Chistmas Gushy-ness

I know that right now many blogs are filled with sincere posts about the magic and joy of Christmas, but when you've probably already read several of them, you may just want to skip all the sentiment and go right to the pictures (even if you think your kids' pics are cuter).

--My kids' pics are cuter, though. It's just the truth.-- ; )

So, I'll just mention I feel Christmas mush and gush.

Ok, and an extra comment about how much I love looking at the tree.

And then you can move on to the pictures:

Our Christmas Eve candlelight dinner with china. Delish.

Our re-enactment of the navity; we traded parts a lot. Rob started as Joseph because Bryce wanted to be the donkey (see him hiding under that hobby horse?). Nathan stayed the part of Mary for the entire little program. Look at his cute pregnant tummy while he sits on Bryce.

Bryce has now switched to the part of Joseph so Daddy could be a shephard. See how sweetly he looks at the baby Jesus (a stuffed teddy bear this year).

I play the angel.

Pretty fat angel.

Jeffrey stayed the part of the narrator for the entire performance, and did a nice job.

Ok, now I'm trying to act 'kingly' for the part of one of the three kings/wise men that came to worship baby Jesus.

Very portly wise 'man.'

Dad took a picture of us next to the makeshift stable that Bryce made out of chairs.

And then Jeffrey took a picture of us so dad could also be included.

Isn't Jeffrey handsome with his new glasses, by the way? He seems to be able to see so much better, too.

Christmas carols; Bryce played some songs on the piano, then Jeffrey. We sang maybe 6 songs and were all wiped out and ready for bed, even the kids.

Do you notice the matching jammies Nana made for everyone? We opened them on Christmas Eve, after the nativity and before the caroling, and put them on right away.

Aaaah, the christmas tree. The picture doesn't do it any justice.

Santa's plate of cookies.

He must have liked them. They were gone by morning, and the food the boys left out for Santa's reindeer was also pretty much gone (oatmeal sprinkled in the backyard).

Christmas morning, waiting at the top of the stairs to come check out their loot.

Bryce and Nathan looked so cute opening their stockings together, almost back to back.

Which inspired me to take pics of all three of them in front of the christmas tree. Such handsome boys.

We also tried taking a family picture, but the sun was in our eyes, not to mention the boys were MUCH more interested in playing with their new Christmas toys.

A little thing and a big thing

A Litte Thing:

Last Sunday Rob got the hiccups just before church. For Rob, hiccups are terrible, because they can last up to 3 days.

Having hiccups on top of
1) conducting church hymns to the entire congregation and
2) singing in an acapella quartet during the church meeting

is a VERY bad combination.

As we drove to church, I started quietly praying for him that his hiccups could abate so he could fulfill his calling and contribute to his quartet. I kept praying the entire 10 min. drive to church, while listening to him hiccup the whole time.

When we arrived at church, my thoughts were distracted w/ my three rambunctious kids, and I have to admit I completely forgot about his hiccups during the entire wonderful Christmas meeting on being of Good Cheer.

When his quartet sang a beautiful medley of different Christmas songs like "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night," it was so touching that it brought tears to my eyes and the warmth of the Spirit to the room.

After church as we were returning home, it dawned on me that I hadn't seen him hiccup once during the meeting, though he was hiccuping again on the car ride home. I explained that I had been praying for him, and he told me he had also been praying all the way to church.

Then he told me that after the opening prayer of the main meeting was said, his hiccups stopped, and after the closing prayer of the same meeting was finished, they started again.

THAT is answer to prayer.

Such a little thing, and yet it really touched me that Heavenly Father is listening to us and our little temporal trials, and is prepared to strengthen us if we but ask.

(And if you want to know, Rob's hiccups continued on and off the rest of that evening and into the next day)

A Big Thing:

I have been feeling labor pains off and on for a good week now, and was pretty sure they were productive. Sure enough, my Thursday dr. appt confirmed I was a 3 and 50% effaced. They continued even more after the dr. appt, through Saturday morning, so close together and strong that I was sure I needed to head to the hospital 3 weeks early. A call to the on-call dr. let me know to drink water first to see if the intense contractions were being caused by dehydration, which they were.

A priesthood blessing from Rob also gave me great comfort and peace of mind, and among many touching and personal things, I was told that this baby will come at the "proper time." Whether that means early or on time, I knew that whenever I go into the hospital, it will be the "right" time for the baby.

Since that blessing, my contractions have slowed down, back to where I feel they're probably not even being productive. This is a very big thing to me, and I am grateful my Heavenly Father is aware of me and my personal worries and concerns.

