I rushed into the living room to see Tyler with his hand in the Cheerios box grabbing handfuls and throwing them all over the living room floor. There were hundreds of them strewn everywhere. Don't know how he got ahold of the box but Hunter thought it was hilarious.

On another note I definitely have been feeling pregnant the last two days. The "morning" sickness has hit and while I am grateful for this positive sign I'm not too welcoming of the feeling. Yesterday it hit hard while I was teaching my 2nd graders. It was so bad that I was scoping out where the garbage can was and then it thankfully passed. Vomiting in front of my students is my worst nightmare! I have also been quite tired. I went to bed at 9 p.m. twice this week. That is definitely not like me. I savor those late-night hours sans kids when I can actually get things done around the house. I'm not looking forward to my shift at Mr. B's tonight because I expect to return home at about midnight. The manager has warned us that it will be a late night due to it being Valentine's Day weekend and we also have to stay to re-set the restaurant for a party on Saturday afternoon, which means we all have to stay until the last customer leaves to even begin the re-set. AGH! I might not be very much fun to be around tomorrow.

Baby scare

Today the doctor's office called and told me that my blood results were in and my HCG and Progesterone levels were low. My HCG should have doubled from 7,000 to 14,000 and it was at 10,000 and my progesterone level went from 21 to 15 and the doctor likes to see it at around 20. They asked me if I could come in asap for an ultrasound. I panicked. I called my brother to have him come over to watch the kids and headed in. Dr. Schell was tied up with a patient until almost 11 a.m. and that almost killed me! My mind was in overdrive thinking every possible bad thought.

Once she was able to see me she got down to business right away and informed me that there was a heartbeat (only one THANK GOD!) and that that reassures her that things are progressing normally. She said that the HCG level could have been low because I took the test at barely 48 hours after the first blood work was done and it should have been taken between 48 and 72 hours. I rushed it because John had off yesterday and I didn't want to lug three kids to get another blood draw today while he is at work. I squeezed an appointment in right before they closed. She has put me on a progesterone suppository nightly to increase that level.

Baby #4?

We are excited to announce that we are expecting a baby! We have very mixed feelings about this one and for good reason. This news came as a BIG shock to us, as this was an unplanned pregnancy, much different from our first ones. To say that this is a HUGE surprise is an understatement. We are still trying to figure out how it even happened. This will be forever a mystery to us.

I'll be brutally honest, I was expecting my period for over a week, even wearing minipads and carrying around tampons in my purse. When it didn't come I reluctantly bought a pregnancy test more than anything to rule it out and put my mind to rest. When it came out positive my heart started racing. I cannot express how differently I feel this time around. At the sight of a positive pregnancy test (and I've had five of them now) I have always been instantly elated and impatient to tell John and everyone else. I'm hesitant to say that my thoughts turned to how I could break this news to anyone, especially John. Of course I love this baby as much as the others but my head was getting in the way of my heart. I know that this is not responsible. We struggle to support the family we have. But at the same time, we did not purposely set out to get pregnant. I am as stunned as the next person. We even have been meeting with adoption agencies and have submitted preliminary paperwork because we planned in the next three or so years to adopt a girl. Everyone knows we want a daughter. Adoption was our way of ensuring it to happen. We didn't want to take the chance of getting pregnant again with the great risk of having our fourth boy. That being said, we want everyone to know that we will love this baby no matter the gender. We may have some trouble picking yet another set of boy names but we'll cross that bridge if we get there.

Getting back to breaking the news to John...I had just returned home from work and instantly took the test. After I came out of the bathroom we were exchanging thoughts about our day (I think...my mind was a little busy with how to tell him) and finally after about fifteen minutes I said, "I don't know how to even tell you this so I'm just going to say it. I'm pregnant." He was completely silent, wide-eyed, with a dead-pan face for what seemed like an eternity but was probably about 30 seconds. I think he may have thought I was joking? Why I would joke about that is beyond me but that's my take on it. And then he just started laughing and laughing. I was so relieved. I could breathe again. I love my husband so much! He is exactly what I need in my life. God could not have picked a better match for me. He had the same reaction when I told him we were having twins. I love that his glass is not only half-full, it is all the way full.

Now that it has been about a week and the thoughts of having this addition to our family have settled in a bit we are both super excited (and nervous) about the idea. I mention being nervous because of various reasons. First off, there is of course the financial aspect. Secondly, we do not really even have room for another baby in our current house so we are trying to figure out the logistics of finding space for another little one. Thirdly, when I mentioned that this pregnancy is so different from the others it stretches beyond the unplanned surprise way in which we have miraculously conceived this child. I do not feel pregnant. At least in comparison to how I felt with my previous pregnancies. I'm not nauseous, my breasts are not tender, I'm not overly tired (well...not anymore than the normal exhaustion I feel every day). I feel exactly the same as I did in my pre-pregnant state. This concerns me greatly because everything I've ever read about pregnancy says that those symptoms (especially the nausea) are good to have because it means that things are progressing the way they should. I have been having nightmares the last three nights that I have lost the baby. I cannot shake these horrifying thoughts. I want to fast-forward to the second trimester because the risk of a miscarriage greatly reduces at that time and I think I will relax a little bit more. I did have some blood work done yesterday and Dr. Schell (my OB) called today to let me know that my progesterone and HCG levels are normal. That was very welcome news. I am supposed to have more blood work taken on Friday to find out if my numbers are doubling, in which case I would not have an "abnormal" pregnancy. I will continue to pray for peace in my mind and body that these concerns lessen as time goes by. Afterall, we cannot reverse time. For whatever reason we were meant to have this baby growing inside of me and we are thrilled at the thought of meeting him/her. I do know that after this one my tubes are getting tied.

