Kernels...Oh, yeah...Happy New Year!!!

Don't bag on my simplicity... I am okay with it... After you read this latest saga, you'll appreciate it too...

So, around 3:30 pm today, I sit down to scrap my daily layout, you know, to get it done so I can party the night away, well at least until 10 or 10:30...

Ashley comes into my craft room as soon as I settle in with my caffeine-free Pepsi and some dark chocolate cordial cherries... yum... and tells me that she has a popcorn kernel up her nose. Great. I look. Yup, sure enough, there it is.

I try to massage it down, as it is not far up there. She starts to laugh. I stop her. I turn her upside down, it worked for Christie... She starts to laugh more. I turn her right side up, and try to get her to blow. In Ashley speak, apparently "blow" means "sniff". Not good. I send Merrill up to get the nose aspirator, thinking that somehow I can keep Ashley frozen so the kernel doesn't migrate upward further. He's back. I'm getting boogers, no kernel. I try to get it out with tweezers, too big, just pushing it. It does make her sneeze... no kernel though, just spray.

So I resort to plugging-up the clear nostril, covering her mouth, and sucking on the plugged nostril. Nothing. So I keep the clear nostril pinched, uncover the mouth, and keep the plugged one open, and blow through the mouth. Still, nothing.

We get the flashlight to see the location of the kernel. Prognosis not good. We take her upstairs. Merrill gets out the vacuum, I get on the phone.

1st call: My nurse Jen, I ask if she has any ideas, already tried her ideas. Ask her about Instacare hours, will they be open still? Yes, great... CO-PAY... and a bill later, but mostly put out because we will have to enter a germ-filled atmosphere (sarcastic whoopeee...). Merrill is trying to vacuum it out of her nose. I go to help, phone rings... Jen: "Did you try Christie? Nathan has done this, maybe she has some other ideas..." 2nd call, Christie... Randy answers. Christie's not there! Ask him for suggestions. He says to try making her sneeze. Already tried that, she sneezed three times, nothing. He tells me the name of their ENT. Merrill has the vacuum going again... 3rd call: South Ogden Instacare... hours Monday through Friday, 9 am to 9 pm. I'm off to get shoes. The vacuum shuts off.

Ash and I are out the door. We get out of the car and Ashley asks, "Where are we?"

I answer, "The place where we'll get the kernel out of your nose, and pay out of ours to get it out..."

We check into Instacare at 4:15 pm. Tell the receptionist about our predicament, get a couple of chuckles... I notice the white board, "Instacare wait 2 HOURS." I ask if that is accurate. Yes... Ash and I find a seat, far away from all the sick people, people with problems that I do not want to inherit. There is a nice big TV with a movie playing, too close quarters for my taste... We settle in. I have NOTHING... But I do call Merrill to tell him about my exciting afternoon ahead! I get out a little notebook and start drawing things that she is familiar with and make her guess. She's good at this... That goes on for a while and then she has a turn drawing. We then go through a "Good Housekeeping" magazine, page-by-page, and look at all of the pictures. Then we play I-spy.

The whole time I am quizzing her about what we put in our nose. In case you are on the edge of your seat, waiting for the answer, it's nothing.

Soon she starts to get the bored giggles, but our turn waiting is almost up. I am trying to keep her from snorting. I don't want to make the situation worse.

A door opens... "Ashley..." Hallelujah!!!

She is good as gold as the nurse weighs her, takes her temp., checks her blood oxygen level... we wait only a couple of minutes before the Doctor comes in.

He looks. "It is really far up there. We'll have to go to a room with better light to get a better look at it."

We go there, and he tries this tweezer/nostril spreader combo. He can't get it, it's too round. He tries another flat-nosed tool. Still, no luck. He tells me he'll have to call the ENT on call and ask for more ideas to try, if they don't work, we'll get to stop in and see him... As he's leaving the room, I tell Ash that we just might have to go home and make the vacuum work. I am not paying to see a specialist at this point, on top of the Instacare visit. He turns around and says, "What did you say about a vacuum?... I have a mild suction device that might work." He goes to get it, and I PRAY...

Here's the attempt... I am pinning her down (she is crying at this point), a nurse is holding the light, he has the nostril spreader and the suction thing going, it is coming!!! He uses the tweezers to get it out the rest of the way and there it is... geez... Thank you's for all. Wipe a few boogers and some blood, that will help her to never do it again...

As I am putting on Ashley's coat and hat, she says, "That was terrible!" I burst into laughter. She's not amused.

As we get into the car, she asks if she can have more popcorn when we get home. I tell her she can, if she promises me something.

"Can you guess what I want you to promise me?"

"To not put the kernels up my nose..."

Smart kid, now. We get home at 6:25 pm.

So don't bag on my simplicity tonight. I don't want to hear it...

Oh Yeah, here's the kernel... like the little bit of blood too?...

I Love Goldfishes 'Cause The're Sooo Delicious....

Ahhhh... Primary and Scouting are completely staffed!!! One less worry, but for how long???

Today was emotional little girl day at the Pitcher household... if it was possible to have any sort of reaction over a situation, it was crying 99.8% of the time. (I must add that this statistic excluded myself...)

I was finishing Ashley's hair in the bathroom when Merrill came in to finish getting ready, (the girls' bathroom is our "hairspray bathroom")... anyway... Ashely bursts into tears, no one has said anything to her, mind you, and I ask her what is wrong. "Daddy said I look crazy!" What a weirdo! Try consoling that one. Then she cries even harder because she has "boogers sliding out" of her nose... (crying intensifies...)

