Little Kendall

Here is a quick sneak of what Amy will be covering when she is home from the hostible (<-Spencerism). Kendall Marie Brown - DOB 04/06/08 - 7lb 6oz- 19 1/4 in.

Is today the day?

Having contractions...started last night, thought last night would be the night, but no luck! The boys went for a long bike ride with the Greshams and then we all went out for pizza. The cousins adore being together! But as soon as we got home, the contractions slowed down. Keep sending me the labor vibes!!!!

3 days late...

Pictures are Spencer on his *new* bike, and Spencer and Jake at pre-school. Still here...worked at the pre-school today (spencer attends a co-op pre-school, which means the parents are required to work weekly. We help facilitate circle time and plan 2 days of lessons each semester, plus additional jobs: mailbox, garden, plan parties, special themes, etc. It can be a lot of work, but so much fun! I have worked the last 3 days in a row and loved it since I rarely get to go this year. Joe is the weekly worker. He loves it, too! There are two teachers, who are both wonderful! It has been a great experience!)

Anyway, worked at the pre-school, danced and jumped during music, and then went to the park for the Friday pre-school playdate. If you know my cooper, you know I wasn't able to just sit with the other mamas and chat, I was chasing my cooper around a bit. He adores playing with the kids, but also climbing, climbing, and more climbing. But....needless to say, none of that activity has brought on contractions or my water breaking....Baby K is stubborn!!!! Keep sending those labor vibes! :-)

2 days late...

...and still here...man, this waiting is hard! Worked at Spencer's pre-school again today, went to a birthday party...so keeping busy. I told a friend I would work for her tomorrow at the pre-school again...as long as I haven't gone into labor...kinda hoping I will be! Please send me some labor vibes....:-)

Nope

No baby yet...just a quick update.

Everyone at Spencer's pre-school said it looked like I have "dropped", but I guess we'll see. Leaving you with a pic of me and the boys yesterday. :-)

Due date

...is here,but baby is not! augh!!! No news to report. she is officially going to be late...just like a Brown, I guess! Now she needs to wait a day or two, I am working at Spencer's pre-school tomorrow and picking up the boys pictures they took a few weeks ago on Thursday.
A few of you have told me that you were thinking of starting a blog...it's super easy here on blogspot. It's so easy to add pictures, too, you don't even need to resize. Plus this site is free. Of course, you can add pretty banners on top...see Sally's site for some awesome examples. I haven't figured out how to do it, but also haven't spent a lot of time trying. so give it a try! It's fun!
I'll keep you posted!

still here...

Tomorrow is Due date...so hopefully we'll have some action! Still here...took a walk after dinner with the family...enjoyed my first real day off, shuttling the kids to school, setting up swim lessons, steam cleaning the carpet, you know, regular life stuff...
no contractions...not much else to say! thanks for checking in!

no news...

...is good news, right? Nothing much to say, but know I have people reading this and wondering what's the scoop on Baby K...:-) Including my dear Aunt Emese in Italy!! Hello!!! :-)
Today I tempted fate by heading to the airport to drop off Jenny. 2 hours south of our hospital...no, I am not delivering in our town, many, many reasons why....but nothing happened! No water breaking all over, no contractions even...
It was sad dropping off Jen! I know she was really hoping to meet her new niece while she was here...Spencer hugged her so tight and said "Don't go! Please don't leave! Stay!" It was pitiful! He's going down for a visit in June with Grandma, a birthday present...airplane ride, Sea World, the beach, the whole nine yards....I am starting to have a little anxiety about it...he is my baby after all!
Anyway, to change that subject...still here, home alone, enjoying some free time before I wonder what free time is...watching some TV, checking some email, waiting....I promise to keep you all posted! :-)

She better...

...come soon or we'll be broke! Can't stop going to Target or hopping online for "something else"! Though I did score 3 white baskets with butterfly liners for her room at 75% off at Target (Easter line). And had a $20 off coupon for babycenter.com and ordered the cutest nursing cover-up. Did you know they had names like "hooter hiders"?
But I guess it is good she hasn't come...Spencer has been sick, though this morning he is doing s lot better. Poor guy! Coop's got a cough, but he's fine. Jenny leaves tomorrow, so I know she is a little bummed she won't see baby K. (By the way, as I perusing the baby announcements this morning in the local paper, I saw that someone named their little girl the exact name we have picked out! the nerve! Oh well...).
Happy Saturday! :-)

Prayers needed!

You locals probably heard about Tye, a 5th grader, who lost his foot in a freak lawn mower incident. Read it here. Well, Tye was one of my students in 2nd grade. He's a great kid, so friendly, and very polite when he sees me at school. His family is a nice, Christian family, with 2 older kids in the military. Please take a moment to pray for Tye, for strength, for healing, for a positive outlook. And for his family, also. Wow, it scared me so bad....my boys are no longer allowed to play around when Daddy mows the lawn. They love to "help", but not for a while.

