Brock at 1 month...well really 5 weeks but who's counting?

So I really meant to do this post last Sunday....and now it's Sunday again! How did that happen? Oh well, not too much has changed in a week.

Brock is now 5 weeks old and last Monday weighed in at 9lbs 7oz!

His hands and thighs are starting to chunk up.

His eyes look like they are going to be my blue.

Wakes us from a nap hungry and cries. If I'm not there in a couple of minutes he goes back to sleep for 10 minutes and then wakes up again.

He mostly nurses but also takes a bottle.

Doesn't have a problem taking a bottle from me.

Likes to be swaddled up to go to sleep.

Has definite cries for hungry and for tired.

Is awake and alert a lot more now.

Is discovering his hands - mostly when they accidentally hit something else.

Has the cutest 'confused' look I've ever seen. It cracks me up!

Has a smile that lights up his whole face. Just waiting for him to do it on purpose!

Can be a little fussy in the evenings but nothing horrible. Usually just wants to be held.

Is usually in bed between 10:30 and 11:00 and starts off the night sleeping 4 hours. Then eats and goes back to bed for another 3.

Has one long nap in the morning, one long nap in the afternoon and goes between various stages of alert and out of it in between those.

Takes 45 minutes to nurse, get bum changed and nurse on the other side. Downs a 4 oz bottle in about 15 minutes.

Loves to cuddle.

Loves his Mei Tai.

Sucks on his soother but is not terribly attached to it.

Is an easy baby so far.

Other happenings in our family....Zane is almost over his latest cold and Rhett is in the middle of one. Brock has been stuffy but seems to be fine today so hopefully he won't get the cough his brothers have had/have.

We got rid of the ugly recliner/rocking chair that we've had for almost 6 years. It was unanimously the favorite of the men in this family but was also just disgusting. Six years of constant every day use and not leather. Do I need to say more? So how do you ask did I finally convince Cliff to get rid of it? I have to admit that mom pointed out the obvious to me. Seeing how it is the chair that all 3 of them hang out it - whether they are healthy or not - it was just crawling with germs. And Cliff, Zane and Rhett just keep getting sick. I don't ever sit in the chair and I'm not getting sick. So, I presented this idea to Cliff in my best wifely ways, expecting that I was going to have to sell this idea a couple of times to get my way, but Cliff surprised me and got rid of the chair Friday morning. I'm so spoiled - my hubby almost always gives me my way. We traumatized Rhett a little in the process as he was sitting in it when Cliff came to get it. "my chair, my chair" was his cry as Cliff hauled it out the door. But he's adjusting well. We do intend to replace it - but with leather this time!

We had a really great day together as a family on Friday just sitting at home and hanging out. Cliff was a great hubby and cooked a bunch of bacon that I needed for a recipe for Saturday and Brock and I hung out in bed because the living room was too cold with all the windows open and fans going. Then he got rid of the chair and all the other stuff that piled up on the porch when it was too cold to go out, we watched movies with the kids, Allreds came over and he played in the snow with all the kids....it was just a nice, relaxing day for all of us. It's so nice to have someone else around to hand Brock to when he's hungry and I need to get supper ready!

Zane and Rhett go from one extreme to the other lately - playing great to screaming at each other. I guess that's normal. And oh my oh my the play fighting/wrestling has started in earnest. Rhett is now 43 lbs and Zane is 59 and only has about 8 inches on Rhett so he's not afraid of hurting him anymore. Results are big brother pushing and pulling back where he used to just walk away. Thankfully they're very mindful of where Brock is and haven't rolled over him....yet.

Zane FINALLY got to see the pediatric dentist and was a pro. He drank back the sedation medicine and did everything that they asked him to. The only time he got upset was when I had to leave for the x-rays and at the end his tummy got a little upset and he threw up. Other than that he did great. He didn't like the freezing coming out but definitely milked the whole soft foods diet for as long as he could. He was supposed to get 2 molars capped and ended up getting 6! Yikes. But he's done and hopefully he won't need to go back. He is now eagerly looking forward to his birthday next Sunday and all the friends and family that will be involved in that!

And we are finally being social again. I went to the RS March 17 dinner on Thursday and took Brock with me. He was a hit (of course) and it felt so good to sit with everyone and get all caught up again. I couldn't believe how much I missed! Last night we went over to Allred's for a potluck, games and guitar hero. It was so much fun! We're so lucky to have such great friends! And today all 5 of us went to church! And made it there in time to get a bench instead of the chairs. I was impressed. Poor Rhett coughed once before we left and by the time we got to church he was hacking pretty good. I felt bad but Cliff and I both had commitments that had to be done after sacrament so we stayed.

This week we're gearing up for our families to visit for Zane's birthday and Brock's blessing on Sunday. We've invited those who are going to stand in the circle and have planned the dinner the night before...now I just need a clean house, the food, and about 20 hours to finish a quilt. I'm thinking the quilt isn't going to get done but I'm going to try my best. It's for Kristie's birthday/graduation. But I'll get done as much as I can.

I'm sure as soon as I hit the publish button I'm going to think of something else that I wanted to write here. sigh. I miss my brain.

I Know....

I read about this idea in the Time Out For Women newsletter that I get every month. You take 15 minutes to write down "I Know" statements that pertain to you. The only catch is that you have to KNOW that each statement is true. I've been wanting to do it for awhile now so here goes!

I know that being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever done but also the most rewarding thing I've ever done.
I know that my sons were chosen to be here on earth at this time for a very specific purpose.
I know that I love my husband more today than the day I married him.
I know that I am the one and only in my hubby's world.
I know that the Lord has blessed me with wonderful friends to fill the gap of being far from family.
I know that prayers are answered.
I know that not all prayers are answered right away.
I know that I belong to the the true and living church of Jesus Christ - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
I know that life can be hard.
I know that life is a test.
I know that I will not be perfect in this life and that's OK.
I know that I MUST try my hardest to become perfect in this life.
I know that the atonement is real, that my Savior, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for me and was resurrected so that we might all live again.
I know that we will live again after this life.
I know that we can be eternal families.
I know that raising faithful children in today's world is challenging but necessary.
I know that I cannot leave teaching gospel principals to my children to other people. It has to happen in my home.
I know that I am supposed to stay home and nurture my children. Cliff is supposed to provide for us. This isn't always easy.
I know that paying tithing brings blessings.
I know that we all have different challenges.
I know that we all have different talents.
I know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and that He loves us.
I know that I am the center of my children's world right now and that it will change one day.
I know that raising boys is a lot different than raising girls.
I know that days, weeks, months and years go by faster the older you get.
I know that my age changes every year but I don't feel any older!
I know that I have learned, grown, and changed a lot from the 20 year old girl that married Cliff almost 8 years ago.
I know that I have TONS to still learn.
I know that I love quilting.
I know that I have a talent in music and usually enjoy sharing it.
I know that losing weight is an ongoing, never ending battle for me.
I know that without medical technology two of my sons wouldn't be here today and I probably wouldn't either. That is a miracle.
I know that we are all given trials that we can bear.
I know that I love spring and fall. Summer's a close second and I tolerate winter.
I know that I would hate living farther away from our families but would go with Cliff anywhere he felt our family should be.
I know that being a first time soccer mom is going to be a learning experience!
I know that a smile, kiss, hug or I love you is the best present a child can give you.
I know that life is not always fair.
I know that the Lord has a plan for us all and that I need to trust His time line rather than imposing my own on Him. I know this but don't always remember it!
I know the first 6 weeks with a baby are the hardest and some of the sweetest you'll ever spend.

