Taylor Family

Big Boy Panties!

2012-01-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it. We took the plunge and let the little man wear big boy panties! I know that sounds awful, but calling them panties is a long hard habit to break, and we are all trying!!

Oh how I love potty training, let me count the ways...umm..none! It's just not my favorite thing to do. I don't really mind all the potty talk, teaching, bribery, shooting the Honey Comb targets, etc...and I can even get past the sheer inconvenience that we have another "peer" on their own schedule, it's the fact that now my sweet well kept and clean child will now have to actually sit on a potty...bluh! Yes, I have a mental issue with toilets, it seriously makes me crazy. My own potty is bad enough, but someone else's?? and a PUBLIC potty is enough to do me in! When Addie was potty training, the thought of taking all three babies into a public restroom would cause me to have an anxiety attack, to the extent that I would put a diaper on her in the store and make her go in it. Don't judge..I had three under 2!
So, here we are now on round five. But this one's different, really different! I've dreamed of this day for so long... I've dreamed of my entire family sitting at a restaurant and when the little one says he needs to go potty, I get to sit and enjoy dinner while his Dad takes him!! This has been my job for so many years, and alas its finally his turn! But now that it's here, it's not the dream at all. More of a nightmare. The thought of my baby going into the nasty mens restroom is even worse! Double blah! Surely Troy wont be as cautious as I am to avoid any "excessive" touching of the toilet. Surely Troy won't suspend the baby over the toilet in mid air because he refuses to sit (we got bored with that real quick) and too short for the tippy toe trick! Yup, that's what I do, pick him up and suspend him at an angle and the weird part is, he actually goes! I'm pretty sure I would get stage fright and not be able to pee if someone was suspending me in mid air over a toilet. But not Jaxon, he's a champ!
So, at family dinner last night I asked the men in my family why no one told me about the unexpected random "split streamer"? The one that hit my friend's wall while the other hit the water??? That was awesome. They all just gave the sympathetic "Oh yeah, that one!" "I hate that!" "Did he get the wall yet?" "There's not a dang thing you can do about it!"
See to me, this random possibility seems like something that would be good to know when beginning the training adventure. Much like the "trailer". I'm still trying to work around this one. It's a "trailer" trickle after the main stream... the culprit that sprinkles on the potty, the pants and the floor..he thinks he's done, I think he's done, sure enough not quite done! Is he going to get made fun of that he wipes the drip and then wipes the potty for sprinkles like his mommy taught him? I asked this question to my brothers too..bad idea! I was informed that yes, I am messing him up, yes he will be made fun of, and no, there is no toilet paper in a urinal!!! AND that this job needs to be quickly passed over to his Dad before any further damage is done. Oh ok..the guy who works all day? I'm sure he won't mind making the drive home every 20 minutes for a potty break! and he's not a lot of help with the tips as he feels these are just things we figure out. Yes, I am figuring them out, and yes I realize there is more than one way to skin this cat...but I'm hoping this post might help some other first time potty trainers a little! In fact, feel free to call me, I'll share what I have learned, I have no shame. I just don't think it's too much to ask that someone write down a few tips for mommies trying to teach boys how to potty so we don't have to learn the hard way! This kid has peed on more clothes because I'm clueless.

I do have a favorite part of potty training though, it's their cute little bums and their widdle bird wegs (little bird legs) hanging out of the underwears. Pretty sure there's nothing cuter then a little guy in his drawers and boots. Rain, cowboy, he doesn't care! And he has no modesty. He ran into the front yard in nothing but a tshirt and boots to ride his scooter last week. If you thought Gracie was a fast two year old, you should see this kid on a scooter. Good thing my sweet neighbor raised two boys, so it didn't phase her that I was running down the street after my naked kid on a get away scooter!!

(Big sigh... ) So to all the boy moms who have come to my house, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wiped your kids pee off the floor, off my walls, and out of the grout behind the toilet in sheer disgust...I just didn't know how hard it really is, I was ignorant! And to my friends whose homes I will soon visit with my son, I am sorry for that too!!... and will start packing my own disinfectant wipies :)

Updating...

2012-01-20T06:20:00.000-08:00

Well, seeing how it's January, I'd better get started on my millions of things I want to do better :) Am I the only one who loves New Year's Resolutions?? This family picture is outdated, but I will put our new ones up soon. And, since I'm behind on updates, we'll just fast forward and I'll fill in "must reads" as I think of them! I found this drafted post I never finished writing and thought I should send it out. It's from 2010, but it was my life and..pretty funny! I'm happy to say some things have changed and not so happy that some of these rules haven't.

New Household Rules!! (originally drafted Sept 2010)

Ok, now that summer is over and we are back in school, the Taylor kids have taken it upon themselves to create some new family rules! Although most of these go unwritten, I thought it would be nice to have them write them out, so all who enter our home will know the rules.. In no particular order...

When cleaning your room, do the least amount as possible. Then, do gymnastics off your bed. Most often, Mom is running late and won't bother to come up and check to see if you did it as she threatens. Odds are with you.

When it's time to change, drop your clothes wherever you stand. If possible, wad them and tun them inside out. Don't bother waiting til bedtime either. All times are changing times!

For best results with laundry, throw something such as lip gloss in the pocket, or directly into the dryer if you prefer. This makes a nice tyedye effect on all of the clothes that is impossible to remove. Who doesn't like tyedye??

Dirty hampers are not only for the dirty. They are a "catch all". Especially the clean you don't want to put away. Mom will either rewash them, or pull the clean out. Either way it buys you a good couple of days.

Shoes. If you are done wearing them and want to take them of, do. Wherever you are. It's that simple.

If you are under two years of age, everything belongs to you. If someone has entered who doesn't understand this rule, simply grab your belonging back. If you cannot recover your lost or stolen item on the first attempt, hit them. A closed fist seems to get a better reaction.

If you are one and want to hit your sister, remember the consequence for the offence is only a timeout. Sometimes, the satisfaction is worth the punishment. In fact, to save time, hit her, then run as fast as you can to timeout like I do.

If you decide at any point that you don't want your string cheese, chew it up, spit it out, ball it up, and put it on a chair in the formal living room for safe keeping.

When you are seven, get in the car with no shoes on. Don't mention this until you arrive at your destination. Gets her every time.

If you are three and mom bugs you while conducting primary at church, stand up and demand she stop talking. If that doesn't work, repeat and shout "Stop talking, You are renoying me!" She loves negative attention.

If ever asked, "Did you brush your teeth?", the answer is always a swift yes without hesitation. Always. Clean or not.

Flush the toilet only when you feel like it.

Sneak pens into bed. They are good for so many things...the possibilities are endless and fun for all ages when found. The gift that keeps on giving.

