32 weeks

The pictures are getting more and more attractive. And this was picture I think 12. There are only so many angles to make yourself look good this far along. But I am now 32 weeks and counting down. Since my pregnancy has been so picture perfect I got another one month break between doctor appointments which is fine by me. I was supposed to go in this week but thanks to a new office move I won't go till next week. So I have no particulars for you, except I feel huge as a barge and I still have 8 weeks left. I have had a lot of swelling this past week. After church I took my boots off to discover I had cankles. I guess I won't be able to wear cute shoes anymore to church. But I can pretty much say I am due next month. Who knows, maybe I won't have to wait the full 8 weeks. Hailey might surprise us!!

The Curse Continues

Just when you thought you couldn't have anymore problems you go to take a shower and no hot water. I started panicking because I pretty much know what that means. Sure enough, our water heater was leaking water. So we have a plumber coming today along with the insurance adjuster to look at our leaky roof. I pretty much feel like everything is falling apart around me. I do have to say I am so very grateful for Danielle....she is probably the best friend I could have had this morning. I couldn't get a hold of Corey and I was just too upset to think straight. But Danielle just happened to stop by on her way to the gym and stayed for an hour helping me make calls and get things in order. She was really a lifesaver and I feel like she was inspired to come over at 8 in the morning to help me out of this. Hopefully things will settle down here soon. I don't know how much more stress I can take.....

Good End to a Bad Day

So if you have read my blog below this one, you will find that we had a rough morning. So thankfully Danielle said she would watch our kids if we wanted to go on a date. So we desperately needed a break from our house which was trying to kill us. We did an early dinner. We went to Logan's Steakhouse and I got this great steak. Every time I bite into one, I tell Corey I can't believe people don't eat meat. And since my weight gain on my pregnancy this holiday season was crappy ( I won't say anymore than that) I skipped dessert.

Then Corey took me to Barnes and Nobles, I just love this store. All those books I just get so giddy. But I did want a book about boxing routines for when I can start doing that with my new boxing bags. I found this great book and I got that. Then we headed off to Target to buy a new car seat and stroller combo for the baby. The one I wanted was of course pink and green, but they were all out of this one. But I did find a steal of a deal on an Evenflo for only 100 bucks. I was really excited about that because I saved money if anything. Then we went to Kohl's for Corey to return a tie. I do have a gift certificate, but I am saving it for when I can buy normal clothes and not anything with an elastic waist band.

We stopped by to grab the kids and took them home to bed. But we had downloaded the Dark Knight on Corey's Xbox and we watched that afterwards. I of course fell asleep on the couch. Corey makes fun of me because I can't seem to stay awake at night. I miss anything that we are watching, but I just feel so exhausted by the time the end of the day comes around. So we at least had a happy ending to our day.

Hole in the ceiling

What a horrible day this has turned out to be. You know how they say bad things comes in three's? Well ours sure did. Corey's car wouldn't start first of all. So we went out to fix that. Thankfully it was just water in the gas and we were able to get it started and cleaned out. But then I was going up in the attic to get some bins down to pack up Christmas, and I find that our roof is leaking. Great right!! So as I was coming inside to get on the phone with my mom I told Corey I still needed the bins from the attic. Well this is what I found when I got off the phone and went back out in the garage....

My lovely husband slipped in the attic and fell through the ceiling. He is alright thank goodness. He caught himself before he fell to the floor. So now we have this lovely hole in our ceiling. All I can say is I am happy that it wasn't inside the house. At least in the garage I don't have to stare at it all day and Corey was not seriously injured falling through.

Teeth Grinding

I know that everyone gets stressed. I make my life stressful for myself it seems. But I always think I am handling it just fine. Until I notice this nice little ache on the side of my jaw. This tells me at night I am grinding away at my teeth. I did this once before a couple of months ago. And it looks like the ugly monster is rearing it's head again. Although this time I know the cause of my stress. So many things actually. First of course is the upcoming baby. Are you prepared? Can we pay all these bills coming in? Then there is another BIG issue that I have been stressing about. But I can't tell yet. So I lay at night thinking about these things before I doze off. Hmmm, could this be the cause of the grinding? I have read that you are supposed to do something relaxing before bed and even a warm washcloth on your jaw will help relax it. I guess I need to relax a little and stop worrying over things that are out of my control at the moment. Why oh why can't I control everything around me? :)

Christmas Celebration

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas!! I know that we did. It was a lot of fun this year. I love that the kids are older now and you can just see the excitement that they feel. I think I love it more now as a mom than when I was younger. Of course on Christmas Eve we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a little fun. We had a buffet dinner and then the kids got to open one present from Grandma, which is their Christmas PJ's. They look so cute in their new pajamas.

Logan sporting new PJ's


Lexie in her new nightgown. How cute is that!!


Gabe the goof showing off. At home he wears the top open and struts around the house with his chest showing.


These are all the kids together. Starting from the left: Gabe, James (Josh's boy), Samm (Josh's girl), Logan and Lexie.

After that we watched a church Christmas movie and Samm sang a song for us. Then we just sang some Karaoke. The kids love doing it.

We had to leave soon after because Santa had a lot of wrapping to do. Let's just say I was up late doing all the wrapping. I think I won't do that again next year. Whew. The kids actually slept in till about 7 which is good for them. Then we got up and unwrapped all the gifts. Here are pictures of what the kids got. Corey somehow missed getting a picture of Lexie with her stuff.

Logan with his presents.

Lexie got My First Dollhouse with all the rooms and then a bunch of Little Pet Shop stuff. She also got a cute princess doll with matching crown that she wears all the time. If you look on her Pj's she is wearing a Hannah Montana pin. She got it with her lip balm in her stocking and she goes around singing her songs all the time. Wait how old is she, only 3?

Here is Gabe with his presents. Notice how Corey mad him do up his bottom buttons on his PJ's. I sure hope that he doesn't want to be a Chip N Dale when he gets older.

And just as a side note. I got Corey some Xbox PJ bottoms and his big present was a new pair of NICE golf shoes. Corey usually buys the 30 dollar pair, but I got him a really nice one for Christmas. In fact, today it is supposed to be 70 degrees so Corey is going to go golfing and try them out. Corey really surprised me this year. I open this present and it is a pair of boxing gloves. I was so excited. He bought me this super nice boxing bag and speed bag stand. It is really big and so we have to make room in our garage for it. But I took some boxing lessons in Phoenix and I loved them right away. But I don't have access to a punching bag anywhere. So after I have the baby I am going to jump right on that. It was the best present to date I must say. I will take a picture of it when we get it all set up in the garage.

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and I can't wait to see every one's post.