--------------

Both of these experiences bring to mind a craft block I just made at a recent Super Saturday. It reads:

"Today's test is tomorrow's testimony."

Even though the above experiences are both not huge trials, seeing God respond to even little temporal things strengthens my testimony of a loving Father in Heaven.

'Tis the Season... to LIE

Called my mommy.

She said, "Oh hi, Kimberly! I just finished making your christmas present this very moment!"

Me: "Oh really. What is it?"

Her: "Um. I forgot."

Love you, mom. : )

Later she said, "Oh, it's on the tip of my tongue!," as though she had almost "remembered" what she made me.

That very second.

See, there is good lying and bad lying. My family is good at the former.* : )




*Rob, however, he's not good at lying, period. He just can't do it, even if it's for a surprise party or a game of Balderdash. But then again, neither can my best friend Tami. *Chuckle*

"No dying until you've finished your chores."

That is what I told Jeffrey last night as we really cleaned up after a DELICIOUS Thankgsiving dinner that Rob nearly made single-handedly.

As Jeffrey was sweeping he woefully declared that his arms were about to give out, that he had a headache, that his hiccups had only just abated, and a couple of other bodily grievances.

At first I applied the "you may not play the victim role" tactic:
"I have a headache, too, Jeffrey, but the work still needs to get done."
"Yup, this is hard work, isn't it? But it's part of being a family."

But when he said his arms were about to give out on about his fourth round of complaining, I laughed out loud and exclaimed, "I think Jeffrey is dying. Hey, you can't die until you finish sweeping."

Ha ha ha, I'm so funny.

But hey, he stopped complaining. Once he sort of collapsed on the floor, and I was quick to remind him, "No dying until you finish your jobs," and he quickly explained, "I'm just sitting for a moment!"

And then I heard it. The sound & action that every mother wishes for. Jeffrey grunted and spoke out loud to himself something to the effect of "Ok. Gotta get my head in the game and just do it."

HE DECIDED HE WOULD PLUG IN AND PLOW THROUGH the chore. And he got up and did it! In a matter of minutes!!*

Aaaaaaaaah. : )







*If only the kids would realize that in the time they complain, drag their feet, whine, etc (see my all-time FAVORITE parenting comic), they could have completed any requested tasks 3 times over and been off to play.

An Interesting Child

How I love my little children. I really do.

However, I must admit it's quite interesting to have a son who resists so much. You think as a parent that your kids will just love you when you have that spontaneous spark (ok, ok, that ADD spark), and sometimes skip off to the beach, or take them out of school for a little adventure.

But Jeffrey (10 yrs old) fights these things, and is quite put-out about them. A couple of examples:

--Didn't want to go to the beach last week when we had a day off school. Very strongly expressed that. Quite sullen on the drive down (which I politely ignored).

--Didn't want me to take him out of class on Thursday to visit Bryce's 2nd grade Thanksgiving presentation of some reader's theater skits. The entire time I took him out he kept turning to me with a look of "I don't understand why I have to be here." Most kids would JUMP at the chance to get out of class for a half hour.

--When we were at a fall carnival, Jeffrey rode on a 4-wheeled motorized little jeep with a group of kids. They went around a track several times, and because several of the little kids weren't too good with managing their little jeeps, he often was out "ahead" of the pack, separated from them. He called out to us, "Am I winning?"

We assured him he was winning, just for the fun of it. So, when the ride ended and the attendants told the chidren to stop, Jeffrey had arrived at the finish spot first, before the other kids. The attendant told him to go around again, so he ended up coming in behind the other children. He was very upset that they made him "lose."

Only when we went with the little "winning" illusion and told him that he got a victory lap, and explained they gave him a special treat by letting him go around again, did he change his tune and become excited.

Sigh. I do love him. Sometimes I wish that I could teach him that life doesn't have to be so rigid, that it can be fun and enjoyable.


--ps. Once we got to the beach, Jeffrey had a BALL. He loved it.

But, at all our trips to the pool this summer, where he was terrified of getting stung by a bee, he complained the entire 1-2 hours we spent there each visit.

But I did see him smiling at some of the fun poems and skits in Bryce's class this week, even though his body was tense and I could tell he didn't feel like he was in the right place until I let him go back to his normal routine of class.

--------

Then, there's my middle child, Bryce, another interesting child. He is a 100% kind of boy, and very strong-willed. He can be super excited and bouncy and full of energy while he's in the middle of something that interests him, or tearfully sad, or explosively angry.
When he was younger (about age 2-5 1/2), when he was angry he was defiant, and expressed it by hitting, and then his anger would escalate. Sometimes he would start by hitting the air, then the floor or a wall, and then human beings. Many times I didn't catch him and get him to time out before the escalation of anger blew up in my face, and I would have to carry him to his bed when he was in full hitting, flailing mode. I always carried him so he was facing away from me, so I wouldn't get the brunt of his out-of-control anger.