When possible, tear paper. For no reason other than fun! Sprinkle around house, always mysteriously including the stairs.

After refusing all of your food at lunch, be sure something will be offered to you in the car. Just scream as loud as you can to see the menu. If nothing happens, scream louder or make a flat "mmmmm" sound. She can't take it. You'll be amazed what she hands back. If not satisfied, with the first option, throw it back. Repeat until you receive something really good!

Jaxon 18month pics

2010-10-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Little man is 18 months...well, actually 19, but these pictures were last month. He and Kennedy (twin cousin) had so much fun!
I have tons of summer and schools pics...coming soon :)

Time flies when you never blog!!

2010-05-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

So time flies when you never blog! Our life has been crazy with a busy schedule, but we are alive and well. I have some really cute pictures of the kids at Easter time, but I will admit I forgot my camera (bad mom) at the twins birthday party, and borrowed my friends. So, someday I will get those and update... birthdays at least should make the blog!
Some highlights of our life the last few months...
Jaxon is running everywhere and throwing everything he can pick up. He throws the biggest fits of anyone his age, we LOVE church! He says a handful of words; "Dada" and "mama" when he wants to, "Papa", "uh-oh" all the time (in conjunction with the throwing skill), "apple", "ball", "ouch", "cracker", the usuals...and his all time favorite "Pup". This kid LOVES dogs...he really needs one, but I need another thing that eats and poops like I need a hole in my head! We caught him with his little arms folded this week during prayer, it was so cute! he is the yummiest little boy in the world!!

We just finished our U-8 volleyball season. "U-8 volleyball" you ask? Yes, it was very cute... if you can serve, you win! Although I think I'm getting close to hanging up my coaching hat. I've discovered it's very hard to coach your own kids...especially when one is in tears because the team is losing (and trying to quit), one is picking her nose and looking into the rafters, and the other is just so happy to be on the court, it doesn't bother her the least bit if the ball falls to the ground in front of her!
Addie is finishing up her 2nd grade year. Gotta love second grade..it was this year that someone called the teacher an A-hole! It's been fun filtering her new found knowledge, but I firmly believe this should be saved for two deep leadership. She always throws it at me when Troy's not home, so again, I have to be the adult! She is a very good student and recently wrote a song about her mom..my favorite line is "everyday she makes a shake, and if it's bad, she doesn't fake!" She has such a dry, rather sarcastic sense of humor. We can't help from laughing at her, she can be really funny. Tonight we were reading the passover story, where the oldest child died if they didn't have blood on their door...after we read the words, she raised her eyebrows, and said, "uhhh, can we just sacrifice a goat???"
She had her first swim team practice tonight. On the way, I mentioned to her we should call Aunt Dacy and Uncle Ryan to tell them- they would be so excited! (They are both big swimmers and Uncle Ryan swam for BYU.) About half way through practice when Addie got out of the freezing water crying to run over to me to quit, I figured we might wait a couple more days til we brake the good news to Dace and Ryan! We'll see how it goes this summer!

Copie and Brookie are rounding up their 1st grade year and looking forward to joining the competitive gymnastics team this summer. They literally hop and jump everywhere instead of walk, so I think this will be really great for them! I will say, even though the kids aren't perfect children and they gang up on me pretty good, I really do think they are cool kids. I often tell them if they weren't my kids, I would have picked them for my friends! Copie cracks me up everyday with her jovial humor, and Brookie loves clothes and accessories even more then I do! She is going to rock as my shopping partner someday!

Grace face? Well, we are thinking (hoping) she's turning a corner. She just runs with the pack, and sadly has grown up so much the last few months. Where did my baby go? She is really funny too- NO ONE is a stranger to this kid and she is always extremely blunt. She'll go up to anyone and ask, "Do you have gum?" or "can I hold your baby?" to a stranger in the grocery store. We are almost done with her big girl room, I'll post that next year :)She does a great job of making Jaxon tough. If he can make it through her lovin (squeezing and body slamming), he'll be set to play football in Texas!! We all piled out of the car the other day to Gracie serenading us to "All the single ladies, all the single ladies.." pretty funny coming from a 3 year old, who I still have no idea where she heard that song!

I'm proud to say Troy and I are on week 11 of our Biggest Loser contest (with a few other friends), and will find out who the biggest loser is next week. Troy has lost 30lbs and I am down 22lbs (thanks to Isagenix..LOVE it!) ...and I think the competition is still pretty steep..I think we will be delivering some yummy homemade goodies to our fellow competitors this week! After all of this hard work, Brookie asked me to get off the swing on our swing set this week because she was afraid I would brake it. That was awesome.
Last week we booked our cruise for our big 10 year anni this fall, so I'm hoping that will carry us through the summer! We'll post our before and after pics we get professionally done in our bikini/speedo and spray tan soon! Actually, no need to wait for Troy's after pic, just check out Jacob in New Moon:)
Anyways, here's the new group pics, gotta love Texas Bluebonnets!

Baby Jaxon turned One!!!

2010-02-21T19:07:00.000-08:00

My baby turned one!! I can't believe it..this is by far the fastest year of my life, much like a blur. But, I'm happy to say he is still a baby, even if only for a minute. I had to correct the Dr as she referred to him as a toddler last week.

We celebrated his birthday with Kennedy his "twin cousin". We had a monkey themed party, it was so cute! We made monkey invites, took their one year pics with monkey shirts, decorated with mod monkey decor, banannas, and stuffed monkies, and ate bananna splits and bananna cookies for dessert. I know it was a bit much, but I needed a party to be creative and use my right brain a little.

Jaxon loved the cake and at one point had three spoons going, while Kennedy cried and wouldn't touch hers. Besides our friends and family joining us to celebrate, the best part was Troy coming out in a bananna suit!! Yup, he did, and it was hilariuos!!! What a good sport, did I pick a good one or what?

After the party, Brookie split her head open and told the nurse at the ER that her Daddy wacked her in the head, awesome. In my disbelief, I had to remind her to tell the nurse that he wacked her with a BALLOON and then she turned around right into the chair. Then I looked like I was promting her story. That was great. Needless to say, what a fun and tiring night. And Troy, I'm sure Jaxon appreciated the gesture as much as I did and all of my friends will be jealous their hubbies don't look as hot as you in a bananna suit!!

Better late than never!!