What have I been up to?

Since there are no pictures posted, you can guess what I have been up to....nothing. I think the days are dragging and nothing eventful is happening because I am so focused on Christmas getting here. I keep thinking it will be here soon enough, but with the kids out of school I am going crazy. How do I maintain my sanity during summer? The boys are so hyped up they wrestle all over the house and Lexie just likes to pester them to be included. So I end up breaking up matches and sending kids to their rooms. If it was so stinkin cold outside I would kick them out. But at least Corey starts his vacation tomorrow so he gets to be home all day. And for some reason it takes a lot of the pressure off of me. Just him being there I know he will intervene when the kids get out of hand. Hopefully I will take some pictures soon. Maybe tomorrow depending on what we do. Corey has some home projects that he needs to finish up. You never know when you will need to sell your house and with ours being an older home you always wonder if it is up to par to sell.



At this point I am mainly grateful for Netflix's streaming movies thru Corey's Xbox 360. I can watch any movie I want automatically plus it can save me from the kids if they need to calm down for a little bit.



I also bet you are wondering why I have this photo in the middle of my post. Well this is the hair style that I want to try and add the color as well. I love it on her. I don't know how it will look on me, and I am not doing it right now. Due to the fact that I have fat face and as a rule I have learned never to go dramatic while pregnant. But I think I will keep this as my reward when I lose my baby weight after. (Hey Sally, this is what I was talking about. What do you think?)

Book Review

I thought I would share with you what I thought of the book The Shack. My mom gave it to me to read after she read it. After reading the back I was thinking along the lines of murder mystery and you have to admit the cover also goes along with my thinking. But the farther I got into the book, the more I realized what a deep read this was. I have heard from people either they liked it a lot, or they lost interest and stopped reading. I can't say that I lost interest but the most moving parts for me were toward the end of the book. There are many things in here that I completely agree with. No matter what religion you are, you can improve yourself I think from reading this and applying some of it to yourself. I found myself feeling embarrassed, as I thought of how hard it is for me to forgive people for small things like offending me. So in all I have to say I really enjoyed this book. So thanks mom for giving it to me to read and I would recommend it for someone to read.

30 weeks and no school

If you live here in Tulsa you pretty much know what I am about to gripe about. Yesterday and yes again today they have cancelled school. How did I survive the summer? I feel like we all have the worst cabin fever imaginable. I can't even let the kids play outside because it is just too dang cold. We don't have the snow suits that you usually purchase living up north. I know I still see kids out playing, but I am very sensitive to cold and just the thought of them out there makes me cringe. So yesterday we were stuck inside all day long. How do woman do home school? Then of course they cancelled again today. But the roads are a little better today. I plan on going over to a friends to at least break up the monotony. Maybe this is just a sign that we need a bigger house.

And as a second thought I have finally reached 30 weeks along. The home stretch should I say. Sorry no picture of me at this point. I only do 4 week intervals so you will have to wait two more weeks. But I feel really great. Round, but great. I still get up every morning to walk my two miles and then do yoga at night. If I don't do it, I honestly feel even crappier. I feel huge already and knowing if I go to 40 weeks that is just another 10 weeks of growth. This month has gone fast so if I can just get through January I think I will be great. I always hear people say enjoy the pregnancy. I just keep thinking what part? I will enjoy it when it is over and I get to hold my baby and get my coordination back.

Stop Growing

This was just a thought as I am sitting here at the computer. Logan got brand new Converse shoes in August for school. It only took him 4 months to break his shoes so he had to get new ones. I have heard of wearing shoes out, but breaking them? Leave it to a boy to figure this out. So I head to my favorite store Khol's and I guess all the boys in Coweta wear Sketchers, so we search these out and I find his size in the shoe he wants. He tries them on and tells me they feel funny. What does that mean exactly? I am not sure myself. I am trying to feel his toe and the shoe is so thick I can't feel anything. To my surprise a worker who was in the shoes breaks out whatever that thing is called that measures your feet. Now that I look back I am so glad that he was there and suggested it. He had grown one whole shoe size in four months. I was shocked. Not just a half, but a whole size!!! So I got the next size up and sure enough Logan said they felt much better. I am not even going to mention the fact that his jeans are getting higher and higher up on his legs. Another couple of inches and he will be sporting high waters. You feel helpless when you have one child you can't seem to keep clothes on and your daughter who can't seem to graduate to the next size. At least the money I would have spent to buy Lexie new clothes I can swing over to compensate for Logan's mammoth spurts.

I finally get a new dryer!!

If you read my letter to Santa, you remember that I mentioned the need for a new dryer. Well Corey mentioned getting me one for Christmas as my present and I directed him to the email about being in the dog house. If our dryer were to go out at anytime, we would have to buy one anyway. I no longer accept house appliances as gifts during Christmas. So Corey found a brand new dryer online through Craigslist. This dryer has never been used, and the guy who sold it got a good deal because it got a small scratch during shipping to the store. So he buys slightly damaged appliances and sells them for half the price. This new dryer sells for around 800 in the stores, but we got it for 300. We were so excited. The store was located in Arkansas, so we paid a little extra to have it shipped straight to our house. It was well worth it. I have used it twice today and I LOVE it. Plus I still get a present on Christmas from Corey.

This is our old dryer. I think it is from the 80's. I am not sad about saying good-bye.

My new dryer which I love love love.

Where did I go wrong?

So I get a call from Logan's school yesterday saying that Logan had informed them that his Dad passed away last night. They were concerned and called to see if they could help in anyway. I was thrown for a loop. I explained that everything was fine and I apologized. Thinking this was the end to this episode, I get a call today from Logan's teacher telling me all these horrible things he has been doing in school. At home he doesn't seem that bad!! But then again I think I instill fear into my kids and that might have something to do with it. Knowing that his teacher can't be too dangerous he might hold less regard for her consequences. But he won't stop talking in class and then she said he is aggressive on the playground and in gym class. I just couldn't believe that Logan was being rough with his peers. But I guess these are parents last words right! I think half the problem with the aggression is when he plays with the older neighborhood boys they all play rough all the time. So I had to ground him from playing with the boys in our neighborhood until we can resolve these issues. Plus he has to get good marks on his talking every week or else there will be consequences. I always feel like a referee with my kids. They are always fighting, yelling and teasing. Does anyone have any ideas for discipline? I am about ready to try anything at this point. Do they still do shock therapy?

It could be nesting, I don't know!!

