From my Bio on the blog before I update it for a new blog


OCCUPATIONS: My kids mom, my husbands girlfriend, part-time nurse, housekeeper, chef in training, ex-dairy cow, runner!. FOR FUN: Learn to be crafty, try out new recipes, wake board, movie buff, doing anything with Shane. QUIRKES: Love old movies. Love gummie bears. Cannot go a day without listening to Josh Turners deep voice. Irrational at times. Secretly scared to dirtbike ride and wakeboard but do it because it makes my husband smile. Talk most of the time in a whisper unless I am playing a game. NEED a Dr. pepper a day (soon to be deleted). Crave sushi at least twice a month. ***My little brother says that my profile picture reminds him of a bad date agency picture ;)***

"STINKY"

My new catch phrase is "stinky". Does not make any sense, as Gma Fran pointed out. I was talking to Tootie as she stumbled around in shoes, "Let's take those shoes off. Those shoes are stinky". Gma Fran's bewildered reply was, "How did they get stinky?". We all laughed. "No Gma that is just how Clarissa talks to her kids". A few examples:

If the kids want chocolate milk and I don't want to get it, my reply may be. "We don't like chocolate milk. It is stinky"

If a child wants to sit on my lap or snuggle. "I don't want to snuggle with you. you are stinky"

If Brenna wants to go to the park. "No the park is stinky"

It is just Clarissa silliness. No logic at all. ;)

WARTS

I think warts are the most disgusting thing in the whole world. I am not exaggerating. I am revolted by them. When Brenna was small she got one on her foot that she named her "pop". Eventually I found one on each of the brothers feet also. Landon had on just in the right place where it was causing him pain to walk. We took a trip to the pediatrician and got them all removed. Not too devastating and easy to deal with.
Well then I got one. Right on my knee. I wouldn't show anyone. I picked and tried to remove it but it hurt too bad. I covered it in duct tape, a tip I heard online...with no avail. It continued to haunt me. Finally it fell off after I zapped it with a whole package of freeze away. Life was beautiful again...until a few weeks ago. About a year later now I have 2 of them!!! Why not just go the the doctor and have them froze off. When can I find a minute. Instead I got to church with a bandaid on it.Totally gross.

NO MOVIES

A few months ago Shane decided the kids could only watch 30 minutes of movies a day. A tad extreme I thought but I knew he was right. Since Tootie was born the kids have watched a lot of movies. It actually worked out nicer than I thought. Eventually they learned how to play together harmoniously and do other things. It took a few months of frustration though.

CAMPING-MAMA STYLE

Shane is in scouts and has monthly camp outs...WHAT!!! This calling is lousy. So I decided that when he was gone overnight on a camp out I would camp with the kids. I pitched a tent in the living room, we roasted marshmallows over the gas range, and drank hot cocoa. It did not go perfect. The brothers wouldn't behave so they ended up sleeping in their beds and Brenna was too scared to sleep in there without them. But we are learning.
The tent took a few days to come down. The next night Brenna and Landon slept in it all night. Jackson slept in his bed...still learning. The third night they all slept in there. Maybe next time we will be able to all do it together.

AGAIN AND AGAIN

Life seems the same day after day. The kids can get restless during the winter months locked inside the house hour after hour. I came up with a plan to help us survive. A few months ago I was helping Brenna learn the days of the week. I would help her by Sunday is church day, Wednesday is ballet day...etc. I decided that if I had an activity planned everyday...for just an hour, we might survive. So I made a cute calender. Everyday they wake up and look at what day it is.

Sunday=Jesus day
Monday=Cooking day
Tuesday=Game day
Wednesday=Ballet day
Thursday=Library/book day
Friday=Craft day
Saturday=Play outside the house day

At the beginning of the month I plan an activity to correspond with the day. Then I have time to obtain any supplies. They love it.

HANG ON TIGHT

Life's a rodeo!!! I have received multiple reminders that my blog lacks updating. The last post was about 8 months ago...WHAT!!! Where do I begin? Here's a list of my rememberings...

