Halloween

The boys ready for trunk or treat Tuesday night...so much fun doing all the fun games and getting TONS of candy. Rhett was right into it this year. I didn't take my camera to the church because I knew I'd end up carrying the basketball and the bags for all the centers....which I did. Cliff got roped into running one of the centers so I was on my own. But the weather was gorgeous and we had lots of fun.Zane ready to go to school dressed as Sinbad.....he decided that morning that he didn't want to be a pirate or the basketball player...so I pulled a long piece of material out, wrapped it around him, pinned it in a couple of places, gave him a sword and Presto - he's Sinbad! I tried to convince him to let me do a beard and moustache but he wouldn't go for it. Oh well, he was thrilled!Ready to go trick or treating...the boys had lots of fun minus the jerky guy who wore the creepy mask and laughed when Zane was scared to death of him! The momma bear in me was ready to punch the guy. I mean, seriously, you scared my kid - do you really need to come out of your house, stand on the porch, and laugh while I try to convince him to open his eyes so he can walk down your stairs without breaking his neck? It took us a couple of houses to get Zane calmed down and after that he was done....his tummy hurt, his feet hurt, he had to pee....you get the picture. Rhett was hilarious to watch this year. He really 'got' the whole trick-or-treating thing and just vibrated the whole time we were out. So it was fun even though Zane didn't really enjoy the whole night.

And showing off their spoils...both of their buckets were this full plus a grocery bag full of chips! Wow. They can each pick a few things to keep tomorrow and the rest is going to work with Daddy!

Yesterday was our ward's super Saturday. Lots of fun and I finished both of my crafts. I was very impressed with myself and with all the super organization that went into make it such a great day for all of us. And I forgot to re-set my clocks last night. I thought about it yesterday morning....but then it kinda didn't stick in my head. Oops. The result meant that I was ready to go to choir a whole hour earlier today then I needed to be. At least Jennie was too! She called me 'cause she was supposed to be picking me up and asked if I made the same mistake. We had a good laugh at ourselves!

Tomorrow Zane is supposed to wear red to school...and we don't know why. He's just DYING to find out. Any guesses? Oh, and anyone want to guess what day my Christmas stuff is going up? The day is set and Zane and I are on the count down!

It worked!

I have been blessed with very talented friends who know how to look at a picture and make a cake look just like the picture. This is not one of my talents. However, after seeing and tasting Hannah's Tinkerbell rice krispie cake at the beginning of the month, I came up with what I thought was a great idea. See, I signed up to take a treat for Zane's Halloween party. I figured with the baby on the way and such it would probably be the easiest party for me to help out with. At the beginning of the year Mrs. Cocks told us rice krispie squares and puff wheat squared are always good snacks because they eat in their classroom and aren't as messy as cupcakes. With this in mind, and having seen Tinkerbell I decided to make pumpkins! I mentioned it to Mrs. Cocks when we had our parent/teacher interview and she immediately thought I was going to decorate 25 individual pumpkins...ha ha ha. She's a funny woman. Actually, she was quite overwhelmed with the idea for me. No, I came up with something better:

I made a double batch of rice krispie squares and put them in pie plates - the disposable ones are going to school and the metal one is ours. Then I took icing that I had leftover from our sugar cookies, spread it on and let Zane decorate them. Well...I did the eyes and noses and he did most of the mouths. His favorite part was putting the chocolate chips on them because his finger always got a little bit of icing on the end that he HAD to lick off before putting the next chocolate chip on! Quick, easy, and yummy! Once the icing has dried I'm going to cut them like pies and send them to school tomorrow!

As I was mixing them up I was getting a little panicky that I wouldn't have enough and my thoughts wandered to a story Emily Watts relates: Basically, when one of her kids was in kindergarten she had volunteered to bring cookies to the Christmas party and had decided to make sugar cookie drums...only she didn't have a cookie cutter so decided to make her own pattern....which ended up being a little, um, large. And THEN she PIPED on the decorating...and was devastated when the kids didn't stop to admire - just dug in. She had a great point to her story but the memory momentarily freaked me out because I thought that maybe what I had planned was going to end up being more complicated than I wanted it to be. I'm very glad that wasn't the case. And I got a chuckle out of the memory.

Tonight is our ward's trunk or treat...Rhett is having a nap so hopefully he'll be up for lots of fun and Zane has been vibrating ALL day. Hopefully I get some pics!

Time flies when you're having fun!

