I have some fun things to blog about...

a couple of funny stories and such...but I just don't have time to sit down and do it right now.

Until then, I will leave you all with a picture I couldn't help but take yesterday while we were at Walmart.

This is my view while shopping...and this was MINUS a kid (who was at school at the time).



No wonder I can't seem to find the "good deals". I can hardly see passed my cart!

My friend Karen and I were having this discussion about how she went grocery shopping without her kids and swears to have saved at least $50. I completely believe that. Josh gives me a hard time about how I practically run down the isle and grab the first thing that remotely resembles what I need. I am notorious for getting the wrong thing...like grabbing the sodium free Ritz (which just don't taste like regular Ritz!) or getting SEEDED rye bread rather than SEEDLESS (which we prefer). The thing is that when you shop with 3 or 4 (or any really) kids your time is quite limited and at ANY moment the meltdowns can begin. Its best to get in and out as quickly as possible..and if that means spending an extra $100 on the WRONG stuff then SO BE IT!

Birthday Party!

We finally had Owens party today. It was actually a very nice little party. We kept it very simple. Its so easy for us to go crazy with inviting people...because there are so many people that are 'key' in our lives, especially the lives of our kids! I have been finding that the I enjoy parties much more when we keep them simple. It makes it possible for me to focus more of my time on the birthday kid rather than entertaining a bunch of other people. I figure..at some point they are going to insist on having their friends and until then I am going to make it nice and easy on myself!

Owen could care less about opening his gifts. The highlight of his party for him was most definitely the cake! We knew it would be. Owen eats like crazy and we just knew he would devour the cake. He didn't let us down. It was fun to watch him, he enjoyed every bite of it. He let very little go to waste.

He loves it when you sing happy birthday to him. He will stop what he's doing and laugh and dance and try to sing along. It was too cute. He knew it was special and he got right into it!

I have pictures...and video.

Paul and Dona-Lynn got him the little Cars chair..and Paul made him the birthday poster. It was too cute.



Josh and Owen both got cool Red Sox hats (to match the ones that Ethan, Luke and Jessalyn already have!)...here is Owen checking out Josh's hat..






Video of gift opening...

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Video of cake eating...

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Happy Birthday Owen!!! (...and Josh)

Poor Josh...his birthday has forever been over-taken! I suppose, since he is turning that terribly old age of 30, its probably a good thing. He loves that Owen was born on his birthday! They have a really really cool thing to share with each other.

So yeah. I am terribly hormonal today...and last night...as I think back to the events of this time last year.

I was 5 days beyond my due date which apparently is a theme for me. I like to think that its a good thing that I went passed my due date with all four kids. It was a Tuesday night and after having days of sporadic contractions I had a feeling that it was going to happen very soon. My feelings were being more and more confirmed as we watched American Idol and I found myself becoming increasingly more uncomfortable..but, I still wasn't completely convinced.

After American Idol I decided that I should probably go lay down in bed to try to get some rest before the 'real deal' starts happening. I laid down in bed and had one contraction that told me "THIS IS the real deal". Up until this point I hadn't had one that was convincing like this so I got back up and went to the living room. I had another contraction that Josh witnessed and he said to me "You have that look on your face. I think we should call my mom.". I agreed..hesitantly, since I had only had 2 painful contractions. Josh has been with me through this a few times so I take his word for it!

Somewhere between 9 and 10 pm Granny arrives. I think I had one more contraction at home before we headed to the hospital. I call them on the way to let them know I was coming. We left for the hospital at about 10:30 (Josh was half way through an episode of Law and Order at this point).

We were in our room at the hospital by 11:15..and still I wasn't convinced this was real labor. The nurse checked me and I was still 3 cm (I had been walking around for the last 3 weeks at 3 cm). She didn't want to admit me just yet because she wasn't convinced either. She said she would come back in and check me at 1 am..and if I was making progress they would admit me. I started worrying that we were gonna be in for a looong night. I was already very tired..just from the normal daily routine of being pregnant and having three kids.

The contractions were quite regular and I was getting very uncomfortable at this time. I kept apologizing for being such a whimp, but for some reason I just couldn't get on top of them. I didn't feel in control of them and that was bothering me. I have gone through this 3 times before and always felt in control.

Finally I looked at Josh and said.."I need the nurse to come back and check me because I am feeling pressure and the urge to push". (This was somewhere after midnight..only an hour or so after she initially checked me).

I am so glad I recognized the feelings I was having because sure enough she came back and checked me and I was 9 cm!! I went from 3 to 9 in about an hour. No wonder I couldn't get control of them! It was intense. So at this point the nurse is running around frantically trying to call the doc and get everything else ready. (meanwhile, I am still not officially admitted!).

The doc comes quickly and I am at 10cm. I didn't start pushing...but proclaimed the fact that the baby was coming...like NOW. The doc wasn't ready yet so the nurse (Abby) was literally holding his head in....I remember that feeling quite well. NOT FUN. I'm trying not to push..but it didn't matter. Pushing or not..he was coming. Finally the doc was ready and I gave one push and he was out!