So yesterday I decided the boy's room needed some revamping. If you have seen it before you know that I had sports border around the room and had painted stripes under the border. Well the boys had decided to pick at the border in random spots so it was looking really bad. Plus the walls were looking grimy. I needed to do something with it. So I yesterday I stripped the border, which took all morning. Then I painted over the stripes and did one wall blue as an accent. I don't know if I like it or not. But it literally took me all day to do and I had to crawl out of the bedroom by the time it was finished. I always forget that I am huge pregnant and I tend to try to do things like I used to. My friend Danielle claims I am nesting. This may be true, but I don't think I will tackle anything else until after baby comes. I hope this isn't how you feel when you get old. I will post pictures later of the finished room when I actually do that. There is still some touch-ups and I have to find some decor for the bare walls. I was going to do my bedroom next month, but after what I felt yesterday I don't think I will.

Why the cold?

With my past pregnancies I can remember at least one cold that I held onto and couldn't shake. Well I should have known better than to think this time would be any different. I picked up a head cold from somewhere and now I can't shake it. It could be worse true, but I am always congested anyways, add a cold and my nose is basically useless. Plus I have the nice sore throat to go with it. At least Corey sympathises because he also has the head cold. I am hoping that I can shake it soon, because I sleep even less when my nose is stuffed and my throat hurts.

Cookies

I found this new recipe online for Christmas cookies. I was a little scared since there is no butter involved. How can a cookie taste good without the butter? So I decided to give it a try. Main ingredients are basically olive oil and brown sugar. Plus all the yummy mix in's. I was pleasantly surprised on how they turned out. They are really filling and it almost makes you think you are eating a meal more than a cookie. I really like them, but how can you not like cranberries and dark chocolate together?

Holiday Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies (from H.E.B.)

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (Ultra Grain) or all purpose

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 scant teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup EACH dried cranberries, chocolate chips or chunks (good ones)

1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces

1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.
Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside. Stir in the salt (it doesn’t always go through the sifter).

Beat olive oil and brown sugar using an electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on medium speed (about 1 minute). Add the sifted flour 1/2 cup at a time and stir by hand until mixed. Stir in chocolate chips, cranberries and nuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until golden brown (at least around edges).

Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies

Thursday Journal Jar

Write a Letter to Santa.

Dear Santa,

There are so many things that I could ask for that I don't really need. I have been really blessed in my life at this point and to ask for all the material things I would want seems really shallow. It would be so much easier if I was a little girl of 5, a barbie doll or some dress up clothes. But since I am 29, I will ask for what I would want the most in my life right now.

I would want what every mom wants, for my children and husband to be completely happy and secure in their lives. I want my kids to know that I love them absolutely. That they mean everything to me and that I will always be there for them to give them hugs and kiss away their tears. I want my husband to be happy in our marriage. I want him to accomplish all his goals for us as a family and him personally. I find when my kids are happy and laughing and when my husband smiles and says he loves me and is content that my life is complete.

So please ignore the request for a dryer that will actually start every time and will dry in one cycle.

Yours Truly,
Kory Esquibel

Random Thoughts

So I love this time of year. All the lights and cooler temperatures. I love when my house feels all Christmasy and the kids seem to get extra excited when we pull the tree out. This year Corey actually helped with the setting up and I don't know if he will return next year or not. I don't think he realized how difficult the kids can be when you mix excitement and a Christmas tree. It took so long that I actually had to finish decorating the next day. Plus I had to adjust most of the ornaments because they were located too low to the ground. But now I am officially ready for the red guy to make his appearance.

Today I went to grab my vacuum, oh how I love to vacuum. I just love how your carpet looks so nice and clean after you are done. Well I have noticed that the suction on my new vacuum has been weaning so I decided to investigate. Well 10 screws and a lot of dirt later I found the problem. The hose was totally clogged shut. And my luck, it was located right in the middle of it. So I had to get creative to get it out. I finally just kept shoving my broom handle until I got the clog close enough to start digging it out. It took me about 45 minutes to resurrect my vacuum, but now I can actually clean instead of just throwing stuff around. There were some interesting stuff caught in the hose. I guess I can't just suck up everything in my path. Some larger article need to be hand picked up. And just when I thought I had it too easy.

And as a last note of thought, I just absolutely love cottage cheese. I know most people abhor it unless it is cooked in a recipe, but I could just sit down with a container and go to town. Add some fruit and then I am really set to go. It almost is as good as ice cream, but notice I said all most.

28 week photo

So here I am posting my 28 week picture. I am so excited that I am finally in my third trimester. The end of the road is in sight, although I still have a long haul through January. I usually dislike January as it is, but knowing that I have to wait through it for the baby will make it even slower I know. And I have also noticed the lovely pregnancy face. Round face, round belly. But I can't complain I am feeling great and I am just grateful for that.

My New Diaper Bag

Since this is my last baby, or so we are planning, and I decided I needed a really cute diaper bag. There is a talented person in our Ward (Hi Joni) who makes these unbelievable bags. They are one of a kind and just too cute for words. Almost all the women in our Ward own one, but I haven't seen this bag yet. So I was glad to be able to sport it. She warned me it was huge, and she wasn't exaggerating. But I love it and I can't wait to carry it around and show it off. Corey already told me he would not be toting it around, I think the pink is too much for his manhood. But thanks so much for the beautiful bag Joni. If any of you are interested in checking her site it is here.

Giving credit for a wonderful bag

The inside of the bag, look at all those pockets!!

The final look.

Painting the House

Since Corey had today off from work and it has turned out to be a beautiful day...we decided we would finish the outside of our house and paint. Last month we found a ton of wood rot on our house and had to replace most of the wood on the back of our house. But once we got all that done, the weather turned really bad and we haven't had a chance since to paint. But today we finally accomplished that. We hate the color of our house, but it is much easier at this point to just paint what the rest of the house already is. Corey was so patient and let Lexie and Gabe get in there with their own paint brushes. Paint was flying everywhere, but I think they had a great time. I did paint the lower parts, but standing on a chair or ladder to get up high is a little over me right now. I would probably fall with this huge boulder attached to my belly. So I wasn't as much help as I would have liked, but I did all I could. It is so nice to have Corey home with us!!

Lexie armed with a paint roller
Gabe with his personal paint brush.

Corey getting some work done!!

As a side note, while we were in the car to go get supplies Lexie was really asking the questions and not leaving us alone. We were going to get breakfast before hand and Corey warned Lexie if she didn't stop whining then she wouldn't get any. I asked her what she needed to say to her dad. She said, "Dad, I am sorry I am so annoying." I couldn't stop giggling. Needless to say she did get breakfast.