From the beginning of my pregnancy, goldfish, yes, those cheesy little crackers, were the only thing that would help to calm my nauseous stomach. Not just eating them, sucking on them. I discovered this gem during Sacrament meeting, you know, while the kids are snacking on them... I got many cases of Goldfish as gifts, or help, however you look at it...

So today in Sacrament meeting (see the irony setting in...), between contractions, I kept feeling this tickling feeling in my tummy, like Peyton has a constant wiggle... So after a while, I looked down to see if I can see whatever limb it was, poking out. I looked down to find Ashley, Goldfish in hand, making a circular motion against my tummy. She said she was "beeding" Peyton. Kind of funny considering the irony of the situation...

Lynn was getting in trouble tonight, a little sass, a little back-talk, you know, girl hormones/attitude... again... so as I am talking to her, firmly, she says, "I'm never gonna yell at my kids!" Merrill and I laughed out loud! I told her that that one was going in my blog... here it is...

I just have to say after the day I have had today, I am so blessed! Such great family and friends... hour long late-night phone conversations with some of my best friends, that make our husbands go "hmmmmm...", are the best!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So here's our day that went on fffoorevvveerrrr....

We had to wake up the girls... they don't quite get it yet. 8:30 am to be exact. We had family prayer, and then Merrill went downstairs to turn on the lights and get the camcorder ready. Then the girls and I came. It was so cute! As soon as they saw the "Rose Petal Cottage", Lynn said, "Dad said we couldn't have that! He said we'd wreck it!" They loved it! They opened up socks and the day went on. We only got through 3 tree gifts by the time we had to leave for Mer's parents. The drive up the driveway was much easier that time... We all got to talk to Elder Pitcher (hence the time -table)... He sounds so good! He told me about Haggis, and Blood Pudding... bleh! Thant's coming from preggie here though, don't want to bag on any one's traditions...
We got some AWESOME sheets from his mom and dad in addition to my (our) new deep freezer. The girls got some walkie talkies, which we are still trying to help them get how to use, and "Ella Enchanted", love it. Hallie and Sophie also made them homemade gifts, too cute! Did I mention that Cade says "Wo-Wo" for Merrill now?
After that, we headed straight for my mom and dad's. By this time it is 1 pm, still just 3 tree gifts opened, and I only got through 2 of mine in my sock, which Mer went all out for. My mom made homemade tee-pee's for all the kids. They loved them! We got a gift card to Macey's, to fill up my (our) deep freezer ;)...
I know that mom was sad, we left kind of early, but the kids knew there was more, and so did I! I was so excited because there were some clothing-sized boxes for ME!!! We got home and got to it...
Here's a list of the faves:
Ashley: "The sink and oven in my 'Rose Petal Cottage'."
Lynn: "My lipsticks that you got me (Victoria's Secret lipsticks, yeah, aren't I nice...) and my princess outfit."
Mindy: "My robe that Mer got me, even though he let me buy another one after he bought me this one but wouldn't tell me because he knows how much I like surprises... and the slippers that match, and the new outfit from Motherhood, and the purse..."
Mer: "It's gotta be my new camera!" Yes the one I got, the one that I want to keep, the one that I played with every day up until the day before when I finally wrapped it... He is a good sharer though...
Needless to say all was opened by about 4:30 pm, and there was still clean-up...
The girls learned a good lesson this season. They love Elf, they sing the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" repeatedly, they really caught on to the "he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows if you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good..." get my drift.
So as they start to misbehave, Lynn always straightens up, "We better be good, Santa is watching us." I took that as a teaching opportunity and asked her who else is always watching us, someone more important than Santa.
She said, "You."
And I said, "I am, but there is someone else, even more important."
She said, "Heavenly Father."
And I told her how right she was. That was how the rest of the month went. They would sing the song, but they know that EVERY DAY, He is watching us, and seeing how we treat one another, and that's what's important.
Christmas night, at dinner, Lynn said the prayer:
"... Help us to have another Christmas this year. And bless that we can have a good Christmas next week. And bless that tomorrow will be another fun Christmas..." Wouldn't it be great to be five? They got spoiled...

Found these too cute pics, and it all came together very quickly... that's good 'cause maybe I'll be able to get my slide show of Christmas up... that is, if it's not too late, so Jen doesn't ground me tomorrow. ;)

Fun snowy day today! We stayed in. Took down Christmas, and just got the normal "Saturday stuff" done. The living room feels so empty and even echo-ey without the tree up... sad. Merrill decided to leave the furniture a little different. He is someone who does not do well with change, so this is kind of fun. We'll have to see how long it lasts.

I just keep on finding more and more to add to my "to do" list... maybe I am nesting... on to another baby thing... I still have this thing for Pepsi! It is so weird cause I am a Diet Coke girl. What kind of kid will Peyton be like??? PEPSI...

Here's the masterpiece of the day... it was another fun day of scrapping and peer pressure... see the new blog addition to my "other awesome moms" list... ;) Jaclyn and I had a good visit. I am so glad for times like these when I am able to get to know someone a little better, to understand why they are the way they are, what makes them "tick"... we still missed Brooke, the punk in Florida...
Props must be given, I did this layout x 2. One for the family album, and one for Ashley's. I swear, I will be doing less of the 2x and 3x layouts as soon as I complete the year 2005...