2010-01-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I promised I'd post their Halloween costumes for Grandma...never mind it's almost February! Anyways, it was really cute...Jaxon received the nick name "Jack Jack" at a very young age, so we thought that would be the perfect costume for him. Since they have had themed costumes for 8 years (I know I'm crazy), everybody got to be a superhero based off of what they love to do. Except Gracie, she was just herself, "the Gracynator". If you'll look close, her shirt says, "These toys...are mine!!" and then the toys are glued to her pants. She is also sporting the bloody nose, lip and cheek. If you know Gracie, you'll know why this was so funny!
Jaxon cried in his costume, but I think that's mostly because he was mad I made him wear tights!
FYI, Brookie struck the pose in her individual picture all on her own, with no prompting by me...a small cause for concern of her parents. We have no comment at this time.

My baby boy turns one next month...I promise to send recent pics then!

New family Pictures...finally one with Jaxon in it

2009-12-15T20:10:00.001-08:00

So I have a dear friend, Sarah Wehkamp, who is starting a photography business, and needed to build up her portfolio...what a better chance for her to see if this is what she really wants to do then to shoot my five kids at once??? She did a fabulous job! Here's the latest family pics!

Check out her blog, http://www.thewehkamps.com/!!

And here's some pics of the kids from a photography Expo in Dallas...it was really fun and the girls loved the attention. Not so much Jaxon, he just wanted to eat the rocks!

So much has happened in the last few months, I'll spend some time on vacation writing it all down!

My baby got Baptised!!!

2009-12-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

It sems all too weird that Troy and I have a child old enough to be baptised, but yes, Addie turned 8 at the end of October and was baptised! What a special day it was for our family and we are so pround of her and her decisions. She looked so beautiful in her little white dress....

We had lots of family and friends with us to share in her special day and everything was perfect!

Troy and I put together this little video for her with Mommy's favorite song.

We love you so much Addie!! We know it's hard work being the oldest and "raising parents", but you do a great job. Thank you for who you are and the great exaple you have set for your siblings. Love, Mom and Dad

M.I.A... Update!

2009-10-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ahhh! So I was checking out my sister-in-law's blog...she is so crafty and talented!! and noticed that my blog hasn't been updated for four months! I really hate that. This number five has really slowed me down and I've noticed I've had to drop a few balls just to keep my mommy ones up...(ok, maybe a lot of balls)!
Anyways, I turned 30 and have to say I actually feel older with this birthday. (or it could be that I've only been to the gym a handful of times since Jaxon was born). I still pull the "I just had a baby" card even though it's been 8 months.

The girls are doing great in school. Addie has her old kindergarten teacher and we put the twins in the Dual language program. It's been so good for them, they are said to be fluent in Spanish by 5th grade. Troy and I really enjoy all the words Brookie "span-ifies". She just adds a little twang to any word, i.e, car-o for car. It's really funny. Gracie continues to do whatever the big girls are doing and anything naughty they are not doing. She's so great- I just love her (and the 500 outfits she wears a day). She thinks she owns the place (and the neighbor's places, and my sister's house, and the gym...substitute any place she's ever been) She LOVES Jaxon and wants to hold him all the time. He's very patient with her and I am not. (Hence one of the balls that got dropped with #5! But I'm working on it...in fact, now the kids are back in school, I have even stopped using my "summertime" voice).
Jaxon is everywhere! He loves to stand up, so he pretty much crawls just to find a place to stand. He has the cutest little smile and has discovered his Dad! Now I see how little boys start out thinking their Dad's are superhero's. (Jaxon's dad really is a superhero!) He studies everything he does when he is in the room, and watches his every move- it's pretty cute. Troy's got a big job, but Jaxon couldn't have a better role model!
Ok, so like I said, I turned 30. Troy did a really great job celebrating my big 3-0. He got with my friends and family and planned a surprise Girl's Night Out Party. It was really fun and so great to visit with all of my friends (I have really great friends)... but we'll leave all the details of the night off the world wide web, right ladies? My mom made all of my favorite foods, and Sara got my favorite cake, I was in heaven!
After the party he informed me I was getting a really great birthday present. So, I began thinking, what would be a really great birthday present??? Hmmm...the new rug for the living room I want, a weekend away, new bedroom furniture, a visit from my best friend from college I haven't seen for 2 years!! Well, sure enough, he pulled it off and surprised me with Dacy!! I was totally surprised!! She and Zia got to come visit me, it was the best birthday ever! We had a great weekend and Troy won husband of the year again!!
In closing to my novel about my 4 month hiatus, Stacey tagged me on her blog and I'm supposed to write ten honest things about myself...so here it goes..

I still look pregnant.
I make my bed every day.
I love mexican food, I think I might be part Mexican.
I love the smell of my babies' breath and smell it every time they yawn.
I love to snuggle with my kids.
Sometimes I feel guilty that my husband does so much for me.
I like bath and shower water scalding hot.
I still get butterflies in my toes when I kiss my husband.
I find no pleasure in actually making a craft or sewing, only in the finished project.
I have never read a fiction book for fun or entertainment (weird huh?)

Anyways, here's Jaxon's six month picture and a few random ones from the last four months!
More pictures to come...someday!

Chubby baby!

2009-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, life is so crazy right now and I know I’m a bad friend, Aunt, daughter and sister-in-law, Mom, etc. for not sending pictures of Jaxon! As most of you know, I love me some chubby baby legs, and he's by far my chubbiest one-who really looks like his Daddy when he smiles! So, here’s a glimpse. The studio pictures are a month ago, but the ones at the top are new. I promise to update next week when school gets out- I have a great new video of Gracie...so here goes a tale of our days via quotes!

“Look mom, I can pee in my eye ball and up my nose while you wipe my bum!” ~Jaxon
And you thought you had a talented kid...

“Mom! I peed on your floor, come see!” ~Gracie
Awesome. I'd love to.

“Dear mom, will you practice being nice? Its not fun being bossed around. cercol yes or no. Love, Addison”
I'll circle your yes or no.

“Mom, the tooth fairy didn’t come get my tooth last night…” ~Addison.
Crap.

“Mom, I just need to go to my room and chillax.” ~Addison
What???

“I didn’t steal the crayons from the art teacher, I was just taking them.” –anonymous
Awesome. Good thing those FHE lessons are paying off.

“Oh look honey…he fell asleep with his hand on his pacie. No, wait…there’s no pacie, it’s his thumb!”
Crap. It's so cute when they're babies, not so much when they turn 6.

“Mmmoooommmm (that’s in that really winey tattle voice), Gracie took my…. (substitute anything the girls have…candy, shoes, lipstick, gum, pen, book, chips, jewelery) and she ran away.I tried to catch her but I can't!”
I know that feeling. Just accept it, she's faster than me too. You've got to take out her legs.

“Oh, yes, I do think it’s cool that the dentist has whoopee cushions to take home and you all three got one! Thanks Dentist”
I secretly still think it's funny on occasion.