This week has just flown by! Lots of fun things have happened and Thursday night Cliff's family arrived (minus Jamie and Amber). I let the kids stay up and wait until Cliff got home (late night with the sale) and after the kids were settled we watched the new Indiana Jones movie. Lots of fun but we stayed up WAY too late for how early my kids get up. Oh well. After a huge breakfast we got ready for the day and hung out a bit before Grandma and Auntie Rikki took the kids to Walmart. I finished Grandma's birthday cake and was putting the buns on pans when they got back with their new treasures: Jedi guns with sound effects! They LOVE them and I think their great....Daddy has a new rule though: No triggers until after everyone is awake in the morning! Apparently he didn't get a lot of sleep this morning because that's all he could hear. For the very rare once I slept through the noise. I'm blaming it on exhaustion. But back our fun times! I made buns and beef for lunch because mom LOVES my home made buns and we added in the veggies and stuff Cliff brought home from the sale. After being way too full from all the food we let Grandma open her presents. (Her birthday was last weekend) Well, she got to watch at least! Then the cake. I made Skor cake and we put 20 candles on it. Cliff got them all lit, we started singing Happy Birthday and before we finished the song the candles were out! Rhett started blowing and Zane joined in. 3 good blows later no more flames. I was laughing to hard to finish singing! We all ate HUGE pieces of cake and then watched Iron Man. Zane quickly lost interest - I was glad because I really didn't like it all that much. Rhett fell asleep in the first 5 minutes and slept for almost 3 hours and the rest of us made it through. We finished off our time together by going to Kelsey's for supper. I was really glad that I had thought to call and make a reservation because there were 8 of us and we would have been waiting forever otherwise! We had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa and the aunties!

Today the kids and I made sugar cookies. Other than that we've been extremely lazy. Rhett and I had a nap on the couch - his much longer than mine - and I've spent A LOT of time on the computer this afternoon.

Tonight is Stake Conference adult session - I think our plan is for Cliff to go tonight and me to stay home with the kiddlets. And then tomorrow Cliff is heading to Edmonton for Trail's sale there so it's me and kiddos alone for Stake Conference. I'm a little scared. That's a long time to keep the two of them quiet, occupied and happy by myself on hard chairs. Hopefully it goes well!

My new Favorite thing..

Is the SELF-CLEAN button on my oven. I've had the thing for a year now and have never used it. After cooking my turkey without anything over it (the first and last time I EVER do that ) my oven was disgusting. And any time I used it my whole house smelled like burnt turkey. Ugh. Anyways, after reading in my book what exactly I had to do (press 2 whole buttons and wait) I decided to go for it. W-O-W. When it was done and cooled off it took me 30 seconds to wipe out the ash stuff and voila - an oven that looks fabulous! I'm in love. Of course I called Cliff at work and thanked him profusely for buying me an oven that would do this for me - gotta give credit where credit is due. I'll never ever ever go back.

The last couple days I feel like I've been nesting - weird since I'm only 21 weeks but my house is looking great! Monday we had a family home evening on keeping our homes neat and clean and organized and talked about how Heavenly Father wants our homes to be like Temples. We talked about how inside the temples everything is neat and clean and put away, etc. Earlier in the day I really de-junked the toys and made some labels for different baskets and stuff. The rule is now at the end of the day the boys help to clean up. Anything they don't want to clean up or they leave behind for mom to do after they're in bed goes in a garbage bag and I'll give it to kids without toys. So far, so good.

Daddy and the boys did not clean up tonight....they were too busy carving a pumpkin! One of the sales guys at work brought Cliff this huge pumpkin that was already scooped out so all they had to do was carve it. I was at a baby shower and apparently Rhett was into the pumpkin thing until it got a face...then he walked around saying "scared, scared". We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

The kids have been busy busy pretending up a storm. The other day they were both running around in spider man suites, we've had pirates, ninjas, cowboys, superheroes....well you get the picture. Rhett has been carrying around 2 pez dispensers lately - they are his 'robots' and he just LOVES them right now. Zane loves transformers, spider man, and star wars. The top love depends on the day.

So here's some pics to wind up the post!

Recent Happenings....

We had originally planned on NOT doing a big dinner for Thanksgiving - we stayed here in Sylvan - and were just going to do something fun on Monday with Robison's - I'll get to that in a minute. Then my oh so lovable hubby batted his eyes at me and said "I'd really like Turkey for Thanksgiving". Now, if you've read my 100th post you might remember "cooking a turkey" as one of the things I listed as wanting to do. After multiple phone calls to both moms, some last minute shopping with the kidlets and some laughs I can proudly say that I cooked a turkey on Sunday. It was a little dry, the drippings were burnt (hazard of leaving bird cooking while attending all 3 hours of church - sigh) so the gravy was gross but otherwise a success. Made great turkey buns and soup as well! While I was washing it out I was a little grosses out - the smell and me prego was a challenge. Zane covered his eyes and said "eww gross. Dad, I can't watch!" Rhett just watched. I also made banana cream pie and we had Pratts over after supper to help us eat them. Oh, so yummy. Actually considering making more this weekend.