I couldn't believe how fast it was. I mean..Ethan and Luke were pretty fast..but not THAT fast! I was just so relieved and excited and saying over and over again "I can't believe he is out already". It felt like we had JUST gotten there. It was awesome.

After he was born they finally admitted me..and I had to sign all these papers that you would normally fill out before the baby was born. You know..the "in an event of emergency I allow whatever to happen" type stuff. It was funny. I signed away..especially knowing that he was already born and perfect.

He was screaming and pink and got perfect scores on his apgars. He was pretty mad though. He screamed for quite some time..even when I was holding him. He just didn't want to settle down right away. He had a hard time latching on as well..he was just too worked up.

We called my mom who was surprised to hear that he was already born..she thought I was calling to tell her that we were headed to the hospital! Owen was our only baby born in the middle of the night. We actually enjoyed this. It was so quiet and we really had quite a bit of time with just the three of us to make a final decision on his name and to just enjoy him. It was very relaxing after. We were in our PP room by 3:30am and I was out like a light by 4! I LOVE sleeping after just having a baby. I am so comfortable without my huge belly!

We got up bright and early the next morning and started making all the phone calls (to the people who didn't get texts in the middle of the night!).

Nana and Granny brought the kids over in the morning to visit. Poor Luke was sick so he had to keep his distance..but they were all very excited. Papa was also sick so he wasn't able to make it to the hospital to visit. Kirsten, Shara and Ben came to visit at different points during the day and then we went home on Thursday.

Overall it was an amazing birth experience. As everyone is well aware..I would do it again in a second!

Of course...lots of pictures!!

Owen Matthew
4/11/07
8 lbs 1 oz
19.5 inches...I think. (yes..4th kid..I'm not 100% sure on the length!)

Holding him right after he came out..




















Since Luke was so sick he had to keep his distance...

A breakthrough!!

I have been a tiny bit worried about Ethan for a few years. Not serious worrying...but a bit concerned. You see...he has the horrible problem of coming AFTER his sister. Even though I am well aware that boys are different than girls, it is still hard for me not to compare them. Unfortunately for Ethan there is not only a gender difference..but Jessalyn is just particularly old for her age (it seems).

She is our guinea pig. She paves the way...in EVERY sense of the word. She sets the standards and poor Ethan is next in line. Also, not in his favor is that fact that he has a much more laid back personality. He isn't as much of a "go getter"....he tends to sit back and let life move around him. I find him not trying new things because he thinks he can't do them and even because "Sissy will do it". I think he automatically thinks that if its something that Sissy can do then he must not be able to do it. He's even commented that "reading is for girls".

We try hard not to actually compare Ethan to Jessalyn...and obviously never do it in front of him, but I think he does it himself.

So compared to Jessalyn he seems to be much more behind in the area of reading and writing. He just isn't eager to learn and if he knows he is learning something he gives up...and thinks its too hard or boring.

I have taken the advice of someone I don't know. I bumped into this person at a restaurant one day and she commented on the kids (I think I only had two at the time). She asked about pre-school and I hadn't yet decided if I would send my kids to one. She said something to the effect of....'your kids are going to be in school 8 hours a day for 12 years and then they will be off to college. If I could do it all again I would keep them home for as long as possible before hand.'

I took this advice to heart and really agreed. I figure, since I'm a stay at home mom there is really no reason why I should put them in pre-school. I feel confident that I can teach them enough at home to have them prepared for kindergarten. Jessalyn proved me right on this one..although, I admittedly don't take credit for all of it because I think she is just smart without much encouraging.

Ethan was starting to make me worry about my abilities to prepare for kindergarten though. Its amazing how every kid continues to teach us what we DON'T know about parenting! The biggest thing is that EACH CHILD IS DIFFERENT...even when they are of the same blood. I've been worried..he's been having some speech issues and just generally behind where his sister was even a year before Ethans age.

We had him tested with the school (who was AWESOME with him) and he blew us all away. We learned that he IS learning..he just doesn't want to admit it, especially to me. He had no trouble showing the teachers how smart he is! He has trouble with some sounds....the "g" sound (as in "go" sounds like "do") and the "k" or "ck" sounds as well. We are working on getting him re-evaluated in this department.

So..onto the breakthroughs!

Yesterday Ethan took the fridge phonics magnets and put them in order by himself!!! He started saying the alphabet and he found the correct letter and lined them all up! I swear..the other day he pretended like he didn't recognize all the letters. I was sure that he only knew maybe 10 of them. I was so excited...he did it ALL BY HIMSELF! He's such a stinker.

A couple days before this he told me that we needed to use tape or "GLUE" (and he said it like it should sound instead of how he normally would say it..."dlue"") to fix the chair that Luke got his finger pinched on! Again..I was so excited.

I think he might be coming around. I KNOW he's a smart kid..he just doesn't want to show it. I think its because he's SO smart he knows that he will be held responsible for his abilities..rather than just letting other people do stuff for him.