“Look, all I have to do is take Bailey’s toy and push Easton and they start crying!” ~Gracie
Awesome.Let's invite some more friends over.

“No, honey, it’s Jaxon that wants to watch all 800 NBA play-off games, not me- I’m just sitting here with him because he really likes it.” ~???
I love it that all the teams Troy follows go to 7 every round. That's like basketball every night! I hope it never ends.

"Wow, five kids...don't you know how that happens?" ~Perfect
stranger
ummm..did you seriuosly just ask me about you-know-what? I have so many answers going in my head that would make you feel really uncomfortable, but I would just rather sit giving you the awkward stare. "No, my mom didn't let me watch that video in highschool."

2009-04-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Our little man is 8 weeks old today! This newborn thing goes by way to fast for me- especially since the rest of my life doesn’t stop! He is sure one loved little boy! (although in the middle of the night my subconscious mind kicks in and I still refer to him as a girl… I’m working on that! )
Here’s some pictures of our last five weeks and the run down… I know it’s a lot, but maybe if I didn’t wait two months to update it, it wouldn’t take so long!
-Jaxon’s two-week-old pictures we took for announcements
-Grandma and Grandpa Taylor came down for Spring Break and Aunt Soni and Ethan (LOVE him) even got to come for a couple of days.
-We were able to bless Jaxon while everyone was here, it was great- blessing days are my favorite mommy days!
-Chelsea’s baby Kennedy is here and adorable- she is only 6 days younger than Jaxon so I call the twin cousins. It’s so cute to see them doing the same thing.
-Sara also had her baby last week, and so he gets another precious girl cousin to play with. I’ll have to say they are the cutest little babies (not that I’m biased).

Nope, I’m not worried at all about Jaxon being surrounded by so many girls…especially when Daddy came in the other day whistling the theme song from The Little Mermaid!!!

The twins turned 6 last week…that’s crazy to me. For their birthday, they wanted to invite their kindergarten teachers over for dinner and go to Libby Lu to get makeovers- they say they’re sure they didn’t want a big party...I didn’t push that one.
It didn’t go as planned as Jaxon and I had to go to California for my grandpa’s funeral- but I’ll get their birthday blog up soon!

2009-03-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

Our Baby boy turned one week old on Thursday- so here’s some pics of our first week with blue in the house! I’ll have to say, I love the boy thing- he is so sweet! Well, I don’t love all of the boy stuff…the circumcision really threw me for a loop- that part is awful- but other than that, things are great. He’s eating really well and way more than all the girls. He weighed in at 9lbs and 14oz at one week! He gained almost a half a pound from his birth weight. Other than missing all the cute newborn outfits I have, I love my chubby baby! This week was eventful for him, he had to get his biliruben checked three times (so sad), and then the “boy” issue and a couple checks- but everything is normal now. This past week has been so great as Troy had the week off, and handled everything around the house, so all I had to do was hold my baby. With this being the last of the Taylor babies, this has been the best gift I’ve ever received- I haven’t missed a second. I honestly have the best husband in the world, I hope Jaxon is just like him!! The girls LOVE him and want to hold him every second. Gracie is actually doing really great with him- she is so soft and sweet with Jaxon, then she’ll turn around and put the smack down with the rest of us. She is especially naughty when I feed him, because she knows it will take me a few to catch her.
Ok, so every picture I take makes him look really huge...he is big and has chubby cheeks, but doesn’t look quite this big in real life!

Baby Jaxon is here!!!

2009-02-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

He’s here!!! What a difference a day makes…Wednesday we spent the day getting ready for the induction, and Thursday we went from 4 to 5 kids- just like that! I know I’ve done this a few times, but the miracle is just as great on the fifth one. That whole little living being was inside of me two days ago- crazy! Our precious little guy came at 9:04am- just two hours after the Doctor broke my water. I started hurting about 7:30 and only had to endure an hour and a half…way better than the last delivery! Other than not having an epidural, I couldn’t have asked for a better delivery. Troy was a champ (as always) and my mom and sisters were there, as well as two awesome doulas (the hospital staff let us bend the rules on the number in the room) . Everything went great, and as you can imagine when I was looking at his cute little face my first question was “Is it a boy?” Sure enough- still a boy and a very big boy- he was 9 lbs and 8 oz and 21.5 inches long. After hearing his weight, I felt very validated that I couldn’t walk for those last few weeks! He’s the sweetest little cuddly baby and the girls are so thrilled to have a brother! Here’s some pictures of the big day, and hopefully, I’ll get around to updating things again soon!

Jaxon Troy Taylor

A "boy" room!!

2009-02-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

We finally got the upstairs done…it’s so weird to have a “boy” room up there! We’re about 9 days away from the due date, and two weeks from induction, so this is my last chance to get the pictures up! I could just post the pics, but I’ll explain them in too!

Thanks to my sister-in-law and all her vinyl, we finished the playroom (well, all the rooms)! I love decorating, not that I’m great at it, but I really LOVE doing things myself and creating the rooms as inexpensively as possible (since the decorating budget is limited :D) Sometimes I pretend I’m on Trading Spaces- except my carpenter is way hotter than Ty Pennington!!! Decorating has become the only activity my right brain gets these days. Anyways, I found this Amy Butler fabric a long time ago and loved it, so that became the inspiration for the room. I picked my very talented friend’s brain last year on furniture placement, and she gave me some of the ideas…thanks Leslie!! We hit Ikea to get all the accessories- which happened to be the perfect color scheme! Troy and his Dad built the art desk and metal display board, hung the lights, and hung the swing on their last visit...so it’s officially done! If you can’t see from the picture, the quote above the board says, “It took me four years to paint like Rafael, and a lifetime to paint like a child. –Picasso”. The girls love the room!!

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So, we debated on the baby’s room for a while. I love all of the trendy boy stuff, but then became really sensitive to the fact he’s going to have to grow up in the pink dress-up world with 4 sisters…so, I wanted it to be all boy- I even looked into camo, guns, and dead animals for the walls! After slaving on the big girl’s nurseries and turning around in two years to re-decorate a big girl room- I decided this one would start as a big kid room with a crib, and in a few years, I’d just have to take down the crib and add a train table. We ended up with “vintage” sports (since that’s all his Daddy is really into)… “vintage” just meant I didn’t like the primary colored “sports” look- so we made do with the darker colors (the flash makes the walls look different in every picture- but it's really the more navy color). I called Troy’s old lacrosse coach from BYU (actually his wife Megan…. thanks again Megan!!) and got his jersey from the National Championship in 2000. My girlfriend made the matching baby jersey and our good friends gave us the old lockers they were getting rid of. They were taken out of a high school years ago… we painted them and added all of the boy cousin’s names to the front- it turned out cute. Then, I got this idea for Troy to make a goal over the twin bed in the room, but I wasn’t sold it would look good- and didn’t want to waste the money if I didn’t like it, so we found the goal at academy we could return (exactly like what I had in my head) and ended up really liking it. I found some awesome vintage sports pics online at a really expensive baby boutique- I was trying to budget for them when my friend called and found these pics at a tent sale for 10$ each. (way better then 110$) My hot carpenter popped off the stars on top, painted them brown, and Cara made the vinyl words- and the other lettering on the walls. Then, we took some vintage golf clubs Troy had and hung the curtains and topped them with a handmade baby gift with his name on it my friend made us. We just need to add his pictures when he comes!