Twilight Review

Drum roll please.....Here is my personal review of the movie Twilight. If you missed my earlier blog, yes I did go to the midnight screening of the movie with some great friends who also wanted to humor themselves with the flick. We got there an hour early only to find the theater packed and ourselves seated on the second to the front row. I already had stiff neck before the movie even started. Add to the fact that the picture looked so huge and fuzzy it was hard to see everything at once. So this in itself might have affected my opinion of my opinion of the movie. Once started I thought it would pick up. You could tell this was a low budget film and I found myself thinking how cheesy some part were. The only saving grace for me was Edward himself. I wasn't too sure how he would look in the movie as Edward, because during his TV interviews he looks kinda quirky to me. But he did an excellent job with his part and he looked really nice up on that big screen. So even though the film itself was no grand slam at least they gave us women something nice to look at for the two hours. So was it worth staying up till 3am on a Thursday night....NO. I would have much rather watched this flick at the dollar movie or even waited till DVD. I am really hoping that they make enough revenue from this first one that the second will be a better caliber of movie. So I was disappointed in what they came up with. So if you haven't read the book, please please don't go see the movie to try and catch up, take the time to read and you will be so much more fulfilled.

Thursday Journal Jar

What are your memories from your favorite Thanksgiving?

Don't get me wrong I love Thanksgiving with all the food, family and football games. I think it is a great way to get together and celebrate our thanks. But, to be honest I can't think of a particular one that I remember more than the others. I will say I look forward to turkey day more now that we live so much closer to family. Nothing is better than going over Thanksgiving morning to my mom's house and enter with Christmas music going and mom singing in the kitchen. I always go over early and help start with the preparations for supper. We always eat around 1 or 2 and then this is followed of course by lounging with the men while they cheer for football. I also love to sit and listen to the men debate about the game and I think this is what Corey loves best about being around Josh and my Dad. They actually know so much about football and Corey can pretty much rival anyone when it comes to football stats. I can't believe that it is less than a week away and I am so excited to do it once again with my family.

Tag your it

I found this tag on a friend of mine. It is a cute idea and I thought I might as well see what we get. Picture folder...4th folder...4th picture. The result:

I thought it might be more exciting, but it is a picture of Logan stuffing his face at Wendy's. I have no idea why I thought this was a good place to start clicking. But oh well, at least he is sporting his cool CTR ring in this one. He is pretty cute though.

What a Weekend!!

This weekend was amazingly busy for me. I usually have nothing too exciting happening, but that was not the case this past weekend. On Saturday we held a garage/bake sale for the Summer's family in our Ward. I was amazed at how many people showed up to help. It was bitter cold outside. It felt just like I was back in Rexburg with blustering winds that would knock everything off the table. And the fact that it would blow right through you. I was so cold and tired afterwards, but I have to say I have never felt more fulfilled than I did at the end of the day. I was in the best mood and I think it was because of the success of the sale and what we were able to do as a community to help the Summer's family. It made me realize how many good people there are out there.

Today was our Sacrament program and I have to say I was a little worried about it at first. How can you not be when you have that many kids sitting up in front of everyone. You can never really be too sure of what will happen. Besides one out burst from a little boy, it went really well. I was so proud of the kids and how reverent they all were throughout. I messed up on the congregation music, because I was so nervous. I did not know I would be playing while the whole church would be singing and I don't have a piano to practice on. So I did not get the chance to practice the songs. I was a mess. But it went really well afterwards and I got through the songs without too many noticeable mistakes. So with that behind me, I can relax behind the piano for a couple of weeks, until January when we get the program for next year. But it turned out to be a really great experience weekend for me.

Helping a Family in Need

This past Monday we had a family in our church who lost their Father/Husband to cancer. He has been fighting awhile with it and he has left behind a wonderful wife and seven beautiful kids. I posted a link on my sidebar if you want to help and donate. All the money will go straight to the family in need. You can read about the Summers family on their blogs. The family blog that Becky did. And the blog dedicated to Duane and his fight with cancer. Please look and see what a wonderful family this is and how much your help would mean to them.

Thursday Journal Question

What is your idea of a perfect day?


Boy, my perfect day huh? This could be a little tricky seeing as there are all sorts of perfect days for me. I would love to wake up in the morning and not have to hurry to get up and get the kids fed, get my exercising done and make sure everything is in order for the day. I could just lay in bed and not have to hurry anywhere. To have Corey just wake up and not have to hurry off to work. I love it when we spend time together as a family. I would love to spend the day with all my brothers and sister and their spouse and kids. What a grand day that would be. It doesn't happen that often. But I have to say our trip to Cancun was pretty close to perfection. It would have been fun to share some of the things with our kids. And I really don't know if we will ever have enough money to take the kids someplace like that. But I am really hoping that we can attend Nauvoo with my brother Thor and his family when they come this summer. I would also love the day without having to prepare a meal. I really don't mind cooking, but I love going out because you just order what you want and it appears. How nice would that be. Then after the kids are in bed to curl up with a brand new book from my favorite author Marcia Lynn McClure. I absolutely love her clean historical romances and I check every month for a new release. I always read them in record time, but there is nothing I would rather do then read a novel of hers.

I really think I have a pretty close to perfect life that includes healthy kids and a wonderful husband who loves me. He tells me everyday how much he loves me and how beautiful I am and I can't help but feel loved when he is around. I really am grateful my life is pretty close to perfect.

Ready for Bake Sale on Saturday

We are having a bake sale in our Ward for a family whose husband/father passed away this past week. I never am into actually making the goodies, but really into eating them. So I sucked it up and was cooking all afternoon. I have to say the cooking was the easy part. When it came to wrapping all those individual pieces of fudge, candy and truffles I thought it would never end. But I did finish and now I have the baggies to add to the sale. I really hope that we have a great turn out and that we can raise some money for the Summer's family.

I did get carried away with taste testing. The truffles required Oreo's (my favorite cookies, but isn't it America's favorite cookie also?) and so I did eat a couple of those while I was baking. I really don't think I ate that much, but everything was so sweet one taste was all it took to satisfy. So when everything was all set up and it required tasting I thought I was going to barf. I did taste everything and they did taste pretty good. My fudge actually turned out better than I expected. But I put everything to test with the boys and they said the truffles were their favorite. So after much sweat and tiny pieces of cellophane I have completed it.

So what if I'm reclusive

For the past couple of weeks I have been leaning toward becoming exclusively reclusive. I am the type of person anyways who likes my own personal space and I like it a certain way. If something comes along unplanned that clutters, disturbs or disrupts my space in anyway I get completely frazzled. I really don't remember being this bad in high school, but after having a home and trying to maintain a semblance of order with three kids, it has gotten considerably worse. Just within the past couple of days I have noticed that I more than try to go out of my way to avoid any personal contact outside of my family. If someone calls, I look right at caller ID to see who it is. If it is someone that I know but never calls, I know they are calling to ask me something and I just want to avoid that all together. Not that I don't want to help, I just don't want to talk and pretend that everything is great and try not to sound rude. So my voice machine is my personal assistant who takes my messages and then I relay them to the appropriate person or place.