Monday we were fairly lazy. Robison's came over and we had a really fun backwards dinner - started with ice cream sundaes and ended with BBQ hamburgers and chips. The kids were in HEAVEN! We let them eat as much ice cream and chips as they wanted. We played games, hung out and enjoyed the time together.

Next excitement came in the form of wearing a holter all day yesterday. Something to record my heart all day long. Oh, and the trip to emerg with Zane that lasted 8 hours. Poor kid has a virus in his digestive track which equalled tummy full of gas and PAIN! They ended up giving the poor kid morphine after trying unsuccessfully to get an IV into him. But, it finally got his pain under control and I was finally able to take him home just after midnight. We've had a couple of long nights around here! Thankfully, he's keeping things down, pain free and happy today.

I'm sure I'm going to remember things that I wanted to post about a little while later....

Thankful

I am thankful that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder who is willing to use his priesthood to bless our family.
Rhett has NEVER been a good sleeper. Everyone who knows us or who has read this blog for awhile knows that. But lately it's gotten even worse. He spends the majority of the night tossing and turning, crying out in his sleep, and waking up in full tantrums. Nothing I've tried has helped. I finally (why am I so slow sometimes?) prayed about it. And felt strongly that he needed a blessing. Cliff gave him a blessing tonight before bedtime and blessed him with peaceful sleep, to not feel that he needed to be worried about someone or something "getting" him and that he would learn to sleep through the night. I am very hopeful that this will help Rhett and in turn help me. This prego mama really needs some sleep before the next
non-sleeper Johnson arrives!

Just when you think you're home free...

You see your doctor for your checkup and find out you gained a schwack of weight last month AND you have a heart murmur that may or may not be something. So, I'm getting an EKG this week, wearing a heart monitor for 24 hours next week and have an ecocardiogram scheduled for November 18 unless my doc thinks that's too long and decides to pull strings and bump it up. The nurse at the front who was booking everything seemed to think that was a good possibility. I'm not too worried about having a murmur - did some reading. More worried that the big weight gain is going to lead to diabetes again and don't know what that plus a heart murmur equals in terms of complications. My diabetes screen is at the end of the month and hopefully we'll know more about the murmur by then to. So, until then I just sit and wait. And that's what I know. Cheers!

Appropriate

I have been playing around with different ideas for a new title for my blog because I was sure that this baby was going to be a girl and then "The Life and Times of Me and the Boys" wouldn't work very well anymore. Are you wondering what I've come up with? Here's the new and improved title: "The Life and Times of Me and the Boys" Yep. No change. Thanks to the wonderful ultrasound technology we found out that we are expecting a BLUE bundle and not PINK one like I thought. To put it mildly, we were shocked. But that only lasted for a few seconds before I was overjoyed. Three boys together are going to be so much fun! Not to mention cheaper in the wardrobe department....at least for now. 3 teenage boys in the house at once is going to be rough on the food budget. Oh well. Like I said, it's going to be lots of fun and we're really excited to welcome the new little blue one into our family. Zane thinks it's really cool that he's getting another baby brother and wanted to see the pictures from the ultrasound. Rhett will tell you where our baby is (in my tummy) but when I ask him if he wants a baby brother he says 'no'. Anyways, everything checked out GREAT at the ultrasound. He's measuring right where he should be according to my dates and the placenta and fluid are great. Heart's great and everything else is accounted for!
We've had lots of people ask us if that means we'll try one more time for a girl. Umm, no. We are done at 3. And no, I don't think I'll change my mind. We are both happy with 3 - even without a girl. I'll just have to wait for daughter-in-laws and grandbabies to do all the fun girlie stuff with. And maybe I'll get lucky and have some nieces before then!
On a different note, Monday Cliff turned 30! We had a big party for him last night. And by big I mean almost 30 adults and a handful of babies here at our house for Rock Band and lots of yummy food. We took our kids to Allred's and had a babysitter for both sets of kids. It worked really great - minus the fact that they didn't go to sleep until they were home at 11:00. Ugg. And then they were up at 7:00. It's been a long day here!
So, that's about all that's new in our world. Oh, and if you see my dad don't tell him we're having a boy. He doesn't want to know!

100th...and what I've been doing!

Wow. My 100th post. I did my 100 things about me quite awhile ago...I should be good and post the link here - but I'm super tired and don't feel like figuring it out. Sorry. I do want to do something fun for my 100th post though so I'll do a quick update and then what I had originally planned...lost track of how close I was!