Now, my next project is the upstairs bath, I think it’s only fair we bail with the big chenille flowers and lady bugs and go with something more masculine- but Troy reminded me he won’t even use it for a couple of years. Any body got any suggestions for a neutral bathroom?

Ok, there it is, thanks again to all involved in the group effort…especially to Troy, after two long months of late night projects, he can finally get some rest! Well… maybe only for 9 more days!

Oh, and here's a pic of the Eifel tower Trent and Cara made for the twins room too- it turned out perfect!

January Update...

2009-01-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

We just had our first little boy shower!! My sisters threw a party at my mom's and here's a few pics from that..the camera didn't exactly make it around that night, so I didn't have too many! It was really fun, and I love my friend's who came in all the way from Houston (AmySue and Brie)! I am especially proud of the pic of Sara, Brie and I because for the first time in 8 years, I am not the only one pregnant in the picture- we all are!! It was so weird to open blue stuff and boy clothes, but really fun! (Since my brothers are worried, I promise my hair won't get any shorter)!! We're getting ready for our little guy, and I'll post one more time before he comes, since I promised to put pics up of the room!

Here's a few pics to update the last couple of months...I wish I was better at this, but since I wait so long in between the task gets bigger and bigger! Maybe when the baby comes, I'll keep up on it (yeah right).

Gracie turned two!! She’s fabulous. I know, her personality is challenging, but she’s really funny! So, this year, I had this bright idea of a “traveling party”. Instead of a crazy, chaotic party at my house where Gracie doesn’t get to see anyone, we would take our kiddos and a mini party to our families individual houses. This way, she could spend a few minutes with all of her favorite people. I baked a ton of cupcakes (my kids had to have mini sized since they would have 6) and hats and balloons, and off we went. I was very surprised how well the scheduling worked out with 6 stops and my busy family. So at 8:30 we started @ Grandma Connie’s (her great-grandma’s) retirement community. (Those people really love kids, it’s always a treat to go there and be reminded of how blessed we are and how quickly our kids will grow up). Anyways, we had a cupcake, sang Happy Birthday, and opened a present at each home. Then to Mama and Papa’s, to Aunt Shellee’s, to Aunt Wendy’s, to Aunt Chelsea’s, grabbed lunch, and ended at Aunt Sara’s. (Aunt Stacey just had a baby, so we thought it would be best to leave them off the schedule!) My little idea really wore us out completely and we didn’t get home until 2pm exhausted and full of cupcakes. But Gracie loved it and it was nice to spend a few minutes with everyone. So, here’s some of that fun!

Addie’s run in with the sidewalk. So, she comes inside - not crying - just to tell me something was really wrong. Then she moved her hand, and I almost threw up. You can’t really get the full impact from these pictures, but it was awful- Massive Headwound Harry. She was out on her bike jumping the ramp with the boys and fell over. Troy was kind of proud that she was taking the jumps- and wanted me to know she did it 5 times before she fell off.
After the drama wore off, she wanted to go do it again. And no, she wasn’t wearing a helmet…nice I know.

Copie and Brookie were inducted into the Hall of Fame at school. Their teachers decided they deserved their own day, so they did them a week apart. Thanks to Mama and Papa for the early morning trips- they were so excited! They are loving school and have done really well in their own classes, I’m really glad we made the decision to separate them. So here’s Copie’s quote from the week…Brookie was throwing a fit the other day, and a really good one-crying, screaming, the whole nine yards. After I sent her to her room, Copie looked at me with a serious, concerned voice said, “Mom, I think I know what’s wrong with Brookie.” “Oh, really, what is it?” I said. “I think she’s special needs.”

Christmas was great- the girls were very spoiled by all of their grandparents! We stayed around here and were able to get lots of things done around the house, well, Troy was able to get lots of things done around the house :0). He sure loves me! Or he’s unwilling to pay anyone else to do anything he can do. Love that guy! Troy’s parents came down at the beginning of the month and he and his Dad yet again tackled some great projects. They made an art desk in the playroom, a big metal display board, and I even convinced my father-in-law it was a good idea to hang a swing from Ikea to the rafters of our playroom. (Still don’t think he thinks it’s a great idea, but he did a great job anyway)! Thanks mom and Dad for all your help- we love you!! I’ll post those pics when it’s done.
And the quote for this week…comes again from Copie, concerning the new Wii games they got for Christmas..
Copie: “Mom, Addie called me a name..”
Addie: “No I didn’t”
Copie: “Yes, you did. You called me ‘I win, you lose, now you got a big bruise’”

Fall Update...

2008-11-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well, this time of year is always busy for our family, so here it goes!! In October, Troy and I were able (thanks to the group effort of my family and neighbors) to take advantage of a Tax conference in Austin and take off for a few days. We celebrated our belated birthdays and anniversary…eight years...boy am I glad the years are beginning to catch up with kids—barely! We had a wonderful stay at our favorite B&B in Fredricksburg-http://www.chuckwagoninn.com/, we stayed in The Bollinger Cabin (I highly recommend it in case you ever need a get-away!!) And then to Austin for a few days. I got to spend a whole day relaxing in hotel room by myself- it was wonderful! Then back to real life of crazy schedules…Addie turned 7 years old October 23rd! I know, she’s so big- how did I get a seven year old?

She opted not to have a birthday bash and instead wanted to take her cousins to see High School Musical 3. I jumped on the idea to skip all the planning and took 18 people to see the movie. It was a cute little (FULL length) musical, but I must admit I was a bit shocked at how the cast had “matured” in the last few years. They were so innocent in the beginning, and dressed a bit too sexy this time around!

So during the movie, Addie pulled out her front tooth, and of course had to show it to all of us. I don’t know what it is about the mouth, but the hanging threads of a tooth really gross me out.

