The one where I ruined my kids' summer.

Otherwise known as the summer I unintentionally got pregnant. Okay so my post title is a little dramatic, but that doesn't mean I don't feel that way a small bit! So in other words, we're having our 3rd baby next year!

Rewind to early this spring. I realized I might be pregnant around the time that I had started planning my kids' birthday parties early April. We were not trying to get pregnant because we've wanted to wait until we are in a bigger house. I had a positive pregnancy test and I was not happy about it. After a week I knew that it wasn't a viable pregnancy because I had zero symptoms and sure enough, I miscarried less than a week later. I was feeling incredibly guilty for being so relieved. It was unfortunate timing with the incident that happened at Ben's school and I probably reacted more irrationally than I otherwise would have because of what was going on. We pulled Ben out of his class with 6 weeks left in school and put him in a new class. I'm pretty sure some people thought we were crazy, but blame it on hormones or whatever, we still think it was the right decision. Anyway.

So imagine my surprise in June when AGAIN I just knew I was pregnant. I didn't tell John right away because we had a big wedding coming up in a couple of days and we needed to focus. So on Sunday, June 17, I took a pregnancy test early in the morning and gave it to him, you know, as a Father's Day present. :) He was so confused because he was so tired! We were both much more prepared for it this time around. But we weren't trying to get pregnant... I think someone else had plans on when we needed to have another kid...

After going to the doctor and hearing the heart beat I'm a lot more relieved about this pregnancy. And the fact that I've been so much more sick than I ever remember being with Ben or Shelby. I eat, I get sick, I don't eat, I get sick, I think about food, I get sick. ESPECIALLY sugar! It totally sucks!! And I've been completely, insanely exhausted all. the. time. I hate it! I'm about 13 weeks now and hoping I feel better soon!

In a way I do feel like I ruined Ben's summer, Shelby is still a little too small to understand. But I had all of these great plans for what we were going to do and that lasted about two weeks into being pregnant and my energy level went to ZERO. So I'm doing my best to buck up and finish out the summer on a good note, taking them to the park more, swimming more, letting Ben play more Wii, that kind of stuff. It's definitely not the summer I was hoping we'd have, but Ben doesn't seem to be too bothered by it at least! And he's so excited to have another sibling, especially with the two new cousins he got this summer.

Ben has been a great helper this past week helping me clean the entire house! The cleanness suffered a little over the weekend, but it's a start at least. We're hoping to pick a realtor in the next couple of weeks so we can actually sell since having it for sale by owner hasn't been that successful (4 showings, no offers). You can see our Zillow listing here. I need to add more pictures of the outside and of the other things around the property, but if you know anyone looking let me know!

Anyway, my due date is Valentine's Day and we are excited about having another baby in our family! Especially if he/she is as awesome as our first two. :)

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Saunders 2011 Recap

This year has been crazy, fun, busy, exhausting, inspiring, test-filled, and all around great. here are some recaps (I stole this idea from Jenny G).

Shelby:
- Turned 1 this year.
- Is now 20 months old.
- Learned how to walk around 14-months.
- Suddenly started talking around 18-months and doesn't stop.
- Learned how to color on walls. And doors. And chairs. And tables.
- Quickly learned you're not supposed to color on walls or doors or chairs or tables.
- Tightened her grip on John's heart strings and refuses to let go.
- Developed a close connection with many of her extended family members (Cecily, Nikki, Chrystal, Grandma, Ginny).
- Learned to walk then learned to dance and she just can't stop. Can't stop!
- Has refused to grow hair past her ears.
- Learned all her body parts and can say them all.
- Developed a huge affection for boy toys, baby dolls and "pincess" dolls (as she calls them).
- Started nursery at church and we are so grateful! It just makes church so much easier. Especially since we have 11am church!

Ben:
- Turned 5 this year in spectacular Star Wars birthday party style complete with Obi Wan Kenobi and defeating Darth Vader AND destroying the death star.
- Started Kindergarten this fall.
- Learned how to read.
- Can do simple math (addition), something he's learned on his own.
- Grows hair about 100x faster than his sister.
- Misses his mom and Shelby while he's at school. He's grown a little jealous of the attention Shelby gets at home by herself.
- Misses John more than anything when he works late days (which is pretty often).
- Has super human kid strength and can lift/carry/flip to the point where I'm considering putting him in a tumbling class. Probably just baseball in the fall, though.
- Spent his 6th Christmas away from home for the first time and almost discovered that Mom and Dad are Santa.
- Refuses to play Wii anymore because he says it's boring. I honestly don't mind.
- Learned that smothering his little sister is not the way to make her happy.
- He's made tons of friends at school and his teachers and the staff adore him. I'm so glad he is so well behaved at school because he lets it all out at home. It's tough being a good kid all the time!
- Learned about life and death when my Uncle Mitch passed away this year. It really concerned Ben he never knew Mitch (he had been sick for many years) and he still talks about Mitch being in heaven and not sick anymore and can't wait till Jesus comes so he can see Mitch again.
- He says really, really great prayers.
- Wants to read all the HP books this year (one of his goals for me and him).

Missy:
- Shot 6 weddings this year.
- Got to shoot the wedding of one of my past young women. It was so awesome to be able to do that and I hope I get to do more!
- Did a ton of family shoots this year. But I kept it light because I've wanted to slow down photography to keep up with all we wanted to do this year on our house.
- Laid tile, organized closets and the kitchen, painted and painted and painted, framed out our master bath mirror, put down baseboards, grouted, caulked, painted and painted, oh, and I painted some more.
- Kept myself sane half the year with 2 kids at home and happily sent Ben to school this fall.
- Spent most of the year with my young women only to get abruptly released a few months ago and am now the Relief Society Weekday Meeting Coordinator. It's been great being back in Relief Society but I MISS MY GIRLS!
- Has lost 15lbs and am working on more.
- Planned, budgeted and survived a family trip to Florida for Christmas. BEST. TRIP. EVER.
- Continued my love of Pinterest, Harry Potter, and photography.

