17 week belly shot

Kev's brother took a pic of The Belly tonight at 17 weeks. Jakey and Justin had to get in on it, and of course they looked as though someone was killing them, but they wanted to be in the pic and were laughing the whole time, apparently just not when the picture was snapped...LOL




Don't mind the no makeup, I just washed my face for the night. I'm planning an "official" for the baby book pic next week at 18 weeks, and I'll be dressed wearing makeup and all! LOL

Also, my pants aren't maternity, and my shirt is tight, so you can see the unbuttoned buttons on each side of me...LOL

I LOVE naps!

Today I had a presidency meeting here at 1:30, everyone was gone by 2:30, so I said to Justin, hey let's go lay down on Mommy's bed and nap for a little while. He was surprisingly happy to go take a nap (guess getting up at 6:30 am will do that to you!) We went upstairs and it didn't look like he was going to nap, he kept playing around and talking, next thing I know, he's snoozing. So I slipped into my coma as well. Man that was the best sleep I've gotten in FOREVER!!! Unfortunately everyone who knows our number decided it was the perfect time to call us. Grrrr! LOL

I've decided to institute the rule of "sleeping when your baby sleeps" from now on! LOL Although Justin insists, "I'm a big boy, the baby is in your tummy making it fat." Thanks. LOL (And the baby wasn't sleeping at all, it was beating the bed while I laid on my side.)

Wow, did anyone else watch Traveler? I watched it last night, after missing the original episodes, that they did air again last night with a new episode afterwards. It was really good! Kind of like a younger "24". Good stuff!

Kevin's brother and sister stayed the night last night so they could walk to school this morning, it is their last day. I had forgotten how awful it is to have to get up early in the morning to get kids ready for school! Plus normally my boys sleep in until at least 7:30, if not 8:00 and this morning they were both up at 6:30. ARGH. And what is with the sun being up so early!! LOL

Kevin's been home most of the past two days, plus had Monday off, so when he went off to work this morning I was more than glad! LOL I have alot of housework I want to get done before I go on housework-strike for my b-day tomorrow! LOL

Well I better go, we're having a Primary Presidency meeting here today at 1:30 and my house is so messy, I need to get it clean before the ladies get here, especially since we have recently called some new people and I don't know them very well to have them coming in my messy house! LOL

They finally fixed my cool ticker...it was only showing babies at 1w1d for so long! Now it works though!

I've been working hard with Jakey all day on his schoolwork. We have to be at least at 85% to be considered "complete" for 2nd grade (and so he can move onto 3rd grade and start scouts.) Right now we're at:

Math - 86%
Language Arts 84%
History - 83%
Science - 100%

We finished science today because it had a unit on the life cycle of humans. While it mentioned that it takes a man and a woman to make a baby, it wasn't specific and at 7, Jakey wanted to be more specific, but luckily being done with the lesson became more important.

We looked at some ultrasound pictures and after showing him the differences in a boy u/s and a girl u/s Jakey became very proficient at telling them apart! And telling what body parts he was looking at in the other pictures! He's getting really excited for Monday!

My mom wants to know where I want to go for dinner on Friday for my b-day, I'm torn between Olive Garden and Roadhouse Grill - steak or Italian...hmmm. Well I better run, Kevin's off today and we're working on cleaning the upstairs. Later!

Another thing about me, LUCKY YOU!!! If you see this you have to do it! It's fun! Just do it!Just copy....hit Fwd....Paste.

Two Names You Go By
1. Dawn
2. Mommy

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. Pajama bottoms
2. Kevin's shirt (mine don't fit :( )

Two Things You Would Want in a Relationship:
1. Communication
2. Respect

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. play with the boys
2. Go to a nice restaurant for dinner!

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. To know the gender of my baby.
2. A cure for heartburn.

Two pets you had/have:
1. When Kevin and I were first married we had a really imbred Shih Tzu named Logan that I think was mentally handicapped! That dog ran into EVERYTHING.
2. Our ugly, crazy haired doggy - Buddy (Buddy's a girl though) LOL

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Lorie?
2. Kara?

Two things you did last night:
1.Watched trashy reality TV shows all night
2. Rocked a 3 week old baby to sleep after I fed him a bottle.

Two things you ate today:
1. Tuna melt - no one get onto me about mercury poisoning! LOL But it was soooooo good!
2. BBQ chicken and pasta

Two people you Last Talked To:
1. Kevin
2. My mom

Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
1. cleaning the house - don't want to do it on my b-day!
2. working on some end of the year projects with Jakey for school.

Two longest car rides:
1. California to Washington
2. California to Utah (on a holiday weekend - Thanksgiving, with a 20 month old wearing a stinky diaper that we did change but had no where to put while stuck in traffic on the 2 lane part of Hwy 58, oh yeah MISERABLE!)