I also have been known to avoid the door at all costs. Neighborhood kids beware, I know I am the sour mom on the block. Always saying no they can not come inside. Because then that would create mayhem in my perfect bubble I have created for myself. So if it is too nasty outside to play, the kids are stuck inside with themselves as entertainment. I can totally see myself the reclusive old lady in the scary house that chases everyone away. I have always been a private person, but I honestly believe no matter what happens I always try to fix things by myself without even telling anyone that something happened. I know I am turning weird but the most important thing is I love my family and I love the gospel. Once you get behind that thick wall I put up, I can really be a great friend. You just might have to knock really loudly before I answer.

And just as a side note, every time I blog about my feelings it seems I get negative reviews from someone through someone else. If you don't like reading about how I feel just don't read my blog.

Twilight Tickets

I really don't want to sound like a teeny bopper here, but I just bought early release tickets for Twilight. I have been looking forward to this since I heard about them making a movie. I just hope that I won't be disappointed after loving the books. I am going with Sally and Danielle to the midnight showing the Thursday before the release. All three of us are hard time Twilight readers and we have all been looking forward to this. I hope this is a success because if they make enough money they have already pre-signed all the actors to do the last three books in the series. I am really excited!!! Maybe Corey will have to dress up as a vampire for me!!!

My Corey

1. Where did you meet your husband?
Well I first met him when I went out with my mom to Green River to see Thor and Josh. I had an instant crush but I had no idea we would actually get married.

2. How long did you date before you married? Umm, three months.

3. How long have you been married? 9 years

4. What does he do that surprises you? When I unleash the beast in myself and get all going he is always so calm and hardly ever yells back. He just lets me vent and then acts like no big deal.

5. What is his favorite feature? He has such a great smile and he has the cutest butt I have ever seen, although none of you will have realized this.

6. What is your favorite quality of his?He is always very giving and hard working. He will be the first to help someone in need and he has gotten all A's in his master classes. I am so proud of him.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? He does call me Sexy on occasion, but now that I think about it he hardly calls me Kory, I think it sounds weird saying your own name sometimes.

8. What is his favorite food?Mexican

9. What is his favorite sport? Well it would be a toss up between golf and football, although he loves to play golf and watch football.

10. When & where was your first kiss?In his apartment at Rick's College. He invited me over for dinner and while he was walking by me in the kitchen he just walked over and gave me this quick kiss. Kinda surprised me.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?We like to meet up for lunch once a month and just sit in silence and talk. It isn't that often we get to be totally alone and just talk. Plus we like to watch Hero's and CSI together at night.

12. Do you have any children?Yep, two boys, one girl and another girl on the way in February.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? He loves to argue. He will take the opposite side no matter what the case. I think he should have been on debate because he is actually pretty good at it. He is also good with kids, he beats em up but they just keep coming back for more.

14. Who said I love you first?I probably did, I scared him off for a little while there. What can I say I had a crush on him since High School.

15. What is his favorite music?Alternative although he likes all different kinds. He like Dave Matthews and I hate them so this is a constant battle between us.

16. What do you admire most about him? He is always so positive, when I am being negative he gives me something good to think about.

17. What is his favorite color?green

18. Will he read this? No

19. Who do you tag?Whoever reads this and wants to write about their significant other.

Thursday Journal Question

What is on your bucket list?

Let me think about this for a second....what would I like to do before I passed on. Well I would love to travel. I have always wanted to go to Europe and see Ireland and also Italy. There are so many different places I would love to see and experience. Going to Mexico was an eye opener for me and I can only imagine what going to another country would be like.

I want to own an English Mastiff. I know how lame, but I have always wanted one and Corey hates dogs with a passion and big dogs at that. But I am going to accomplish this one even if I am 80 and have this huge dog by my side.

I would love to compete in a Miss Universe title although that won't happen now with four kids and no time to train sufficiently, but hey it was worth putting on there.

And if I could I would go back in time and live during the 1800's. I know people always say how rough it was and that it would be hard. But I like seclusion and I think life back then was mainly that. I love the idea of wearing dresses and living on a farm in the middle of nowhere. It sounds so appealing to me and I always said I was born in the wrong era.

I wish I could think of more at this moment, but that is all I got for right now. But I think these are enough for me to try and shoot for.

Annoyed by Poop

Let me just say that I have never shied away from a dirty diaper. Little babies, no problem I could change them at anytime. But for some reason the older the kid the smellier the poop. I watch a friend's little boy in the mornings a couple of times a week and without fail he will wait until being dropped off to drop his load. I consider myself able to endure some smelly stuff, but this kid just smells so bad it brings tears to my eyes. The whole time I am changing him I keep thinking why do I have to keep doing this. I should put a quota on how many times I have to change his diaper and endure the smelliness not only of itself but the way it will stink up whatever room he decides to crap in for hours. After this I think I will be grateful for Hailey to get here because nothing can get worse after what I just witnessed.

Boy what a great morning!!

This morning I had my Dr. appointment so my friend Danielle kept Lexie and Gabe and told me to make a morning of it and then go to lunch with Corey. It is not often that I get to be out and about alone. I felt almost naked at first, but I quickly adjusted. My Dr. appointment went fine. Nothing out of the ordinary to report except my growing belly. I do have to do my glucose test in a couple of weeks and I wouldn't really hate it except I have to drive about 30 minutes to get to the lab. Which sucks for me. But oh well, I guess I have to get it done sometime. Since I had a couple of hours to spare before lunch I went to Target and just browsed. I gathered somethings and then ended up putting them back. I have a hard time spending money and I always do this. But I did end up buying Lexie some new Sunday shoes and I also bought a book. I also went to my favorite store Kohl's and I did buy Hailey a couple of outfits on clearance of course for about 20 bucks...what a bargain hunter I am.

Then Corey and I went to lunch at you guessed it Panara Bread. I absolutely love that place. I had a bread bowl this time with chicken noodle soup and even though there isn't that much soup I got full fast and didn't get to eat my bowl. Oh darn, no saving that because it is all soggy after the soup is in there. I will have to learn I can't wear just any shoes while I am out walking around the stores. My feet are killing me and even though I will look pretty doofy with tennis shoes with all my outfits the benefits are looking really good right now. If only everyday were as good as today was.

