The Best Part of Waking Up

If I were coffee drinker I would sit down comfortably at my kitchen table with my cup of coffee close at hand and soak up this amazing view out of my back windows.

And then, since it's such a picturesque moment, they would probably want to put it in a Folgers Coffee commercial or perhaps a Maxwell's house advertisement.

I would slowly sniff the fresh aroma of the fresh ground coffee with my hair pulled up in a messy, yet fashionable bun and I would have just the right amount of mascara on to pull of the casual morning look.

I would then let out a soft sigh while wrapped up in a warm cozy blanket and carefully sip from my favorite coffee mug- savoring that perfect moment.

Then I would turn to the camera and spontaneously burst out in song. I'm not sure what song, probably something from the Sound of Music or a lively verse of Hallelujah.

The thing is, I'm not a coffee drinker-
I'm a cereal eater.
And the hair is not fashionably pulled up-
it's more like a matted mess.
I do have just the right amount of mascara on-
except for the majority of it is smeared around my eyes.
And there is no such thing as a casual morning look around here.
No. Such. Thing.

But one thing is consistent.

I do wake up every morning to the beautiful view of the sun slowly peaking over the mountain while its rays come flooding down the mountain side. It's a view I find comforting & consistent on my mornings that usual abound with chaos & mayhem until the kids are safely out the door and on their way to school.

Then I'll sit down with my favorite cereal bowl, the Quaker Oatmeal Squares, the skim milk, a handful of Craisins, and I have myself a big bowl of Cereal.

After I've scooped up every last bite and sipped the bowl empty, I turn to the camera and spontaneously burst out in song....

That is, if it were a Quaker Oatmeal Squares commercial.
Totally could happen.

Just Freeze It

In the freezer

by the the Gogurts

above the frozen pancakes

next to the Rocky Road ice cream

is a bag of one of my kids favorite treats.

Frozen grapes are a highly requested must have by my kids.
They eat them like they were candy.

And they eat them by the handfuls.

And I'm happy to report no child has choked yet.

Kid tested. Mother approved.

I give frozen grapes two enthusiastic thumbs up.

It's Official

I'm with child.
Not that it wasn't official before, it's just more official now-
now I have proof...

Check out my little it-ling slash tiny he/she.

It has cute little nubbins for arms and legs.

And I read that its eyes are no longer on the side of its head,

but in the front where they should be.

That's comforting.

It's roughly the size of a lime which is great

because I'm a big fan of limes.

The ultra sound tech thought that maybe it was a girl, but then upon further inspection we saw what could possibly be a 3rd lil' nubbin in the lower extremities. As it turns out, the baby's either a boy or girl.

P.S. Thanks for all the input on the Doctor vs Midwife thing. Really, I did appreciate it. I decided to go with a midwife who practices are similar to an ob. In the words of Hannah Montana, "...get the best of both worlds." I talked to a lot of people and I would say the majority said that they would go with a midwife. Although I was leaning towards that Dr. Thorpe guy after several commenter's suggested him. Maybe for the next one... if there ever happens to be a next one. :)

Faces of Haiti

This past week our thoughts and hearts have been turned toward Haiti.

For the people.
For the ones who've been hurt.
For the ones who need hope.
For the ones who've lost children.
For the ones who've lost fathers and mothers.
And for the thousands upon thousands whose lives have been lost.

A couple years back Nate had the opportunity to go with a group of dentists and student dentists to serve the people of Haiti. It was an opportunity Nate will forever be grateful for. His heart was touched by the humble circumstances of the Haitian people.

They have so little, yet their hearts are so big.

I thought it would only be appropriate to show some pictures of the beautiful faces of Haiti, whose lives now have all been changed.

(Thanks to Nate for sharing with us his photography skills)

Validation in Crayon

The other night I was having a Mom/hormonal pregnant moment.

In my opinion, having a moment is healthy and completely acceptable, even if you want to have multiple moments several times a day...
and you drive your poor husband crazy...
and your kids are wondering who is this woman that has replaced their mom.

Totally okay.

I had filled my head with the mental dialogue of,

What's so glamorous about the life of a Mom?
Where's my praise?
Where's my validation?

(very similar to the tantrum of a 3 yr old, but in an adult body)
I walked myself into the bedroom.

Right before I was about to throw my tired body dramatically onto the bed and have myself a good pity party (and I mean a really good one) a stack of papers littered across my night stand caught my eye.

I slowly climbed up on my bed and found myself a comfortable spot. With my back propped against the headboard, I curiously reached my fingers towards the mess of papers. I scanned through mass.

There were papers that needed to be filed.
There were papers that reminded me of bills that needed to be payed.
There were papers that needed to be thrown in the garbage.

But underneath that boring stack was a pile of messy little papers in all shapes and sizes. Some were colored brightly, while others were folded with the edges unmatched.