Here is what the girls and I did tonight after dinner...
They played with their new watercolors that Santa left in their socks, and I got to finish my 2x layout.
Lynn was awfully sweet to me tonight. She told me that "Dad had married the best mommy ever." She didn't stop there... "Dad married the most prettiest mommy I ever had." That's not hard, considering I am the only mother she's ever had.
Ashley was curious as to what Mer and I were wearing when we got married. I explained to her that when we get married in the temple, we wear all white. She brought up that Merrill was wearing a black tux with a "bow" (her way of saying bow tie). So I told her about how we wore special, sacred clothes in the temple, and then changed before we went outside for all of those pictures. Since I got Merrill a new temple bag for Christmas, and I needed to move his clothes from one bag to the other, I asked her if she wanted to see them. I think she's been asleep or otherwise occupied when I have washed and ironed them before... She was so excited! She thought that it was so cool that they were really all white, not any other color. I am excited to take them through the temple one day, but not too excited... I can wait a while... I want them to stay little a bit longer.
Tomorrow is my big day, to post Christmas, well at least what I have, and to take it all down, from around the house that is...

The Ongoing Chronicles of a Pregnant Woman...

So besides my three year-old running into my ever growing belly, other wacky things happen, believe it or not... Most of them take place after I have posted, when I am getting ready for bed. That's when the real gems are exposed...
Last night:
While taking off my shirt, I discover a piece of fettuccine, stuck to my undershirt, from dinner, 3 hours before... Merrill said, "That's like something Grandma would do!"
Then, while putting on Pajama bottoms, which I keep all of the drawstrings tied, for many reason, they for some reason, (could this be all of the pain I've been experiencing in the pelvic area???) won't fit over my hips. They did last week... Things are really moving around down there... February or January???

I scrapped for the most part of the day. Jaclyn and I... it just isn't the same without Brooke :(... She's livin' it up in Disney world though, so I guess she doesn't miss us too much!

This is the pic from the day all the grand kids had with my mom back in October, the day that if some of us parents hadn't stayed there, she just might have lost it... fun day though.

After dinner tonight, I had to get after Ashley, again, about her shrill girl screaming that has been a little too much lately. So it tells you how big my tummy is getting, when she runs into it, while she is coming at me. Well, she got kind of embarrassed, when she gets gets embarrassed, she gets grumpy too, and the grumpiness led to her sticking out her tongue at me. That led to Merrill and I getting-after her, at the same time. She said, "Mom, I am so sad that you are being mean to me." I answered her with, "It makes me sad when you stick your tongue out at me." She then said this, consider it the punchline, and remember it is coming from a three year-old: "Mom, when I was a little girl, you used to be nice to me."

I got a little creative with boxes this year for Christmas. For the life of me, I couldn't find shirt boxes to wrap some of the girls' gifts in. I had made them each a new beanie and scarf to match their coats, and to help differentiate between whose was whose, I put Lynn's in a Golden Grahams box, her fav. cereal, and Ash's is a Corn Flakes box, her latest fav. So, they are opening gifts. Ash opens this gift, sees it's Corn Flakes, gets all excited and says, "I got cereal!" She threw the box aside, totally happy with it. Merrill kind of helped her out and told her to shake it. She shook it, there was no sound and he told her that it might not be cereal, she better open it. She loved the hat and scarf...

Best of all, she told me yesterday, "Mommy, I lub you poreber." Traslation: "Mommy, I love you forever."

I got my house mostly clean today. For some reason, my legs, back, and bum, really hurt! How many times can I bend over or squat in one day! I am happy though, I got to scrap with a clear mind. The only thing I didn't get done that I really wanted to was to take down the garland on the handrail and get my Primary bag cleaned-out. I have to admit that I am really excited to get my 2008 calendar done! My to-do list runneth over...

I tried to swipe a pic of Christmas Eve from the fam's web page, but I was unsuccessful, obviously.... we are calling the adults "The Candy cane Bandits", and the wee ones, "Jailbirds". You'll see why when I finally get a pic...

Merry Christmas!!!

This is the condition of my house right now... Merrill told me to "relax", cleaning can wait until tomorrow. I couldn't stand it, tried to clean, but really felt like scrapping anyway...
One for yesterday...

And one for today!

Last night was a real adventure... just getting to Merrill's parents for the traditional Christmas Eve festivities was brutal. A typical five minute or less drive up to the house went on much longer... The drive to the driveway wasn't bad, but Joe was working on plowing the driveway, so that was the adventure. The hill by their house has three or four slide-offs, so the guys went to help people get un-stuck. The night was fun, lots of snow, which makes it funner! I'll post pics later... everyone in matching PJ's is awesome!

This morning we had to wake the girls up. They were so fun! They saw the Rose Petal Cottage first. Lynn said, "Dad said we couldn't have that cause we would wreck it!" But she was most excited because Santa ate his cupcakes and peanut M&M's. Yeah, I didn't quite get the sugar cookies busted out that I KNOW Santa enjoys...

Dixon's Christmas Gift FINALLY done!!!

So I got it done! Now can you see why I've been homesick for Lake P.??? Here is my layout for the day too...