So, here's what I've been doing in a nutshell:

- getting used to Zane being in school - including making lunches, homework and school assemblies

- finished reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer in 5 days - lots of reading not so much housework and cooking going on in those days

- trying to catch up from the 5 day hibernation

- arguing with Zane over Star Wars

- laughing at my kids funnies

- teaching piano 3 days a week

- being SOOOO tired! Don't remember it being this bad with the other 2

- trying to take it easier with this pregnancy than the other two so I can make it to 38 weeks

- counting days till my ultrasound on Friday!

- packed for an overnighter to Barnwell

- went to Barnwell Thursday night with Cliff and the boys and came home on Friday night

- enjoyed seeing all the family - especially uncle Don and aunt Kathy and their kids home visiting from Australia - the whole point to our whirlwind trip. We haven't seen them in 5 years!

- eating yummy yummy food all weekend that I didn't have to cook

- enjoying Alisha and her friend Jackie for some of the weekend.

- laughing like crazy when Zane asked Auntie to "drop out" of a star wars level so he could finish by himself. the look on her face was priceless

- forgetting that we had school fundraising to do that has to be handed in tomorrow. Yuck. I'd gladly get rid of this part of school.

- craving Skittles, Starbursts, and Winegums. Yum yum yummy

- not liking chocolate this pregnancy

- starting to get heartburn after eating....anything

- starting to outgrow things and not wanting to spend money on clothes I'm only going to wear for a couple more months

- did I mention that I am tired ALL the time?

And that's about it. At least it's all that I can remember. I'm sure there are lots of things that I have forgotten and if I remember I'll include them in another post!

Now for my 100....things that I want to do in my life!

1. learn to play the violin

2. get my nursing degree and work on maternity

3. teach my children piano

4. get back into my skinny jeans after having this baby

5. be a better friend

6. be a better wife

7. be a better mom

8. flip houses - and get to the point where I just have to supervise and not get dirty!

9. stop eating when I'm full

10. learn to enjoy exercise

11. understand my scriptures more

12. feel the spirit more in my life

13. see my sons serve honorable missions

14. see all my children get married in the temple to wonderful spouses

15. plant a garden

16. do WAY more quilting!

17. visit Hawaii

18. NOT swim with sharks - Leslie is convinced she's going to get me to do this. I'll stay on the beach thanks

19. Get a better camera and learn how to use it

20. Stay caught up on my pictures in albums

21. Have a music room in my house

22. Have all my music organized!

23. Save for a grand piano - probably not until after my kids are long gone!

24. Go back to Huntington California with Cliff and stay in the huge hotel across from the beach...

25. Get a professional massage

26. Go on a temple tour with Cliff

27. attend General Conference live once

28. go to Australia

29. sky dive - only if I'm strapped to someone a lot bigger than me who will throw us out of the plane

30. make it through a summer with the same pair of sunglasses

31. start donating blood again

32. travel to Italy

33. try golf...

34. start running again

35. be a better housekeeper

36. become less selfish

37. curb my sugar addiction

38. catch up on my sleep - I can hope!

39. not care so much about what other people think

40. get out of debt

41. keep old friends and make new ones

42. be a good visiting teacher

43. be better prepared for an emergency

44. learn how to read a map...I'm hopeless!

45. take ballroom dancing classes

46. learn to rock climb

47. sing in a choir again...it's been a very very very long time

48. enlarge my shoe selection

49. shop for the same size of pants year after year after year

50. bear my testimony more - especially for my children

51. appreciate the little things in my life

52. live where winter doesn't stay for 6 months of the year - I'll even take the chinooks!

53. teach my children to be independent

54. sleep through the night again

55. teach my kids healthy habits - eating and exercise

56. find the balance between school and extra curricular with my kids

57. cook manicottie

58. cook a turkey

59. host Christmas at my house one year

60. build wonderful memories for my family

61. develop a better memory

62. Get better at recording things in case 61 doesn't pan out!

63. change myself for the better

64. grow a flower garden

65. have a raspberry patch

66. have a strawberry patch

67. own a vehicle that doesn't run on gas

68. be better at budgeting and saving

69. have a date night every week...not every month

70. keep my children safe

71. live closer to our families

72. get better at piano

73. worry less

74. laugh more

75. do a zip line tour in Hawaii or some cool place like that

76. serve a mission with Cliff

77. have lots of yummy smelling candles in my house

78. appreciate Christmas more for what the season is supposed to be

79. learn more about my kids

80. maybe try to have a dog...maybe

81. have the ultimate basement/backyard for our kids and their friends

82. learn to walk in high heels better

83. have more than jeans and t-shirts in my wardrobe

84. continue to make a menu

85. attend the temple more regularly

86. voice my opinion more

87. pass on my love of reading to my kids

88. play more with my kids

89. appreciate my hubby more

90. learn how to can fruit and maybe jam

91. be more girlie

92. forgive quicker

93. grumble less

94. find beauty in more things

95. recycle more

96. read more

97. have a toy free room

98. have an empty closet - just because

99. make me more a priority

100. ENJOY all my moments - good and bad

wow. That was harder I think than 100 things about me. Hope you enjoyed it!