Still here...

39 weeks is a long, painful week...waiting...feeling bulky and uncomfortable...getting asked all the time...are you feeling OK? any contractions? is tonight the night? I don't know!!! Can you tell I am a little grouchy? Trying to be calm and patient. Doing the laundry, making sure the boys have clean clothes and towels and things when I am gone. Trying to keep the house straightened up, but my little tornadoes are into taking every toy out every day. Note to family: no toys for birthdays or christmas...they have more than enough!
Jenny took some maternity pics, so I'll share when she downloads onto my computer. Left to do:
-taxes (I have time)
-vacuum with heavy duty scrubber (borrowing from Cindy)
-put car seat in and vacuum car
-put up shelves in Baby K's room (currently Jen's abode)
-that's the main list...whew, checking them off!

Well, I'll post when there is something to share! :-) Take care!

Update

No baby yet. Just hanging out with the family. Have a doctor visit today, so we'll see what she says.

Enjoying our time at home. Spencer has been glued to aunt Jenny's side since she got here. they had a sleepover at Grandma's house for 2 nights in a row! Yesterday they went to the movies with Daddy to see Horton Hears a Who. Apparently, it is a great movie! Coop and I went to finish some things in my classroom. Not sure if he is ready for the movies.

Spencer: so excited for kindergarten, being extra feisty lately (he knows change is coming), loves playing with the "vintage" Star Wars figurines that Daddy gave him. They were Daddy's as a child! Not playing video games as much, thank goodness, but rocks the one he has!

Cooper: talking a lot more! He says almost everything, and surprises me with what he knows. Pointed to the Ranger Rick mag yesterday and said, "Giraffe!". He was right! This kid is a true animal lover, knows his animals and has never met a dog he doesn't like!

Thanks for the nice comments on Baby K's nursery. It's been fun to do! Now all we need is Baby K! Our friend Kelly (who was due the same day as me!) is in the hospital as I type this, being induced. Baby Tatum will be here soon!

Well, better go shower and get ready. Have some errands to run! Happy Tuesday!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Nursery Love

Here are some pictures of the nursery. It's a little bare, no dresser yet. Her bed when she moves into a real bed will be cherry, so I guess I should buy a cherry dresser, but it won't match the crib and changing table. The boys are sharing that matching dresser because their bunk beds match that dresser....oh, the dilemma! :-) I also need a floor lamp and a bookcase. But I thought I'd share....pink! The quilt on the rocking chair was made by Spencer's pre-school class. It's a traditional pre-school gift. We treasure it! Thanks, MPP!

I am officially off work...yes! And I even finished my report cards last night. I have to run to my classroom and put in my sub's number and drop off the cards. Next week...but it feels good!

We had a lot of fun tonight playing 80's music Scene It with some friends. And Joe and I won! Yes! Love music trivia games, though I know nothing about today's music. Give me some good old disco and 80's and I got it! Kim, remember playing 80's Songburst in college? Loved it!

Tomorrow Jenny is coming! Yay! The boys have been so excited about her coming. Spencer gets to go to the airport with Grandma to pick her up.

Bbaby K is pretty active tonight. My tummy has been hurting a for a few hours now...but I can't remember what contractions feel like! I guess I'll just know, right? I ate a lot of salad and bread for dinner...

Well, I will keep you posted!

Eggs!

Today we had our Easter egg decorating and hunt at Grammy's. It's always early because Grampy takes a group of church high schoolers to Mexico for Spring Break and Grammy will go visit Greg & Amber in Sacramento for Easter. The kids had fun decorating, though Maddie, at almost 12 (what? How can that be?) is over it! Cooper wasn't up for decorating or hunting, either. He has had a fever since Monday, and is real cuddley and clingy. Poor little guy...poor Daddy, too, who has been up the last 2 nights with him and stayed home all day with him. He's a trouper. All 3 boys are now asleep in our bed. I am getting laundry and grading done...1 more day of school!!!! :-) So excited to rest and be at home. Had a pedicure today, so my feet are ready for sandal weather, I love spring!

No baby news to report. Doctor said it will be awhile still. Jenny will be here on Saturday, so kind of hoping that baby K comes a little early so Auntie Jenny can meet her...guess I better do some serious walking next week.

Have a good rest of the week! Will post again soon!

Sunday, Sunday

First off, Sally, loved your reviews...totally agree on those brownies, they are the best! Hmmm, could go for some right about now. Craving El Asadero steak nachos right now, too. Too bad I am home alone with 2 sleeping boys...
Are you watching Big Brother??? It is crazy this season! I swear, it is the neverending version because they keep changing things up and adding people, gotta check it out. :-)

Had a shower this weekend...boy, do I feel spoiled! Baby K is going to be a great dresser, that's for sure. Her bedding is up, her quilt hung up on the wall, looks great!(I'll take a pic this week!) Her room is a little bare, but that's fine...she actually won't even be sleeping in there for a while. I like to keep my babies close. She'll either be in the bassinet or the Pack-n-play set up in our room. We're getting closer to being ready, I guess. A few more little things to get/do...