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord and restored the true church to the earth.
I know that the Book of Mormon is true and was written for us in this day and age.
I know being sealed to Cliff in the Temple is one of the best decisions in my life.

I think my 15 minutes is up. That was really refreshing and fun to do!

Flying Solo

I have been on my own for a whole week now with the three munchkins. Mom actually left us Sunday afternoon to go home and surprise dad and Cliff had Stake Priesthood meeting Sunday night so I got to do bedtime with all 3 all by myself. Luckily newborns sleep a lot!

We're slowly settling into a semblance of a routine. It all revolves around when Brock is going to eat. Sometimes he goes 3 hours or a little longer and sometimes he barely makes it an hour and a half! Rhett is slowly coming around to the idea that daddy can help him out with things when mom is feeding Brock and has also figured out to ask me for juice right before I start nursing... as in almost ready to latch Brock on. Oh well. At least he's asking BEFORE we officially get started.

It's been a little bit of a crazy week. Cliff's been gone Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. So I've definitely gotten used to the whole bed time routine again! Rhett is sleeping much better than last week but I still find myself bouncing between my bed, Brock's rocking chair, Rhett's bed and back to my own bed again. There was one night this week that I spent more time out of my bed than in it!

4:00-6:00 is our most challenging time of the day. Rhett is struggling to stay awake and is usually quite grouchy, I'm trying to time supper around Brock's eating, and if he's not eating he wants to be held usually during this time. I'm not sure how I'm going to swing piano lessons yet as I usually teach from 4:00 to 5:30 or 6:00 twice a week. It's going to be interesting when we start up again!

I'm definitely sleep deprived but trying to deal with it as positively as possible. I'm a lot more relaxed this time on what I expect of myself. It's a lot less stressful only having my home to take care of and not my home AND the apartment building like I did when we had Rhett. I basically try to do one big house chore a day that's not getting meals, changing bums, feeding a little one and general clean up stuff. So far, so good. But like I said earlier, Brock sleeps a lot!

I've also managed to get in a nap about every other day. That helps a lot.

The munchkin is fussing so I'll sign off for now. Can't believe that he's already 3 weeks old!

Brock - all the details....finally

So I think I finally have more than a minute to be on the computer and thought I'd write down Brock's journey here. It's probably going to be a little long so if you have time go ahead and read. And if not, here's the end: Brock's home and happy with us.

10:45 pm Saturday Feb 7 my water broke - not a big gush, just enough for me to go 'umm, I think my water just broke

11:00 pm getting a few contractions - and since strep B positive decide to head to hospital like Dr advised earlier

11:45 pm arrive at the hospital and have confirmed that my water had indeed broken and dilated to a 2

still having contractions but not really going anywhere

admitted and spent a sleepless night with contractions off and on and Cliff slept on the floor :(

7:45 am Feb 8 Dr Mark Darby came to see us and decided to start me on the pitocin (sp?)drip - I figured for sure once I got some of that in me the contractions would pick up and just keep going and we'd have a baby in a couple of hours

12:30 pm Dr Darby has to leave for a family function and still no closer to having a baby. Still at a 2 and getting frustrated

1:45 pm at an 18 on the pitocin drip, at a 3 and Dr Badenhorst re-breaks my water (they figure I either had a smaller bag that broke first or it broke and re-sealed itself) Pitocin is cut down to a 4 and contractions immediately pick up and get intense in pain and duration

2:00 ish I got a shot of phentanol (sp?) and that took the edge off a little

2:45 pm I am declared a 10 and told that I can start pushing. I panicked a little bit here because I wasn't mentally ready to push yet. I figured I was only a 6 or maybe an 8 like I had been with Rhett when I felt like that

Cliff was great and counted for me so I could focus on something - the nurses weren't prepared for me to be ready to push quite so soon and Dr Badenhorst wasn't quite ready to catch. But everyone got organized and at 3:13 pm Brock came into the world screaming. I was thrilled because he's the first to come out crying

They whisked him over to the warmer and a few minutes later brought him for a kiss and told me they were taking him to the nursery for a little bit of oxygen and my first thought was " if they get him in that nursery he's not coming out"

Cliff followed Brock shortly while the doc and nurses kept working on me - I hemorrhaged last time so they were taking extra precautions this time around. I was finally allowed up, got showered and over to see Brock around 6:30. We met up with Grammie and the boys on the way over to the nursery and all got our first look together....he wasn't just in oxygen anymore - he was hooked up to a c-pap machine - it basically forces oxygen into their nose. I wasn't allowed to hold him and figured we were in a for a long run

Monday 3:13 pm Brock is intabated and given a dose of bless to open up his lungs. Still haven't got to hold him. Nurses ask me if we have a preference for Edmonton or Calgary if they have to ship him out to a bigger hospital. Cliff gave him a blessing that night and promised that he would be healthy and strong and that his lungs would heal.

Tuesday 4:30 am find doc on call and nurses all clustered around Brock's bed (I had been there pumping) They were comparing x-rays, doing blood gas tests etc trying to decide how best to wean him off the machine because he had started to let it do the work for him - I was pretty stressed and pretty out of it but managed to keep it together

11:00 am get to the nursery after being discharged to find Brock off the machine and in hyper oxygenation. Room air is 21% and he was in 60%. I was surprised that he was off the machine and thrilled at the progress. I also finally got to hold him. His nurse knew how desperate I was to hold this precious little boy and had waited to do some things in his isolette so she could take him out and let me hold him. I had to hold an oxygen mask a few inches away from his face so he would get enough oxygen but it was so sweet to hold him and get to know him. I sat and held my sweet boy and cried.

Wednesday Brock went under the lights for jaundice and was still in 60%. His respiratory rate was still pretty high - he had a pneumothorax (sp?) in his left lung and from my understanding that meant that he had a spot on his lung that wasn't fully opened yet. So instead of averaging 40-60 breaths a minute he was closer to 80-100 breaths a minute. Because of this the doc wouldn't let him eat and he was just getting electrolytes through his IV

Thursday not much changed.

Friday his nurse let me give him 5 mls of breast milk through a bottle which he sucked down in about 3 minutes flat! He was so hungry and was much happier after that. His oxygen sat levels and his resp levels just settled down nicely and he was the most settled he had been all day after that.

Friday afternoon they started weaning Brock off oxygen

Friday night or sometime early Saturday doctor decided he was ready for a nasal gastric tube and started a continuous milk drip

Saturday Brock was in room air by 12:30 pm and his IV came out

Sunday night we got to start nursing on demand and I stayed in the parent's suite

Monday I was at the hospital all day to nurse Brock whenever he was hungry and had nurses with differing opinions on the car seat test but we ended up doing the test which he passed with no problems. I also had a couple of nurses comment to me about how calm I had been through the whole thing - especially with a CRITICALLY ILL baby. Umm, critically ill? No one ever told me he was THAT bad! It's probably a good thing no one ever said critically ill around me 'cause I probably would have lost it. But I also know I drew a lot of strength from the blessing Cliff gave me before we left for the hospital and the one he gave to Brock in the nursery. So in just over a week Brock went from the sickest baby they had to the healthiest one! Thank goodness for the power of the priesthood.

