Scary Signs of Spring

I love spring! I love taking walks with Quinn, who is enthralled with everything outdoors. I love wearing shorts again. I love pushing Quinn in the swing, even though he would literally swing for hours at a time as high as he could. Not a fan of yard work, but I can stand it in the spring. I love that my recital is nigh and there is a finish line in sight. 

However.....there is a sign of spring at our house that is unwelcome. I won't post a pic, as it is too gross. We know it's spring when our neighbor starts living on his porch. My kitchen looks right out on it because it is raised up. He is semi-retired and lives on this porch. I have no problem with that, except for the fact that he LOVES to come out shirtless in the mornings and sun himself. We call him the "Shirtless Wonder". At night, he and his wife,  sit on the porch before their dinner and savor expensive wines. There was a Saturday Night Live skit with Rachel Dratch and Will Ferrell called "The Lovers", based on an older, intellectual couple. That is what we call them. It's quite annoying when we are rushing around crazy-like with our kids. On the other side of our house, there is an older couple that we really like. However, they have a hot tub that they like to enjoy in the morning. I stare in jealousy as I rush around trying to get the kids out the door. 

There are million kids in our neighborhood...why do I live next to two houses of people that can slow down and relax all day? 

Week-O-Fun

Well....it seems like forever, but my kids are back in school after a LONG, but eventful, Easter Break.

Wednesday: After sleeping over at Grandma's house, all the kids took a field trip to the Children's museum with Grandma and Grandpa. Of course, they had a ball and spent most of their time in the helicopter

Thursday: A quiet morning at home (they all looked through books forever...whoa!), a trip to Target, and Easter egg coloring. Parker and Emi were quite patient and diligent with their eggs this time. Not so much with Quinn. We were lucky enough to be invited to our neighbor's Passover dinner. He and his wife have gone to church with us and did the temple open house with us, and we have done Hanukah and now Passover. It was very interesting to read through the prayers and such and try all the new food. Very fun, though Quinn was a pill.

Friday: We woke up early and cruised to Zion's National Park for the day. I had a nasty cold, but I'm so glad we went. Did some beautiful, kid-friendly hikes. Quinn screamed through the aptly named"Weeping Rock" hike (are you getting that he is hard right now?) because he has discovered his independence from the backpack. Everything is "self" right now. 

(weeping rock....no Quinn)

We ran into a zillion human-friendly squirrels that required naming. It was all we could do to have them not pet the rabies-infested creatures. Once I explained shots in the stomach, that helped keep hands away. That night, we dined at the oh-so-classy Village Inn (everything was crowded and I was starving!).
Saturday: We woke to rain in St. George, so we swam in the indoor pool, checked out the St. George Tabernacle, and did a run-through of their Arts Festival. Then it was off to In-n-Out (along with the rest of the city) before we drove home. Seriously...the inside line went around the store, and there were 22 cars in line for the drive-thru. BUT, I placed the order within 8 minutes...amazing. Quinn loved the burger. Can't wait for ours to come to Draper.

Sunday: Visit from the Easter Bunny. Quinn loved hunting for egss. Emi got a pink soccer ball, Parker got a Star Wars lego set, and Quinn got a bug lantern. 
We quickly dressed for church and got these pictures. Just so you know, 15 minutes before this pic was taken, Emi somehow spread toothpaste in her hair. I had to shower her, blow her hair, curl it, and dress her. Easter miracle.
Later that day was another fun-filled Easter egg hunt at Grandma Newman's house. A great dinner, followed by a sad (but not shocking) announcement from my uncle that he was marrying again.... for the 9th (not a typo) time. Sad. That's a post for another day. Oh the excitement never ends in my extended family.
Monday: Last day of school out, so we basically hung around, played with friends, played outside and did yardwork. 

Back to normalcy.......

My Groove is SOOOO gone....