Ran Helevetia and was left in the dust by my friend...was obviously not trained as well as I thought. ;(
Got totally mad at running and too a break
Cynthia was born
I began the long depressing road to loving my body again
Everyone quickly began calling her Tootie
Tootie is joy and happiness and exactly as a baby should be.
Four kids is impossible and simply cannot keep up
Tootie smiles, crawls, walks, says "dad" and "mom"

QUIET GAME

Brenna LOVES the quiet game. Whenever we are in the car she is trying to make the game happen. A few months ago we were driving for a family vacation and she was holding a stuffed animal on her lap in the back seat. Soon we heard her say,"you lose". We cracked up because we realized she was playing it with her stuffed animal.

MAKING PINS

I am a pinterest addict. I love to go on and pin all the cool things. We went to a BBQ at a friends house and I noticed the cupcakes and meal and multiple things in her home were inspired by pins on pinterest. I realized that I needed to actually do something with all the cool things. My favorite is to pin cool things to do with my kids...so devised a plan and called Ashley. I knew that I would not consistently make time unless I had someone else in on it.

During the summer, while school is out, we have gotten together once a week and had an "activity" - as the kids have come to call it. One person does a snack activity and the other a craft activity. Then we eat lunch. So much fun.

Made gak
Made sugar cookies where each child added their own sprinkles to the mix.
Made ivory soap explode in the microwave and then added food coloring and reshaped it.
Planted plants in flower boxes.
Put faces on cups and planted grass seeds in them to grow "hair".
Made ranchers lollipops.
Made crayons by remelting broken crayons.
Made rice krispy treats with each childs own sprinkles on top.
Made chocolate pudding  and gummy worms dessert.
...

The kids LOVE it.

POOP STINKS

Potty training...potty training...and more potty training. Twin boys are no picnic in the potty department. It has been about 6 months and still their is no guarantee that they have it down. Peepees eventually worked out after a few months but if they are playing and distracted they still wet their pants. But by far the worse challenge has been pooping. No they are no constipated, or holding it in...instead they poop in their pants anytime or anyplace.

We tried everything!!! Rewards. Patience. Time out. Spankings (yep, we were getting desperate). Shane even heard a rumor that someone in the ward got their child to poop by offering the reward of calling "Go Diego GO" on the phone. So he did. Josh pretended and Jackson thought it was AMAZING but pooped his pants the next day :(.

Finally after wearing only long shirts we discovered that if they don't have underwear on they don't poop. They hold it in. So 3 times a day we sat them down to poop on the toilet. After screaming and tears it would come out and then we would call grandma, have treats, and do a potty dance.

CHICKEN POOP

One of Shane's bosses lives out in the country and has a motocross track in his front yard. One Saturday we went over and played on their land while Shane played on the track. They also have chickens and horses, which the kids found fascinating. I was recovering from the night shift and not paying very close attention to my kids as they ran around. One of the other little girls came to her mom and said she was holding the chicken and it pooped in her pocket. We all laughed about it and began a conversation. I soon realized Brenna was talking to me.

In my half listening and nodding way I heard her say, "Mom the chicken should have pooped in the toy truck." 

She repeated it a few times before I said, "Wait...What?...No that would be gross." 

Her reply, while shrugging. "Why I did". 

"Wait...What?...".

 "I had to go peepees so I did it in the truck." 

" No hunny that is gross! You really did that?" 

"Well I dumped it out"

HUSBANDS NEXT LEVEL OF FUN

Shortly after we moved to Oregon the husbands in the family created a grand scheme. They wanted dirt bikes but knew their poor wives would not let them spend a couple grand on them. So...they did side jobs, raced the money and bought some. It began as a harmless trip to the forest to trail ride every few Saturdays. Then it morphed into riding in Sandy at the track, which made the trails seem very lame. Now They ride/race every Thursday at Portland International Raceway on the Motocross track...which is TOTALLY AWESOME...or so I hear. Josh and Shane actually do amazingly well and win trophies most times. They have the same riding style and pace so during the races they are neck and neck. Way fun to watch!!!

I have begun putting Shane's trophies and pictures of him on his dirt bike in his man cave -the garage above his work bench. Mysteriously they have returned to a place of honor on the mantle next to a picture of Christ...glad Shane did not take down Christ to make more room.