4 more days of work...so excited! I will miss my students, but excited to be home with my own kiddos!!! Cooper will stop going to his babysitter in a few weeks, so we'll all be home. We get to take Spencer to pre-school. That will be fun (though getting 3 kids out of the house sounds very daunting to me right now!). I didn't get too interact much with the pre-school this year, so it will be fun to be around more. They have a lot of special days coming up:Bike Day, Field Day, Mother's day Brunch, field trip on the train, etc...I get to do those fun things!
Have a Great Week!

37 weeks...

...and hanging in there. Feeling big and bulky...totally waddling...but baby needs to hang on 6 more school days until Spring Break!

We had an eventful doctor visit on Monday...baby's heart rate was low and she wasn't moving. I had to be hooked up to a heart monitor for 30 minutes. Luckily, she woke up and her heart rate went up. Otherwise, my doctor was ready to send me to the hospital! Instead Joe and I had a nice leisurely dinner at Red Robin...mmmm....missing our Red Robin in Calabasas. We used to go all the time!

Now I am majorly nesting...cleaning, cleaning, cleaning...wish this part would stay with me after I'm done being pregnant! :-)

And scrappers, I can't stop thinking about Stacy Julian's new book that I talked about in my previous post. It is a must have...definitely grab a copy. It is helping me organize my pictures so I can scrap more efficiently and the way I want...more personality and life pages instead of just the big stuff. Won't Coop want to remember his early vocab: spider: gollygaw, spot: spotch, sick: yick. Yesterday he said, " Mommy, I cough, I yick!". that's a lot for Mr. Late Talker! I am proud of him...though bedtime is still a battle with him. He is so stubborn and doesn't mind getting in trouble! Not like his big brother at all...but I adore them both for their personality differences. They are the best kids! So lucky they are MINE! :-) Being a mom is the best!

not enough time...

...to read this new book that arrived...Stacy Julian's Photo Freedom...how to organize your pictures for scrapbooking. It's a great system, but time consuming....and I don't have time, but I am going to incorporate some of it...check it out, fellow scrapbookers!

Also received some cute outfits I ordered on ebay for Baby K...so cute! Love getting mail, don't you?

Almost 37 weeks now...this week I really felt pregnant and tired! We were busy, too...Jake's b-day party at the arcade....the kids had a blast! MOPS, parent conferences, shower today for Kelly, who is due same time as me! Came home today and napped with Cooper. Actually everyone is napping now! We are a tired household! Joe and Spence are on the couch, and Coop is in our bed. The boys have been sleeping in there more often, they come late at night. Luckily, they go right to sleep, but I probably should be stopping that soon...

Here's a picture of me about 2 weeks ago...if your want to see what I look like now...it's not very flattering, but we have been so bad on pregnancy pics. I have only taken about 20 pictures since the middle of Feb....gotta get the camera out more...oh well, there will be tons of pics taken soon enough!

Check out http://www.maddieline.com/ and you'll see the blog of my friend Victoria who is making baby stuff to sell on etsy. She is making lots of swaddling blankets right now....very cute! Her daughter is Maddie, and she's a doll! :-)

OK, better go wake my boys. i think we have a family dinner tonight! Happy weekend...know what I am hearing right now??? The ice cream man....summer is approaching!!!! :-)

Pictures of Spence on Dr. Seuss's birthday, and Cooper as my love bug on Valentine's Day!

Bloggy Reviews

I've been wanting to start doing reviews on here for a little bit...not sure how many readers I actually have, but maybe someone would be interested...probably most of my reviews will be baby related in the next few months since we are about to embark on that exciting, sleep deprived, time of newborn at home....but here we go:

1. La Mer face cream: yes, this is that $$$$ face cream you hear the celebs wearing, but apparently they have samples for loyal customers who then sell the samples on ebay. My sis bought me one for Christmas, and this sample has lasted a while! It's thick, and it makes my face feel softer than I can remember! I love it for that. However, don't think it has done anything on my wrinkles (wearing contacts, I have quite a few wrinkles around my eyes). So, no I won't be shelling out $120 for a bottle of this, but if you can try a sample, it's worth it. The soft face is nice!
2. Minivans: LOVE my minivan! My last 2 cars have been SUVs and they both drove like trucks. Love that my van drives like a car...so smooth! Love being able to pop open the doors and the boys climb in themselves....nice for this pregnant mama! I don't know if I will be able to go back to SUVs again....highly recommend minivans!!!
3. Almost French by Sarah Turnbull (had to do a book!). Not finished reading it, but it is interesting! The beginning was slow, almost put it down. It's a nonfiction book about a woman who meets a French guy and decided to impulsively go stay with him,and ends up staying. It's how she acclimates herself to the French culture. Very interesting, especially since she is an Aussie and the French, especially the women, are very different. I like reading books about people from different cultures, so this is interesting. 3.5 out of 5 stars. I got it from the new club I joined, the paperbackswap club...check out my link on the right hand side, especially if you are a reader. It's free! Waiting to get my 2nd book any day now!
OK, so there are my reviews for now....
Happy Tuesday!