My friend Robin has started a new blog called Parents helping Parents, and I'd really like to hear from all of you. Click on the link and, in the comments, tell us, what has worked? What hasn't worked? What has helped, and with which child? (i.e. what personality types succeed with which parenting tools as far as you've seen?)

Thank you. For as much parenting help as I've received over the last 10 years, I still find myself worrying, doubting, from time to time. Especially this weekend, when Bryce has been crying all day long, bursting into tears over several little things (wait, he was doing this the last two days, too). Is this a case where I should be looking to see what's really causing the crying (I have no idea), or where I need to show tough love and consequate with losing money (2 cents each time, he earns and loses by 2 cents, Jeffrey by 5, Nathan by 1, but I'm the bank, and 1 penny can buy a popsicle, so it all works out nicely) each time he responds with tears instead of being more mature?

Sigh. Again.

Fantastic Owl-Themed Baby Shower!!

Last night was my baby shower, hosted by my best friend, Tami.

Since I'm due at the beginning of January, Tami had the shower just before the busiest time of the year (Thanksgiving and Christmas).

I just about died, it was all so perfect. Remember the adorable invitations she already sent out? She kept with the owl theme. Which I love, since I fell in love with my Carter's Tree Tops baby bedding because of the darling owl on the comforter.

The pictures simply don't do the shower justice. The time and effort, the detail, all the special little (and big!) touches made me feel SOOOOO loved. Several girls asked Tami if she'll be their friend, too ("Hint, hint, do MY next baby shower!," they were all thinking). : )


But I'm going to try with the pictures anyway.

Welcome table at a local clubhouse:



This "family tree" has pictures hanging from it, and five of them are all of our baby pictures. 2 of them were from Tami's family. People had to guess Whoo was Whoo, knowing 2 of the pictures didn't belong!





This nest contained the cards for the opening game. Look at those beautiful white feathers!





Here are the cute "guessing" cards. No one guessed all of us right, though most people were pretty good at weeding out the pictures that didn't belong. A lot of people thought Rob's baby pic was me and visa versa. : )





My flash was too strong and too close, so it's hard to see these little miniature blue binkies on their brown-ribbon necklaces, but they were cute. They were the other game. If you said "baby," and got caught, you had to give up your necklace. I think the person with the most necklaces at the end had 5 of them. Of course I lost mine in about the first 2 minutes!




Going around the room, from left to right, after the welcome table, was a nice sitting area.






Next, my woodland animals comforter was set up on display next to the cookie bar.





And what a cookie bar it was! Look at all those gorgeous, fresh home-made cookies, and their presentation! There were little bags you can see at the bottom of the picture that had stickers on them with the owl from my invitation, and people could mix and match cookies and take them home in the little baggies as their party favors.

And look at the beautiful diaper cake in the middle, with the rich brown and blue ribbon, and little miniature binkies attached to each layer!









Swinging around to the right were banquet tables set up end to end, with a blue runner, miniature bird's nests, apples, & fresh flowers that had similar blue and brown ribbons wrapped around their vases (I took a new pic of the flowers as they sat on my mantle this morning, so you can see just how pretty they are).

The tables were next to a mirror, and you can see the food table in the background.

And of course the food was DELICIOUS, since Tami served things I'm craving, like chicken salad sandwiches with cashews, purple grapes, celery & chicken, with a twist of ranch dressing mixed w/ mayo. Mmm mmm. I took this pic before everything was set out, though. Can you see that fresh fruit behind the wraps? Happy sigh. I'm still full.

Here is my yummy & pretty chocolate cake. I know you're asking, "Well, what did everyone else eat?" But I was really nice.

I shared.

Some ladies, eating. I loved seeing so many great friends; "school" moms (we meet when our kids are in the same classes, and bond quickly), neighbors (I have an AWESOME neighborhood, it's one of the reasons I never want to move), and gals from church (I also have a great ward/congregation, yet another reason I love right where I live).

Some ladies, chatting (ok, well, a lot of them stopped chatting when Tami snapped the pic).

More chatty ladies. That's what we do best. I loved every minute!

One of my gifts, a home made "rag" quilt from my neighbor Hope, which I took a picture of this morning.

I would also post the picture of the home-made hooded towel my sneaky cousin Shelly sent Tami from Illinois, that Tami quietly nestled in with the rest of the gifts. But it's already upstairs in the bathroom where the boys were quite excited over who got to use it first.