HELVETIA HALF MARATHON

I was a tad bit too cocky going into the run. The year before when I ran it, I had trained hard averaging 13-20 miles per week. That race was AMAZING and I felt AMAZING the whole time. This year I had just had a baby two months before. I only had time to run 1-2 per week. I TOTALLY flopped. I ran the first half at 10 min/mile pace but then when my partner left me in the dust I lost all motivation and could not convince my body to go any faster. :(. My time ended up being. 2:28, about a 12 minute mile pace. But I did it and plan on doing it every year....call me crazy ;)

MUSINGS OF A RUNNER

Oh the thoughts I have to entertain myself while I run. I am quite hilarious. ;)

Just because it is sunny in Oregon does not mean it is safe to run in a white shirt. It can rain without notice. 

After a car passes and they tap on the brakes...is it because they are slowing does because I am cute...or because they are wondering if at any moment I will collapse with exhaustion.

Dear 55-65 year-old man running my route of rolling hills, I will catch you tomorrow.

I used to love the challenge of a hill but now I use them as an excuse to cool down.

If a "biggest loser" can do it...the little strong me can do it.

Sunny days make me hate the treadmill.

Walking is harder than running slow.

I judge the difficulty of my run by the redness of the blotches on my arms.

I get an adrenaline rush whenever I pass someone.

What is the point of running the trail through the neighborhood, if no one at the park to see me and give me a pat on the back on Sunday?

MY LIFE IN A NUTSHELL

Except the house is amazing and my hair is in a bun and I have stretchy pants on. ;)

SPECIAL ICE CREAM CONE

On Brenna's birthday I was on Baskin Robbin's website looking for a free birthday cone coupon, Brenna saw a yummy cone and wanted a picture of it. They would not print so I printed one off google images. She carried it around until we went to Dairy Queen to get a ice cream cone with her buddies. At the cash register she showed her picture and said, "Can I have this one for my birthday?" The cashier went and whipped it up just for her!!!

WEDDING PHOTOS 2

***When Shane first saw the picture of him walking with the brothers he said, "Whoo, is that what I look like?... I am 'GOOD-LOOKING'"

WEDDING PHOTOS

***My "friends" say I should be a model. ;)

CYNTHIA MY ANGEL

I have the BEST baby in the whole world. She is never a burden. She sleeps well, eats well, sits contently and smiles all day. When she is tired she closes her eyes. No fussing around. She is SOOO beautiful. Sometimes I look down at her on my lap and she is just smiling like I am the person she loves most in the whole world. I am literally and completely in heaven. Thank you, thank you, thank you for my special gift from heaven.

***Not sure if you can see her shoes but...Ashley and I made them!!! Navy shoes are impossible to find in newborn. They were so BEAUTIFUL but only stayed on for a few seconds at a time.

NUMBER TWO

Potty training "the pee pees" took a week until no mistakes. The "poopies" have proven to be the most difficult concept for them to grasp.

There are a few reasons why I think they do not understand it is uncool to poop their pants. First, I waited too long to potty train. They had been fully aware that they have been pooping their pants for awhile now. Second, I give them a few glasses of milk a day which firms things up so it is not a nasty sludgy mess when they go in their pants.

When they do go in their pants we take them to the toilet and put it in and flush, showing them that poopies go in the toilet not in their pants. Now they are even more confused. They get so excited when they put it in the toilet themselves. They some and get us, "I did it!!!". It doesn't count if they do it in their pants and then put it in the toilet.

We are at a loss. Someday I hope it will click.

RUNNING AGAIN

Waiting the six weeks after C-section seemed impossible. This last pregnancy has been the worst as far as extra weight hanging around. I am running again and it feels like I never stopped. I do the majority of my running on the treadmill at 9pm. Whatever it takes.

LANDONS ZTUZ-ZTUZ

Landon came to me one day complaining that he wanted his "ztuz-ztuz". He cried for a day and a half before he found it and brought it too us. Turns out "ztuz-ztuz" was his nickname for his favorite red pants.

POTTY TRAINING

I ran to the store for milk before Shane went to work and when I got home...all hell had broken loose. Walls had been colored on, food had been spilled, the furnace was turned up to 80 degrees and Shane was pulling his hair out. I thought, "maybe he will have more sympathy or appreciation for my mad skills." at the same moment he yelled as he went out the door to work, "By the way, the boys are in underwear and we are starting potty training TODAY...love you."

I have to admit, potty training twin boys seemed DAUNTING. Whenever I thought about it I could come up with a list reasons why I or they were not ready yet. I probably would have never done it if I did not get the push.