Whew...

(Pictures: cute cousin pics from last fall, Cooper wouldn't pose for the colored one!)...still hanging in there...4.5 weeks to go! Feeling lots of stomach pains and tired by the end of the day...should be in bed now, but I am "shopping" online...so many cute girl stuff at gymboree, gap, old navy, etc...I actually bought a few cute outfits on ebay this week...love ebay!

We ordered the baby's bedding and carseat...thanks, Grammy and Grandma! Can't wait to get them. Apparently since I was last pregnant, baby stuff has changed...car seat ratings and all. We ended up picking the infant car seat: Chicco Keyfit 30, what a fancy name! It got the highest ratings. I am big on car seat safety. Spencer won't be in a booster seat for a long time. His Britax is perfect, thankyouverymuch!

School is going OK. Kids are starting to get spring fever now that we have had some sun and warmer temps lately. Good thing I am going out soon! We had some nervous times this week with work. Our lovely state is cutting the budget, and of course, education is feeling the pinch. My district started spouting that they were going to "have to" cut class class reduction...that means having up to 32 kids in K-3. We are now topped out at 20. I flipped out..first because that would mean my job would be cut (they threatened to fire anyone hired after 2002!)...and second, because my own precious child will be in K next year....I know what he will be expected to learn...a lot...and with 32 kids?!?! I'm not a private school fan necessarily (I teach in public school!), but the private school nearby with 15 in the K class sounds good to me...though I am not sure how we would pay for it! BUT the board elected to make cuts elsewhere, so our jobs are safe...whew...that was a tense meeting!

Speaking of paying...we are thinking of selling the house...yes, it's a horrible market, and yes, we would probably lose money, but we are so scared of what the market is going to do in the next few years. This is not our forever house...only our next 2-3 years house...should we stay put and continue losing money? I loooove my house, but sometimes it is good to be realistic. So, lots for us to think about....Life is an adventure, that is for sure. How's YOUR adventure going????

Uncomfortable!

Whew...5 weeks to go...not really ready...but ready still... my tummy hurts!!! Baby K is sitting at an odd angle...
great week off...just relaxed mostly. Spencer had a few friends over, and we hit story time on Friday, and birthday party at the gym, but not much else. the boys room is pretty organized now. Took out Cooper's toddler's bed, ooh, he didn't like it! But I needed more room in there. They have a lot of stuff!
Spencer got his first XBox game, Shrek, and he loves it! What have we created? He loves saving "his honey, Fiona".
Not much else here....pretty boring...going back to work tomorrow. 4 more weeks until maternity leave...hope I can make it! Actually I do better working...it keeps me going! Being at home this week was wonderful, but I was much more tired.
Are you watching the Oscars? I am listening to it. I don't think I even saw one of the nominated movies! I need to get out more! Really wanted to see Juno. Joe and I need to go on more dates, I think! He has his movie partner, Allen, so he had seen some of the movies.
Well, enough rambling...you probably stopped reading already...
Have a great week! :-)

Cutie pie

Just playing around with photoshop and found these adorable pix of my man S from last October...taken by Aunt Jenny! 3 are from Cara's wedding, he had a blast on the dance floor with Ash! Had to share....he's so cute...can't believe he is almost 5!!!!!!

Blogs to read...link on right!

OK, I added a new blog, Robin! I taught her son Colin in 3rd grade...a long time ago...:-( missing my Westlake days! Robin is an aspiring romance writer and she has lots of interesting things to say on her blog!
Michelle (Whimsy) is my sister-in-law and needs to update (tell her, Maddie)! Michelle could show some pics of her awesome business...vinyl lettering!
Ali is a scrapper I don't know, but love her blog!
Sally is the mom of twins and a local friend! (Though we only usually talk through email....!) Sally has been taking great pictures of her adorable girls...doing good with your camera, Sally!
Nicole, Mama Scribe, is a good friend from Westlake who now lives in Oregon with her hubby Danny and two little boys! She is also a writer, though her genre is children's literature. Her blog entries make me think...love them, Nic!
Fergusons are friends who have moved far away to Tennessee and have a beautiful home (thanks to Kelli's wonderful decorating style). I WANT to hire her to do my house some time! Plus, love the idea of the Power Hour she has on her blog now...
I think that is all the links now...so now you know who they are! :-)

Crazy week...