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Pioneer Day - I love the way we celebrate it in Bakersfield. This year I'm going out of town during the celebration though because it's too hot for me to be out there for it :(, next year.

Favorite beverages:
1. Cranberry juice over crushed ice
2. Lemonade over crushed ice
(I'm anti-soda at the moment, weird for me cause I love soda, but this baby is ruining my teeth so I gave it up, don't want to make it worse!)

Fantastic Checkup for 16w5d!

My BP was great, I gained 3 lbs (boo!), everything was great!! Baby's heartbeat is 155 (boyish heartbeat huh? LOL) and I measured 21 weeks. (Crazy!) So the dr is having me come in for a u/s on Monday (TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS!) I mean figure out if it's the baby or amniotic fluid making me measure so big. I'm so excited, I want to know what the baby is soooooooooooo much, and on Monday I will!!! :) I'm excited, can you tell?? :)

On Saturday I was yard sale-ing with a friend and there were a bunch of baby girl clothes on sale and my friend says, "You should buy some of these." and I said NOPE!!! If I even TOUCH those clothes my baby will grow boy parts to spite me!!! So, I'm waiting. I think it's a boy, but I'll be pleasantly surprised too if it's a girl. :)

Yay, Jordin won AI! That was a great season finale! I loved all the music, it was great!

I just got done speed cleaning my house - I try to clean between 10 - 11, then make the boys lunch, Justin has quiet time and Jakey and I work on school. Yesterday was so awful, I'm trying really hard with the boys today. To not be upset, and to just praise them when they are doing really good. Like right now, they are playing SO WELL together outside. (Even though there was a fist fight right before they went outside!)

Last night Kevin took us grocery shopping at Albertson's and we bought $25 worth of the products that will get you free Pirates of the Carribean 3 tickets and got our free tickets! (Totally not intended to earn them! LOL) So, I guess this weekend we're going to go see PotC 3!

The baby is really wiggly and moving alot now - my dr is going by my original due date and that makes me 16 weeks today! :) I have my big u/s in just over 2 weeks! I can't wait! I want to know who's in there!!

I've been looking for a kid friendly insect repellant for the boys and me to share this summer up at the cabin (and around town, I'm allergic to mosquitos and I don't want to have to have an epi-pen shot if I get bit!) and I just ordered the Skin So Soft Children's Insect Repellant and Sunscreen from Avon, I hope it works and isn't too yucky smelling!!

Our Stake Relief Society is having a Women's Retreat in 2 weeks and I need cute jammies that fit because it's overnight....so that's my goal this weekend, find cute jammies!!! I'm hoping my dr lets me go, I'm pretty sure it'll be ok but I'll double check with him on Tuesday. I'm totally looking forward to getting away and going to this! It should be fun, we're going to be put in cabins by wards, being in Primary I just don't get to know alot of the people in RS and YW like I should.

Yesterday after I had a breakdown, a friend came and got us and we went to the mall with her 2 kids (3 & 1) and my two (7 & 3 as you know) and we are both pg, well it was HORRENDOUS. Justin was awful wanting to run around. I'm going to have to put him back in a stroller! I didn't think with an almost-4-at-the-time-this-baby-is-born, I would need one, but how in the world am I going to keep Justin contained while I do anything once the baby is born, or even before!!

Anyhow I better go make the boys' lunch so Jakey and I can do school. Our school standards are that when you are at 85% completed you are "finished" with that grade level, well 1 of our subjects (math) is at 86% and all the other subjects (Language Arts, Science, and History) are at 75% so we are THISCLOSE to beng done wtih 2nd grade. Jakey really wants to finish because he gets to start scouts as soon as he is out of 2nd grade and offiically a 3rd grader, even though his b-day isn't until Oct (to make it even on starting times for all the boys his age that's how we do it) anyhow he's THRILLED to be starting scouts and looking forward to Scout Day Camp in July. He's even been earning money to help pay for it. Cute!

Ok, off to be domestic....HAHAHAHA! :)

Homemaking Meme

ABC's of Homemaking~

Lorie taggied me, and this is what I have to say about that:


Rules: Answer the following questions related to homemaking and then tag 3 people. Don't forget to link to the person who tagged you and let the people you tag know they have been tagged.
~
Aprons – Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like?
Nope, don't have one.
~
Baking – Favorite thing to bake
Hmmm, I don't bake much at all, cookies a few times, so I guess cookies.
~
Clothesline – Y/N?
Yes, a few weeks ago I wanted to dry some pillows on the line.
~
Donuts – Have you ever made them?
Nope.
~
Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day,
load the dishwasher
~
Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze?
Nope.
~
Garbage Disposal – Y/N?
Yep!
~
Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource?
internet
~
Ironing – Love it or hate it?
Ironing? What's that? I throw it back in the dryer!
~
Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it?
It? As in singular? I have SEVERAL!
~
Kitchen – Color and decorating schemeroosters
not really decorated right now cause we just moved here
~
Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?
the part where you eat bonbons and watch tv, oh wait....um LOL
~
Mop – Y/N?
Not allowed to, so Jakey Swiffers daily now.
~
Nylons – Wash by hand or in the washing machine?
When I absolutely have to wear them, I buy and open a new package every time. Where exactly are people who are washing their nylons going? It doesn't seem like something that would get too dirty???
~
Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check?
I open the door!
~
Pizza – What do you put on yours?
cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and ham
~
Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Read, blog, sodoku
~
Recipe card box – Y/N? What does it look like?
nope
~
Style of house – What style is your house?
I don't know, it's 2 story, two bedrooms two bathrooms upstairs, living room, dining room, kitchen and a bathroom downstairs and a 3rd bedroom we use as a family room.
~
Tablecloths and napkins – Y/N?
Nope, that would just be more laundry for me to do.
~
Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland?
Toxic wasteland.
~
Vacuum – How many times per week?
Jakey vaccuums everyday, eventually he gets everything up too!
~
Wash - How many loads of laundry do you do per week?
10 loads a week.
~
X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
Nope.
~
Yard – Y/N? Who does what?
our gardener
~
Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
make sure the garbage can is put on a counter so the dog doesn't get into it in the middle of the night, getting up in the middle of the night because our dog is misbehaving is not my idea of fun and could be dangerous for the dog!
~


Now I tag 3 people:
1. Natalie
2. Rachel
3. Beth

When Justin was born Kevin and I gave up alot of "conveniences" in order for me to be able to be a SAHM. Bye bye cable, bye bye 2nd car, bye bye cellphones, bye bye LOTS of things. One thing I now believe we shouldn't have given up - 2nd car.

I seriously cannot handle the isolation anymore. It was ok for a while, he drove over the road and so I had the car because he wasn't even home. Then he worked in Shafter but they let him bring his truck home because of our proximity to the I-5. Now he works somewhere that will not let him take home a truck, so he has to have our car, and he works such odd hours there is just no way of telling when he'll go to work and when he'll be off, so I don't take him to/from work.

I just can't handle the screech Justin makes when Jakey has annoyed him, or Jakey coming in screaming hysterically because Justin finally got tired of putting up with what he does to him and hit him right in the face. At this point I don't even feel like punishing Justin for hitting Jakey because honestly - he deserves it. I do, but I don't think I agree with myself about doing it. LOL I want them to learn to work their problems out without shrieking, hitting, or telling me!!!

I'm staying up til REALLY late at night just so I can be ALONE. Then I'm exhausted when they want to get up the next morning and I'm probably even more short tempered so I'm sure it's a vicious cycle at this point.

Thank Goodness, my mom's last day of work is next Friday....she'll take us to get out of the house, keep the boys some nights, it should get better, at least for the summer. Our primary car needs smogging, tagging, front axles, and new tires before we can buy a new one though, so that puts off getting a new car even longer. I could just cry. :(

Please, no more fighting today. And PLEASE let Justin take a good nap!!!

Ah, sweet memories!!

My "Ode" to the HOTTEST American Idol contestant EVER!!!!





Now to go watch Blake and Jordin, who are no Chris Daughtry!!!

Shrek Hands!

Oh my goodness!! I was just doing some housework and my ring finger felt funny so I look down and my hands are swollen up and as big as Shrek hands!!! I lotioned and begged my rings to come off, finally popped them off. Whew! Time to put them on a chain for the rest of the pregnancy!!

Kevin called at 6:30 to see if I was awake to keep him company because he was getting tired at work....um, no. LOL Anyhow after that call I was! I'm going to be dragging today!

I've never really had "allergies", not like everyone else, I sneeze a little when everything is blooming, but it's not like I'm dying with a stuffy face and have true allergies. When I'm pregnant, all of that changes. I've been sneezing for almost an hour, my nose feels plugged up, I have the drainage stuff, my ears hurt, and I had a horrible headache right behind my eyes and nose last night. Of course, allergies and I can't take the "good stuff" to help!

I had a dream last night about grocery shopping, LOL. Like the whole dream was about all the food I was buying at the grocery store. I even saw my birthday cake in my dream, when I told Kevin about it - he laughed at me! LOL How sad is it I'm dreaming of food?!?! LOL I really don't eat that much, I eat often, but small amounts because big stuff doesn't fit in my tummy. Anyhow, I thought it was hilarious! I was really bummed when I first got to the Dream Grocery Store because it was only 4 aisles! Once I got going though, I realized that the aisles were just really long...LOL And so, I woke up craving baked potatoes. LOL So guess what's for dinner?! LOL

I'm so excited to watch American Idol tonight! I can't wait til tomorrow either, to find out who won!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention yesterday's most interesting moment...Jakey and I did a unit of History yesterday - on the Crusades and the end of the Middle Ages. The last "chapter" of te unit was about The Plague, and talked some about the "Ring Around The Rosie" song....yep, Jakey no longer wants to sing that song ever again! (And he's a little scared of getting The Black Plague, even though the lesson said that we have medicines today to help with this disease that we're available then.)