Have you ever done something, or gotten something, gone to bed and forgot about it, to wake up the next day, remember, and get excited all over again? I have had those moments too many times, especially lately. Like when I moved the couches in the basement a few weeks ago (there just wasn't enough room for four of us, one of the four being pregnant me, on the dinky love seat, a new configuration needed to be done...). I forgot all about it, woke up, and remembering that one little change made me so excited! So this morning, I got all ready for church, went out to the garage... and there it was... MY EARLY CHRISTMAS GIFT!!! A deep freezer. I plan to fill it with ice cream :).
Let me also break down all that I accomplished yesterday... maybe you'll understand how I forgot...
I burned 51 CDs for Primary Christmas gifts.
I printed and then attached 51 labels to 51 CDs.
I also labeled all 51 CDs with appropriate names for families (okay, some were left blank, future move-ins?)
I designed (nothing fancy) then printed 30 "I Am A Child Of God" labels for our teacher appreciation gifts.
I finished 5 Christmas gifts, for sisters-in-law, which I really want to post pics of... but two of them JUST MIGHT SEE...
I started Dixon's.
Finished wrapping gifts.
Bought Merrill's surprise which I might just make my own :).
Got four loads of laundry done.
And washed two loads of dishes... okay, the dishwasher gets credit for that one too.
Let me add that it was also homemade pizza night for dinner...
I can't remember if there's anything else... but believe me, you'll hear about it.
I would have posted sooner... I was done with my layout, but Ash decided to dump out two tubes of beads in two separate rooms, and I just can't leave a mess like that. Then for some reason I felt like organizing my Making Memories foam stamps...

Here's my page done for tonight, before tomorrow... Before 1:30 am...
Here's Mer and Ash relaxing today, watching "Open Range"... they are cute...
As much as I love winter, especially Utah winters, I miss this, Lake Powell in Summer... As I was getting Dixon's (Father-in-Law) Christmas gift ready, looking through Lake P. pics, I got a little homesick...
But I am really excited for the snow that is supposed to be coming!
Tonight, at Sam's Club, I did something for the first time... I looked at both the tag and the hanger!

"Wild Women Don't Get the Blues..."

This is why I stay up so late, scrapbooking... That and Peyton wouldn't stop kicking, moving, sticking her bum out, and basically just being a wild woman in training... So I am a pregnant, LDS, mother of two, who lives in Utah... Scrapbooking until 1 am is the way I know best to be "wild", so I don't get the blues when I really might start to feel CRAZY!
Here are some of my thoughts about being preggers today... Before you read, just know how much I really love being pregnant, I am not being sarcastic, I just have been thinking of some of the comedic things we endure while pregnant...
1. I know that it is getting closer to baby's birthday, when my belly-button scrapes against the magnetic latch thingie for my shower door... I can't fit anymore!
2. I get to buy "ointment" that goes in a place that nobody wants to talk about, and that I made fun of constantly until I was sneakily trying to buy some yesterday... I guess by the third time around, your body tries to surprise you still.
3. You get to have contractions, especially because you are a crazy women running around, because you thought you were done with all of your shopping, but then you remembered something you forgot, and you had to go out again.... (there will be a continuation of this in further items on this list...)
4. Those fun contractions really make you panic, when, after buying yourself an early Christmas gift, i.e. a RED terry cloth robe, and using it, it leaves RED lint in a place related to contractions and childbirth, and you panic, and then realize how dumb you are... RED ROBE...
5. Since I always go by the size on the hanger, I never check the size on the tags at the time I am purchasing, you think I'd learn by now... But, no. I get to go out again today, because the hanger said 12 months, the tag says 3...
6. I am going to ask to examine my placenta after the baby is born. I have seen placentas before, I am just wondering if mine will closely resemble my brain, I mean, be identical to my brain, as it has sucked EVERYTHING from it... Shouldn't it look like it by now???
7. I know it's getting close to the end when my pants just won't stay up anymore, and my extra large tank-top undershirts, don't cover my belly... most of the time.
8. But all of it is worth it! I am so excited, I can hardly wait, but I will miss it all too, especially the bumps and thumps and jumps that help me stay awake so late. It is REALLY worth it when my five year old, who has been telling me that she wants to be a ballerina for the last few months, tells me today that she changed her mind and wants to "be a mom" just like me. She told me this while she was making her bed and "practicing to be a mom".

I know how late it is... I also know that it is technically tomorrow and not today... It is still today for me, however... I started working on this at 9:30 when we put the girls to bed. But they don't stay in bed...

Busy day today. I can hardly believe that Christmas is really as close as it is. Thank heavens that I am done! Well, kind of. I still have the girls blankets to finish.

Ashley saw a picture of Evan today and asked me if "Eban" was coming over to her house to play today. They had a long day together earlier this week, well, actually two days... I told her no. She said, "I wish that Brooke would bring Eban over to play because I lub him. He's so cute." She really does "lub" him, and I think he "lubs" her too.

Lynn has some commercials memorized... Yes, too much KOSY 106.5 on... Arby's and Applebees. She has the dialog down, word for word. It is hilarious.

"It's Applebees... Get it together, Baby!"

Crazy page, eh? This is how Lynn makes me feel lately. Can you believe she eggs-on her three year old sister to use some questionable language, and then when I get stern with her, she laughs at me??? Yeah, CRAZY page.... Merrill says he wants to abolish that word. I thought there would be the picture-perfect definition of that word today as we had 8 kids under 6 helping us paint hand prints on bags for primary teacher appreciation gifts. Not so with Christie the pro and her pro kids... Wish my kids were so good!
So I didn't believe the meteorologists... They haven't been quite spot on this week. I put-off some of my errands until later this afternoon, and like clockwork, right when I really get going, the storm hit. Needless to say, I turned around by the time I hit Riverdale road... 20 mph everywhere and anywhere you happen to go isn't fun. I did get groceries done! My neighbor gifts are done, credit must go to CK... their idea :)
Are you ever curious at all how much Merrill loves me? I had the craving for Pepsi, again. I should have bought it when I was shopping, but I thought, "You don't need that..." So I didn't. I started to want it bad again. He went out in one of the later waves of the storm and got it for me... I know, so sweet!