Anyways, then there’s Halloween and the debate of what are the girls going to be…I’ve enjoyed the years of the “themed” costumes, but that has come to an end (due to my lack of creativity). So, this year I talked them out of the cheerleader thing, because we could use that one next year and easily add the boy to the mix. And they talked me out of the three blind mice thing with Gracie being a piece of cheese, and we settled on pink fairies. Not too exciting I know, but we thought we’d do one more big she-bang of all pink…pink clothes, pink tights, pink tutu’s, pink hair spray, pink wings…before we throw in the blue!

They were very cute and had a blast. Someone please take all the candy out of my house. I’ve hid it high from the girls, but how do you hide it from my prego rear end? It’s time to just throw it away! Anyways, now we move onto to Gracie turning two, the Holidays and all the work we have to do before Feb. Anybody got any cute ideas for the baby’s room? We are debating making the trip up to visit Troy’s family in Utah for Christmas, but we’ll see- I’m sure that trip would make for one very entertaining blog!!

Looking for a "Tummy Mommy"!

2008-11-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

As most of you have seen, most of my blogs have been on the lighter side of life- a means to add some humor to my life (see video on the Grace-Face post). But this one is different, I wanted to post about my sister and brother-in-law. As many of you know, Chelsea and Clint were chosen by a birth mother in June to adopt a baby girl. Long story short, the birth mother changed her mind, and went home with the baby. We were all at the birth per the request of the birth mom, and after holding and loving her for a week, Chelsea and Clint had to move on. I know many of you, if not everyone of you, have been touched by this pain in someway, so you can understand my efforts to help in any way possible!

I should take a minute and just say how wonderful Chelsea and Clint are- but for those of you who know them, there isn’t much that needs to be said. They are truly the salt of the earth and the two of them have the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen, and are always an example to me! How blessed I am and my children are to have them in their lives…

Feel free to comment on my blog (or theirs) and I’ll get it to them and of course you can email either of us if you need! Here's the direct link to their profile through their adoption agency...their full story is in the links in the blue line above the picture

http://www.providentliving.org/ses/birthmother/viewsingleprofile/0,12272,2133-1-10165-1-1,00.html

And here’s their blog link they recently set up for “tummy mommies” as they call them, and hopefully their story will stay in your hearts to pass on if ever needed.

http://www.clintandchelsea.blogspot.com/

"Grace- Face"

2008-10-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

“GRACE-FACE”

Wow, I fell off the blog bandwagon, but lot's of things are going on around here, so I'll get updated! Tonight was a great night.... I had the missionaries and my neighbor over for dinner and I wanted all 9 of us to sit around the table, so we were all pretty close. I just got everyone served and as I pulled my chair up, Gracie puked all over her plate, the table, herself and me...it was awesome- I was waiting for one of the missionaries to puke on me too- oh well, all that matters is we tried, right? So, on that note, I thought I'd dedicate this post to Gracie! I had some great pictures of her, but I also wanted to highlight her in a “Top Ten” manner when I post these great pics so you can get to know her little personality. She is her own little person, full of...let's say "spark". I love the cereal on the head, and being totally naked when I got her up from a nap...nope, the other three never did this! She is really cute and I secretly like it when she’s not feeling well, because she will actually sit and let me snuggle with her- other than that, she is always on the go! Anyways, her best friend is her Aunt Chelsea and she loves her sisters too! She’s not around me much when they are home, but don’t worry, when they are at school, she needs my constant attention. When I leave the room, I give her about 5 seconds until “Mommy, where are you???” and it’s constant talking. She cracks me up and she has renewed that sense of “first time mom”, as she throws stuff at me I haven’t seen my others do!! So, here it its…the Gracie top 10!

10. Transition child-- She is preparing the way for a boy…like, by standing on the kitchen table and as I walk to get her, she begins jumping and then says “Look, I’m jumping.” I’m not stupid. I realize I have somewhat let her get away with way more and have some ownership, but she really was born with an extra spark in her spirit. I’m hoping I can crack down on some of the issues, but I am grateful the children who are sent to the world at this time are strong - they will need it!!

9. The bathroom--we have to be really careful to keep the bathroom door shut, because she pulls the toilet paper off as fast as she can and goes running through the house. My favorite was the other day. She came out with a huge wad of toilet paper- wiping her nose and said, “My honk is running!”

8. Let’s see how mommy handles this one in public???-- She is my Humbler…So, we’re at gymnastics the other day and I said it’s time to go, so she hit me on the shoulder and then kept hitting me several times in the waiting room at gymnastics with all the other moms...seriously, I know what they were thinking… “I would never let my kid do that”—well, she already did, and it took me 4 kids to get one that hit me! She’s got all kinds of tricks to pull out for the first time, but only when there are other people watching her!

7. Is she your first?-- I love this question when we are out in public. No, she’s not my first, she’s my fourth, I know exactly what I’m doing …it’s called surviving the first trimester. The last few months I’ve been too sick and puky to take her on, and she screams the loudest- so, if we’re in the car and she’s screaming, she’s going to get what she wants. In fact, if she’s screaming anywhere, her sisters give her what she wants. I’ve made my bed, I’ll have to lay in it, but sometimes you just have to do what works until you can stop vomiting and handle the situation like a grown up! And yes, honey, when you’re in the check out line after a big trip to the grocery store, and she’s on her last leg, cell phones are a toy!! I’m totally understanding why the “youngest child” gets such a bad rap!

6. Tantrums--- My favorite tantrum is the sad boo boo lip, the dramatic “Oh No”…then slow motion fall to the knees, then down to her face- all in a dramatic slow motion way. It’s still funny to me, not so much when they are five, but the under two still cracks me up. Seriously, who taught her that? It’s as if they all come down with the inherent gene to throw themselves on the floor. I assure you, Troy and I have never shown this to her.

5. Can’t catch me---How about the running from me?? No, I’ve never been a fast athlete,
(as some of you I played with over the years know I was generally there to provide comic relief, not trophies), but I’m really not fast 5 months pregnant. I can appreciate that my girls all seemed to get their Dad’s athleticism and speed- except when it makes me look stupid. There is no question she is faster than me, and let me tell you how awesome I look chasing her down in the middle of the field during the twins soccer game. And right when I think I’m going to catch her, I go for the grab, and she seriously jukes me and spin moves the other way…of coarse everyone is laughing, not to mention I’m running in public!! And Gracie thinks it’s a hilarious game and yells “Funny mommy?” So, I’ve decided, I don’t care if Daddy’s is on the field coaching, he’s catching the one year old who is faster than me the next time she gets her big break.

4. Crazy vocabulary and Repeating—So, I dropped my cottage cheese on the floor loading the groceries into the car at Wal-Mart and said “ oh crap”. So, she immediately threw her sippie cup and said “oh crap, I dropped it.”
It’s kind of weird to hear vocabulary, she’s just a tiny little thing, but she can fully communicate very clearly what she wants to say, it’s kind of frightening.

