Announcing . . .

It's a BOY. Yes we're expecting and we found out today it will be a bouncing baby boy. I've held off blogging about our upcoming addition because I didn't want every post to be me complaining about being sick and tired. All the yucky stuff has worn off now and we can just be excited for his arrival. We've been asked several times if this was a planned thing and I answer with a resounding NO. It was a total surprise! Did you know you could get pregnant while nursing AND on birth control. Well you can, I guess blessings come when you least expect them. We knew we wanted one more, we just wanted it a few years down the road. Harmon and baby will be 17 months apart. I know so many people who are like "That's no big deal, my kids were 12 months apart." I admire those people, but right now I'm panicking just a bit! The idea of having 4 kids ages 5 and under is so overwhelming! I'm going to do my best to put on my happy face and say I look forward to the challenge, hopefully that will help. I really thought it would be a girl based on the way I've been feeling, but I'm excited for another boy! Haley was a little disappointed, she really wanted a sister, but I think she'll just be excited when he gets here! She's such a good sister!

Success

I'm so excited! I've been trying this grocery smarts program for a few weeks and I've had some success, but I was really excited last night when I went to Smiths. They had some good deals going and I was able to stock up on a few things. After the savings I got toothpaste for .25 cents, Spaghetti for .49 cents, and Salad Dressing for .50 cents. I also replenished my fruit supply grapes, apples, and bananas.

Here's the breakdown:

• Total before Savings: $150.93
• Coupons: $33.90
• Fresh Value Savings: $39.95
• Total Spent: $77.08 (thats a 49% savings)

What makes it even better is that I had 2 $30.00 Gift certificates that I've had for about 2 years. I don't shop at Smiths very often so I always forgot to use them. Anyway, I got all this for $17.08. I celbrated by taking the kids out for ice cream. Ahh sweet success!

Hunter-isms

I have to write down a few Hunterisms--he has been so hilarious lately and I have to blog about them or I'll forget what a clown he is.

• "Mom I'm Boring" Translation--"I'm bored"
• "My eye is broken, I need a new one at the store"--This also goes for any other scratch or owie he gets.
• "I cleaned my room"--Translation is "I shoved everything in my closet" But he is so excited about helping out.
• Hunter had me laughing hysterically when he was eating the last breadstick and Haley asked if she could have a bite. I asked him to please share--so he shoved the whole thing in his mouth chewed for a minute then pulled it out and offered it to Haley. What a truly brother thing to do! Haley even laughed at that one.
• "Mom count my fingers"--This means help him hold up 3 fingers to show how old he is. He can't seem to get the right ones up at the same time by himself.
• "I'm BIG"--His recent well check at the Dr. was an easy one, no shots or anything. So he now asks to go to the Dr. so the Dr. can tell him how big he is. It's a fun experience.

There are many more he always keeps us on our toes. I love hearing what he is going to come up with next!

Burn . . . .

Well I got my first sunburn of the year this weekend. I don't normally take joy in getting burnt, but it was a beautiful weekend. We spent a large part of Saturday at the baseball game. The kids did great and it was fun to watch! I am however investing in a little playpen to take to the games so Harmon can roll around. It was so hard holding him and getting catchers gear on kids, plus I haven't been able to take any pictures.

After games we had Olive Garden for lunch and went to a St Patricks Day carnival in downtown. It was very smoky and lots of beer, but the kids had fun looking around. They played a game or two and got a prize so they were happy. My problem was the prize was some blow up mallets that they hit each other with. They wouldn't bother me, but they squeak every time you hit them. They are driving me CRAZY!

We ended up at home watching a movie and having ice cream. A perfect end to a great day! Other happenings of the weekend included a birthday for my sister-in-law Jenny and my brother David. David got a great birthday present this morning. They had a beautiful baby boy. I am so excited for them--they were a couple days late and very ready for him to get here. CONGRATS guys and Happy Birthday David and Jenny!

Guilty Pleasures

I've decided I have a ton of really dumb things that I look forward to and that I'm totally addicted to.
1. Reality TV-- I love American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and the Biggest Loser. I was excited when The Bachelor finished so that Dancing with the Stars could start and there was Melissa from The Bachelor dancing.
2. Bedtime-- at least for my kids, because it means treat time for me. That's when I break out the ice cream and the good treats that are hidden and I don't have to share any of them.
3. Sleeping in--Thursday is my day! We don't normally have anywhere to go so I get to sleep in (at least until Harmon gets up at about 7:30)
4. Blogging--I look forward to reading everyone else's blogs! I'm not a Blog Stalker like I used to be, but I love checking in on friends.
5. Long Baths--It's my favorite way to relax at the end of the day, I don't do it as often as I like, but when I do it's Heaven!
I'm sure I have tons more, but I won't bore you with them. I love family time, but I love Me time to, and I realize that most of these things are purely selfish guilty pleasures.