A big day for us! Another Doctor's appointment! Just two week visits now! Next one: January 2nd. Peyton doesn't quite look like Ash or Lynn... I think she has parts of each, but those eyes... right now, they don't really look like either. She is 4 1/4-4 1/2 pounds. Babies cooked this far, are normally 3 1/2 pounds. He put her in the 60th percentile, and told me it's all normal... I like chubby babies! I forgot to take my DVD :(... placenta effect... but I did get a couple of pics. Hopefully she'll be lower next time, or at least not behind my placenta so we can get some better ones!
It was a busy day though. It was one thing after another. That is the only part about this season that I can say I don't care for, but then again, I do it to myself! We still haven't been to Temple Square even! That is tradition... Might have to be a year-end tradition this year.
The page above is page #2 of the layout, part 1 was yesterday. Look at me... I am getting a book done... One of how many though...

Ahhhh... I did it again! I didn't know if I would be able to, it's been a crazy night. But this is just one more page that is part of an ongoing project, one that has been going on since MAY...
I tried to get some more last minute stuff done tonight, I still have neighbor gifts to finish, maybe I'll get them done tonight... that will come later...;)
Ash bought Lynn her "sister gift". We got inside the door and Ashley immediately told Lynn, "We bought you a Princess Piano!" I laughed and told her it was supposed to be a surprise for Christmas morning. I don't think that Lynn heard that time... After we wrapped it, and we had to cover the keys with cardboard so the gift wouldn't give itself away, Ash put it under the tree and told Lynn, again, what it was. Lynn said, "Mom, she told me what my present was, but I think I'll forget and remember again on Christmas." She's so sweet.
The one thing that came out today and that I really wanted to get... no, not the Simpson's movie... I'm risking sounding like a real geek here...
"One Tree Hill" - Season 4...
Mer and I got hooked the beginning of season 4 and stopped watching it immediately and started from the beginning. So here we are... Kids finally in bed... a box of chocolates... a cup of hot cocoa, and One Tree Hill... Maybe I'll get a lot done on those neighbor gifts, while I sit for awhile...

Journaling: "This year, President Hinckley issued a challenge to all members worldwide to read or re-read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. We took to it, and this picture illustrates how you embraced it too! It was so sweet to check on you and to find you sleeping with your Book of Mormon. -Oct. '05

I must admit... I could have lied... I could have easily posted a layout that I haven't put in a album yet, that is stored in my drawer, where nobody has seen it but me, and passed it off as a new one completed today. But, I thought about what happens to liars... I really don't want a sty in my eye, right before Christmas, among other, much worse consequences for lying...

Had a fun day today, making (but mostly talking, but mostly making...) a memory block with Christie while our kids played together. A fun day!

Forgive me when my post is mostly about Lynn tonight though...

While we were busy creating, Lynn came in and wanted to as well. I told her to get out her supplies and join in. As I realized she had been quiet for far too long, not showing me her latest creation like she normally does, I looked down at her to find her CUTTING-UP ASHLEY DRESS-UP. I very calmly asked her why she was doing that, and she told me, "because I thought I would be a witch." Her scissors are gone now for an undetermined amount of time...

She has issues again with BM's (refer to a previous post for more info.). So tonight after dinner, another difficult session on the toilet ensued. Merrill said, "Honeybear, I am going to put on some music that will help you." He hooks up his ZEN, and programs the song. It begins, kind of a chant, "Oohhhmmm.... push it all out, push it out.... push it all out, push it out...." Lynn wasn't too happy about his choice.

So we actually did something today... We went to McDonald's for lunch, rare occasion. We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall, where I got myself a Christmas present (woo hoo!), a robe with no holes and that actually covers my prego body, meaning it is Large... the girls saw Santa, but really didn't talk to him. Merrill was so good to wait in line for I don't know how long... Ashley wouldn't even sit on his lap... and we got Mer a new pair of jeans at Dillard's! To get him to shop for himself, and it's clothes... Christmas miracle... I wish I could have got him to buy some new work shoes...
January's CK has me more than pumped about scrapbooking, setting goals, and just getting caught up this next year... My new goal: to scrap at least one layout per day... So I am starting early! That's why there is a page I made tonight at the beginning of my post... I think that maybe if I keep a record, that I will do it, and if I don't, I'll have to have a really good excuse, like I had a baby or something.
Ashley phrase of the day is: "Jimminy Gilickers" (We watch too much Simpson's...)
Lynn described her foot being asleep, "It feels like sparkles are shooting out of my toes!"

Here's what I've been working on today... Well at least one thing... I wanted to do a memory block for Mer of our family pics. Rusty Pickle came on "Good Things Utah" about 3 or 4 years ago and demonstrated this. I love these! I took pics before I put the coat of Diamond Glaze on so they wouldn't be too shiny! Now guess what I'll be doing tomorrow... No such luck on my hash brown craving :(... I'll have to wait.

Right now, I really want hash browns and pancakes... I need more mint holiday M&M's. I mean NEED... Isn't it funny how pregnancy makes you crave things? Whenever I crave something, I crave it until I get the taste, and then I'm good.

Love this pic of the girls, it's grainy, but I love it.

A couple of funny stories about them and this time of the year...