Monday night the nursery got so full that Brock was actually moved into the middle of the nursery and not hooked up to anything anymore. I was tempted to grab him and run!

Tuesday morning I was the first one that our pediatrician assigned to Brock saw and he gave us the go ahead to come home! He told me that his lungs were good enough to come home but would still take a couple of months to fully heal so was given lots of counsel on avoiding certain places and screening visitors etc. Lots of hand washing and we're kind of quarantined for the next little while. So I won't be going to church for the next couple of weeks and if I do have to take him out I'll be doing my best to keep him covered up and hidden from view/germs etc.

It felt awesome to finally leave the hospital WITH Brock in tow and to walk in the house with him. Zane was so excited he was jumping around in circles and couldn't wash his hands fast enough to get a hold in. Rhett was very excited to come and look and point out all of Brock's things like his vibrating chair and blankets. He also raced down to Brock's room to bring him the toy that auntie Kizzy sent up with Grandpa.

Zane loves to hold Brock and look at him and talk to him. And Rhett is my best helper. As soon as he sees me getting ready to change Brock he's got a diaper, the wipes and cream ready. He's always concerned about where he is and what he's doing. He doesn't want to hold him yet but whatever.

And we are thrilled to have baby boy #3 here. Last night was a long night. I think he's hitting his 2 week growth spurt and most of the night was spent nursing, falling asleep nursing in the chair, waking up and nursing again etc. So I'm pretty tired today. Glad mom is still here and I can get a nap in this afternoon! Mom's leaving us Monday morning and I'm a little nervous but I know after a couple of days (or maybe weeks) we'll get into a routine and soon I'll wonder what in the world we ever did without Brock in our family. Mom is going to stay home tomorrow morning with Brock so I can go to sacrament meeting - I've already missed 2 weeks of church and probably won't be taking Brock until his blessing day - March 22. So she decided that I should go tomorrow.

And those are the details!

A little more....

(These pics are from a couple of days ago)

So today is day 6 in the SCN and it was a good day. Brock has been steadily improving and today he was completely weaned off of oxygen. He was in room air for most of the day and did really well - keeping his sat levels above 90% where the doc wants them. He also nursed twice today!!! The doctor is really happy with how his chest sounds now and says he can hear his heart sounds a lot better now - they were really muffled before because of how hard he was working to breathe. So basically the goal now is to get him nursing/bottling every 3 hours instead of every other feed like we did today and his jaundice is still an issue. He's only been under one photo light ever since he went under and if his levels still weren't down with the blood test tonight they were going to start another light as well. I don't know why they've waited so long - it's a little frustrating that the thing holding us up the most now is the jaundice!! But we are just so grateful that he has made such great progress. Every morning I'm pleasantly surprised that he's just kept plugging forward towards coming home. With Rhett he would do really great one day and then have one or two bad days and then progress again. It was really stressful and in the back of my head I keep expecting Brock to do the same. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. We're hoping that he'll be home with us in a couple of days.
Rhett is having a hard time with mom being gone all the time. He's turned into quite the tantrum throwing stinker and I'm anticipating a rough couple of weeks even after Brock comes home but it's all part of life. For now I'm trying really hard to give him some extra cuddle time when I am home but also to let him know the tantrums aren't acceptable and I'm not giving in to them. It's a hard balance when I'm only home in the evenings but hopefully we'll all be home in a matter of days and then we can work on bonding together as a family.
Zane is doing great... he's adjusting so well to having a new brother and can't wait every day for me to phone with an update on Brock. He's also learning how to tell time and recognize money. Grammie bought him some fun flash cards and he couldn't wait to show me what he knew tonight. He brought them down to Brock's room while I was pumping tonight and went through all the times he knew - all the o'clocks and the 30s.
I am so incredibly blessed to have 3 sons. It's still sinking in that I am a mom to 3....it will feel more real when #3 is home with us. I'm also so blessed and grateful to have the priesthood in my home. Cliff and dad gave us all a blessing last night and also received blessings themselves. Everyone has some form of cold and we need our house to be healthy for Brock to come home. I have been blessed to have the mildest form of the cold - just a little bit of head cold and have felt much better today. I'm hoping for continued improvement in all of us.

Today's pics

Here's Brock today just chillin' under the lights. His billy count is a little high so the lights it is for him. He was in 60% oxygen today because the doc wanted his saturation levels to be really high in the hopes that the spot in his left lung that hasn't opened all the way will hurry up and get there. His doc is almost more anxious than we are to get him better and home!

Other than that there's no change really. He started on his NGT today (nose tube for milk) and seemed a lot more content than yesterday. I didn't get to hold him today because the doc wanted him in the high sats all day but I did sleep a lot in the chair.

Maybe a change tomorrow.

Brock is here....

I'm not going into all the gory details right now...I'm too tired and I need to pump. But the quick break down is that Brock Dooley Johnson was born at 3:13 Sunday afternoon. He was 37 and 4 days gestation, 8 lbs and had not great lungs. So he's currently hangin' in the SCN in Red Deer with fabulous nurses and doctors. He's been hooked up to a c-pap machine, intibated and given bless to open his lungs (I'm sure that's not how to spell that drug but that's what it sounds like) and when I left the hospital this afternoon he was breathing on his own in oxygen in his incubator and just went under lights for jaundice. His billy count was getting high - not quite jaundice level but we're being pro-active on it.
I'll write more of the details another time....he's beautiful and we can't wait to bring him home!

Speaking of Which...

The other day Zane was talking to Grammie S on the phone when I heard him say "speaking of which..." and then go on with his conversation. I have NEVER heard him say that before and I don't think I use that phrase so I'm not sure where he picked it up. The funny thing is that he used it correctly! It makes mom and I giggle every time we bring it up because he was just so serious and it's so grown up.
Grammie arrived on Tuesday and we are loving having her here. We would love it even more if I would have this baby bu I'm not having much luck in that department. Anyways, the afternoon she got here I suggested she move her truck to the other side of my van and when she went out to do it discovered that the tires had melted down into the ice and she was now stuck. As she and I tried different things I had to take a break to take Rhett back inside - he decided to investigate in his socks! - and Zane met me at the door with a very serious expression and said "mom, I know what the situation is and I have a plan..." Seriously, can this kid get any cuter?
And other than that our house is just clicking along. I'm very hormonal, very uncomfortable and very anxious to meet this new baby. And if one more person tells me that maybe I'll make it all the way to 40 weeks or further this time, and then laughs like it's some kind of a joke I will punch them.

Somewhat Random

I finally took some pictures this month....I've really been slacking in the camera department....too much quilting I guess!

I have FINISHED my quilt!!! And I love it. And it's been cuddle approved by Zane. I'm posting pics on my quilt blog.

I hit 36 weeks on Wednesday....doc checked to see if I'm dilating at all...NOPE! Most of me is really glad - he needs to stay in there a little longer - small part of me is sick and tired of being prego and just wants this kid out. I'm trying to stay focused on the staying in there part.