John:
- Was promoted to Repair Manager at work. It came with lots of perks. He's so happy. Which makes me happy.
- Works and works and works. He works hard so I can stay home with the kids and I love him for it.
- Got to go pig hunting with his brother this year.
- Went golfing a few times with buddies at church.
- Grew a beard.
- Is still the Assistant Executive Secretary at church a calling he's had for years!
- Lost over 30 pounds.
- Developed a ganglion cyst on his wrist from his work and will have to have surgery in 2012. Nothing major though.
- Got to go to Donuts with Dad at school with Ben.
- Drove more on our road trip than I could have ever hoped and I have no idea how he stayed awake the entire time. He's just awesome.
- Misses our kids to death when he has to work so much. They adore him!
- Continues to shoot weddings and families (when he can) with me and I am so grateful to have him with me on shoots. It's so fun! He takes great pictures.

As a family:
- We've been reading the Book of Mormon.
- We got our home ready to put on the market (though we're still in the process of doing the final touches on that).
- Spent lots of Saturdays at Fuzzy's Tacos for lunch. Our favorite place!
- Watched lots and lots of movies together on Saturday afternoons. Especially Star Wars on Bluray and Harry Potter and watched Thor so many times I've lost track.
- Spent 5 days in Orlando, Florida for Christmas this year and had the greatest time. It was just completely awesome!

It was a really great year and we have some goals planned out or 2012 we are excited about as well. Here are a few pictures from our trip! (Oh, and Jalei and Regina. We ran into Marnie Cochran at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! What are the odds??)

Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom

Soooo many people. Nothing like Hogsmeade in the middle of the day, though!

Day 2, Disney Hollywood Studios

Ben doing Jedi Training Academy. Awesome. And free!

Okay, not technically free because we bought the tshirt.

Days 3 and 4 at Universal (specifically Wizarding World of Harry Potter). My new favorite place! This was how crowded it is at 8:30am!

Breakfast at the Three Broomsticks

Jurassic Park area at Universal (we spent most of our time in WWoHP though)

Don't you just love this place?

The Sorting Hat! I'm such a dork!

My favorite pic of the entire trip. It's just magical. I know, I'm a dork and I'm proud of it!

Frozen Butter Beer. It's so good!

We had THE BEST time! And we want to go back every year if we can. Something we're adding to our 2012 goals. :)

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Monday Thirteen

1. John started his new job at work last week. He's been working so hard it's ridiculous. He's thrilled to be making more money, and frankly so am I. Plus I'm grateful I have a husband who is working so hard for us!

2. I really don't know how moms stay home and freelance at the same time, it's hard! I've done two logos, at least 4 photo sessions (with 2, possibly 3 this week), one wedding invitation, one t-shirt design and still have more in the pipe! It's fun, and I'm so happy I have opportunities coming in!

3. Ben didn't take one nap last week, except for an hour long one on Saturday when he was home with John while I was in class. Durn kid. :)

4. I signed up for and took Basic HTML & CSS through UTA Continuing Education. I learned quite a bit and and am going to work on a website to see if I can put what I learned to practice!

5. Last Sunday I decided to stop drinking soda. I've done this before and it lasted a few months. I just love my Diet Coke too much! But I can say I have gone 7 full days with ZERO soda. I had one sip of John's strawberry limeade on Saturday and that has been it! Next time John and I go on a date and go to a real restaurant I will probably make an exception and have a soda. It's all about moderation right?

6. Ben turns three on Sunday. Can you believe it? We'll be going shopping for some small presents for him this week. Nothing too big. We still haven't decided what to do for a birthday celebration, and if it ends up being nothing as long as he has presents I'm sure he won't care!

7. My nephew CJ graduated from Medical School on Saturday and one of my other nephews, Kenny, graduated from Law School on Friday. Super proud of both of them! Hopefully I will never have reason to turn to either for help, especially CJ since he's in the Psych program! We went to the dinner celebration for CJ at Joe's Pizza in South Arlington and it was so good. I ate some of my leftovers for lunch today (baked tortellini) and still have enough left for 2 people for another meal!

8. Do you ever wear your clothes two days in a row? I would never do this when I was working. But now, it makes life so much easier. I'm totally wearing the same exact thing I had on yesterday and I don't even care!

9. Besides the fact that John's been working so hard, he's also remarkably resourceful. He drove my mom's old truck for a few weeks while his car was in the shop. The part he needed was $400 new. So he found a used one on eBay for $40 and that along with a few other inexpensive parts, his car is running just fine. I'm so happy I have him.

10. Being unemployed means lots of resourcefulness in the kitchen. I've cooked more in the past two months than I usually do in 6. Lots of great and not-so-great experiments. My favorite so far? This red-skinned potato salad made from potatoes my mom gave me leftover from a Sunday dinner. I chickened out on the amount of bacon I used. I won't make that mistake again!

11. I can't thank Kelli enough for babysitting Ben for me what seems like a million times. Whether it's a photo shoot or interview she's never even blinked when I sheepishly ask! Thank you so much Kelli!

12. May 21st = So You Think You Can Dance. I am so very very excited! And I really hope Adam doesn't win Idol, but I have a feeling he will. Go back to Broadway, Adam!

13. I can't think of a 13. Here are a couple of pictures of Ben instead!

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