(First, more Disneyland pictures)


Whew, this week was a bit crazy...my cousin attends Northern Illinios University, the college where the gunman went on a rampage (my mom also attended there years ago). I saw it on the news, and a feeling of dread came over me. I called my mom and asked if that was where Adam was, sure enough! We were all a little freaked out. My mom talked to her brother and luckily, all was well with Adam. He was shaken up, of course. We are so thankful Adam is OK!!!! This is so scary! Makes me want to home school from K through college! Ha!
Also, one of my little 1st graders had an attemped abduction, we think. He was walking to school, late, and a parent driving by saw him talking to 2 people in a van. The police were called, and he's fine, but he didn't seem to know what was going on, thank goodness!
And Cindy and Charlie are in Israel, and the news said there was a high alert for security there (but they are fine and having a great time....can't wait to see their pix when they get home!). If you are reading this, Grammy and Grampy, we are fine here, missing you...taking good care of the house and dogs! :-)
So now it's the weekend, and we're all home with tons of projects to do...clean, work in the backyard, get Baby K's room ready, etc, etc...luckily the boys and I are off next week for President's Week. We have a few playdates planned, a birthday party tomorrow, and a trip to the UC with some other pre-school friends, but I am relaxing!!!! 6 more week until Baby K is due...can't believe my nights of sleep are almost over....
Have a nice weekend!

Disneyland

We're back...we had a blast! The weather was perfect! In fact, we were a little "overdressed"...we could have worn shorts! It wasn't crowded, in fact our longest line was 45 minutes for Finding Nemo, which is not a great ride. kinda boring...Cooper wasn't a fan. We walked onto most of the big rides...Pirates, Haunted Mansion, etc. The kid rides were a bit longer, but about 20 minutes max. It was perfect!

The boys did great! They loved the rides! Spencer's favs were Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain (he calls it the really fast train). Cooper liked the Matterhorn and the Tea Cups. He loved the parade, too! We stayed for about 12 hours and the boys were really good. The stroller was wonderful...highly recommend it. Spence likes to stand in the back.

I was exhausted by the end of the night. Lots of walking! I got quite a few looks from people while waiting in line in the Matterhorn and other rides like that. BUT of course I wasn't going on it...just waiting with my boys. It worked out great for Joe. He would ride with one child, then when the ride was finished, we would swap out a child, so he got to ride twice!

Our hotel was pretty great, too. We always use Priceline now, so we got a great room at the Anaheim Hilton for about 1/4 of the price! Plus, we got upgraded to a new room with comfy beds and flat screen tv's because they didn't have the room I called about earlier for us. They are undergoing renovations, so I had called to request two queens and far from renovation. That wasn't the room they tried to give us, but by being nice and a good dealer (Joe), they upgraded us. Nice! We slept pretty good both nights! The boys even slept in until nine on Saturday!

We met Chip, Vicki, and Lily yesterday at Downtown Disney at the Rainforest Cafe. Cooper and Lily did not like it! The animals move and there are thunderstorms every 1/2 hour...both of them are not storm fans! Poor Daddy, he had Cooper on his lap for his whole meal. Cooper wasn't letting go of Daddy! So, if you have small children, maybe skip that place. Spencer enjoyed it, though!

Now we are home again and have all the unpacking to do!

Congrats to Nicole, Danny and Riley on the birth of baby Noah on Friday!!! Can't wait to meet the little guy. :-)

New car!

So, Joe found me a car!!!! Yippee!!! It's a Grand Caravan, so I will be cruisin' the total mom-mobile...me! Can't wait to see it. Joe is driving home from Sac. right now. The boys are in bed and I am finishing up the pre-school lesson plans, our theme is Fairy Tales and we're doing a day of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

OK, so I can now post about this awesome kit I bought on the creating keepsakes site, the School Kit. Go check out http://www.beckyhiggins.com/ for info (on her blog) and some yummy recipes. I made one so far, and Joe really liked it, the Chicken Garlic Pasta one. The kit sold out in about 5 hours! I bought one, but then my mom said she would buy one for Cooper, but it was already sold out! BUT Becky said they are bringing them back, so go check it out. Can't wait to get my one I ordered. IF it's really good, I'll have to order 2 more!

Goodnight...leaving you pictures of Cooper watching Youtube with Daddy and just plain ol' flirting with the camera...hardly took ANY pictures in Jan.!!! And now the camera is broken, but thank goodness for warranties...we're already on camera #3 (I think) from the warranty we purchased in 2002! So, it's back to Best Buy tomorrow...