I have no idea what size this kid is going to be. The other two were always measuring slightly big and were 7-1 and 7-8. This one is measuring right on or slightly small according to my doc. So I'm curious. Any guesses out there?

I did a lot of baking today. And laundry. And now I'm really tired. I was going to plan my next quilt....but I think I'm going to curl up on the couch under my new quilt and veg out for awhile.

My boys

I was thinking last night about my boys who are already here and the one that is almost here. The one that is almost here was the reason for my very sleepless night - not the last he's going to cause I'm sure. And I was thinking of some of the fun/cute/endearing things they have been doing lately.

Zane is very proficient at prayers - meals, morning, bedtime....and almost every time it has been his turn to pray lately he has included the following "and please bless mommy to do good on her quilt...". Could he be any cuter? He's also beginning to read so he's always asking me how to spell/write words or arranging the magnets into 'words' and asking me to read them to him. I love him to pieces! He asked me the other day what day the baby was going to be here and I told him I didn't know - only the baby and Heavenly Father know that. He's so excited for his new brother to get here and is always telling me random things that he's going to teach him or do for him. He's going to be a great help! And he loves to wrestle with his daddy. In fact they were just having a 'session' while I sit here....Cliff retreated back to the couch, Zane got his shirt back on - don't ask - and then Zane looks at Cliff and goes - you're asking for it!

Rhett is my little tornado that never stops! He loves everything that Zane loves, wants to do everything that Zane is doing and does a pretty good job of being 5 when he's only 2.5. He's always learning new words and phrases. He has a blue light saber and our friend Parker also has a blue light saber. To nix any fighting over which one belongs to who I wrote an 'R' on Rhett's and showed it to him. He now brings me the light saber at least 3 times a day to show me his R - R for Rhett he says and then "Parker has blue too" to which I have to respond "yes, Parker has a blue one to". He's so pleased with himself. He loves finding books...Waldo, eye spy, Usborne 1001 Pirate and 1001 Wizard Things are probably his favorites right now. He's into counting and being his turn to pick the movie. And computer....he's learning to handle the mouse. This is taking a lot of patience on my part. He knows where our baby is....in my tummy and wants to give him kisses. I'm not sure that he's going to be quite as excited when the babe is actually here. A good friend came over yesterday with her little guy - 6.5 weeks old and oh so cute - Zane was enthralled with watching him and Rhett wanted nothing to do with him. Wouldn't even come over for a closer look. But I'm not worried. He'll figure it out soon enough and your own baby is different than a friend's.

I'm so blessed to be the mommy of these boys and to have another one almost here. Lots of cramps and contractions and more downward movement of this one has me thinking it won't be much longer....but I could be wrong. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted!

ps - I had to change my bakcground because when I posted this I had something completely different splashed across my whole blog that wouldn't go away. Grrr. I'm not techie enough to fix it up really cute right now. Oh well.

My 2 year old....

May or may not survive to see his baby brother born. He probably will because his cuteness out weighs his stubborn orneriness that has been overly abundant these last couple of days. But we have had some serious moments in the last couple of days. For instance, he has inherited a pair of Incredibles jammies that used to be Zane's....but he calls them his Spider Man jammies. The other day I was trying to get him dressed to go run some errands and had the audacity to take off his shirt and put a truck shirt on him. Oh. My. Goodness!!!!! The tantrum he threw lasted at least a half an hour. Now, really is is that big of a deal for him to wear his jammie shirt out? Nope, but I'd already told him no before he launched into his huge tirade. I hate it when I get myself into that situation - you know, the one where you say no without really thinking about it and then can't take it back because they're throwing a huge fit? Can't give in because then they think every time you say no and they throw a fit they'll get their own way. Finally he picked a different shirt and we carried on with the day. Later in the day at Walmart he threw another fit because I wouldn't buy him smarties. So Zane pushed our cart and I carried Rhett to the door kicking and screaming the whole way. I'm such a mean mom. He was asleep before we made it home...and we only live 5 minutes from Walmart!
But then he does really cute things like cart around this teeny teddy bear and call it his baby, or pick out the funniest combinations of clothes, or come for kisses. The other day he would come up to me and say "mom, I 'prise (surprise) you"- and then pull out his toy hammer and shoot me with it! Yep, he's a keeper. Hopefully he'll realize soon that tantrums do not get you your own way!
And I realize that I haven't posted any pictures lately....I apologize. I haven't taken any since Christmas. How is that possible? I'm the picture queen usually. I'll blame it on days that fly by and nesting. But I promise to try and remember to take some pictures soon and post them!

Testing my blood annoys me because....

I can't eat whenever I want to. I have to test 2 hours after each meal....which means when I've had supper and I'm wanting something sweet an hour later I have to wait an hour so it doesn't mess up my stupid blood sugar. Grrr. Really, it's a good thing to get back into the habit of eating really good again....but I think it's annoying me mostly because I 'have' to, and not because I'm 'choosing' to. I was banking on the last few weeks to still eat whatever and whenever I wanted before going back to my good ways and getting back in shape and all that stuff. I know. When you think about it, it's really a dumb thing. Why cause myself all that extra work? It's not because I'm going to enjoy the extra workouts or anything. Nope. It's all about the psychology of being pregnant. Not a good defense, but the one I'm going with. And I'm so looking forward to chocolate fondue Saturday night. Yum Yum Yum. I'm going to eat as much as I want and not even care about what my morning reading will be. Watch - it'll be the lowest one yet.
Did you know that I got flagged for this fun time because my fasting sugar was .6 higher than what it should have been? POINT 6!!!!! I'm shaking my head and counting the days. And yes, I'm a whiner. And I shouldn't be because I have wonderful friends who have to do this every day of their lives and take insulin. Yep, I'm shutting up now.

Nesting....

It's what I'm doing. I have no desire to go anywhere or do anything that I can't do at home. I read to the kids, quilt, minimal housework and cooking.....yep, that's pretty much it. Oh, and test my blood sugar level 4 times a day. We have recently discovered that I am INSULIN IMPAIRED. Seriously, who comes up with these names? Anyways, I had to go for a tolerance test because I had glucose and ketones show up in my urine the last time I saw the doc and 1 out of 3 levels came up slightly elevated. Hence, the IMPAIRED part and now I get to test my sugars 4 times a day. I was even a good girl and went to the class and you'll be so proud to know that I even paid attention! And I've been applying what they told us and so far I've only had one high reading. We'll see what the diabetes people say on Monday.
On a quilt note....I'm almost 1/2 way done quilting my current project. And I'm loving it. It's really coming together the way I envisioned it. I'll post pics on my quilt blog when I'm finished.
So, I'm really just hanging out, counting down the days.....hoping for another 3 1/2 weeks...nothing more nothing less!

Remember Me?