3.Most embarrassing moment-- Let me paint the picture for ya…It’s the week before school started I took Gracie to Wal-Mart to get stuff for the girls lunches. The “lunch” isle was packed with other parents doing the same thing, and as my hands are occupied slowly pushing my cart and my eyes looking on the shelves, and she does the double squeeze on the “you know what’s” and cracks up. I assure you again, she has never seen this done before, and I’m pretty sure she hasn’t seen Sixteen Candles (Tune in Tokyo). See, this is what I mean when I say she throws me curve balls I’ve never seen before. What do you do in this situation?? Seriously??? I tried not to make a big deal and just calmly say “No Gracie”, but I was quite embarrassed and yes, several people saw it!

2.Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde---She’ll scowl her eyebrows and shout me some orders like, “No, mommy, no like that...no want that!!! (Then she’ll throw it) Then she’ll turn her head like a puppy and in a sweet high tone, say, “K?” We’re proud that we’re noticing principles of self- correction at such a young age! Self-correction…multiple personalities, whatever…

1. Dad calls her King Kong--She got this name several months ago as we watch her play with toys. So, I wanted to catch her tantrum on video (because it’s still funny to me because she's so little), so I pulled out the camera when she was cranky to see what I could get. She didn’t throw the tantrum, but she shows us the “King Kong” element…you can see why she was coined the name! If you can't hear her talking, you'll have to pause the music (all the way at the bottom) so you can hear what she says... but check out Copie's eyes and the very end, it's classic!

It's a.....

2008-08-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

BOY!!!!! WHAT????? Yes, my little baby girl has a peep. I found out yesterday and was shocked…still in shock right now. I can’t tell you all the things that are running through my head, mostly “What am I going to do?” and “Where’s Lexie?” I’m sure many of you have had similar feelings of confusion when you thought you were having one sex and it wasn’t…But after four times seeing the “three lines”, this is just WAY weird for me. I don’t make that stuff…
So I know everyone wants to know what Troy said! Well, I went in for a check-up and the Dr just wanted to make sure my cervix was right, so she sent me to the sonographer who happened to have a spare minute to fit me in. Of course I mentioned to her that I have four girls, as to spark her curiosity, and sure enough she wanted to take a look. Right away, she told me it was a boy and my response was “What? Are you sure??”…So she kept looking, and looking and for ten minutes the little guy flashed the goods every which way. I asked, “are you sure?” about 15 times, and left with three different pics of the unit and her definite response, “I’m positive!” Then she said, “Look, he’s playing with it, it’s for sure a boy!!!” Classic.
I wasn’t prepared for the sono, so I didn’t have anything up my sleeve to tell Troy. So I hit the Children’s Place who has tons of “22” stuff. (That was Troy’s lacrosse # his whole life and for many years have thought of how fun it would be to buy that stuff for him). So, I found a bunch of shirts and hats. My favorite buy is the 22 and 36 shirts. One of my roomates and dear friends married Troy's roomate and good friend (most of you know the tape recorder story), and they were lacrosse players together. For the last couple of years we have sent them all the 36 stuff for their boy, and then I saw these hanging together and thought it was too cute! They are having a another boy a couple of months before us, so we'll have to get pictures of them together in the shirts. Back to Troy...I then called him with a little fib that I wasn’t feeling well, so maybe he could come home early. I really wasn’t feeling well, but not bad enough to not take care of myself…I was just too anxious. Anyways, he came home way early and was there before I got home- he foiled my plans. I snuck in and laid the clothes out and threw the hats on the big girls. I videotaped it, but I (and my big ole backside) stood in front of the camera (duh), so if I figure out how to get just the audio up here, I’ll post it. I refuse to put a video of my rear up here! Anyways, he didn’t really believe me, and neither did his mom, or my sisters. Everyone says, “Nuh uh, no way”! I know, I feel the same way. Except the girls, they jumped and cheered that they are finally getting a brother. So that night, I was meeting my family at my nieces play, so I had the big girls wear the hats and say “My mommy went to the doctor today and told us to wear these hats.” They figured it out quickly and I think we are all still in shock! I keep asking Troy if he’s excited and he says, “Yes, just as excited as if it was a healthy baby girl.” I’m sure he’s secretly really excited, but he really would have been happy with either! I guess we’ll spend some time getting used to the idea, and trying to figure out how to produce a masculine boy in a pink princess world...ohhhh, I just thought of a new reality show- move over "John and Kate Plue 8"! I’ll have to leave most of that boy stuff to Dad, and I’ll do my best to use blue polish on his nails instead of pink! AHHHHHH!!!!!

Who's the kindergartener here???

2008-08-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it…first day of school and all-day kindergarten. I left all three of my babies and I have to admit, it sucked.
The morning started off in a flurry- we had set out their clothes last week for the first day, but that preparation didn’t matter- Addie’s pants weren’t comfortable and her shoes were too big (which they were) and Brookie couldn’t find her shirt, so this sent us in another direction. Addie changed into comfortable worn out capris and old tattered shoes (nice), and Brookie misplaced her shirt and her entire pile of new clothes is lost somewhere in the house, yes the entire pile. Last week we crossed another milestone, I asked them if they wanted to match on the first day and they gave me a resounding, prompt “NO”. What??? You are twins and so cute when you match, but I did always say that they could choose to match or not when they are older, so I had to let it go! Until Brookie couldn’t find the shirt she wanted to wear and had to go with the second favorite that matched Copie, point for mom!
Anyways, we got to school and I was ok dropping Addie off, and then ok walking into Copie’s class, but got stuck at the cute teacher’s note on her table. The teacher is cute, the note was not…seriously, let me just read the first part to you “Here is a little “gift” for you as you leave your precious one with me on the first day of school. As you hold this cotton ball in your hand, the softness will help you remember the gentle spirit of your child…. .” So sad! So, of course, here come the tears. Seriously, who’s the kindergartener here, Copie or me??? I know you’re not supposed to cry in the room, you be strong for the child and lose it in the parking lot. I was trying, but the note killed me, and I’m a little extra hormonal! I’m sure Troy was embarrassed for me. Anyways, she was great and so excited to be at school and we left her happily organizing her school box. So, off to the next room for Brookie. This was the first time in their whole lives they have been separated, and I know that sounds stupid, but it made me sad watching her walk into her room alone with just her backpack (that’s bigger than her). They’ve always had each other to go to new places- a perk of being a twin- and that always comforted me, except today. Although she was quiet and couldn’t eat breakfast, Brookie said it was ok for me to go so she could color her picture (with the pencil, not the crayons??) I think she was being really brave and that just tore my heart out- I have never seen that look on her face.
I left feeling sad, (and a little stupid walking back down the hall with all the “normal”, not-pregnant parents staring at me while Troy rubbed my shoulder wondering what was wrong with his wife) but proud of my cute little babies and their eagerness to be there. And it helps that their teachers are adorable and I know they will be loved and safe.
Just the actual dropping off sucked…the rest of the day was great! What did I do? I took the day off …went to breakfast with friends, ran some errands, came home and took a nap. I felt I deserved it; all the gestating and tears wore me out, not to mention all the scary thoughts of someday dropping them off at middle school creeping in my head…it’s just around the corner you know! Oh yea, I put Gracie in time out today for spitting apple juice all over the floor for the second time, and on my way back down the stairs I asked Addie what she wanted to wear tomorrow to school. She quickly said, “Ummm, maybe a shirt that says 'My mommy’s mean to my little sister'!” Thanks Ad! Here’s some pics from the eventful day and block party the night before!