The first few days were pee everywhere. Then they got the hang of number one. YIPEE. THeir bottoms are so cute in their little Go, Diego, Go underwear.

BRENNA TIME

Brenna had her time each day with mama before the baby was born. After the brothers went down for their daily nap she had about an hour with me and only me. We played games and did her letters. Since Cynthia, I have tried to give her a little one-on-one time each day bit at times it is difficult. Her disappointment came on gradually and blew up one day.

At first it was seen when Shane yelled from downstairs, "Brenna, I love you!" and he heard the reply. "Yeah, but I bet you love Cynthia more."

Then a day of tears about a week later revealed the full weight of her feelings. "Mom, you never want me ever since Cynthia came out."

Now I try to play with her. She doesn't just want to be with me, she wants my full attention...for just a little moment each day. That is doable.

CINDY LOU

Everything extracurricular in my life has been on hold for the past two months. Life is way too BUSY to keep up with...but GREAT. 1/5/2012 Cynthia Louise was born at 11:03 AM, 7 pounds 10 ounces, 20 and a quarter inches long. She came out screaming and screamed until she was put in her mamas arms...not only because she loved me but because she was HUNGRY and wanted the milk and knew exactly where it was and how to get it.

3 weeks later she continues to be the perfect baby. She is so even tempted and sweet. The only time she cries is when she is hungry...and if delayed for too long...she screams.

She is SOO BEAUTIFUL!!! Her head is perfect because she came out my belly. Her fingers and toes are long and elegant like her mamas. She has a pretty little nose.

The brothers ignore her except for a small moment each day when the stop and hold her tiny little hand before running off again. Brenna loves her and wants to feed her, change her diapers, and carry her everywhere. She has been disappointed by how little she is able to help feed her.

ABOUT TO POP

I am not someone that is a big maternity photo taker. Perhaps if I was not so tired and busy...and looked cute half the time I might take more photos. I am 35 weeks and becoming silly looking. I bump into things with my belly if I am not careful. Everyone says, "don't you remember what you looked like with twins". I don't...thanks to God's gift of blocking out the horrible parts of pregnancy. People seem surprised that I still have a month. They act as though I should pop any minute. But I am still one hot mama when I do dress up. ;)

***This is a really awful picture, but it is the best I can find today.***

COLOR CODING

Since birth I have dressed Jackson in the outfit with blue and Landon is anything else. It turned out to be an easy way to tell the brothers apart. Landon has been just fine in any other color until about two weeks ago. He has decided that HIS color is red. I have also realized how particular he can be.

He will only wear his red jacket.

His shirt has to have red somewhere in it.

He wants to eat out of the red bowl at meals.

We were trying to play UNO and if he had a blue card in his hand he would stop the game because, "No, this is Jackson's card".

I picked him up from nursery at church and he had a mask with Jackson's name written on it. They said Landon's was originally blue but they had to switch because he quickly made it clear that blue is for Jackson.

When he water paints, he only uses the red out of ALL the colors in the paint set.

Anything yellow pink or purple is Brenna's in his mind, which also causes trouble. Part of me feels that he just needs things that are his instead of sharing all with Jackson, but I am not sure how safe it is encouraging the fixation on red, or OCDs. What a silly kid.

AN ANNOYING HOBBY

I think that a man strumming and singing along to an acoustic guitar is VERY ATTRACTIVE...so I bought Shane one for Christmas. I brought it home and wrapped it ASAP. I tried to avoid Brenna so that she would not spill the beans. I really did not think that she knew what it was.

One day she said, "Dad, do you want to know your present? It is...a secret!!!" I was so happy that maybe one of Shane's presents would be a surprise.

The next day. "Dad, do you want to know your present? It is...a GUITAR!!!"

He could not resist. He waited a few days and then just HAD to open it. He has been strumming ever since. Him and Jayson spend most evenings with their guitars messing around, and then when they get home they play some more until the wee hours of the night.

It is so annoying because...I am neglected and have been replaced by a guitar. ;)

PREGNANCY IS HARD

I have noticed that as I hit the third trimester I hit a new phase I need to learn to cope with. I noticed that I was tired and mildly irritable at work; which NEVER happens, I adore my job. I noticed my exhaustion has hit an all time high. I have ZERO motivation and cannot keep up with my life.