A picture of Tami and me at the end of the shower. Awww. The perfect ending to a lovely night. (And if you look at the cookie bar you can see it was a hit. Even though Tami replenished it all night, pretty much ALL the cookies went home with the guests.)

Well, actually, it was made even better when she came over to my house later that night and we sat and re-lived the shower together, which I always love to do after something memorable.

Again, what else can I say but give a HAPPY, contented SIGH, and cuddle up with some of the baby's new, soft blankets and stuffed animals? And tease my kids about letting them "eat" a piece of the diaper cake???

Life is good.

Preggo Pics

Ahem.


My mom has been asking for preggo pics.


So, here they are. This was cute, as both Bryce and Nathan came to cuddle up after dinner, and both fell soundly asleep on me.



I think this one was after church. I'm trying to remember to have Rob snap pics here and there so posterity can see how fat I get when I'm pregnant. And FYI, pregnancy clothes that fit me during previous pregnancies are already too small! And I have 2 more months to go!



This pic is also taken on a Sunday ('cuz I actually straighten my hair and wear makeup most Sundays) to show off my new crib bedding for baby #4. I'm in love with this adorable bedding! And look at that precious mobile!

I think this was the weekend of Time Out For Women, which I LOVED!

Do you like my costume? Original, right? (I dressed up as Barefoot and pregnant, of course)

Tami and me at Super Saturday last weekend, in front of the "Sweet Shop" sweets table, so this is the most updated pic. Boy, I'm big. Tami looks gorgeous, though.

And how could I post preggo pics w/out a notable mention going out to Nathan, who one night decided *he* would play pregnant, and fell asleep that way?

The work of a 2 year old. Or a pregnant woman.

You'd think a little kid would overfill the kitty's food, right?

Wrong. It was me. The one time I have fed the cat in, like, the 7 years we've owned her. The whole lid came off when I was pouring.

I'll leave feeding the cat to Rob.

Thanks, Tami!

Isn't this the most adorable owl invite?
Can you see the cute glitter she put on the owl's beak, tummy spots, tree branch and leaves?
And look how it's matted with the most perfect bamboo paper (you can feel the texture on the actual card).
And the beautiful brown ribbon!





(Of course I changed the actual address and phone number so the internets can't hunt us down and find out exactly where we live)

; )

Insomnia is getting OLD really fast.

Wonder where I've been? (i.e. very few blog post updates lately) Certainly not asleep.

Sigh.

I'll bet sleep deprivation is a very effective form of torture.

Lost in Translation

Lost in what translation, you may ask?

The children's translation, of course:











This is my life concisely worded in a two-panel comic strip!

The stuff dreams are made of

My sweet friend Mita (mee-tah) recently shared with me a vivid dream she had:

**************
In the dream, she and I were sitting together, going through all my baby clothes. She turned to me and exclaimed with great emphasis, "Kimberly, you HAVE to stop buying pink!"

And I replied to her, "But Mita, the baby won't know the difference!"
**************

Bwaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

I LOVED this dream of hers! What Mita doesn't know is that this summer I was joking with friends/family in UT about just dressing this boy in girl clothes for awhile so I could get my "girl" fix.

Vanversations a la Witch: The kid is sharp!

We were driving somewhere as a family, and something struck me as quite funny. I gave a hearty laugh, which almost sounded more like a cackle.

Rob commented, "My goodness, mommy is cackling like a witch!"

Bryce piped up, "Ok mommy, I'll make you a broom."

You know you're living in 2009 when...

1. You accidentally enter your pin on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses...
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 40+) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10... You get up in the morning and go online before eating breakfast.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :-)
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to email this funny list.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING at yourself.

: )

Cold feet? After 12 years of marriage?!?

Last night my husband was lying in bed and turned to me, declaring solemnly:

"Kimberly, I've got cold feet.

And it's your fault."

He had fallen asleep in his Sunday clothes, and in an effort to help him out, I had pulled off his Sunday socks and thrown them in the laundry, but decided that was already too much work, so got ready for bed myself.

Then, without thinking, leaving his feet uncovered, I turned on a fan that blew frigid air RIGHT on his dainty little toesies.

No wonder he got "cold feet!"

But lucky for me, he got up, put on some socks, and was happy again, even with the fan blasting. (I even run fans in the winter when I'm pregnant)


Phew. "Happy Feet," and our marriage is safe. ; )



Too funny not to post!*



*And if you haven't noticed, I love feet. Notice how many pictures of feet I have put in one post.