Gabe's Soccer Game

This past Saturday we had soccer games of course. Corey forgot the camera on Logan's game so we will try to get some video next week at his last game. But we did remember when it came time for Gabe's and we actually got some really cute video of him scoring his goals. He scored two this week and he is so excited after he scores. He already tries to get everyone organized on his team, something that I think will only help him as he gets older. He is a total leader and takes charge as much as possible. But I would rather he be a leader than a follower. My job consists of sitting in my lawn chair and relaxing.


Half time interview



One of Gabe's goals

After the game interview

24 weeks

Well I have finally made the 24 week mark. I feel really good and I am so thankful everyday that so far I have had no problems that aren't just part of being pregnant. Hailey is getting more active everyday and her kicks are getting stronger as well. My Dr. appointment is Wednesday so I will have to write what happens after that. But at least I can still squeeze into my workout pants to go walking at the gym in the mornings.

Trunk or Treat

Yesterday night we had a bi-ward trunk or treat at the church. I have to admit I was a little surprised by all the people who showed up and passed out candy. The kids got so much we have this huge bowl already and we haven't even gone on Halloween yet. But I try to ration it so they don't overload all the time. This way it lasts longer as well. The kids had a great time and this year they even had a carnival in the gym that the kids could play games. It turned out really well and the kids had a great time.

Logan as our masked villain
Lexie as little orphan Annie, she looked so stinking cute in it.

Gabe as my ghost. We tried the sheet over the head, but he didn't like that. So we had to improvise with the white paint. Pretty scary face there huh?

Flu Shots

This morning we all had our appointments to get our flu shots. This year it was a really good idea considering I am pregnant and it could be bad if I got influenza. I did not hide the fact from the kids, I just told them straight out we were going to get poked and it would help us not to get sick this year. Last year Logan was the worst one, hanging onto the door handle and trying to pry his fingers off long enough to put him in the sleeper hold so the lady could get his arm. With me being pregnant I was a little worried about having to do that again. But I went first to demonstrate how easy it was. I told them it was just a tiny poke and it didn't hurt. Of course Gabe was the first to volunteer and he didn't even flinch. After it was over he just said "that was it?" like he was surprised it didn't hurt more. So this gave Logan courage, since he hates to be out done by his younger brother. He sat very still and was the same way. I didn't have to hold him down or anything. I thought this is a piece of cake. Well as I turn to Lexie she just starts backing into the corner yelling "I don't want a poke." I had to actually hold her down and basically sit on her to get the lady to get it in her arm. At least she is super tiny and it wasn't that difficult to hold her.

They all got stickers afterwards and Gabe kept talking about how brave he was. The lady was really old, but it was the best shot I have ever had. It didn't hurt at all. I was a little embarrassed as Gabe kept jumping up and down and fake punching this 60 year old nurse. And the best part is it is free at the Health Department. Who can refuse free shots to keep the nasty throw ups away for the winter. Now I am really nervous about Lexie's four year shots coming in March....I might need to learn some new wrestling moves for that one.

posing in front of our van before they all got the shots. Cruel huh?

8 is great

8 Is Great!!
Tagged by Lisa

8 TV Shows I Love To Watch

1. Hero's
2. Chuck (He is such a cutie)
3. The Mentalist
4. CSI New York
5. CSI Las Vegas
6. Criminal Minds
7. Numbers
8. King of Queens
9. Seinfield
10. American Idol (when in season)

8 Things that happened to me yesterday

1. I cleaned my bathrooms really well
2. I had to finally turn our heat on, although I kept it at 64, put some socks on.
3. I put a roast in the crock pot and it was so moist
4. We actually did FHE
5. I got up early to walk at the gym
6. I took a nap while the boys were in school.
7. I had a visit from my VT, thanks!!
8. I had a hard time falling asleep thanks to the last minute decision to have a Mountain Dew...but man was it good.

8 Favorite Places to Eat

1. Panera Bread
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. Burger King (a whopper is so great sometimes)
4. Papa Johns
5. Wings To Go (thanks for introducing me Danielle)
6. Olive Garden
7. Applebees
8. Cold Stone (yeah I know it isn't food, but I love their ice cream)


8 Things I am looking forward to

1. Having this baby
2. Halloween because it is supposed to be warmer this year
3. Thanksgiving morning when I go help mom cook with the Christmas music going.
4. Black Friday...oh yeah
5. Christmas of course
6. Fitting back into normal clothes
7. Training for a half marathon
8. Lexie to go into school


8 Things on my wish list

1. A maid to clean up after my kids
2. Having a bigger maternity wardrobe, although thanks to Danielle it isn't bad.
3. A credit card with no limit and no payback
4. A newer car that doesn't leak oil
5. A automatic diaper changer
6. No stretch marks
7. Had really dark hair naturally
8. Going back to Cancun....maybe when Corey gets his MBA in 2011

8 People I tag

1. Stacey
2. Sarah
3. Julie
4. Sally
5. Thor
6. Betty(mom)
7. Diantha
8. Anna Min

Halloween Party

This past Saturday night we went to a Halloween party that a friend of mine was hosting. It was a lot of fun for Corey and I. We never dress up for Halloween, so this was an opportunity for us to get involved a little bit. I bought this latex paint online, and we applied that for the blue. Little did we know that it was be murder to take off at the end of the night. Mine peeled off pretty easy, but Corey's we had to really scrape to get off. He swears he will never do it again, so it is a good thing that I got pictures of it. We went as Papa Smurf and Smurfette. Granted it was a knocked up Smurfette and Papa Smurf was actually big Papa, but the important thing is we had a blast. The party turned out great and we had fun mingling with other couples who also dressed up all crazy for one night.

Corey stuffed his pants with some socks so that is why I called him big Papa. A guy at the party dubbed him two liter, I think that name might stick for awhile.
Here we are in our full glory. I look huge in that dress, but the pickings were slim at Ross's for a cheap white dress. So this is what we came up with.

I know we look more like the blue man group, but hey that was the lightest color blue they had.

Shaving is dangerous

Every week as I step into the shower I realize that I need to shave once again. Being pregnant the thought comes to mind, who cares if I am a little hairy, but I just can't seem to go too long without shaving myself. Well I finally got around to it yesterday and I cut myself. Well not just anywhere, you would assume a cut on my leg or arm-pit where you actually apply the razor to your skin. But no, somehow when I was putting the razor down I actually cut my knuckle. And it has been killing me. I can't bend my finger and when I do it starts to bleeding again. It just goes to show how dangerous shaving really can be.

Sorry about that....