Filled

Everything has been baseball, baseball, baseball lately that I feel like I need to focus on something else for a minute. Saturday after games we decided that we needed some family time to just be together and have fun. So after our Slurpee run we all crashed on the couch for a little R & R (I actually went to bed for a nice long nap--THANKS Michael) we then headed to Town Centre for some fun in their park area. It was so fun to just let kids run and watch them play. It's a neat little play area and the weather was perfect for outside play. The kids had fun and didn't want to leave. We noticed a Claimjumper next door so we headed there for dinner. We hadn't taken the kids out for a nice dinner in quite a while. It was so fun to take our time and visit with them and enjoy some good food. I enjoyed it the most because everyone sat in their seats and ate most of their food--no fighting or trying to get down to run around. After dinner we headed down the strip. Traffic wasn't to bad so we got to look at all the lights and even watched the Volcano go off at Mirage. We rarely go to the strip so the kids enjoyed looking around.
Sunday was a great day to. We had Stake Conference (it was the broadcast) and I admit I didn't want to go very bad--3 young kids and 2 hours of sitting isn't very fun. We went though and the kids are so good and sat most of the time. I came out on a spiritual high, it is such a great opportunity to hear the prophet speak. I came home ready to face life again, I got so much from his talk and hope to apply his teachings into my family. None of the information was new, but it was very important. Make your house a house of prayer, a house of order, a house of fasting, and most of all a place where the spirit dwells. I asked Haley what she learned from the prophet and she remembered that he said everyone should read the scriptures even small kids.
So as you can see this weekend left me full. I feel good and refreshed. I'm thankful for my beautiful family and every minute we get to spend together!

First Game

Go RED SOX!!! We had our first game yesterday. It was so fun to watch the kids and cheer them on. At the beginning of the first inning we were really nervous. We have 11 kids on the team and not 1 of them has played before. We played the Dodgers and had seen them practice the week before and man they were good, we just knew we were in trouble. We ended up doing GREAT! All the kids had some great hits and we even got some outs. We only had time to play 3 innings, and one of them we got all 3 outs. The kids were so excited! No, we don't keep score because everyone gets to hit, but we count it as a win because we got more outs than they did. Haley did so good. She got out once, her little legs don't run to fast, but she had some really good hits. She played 2nd base, pitcher, and in the outfield. She had some good plays and will only improve from here.

I thought I'd get to sit back and enjoy the game, but I ended up in the dugout directing kids and keeping everyone from climbing the fences. It's fun to be part of the team, but it's tough with Harmon and Hunter there. Luckily we have great friends there to help us out and watch kids. I am so thankful to them! Our next game is Thursday night and Michael and I are excited to see how everyone does in game #2. LETS GO RED SOX!!!!

Opening Night

Well T-Ball has started and we're going full force. Michael is coaching and Haley is loving every minute of it. We were lucky enough to get the Red Sox, so it's fun to have something to wear to the games. We've been practicing for a few weeks, but Friday was the official Opening Night. They had a ceremony where all the kids names were announced and they all walked onto the field. The kids had fun doing that part, but the rest was a little boring for them. It's hard to keep 5 year olds entertained for an hour while they just sit there. They also did a basket raffle and all the kids got one ticket on the basket of their choice. It is a fun idea, but the kids were very disappointed not to win anything. It would be nice if each team did a basket for another team and each team won something, but that's just my idea. It was a fun event though and with that many kids it went pretty smooth. We did have a little panic at the end when everyone was clearing off the field, one of the kids decided to go a different direction and nobody could find him. His poor Mom looked very concerned and all the coaches were running wild looking for him. We finally found him in the dugout where he was just looking around. His Mom was pretty upset with him, I guess he has a talent for wandering. It made us all nervous for a few minutes with so many people around. It was a cold night so I was glad to return to my warm house when it was over. Poor Michael is helping coach another team and he had a game after the opening ceremonies so he had to bear the cold for longer than we did. I left Harmon home with a babysitter and I was sooooo glad I did. He's got double ear infections and the cold just wouldn't have been good! We have a fun team and look forward to seeing them play an actual game.

This is the dreaded banner that I've been stressing over for the last couple weeks. I'm not known for being very creative and I'm glad it's done! It me forever to get done, just because I doubt myself so much and need someone sitting there encouraging me. Maybe next year's will be better.

The Big 5

Emmy, Haley, Sophia, and Kyla

So my baby girl turned 5 on Friday. I can't believe how quickly she has grown up! The celebration lasted all day long and she was more than happy to have all that attention. I woke her up for school with a box of Hannah Montana Cereal. She was all grins, it's funny that cereal can get her excited like that. She went to pre-school where she was the leader for the day then after school a few of her friends came over for a little party. She wanted a Hannah Montana party so that's what we did. We made guitars, bracelets, and rocked out to some fun tunes. We really wanted to go to Disneyland for the weekend instead of a party, but she was insistent on having her friends over. Her only request was to play Duck Duck Goose. We taught her Musical Chairs and I think that is her new favorite game, she also had a pinata which she enjoyed. After it broke I thought the kids would rush right in, but they took their time and slowly picked the treats they wanted.

We headed out to go bowling and to dinner after partying with friends. She chose Applebees for her birthday dinner and I'm afraid she's a lot like her Dad and hated being sang to. She sat there with a grumpy face the entire time. She was so embarrassed and said she didn't like that at all! Her friend Kyla got to spend the evening with her and she loved that, they don't get to play together very often. They are good friends for traveling across town for the party!

It was such a fun day that we just spent together as a family and loved every minute of it. We are so lucky to have her in our family! Haley is a joy to have around and a huge helper! I would be lost without her. She surprises me everyday with her special spirit and her kindness. I feel like I'm always learning from her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALEY! We LOVE You!