Mulling over....

Recent happenings in my extended family have left me pondering relationships and forgiveness. I won't go into details because certain events have already caused a lot of pain and hurt for some and I don't wish to spread that to anyone else. Mostly I am disappointed and sad for members of my family. The one's who have been hurt and also the ones who caused the hurt. It is a situation that has existed for a very long time - too long - and is repeated in various circumstances and periods of time. It has caused me to think and compare families - ones I was born into, ones I've married into, and ones that I am privileged to spend a lot of time with. Not one of these families is perfect. They all have problems and dare I say dysfunctions. Some more than others. Yet some have a love and respect for each other that is second to none, where others are complicated and have hurtful histories. And this is where it gets complicated for me. I am a natural peace maker. I believe that it is one of my talents and gifts. I don't like confrontation. My first instinct is to soothe and try to make peace - whether I am involved directly or someone has come to me. When recent events came to light my first instinct was to make it "better" somehow. But that's not my role or my responsibility. Our Saviour came to this world and suffered and died and was resurrected so that we might be forgiven and in turn learn to forgive others. And you can't give that forgiveness until you are willing to forgive. Harboring hurt does not encourage forgiveness, and without forgiveness you can't heal. I have thought how the Saviour taught us to forgive the same injury over and over and over again - how He shows us the same loving forgiveness for our own insults and mistakes - and I have prayed a lot in my heart. I have prayed to forgive and forget and that the more injured ones will also be able to forgive and to heal.
I have also pondered the state of families in the eternities when their existence here in time has not been one of a cohesive family unit. Will it be easier to forgive when we have been reminded of the big picture? Or will our families remain in the same state they are in now? Some strong and thriving, some broken and floundering. It makes me so grateful for the powerful bonds of love I have with my siblings and my parents. And of the same bonds Cliff has with his family and that we as our own family unit share with each other's families. We never question their love for us, their concern for us or their support of us. And we hope that they feel the same from us. I pray as I watch Zane and Rhett (and soon baby #3)playing and fighting and growing together that they will always have the relationship they have today - that it will grow and mature with them so when they reach adulthood and start their own families they will know that they can count on one another for strength and support. And that they will know of our love and support for them.
Families are continually changing - wouldn't it be nice if we could guarantee it was always things that would bring us closer together and closer to our goal of an eternal family? But then guarantees don't fit in with the plan I chose so very long ago. Free agency, free choice, whatever you want to title it as was given as a gift and we choose what we do with it. We can choose to forgive or we can choose to let wounds fester. Personally, I'm choosing to forgive.

"Firsts of Kindergarten...."

We had TWO first days at kindergarten this week...Wednesday I went with Zane to meet his teacher. It was good except for when Mrs. Cocks wanted the kids to line up without their parents and Zane didn't want to leave me. I've worried about this for the past 2 days. Today all of my fears were put to rest. Cliff took Zane to school and came back with the report that all was well. And he was. He got to be the special helper all day long, play in the gym, played outside in the rain at recess and got a special treat from the office for being the special helper. They call it the Razzle Dazzle Kid and he was floating on cloud nine when I picked him up. He chose a spider man coloring book with stickers and couldn't wait to get home and get started on the stickers. I was so relieved that everything went well. I was really anxious that he would have problems with his shoes or coat or something like that. He goes to all day kindergarten so has 2 recesses and a lunch that he has to change from inside to outside shoes and get his coat on and off and zipped and all that stuff. These are skills that he CAN do, but doesn't particularly LIKE to do. And of course it's the first time that he's been gone all day in someone else's care that I don't know well, with kids I've never met and doing things that I don't know about ALL DAY LONG. Preschool didn't phase me. How much can they really do in 2 hours? But all day? It was hard to let him go and I hope I didn't pass any of my anxieties onto him. But we survived and we'll continue to do the same Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday! Rhett was so excited to see Zane when he got home. He couldn't wait for him to get his coat and shoes off and get a hug. Of course they were fighting about 2 minutes later, but for a split second they were thrilled to see each other.