Random thoughts

What's going on in your world?
Here:
*Spence is sleeping in his top bunk! He loves it and stays in bed all night! He goes right to sleep...it's so nice. If only Coop could cooperate...we are going to move him out of his toddler bed into the bottom bunk, but that kid is scared of every little noise and comes running out!
*Finally seeing some sun! So happy the rainy grey weather is gone...for now.
*Heading to Disneyland this weekend...so excited!
*Still car-less...and not loving it. But a big thank you goes to my mom for her shuttling me about and cindy for loaning me her car for a few days. This is when living in town with family really is GREAT. Actually, it's great all the time...we are spoiled. :-)
*Joe might be buying me a car today...he's in Sacramento shopping. We decided to go the cheap, used route. Neither of us really cares about cars, so we decided no car payments would be nice to continue for now. I really want a Honda Odyssey, but we decided let's wait 2 years. So, it will be interesting to see what I get for now! As long as it's a minivan, I don't care...and I was the one who used to say, no minivans for me...only SUV's. But so glad to be rid of my SUV!
*8 months pregnant now...it's going so fast! Can't believe she will be here in about 8 weeks! Need to start washing clothes for her and setting up her room.
*Cooper is crying right now...mad he can't wear his dog costume to the store...which we need to go to right now...tomorrow is our last day to plan the lessons at Spencer's pre-school...glad to get it out of the way, but sad b/c we are coming to end of pre-school with Spencer...
*That's about it, I think...better go get Coop, he has moved on to going through the fridge...he has picked out salami now!
Happy Wednesday!

check off list

*Sell my Tahoe...check! (Just sold last weekend, though I got sentimental when they took it away...)
*Look for a minivan...still searching....
*Register at the hospital...check!
*Start every 2 weeks appts at doctor's....check...seems like I am starting sooner this time...only 31 weeks!
*Find a partner for next year...check! Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Brown!
*Find a long term sub for maternity leave...check...kind of...my sub can only do 6 weeks, so need someone else for the last 2 weeks
*Register for baby stuff...check! Babies R Us and Target...don't need too much, though I need girl stuff and some baby stuff and new bottles and a car seat...hee-hee...
*Get a new double stroller for Disneyland...check! The Graco one we had was too big! We got the Joovy Sit and Stand...love it! (1 last trip for the 4 of us before Baby K!)
*Sell our queen size mattress since we got a cal king one...hey, we have 4 people in our bed around 5 AM...and it was given to us!!! It's so great!...check, sold!
*Pre-order the new Stacy Julian book...need to do...tomorrow!
*Go to bed...I'm off! :-)

Still here...

...hanging in here...getting through the blustery weather we have had lately...every teacher's nightmare...indoor recess! The lunch yard duty even had the nerve to ask if the kids could come in at lunch recess b/c of the rain...I said no! Come on, I need a break from 20 wild 1st graders! (For the record, it was hardly raining, and they bring them into the cafeteria at lunch to watch a movie, so it's not like I left them out in the rain...)

Speaking of school, think I found partner for next year...she's coming to see the room on Tuesday. Her name is Mrs. Brown, too! :-)

Almost 31 weeks pregnant...geting big! Sleeping is hard now and carrying my kiddos is even harder. Cooper still wants mama toting him around. I have so much to do to get ready for baby K. Today I started working in her room. It has been the playroom for a few months, so I need to move out the boy toys. Her tiny little clothes are so cute! Pink, of course! I am afraid I could easily go broke buying girl clothes, so I am enjoying the hand me downs I have been given! Though, I do have to say, I love buying boy clothes, too! My boys have waaay more clothes than me!

Did some scrapping tonight...been so busy, haven't done much...so wanting THIS book...now!!! I love Stacy's philosophy about scrapping, so got to get this soon!

Well, better go, have some more work to do, then bed...tomorrow is my sleep in day!!! Joe gets up with the boys.
Will post some pics of the boys soon...the camera has been dead for the last few days....need to charge it up!!!

Tag!

Ok, so she didn't officially tag me...but Kelli did this tag on her blog....

8 Things about your kids

Spencer:
1. adores pretend play:trains, Little People
2. can remember the music from any movie!
3. falls asleep in about 1 minute at night
4. is so loving...tells me how much he loves me all the time
5. is so excited for kindergarten
6. has many girlfriends: Katelynne, Jaden, Atheina, Maddie, etc...
7. loves books and "reads" them to us
8. really good at remembering directions and which way to go

Cooper:
1. loves music and dancing...almost any kind of music, too (right now Laurie Berkner and Jack Johnson are his favs, and of course, his Ramones...funny kid!)
2. loves to scare you by growling
3. afraid of golly-gaws (spiders)
4. has a hard time going to bed at night
5. trying to potty train himself...he has to "go beep"
6. doesn't eat much, but will eat a lot for breakfast
7. so cuddly, loves to cuddle!
8. shy, except at home

Baby Girl (she only gets 4 since she is not here yet)
1. probably going to be named Kendall
2. already has a lot of pink in her wardrobe
3. gets kissed and attention from her brothers all the time (though Coop thinks there is a baby in his belly, too!)
4. will have her own room

OK, Sally and Michelle and Nicole...you're it!