I am sure that his schooling will be much different from Jessalyn's. I have a feeling that we won't be looking forward to parent/teacher conferences (like we do with Jessalyn) quite as much. I'm sure it won't be horrible...but it will be different. I am EXCITED!

And besides...even if he gives us a hard time in school....who can resist this face??!!

1000!!

According to the counter at the bottom of my blog I have officially gotten 1000 views to my blog! Its funny to me to have people walk up to me and say "I've been reading your blog...". I am surprised at how many people tell me this and it definitely makes blog writing much more fun! Apparently I get an average of 35 to 40 people checking my blog daily..this is exciting to me! I've seen up to 52 views. (And no...I'm not refreshing my own blog over and over..ha ha ha). The funny thing is that with all these views I only get about 3 or 4 comments per post.

I admit to reading many blogs without commenting. Thats the fun of it. Just for fun though...for this post, why don't you all comment so I can really see who reads this thing! I suppose, if you reeaaallly don't want to that is fine too.

We had a busy weekend. Our friends Heath and Kann came to visit! We had a ton of fun with them and the boys. Between the two of us we have 7 kids...6 of which are boys ages 5 and under. They did really well this weekend..with minimal fighting! We had a birthday party at the Haskins on Saturday. Kann turned 30..as does Josh on Friday. The guys watched basketball while the rest of us watched the eleventy-billion kids run around like crazy.

Its fun to see how many kids we have when we all get together though. On this evening there was...

Jessalyn (7)
Ethan (5)
Daniel (4)
Andrew (3)
Kyndal (3)
Leah (3)
Luke (3)
Riley (20 months)
Sam (16 months)
Owen (1)
Ally (5 months)

Yeah, its fun. And that list was missing Cedies (10), Isaiah (9) and Brandon (7)..because "someone" was too "tired" (ha ha) to be there!

The really cool thing about this group of friends is that on a moments notice we all managed to find babysitters and head out to a movie without kids! Praise the Lord for youth group.

So this blog entry shows where my mind is lately. Things are a bit crazy around here and my whole world seems to be functioning similar to how this blog was written. UNORGANIZED!

Its ok though. Hopefully things will slow down a bit soon!

A true Guitar Hero!

Our good friend Aaron is a crazy awesome electric guitar player..and we are privileged to have him in our "band". He usually dazzles everyone at youth group with his skills in Guitar Hero. Believe it or not..he doesn't have this game at home and plays it pretty much once a week at our house. Its just not fair! Here's a video of his mad skills:)

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I'm hoping to kick butt on the drums if when we get Rock Band. You all better watch out!

The boys have been enjoying Wii Sports. Its been a perfect thing for them this winter. They hardly ever fight because they each have their own "Mii" and they don't have to fight over who's turn it is because the tv tells them! They like golf and baseball the best..along with bowling. I won't let them do the boxing..because I'm afraid might beat each other up..or worse, throw the Wiimotes at the tv. THAT would be a tragedy that I'm not sure Josh would let them live through. (kidding of course:) )

Here is a little video of the boys playing baseball...


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I made fun of my husband for being one of those geeks that camped out in front of Walmart in 30 degree weather to get a Wii when they first launched...but I have to say, I'm glad that he did!

There are so many jokes to play today..

I have SO many in my mind..but I just can't bring myself to do any of them! I am not mean enough. I wish I was.

I remember the day that my stepfather did the old 'salt in the sugar bowl' trick. I took one bite of my frosted flakes that were covered in what I thought was sugar and was so surprised by it that I cried. Yeah. Thats what I do when I'm surprised by something..I cry. I hardly EVER cry... my family says "She's as cold as ice"...its kind of true. You are almost guaranteed to get some tears out of me if you startle me..and apparently when you put salt in the sugar bowl.

The kids are beginning to realize the phenomenon of what happens when you scare me..and they (Ethan especially) are getting quite good at hiding on me. A month or so ago I had told the boys to head upstairs to their beds and I was coming right behind them to tuck them in. Luke had to go potty first so I headed up first..or so I thought. The room was dark..only the light of the hallway was in the room. I picked up a few things from the floor and started putting them in the toy box when I saw the slightest glimmer...and at a closer look I realized it was ETHAN laying so quietly IN the toy box waiting to scare the CRAP out of me! He was so proud..and I was laughing and crying all at the same time, and at the same time found myself proud of him for pulling that off! All this time I thought HE was afraid of the dark. Little stinker.

He has since gotten me a few other times and he thinks its hilarious. It kind of is.

So if only I could pull off the tricks I have in my mind on April Fools Day. I can't. How fun would it be to put up a picture of a positive pregnancy test?? Yeah..fun. But no, I can't do it.

I'm supposed to pick up Sara from school today. I have this whole plan worked up in my mind to call her mom like an hour later and tell her I forgot her. Its too cruel..I just can't. So in the meantime I suppose I will just leave myself open to receive the cruelty of all the people who actually can pull this stuff off..because knowing my husband I will likely be the brunt of some kind of joke.

We'll see....