Grammie S and Auntie Kizzy have come to stay with us for a whole week! They got here just before bedtime on Friday and we've been having lots of fun hanging out and playing and reading and all that good stuff. We wanted to go to the corn maze in Lacombe yesterday but it rained off and on all day and we decided it wouldn't be fun in drizzle and cold with kids in tow. Hopefully we'll find the time to go before they leave us Friday morning!

Tomorrow Zane is off to school, I have a doc appointment and we have some shopping we want to do. I also start my first full week of piano lessons as well. I'm teaching 11 students this year! That's almost triple of what I've ever taught before and I'm a little nervous about being able to do it all. But I've got them all lined up for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 4 until 6 so I think it'll work out pretty good....

And congrats to Whit and Brad! We hear that Finn is just cuter than cute!

You know you're pregnant when....

You cry over a kid's book from the library. Seriously. I had to get Cliff to finish reading it because I was crying too hard. Sheesh. It was called Mars Needs Moms! by Berkeley Breathed and it's a really great story about a little boy realizing why moms are such good things. Sigh. Hormones are just so great aren't they?

We went to the zoo on Friday as a family and had a great time. The weather was perfect - sunny but not too hot and a nice breeze every once in a while. We got to see lots of animals and saw most of the zoo. Rhett was one tired little boy by the time we were done. I took the umbrella stroller with me but he only rode in it for maybe 1/2 an hour...and we were there for almost 5 hours! 7 minutes in the van and he was out! That's a lot of walking for short little legs. But the boys enjoyed it and we took lots of fun pics of the animals and the kids posing at different spots and stuff like that. They really enjoyed the prehistoric part of the zoo and Zane was thrilled when Cliff pointed out the tyrannosaurus rex! I'm not posting pics because I'm being lazy and still have Cinnamon buns to finish tonight. I think we're going to make the trip to the zoo a yearly tradition...there's so many different things you can do there as the kids get older and stuff.

Zane is obsessed with the XBOX 360 game Lego Star Wars and it's driving me insane. It's all he talks about....minus asking when he can play with Parker. And it wouldn't bug me so much I think if playing it once a day would satisfy him...but it doesn't. He wants to play it as soon as he wakes up and when he's not playing it he's asking when he can play it again. Now I'm not denying that it's a fun game...I like playing it with him and we've had a lot of fun together. What's bothering me about it is his obsessiveness (is that a word?) about it. I've tried explaining to him that too much time playing video games isn't good for his brain or his body but it's going in one ear and out the other. So we have decided to give him a very strict time limit every day and if that doesn't work then I guess the game is going to have to disappear for a while.

Anyways, Rhett is whining rather loudly from bed so I need to go and quiet that one down before he wakes his brother up. Hope all is well with everyone else!

Girls fun

Tuesday night I went out with a bunch of great gals for a movie and yummy treats at Moxie's. The movie didn't turn out quite the way it was supposed to - the plan was we were all going to a chick flick - not exactly my cup of tea but it was an excuse to get out with the girls. When my friend Jennie and I arrived at the theater we met up with another gal who said the movie we were supposed to see was sold out. Oh darn. We decided to go to another movie - action, comedy and romance all rolled into one. Can't beat that! It was funny because when we pulled up to the theater and saw what else was playing Jennie and I looked at each other and she asked why in the world we were going to this chick flick instead of one of the others. We think a lot a like. Our hubbies were quite put out that we saw this particular movie without them. Poor guys. It's worth seeing again so I'm not too worried. The restaurant was a blast. I think there were about 10 of us...and it was an hour of laughs and good times before heading home. I have been so blessed to be surrounded by amazing women. I honestly believe that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such good friends because I can't live where my family is....these friends have become my family away from family. Some are closer than others, but I have an incredible support group here and I am so thankful for that.
Today was a fun day - Zane and Parker played ALL day at Parker's house - thanks Jennie! - and Rhett was able to join in for the morning. Then mean mommy played the nap card - the kid is unbearable without a nap in the afternoon. The boys play so well together that Jennie offered to let Zane stay for the afternoon and I actually got some nice quiet time to myself and got caught up on a few things. So nice.
My newest project is to get my pictures caught up on journal ling. They're all in albums, but I'm almost a year behind in writing the funny things and little stories that go along with them. Then it's on to putting a quilt together for my ward's Super Saturday so they can tie it, and after that I think I'm going to start on things for this kiddo.
Oh, and I have a couple of new piano students this year...it's going to be an interesting change in a couple of weeks with Zane starting school, me starting to teach again, and I want to do some things with just Rhett. I think I've got some good ideas lined up and we want to put the boys in swim lessons on the the days Zane isn't in school. I have a feeling it will be Christmas before I know it! Better start thinking about what to get everyone!
Sorry it's random...that's kinda how I am these days. Prego update is that I'm pretty much over the gagging - yeah! - starting to have heart burn - boo - and have been craving salsa and chips the past couple of days. Yum! Also have been doing good on the exercise but horrible on the eating. Sigh, one day I'll get it right!