Anyhow, my #1 goal for today is to get a pic of the boys, together, to share with everyone because it's been a LONG time since I took a pic of the two of them!! :)

What a wonderful morning so far! We were at a b-day party for our best friend's son until pretty late last night and Justin fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept until nearly 9:00 am this morning! Jakey was up bright and early - but he doesn't require much attention and lets me sleep! LOL I still woke up about 8:00 cause my bladder was calling me.

Any ideas for getting the musty smell out of my carpet? We've shampooed the area that Justin's flood got to, but it still smells musty. It ruined the couch that we had in our family room so we took that out and we're just putting in a recliner and end table and buying a few bean bags...the boys mostly lay on the floor anyways when we're in here, Kevin's almost always in his computer chair and it'll leave space available for a pack and play for the baby to not have a huge couch in here...so that's the plan for that space for now, now just to get that musty smell out!

Yesterday church went much better than even the weeks before. I feel alot of my strength returning and I'm able to do more and stand longer, and just have more energy than I did have right after I got off bedrest. Plus alot of the family's college aged daughters are home from BYU right now visiting and they make FANTASTIC subs! LOL It's my favorite season, the use-the-college-daughter-in-Primary-season! LOL

Today I have to work on this house for a few hours - every room needs cleaning and this weekend is a holiday, long weekend and I'd like to spend it doing fun things, not cleaning! LOL So my hope is by Friday the whole house, my bedroom included, will be PERFECT...and we can enjoy our long weekend which I intend to spend lounging in pools and BBQing! LOL

I'm trying to find a maternity swimsuit, but everywhere has told me, oh we stopped selling those already - WHAT?!?! Yeah apparently swimsuit selling season is Jan - March, why would I have bought a swimsuit at maybe 4 weeks pg????? I wouldn't have, that's rediculous. And I'm going to be 4-8 months pregnant every day it's over 100 degrees in Bakersfield, but eh, who needs a swimsuit? ARGH....at least Old Navy online has some on clearance still....maybe it'll be here by this weekend????

What I was doing during the Flood

I was on my way to upload these pics to post here - so here ya go!! Pics of Jakey and his castle, he's so proud!! Don't mind all his castle building "supplies" around him! :)

Eating Out Meme

I was tagged by Lorie for this meme, talking about favorite places to eat out.

These are the rules:
1. Link to the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Include the state and country you’re in.
3. List your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location (locally).
4. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they’ve been tagged.

I live in Bakersfield, CA. My favorite places to eat out:

1) Tahoe Joes!! My all time favorite steak restaurant. VERY expensive, so we usually only go there for birthdays and major celebrations. My kids have NEVER been there, and won't be - at that price, everyone is paying for ambiance too!! LOL

2) Texas Roadhouse Grill - I really love steak, I also LOVE the potato soup at this place! VERY good, again my kids have never been here....but this is a date-ish place, not just for b-days.

3) Outback Steakhouse - do you notice a theme - I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl - and I LOVE their potatoes more than any other! It's closer and cheaper so we use this place for dates too.

4) Charlie's - it's a small place in the mall food court and they make THE BEST philly cheesesteak sandwiches!! The have "gourmet" fries too - very yummy!

5) Don Pepes - hole in the wall Mexican food...the BEST kind of Mexican food!!! Love the chips and salsa, love it all!!!!

We go out to the nicest places for birthdays, anniversaries, special occassions, and then we have our "family friendly" restaurants. My kids fave place is Don Pepes and that's where were having a luncheon after Jakey's baptism in November - cheap mexican food! Yum!

I tag:
Whoever hasn't been tagged, I think everyone who reads me has been tagged!!!

I have a Meme post I'm working on...but wanted to post something while I'm finishing it.

The insurance thing finally got all figured out - a manager called and apologized, put the boys on the right plan, and credited our account for one month's premiums for the inconvenience. Sounds good to me! Guess my emails finally paid off!

We got a new dryer last weekend and I think I put too much laundry in it because I've restarted it on 80 minutes 2 times now! LOL

No park today - Justin painted the bathroom in toothpaste and dumped a cup of water on Kevin's head this morning....I just wasn't up to it! If he had been mean to another kid or done anything wrong I would have just bawled I'm sure! LOL He took a LONG nap this afternoon - prayer answered! LOL

I'm so excited that Shrek The Third is out!! We're going tomorrow at 11:00 am to see it! Then to the mall to do some shopping! Yay!