I have realized it is my next learning experience. I have to learn to cope with it. I have finally come to a few facts:

Running is not compatible with pregnancy. I can always start again when I pop this little girl out.

My days of gaining only 25 lbs are over. My body is worn out and not acting like it should since the twins over stretched it. But if I gain more than 35, I will be devastated!!!

If my kids watch more than one movie per day...I am not a horrible mother.

My husband adores me and when he asks what he can do for me, I will actually think of something instead of doing it all myself.

I will try to be friendly even when I don't feel it. It is possible to be exhausted and wear a smile.

I will take this time to read the Book of Mormon like that have done before the other births and enjoy having my feet up and relaxing.

BRENNA SLEEPS IN "HER" BED

Three kids in one room was not working. They would get on Brenna's bed and we would hear about it. Also, Landon would cry in the middle of the night because Jackson had snuggled up next to him and stole his blankie.

A friend at work gave me a loft bed for free. Free turned out to mean that "it had been sitting in her barn for YEARS, and needed some work". Thank goodness Shane is handy. He ground down the rusty places and the old chipped paint, and we repainted the fireengine red color, white.

It looks brand new and Brenna LOVES it and has been sleeping in her bed ever since. Some mornings she doesn't want to get out of it.

SPIDERS

Gma and Gpa Rowley live on some property. If Jackson is playing too far away or in something we don't want him to, we say "watch out for spiders". He gets a fearful look on his face, puts his hands in the air, and runs towards us screaming.

Okay it sounds HORRIBLE, but it is hillarious to watch.

(It is not as traumatizing as it sounds)

BRENNA THE THINKER

Brenna has hit a new stage. She is becoming a thinker. She has begun asking deep questions.

A little back ground...There is a black CNA at work that says whatever she likes. She came to me one day and said, "Oh you are pregnant!?! I was wondering because I noticed that your butt is getting HUGE!!!" She then went on for 15 minutes about it in front of everyone. It is a curse of my pregnancy with girls. I now just embrace it.

Anyway Brenna asked me: Mom how is Cynthia going to get out of your belly?

Me: (Simply) Through my bumbum. (I suppose I could have showed he my scar from past c sections but not all babies come out that way)

Brenna: Yuck. Sticking her tongue out.

A few momments later...

Brenna: Mom is you butt getting bigger because Cynthia is ready to come out?

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Oh thank goodness!!! Brenna has been talking to "Cynthia" since I was barely showing. We ask her, "but what if the baby is a boy?", "No (duh, silly), Cynthia is a girl"

We are so excited. We are not sure if our boys are more of a handful because there are two of them or just because they are boys. We also are excited to nicely round out of family. Chances are that I will get severe baby hunger again a year after Cynthia is born but...right now I am wondering what the heck I am thinking; four kids seems like PLENTY. ;)

HOUSE WORK VS EATING

I have realized that housework is a lot like eating dinner. If you eat all the favorite/easy stuff first you have no energy/room for the rest...and it goes undone, day after day.

LANDON'S LANGUAGE CONFUSION

No matter how hard I try, I cannot convince him the names of objects he has already taught himself.

Any bike: a purple bike (because Brenna has a purple bike)

Any bear: a gummy bear

Any drink other than milk (juice, soda...): chocolate milk

Pants: panties (yikes!!! we work on this one a lot)

Gum: welcome

...the list goes on. I will add on as they come to memory.

BICYCLE WITH PEDALS

Last March for Brenna's birthday we bought her a purple bike. She had begged for a bike for a whole year before we gave in. After 2 hours, the fascination wore off and she would not ride it...and especially NOT with pedals. This whole time she has been riding the brother's skuut and completely stubborn about her purple bike, even up to last week.

Brenna: No, I don't want to ride my purple bike with pedals. (as tears pour down her face)

Mom and Dad: Why not?!!? Tucker (her best buddy) LOVES his bike with pedals and goes REAL fast.

Brenna: ??? (deep in thought)

The NEXT day she hops on her purple bike and begins to ride all by herself like a pro!!! She definitely takes after her Dad and does things on HER own time.

BOYS NEED TO BE TAUGHT

The cousins of my children are all boys. They seemed born with an instant knowledge of trucks and motorcycles and their sounds. My boys are a little behind.