Things

I finished Janice's baby quilt last night...and gave it to her...and FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES! What's wrong with me? Sigh. Now I have to finish one of the other ones to get pictures to prove how cute the first one was!
I thought yesterday that I was on the winning end of my head cold. I was wrong. Ugh. At least it won't last forever!
I'm sure that I am not the only one to think during moments of the day when children are screaming/hitting/trying to make someone miserable, that maybe the whole kid thing isn't worth it. But then a loving Heavenly Father send moments like this:

RHETT: Knock Knock
ZANE: Who's there?
RHETT: Banana - at which time he bursts into laughter and Zane joins in

RHETT: Knock Knock
ZANE: Who's there?
RHETT: I don't know - again bursts into giggles

ZANE: Knock, Knock
RHETT: Who's there?
ZANE: Fill in appropriate response
RHETT: Laughs hysterically without the punchline

I was laughing so hard at this that I had to leave because they didn't know I was paying attention. Sigh. I wish they would always get along this well! And I don't know where he learned knock-knock jokes. Zane's know them for a long time now but hasn't been telling any as far as I know. The things that come out of kid's mouths!

Catch up!

The Sunday after Alisha and Jay's wedding we were in Barnwell hanging out with Cliff's family. His mom deep-fried a turkey and it was the best turkey I've ever had. It was so moist and yummy. I was really surprised how much I liked it because usually when I'm pregnant I can't eat real turkey - just doesn't stay down. Anyways, we took family pics in the afternoon and the reason Rhett's not in them is because he was having a nap and Rikki had to leave for work. We took some later of just him and Grandma and Grandpa - he was not impressed so we didn't attempt anything else. Zane and Uncle Jamie jumped on the trampoline and added water for lots of fun. They stayed out there for 2 hours! Early that evening Cliff headed home to Sylvan and we headed back to Raymond for the next week and a bit.
We spent the week doing lots of fun things: library, flying kites, park, sand box, hearing Great Grandpa Knibb play his accordion (Zane really liked it but it was a lot louder than he thought it would be. For me it brought back good memories of being really little and hearing Grandpa play music in their basement. It didn't happen very often that I remember so it was always a real treat) We did some shopping - maternity clothes for me, jeans for kindergarten, and of course the dollar store. Great Grandpa gave the kids some money to roll (ended up being $40) and I let them each spend $10 at the dollar store. They had a blast picking out whatever they wanted and we got back to Grammie's with lots of fun new stuff. We got to see lots of friends and family and always seemed to be on the go! In fact I took my quilting with me and didn't touch it once! Very unusual for us...but by the end of the day all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and do nothing.
Saturday we headed for Taber to attend a Peterson family reunion. My Grandma Knibb(mom's mom) was a Peterson before marrying. I haven't seen her side of the family since I was a little girl - grandma died when I was 11 and I'm sure it was a couple of years before that. Anyways, it was being held at the Legion park just out of town and there was some very old playground stuff there...including one of those 8 foot slides that have a ladder going straight up and down. Rhett was in love with the slide and went up and down about 25 times with no problems. There was a cousin playing with him and Rhett and Rhett was getting a little excited - we think that's why he lost his balance at the top of the slide and fell...all the way to the bottom! Mom, Kinsey and I were sitting a ways away at a picnic table and as soon as we saw him topple all 3 of us were up and running. I beat them there and Kinsey later told me she couldn't believe I moved that fast. I told her fear makes a mom move extra fast. When we got to him his eyes were open, not focused and he wasn't breathing. I grabbed him and ran back to the table to get a better look at him. He finally started breathing but then he passed out. I was up and heading for the vehicles immediately and screaming for Kinsey to get her keys. I admit I was a little hysterical at the moment but I was already having a bad hormone day and I knew that there was something wrong. A well meaning relate tried to convince us that he would be fine and that we didn't need to go but I just ignored her and we left. Got to the hospital, got him checked out, confirmed a concussion but no broken bones, had the doctor look right at me and ask me if anyone had been watching him - I was too upset to really pay any attention to his tone at the time but later I was pretty ticked. He would have fallen had I been where I was, at the bottom of the stairs or in the van for some reason. Anyways, he was planning on keeping him over night in Taber but agreed to let us go to Raymond since that's where we were staying. Kinsey drove me and Rhett to Raymond while mom brought Zane after getting some things arranged at the reunion. Once we got to Raymond we were admitted and a doctor that I don't know (must have been on