The nurse called from my dr's office to check on me and schedule my BIG u/s today - and we discussed if it would be possible to do it June 12th. My mom is going out of town the week after and that's the 1 year anniversary of my brother's death and she needs something exciting to look forward to on that day, so she would like to see the baby that day. The nurse said she'd talk tot he dr, he likes them done at 18 weeks, according to due date #1 that's 18w5d and due date #2 that's 17w2d....baby started measuring big though so hopefully he's ok with it.

Anyhow the dryer is almost done - I'm going to go check it - PLEASE be dry!! And then fold it and work on that Meme....have a happy Friday!

Ok, so after a rough couple of days, I've decided I really, REALLY, need an "I am thankful for..." post!

I am thankful for:

* Justin, he gets into stuff, and makes life very "interesting", but he's absolutely ADORABLE, and SO smart!! Since his favorite thing in the world is food, all I have to do is put a bologna sandwich in front of him and I win the "Best Mommy Ever" award, everytime! Like I've done something amazing just by making a sandwich. It's pretty cool! :)

* Jakey, Even though homeschooling him is difficult sometimes, and our personalities clash, it's AMAZING to watch him learn and grow. He's going to be the first of our children to become an official member later this year when he is baptized, and through his History unit this year (where we learned about the life of Christ and the beginnings of Christianity) - I've learned of his wonderful testimony. I've also seen how much he really knows, like all those Family Home Evenings finally paid off!!! :)

* Both boys, on Sunday after Nursery and Primary, they went RUNNING to eachother across the chapel, "Jakey!" "Justin!" and met like long, lost, friends in the middle, hugging. Then they walked hand in hand back to the pew. That'll make a momma's heart proud!!

* Kevin, he works SO hard so I can stay home. I know how rough it is for him to work 60-70 hours a week, sometimes more, so that I can be at home with the boys, when he wants to spend some time with them too. When I was on bedrest he brought me home a dozen roses and cleaned up the living room and set them in there so I'd have a really nice place to rest.

* Our New Baby - although the pregnancy has been difficult, I'm SO glad we're able to have another. After all the infertility, and pain from it, it's finally our turn to hav another baby! I'm beginning to feel a little flutter here and there and it's amazing. The boys list "loves them" every night and they always say, "The baby loves them." They're so excited to have a little brother or sister. (Although one wants a sister and one wants a brother and I'm only gonna make one happy! LOL)

* All of our extended Family - my mom, picks up meals, cleans up our house, helps with the boys, takes me to appointments, and just plain, gets me out of the house! Kevin's grandma - she takes me to dr's appts and stuff while my mom and Kevin are at work. Kevin's mom - babysits whenever we need help, last night she came after working a long hot day in a warehouse and sucked up all the water from my carpet!

* All my IRL and "internet" friends (some are both!) - for commenting, encouraging, emailing, me whenever I need the reassurance. For being just as excited as me when good things happen, and comforting me when the bad comes.

* My ward! Seriously, we're such a small ward, and it's HARD work to have all of us that are really active be in presidencies with husbands in presidencies and we're all usually really, really busy with our callings, but our ward is SO close! Last night the Young Women came to the door with a beautiful plant, they just wanted to tell me that they love me, we recently had alot of Primary girls move up, and they wanted me to know they missed Primary, but really love Young Women's. It made me feel like the kids DO notice their leaders, which isn't something I'd experienced much of yet. It was an amazing feeling, especially since no one in our ward but my one closest friend and Visiting Teacher knew about the flood. :) (Now I have to keep the plant alive! LOL)

Ok, so after listing it all, I AM incredibly blessed. :)

Oh and - my carpet is cleaner than EVER!!! The Great Flood prompted a steam cleaning of the carpets in this room!!! Yay!!! And MIL let us borrow her cleaner for a few days to do the other carpets in the house! :)

Ok, since I know at some point today I won't be grateful I woke up at 6:00 am, I better go take a short nap before the boys wake up for the day!! :)

And I thought we had escaped the "Terrible Twos"

I'm so upset I'm shaking, so I'm taking a break and thought I'd post my latest stress....oh man.

Justin went upstairs to take his nap while Jakey and I were building a castle for his Feudalism Unit in History. We finish, and I go into the family room downstairs to upload the pics I took of it (meaning to post them here actually!) and realize there is a steady stream of water coming from the ceiling in this room!!!! I run upstairs and Justin has put toys and clothes in the sink of his bathroom and turned on the HOT water and it's overflowing everywhere! I can't unclog the sink cause the water is too hot so I'm trying to mop it up with towels everything. To add insult to injury, he pooped in the middle of the bathroom floor, I did not notice it, and stepped right in it. But that point I started just bawling and freaking out.

Jakey mopped up the water while I tried to haul some boxes out of the closet the draining was going on in the family room, then I started contracting and cramping so much I couldn't do anymore, so I took a shower to stop the contractions and clean my foot with all the poop on it off. Kevin's in LA and won't be home until 8 or 9 tonight, my mom is at work...