Jackson was playing with a motorcycle and I said, "jump it Jackson". He began to jump it, "jump, jump, jump" as he did. Shane freaked out. "No, no, no! This is the sound when a motorcyle jumps, "Ni..ni.niiiiiiiii"

Shane has now been shopping for trucks, trailers and motorcycles to play with the boys.

BRENNA IS SILLY

As a mother the ONLY way you survive is by tuning out some of the time. Shane frequently says, "Clarissa, will you answer Brenna. She has been asking you a question for the last five minutes."

When Brenna asks for something and I do not answer, sometimes Shane will answer. Her reply is, "No dad I was talking to mom." mainly because she does not like the answer he gave...which is usually "no". If I then answer and it is also a "No", she says, "No mom I was talking to myself" or "I was talking to Cynthia (my unborn baby)".

LANDON CRIES WOLF

As a mother you quickly learn to distinguish between cries. There are the serious ones and the whinny ones; the tired ones and the help me ones. Landon has learned the difference and is using it to his advantage.

Gma Karen was over and I put the brothers down for a nap. Landon began a blood curdling cry shortly after he was put to bed. Karen as a mother-in-law never butts in on my territory but as a gma she softly said, "shouldn't you check on him". I ran upstairs and burst into the room. Landon was still screaming but looked fine as he sat with a picture book in his lap. "Landon what is wrong?" and in a happy Landon voice replied, "look mom...a ball!", as he pointed to one of the pictures.

I left the room and later the same cry began. Fool me once, shame on me...but fool me twice is just embarrassing. Now I let him cry it out. I know that someday I am going to go in and find him with a limb stuck or something serious and I did not check on him.

BUNK BEDS

We bought some bunk beds on Craigslist. They are fantastic. We planned on The brothers using them and then getting Brenna something else. Well Brenna was SOOOO excited about the "top bed" and we could not convince her that it was not for her. The boys share the bottom separated by a body pillow.

Now we have a sleeping room, with only beds and anything/everything else in the room out of reach and the light bulb is unscrewed. We also have a play room, with toys and books.

When we packed up the cribs I knew I had moved into the next phase...the "put them to bed over and over stage" otherwise known as the "No nap stage". I have been dreading this stage for awhile. With help of scary daddy...nighttime it is working out.

Nap time I have been sorry to see go. I cherished those few hours daily. But if course I found a solution. I put up a crib in Brenna's room for Cynthia (hopefully it is a girl) and if the boys are desperate for a nap, I put the culprit (usually Landon) in the crib. They fall asleep. YEAH!!!

Another downfall is the early rising in the morning. The first night they woke up at 6:30am!!! They usually slept until 8:30am everyday (Yep I was lucky).

ANOTHER DIFFERENCE

If you could not tell the brothers apart Jackson thought of a clever way to help you out. He was riding on the motorcycle on Uncle Jayson's lap, when they hit a bump, and Jackson's front teeth got bonked hard. Thank goodness they did not break or fall out...but they are turning GRAY.

YEAH I AM PREGNANT!!!

I have finally over the miserable stage and am actually very happy right now.

My energy is only 75% what it was but my kids get cared for and dinner is done more often. I play with my kids, take them places...life is almost back to normal.

I am at a very awkward stage in my body shape. I look just pregnant enough that people probably just think I am fat. The rolls when I sit are unbearable.

I am hungry and can finally eat whatever I want. I am a little worried about this. I have to remember I am only eating for 2 not 3 like last time.

CONFESSIONS

Confessions of a Pregnant mother of a girl plus twin boys. Disclaimer: some entries may be disturbing.

I was always SHOCKED to hop into a mother's car that had trash, food, and toys all over the place... I am one of those mothers.

Besides my car, I am still a freak about my house and will work until I am vomiting if I know that someone might be coming over. I am more relaxed on regular days...not by choice but lack of energy.

I LOVE going to work. I LOVE a little piece of freedom and friends. Yet also fully believe I would be a better mom if I were not exhausted 2 days a week.

My belly is popping out far sooner than it is supposed to. Sometimes I have to wear a squeezer.

My children are a mess, especially when eating.

About once a week the boys go to bed with milk.

Brenna watches cartoons while I take a nap with the brothers. Sometimes we sleep for 3 hours. That is a lot of cartoons.

I cook dinner maybe once a month. Otherwise it is cereal.

If the clothes they have on are soft enough...they wear them as jammies.