My Word

...so Ali Edwards always talks about her word for the year...something to help bring focus to your life. Sally has her word picked...which I think is great, by the way, so I have been thinking about my word...and came up with "create". Not just in the artistic way...but in the life I want to create for my family and me. We are adding a new addition to our family, and life will change. How do I want our life to look? I really want to focus on home life and making it a good one. My kids are getting older, and soon will be going to school, and around all kinds of different influences...scary! Last night we were eating dinner together and Spencer kept getting up to check on his show...and yes, I was feeling too tired and sick to insist on turning off the TV...but I wish I had. so this year will be the year I focus on family life...and creating art wise, too..creating an inviting home...and scrapbooks for our family to enjoy...and creating the Christian focused life we want to live. Our church seems to be focusing on this, too. So "create" seems to be the word I want to choose for 2008.
What about you????

OK: added a post from Ali's blog about her word (hope you don't mind Ali!!!!):

Ali Edwards:
Now that many of you have chosen a word for the year, what will you do to keep it in mind throughout the year? It can be very simple or complex, a craft/scrapbooking project or a simple reminder in your planner or on your bulletin board. Some sort of visual reminder is a great way to add a bit of focus to your word.
Here's a couple ideas for honoring your word this year:
• Go through some magazines looking for your word or themes/phrases/etc that relate to your word. Cut them out and collage them together as a visual reminder. This could grow and expand throughout the year. • Commission or locate a piece of jewelry that features your word. I am ordering a necklace with "vitality" from Lisa Leonard. Love this as a daily visual reminder. • Print out a word card (see photo above) and place it where you will see it everyday (a bathroom mirror or refrigerator or bulletin board are all front and center). • Create a canvas that introduces your word. Dump some paint right on there and go for it. • Start a journal to document thoughts, feelings, experiences you have with your word over the course of the year. This could be a visual journal or just focus on the words. Your journal could be as simple as a Word document on your computer. • Expand your interest in words by playing along with the challenges on the one little word blog.
What are the ways you are planning to honor your word in 2008?
from www. aliedwards.typepad.com

Sick...

...me, after taking care of sick kids and hubby, it caught up to me...of course, I still went to work...gotta save those sick days...besides who likes writing lesson plans! Not me!

Back to being busy with life...my layouts-a-day are not happening. I did one this week on Maddie, but that's it.

School has been pretty good. Some of you know I have a tough group this year, but they are calming down now it's been 1/2 through our year. Work is more enjoyable. I do love teaching, so it has been good to enjoy it more lately. 1st graders make so much progress...Wow! Now I am looking for a partner for next year...glad to be going back part time!

Spencer is hanging over my shoulder waiting for his turn to play on noggin.com....he has gotten to be very good navigating on the computer, playing his games. Cooper is walking around listening to Daddy's Ipod...only Depeche Mode! Every time the song he likes is over, he runs up to me and wants it changed back.

OK, better go, I need to lay down...gotta get better! Mommy being sick is no good to anyone...and we have plans this weekend...wanted to go to the snow, but don't think that is such a good idea. There is actually a lot of snow in the mountains this year here...last year, not so much. And Cooper has never seen the snow! We need to take him. Spencer needs to go again. His last experience was in the blizzard like conditions in Chicago when he was 1. It was sooo cold, he just cried every time we took him out!

Have a good weekend. :-)

Observations

Some things I have observed over my break:

*What the heck is moon sand?? We got some for the boys for Christmas, but it is so dry and we haven't let them play with it yet....is that how it is supposed to be? It gets everywhere!

*Boys make great sound effects!

*Slip on shoes are wonderful!!! The boys both got slip on sneakers for Christmas and I love not having to bend over and tie sneakers! They put them on themselves!

*If you let your children stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, it will wreck their sleep schedules for a while...couldn't help it, we were having fun hanging out with some other families at Aunt Chelle's.

*Benadryl will help your child sleep all night. Cooper finally got 12 hours of sleep last night!

*Children (at least mine) always get sick around Christmas! We managed to wait until the New Year's this year, but all three boys got sick this week and are recovering.

*When you are pregnant for the 3rd time, you don't get much sympathy. Too busy taking care of the other kids.

*America's Next Top Model can quickly become a guilty pleasure, especially when there is a marathon going on!!! I love Tyra now!

*This writer's strike better end soon...missing my shows!

*Christmas isn't the same if everyone is not home together...Megan and Jenny, you MUST, I repeat, MUST be home every Christmas from now on.

*Christmas music doesn't sound the same on Dec. 26.