Well, I'm officially in my second trimester. Shouldn't this signify the end of morning sickness? Not necessarily true in my case, but I'm remaining hopeful and positive. Well, the past 14 weeks have essentially sucked the life right out of me. I have quite literally just been surviving,  just trying to maintain. No projects have been done, I'm way behind on getting my recital done, and nothing has been seriously scrubbed in my house for awhile...don't even get me started on my scrapbook. Emi reprimanded me for not getting her curtains up. I feel bad. 

So....here is my goal of how I'm going to get my groove back. It's SOOOOO gone right now:

1. I might attend the gym. Shocking! Last time I did (5 weeks ago) I got so sick that I spent the time in the bathroom and the cafe eating a bagel. Real helpful.
2. I will turn on happy music while I clean and do boring house jobs. This always helps.
3. I will spend more time outside with Quinn. The poor kid stared at all the snowy days last week and kept saying, "Boots...boots...boots." No luck. I was not going out in a blizzard.
4. I will try to extend my day past 7:30 p.m., even  on days that I teach. This is when I can get to all my piles of work.
5. I might even allow my husband to take me on a date....hasn't really been practical these last few weeks. I was a zombie by.....7:30. 
6. I'm going to declutter the kids rooms. I run the risk of doing this while they are home for easter break, but it's almost better than them discovering I've thrown out a toy they love (even though they haven't played with it in 3 years). It's good for them. 

Well, that's a good list for now. Wouldn't want to become too cool too soon. Watch out, world.....I'm back!

Skiing

Well, my kids had a day off school on Friday, so instead of sleeping in and allowing them to watch TV and play video games all day (what I wanted to do), I took Parker and Emi skiing (what I should do). We had gone over Christmas, and my dear sister is an amazing ski teacher, so she gave them both a great start. I took Parker by himself a few weeks back, and he really became self-sufficient. I was really freaked out to take 2 beginning skiers, but said "What the Heck" and did it anyway. I was smart enough to put Emi in a morning lesson, which helped greatly. She's not exactly loving taking advice from her mom right now. She ended up having a private lesson and did super. In fact, when she joined me and Parker, I hardly had to help her at all! Wow...we have reached a milestone! I can take these two skiing, by myself.

Bill, snowboarder that he is, is of no help in this situation. Snowboarders cannot teach skiers, or even go slow enough for moral support. I have GIGANTIC respect for my mom, who took us 4 kids skiing all the time growing up. My dad does not ski, and she was brave beyond measure. Just putting on all our boots would have been nightmare!

(enjoying her well deserved cookie at the end of her class)

Here is Emi with her teacher. Glad it wasn't me! Well, I think I am officially done with skiing for the season. With my growing belly, my snowpants barely fit. So no more until next year. It was a gorgeous day with great snow and no crowds...a great way to end!

Speaking of Emi and her lack of desire to listen to her mother's better judgement, I could not convince her that this outfit was wrong in so many ways. How can you argue with the fact that they are both black and white? I, control freak that I am, held firm that she would not go to see Monster's Vs. Aliens with us until she changed shirts. She can discuss it with her therapist in years to come.

Random thoughts on the week...

Well, it's been a good week... here is the rundown:

1. I don't the get the hoopla over St. Patrick's Day. Maybe it's because I'm not Irish or that I don't drink. However, you would have thought it was Christmas to Emi. A Leprechaun sent them on a hunt and messed up her classroom. She was thrilled.
2. Parker won 1st place in the photography division of the Art Express contest. He was beyond thrilled. We almost didn't make it to the awards ceremony in time, but thanks to a wonderful and brave Grandma, he made it in time! What a cool surprise! He so wanted to use his new Christmas camera from Grandpa N. (which is way better than our camera). 

This is the winning pic...Mt. Olympus after a snow storm

3. Parker, Bill, and I attended the second session of the Draper Temple dedication on Friday. I happened to see part of the first, which was the cornerstone ceremony (we are standing by the newly added cornerstone).  We were in one of the big sealing rooms. Parker was wiggly, but did good for having to be there 2 1/2 hours early. It was wonderful and beautiful. Quite an experience. 