This is my special post to my sister-in-law Sally. She really is a good friend of mine, and although I don't see her as much as I would want thanks to the long 25 minute drive and busy schedules, she really has been a good friend to me. That blog was a random venting on my part when you get to that point in your life where you get to feel sorry for yourself for a couple of minutes. I am sure I have left others off my list of friends as well and I apologize. But hey, if I had more than two no one would really feel sorry for me now would they? And that post would have seemed more desperate than it was. So, I just wanted Sally in particular to know how much I love her and appreciate her being not only my sister-in-law but my friend as well. Plus who else would I feel comfortable stealing fashion sense from without worrying about being the copy cat. And if by chance Sally you feel like stealing some of my maternity styles you go right ahead, I won't be offended in the least!!

Guess I'll Go Eat Worms

Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me, guess I'll Go Eat Worms.
long, Thin, Slimy Ones; Short, Fat, Juicy Ones,itsy, Bitsy, Fuzzy Wuzzy Worms.

Down Goes The First One, Down Goes The Second One,oh How They Wiggle And Squirm.
Up Comes The First One, Up Comes The Second One,oh How They Wiggle And Squirm.


Do you guys remember this song? I actually sing this song to myself a lot for some reason. Growing up in High School this was the most important thing to me, having lots of friends and having them like me. But something happened between college and since marriage that has turned me into a so called hermit. I have limited friends (thanks Danielle and Tiffany for taking on this feat) and sometimes I wonder if I need to start attempting to befriend others. I have tried in the past don't get me wrong, but I end up getting no call backs after I make the initial call to hang out. I wonder if I am so mean and horrible that people avoid me like the plague. Danielle suggest that I seem standoffish and I can make people think that I am somehow bothered by them. Well truthfully there are some people who really do annoy me and I have a hard time hiding that annoyance. Oh well, I guess I need to stop sitting by myself on purpose and try to smile more at others. Dang it, I actually have to exert myself. You have no idea how hard this is for me. Hmm, maybe a friend list of two isn't so bad after all.

Finally Riding Bikes

Yes we have been putting off helping the boys learn to ride two wheel bikes. Corey has been so busy and with me getting bigger I have a hard time running fast enough beside them to help any. So yesterday Gabe kept begging Corey to help him so he did. Gabe tried first and he did it on the first try. He just took off and I thought that was pretty easy. Logan had tried before and was so scared of falling that he gave up after a couple of tries. Well after seeing Gabe do it he looked at me and asked "How come Gabe is so much better at things than me?" He was so concerned and I tried to explain to him that Gabe wasn't afraid of falling off, which he isn't, and that helps him to ride faster.

So Logan was determined and after only a couple more tries finally got it. Logan is coordinated, but Gabe has that natural balance and ability to learn physical things fast. After all, the kids was walking at 9 months. He would be the first to ride his bike.

Gabe riding toward me. He kept saying "Let me show you how the pro's do it"
Logan was wobbly at first, but here he is bringing it home just fine.

belated Thursday Jar Question

Whoops, I have forgotten this weeks question...what went wrong.

What is my favorite food and include the recipe.

Well I am not hard to please really. It depends on my mood for what I am really craving. But when it all comes down to it, I really like brownies. I can't help it. Something about all that chocolate oozing when you cut into it. I like mine still gooey and rich. I could eat a whole pan if I put my mind to it, well and I have to have a glass of milk as well. I have tried homemade recipes and I still like the box brownies best. So I guess I really don't have a recipe to share, but I have to recommend the Ghiardelli double chocolate brownies...whoo they are rich but man are they good.

Whoa Nelly

Someone needs to remind me to slow down a little bit. Today was just completely crazy for me. I had grocery shopping in the morning and I had to go to two separate stores, with all three kids because it is fall break. So after we finally got home I felt like I was going to pull my hair out. Well I decided to treat the kids to a lunch at McDonald's, so off we went. Can I just say that I sometimes think my kids are cursed. We are sitting there eating and of course Gabe spills his soda all over the table and floor. I am trying to clean that up while everyone is watching me. Probably thinking that pregnant woman's needs to quit while she is ahead. Then as we are leaving Logan drops his drink on the floor right in front of the door. Considering it was lunch rush and the line was basically right by the door I was mortified. I swore as we were going out ( not really) that I would never take all three by myself to McDonald's again.

After lunch I left my kids at my friend Danielle's house with a sitter and we went shopping for Halloween costumes. Well basically we were gone for almost four hours trying to find certain items that we both needed. My friend Danielle is as I say an Amazon (very tall) and her long legs give her a long stride. So here is little short legged pregnant Kory trying to keep up with her huge steps. The good thing was we found everything we needed and I got a Panara bagel as a snack.

When I finally got home and while I was fixing dinner for the rug rats I started cramping up and my back just started throbbing. Oh that is right, a pregnant woman needs water or she will cramp up. Did I drink my water today...whoops. So I had to down a couple of glasses of water and lay down to get the weight off my lower back. I guess I need to realize that I can't go at the same speed that I was before pregnancy. No wonder little Hailey Sophia was kicking the living daylights out of me.

My busy Saturday

Yesterday was really eventful for me. I usually don't have too much planned, but I sure did yesterday. I started with Gabe's soccer game and he did so good. He scored 5 goals and he just kept running down the field shouting "I'm on a roll". It was just too adorable. Right after the game I zoomed over to our church's Super Saturday which started at 10, so I was a little late. But it was fun to sit and visit with my friends. I wish I had pictures to say that I actually accomplished making something, but I don't. I knew I wouldn't have a easy time with the apron and the tiles were 6 dollars a piece and I just keep thinking of the Halloween costumes I have yet to purchase for the kids.

That evening Corey took me out on a date. I love it when we go out alone. It feels like we are still young and laughing about all sorts of stuff. I love that I have such a great relationship with my husband. He really is my best friend and I love that we can just sit and talk for hours. Well since we were trying to save money we went to Taco Bell for dinner. It was good as usual, but being pregnant it wasn't as good about two hours later.

After that Corey took me to see Eagle Eye...

It was actually really good. It was really action packed basically the whole movie. And I have to say I am a big Shia Labeouf fan and he did such a great job in this one. I highly recommend this one. Although you might want to go to a different movie theater than the Cinema Eight in Broken Arrow. That place is crawling with teenagers who don't know how to be courteous during a movie. Cell phones going off, texting through the whole movie, getting up and having conversations in the middle of the aisle and throwing popcorn. I felt like I was in Teenager Hell and I was getting so frustrated.

To end my evening just perfect Corey drove all the way down to Memorial and 71st street to get my a Cold Stone Ice Cream...