Hands up...

John smelled something funky yesterday and asked Tyler and Brody, "Hands up...who's ready for a diaper change?" and Brody raised his hand!!! Sure enough he was poopy!

Late for school

A few days ago I was dropping Hunter off for school and he was a few minutes late so the door greeter was no longer there with the door open. In this case, you need to have him report to the office where he will be recorded as tardy. Luckily as we were getting out of the car to say goodbye a few people were coming and going so we could quick grab the door and get into the building (much less hassle!). Hunter said, "Whew...at least I won't get a toody slip!"

Lost my tooth!

Hunter lost his first tooth on Thursday. He was biting into an apple slice and said, "I thought I bit into an apple seed and then I looked and it was my tooth!" We were in the dining room, he was on the computer playing "Raz Kids" (an educational program that helps with reading that his teacher has requested he use at home) and all of a sudden he belted out "MY TOOTH!" After all of the anxiety and drama leading up to this momentous occasion, in the end he was very happy that it had come out. There was no blood and he said it didn't hurt at all. He was excited to put it under his pillow and decided it would be safest in a plastic baby food container. He wanted the tooth fairy to return the money in the same container so that he can re-use it for the next tooth.

The next morning he was disappointed to see that the tooth fairy had "only" left him $3.00. That was until I told him that I used to only get $1 for each tooth and Uncle Mark told him he used to get change! Then we added up that once he has lost all of his teeth that it will amount to $60! This changed his mind instantly. John had mentioned that was good "college money!" and he repeated that several times when re-telling the story to others that day. It was cute to hear him say, "college money!" As you can see he looks adorable with his first little gap!!

Loose tooth update

Hunter has been very fearful of losing his first tooth but the day is quickly approaching and unavoidable. He has actually broken down in tears to me on numerous occasions about this new undesirable milestone. His reaction is very unexpected because as a teacher I see my students getting so excited about their wiggly teeth and showing me when they lose them, talking excitedly about the tooth fairy coming. It's one of their favorite topics of conversation and they are always all-smiles about it. I am wondering if his attitude will change once the first one is out and he knows what to expect the next time. Either way it's going to happen so we'll just have to wait and see. His tooth is hanging on by practically nothing. I can see it moving when he talks. He tells me that he is "pushing it back in so it doesn't fall out." I'm not allowed to wiggle it, brush it, or touch it at all. That's the latest.

See that?

See that? Right there on the table! Do you see it? Exactly! That's because there is nothing there! Tyler and Brody are constantly bringing me imaginary things. Imagine a little forefinger and thumb pinched between absolutely nothing handing this to you very insistant that you take it...about fifteen times each day. Apparently they do this to others too because the other day as I was leaving for work my brother (who watches them several times a week) commented to me, "I'll be very happy when they stop handing me imaginary things." I actually think it's pretty cute.

Climbers!

This is how we have to live now that Tyler and Brody have discovered the freedom that pushing chairs around the living room and climbing on them provide them with. You can't stop them! They're unstoppable, I'm telling you!!! You may think to yourself, "Well, why don't they just pull them off of the chairs before they can climb up?" and to you I say, "C'mon over and please relieve me of this task that I would have to do at least 348 times each day and see for yourself how enjoyable that is." I would rather have to put a chair down every time I have to eat.

Story time

Hunter wanted to read to his brothers before they went to sleep last night. Occasionally he will have an interest in this and it is truly so sweet that I HAD to document it. Usually Brody is our "book worm" and is much more interested in books than Ty but last night the reverse was true. Pictured here is Hunter with Tyler in the rocker. He chose to read one of their "Twin" books. I also have this video taped. If I ever figure out how to post a video I will update this entry.

You can see Tyler pictured here with his jammies and beads on. He just LOVES wearing his beads. We have to trade beads for nuk when we set him in his crib so he won't cry. We can't have him sleeping with his beads in case of strangulation.

Hunter is still wearing his Halloween jammies because they are his favorite pair. These jammies are actually from LAST fall so they are getting very small for him but he continues to wear them because he loves them that much (see previous post regarding his disinterest in any NEW clothing).

SUPER late Thanksgiving post

I know this is months and months late but it's been weighing on me that I never even wrote about Thanksgiving (or Christmas or New Year's for that matter...stay tuned!).

This year we hosted and it was really great! We definitely had a house full of people! Grammie (my mom) came to visit from Arizona and so I had a lot of help with the boys so I could be in the kitchen most of the day preparing. We also had Noni and Nona, Uncle Hank, and Uncle Mark for dinner and some of John's friends come for dessert. The food turned out yummy and everyone had a great time!

It was great having my Mom here. The boys loved it, especially Hunter since he is old enough to know that when Grammie visits it means LOTS of attention and game-playing! He had been looking forward to her coming for at least a month beforehand. We all had a great time together. She was able to volunteer in his classroom and enjoyed seeing what a typical day in his Kindergarten room was like. She was asked not to help the children spell any words because the teacher is working on getting them to sound things out on their own. One little boy asked her how to spell something and naughty Grammie whispered the answer to him. Mrs. Stanioch came over later and saw "his" work and was very impressed saying, "Very good sounding out Elijah!" When my Mom retold the story to me later she said, "Well, what's the worst thing that will happen? She'll think highly of him and give him a little extra confidence!" The children really enjoyed having her visit in their classroom. At the end of her time there a little boy named Matthew told her, "I love you Grammie!"