4.  Emi believes that, since there are Storm Troopers and Snow Troopers (Parker talks about this stuff a lot), that there should be Sun Troopers. I can just imagine them....skipping around in orange plastic costumes. Sorry, I had to mention it.

5.  About 1/4 of the people I have told about my pregnancy have said, "I was wondering if you were". This is not a nice thing to say.

6. Because of the temple dedication, we did NOT have to go to church today. Neither did Bill. This has been heaven. He took the older kids to visit Aunt Lisa, and I had a decent nap!!!!! We ate a 3-course breakfast, I planned my week, we enjoyed each other....I  am so in love with this. I may not ever go again. What a novel idea to have my husband home on a Sunday!

7.   Quinn is still adorable, but just a little fiesty this week. Yesterday, we went to Friday's and the kid ate his weight in food. 

That is the week it was....enjoy  your next week. Happy Spring!

It's still 10 less than the Octomom

Well, if you haven't guessed, I am becoming quado-mom. Yes, we are prego with our 4th child. I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around what 4 will be like. I know, like I can really handle the 3 I already have! Bill and I struggled back and forth forever about a possibility of a 4th. We are both youngest of 4, and I think that has a lot to do with it. That, and we actually feel like this is what we should do. That'll be a comforting thought in the next few years because we know we are IN FOR IT!  

I'm due Oct. 4th (the day before my birthday), but I'm planning on it coming in September. That first week of Oct is the birthday of me, my sis, my bro and Parker's is a week later. It's just a fertile time of year for my family. The plan was to have this baby this spring, but we just can't seem to figure out how to do that. So basically, from the end of August to first of January, we will be swimming in family birthdays. Can you say "No Money". 

Anyways, I know 4th kids don't get the same thrill factor that a 1st kid does. But we are super excited for him or her. The kids are thrilled, which I'm glad. Emi told me awhile ago that we should be done having kids, but she's warmed up. Parker wants to name it after something Star Wars like Jabba or Leia,  while Emi has decided that DJ would be a great name. I don't know why.

And yes, I am sick as a dog. Nightmare sick. Like zombie after 6 p.m. sick. Luckily, my OB took pity on me and gave me medicine that they give chemo patients. It's great. I'm craving anything I don't cook (like that's new), so I've spent a boatload of $ on take-out. Poor Bill. He really just looks at me and shakes his head. He's helped out a lot. Love you, hon!

Have a happy Sunday!

Silver Linings....

It's been a real up and down emotional week around here. BTW, thanks for all the sweet comments from you about my last post. I shouldn't write those things, but it is cathartic. It hasn't exactly been a "hold my head up high" type of week in that department, but that's o.k.  This week has drained me and I am in real need of finding the positive. So here are my silver linings in my life right now:

1. Quinn is ultra-adorable right now. I actually have liked the 2's. He's sweet, smart, mostly happy and finally loving his Kindermusik class. He's a calm on my stormy days.
2. Even though it snowed this week and we live in Utah, spring has GOT to be close.
3. I am in the middle of choreographing to "Nelly, the Elephant" for my recital. If you don't know this song, go to iTunes and check it out. It reminds me of the funnest BYU cheer trip to ASU, so that is making me happy. 
4. Emi is wonderful and mostly self-sufficient. I really rely on this. 
5. Despite the BIG LOVE controversy which is making me insane, I watch hundreds of people a day pour into the temple open house everyday when I take my kids to school. What a great thing.
6. Parker got his Gold Cup for federation. He's a totally different kid when he plays the piano. ( I won't mention the several bows he took or the little side show he is before he plays his piece...arghh!)
7. Bill worked from home on Tuesday. Those of you who have talked to me in the last couple days know why this was a blessing.
8. I have been given a calling that actually involves my talent. The "day of celebration" will be a huge undertaking, but I'm thrilled to be able to use my powers for good instead of evil (ha ha ha). And it's not choreographing a road show!
9. I have one more silver lining ( a good one) but I'll save that for my next post.