Only to find out that they are closed, well more like evicted, so we were really disappointed. So we settled for the Marble Slab by the Pro-Bass Shop. It was really good, although Corey was not happy about the price. For my medium we could have bought a whole gallon at Wal-mart, so that was my most expensive part of the date. But it was way worth it. And to end my night just perfectly when we were leaving the store and crossing the parking lot a yes, Teenager, comes zooming through at about 45 miles an hour and almost runs Corey over. I had to yell at him to stop and grab his arm because she came out of nowhere. I may have shown her a not so nice gesture and yelled to slow down. Not that it helped any, and I am sure that was not the most Christian thing to do, but I was defiantly teen aged out by that point. How will I survive my own kids I wonder.

Quit staring, yes I am pregnant

I used to be at the gym all the time. Spending at least two hours a day with cardio and weights. People would talk to me, or attempt to talk to me sometimes, and I felt like I was in my niche. Well of course I stopped going at my usual time and when i did go early on in my pregnancy I thought I was going to throw up half the time. So now that I am feeling great and going every morning to walk on the treadmill I all of a sudden feel self conscious. Maybe I am just imagining it or are people gawking at me with this surprised look on their faces. At first I thought it was because they saw me pregnant and wasn't expecting it. Then after a friend told me I hardly looked pregnant I came to realize an astonishing thing.....these people thought I had porked up. The girl who used to bench heavy weights and do pull-ups on the bars is now a porker. I should just get a shirt that says "yes I am pregnant" and wear that so the staring and awwing will stop.

Ok now that I have gotten that off my chest and I am sure (mom) that you are thinking I am obsessed with how I look when I should just be happy that I am healthy and pregnant. Does anyone have a suggestion for a girls name? I have a couple but for some reason Corey is not satisfied with them. He said he needs more info. Well hon, I am about out of options considering he doesn't like anything I suggest. And the only one I get from him is Lafonda...like that is going to fly. So any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thursday Post Question

Name a book you loved and why?


Can I name a book, just one, that I loved more than the other. Oh boy, I know this is going to sound generic to some but I do love the twilight series...yes I know for teens and I am a mother of almost four kids but I loved the way it was written.

But I have to admit that I am a romance lover at heart. Although most romance novels..ok so almost all of them are pretty raunchy so I don't read that many. But there is a LDS author named Marcia McClure and I absolutely adore her books. I read them over and over and her story lines are amazing. I have all of her printed books and probably about 10 of her ebooks that I get from her website. So if I can't find anything to read then I just go to my bookshelf and pull one of hers. I can actually read a whole book in one afternoon because I just get so enthralled with it.

I also love to read the classics, Dickens comes to mind as one of my favorites. I have a few of his more popular ones and now that I am trying to read his Christmas collection right now off and on. I always feel like I can escape and go somewhere totally different when I read. Just give me a blanket, a good book and I am set for hours.

You want me to do what??

Being pregnant you go through a lot of poking and prodding and being exposed in ways you never thought imaginable. Always worrying if you shaved prior to exam time or as you lift up your arm for your breast exam, is there a little furry monster living under there. So by the time you give blood and drink pure sugar and the worst part for my husband (paying the bills) you would think they would make the small things easier. Take a look at this...

Yes you guessed it, this is my pee cup. Every time I go to an appointment I have to come with a sample. And this lovely thing is what I have to aim for. If I was a man, maybe not a big deal. But trying to get my stream to hit right on target and then squeeze off right after so I don't urinate on my hand is horrible. Talk about trying to hit a small target.

Thurday Post Question

Thanks to our friends Seth and Julie, I have also decided to answer the Thursday question of the week. Every Thursday Julie post a question and then answers it so you can get to know her better. What a great idea!! So here is the question this week:

Family Traditions: What are your favorite childhood traditions? What are your traditions with your family now?

Growing up in NC, we had no family around except our own immediate. So we have a couple of traditions that I still remember. We would always kneel down on our chair for Sunday dinner.

For Christmas we would get to open one present on Christmas Eve and then my Mom would play Santa Clause and we each took turns opening presents and watching each other. I think mom had a great idea, because it makes Christmas morning last longer.

For Easter the bunny would lay (jelly bean) eggs all over the house. We would have such a great time running around trying to find all the tiny hidden eggs. Plus our own baskets were hidden so it took some time to get our goodies.

And almost every summer my parents took us on vacation to somewhere. We went all over. Georgia, Virginia and almost always it involved amusement parks which I still love now I think because of that.

Now as Corey and I have our own family I still carry on some of those traditions at our house.

On Halloween we always meet at Grandmas house and trick or treat with Josh and Sally in mom's neighborhood. They give out great candy by the way.

Thanksgivings we all cram into mom's house for dinner and football of course. That next day (black Friday) mom and I always hit the stores super early and have a shopping fest...I love this.

On Christmas Eve we are at Grandma's house again and we do a program. Every family is in charge of a skit and we perform. Then the grand kids get to open pj's from Grandma and Grandpa. We also sing Karaoke. Then on Christmas Morning after we open presents Grandma and Grandpa come with their own gifts and sometimes we eat breakfast together. I love making golden rod eggs a recipe from my Grandma Rollins and just being with family. We all go over to Grandma's house for Christmas dinner as well.

I love the holidays because it is a time for us to get together with family. I am really going to enjoy it this year because we feel a move in our future with Corey's company and this might be the last fall we are here with my parents. But hopefully, we can still carry on similar traditions wherever we go.

19 Week Ultrasound

Today was my 19 week ultrasound at the image center at the hospital. I actually made Corey take some time off so he could come with me. But of course Lexie and Gabe woke up last night throwing up, so he ended up staying home so I could go. I absolutely hate drinking all that water and then trying to hold it. So I have learned that I just go into the bathroom and relieve myself partly then stop in the middle. I know how do I do it..but I have learned it is good for my muscles that Kegals do as well. So I have learned that I can still have a full bladder and not totally torture myself.

So she looks great!! I hate that I don't have her name all ready to go. Thanks to my husband who likes to keep me in suspense as to what he is going to suggest. But she is so busy. She moved all over the place and the tech had a hard time getting some pictures because she was just so active. But she looked so cute. It took her a couple of times to verify that it was in deed a girl. She had her legs crossed basically the whole time. I am just so blessed and happy that she is healthy and everything looks great.

My side belly shot at 19 weeks. (almost 20)
I am sorry it is blurry, but I don't have a scanner so I have to take a picture of a picture. She was laying face down kinda curved around. Plus she had her legs crossed at the ankles but you can't see it in this picture.

Ahh, proof that it is a girl. She was the last attempt and it proved successful.