Hi. It's me...you know, the author of this little blog. The one who's nesting has kicked in pretty badly and I've pretty much been ignoring everything outside the walls of my own home that didn't have anything to do with quilting, getting Zane to school, quilting, and making sure we had food to eat? Yeah, I know, pretty lame excuse but it's the only one I have. And did I mention that I'm going into mom with drawl? Yep, pretty sad. 28 years old and I miss my mommy. But in my defense she is one of my absolute best friends in the whole entire world and we got to spend almost 3 whole weeks together!!!! And it was so much fun and the kids loved every minute of it and the only thing rotten about living in Central Alberta is that our families live in Southern Alberta. OK, I'm done whining. I think.
Seriously though, I have loved every minuted of the last couple of weeks being with my mom and dad in Raymond and then having mom here for the week and dad able to join us for the weekend. It was hard to see them leave...even though we have separate lives and things to get done and responsibilities etc etc, I count it as precious moments every time we get to visit them or they get to visit us - especially when it's for an extended period of time.
Mom and I spent a whirlwind couple of days de-junking all the toys, closets and drawers of the boys. Then we tackled the baby clothes and got those all sorted out....minus the ones I forgot I had stored in Raymond which turned out to be the newborn to 6 month stuff (thanks dad for bringing them up this weekend!) And now those are all sorted out to. And then we moved onto the fun stuff. We quilted, we played with the boys, we quilted some more, and we cooked a little bit. But mostly we quilted. Mom got her baby quilt done, and another quilt cut and started sewing the blocks together. I got a queen sized quilt top sewn together and today I finally finished pinning it all together so tomorrow I can start quilting it. It's the biggest quilt I've undertaken so far and I'm LOVING it. I can't wait to see it all done. BUT, I won't ever try to pin another quilt of this size together when I'm prego. Yep, 8 1/2 months prego and I'm on my hands and knees pinning about 750 safety pins into my quilt! Oh to have a table like mom's table in her sewing room. One day, one day.
We have had some fun family adventures....Saturday the boys and I travelled to Rocky to attend Lindsay's birthday party. They both had a great time and it was fun to see friends we haven't seen in a long time! We went to church with Grandma and Grandpa and the kids chose to sit with them rather than Cliff and I....not enough room on a bench for all of us. This caused some minor panic in a couple of our friends as they saw the kids and grandparents but not us. They assumed that I had had the baby and were very relieved to find me still hugely prego. And yesterday for family home evening we went to the lake for skating with friends. Cliff and Zane skated and Rhett and I sat on the bench. We tried to get Rhett to go for a ride on the sled but he wasn't having any of it. When they were done skating Cliff took the boys over to check out the ice castle on the lake - so cool by the way - and then they ended up having a snowball fight with some friends. It was fun times. And next time I'll take my camera and take pictures of the castle. I wasn't sure it they had it lit up enough for the pics to turn out good but I think they do.
So, I really haven't been smothered by a pile of fabric or kidnapped by aliens or anything like that. I'm just nesting and loving it.

Holiday Train....

I had a great ride on my holiday train and have been busy busy busy since getting back! So here's our holiday re-capped!

23rd:

- we opened our family gifts early in the morning...the kids had a blast playing with their new stuff all morning while I packed for our trip and Cliff went to work

- we left for Raymond and made the trip uneventfully

- We arrived in time for STRUDELS!!!! Oh yum.

- Alisha worked some of her fabulous computer magic and transformed one of our old family Christmas traditions onto DVD and we all really enjoyed it

- The kidlets went to bed, we all stayed up WAY too late and then Kizzy and Cliff headed to Lethbridge at MIDNIGHT to do some last minute shopping....silly people

24th:

-I woke Cliff up and told him we needed to go to the hospital because the baby hadn't been moving for almost 24 hours

- We got to the hospital for a stress test and the stinker started moving as soon as they strapped me in....we were much relieved!

-Back to the house for breakfast and then present opening!

-Rhett was Grandpa's elf and was just running every present to whoever it was....except for Auntie Lishie. Every time Auntie Lishie was supposed to get a present Rhett headed straight for Auntie Kizzy and had to be re-directed. It was really funny to watch and we all had a good laugh

-Presents opened...we all got spoiled spoiled spoiled

-Yummy turkey dinner

-Zane coaxed Uncle Jay to play laser tag guns with him (thank you Grandpa Dooley) and really stomped him in the first couple of games

-Naps for some, cards for others and a really good day all around

-Arrived in Barnwell around 9:00....forgot the stockings in Raymond. Thank goodness mom J had extras!

-got to Grandma Great Johnson's in time for the yearly nativity production. This year it was complete with written script, choir section and costumes. We got drafted and costumed and had a good time.

-Kids opened pjs and finally hit the mattress while we stayed up WAY to late with the sibs and watched a really STUPID movie. Oh well

25th:

-Up and moving just after 7:00....and Santa came through with the LIGHT SABERS! Even Daddy got one to join in on the fun

-Again, Rhett got to be the elf and had lots of fun passing out the gifts

-And again we all got really really really spoiled

-The day was kind of lazy...just playing with all the new stuff and enjoying each other's company

-Mom J put on a great supper and we got to see Grandma and Grandpa Great Jackson and Uncle Brian and Aunt Judy

-Uncle Jamie got in on the Light Saber action and the boys had a blast chasing him around and around...what a great uncle!

26th:

-We hung out for most of the day. It was nice to be lazy and not need to do anything for most of the day

- I got packed again....decided what to send to Sylvan with Cliff, what to take back to Raymond with me

-Went to Great Grandma Johnson's for lunch and games and white elephant gifts. Fun but long and warm in the basement

-Said goodbye to Cliff as he headed home to Sylvan and we headed to Raymond

27th:

-Spent good part of the morning shopping for ice skates for Zane with Auntie Kizzy before heading to Bow Island to skate and hang out with the Robinson side of the family. It was Zane's first time on the ice and thanks to a great apparatus at the rink and Auntie's Kizzy and Lishie and Uncle Jay and a spare pair of hockey pants from the cousins, he did really great and had a blast. We enjoyed lots of good company and visiting before heading back to Raymond

We quilted as much as we could for the whole rest of the week. You can check it out here. Even New Year's Eve was spent quilting! It was so much fun to be up in mom's sewing room with the boys up and down and playing with Grandpa! They played, watched movies, played more....the days just flew by!

And now we're home. We got home Sunday evening and mom came with us! She gets to stay until next Monday! My WONDERFUL hubby had put up the boys new bunk beds, took down Rhett's loft bed, AND put up the crib! I was really surprised by the crib but very grateful. I was worried how Rhett would take the change but so far so good. We got all unpacked, kids in bed and then attacked the Christmas decorations. Got everything down and packed up and puttered a bit before calling it quits for the night.

Today is my birthday! 28 and not feeling any different than yesterday. Had a doc's appointment and had glucose and ketones show up in my urine so that may mean I've developed gestational diabetes again....doing a test on Wednesday and will know the results when doc does. Until then, I'm not stressing. Good news is that babe is head down...thank goodness because he's starting to drop and I'm definitely waddling!

After getting home mom and I de-junked ALL the toys, books and movies. We're trying to get everything re-organized and ready for adding number 3 to this household. We brought in all the baby stuff from the shed and went through it all. Funny thing though.....we got almost all the way through it before we realized that we didn't have ANY of the newborn, 3 or 6 month stuff. Sigh. After much thinking we realized it must be in Raymond and dad confirmed this. Thank goodness Alisha is going to be up here on the 18th and 19th and can bring it to me. Oops!