New Pics of Girls!

2008-08-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

We took some new pics of the girls last weekend. It's always an event, but this one was really bad because I couldn't find one of the four skirts I wanted them to wear, so Gracie doesn't match and it drives me crazy! It's not bad in black and white though! Oh well, we need new ones in a few months. This is the twins 5 yr (they turned 5 in April) and Gracie's 18 month (she's a few months off of that too), but at least they're getting some taken.
Oh our little Gracie, she's mastered the art of the closed fist punch, and she really likes to save this for close proximity. So don't get in her face- I guess she's seen too much Wipe Out. This week has been eventful..Addie asked me if I hate her because I'm always so mean...that one made me feel good. I tried to explain that she only gets in trouble when she's naughty, hurts her sisters or talks back, but as much as I explained, it didn't make me feel any better. So, we made a deal, if she works on being a good listener, I'll work on talking nicely. Yea, I suck. Anyways, then the twins found that special drawer in my room that they have never seen. We'll just leave it at that, and you can use your imagination. Seriously, why am I the only adult home right now?? Days are never dull around here! I figure if I can't laugh at myself, I'll just be crying all the time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

2008-08-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the World's Best Daddy! Troy is turning 31 today, so we thought we'd do a little tribute to him! I wish I had more pictures of Daddy with his girls, but they are not on this computer! Anyways, he is spending the day golfing and Copie just called him to sing Happy Birthday. After a short conversation she hung up and said, "He had to go, he just hit a pup and scored a goal." I love that kid! I always wonder if Troy ever thought he’d be in love with 5 girls at the same time! He really adores his girls and he is by far all of their favorite! I think girls are made for Daddy’s and I have so loved watching him dress them up in their pink clothes and always remember the bow!
So, I asked the girls some questions about their Dad and here’s what we got…
How tall is Daddy? 40 feet
How much does Daddy weigh? 30 lbs
What is daddy favorite food? Steak, chicken pockets, apples, carrots, and Chocolate milk (he’s lactose intolerant, but that’s ok)
What does Daddy love most in the world? They all said “his girls” (no one mentioned me????)
What is Daddy’s favorite thing to do? Play with his girls, and go golfing
What is Daddy’s favorite thing to do with you? Eat ice cream, play tickle tackle, and practice soccer
Why do you love Daddy? “I love Daddy because he’s my best Dad”, “Because he loves pink”, “Because he play’s with me”

As you can see, they sure love their Daddy!
We hope you have a great Birthday Dad, and are so grateful for the man that you are and the father you are to our four beautiful girls. We are proud of all you do!
Love,All your Princesses

I'm a blogger!!!

2008-08-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

Troy reminded me it’s time to join the rest of the world and get a blog. I am clueless on how it all works, but I have really enjoyed the links I’ve received from you guys..so we’ll give it a try!
Well, I know this may seem like a repeat email, but were expecting another baby in February! I was discussing having another baby with a friend from Boot camp and she said “5 kids! Only Doctors, Lawyers and white trash have 5 kids!!” And as you know, Troy is not a Dr or a lawyer. I got a good laugh from it! We are really excited and the girls are so great about it. They talk to her all the time and the twins even enjoy pulling up my shirt while we’re in public to show everyone- we’re working on that! We’re fully planning on another princess to add to the group, although last week I had a dream it was a dark haired boy of Asian decent. I remember feeling really confused, but we sure loved him anyway!
Other than feeling yucky at night, things are great here and we’re beginning to get ready for school. It’s hard to believe that I am losing all three of them in three weeks…it will be a sad day for me. I’ll try to keep up on the blog and I’d love to see all that is going on with you guys!
Had I had a Blog over the last few months, they would read…

Brookie V. Copie
Psycho cat with an autoimmune disease that pees on my curtains
Diarrhea days
Why you’re too old to see Daddy naked (this one would be saved for family and people who have known us longer than 10 years)
Hey, I wonder if mom’s stamp pads work on pillows, sheets and carpet…
Nursery showdown
I’ll pee in my car seat if you do!
I can crash mommy’s computer in a blink of an eye
How naughty can the four of us be in the Pediatricians office...while the Dr is in the room?
I’m sure this upcoming year will only bring us more moments that make us proud!

Troy finally convinced me to cut my hair off!

2008-08-13T07:27:00.001-07:00

As you can tell, I am a new blogger and can’t wait to learn all of the cute stuff! Maybe I can even get the floating baby in a box- I know how interested everyone is in following my daily pregnancy!
Anyways, big news of this week is Troy finally convinced me to cut my hair off. I know I’ve had short hair forever, but this is the shortest! It’s ok; you can tell me if you don’t like it…my kids and neighbors do! I’m going for the trendy mom of 5 look…mom of 5-how weird is that?? Anyways, here it is…Troy says he loves it, but really, what else is he going to say… “I know it was my idea to cut it so short, but I hate it and it makes you look fat?”He’s way smarter than that!

"So...that's how the baby comes out..."

2008-08-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

So, I brought home the free magazines that go in the prenatal bag that you get at your first ob apt. I thought it would be fun to show the girls what the baby looks like as it is developing. So, today, I’m at my desk checking emails and Brookie is on my bed looking at the baby book...and I hear “Sooo…that’s how the baby comes out”…I turn around to see what she is talking about and sure enough…a two page freeze frame lay out of a baby actually coming out, fully UNcensored!!! I can’t even look at those pictures…I was hoping to stick to my explanation of “there’s a special place on mommies where the baby comes out” forever! I know the book says “from conception to birth” on the front, but what it really should say is “Not intended for children under 35”. I can’t wait for her to explain her findings to her primary class...or better yet, describe it to an unsuspecting fellow kindergartener (I’ll let ya know when I get a parent phone call)!