Before Thanksgiving, I was planning their "big" gifts. We had decided on a dollhouse for their Barbies, more for Lynn but Ash would play too, that a friend of mine discovered at Target. I was wanting something else for Ash though. I saw the commercial for the "Rose Petal Cottage" and thought that would be perfect. Ash has been loving playing house with her Cabbage Patch newborn (last year's gift). So I talked with Merrill about it, and he told me to get what I thought, I knew how they play and what they play with best. So I hopped online, and got a great deal on both! So fast forward a week, maybe more... the same commercial comes on, while the whole fam is around the TV. I think we were watching "Elf", and the girls went nuts! "We want that! That is so cute! That would be so much fun!" Merrill says, "No way. Never. You guys will trash it and it will just take up more space." At first I thought he was kidding, trying to make them think that it wouldn't happen just so they would be that much happier on Christmas. He wasn't kidding, he was serious. I had to get his attention and very sly-like let him know that Santa had bought it. It was on it's way. He groaned, and then said that he should educate himself a little better before he tells me to go for it. So it gets even better... the other day, we are doing our Sam's Club run, you know T.P., Nesquick, ANTACID (in bulk of course)... the girls see the toy isle. They want to go down it, just to look. I'm game, the "Rose Petal Cottage" is down that way. We get to it. Ashley is so excited. She goes on and on about everything in it (got everything in it!), she wants Santa to bring it. Lynn says, "Daddy said no. we don't have any room in the playroom and he thinks we'll wreck it." Perfect! What on earth will they think and say on Christmas morning! (What will Merrill say on Christmas Eve when we are setting it all up?)

One more, and it's cute... Ashley had our "Little People" Nativity out, all lined up on the edge of the table in the living room. She was in front of them leading them in "I am a Child of God". Then she goes and gets ALL of the "Little People" we have, lines them up, and leads them all in "I am a Child of God". Soon, a cow, from the Nativity, pops up on the table and introduces himself (maybe herself...), "Hi, I am a cow." Cow goes down the line and everyone says "hi cow". Then cow takes his/her place at the end of the line, and they are all led in another round of "I am a Child of God". It goes on and on with the rest of the animals from the Nativity, each doing what cow did, but I thought it was too cute.

I have to post this morning. I usually post after the day is almost done. I just have to get it out though!
I have the cutest most loving little girls ever!
There's not many days that I can say I feel beautiful. Most days I feel awkward, swollen, handicapped, and just really not too cute. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BEING PREGNANT!!! But at this point, where two months feels like an eternity away, I feel like I look like nine months is here, and everything is happening earlier than it did the time before, and even the time before that... I have days when I need a little pick me up. Lynn and Ash are my pick me up. Lynn is always giving me kisses, and Peyton too. She always tells me I am beautiful, and I even got a "you are adorable" today. Ashely tells me all the time that I am pretty, that my hair is pretty, that I have a pretty smile. They both tell me how much they love me and Ashley's favorite thing to say is, "You are the bestest mommy in the 'tire' (entire) world!" I love it! Who can feel down with these two around!

Last night.... Merrill went Christmas shopping for me with his Bros and mom. I can't wait to see what goodies I get this year! I am so jealous though that he got to go to Chili's for dinner. Mmm... chips and salsa... and then HEARTBURN...
That left the girls and I at home to fend for ourselves. I wanted to take them to see "Enchanted", but felt a little too rushed, like it was last minute. We ended up staying in. I did manage to get almost ALL of Christmas wrapped, and laundry all folded too. I got all the stocking stuffers wrapped, that is everything that comes from "Santa" with the exception of the BIG gift. I still need a couple more boxes to get some of the other things wrapped. But being dang near done feels great! Just to get the neighbor gifts and the rest of my crocheting done, oh yeah, and the girls blankets, and Merrill's craft, and the girls to buy for him...

Today, Lynn actually sang with the Primary kids for the first time! There was one time that she stood on the stand with them for Mother's day, but ended up throwing a mini fit and I took her out. Today, she did it for real. I was helping the chorister by holding her pictures to help the kids, and there was Lynn, right in front of me, on the stand, singing. I had to look away from her, I was going to cry! What a milestone for her. I hope it was a pleasant enough experience that she'll do it again.
I am afraid that the prayers of of two little girls are trying to be answered or maybe it really is just my body reacting to being prego the third time around. You see, teh girls have been praying for a couple of months now, that Peyton will "come out soon so they can play with her and hold her". Last night, I started in with some minor crampiness, lower backache. I tried to explain the crampiness away, and when doesn't my back hurt now days? I slept without a problem, or disruption (awesome). I woke up this morning feeling great. After I had been up for awhile, it started again. It continued on during church. So I have my three amigos who have all have had three children or more, helping me. Christi (has done this 6 times...) is telling me, "It is your third time around." (that's how I really feel.) Julie (four...) is telling me, "My labor was never really painful, it was like dull menstrual cramps." And Jen (three...), the nurse, is telling me, "You should be okay if they go away once you relax." Aren't they awesome!
All night tonight, dull cramps, and a nice firm, Braxton Hicks between. The Braxton Hicks is usually followed-up by a hard kick or other such activity from Peyton. This is all while I am sitting on my butt, crocheting. How much more relaxed can I get?
I did get Lynn's scarf done, after going to two different craft stores last night to get more yarn. With the yarn, which I only needed a little of to finish her scarf, I made myself a cute hot pink hat too. Merrill thinks that it looks cute! I am attempting to get a third out of the rest (fingers crossed).