Anyhow Kev's grandma is bringing over his little brother (13) at 3:00 when he gets out of school with a wet vac to clean up all the water and help me with this mess and my visiting teacher will be here soon and I'm sure I can get her to help me salvage some of my pictures from the carnage that is The Family Room Closet.

Justin is hiding in his bedroom. Good, if he knows what's good for him he'll stay in there for a while and take a good, LONG, nap. It's one of those times where you can't even punish your kid because you're too upset. Anyhow I need to eat something to get some energy back and so I can take some meds and try to get the cramping to stop.

Can You Guess?

Our big ultrasound is only about a month away now - so, can you guess what we're having? And once the baby comes, how big/small it'll be?

Teeter Tottering on the Edge of Depression

Or insanity...either way.

In February, after Kevin lost his job, but as he was coming into this new one, we applied for a "middle income" program for health insurance for children through our state. Basically the state subsidizes how much regular insurance companies like Kaiser or Blue Cross can charge you for health insurance, reducing your costs. The program sounded too good to be true, help for the middle class? Who ever heard of such a thing?! So February 16, I sent off my paperwork for the boys.

In March we were notified that we needed to send in a different form of income verification (Kevin had changed jobs) and Justin's birth certificate. Due to the change in his jobs we had to wait a few weeks for a first FULL paycheck stub to send into them, and get by the Hall of Records and get the birth certificate. Since I had become pregnant we decided to apply for the matching program for middle class pregnant women for health insurance during my pregnancy since Kevin's new insurance wouldn't work until late June and we couldn't afford COBRA. On April 3, I mailed in the completed paper work for the boys for Health Families (their program) and my AIM (Access for Infants and Mothers) application. Come the end of April, I'm insured and have no problems, and the boys - NOT YET.

On April 25, I called and was told that the boys were approved but that my first choice of health plans was unavailable so I told them, ok go with Blue Cross HMO, the lady said ok, that'll be 3-5 business days for the change, 10 days for it to take effect, they should have insurance soon. On April 30 I got a letter from Healthy Families saying that I needed to designate a health plan, so I called, again indicated Blue Cross HMO, was told the same 3-5 days speil. On May 3, I got a call from Healthy Families - which plan do I want? My original one is not available. I about freaked out, and told them again "BLUE CROSS HMO!!!!" (Any questions on which plan I want yet? Yeah, I know, clear as a bell - I'd like BLUE CROSS HMO!) Ok, the lady says 3-5 business days.

Yesterday I decide I've waited too long for this paperwork to be done and I call to see what's going on. The lady looks up our account and says, "Kaiser is full, which health plan would you like." I was furious....kept my cool though and said, "Let me talk to your supervisor, this is unacceptable and you do not want to deal with this, I'm extremely upset." Supervisor probably refused to come to the phone, and she says, "what can I help you with?" a few minutes later. So I laid into her as the "representative" of her company, I unleashed my fury over this whole situation and cried a little, and basically lost my mind because I'm so frustrated with this whole situation. The phone call finally ended with her saying she would put a RUSH on our order to have the boys put on Blue Cross HMO, it would be done in 24-48 hours. I said, 24. She said maybe 48, and I told her unacceptable, 24. She finally said she would try very hard. Ok.

Today I call, unfortunately the guy was really nice, so I couldn't be that angry, so mostly I cried. That little brat from yesterday put us on KERN FAMILY HEALTHCARE!!!!! Does that sound like "Blue Cross HMO"? No. It doesn't. Not even close. I asked if Blue Cross was closed for enrollment or something, "Nope." He says, let me read you her notes....pauses to find them. I say, "It should say a crazy woman called, VERY UPSET, and yelled that she wanted her sons put on Blue Cross HMO ASAP." He laughed and said, "nope, she put mother indicates ANY insurance program available, just insure kids asap." So apparently that's how she chose to get back at me...she put my kids on a plan I do NOT want. Kern Family Healthcare is my county's equivalent of Medicaid....long wait times, not very good drs....NOT what I wanted!!!! Turns out I have to wait a few days so the 10 day waiting period for KFHC can take effect and then change to Blue Cross HMO so that the boys are covered as soon as possible. Ok. At least this guy was reasonable. I however BAWLED MY EYES OUT during the ENTIRE conversation!!!!!!

Also, Kevin didn't get off in time for us to go out last night, so I made dinner at home. Then this morning just as we all got dressed to go to the mall, his work called him in again, to work until 10 pm, so no mall today either. The boys had popcorn with a movie so I could make the above-mentioned-horrible-phone-call and they dumped popcorn ALL OVER the livingroom.

Oh and then the last straw for me today that led to a HUGE crying spell - I was making a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich and my pan's nonstick stuff is apparently gone cause the sandwich was STUCK. And that just sent me over the edge....sigh.

Ok, I'm done whining I promise.....I just want to be able to discuss stressful things (and most nonstressful things) without crying.