Cliff came home with a yummy ice cream cake for my birthday and the boys were just ecstatic! They blew out my 2 candles...all we had in the house....and really enjoyed their cake.

Mom and I plan on doing some rearranging of the kids' rooms and furniture and a little more de-junking and then we can start quilting again! Mom has a baby quilt she wants to finish and I have a full size one cut out ready to sew for a cuddly couch quilt! I'll keep you posted!

And I really tried this year to cut down my Christmas pictures significantly....not because I don't enjoy them but because I wanted to focus on the fun and the memories, not on all the presents we all got.

Looking Up!

OK, so I think I have an inkling of how to help Zane's stomach thing. After some reading and research I think he needs more soluble fiber in his diet. Well not necessarily more, just making sure he gets some everyday. I think that's the connection. Things like starches, bananas, apple sauce, oatmeal. We've been trying this for 2 days and so far it is working marvellously. No tummy pain and last night was the first night he slept through the night since Wednesday without waking up in agony because of all the gas in his gut. Christmas will be a challenge with all the sweets and stuff but luckily he's old enough to 'get' it when I tell him that this will help his stomach and that won't. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday was interesting....went for an oil change and found out that my back driver side tire was pretty much flat - the guy looked at me like I was insane for not noticing. To which I think - I'm sorry- I'm almost 8 months pregnant and have a toddler with me in MINUS 30 weather. I don't think to check my tires. I think get in the van and get the stupid car seat done up before i get frost bite on my fingers! But I digress. He suggested that I might have a slow leak and should get it looked at. So what did I do? I called Cliff. I drive the van, I fill it up with gas, and go to the drive-thru oil change place. As far as I'm concerned everything else falls in Cliff's department. Long story short I ended up at Walmart with both kids while they hoisted my van, took the tire off and found a pin-size piece of metal in my tire. They fixed it and we were back on the road. As I was driving home I thought about what a pain the whole thing had been and then I thought, yes, but what a blessing it was too. We leave for Raymond tomorrow...what if we had been driving on the hi way and it had blown? What if I was driving with the kids alone in this weather and it went flat? I really felt that it was a true testament and answer to the prayer that Zane had said that morning before we all left for the day "please bless that we will travel in safety". It's something that seems automatic and somewhat routine as we say those morning prayers but I know that every morning I fervently wish for us all to travel in safety.
Yesterday was our Christmas program in Sacrament meeting and it went FABULOUSLY!!!! Really, the Spirit there was so strong, the music was awesome and the closing number was unbelievable. If we were a clapping church the whole congregation would have been on it's feet. We were so blessed to have a plethora of music people available this year - the last number consisted of the organ, the piano, a violin, a soloist and for the last verse the congregation. And I was blessed to be part of the congregation and could just focus on the spirit. I couldn't sing because I was crying, but it was well worth it!
And today has been busy busy busy. Into Red Deer so Walmart could re-tork my wheel - thank goodness they weren't busy when I showed up and we were in and out in 15 minutes, picked up Cliff's last Christmas present - had to wait for it to be done - and dropped off all the books at the library. Laundry, baking for Cliff when we're not here, clean the bathroom and try to referee and keep the boys from killing each other. AND Zane has been doing such a great job of earning stars for XBOX time! He's earned 20 stars 4 times now. And has learned some new skills along the way. His newest skills are folding towels (and I have resisted re-folding them...harder than I thought!) drying dishes and matching and folding socks. It's harder than I thought to help him earn the 20 stars because it takes planning on my part to have chores for him to do. A lot of the things would be done better and faster if I did them myself but I'm also learning a lot from it. And it's fun to give him stars for things the doesn't realize like being extra kind to Rhett or something like that.
And it's time to make supper. FHE tonight is going to be cuddles and a Christmas movie. We're opening our family gifts tomorrow morning before Cliff heads to work and then I'll be busy with the kids getting everything packed up, organized and ready to go to Raymond. We're hoping that Cliff is able to get off early and that we'll be in Raymond by 8:00 but we'll see what happens. I can't believe that it's here and we're all looking forward to spending this wonderful time of year with our family and friends!
I'll try not to board the holiday train and get lost....but no promises! Merry Christmas to everyone!

Some Days....

I need more than one of me. Today is one of those days. I need one of me to stay in bed and catch up on sleep and let my sciatic nerves calm down, one of me to do the baking and house work I had planned to do, and one of me to take care of sick child. Is that really too much to ask for? Poor Zane is having another stomach attack thing today and it's a bad one. But I'm not taking him back to the emerg because I know we'll sit there for a couple of hours, finally see a doctor who will order x-rays and pronounce him full of gas. Instead I'm trying to do all the things the last emerg doc told me to try and it seems to be helping a little. This attack isn't as bad as the last one where they finally gave him a shot of morphine! And I'm trying to keep track of all his symptoms and exactly what he's eaten the day of and day before these attacks. He's had a few little ones since the last big one but I'm not seeing any correlation between anything. Frustrating.
On the upside of things...I got a good start on wrapping last night and I finished the quilt top I was working on for this baby. And I LOVE it. I think it's my favorite quilt yet and I'm actually keeping it. I was thinking about when the last time was I made a quilt and kept it.....it's been a very long time. If you want to check it out you can go here. I'm stuck on the binding at the moment because I changed the border and what I had planned to use won't work now. Maybe a trip to the fabric store tomorrow will solve the problem!

Where I've been....