Last night, prayers were interesting to say the least.
Lynn went first. Her prayer was all about her BM.
Some back information, Lynn has had difficulty in the past with BMs. It's not diet, not constipation. She thinks it will hurt, so she holds it in and puts it off. So over time, it does hurt. We haven't had any of those issues to deal with for quite a long time so last night, when she was dancing around, I assumed it was tinkle-time. She went, but the dance went on, and on, and on... I soon discovered the old problem had showed-up for one more appearance. Long story short, I sat in the bathroom with a crying Lynn for over an hour, helping her to work through it. She cried tears of joy in the end!
Then came nighttime prayers... "Heavenly Father, mom helped me to get out that big poop, and it hurt, and I cried, but mom tickled my back and held my hand and hugged me so it wouldn't hurt so bad. And please bless that tomorrow, that big poop will go away..." You can only imagine... I can't remamber all of it, I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud!
Ashley likes to go through lists of "garbage words", just about every day. Not just hints at what the words are, the ACTUAL words. I have to remind her that we shouldn't say them AT ALL. But she likes to let me know that she knows what they are, I guess. I really should be better at not laughing at her, but the way she says "ass" just cracks me up! So last night her prayer was all about not saying "garbage words". She kept with the tame ones, like: stupid, hate, kill, ugly, and poop. But I was really worried that she was going to get worse. Thank heavens her prayer finally ended.
Merrill and I had to contain the giggles during both, and then I had to get into the right frame of mind to say my prayer. (It was my turn last night.)
This morning, we took the other Grandma picture in the fancy dresses. You know, the one I referred to back in October? It went well. Trying to coordinate the 9 year-old, not a big deal, but the 6, 5, 3, almost 2, and almost 1 year-olds, not so easy. Especially when the almost 2 year-old gets a kick out of us being so excited that he is sitting still, that he runs away. So dramatic. The kids looked great, with the exception of Lynn's black eye, which inevitably had to happen three days before the big pic was going to be taken. Brooke, "the pro", awesome as she is, photo-shopped it out, you can't even tell! I thought she was going to have to photo-shop out a goose-ache too. Last night, Ash got so excited that "Elf" was on, again, that she ran to get her bean bag, over ran the bean bag, and ran right into the wall. This morning, luckily, there was nothing there. We just had the black eye to deal with, and two little girls worth of hair to fix beautifully, by 9:30 am. We were late, of course.

I feel like I have totally taken for granted all of the little things that my mom has taught me. I have been enjoying a quiet evening crocheting, how many people do that anymore? Shhh, though, it's one of Lynn's Christmas gifts, she hasn't caught on yet. I guess I am making something often enough that she just assumes it's for someone else.
Other "little" things that my mom has taught me:
How to bake. I got a phone call from my sister-in-law who had a baking question. "How do you make sour milk? Do you buy it?" I knew how to sour milk. It's just one of those things that I though everyone knew. Other little tricks about baking come to mind that my mom taught me that I think everyone just knows. Maybe they don't.
Everyday cleaning. How to clean. What to clean, what to clean what with. How often we clean. There are some people who just don't know and I have to admit that I am a little shocked.
I think my mom has taught me most by her example. When I am ready to explode with kids who are being psycho, I think, "What would mom do?" Then I think of how she might react to a situation or how she might say something. My first instinct is to do what my dad would do. He's not a bad guy, just a little short on patience and he kind of expects small children to automatically be logical thinkers. (See why I tell myself to thnk like mom?)
There's so many more things, they just come to me during the day, and I smile because I have the greatest mom ever!

Ahhhh... Now when do I get all of that wrapping done?
I was too busy chatting the day away, trying to solve the world's problems, not to mention some of my own (church stuff still :(...) to really get wrapping done. I am so thankful though, I know I've said it before, for my good friends... It really doesn't seem like an hour (or more...) when I get to gab it up for a while with one of them! It is so good to know that they are there to help, and sometimes to just listen, but mostly to laugh, it makes the situation seem to be not so bad... Back to wrapping... It is my goal this year to not be awake on Christmas Eve until 4 am finishing quilts & scrapbooks, and wrapping them and every other gift I have purchased. That was the fun night that Merrill and I had together last year...
I did get some scrapbooking done! Hopefully I can have this year done, so I can get 2006 finished...

Heeheeheehee!!!! That's not a witchy cackle, it's a laugh of satisfaction... more of a giggle really. I got my Christmas shopping done! Well, not all of it. I couldn't find one item for the girls, princess or other appropriately themed cocoa mugs, and I didn't get Merrill his temple suitcase. (Why am I so embarrassed that when we go to the temple he has a shoulder bag that says "Trips" on the side? Free gifts from your travel agent just don't seem to fit as temple luggage...) Other than that, I got stocking stuffers and gifts DONE. It does make it easy when I am buying everything times two.
It was so wonderful that Merrill ended-up not going and shopping for me. Every year his mom gets all the guys together to go to dinner and then shop for their wives. It didn't work out for tonight. At first I was kind of bummed. First of all I had to figure out what to do for dinner, my plan was to have mac and cheese with the girls... Secondly, my plans after that point, were to scrapbook, preferably with the girls. But I soon realized that Merrill being home = me being able to go out by myself and get the shopping all done.
Brooke is home! I am not in solitary anymore! I do have other people I can talk to (who I love dearly...), it's just weird going for that long without talking to her. What on earth will I do (Merrill too for that matter...) when they leave for Disneyworld???
I went over and helped at Scouts today. It was fun! I told Merrill that he and I could be Weblos leaders together, it would solve one of my problems, and we would have fun doing it! Now if they'll let the Primary President have another calling...