rotation or something) came and looked at him. He wanted to talk to the peds doc in Lethbridge because when a child is under 2 and gets a concussion they automatically do a cat scan. Rhett is barely over 2 so he was concerned. After talking to the peds doc we were off to Lethbridge for a CT scan. But first our good family friend Randy Baker came and gave Rhett a blessing. Cliff was at home, Dad on his way home, and all our other priesthood family members were on holidays. Anyways, it was a wonderful blessing and we felt really calm as mom and I headed to Lethbridge with Rhett. Zane went home with Randy because we didn't know how long it would take and Kinsey had other obligations she had to be at. The drive in Rhett was very alert and pointing out trains, trucks, asking for Zane etc. We got to the hospital, got in right away and it wasn't long before we saw the doctor. We had to get him sedated in order to get the CT done and it ended up taking 2 rounds. That was our longest wait - him to go to sleep. Once asleep it didn't take very long and 10 minutes later we knew that his brain was fine. We had to wait until he woke up and had something to drink before heading home. We did see my cousin Wes there - he's an ER nurse and came on shift before we left. He became Rhett's friend because he cut off the hospital bracelets on his legs - he was not a fan of those! It still makes me scared when I think of how much worse it could have been and I am convinced that there were a couple of angels on the ground under him when he hit. To only have a bruise on his head is a miracle and we were very blessed. I am so thankful for the mindfulness of our Heavenly Father and for the power of the priesthood. Sunday he was back to normal. A little grouchy but fine otherwise.
Monday we went to Waterton with Grammie and Grandpa Dooley, and Auntie Kizzy and her boyfriend Danny. We had a picnic up at Cameron Lake and Zane went in with Auntie and Danny. Rhett wanted nothing to do with the water and was more than content to throw rocks into the lake. Really he was in paradise. The kid thinks all rocks belong in a puddle - doesn't matter what size the puddle is. Kizzy and Danny went and climbed Bears hump - we did the "hike" at Cameron falls. The boys were thrilled and I was tired. Threw more rocks into the lake, went to the candy store and the ice cream store - yum yum yum and headed home. It was fun to go - I haven't been in 8 years! And the kids had a great day with everyone. Tuesday was spent winding stuff up and getting ready to come home. We had a wonderful time but were glad to come home and see daddy again!
And now that I'm home it doesn't feel like I've stopped moving! Wednesday night we went to softball, Thursday I took Zane to the doctor because he's been having weird stomach aches for 3 weeks, and the stethoscope cured him. Love it when that happens! We have a great doc who decided to do some x-rays and stuff just to make sure nothing was blocked so Friday we headed into Red Deer after Cliff went golfing to get those done and do a Costco run. Then Cliff decided we should got out for supper. Saturday I spent most of the day quilting and then that night Cliff and I went out with friends for the UFC fight night. We had lots of fun but it was late night.
Sunday was a good day at church and then we headed to Eckville for Leslie's birthday. Lots of yummy food and good company made for a great time!
Yesterday I had my first prenatal visit. There's a lot more paperwork this time around - or so it seems. But I checked out as healthy and I heard the baby's heartbeat. 170! That a lot faster than the boys ever were - I'm crossing my fingers this one is pink so here's hoping. It feels more real to me now that I've heard the heartbeat. I've been really gaggie this time - not puking - but gag a lot and I already look like I'm way further a long - nothing new there, and of course the hormones and the pinched sciatic and all the fun stuff but hearing that heartbeat made me go yep, there's a baby there and she? is going to make an appearance in February! Wow. We are so blessed. We didn't think we'd get pregnant again so fast after our last miscarriage because it took us so long after the first time. But we couldn't be happier!
Today I have baked like a marathon baker! 3 batches of muffins, a batch of buns, 2 dozen cinnamon buns, and I experimented with pizza buns. My first batch leaked all over my pan but I did better the second time around. Hopefully they taste good! I'm hoping to finish up a baby quilt by tomorrow night and then relax!
We're glad to be home and we missed everyone here and of course we already miss the ones we left in southern Alberta! (Sorry it was so long winded!)

Lots of pics...some writing

We're home! Just a quick rundown of the last 2 weeks...lots of fun...Lish and Jay's wedding, (no pics sorry took all the pics on their camera!) Johnson family pics, Zane and Uncle Jamie on the tramp with the sprinkler, lots of playing outside, Rhett got a concusion at a family reunion from falling off an 8 foot slide and we visited 3 hospitals in 8 hours....everything is fine and I'll write the story next time, did Waterton and did I mention that we had sooooo much fun? Here's some pics and I'll do more details in the next day or so I promise!