I cautiously slid that little messy pile out ninja style, as if playing an intense game of Jenga. I looked at the papers one by one- adoring each misspelled word and soaking in the love.

And my heart smiled.

It was scribbled I love you's at its sweetest.
It was praise in the best form.
It was validation in crayon.
But more importantly, it was what I needed.

And that Mom/hormonal pregnant moment quickly melted away into a different kind of moment. A moment where I was gently reminded of how lucky I am to have 3 little yay-hoo's in my life who also happen to be my 3 biggest fans that love me unconditionally.



And I was grateful for a moment like that.

Lets Talk: Doctor vs Midwife

I don't have a doctor. Not yet.
I have every intention of finding someone to deliver my little it-ling slash tiny he/she, but I haven't found that person yet.

Part of it is a little side of rebellion that I can't have my old ob/gyn deliver the baby.
Part of it is that I don't want to take the time to find a doctor I love all over again.
And another part of it is that I can't decide if I want a midwife or a doctor.

When I'm talking midwife, I'm not talking an at home birth. I enjoy the modern conveniences of a hospital and epidural way too much. Although, I did tell my father in law that I was planning on birthing this child at home. I told him that I wanted him to hold the left leg while my father held the right, with Nate ready and waiting to catch the baby in the middle. And then my kids would be close by so we could yell to them,

"Abrie, Kaleb, Macie! Come quick, the baby is crowning! "

and the rest of my family would be there- standing around me in a large circle singing Kumbaya...

I could sense that Nate's Dad was feeling a little bit awkward after I told him my birthing plan, so then I offered that he could switch Nate with the right leg duty and he could catch the baby instead. I'm still waiting to hear what he'd like to do. I'm sure he'll probably tell me after he can make eye contact with me again.

So back to midwife vs doctor...

What's your opinion? What are the pros and the cons? Have any great ob-gyn/midwife's in the Provo area that you love?

Or would you just stick with my original at home birthing plan?

(My Father in law is praying you say no. No worries Scott, I think you're safe.)

.

The bun is in the oven...

And the poor thing doesn't even know what's coming.

It's official:
#4 will be making it's debut in July/August.

It's been 11 weeks so far and the signs are all here.
Morning (all day sickness)... CHECK.
The ever expanding waistline... CHECK.
Cravings for anything deep fried... CHECK.
Headaches... CHECK.
Extreme lack of motivation... CHECK.
A permanent couch imprint of my body... CHECK.
The "sisters" increasing in size... Double CHECK with exclamation points and a smiley face.
Waking up 5 times a night to pee only like a teaspoon... CHECK.

Nate and I are thrilled and feel greatly blessed to be able to add another little one to the family. The kids are super excited too, but still a little skeptical- especially Kaleb. We told them Christmas morning that we were going to have a baby, because you know, that's where babies come from... Santa Clause. It's kind of like an immaculate conception type of thing.

Kaleb has dibs on naming it Bono or The Edge if it's a boy (possibly even a girl).

Macie's pretty sure it's a girl and the only acceptable name for a girl is Dora.

And Abrie's just excited to have a baby, her vote is boy.

As for me I'm happy either way, but for now I shall call this unborn child my little it-ling or my tiny he/she and then I will pray that it doesn't come out resembling the white version of RuPaul.

*

Hair-gasm

Before I proceed with this post I must first let you know I tried this title out on my Dad. He didn't pass out or threaten me with disownment. All he did was roll is eyes in disgust and disapproval... and then I think I saw him smirk just a little bit or maybe it was just gas. Either way, I took it as a sign that I could use the word hair-gasm on this blog without offending too many.

Now I will continue...

Nate has a pretty good head of hair.
So good that he was voted BEST HAIR in high school.
That would be going on my resume for sure.

"I had all honors in high school,
I fed the homeless & clothed the naked,
and did I mention
I was voted BEST HAIR in high school?"

The thing about Nate's hair is that it's difficult to cut.
(My apologies to the 5 people reading this blog that have cut his hair before.)
Not only is his hair hard to cut, but he extremely particular on how it is cut-
like anal retentive particular.
(Again I apologize to those same 5 people.)

Ever since our move from Philly Nate has been struggling to find
"THE ONE".

You know,
"The one" that was birthed on this earth specifically to cut your hair.
"The one" that once you find, you vow to have that person cut your hair forever.
"The one" that knows you like the side of your hair shaved with a #1,
and the top cut just above finger length
with the sides blended kinda roundish.

I've tried to be "The one" for Nate once, but I failed miserably.

Well after a year and a half of searching Nate has finally found "The one".
And the conversation we had after he had his first haircut by "The one" was priceless.
Simply priceless.

And now for a video portrayal of our conversation. Except in this version we like to wear full spandex body suits and masks to keep our anonymity.

I guess it's a good thing I'm not the jealous type.

(Note: If you're viewing this from a feed burner, you have to click over to watch the video)