Nothing too earth shattering has been happening in our household in the past few days. But I do have a few noteworthy events that have been tumbling around in my mind today as I did other tasks, all the while thinking...I should blog this now or I'll forget it. Hopefully my memory holds out, and if it doesn't you won't know the difference!
Tuesday Zane vibrated almost all morning. It was Christmas program day in school and they were putting on 2 performances. He was sooooo excited and couldn't wait for us to see it. Rhett and I attended both performances and Cliff joined us for the evening production. And Zane was 100% right - it was FANTASTIC! I didn't really know what to expect - all Zane had told me was that it was about Mary and Joseph, which frankly surprised me since he's in the public school system and most schools are so worried about political correctness yada yada yada. Basically the grade 3 class put on a 30 minute nativity production from the shepherd and sheep's point of view. It had humor, great music provided by the K through 2's, and Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. I was really impressed by the script and the message that Christ is the reason for Christmas and overjoyed that this is the school that my child is in. After both performances the school principal got up and told us all that this school believed in celebrating the real meaning behind Christmas, had been doing so for at least the last 8 years, and have no intentions of changing that. I felt very grateful and blessed especially as I have talked to a few friends who have children in other schools in town here and their children's programs focused entirely on Santa and the commercial side of Christmas. Not one mention of the Savior or even a traditional Christmas song. But back to Zane. He was really nervous and pretty scared because both performances had really big crowds but he stood up there with the rest of his class, sang the songs, and did the actions (his actions were very small and close to his body but he did them) and I was so proud of him for doing it. He really doesn't like to be the center of attention and has a hard time being in front of a crowd like that. He was THRILLED this morning when I pointed out a picture in the newspaper of his performance - you could just make him out at the back of the bleachers - if you knew where to look. It made his whole day. And of course, being the wonderful mother that I am, I threw the newspaper out 10 minutes later. Really, you had to know where to look to realize that Zane was in the picture. Not really a scrap book keepsake. Thankfully he wasn't too upset when he asked to look at it later in the morning. Oops.
Wednesday Keri Pratt came over and I helped her put a quilt together and gave her some tips on machine quilting. (I am in NO way an expert - just passed on the little bit of knowledge I have). And this resulted in my quilting bug awakening in me...
Yesterday I volunteered at our ward's Creche display. The school across the street from our church brought pre-k through grade 5 through - minus the grade one's because apparently their teacher didn't think they needed permission slips to leave the school. Glad my kid isn't in her class. Anyways, it was pretty steady but they had things well organized - the gym had the creches, the chapel had a short video of the nativity, and the Relief Society room had chairs and cookies and hot chocolate and your truly reading Christmas stories to the kids. The ladies in charge had decided before I got there that since I am so round and prego that I didn't need to be on my feet for 3.5 hours, and decreed that I got a cushy chair, fun stories to read and all the cookies and hot chocolate I wanted. It was really fun and time really flew by.
After a quick stop at home I was headed back into town to brave the storm, get groceries, hit Old Navy (which was having a fabulous sale - I actually spent money on me and although I still feel as big as a house at least now I feel like an attractive house!) I also made a stop at the fabric store and got some flannel and fabric for this baby. Yes, I'm finally starting a quilt for him. Better late than never. I actually got it all cut out tonight so be proud of me!
We shared pizza and a movie night with our great friends the Allred's and got our munchkins to bed much to late. Oh well. Them's the breaks.
Did I mention that Cliff came home Thursday night with an XBOX 360. If you don't already know, ours has been out of commission for about 6 weeks. I wasn't terribly sad about that but alas the males in my household did not share my viewpoint. At least he got it for 1/2 price, right? Anyways, knowing that replacing the silly thing was inevitable, Cliff and I have been discussing how to deal with Zane and his obsession with his Lego Star Wars game. And after stealing an idea from my terribly clever friend Leslie, we came up with a strategy that seems to be working well. We tried giving him a set amount of time per day before and it was a constant battle between him and me because he always wanted more and more and more. So, this time around he has to EARN his time with the game. We decided to do a star system - 10 stars = 15 minutes of playing time and 20 = 30 minutes of playing time. He can earn stars by doing extra chores, doing regular chores on the first asking, playing nice with Rhett, etc. Basically mom and dad's discretion. BUT he can also lose stars for excessive whining, tantrums, etc. He is LOVING this system. Yesterday he just about drove me nuts asking for extra chores or if I had thought of something that he could do. Arg. It was great in some ways, but exasperating in others. Today was a lot better...and he managed to earn 20 stars and get his 1/2 hour playing time. He was so thrilled and proud of himself. It was fun too because during the day he would come to count his stars and sometimes I had added 1 or 2 he didn't know about - noticed him helping Rhett or something along those lines. He would ask what he had done to get that star and I would just tell him it was for me to know....I don't want him to think every time he says something nice he gets a star! But Rhett was a real crank all day and Zane was incredibly patient and helpful with him so yeah, I kicked in a few extra stars to make sure he got his reward.
Speaking of rewards....that made me remember another reward he got this week. We finally got his second bottom tooth out! The adult was already coming in but that baby tooth just wanted to hang on. Knowing that it wouldn't be long I had stashed a loonie sometime last week in anticipation of the tooth fairy event. However, Wednesday night when I went to retrieve said loonie to play tooth fairy it was not where I put it. And I had ZERO change in the house. Ok, so don't panic right? I sent a text to Cliff who was at a meeting and told him to bring one home. No problem. I was asleep when Cliff got home, but when I was up at 3:00 am (don't ask) it dawned on me to shake my hubby awake and ask if he had remembered to play tooth fairy. Umm, no. And he didn't bring the loonie home either. Great. 3 in the morning, no loonie, no change. What did I do? Climbed back in bed and went to sleep, only to bolt upright at 4:30 to jump out of bed, right a rushed note from the TF and slip it under Zane's pillow. He woke up at 5:15, shouted for me to come quick, and demanded I read the note. The note explained that the TF had fallen in the snow and lost his special prize. Asked him to put his tooth under his pillow again and the TF would bring him something extra special. After the 2nd read he seemed OK with the turn of events and went back to sleep. Me back to bed. 7:15 I wake up to him sobbing...me thinking he's puking or something - and he's DEVASTATED that the TF didn't take his tooth. Umm, honey, don't you remember the note? Note? More tears and 3 readings later Zane is finally reconciled to the waiting another night but thinks it might be a fun thing to show his tooth to Grandpa who got to spend all Thursday afternoon with us. As for the TF he made sure to bring home a TOONIE from his desk at work and Zane is now the proud owner of a toonie which he is saving for a Transformer watch.
We had fun Thursday afternoon with Grandpa Dooley and he did us a great favor and put plastic on the kid's windows and our back door window. Cliff and I had attempted it earlier in the day but didn't have big enough plastic. But Grandpa got it done for us just in time for the cold weather to hit. It's made a big difference in the temp in the back of the house and when we thaw out a bit we're planning on doing a couple of other windows in the house too.
Well, for not having much to say I sure seem to have found a lot! Keep watch for some pics of the babe's quilt soon. I'm hoping to have it mostly together before heading south and that is rapidly approaching!

Some Christmas Memories....

I'm sure that Cliff and I aren't alone in trying to take traditions from each of our families and add new ones of our own to our Christmas season celebrations. We also get the added bonus of travelling to each family every year and participating in whatever traditions are happening on the days we are together. It makes for a very full and fun season! As I've been thinking about this over the past couple of days I started thinking about things that we did when I was a kid...some are still traditions, some have changed a little, and some we've outgrown or forgotten. And I decided that I wanted to write down some of my memories - mostly for my enjoyment and to share with my kids - but if you want to read them I hope you enjoy! And as a warning I'm not sure how long this post might end up and I'm definitely not going to try to do them in chronological order or anything like that. Just going to write them as they come to me. And maybe add a few here or there as I remember them!