All dressed up and no where to go

Kevin thought he'd be off around 3:00 and we'd go to the mall and pick up a shirt at Motherhood that I wanted but didn't feel like walking back to get on Saturday and also grab dinner at the food court. There is this place that makes THE BEST philly cheesesteak sandwiches EVER and I want one sooooo bad!!! Anyhow, his work is crazy unpredictable so - he's still there :( Hopefully he gets home soon so we can go!

Happy Mother's Day!

We did alot of our Mother's Day celebration yesterday, and then some more today. Yesterday my mom and I went to a fashion show on Modesty put on by my stake, and a brunch was served. Then we went shopping to find some maternity clothes for me. It is next to impossible to find MODEST maternity clothes in XL, but we found a few skirts and shirts. Then the kids, Kevin and I went to a b-day party for Kevin's cousin's kids at the park. Afterwards I was so exhausted I went to bed at 8:30! LOL

Going to bed at 8:30 was heavenly, but I woke up at 3:30 am STARVING and I laid there and tried to fall back asleep and telling my stomach to shut up, I had to get up, I was just too hungry. At 4:00 am you really cannot make a huge breakfast or much really, so I ate my least favorite food - cereal. Bleh. Lucky Charms. But it did the trick and I tried and tried and tried to get back to sleep but I couldn't fall asleep! Finally, the family gets up for church at 7:00 and I'm passing out, figures...LOL So I got up and went to church.

This Sunday went MUCH better than last Sunday. I was in charge of the Mother's Day craft, so two kids at a time I got it done, went to nursery (which was FAR more reverent than Primary!) and did the craft with them too. I got mine from the boys and a pretty flower from the Young Women as I left Sacrament Meeting. Our plans to go out to dinner on Saturday were a bust cause I was just too exhausted so Kevin had picked up my fave Italian food and heated it up for us today. Yummy!

The best news of the day really was, last week I got short tempered with the RS President because our ward is really so small, she was chewing me out for "doing too much" in Primary and we really feel like there is just no one to call. ALL of the able-bodied, younger, sisters (remember our ward is REALLY small) are in the RS Presidency, so my comment was: "If you think it takes 4 able-bodied women to make sure those ten 60 year old ladies don't fight eachother during RS, imagine how we get along only having usually 2 of us with 1-2 teachers for THIRTY or more Primary children, and until we have FOUR able-bodied people, there isn't a whole lot I can do but "too much".' I think my comment hit home, the RS Pres is married to the Bishop and the Bishop said we could have anyone we wanted, whole ward is "fair game" that we need "quality, dependable teachers." And here I was kind of hoping I'd just get released. LOL Anyhow, I just hope something works, it's literally like that, our ward is SO SMALL, I'm amazed we're not a branch, and we only have 2 consistant teachers in Primary and their health restrictions make them our older class teachers and we NEED consistency in Jr. Primary.

Oh, after church, Justin climbed in a tall laundry basket and tipped it over and he banged his head on a wood chair. Gave himself quite the goose egg right between his eyes. He's been begging for HOURS to go to the doctor. He doesn't need a dr!!! LOL

Anyhow my Mother's Day was great - my mom got me some shirts, Kev gave me $$ for clothes that fit, and I was a little pampered. Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day!

My whirlwind weekend is about to begin

Friday: Park Playgroup at 9:30 - 12:00, naps, at 3:00 my mom will be here with Kevin's paycheck and we're going to the bank, Walmart, and the grocery store. Home to put up everything and then drop the boys off with Kevin's mom and we're going to a chocolate party and dinner. Then I'll be home as I'm about ready to slip into a coma...LOL

Saturday: 10:00 Fashioin Show and Luncheon at the Stake Center for Mother's Day, then shopping for church maternity clothes cause none of my skirts/dresses fit me! Kevin and the boys are taking me out to eat on Saturday night, then home again to slip into a coma.

Sunday - Church (which in and of itself has been very difficult for me), then a BBQ/cake for Mother's Day and Kevin's little brother's b-day.

I'm supposed to be still on "modified bedrest" that doesn't sound like it at all does it?? LOL I will be doing a decent amount of sitting, so I hope I do ok, I really want to do all these things and have a fun Mother's Day!

Oh, and last night I went to a Progressive Dinner for my mom's ward and got to take home a loaf of homemade bread her friend made.....man I could LIVE off of that bread!! Anyhow, time to head out the door to Park Playgroup!

How does a three year old not fall asleep til 10:30 and have the energy to wake up for the day at 6:30? Man, I am exhausted!!!! Today's going to be a Doze In The Chair While The Kids Watch Cartoons For A Little While Day for sure!