I drive out of my way to go to Taco Bell for a bean burrito when I have the craving.

Fully believed that this pregnancy was RUINING my life...but at 13 weeks I can feel that the awful part is waning.

Extra fearful that this unborn baby will not be prefect. I hope God knows that twins was trial enough for one mama.

Cannot eat sweets. One gummy bear can make me sick for the rest of the day...yet I feel that I am gaining weight faster than I should. Not fair.

POTTY TRAINED???

Sunday the Nursery Leader pulled me out of class and said, "Is Landon potty training? He said he needed to go potty, so he went into the bathroom, pulled down his pants, undid his diaper, and sat on the toilet." I said, "No...at least not officially"

It looks as though the time has come...and I will have to break down and do the teaching.

GIRLS ARE DIFFERENT

Brenna found two toy motorcycles in the toybox. A big one and a small one...

Brenna: Daddy will you play motorcycles with me?

Shane: Sure!

He grabs the big one and begins with authentic motorcycle sounds and jumps.

Brenna: No daddy!!!

Shane: ???

Brenna: You are the mommy and I am the baby!!!

Shane: ???

Brenna: Mommy , I am hungry...waaaaa!

Shane: ???

COLD SORE CREAM

For the majority of my life, WHENEVER I get slightly stressed, I develop a huge cold sore that takes over the area under my nose. It is a curse that I am trying to learn to live with. Over the years I have discovered a few tricks to make it go away faster. Diaper rash cream is the best cure. The whiter and thicker the cream, the better.

I have received a lot of teasing over the years but I learned today that at least one person in my life thinks it is COOL.

I bought a new tube from the store and left it in a bag on the counter. Jackson found it, opened the package and put a single dab under his nose. The cream was found no where else. When he was done he just closed the package and put it back.

CHA-CHA

When Shane and Jayson were younger they danced and preformed in a dance group. Denise Nuttall the instructor teaches teens all over the valley for free...and wins competitions for her dances. She wanted to put together an adult dance so she called up some of her past students who are now married and grown.

We did the cha-cha to "Uptown Girl". We were still finalizing the choreography a few days before the dance...so we were all terrified that we would embarrass ourselves.

It all turned out at the performance, except for a few slip ups. The whole experience was a BLAST. It was fun to dance with Shane...usually it is disastrous...and we gave up dancing together. This experience brought back some hope.

LIFE AS PREGO

Just a few weeks ago I was full of energy and full of life. I was running like crazy. I was super mom, able to take care of my kids and keep the house clean. I was giggly and fun-loving...

This pregnancy is SOOO hard. I am EXHAUSTED all the time. On the verge of vomiting ALWAYS. SOOO hungry, yet have to force myself to take a few bites. Dehydrated because water is GROSS. Irritable because I feel tired and heavy yet have 4 people that need me every minute.

What is good about being pregnant? I will have another sweetheart soon. The discomfort will only last a few more weeks. And...my boobs are getting bigger ;).

A GIRL

We joke that it is a girl. Since we first found out I was pregnant I named it, Cynthia. Now it is Cynthia Louise and nicknamed Cindy Lou. It is natural that we would want a girl next, but if it is a boy, we will be so happy.

Last time we had a girl, we named Brenna within minutes. With boys names it took us months and months and then daily pressure in the hospital. We named them 4 or 5 days after they were born. We have no ideas yet.

A GIRL

We joke that it is a girl. Since we first found out I was pregnant I named it, Cynthia. Now it is Cynthia Louise and nicknamed Cindy Lou. It is natural that we would want a girl next, but if it is a boy, we will be so happy.

MORNING SICKNESS

I have had a hard time believing I was pregnant...until today. Life seemed just as it always has been. I have been able to have enough energy to tend to my children and my home, and still run 5 miles three times a week.

Last night at dance practice I noticed that my husband was extra stinky...I thought it was something he ate, that was not sitting well. Then today the nausea, the lack of energy, the dizziness set in...and now there is no doubt that I am pregnant.

I have decided that God is very gracious that he lets us forget the past pregnancies. If I had known what I know now...I would not have been so excited about it. It is not THAT bad. Probably a 3 out of 10 compared to most, but just uncomfortable enough to notice it and change my lifestyle a bit.

***As an addendum...it is getting worse by the minute. I am miserable...