*The earlier you put kids to bed, the longer they sleep in the morning...it's true, try it! I am shooting for a 7:30 lights out tonight...but really b/c we have to be up early tomorrow...ugh...

*You spoil your kids when you have a Tivo or DVR....Spencer gets mad now when he watches "live TV" and can't skip through the commercials! "Mommy, the TV won't work!"

Have a great Sunday! Now that we go to church on Saturday nights, Sunday morning is a bit different...no early rush...just relaxing. :-)

Posting again...

(Don't you wish you were on the computer with a Cooper on your head, too?) :))))

Yes, being off work gives me more time to post! :-) But starting Monday, it's back to work...I'll think of you, Kim, jetting off to Hawaii on Tuesday...lucky!!!! Can you squeeze me in your suitcase???
Jenny is back from her Mexican cruise...she enjoyed it, especially swimming with the dolphins! She fell in love with Cabo. It would be fun to rent a timeshare there sometime...maybe our family could do this sometime...I am wishing for a winter getaway.

Boys updates: Spencer: 4.5...happy, creative, loves trains and Little People, going to the library, watching movies, can be very dramatic (quite the storyteller!), has a great memory, sensitive, outgoing to us, but can be shy, loves our family : always telling us he loves us and we are the "best mommy and daddy in the whole wide world!" and that he "loves us to the moon and back". We adore him!
Cooper: 2.5...talking more, some signing, playful, cuddly, can't sit still, loves figuring things out, loves helping Daddy (he was vacuuming today!), doesn't eat much and is as skinny as a string bean, music lover, likes drums (I think he may need a set for his birthday, though I would probably end up regretting it:-)), good memory, can put his own clothes, socks, shoes, coat on(though big brother still "needs" help), calls Spencer "Bruddy" (brother/buddy). We adore him!

OK, probably should be getting to bed...just wanted to share some updates, I know we have family reading this. Hello!!! Hello to those of you reading from wintery, snowy Chicago! We miss you!
Jamming on my LOAD (Layout a day) class...made a bunch last night! It's kind of liberating to just create, and not worry about perfection or how great the page is...it's the story that counts...I don't think my family will look at the pages in 5 years and ooh over the ribbon used! I'll share a few here...some do not have the journaling yet b/c I need to print it out still and add it on. Started Spencer's "School of Life" album, idea from Stacy Julian again. If you haven't read her book yet, get on it! It might even inspire some of you on the fence to scrapbook. To me, scrapbooking is almost like a journal, a photo journal. I don't do it a lot, and usually only after the boys are in bed, so it's my creative release and a way to show my love for my family. I really want to start some heritage albums. Got to get this book soon.
OK, enough, right? Goodnight!!!!

Mommy alert!

OK, so I am not the world's best mom...though I try to be the best I can be to my little men...and I am a bit embarrassed to be writing this, but if it can help you at any time...here's some relief!

My Cooper, who I previously mentioned can open child proof bottles, swallowed 4 or 5 children's vitamins today. This was not the first time, either...yes, we now store them waaaay on top of the cupboards....the first time Joe said he heard that nothing happens, your body just gets rid of the excess. But then it happened again today, and like any concerned mother, I went online to get some info. It scared the $#@! out of me! One site said that as little as 3 vitamins with iron could be fatal! I immediately called the poison control center...have their number nearby, please! The man reassured me that he would have had to have swallowed 30-40 for there to be any problems. (Though adult iron supplements would have been a bad situation.) Thank the Lord!!!! So, anyway, I just wanted to share this story to help any of you who might be in the same situation sometime....hopefully you won't! I am never buying those colorful, cartoon shaped children's vitamins again! We need plain tasting ones...and while I am ranting, why do they make children's medicines taste so good. My two guys have been sick lately, and have been asking for their medicine all the time! I think there is a problem when medicine tastes good!

OK, I leave you with a pic of my Grandpa with Spencer and me. Grandpa went back home to AZ, and I miss him!!!! The other picture is of my Coop at 10 months for my LOAD class (Layout a day) at Big Picture Scrapbooking...today's layout!

Attention, interesting sites!

OK, because I have the time (right now), I am taking the layout-a-day challenge class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. It's free!!!! And if you upload your layout in the gallery each day, you have a chance to win a prize! I am trying to finish Cooper's album...almost done...and work on family pages. Trying out Stacy Julian's scrapbook system...not scrapping chronologically, but scrapping what you want to...made a "places we go" album and "all about us" album...took pages out of albums to put in there. Going to make a "holidays" one and "people we love" next. Whooo...gotta lot going on!

Also, because I want to live a simpler life...less things, more quality time...I have been researching....here are some cool sites, if you are interested....here, and here...
OK, gotta go eat lunch...happy new year again!

Happy New Year: 2008!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful new year!