Here I am!!! 29... going on 30 weeks... How do I look? Can you tell that sleep is getting, well, not so sleep-like these days? Can you tell that two acid reducers are barely doing it for me now? Can you tell that my bones are shifting and widening (and hurting me) in preparation for this little one to make her entrance? It is all happening, and it is all awesome! (That's not sarcastic...)

I keep telling Merrill that if he knew what it felt like to have a life inside you, to feel movements, hiccups, everything... that he would want to do this over and over again. It is such a blessing that I can do this. I feel so privileged! There's nothing better than being a woman!

So here's a couple of projects I got done today... Our Pumpkin picking page (finally) thanks to some inspiration from incredibly talented Tracey Odachowski (http://traceyodachowski.blogsome.com/) and her layout in October's CK. I also got Peyton's journal done.. already started the writing inside in May... Merrill gives me a hard time. I like the spelling PEyton where he thinks it should be PAyton... Glad that I am the one who is in charge of all things her name goes on, both legal and creative. I just hope he doesn't spell it out the way he thinks it should be in her blessing...

I got the best compliment today. Lynn has been giving lots of kisses lately, and when you think lots, multiply that by 10... While I was scrapbooking (I got a layout done today! Well, minus pics, it's one for Peyton's book...) Lynn came up to me, gave me lots of kisses, (I just got another one) and said, "My daddy married the most beautifulest mom for me to have." So sweet!

I love having the girls love me like this! Ash has been telling me how "wonderbul" I am, because I get her drinks and make her "bood". It's good to be appreciated.

I am a little cheesy... I got in the mood to make thank you cards. Baby themed thank you cards. I am just trying to be prepared for the up and coming... Merrill laughs. I was really in the mood to do something cute. I am so excited that I got a layout done though. It's been a while.

This morning while in the tub, I heard Ashley talking to herself. She said: "Why do I lub (love) myselp (myself) so much?" I just had to laugh because it sounded so vain! Then it got me thinking... Self worth.
I kid around so much about "my condition", i.e. pregnancy, and how Merrill is so not attracted to me, his comments ("you look like Homer in that episode when he wore a mumu"), and mine too... For an example on a comment I've made about myself, yesterday, while playing outside in the snow, Merrill threw a snowball at me. It ended up going down my shirt. I asked him what I did to deserve that. He answered with, "Sorry, I was aiming for your butt." My response: "How could you miss that?"
Back to the point... I feel comfortable kidding around and sharing every mundane detail because I really do feel sure about myself. Pregnancy and all. I can get a little homesick for my non-prego state every once in a while, like when I catch a glimpse of my old clothes, old pictures, okay they're not old, just not present... I remember this fall, feeling really homesick when Brooke tried on a really cute pair of jeans from Old Navy... She ended-up not keeping them, she said they just didn't look right on her, I told her how jealous I was... They had waist!
I feel really blessed thinking back on a time in my life when I didn't have much confidence. When I felt worthless. Funny, it was when Merrill entered my life that I began to feel a different way. His pokes and little comments don't bother me, mine don't either. I know of some wives who would run away in tears, humiliated and offended. Usually we both start laughing so hard over it, there are tears! I know how much he loves me, no matter what. But more importantly, he has helped me to love myself, and how to rely on one who's opinion matters most to me. Not what everyone else thinks. Besides, I only have, like, 2... 2 and half more months to go...

First, well second, snow! First one that we got to play in anyway...

It started last night, late, and we prayed for a lot of it to fall on us. Our prayers were answered. We woke up to this beautiful sight out of our window. We got about 7 inches, not too shabby...

I got the girls all ready and Merrill took them out to play while he cleared the driveway. They had some fun! I feel bad that I am improvising on snow clothes. We've never had snow pants for them. I told them, as I was piling on the layers and layers of clothes, that maybe they would get some for Christmas. Lynn was a little disturbed at how many items of clothing I was putting on her body. She protested a little. Ashley just went with it. She took my little bit of explanation, I didn't make the science of warmth too complicated for her, and did it. She kept telling Lynn to "just do it, I did..." So simple to her...

Lynn really wanted Merrill to build her a tunnel, she called it a hole, for her to crawl through. He packed the snow down and started digging. Ash kept attacking him, jumping on him and throwing snowballs at him, making sure they went down his shirt. He got it done. Lynn had her first attempt and cried when it got a little too tight for her. She said she couldn't fit because her head was too big! He widened it a little and the second attempt went much better. We tried to get Ash to do it. She said she couldn't. I told her to pretend like she was a snake and to slither on her tummy. She got really mad and said that she couldn't pretend to be a snake "because she was not wearing a snake costume!" Do we take dress-up a little too seriously or what?

Our ward party was tonight. We didn't go. I have been having these pains. Nothing major, but certainly uncomfortable. I feel best when I am laying down and children are not teasing each other, preferably... It got really bad when I went to do groceries. It is already difficult pushing the cart, with groceries, and anywhere from one to two riders, and all of the Braxton Hicks, then all slippery floors today, and snow in the parking lot! I was feeling great (yes, that italic great is sarcasm, Brooke...) when I got home and got to carry all of the groceries into the house and up the stairs to the kitchen.... Merrill was supposed to take the girls so I could get it all done by myself, less weight to push and less time out, but I ended up bringing the gang when he never returned from helping his dad. That was why I got the workout of carrying them in all by myself too. Love him though! At least I didn't have to clear the driveway to get out!