- One Christmas Eve we went over to Holt's house and I don't really remember what we did but I do remember listening to the radio as they "reported" sighting Rudolph and Santa's sleigh. All of us little kids were so excited as we rushed to the window to look at the sky to see if we could see a red blinking light moving across the sky.
- Mom always made tons of homemade yummy fondant chocolates and carmels. It was quite the process of making the fondant, adding the flavor, hand whipping it, rolling it, chilling it, dipping it and chilling it again. She made so many so she could sell them and use the money for Christmas presents. Of course when we were little we didn't realize that's what she was doing it for. I'm sure that we were quite the nuisances....what a lot of work with 3 little girls underfoot! As we got a little older we were able to help mom roll the centers which helped a little but she still did the majority of the work by herself. Thanks mom!
- Mom used to make rosettes every Christmas. My memory is that it was a tradition from her family and came from the Ukraine or something like that. Basically she had long metal sticks that attached to different metal shapes - I remember the butterflies very well - and she would dip the shape into a batter and then fry it in oil. When the batter was crispy it would come off the mold and then she'd start over again. I remember ice cream buckets full of these and they were yummy treats.
- When we were little mom would make up goodie plates for friends in the ward and we would go caroling and drop off the plates. It was fun and sometimes a little scary because we would visit the "old" people in our ward.
- Decorating the tree - when I was little we still had the colored lights that you unscrewed and put the reflector on and then screwed the light back in. And we had a real tree for a long time. Dad would bring it in and let it warm up in the basement before bringing it up and screwing it into the stand. After the lights came the garland and then the ornaments. We had a few "special" ornaments that we all wanted to put on the tree but eventually we just had Miffy Mouse - a little mouse in a walnut. And we would take turns every year finding the perfect spot for her. Until my Grandma Knibb made mom a porcelain angel we had a star that lit up for our tree topper and it was always the last thing to go on. We couldn't wait for dad to put it on and plug it in.
- Hanging our stockings up was always the last thing we did on Christmas Eve and always required a picture
- We got new jammies every year. We got to open them on Christmas Eve and when we were really little it was a surprise every year that that's what was in the box. As we got older we knew what to expect but the excitement was still there. They were the only presents under the tree until Christmas morning and sometimes they were matching and sometimes they weren't.
- We spent quite a few Christmas Eve's out at Grandma and Grandpa Robinson's farm with all of the cousins. Lots of food and little space. There always seemed to be someone somewhere and we had lots of fun and lots of TV trays to eat off of.
- Christmas morning dad always got up extra early and went to the feedlot to get the cows fed. We were usually up and waiting for him when he got home. I think it added to the anticipation of seeing everything under the tree and the stockings and having to wait for dad to get home.
- As long as I can remember we would all do our stockings - kids first and then mom and dad - then have a special breakfast before opening presents. Some years it was fun cereal like Captain Crunch, some years it was sweet bread and other yummies. As we've gotten older it's morphed into quite the breakfast spread that we all pitch in and help with.
- Before my Grandma Knibb died we would usually finish opening presents, get ready and then head to Taber for dinner and presents there. Grandma and Grandpa had the tree downstairs and it just killed all of us kids that we had to wait until after dinner AND dishes before we could start on the presents. Mom and her sisters did all the dishes and now me and my sisters do the dishes. After dishes were finally done and the kitchen declared clean we would go downstairs and dad would hand out all the presents. Then the grandkids took turns one at a time opening our gifts. Then on to mom and dad and her sisters, and finally grandma and grandpa. It was fun to take turns and see what everyone gave and received.
-One year mom and dad and her sisters gave grandma a family ring and hid it in an mandarin orange box. Grandma was so confused when she opened the box but loved the ring when she found it.
- Another year dad got really sick with the flu Christmas eve and by morning the rest of us were all sick to. Grandma and Grandpa Knibb packed up Christmas - turkey included - and brought it to us. I don't think we ate much of anything but we didn't miss Christmas.
- The first Christmas I was accomplished enough on the piano I played every Christmas song I could out of the Reader's Digest book while my family sang along
- Mom was a Relief Society teacher one year and put together a slide presentation that went along with one of our Christmas tapes - A Children's Christmas - it tells the story of Christmas with songs, scriptures and a great script. Every year since we have watched that presentation on Christmas Eve and we can still sing all the words to the songs.
- The goody table - always loaded with soooo many good things to eat
- Christmas advent calenders with the gross chocolates. I would always gobble mine right up - Alisha would hoard hers and it always made me so mad that she had all these chocolates left over.
- Our first Christmas in our 'new' house we spent the whole afternoon downstairs under blankets with tons of yummy treats and watched movies together. I think we probably watched 3 or 4...it was a lot of fun.
- Going to look at all the beautiful lights around the town. We didn't do it every year but I loved it when we did.
- The Rotary Carol Festival. When we got older one or more of us were usually involved in some way or another - singing with choirs, me accompanying a choir....and although we did our fair share of grumbling I was always glad that we had gone
- Colored popcorn from Piersons. Oh so yummy.
- Dad always passed out all the gifts under the tree before we started opening them. We would take turns oldest to youngest between us girls and then mom and dad would open theirs. We still do this when we're all together - grandkids, then kids, then mom and dad. And Zane has been dad's elf for the past couple of years. I think he'll have 2 helpers this year!
- We've never been allowed into the living room where the tree is until dad has gone and plugged in the lights and started Christmas music - I think it enhances the magic of the moment! When we got a little older mom and dad thought we might cheat so dad would rig a sheet across the doorway that would fall if you touched it. I never tried to peak because I liked the surprise and anticipation of everything....I don't know if Lish or Kizzy ever tried to snoop.
- I've always woke up early on Christmas Eve and I still do. I just LOVE the magic of the whole day and I'm usually awake by 5:30. When we were little we had to stay in bed until 7:00 and it just killed me to wait. The 3 of us girls used to camp out in one room or another Christmas Eve night and giggle away until late and then start again early in the morning as we waited for the clock to move!
- The last Christmas I had at home before Cliff and I got married the 3 of us girls decided to sleep upstairs together which involved dragging a mattress up the stairs -if you've been in my parent's house you'll understand how difficult this might be for 3 giggly girls as we tried to get the mattress to bend around the landing corner and up the stairs. I ended up getting smushed between the wall and the mattress and all 3 of us were laughing so hard that dad eventually had to take over and get the mattress up stairs.
- Mom reminded me of one - our Christmas dresses! When we were all little mom would make us a new dress every Christmas. I'm not sure how many years that lasted before changing into new Christmas dresses from the store...and of course they had to have crinolins! We loved to spin and have our dresses twirl out around us. We used to "dress up" in our crinolins and pretend we were ballerinas with tu-tus. I think the tradition lasted until I was a teenager...

I have been so blessed to have such great memories of Christmas and every new one brings even more. I'm sure as the season continues I'll remember more and I'll try to add them. I think I'll do them in a different color so you'll know if there's new ones or not. Feel free to check if you want or not. Like I said earlier, this post was for me and my kids and their kids....

Our 4th Annual House!

For FHE last night we decorated our annual gingerbread house. I cheated a little bit this year and pulled out the glue gun and glued it together about 4 hours BEFORE we were ready to decorate it. Last year we had a little too much candy, icing that wasn't quite dry and a collapsed house. Go here to see last year before the collapse. This equalled one sad little boy. And if you'll notice...I'm not in any of these pictures! I just completed the journalling of last years pictures a couple of weeks ago and noticed that we only had ONE picture of Cliff for the whole holiday funness and celebrations. So, after raising that issue Cliff bravely volunteered to be the icing piper for our fun project! The boys had a hard time waiting for enough icing to get on the house before they started decorating but all in all I think it turned out great! Rhett LOVED eating all the candy and icing and Zane and I ate our fair share too. Zane had fun putting candy anywhere there was bare icing and Rhett put a few things on....but decided eating it was way more fun then wasting it on the house. This is the first year that we've done the house in the evening....and next year I think we'll do it Sunday afternoon! They were just vibrating by the time we got them into the tub around 8 and it was almost 9 before we got them settled into bed. Still it was lots of fun and thanks to my fabulous gluing job we were able to move it to a safe spot for display. I had a few spots in mind but decided the top of the fridge because I reasoned that Rhett wouldn't be able to get to it and pull the candy off! So enjoy the pictures and the countdown to Christmas!