Last night I had a dream about my BIG ultrasound. I dreamt that she'd check the gender and it would look like a boy, do some measurements, then say "no it's a girl", then measurements, "a boy", measurements, "girl", and I was so confused! Then thanks to watching Medium right before bed, I had a Deal Or No Deal dream....there were 100 cases and 50 had "Boy" in them and 50 had "Girl" in them, along with a pregnancy complication, syndrome, or "perfectly healthy" and I had to chose a case and play "Deal Or No Deal" to figure out/get the baby I wanted!!! It was insane! And now I don't remember what I ended up "winning".

We have 3 b-day parties for 4 kids in the next week, plus Mother's Day, ugh. Tonight we're going to Walmart to buy all the presents. The good side of this is b-day party food and birthday cake! :)

I talked to Jakey's teacher about our plan to finish by the end of the year and I really think we can get it done, at worst we'll finish by the end of June and not the middle, but they'll order his 3rd grade curriculum when we've finished 85% of his 2nd grade work.

Ok off to teach, clean, and catch some sleep!

If my baby's legs are that crossed in a few weeks at my gender u/s - I'll be REALLY upset!! LOL

The Great Debate

We're looking at school to enroll Jakey in for 4th grade (the year after next) that are NOT in our school district. We have been using a website called Great Schools to gather information about the schools we are interested in.

A friend and I were discussing our criteria for the school we will choose for Jakey (our school is a failing school - the public one he formerly attended, not the charter school we use now for homeschooling and thanks to No Child Left Behind we can transfer pretty much wherever we want). Anyhow our criteria are:

Test scores
Ethnicity - I want a culturally diverse school, I don't want Jakey to be a majority or minority.
Percentage of students getting Free/Reduced lunch - honestly - the lower that # the higher the teest scores.
Percentage of students learning English - Jakey really got left behind alot in public school because his teacher was so busy trying to reach the non-English speaking students.

She disagrees, she thinks that Free/Reduced Lunch and Language have nothing to do with test scores, and I believe firmly that they do. I do not want Jakey attending a school with more than half the students receiving it, and I don't want more than 10% to be learning English while my child gets left behind because he knows English - he just doesn't know what the teacher is trying to teach.

I want Jakey to start back in 4th grade, it'll give him time to make some friends so he can go to a Jr high with those same kids and have friends during the hard transition to middle school. Plus if Jakey's in, then Justin will be "grandfathered in" under his enrollment and can start Kindergarten there when Jakey is in 5th grade.

So what do you think? Do you think those kinds of socio-economic factors play a part in a child's academic success? I obviously believe SOME overcome, and not ALWAYS is the "stereotype" correct, but I think it really does.

When you had a particularly rough night, why do your kids feel the need to wake up extra early? Drives me crazy! LOL

Our stake is planning a women's retreat to the camp The Church bought for Girls' and Scout Camp next month and I just lined up care for the boys. It's about 1 1/2 hours away, so I still have to talk to the dr about it to be sure I can go, but I sure hope I can!! The stake is providing all of our food, and there is limited cabin space, but older sisters and pregnant sisters are supposed to have first dibs on bunks in the cabins, but to stay with my friend in my ward I think I will sleep in her tent if she doesn't get a bunk. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun! This year our stake really seems to be focusing on the women of our stake, we had a women's day in the temple last month, on Saturday we're having a Stake Mother/Daughter Fashion Show and Luncheon for Mother's Day, and then this retreat.

Anyhow, man will I be glad when everything is done blossoming and blooming and the hot summer sun kills it all off! LOL I hate sneezing, it pulls strange muscles while you're pregnant! LOL

Oh and I finally found my wallet Justin lost, little stinker!! It was behind a chair in our family room.

Last peice of randomness - I do not own a pair of tennis shoes - I know! I'm girly like that, I need a good pair for summer that can be ruined because of this women's retreat and then going to my parents cabin in July for two weeks. My snow boots just aren't going to do! LOL I HATE socks, and I hate wearing shoes that you have to wear socks with, any suggestions?

What happens when a 3 year old gets bored?

He finds your purse, dumps it, cuts up your cash, and hides your wallet, from himself even. ARGH.

Come on, you know you want to say it!

"You're ONLY 11.5 weeks!"

"Are they sure there's only 1 in there?"

"WHEN are you due again?"

It's ok, EVERYONE says it.

Dawn needs to

I took the "your name needs to" idea from Kara and this is what I got. (You type "yourname needs to" into google and see what it comes up with!

1. Dawn Needs to Firm Up Her Group’s Flextime Options

2. Dawn needs to be on TV land

3. OUCH! Dawn needs to show us more of the extraordinary young woman she showed us glimpses of & less of the needy attention-seeker that occasionally peeked out.

4. Dawn needs to be the only or youngest child with a good age gap. I'm the oldest, we're all 13 months apart...LOL

5. I can see Kara liking this one :) dawn needs to make it to the boise area.

and last 6. dawn needs to change. Hmmmm.....

I think number three kinda hurt LOL.