Fat squishy toddlers are a good thing!

Well, I guess I am going to get a little personal in this post.

I have been in inner turmoil for a while now about wanting more children...specifically the baby kind. I just love those babies, dang it! I had some health problems with our last little girlie and I could have those problems again only worse, so technically I think I would be wise to be done. I mean, we already have six and that is a lot! Also my husband would like to be done and his opinion counts a little, right? But I just really wanted one more boy and I was really going to name him Jesse. Or I would love a sister for Kate and I could name her Timber or Stormie and Kate could have a sister. Every little girl needs a baby sister or brother. They just do! But I am getting older and tireder and kinda ready to move on with life but I do so love the large family thing as you all know. But I just really worry about if I had health problems that would be bad. And money starts to run a little dry with this many kids. But how I desperately hate to leave this stage of life and how my heart will ache and hurt when I don't have a fat little toddler to swoop up and squish with love when ever I want to. (Those big kids just don't dig it, you know!)



So.... I have been thinking really hard about the pros and the cons and I think this last new bit of info has me really leaning one way on my hard decision to make.





Uhhhh..... Have you all seen these yet?

BABY LEG WARMERS!

Be still my soul. They are the cutest dang thing alive! I have been blog stalking this hysterical girl named Jill for a while and her baby had them on. That was the first time I had seen them and they were so cute! And then today on my way out of the pediatrician, where I went for the second time in two days, both times for nonexistence illnesses, I saw a cute mom who goes to my church and her cute little son. As I was talking to her I was stopped cold turkey as I saw on this beautiful little boy....

BABY LEG WARMERS!!!!!

I could die. I could barely contain myself! They are so darling.

Now my decision is harder than ever!

And they have a bazillion choices to choose from! Foot ball kind, every kind you can think of!Ugh! Too cute! FYI- Corey would die if he ever saw his son in leg warmers. I love it!

To Terri: My good friend who loves me enough to bring me window locks so I can put my couch below the window and "live like normal people"...I love you. I do not want to see any comments from you stating your stance on why I am not having more children!
Baby leg warmers, Terri! B-A-B-Y L-E-G W-A-R-M-E-R-S

Bwahahaa Bwaaahahaha Bwahahahaa!!!

Anyone who know me knows I love a reason to celebrate! And I love babies. So when my friend moved away and then had a baby I knew we must send her a baby shower in a box. (So fun! Thanks to all the people who supported this endeavour)


I spent a good two hours cutting my friends heads out and gluing us on to movie star bodies so we could attend the party in spirit. It was just too good not to share! I laughed out loud the WHOLE time I was making them. If your life is ever dull I suggest doing this. It was quite amusing!

Terri got to be Halle Berry. She wanted to have beautiful skin color.

I was Sandra Bullock. Instead of me holding my Emmy I was holding the cake.

Sandy as...can't remember!

Myrna as... shoot ... can't remember.

Margaret is Jennifer Aniston

Linda is the dog walker from the hilarious sitcom King of Queens, after she lost a bunch of weight. Kudos to Linda for allowing me to put her on my blog in a bikini. She is very proper and I know this is slightly painful to see herself on this half naked body. But it was too good not to post.

Janae is the best actor in twilight-the best friend Jessica

Camy is Kate Winslit

And my all time favorite...

Viki is Jennifer Love Hewit

I hope you enjoyed that! I know I did! I can never look at them enough.

One more down...

Another child napping due to fever. Phew! Oops, I mean...poor little guy.

His sweet speech therapist, James, gave him these little cards to work on his sounds.

Bo loves James.

Appreciation for husband Sunday, the 16th

Okay, pardon the creepy eyes in this picture. I don't know what is up with that. But I like this picture because it shoes how thin Corey is getting from all his working out!

I sure appreciate Corey hauling off two full garbage cans of rabbit poo this week. We usually use it in the garden for fertilizer but it had so much hay mixed into it and I didn't want that in the garden...right, Christina?(my horticulturist friend with the happiest job in the planet...) Those garbage cans were HEAVY! My kid and I should have only filled them half full but we never take it easy on dad. Why bother? He has the strength of an ox. I should also mention it was super nice of him to help us because he is not in support of our rabbit hobby. (Boo!)

Anyways...Thanks, Corey!

This is the back to the rabbit hutch I built almost by myself. Thanks to my dad for finishing the roof! I would have made the back look better had I realized I was going to be looking at it all the time. It stays this direction to keep the rabbits from getting the sun on them. They don't tolerate the heat well plus they get sun bleached and are bad for show day. Who knew!

Am I a horrible mother.....

...because secretly (well, not so secretly now) I think it is nice when I have a kid who is sick enough with a fever to sleep all day?

I would never be happy about it for more than a day of course...okay more than two days....but sometimes it is just a relief to have a quiet day.

Save your hate mail. I know you feel the same way. Admit it.

Aren't these the two luckiest little people you ever knew to have such a wonderful second mother/big sister? This is how you have a large family! The oldest help. I know many people have opinions about that but it is mostly nothing but positive for these older kids to be learning to serve their younger siblings. I love it. I could eat it up. I so wanted to be Mrs. Duggar. Minus the mullet.

Watching cartoons


Look at her little feverish sick eyes. Sad.

She was "hiding" from me so I wouldn't giver her her medicine.

Doesn't get cuter than that!

Happy Birthday, old man!

It is my husband birthday today. He decided to hike 16 miles today to celebrate. He went to a lake in his beloved mountains, and back.

That is what I would do if I was like on parole. Or a work release from jail. Or being tortured by an evil villian. Hiking in woods with wild animals and exhaustion...Bleck.

But he loves it.

Happy Birthday, Corey!

He is just like the kids! He had to tell me what kind of cake he wanted! A mountain cake.

That is a little picture of him. Cracked me up!

I know it isn't Fung Shui, but....

I have serious living room issues.


Serious!

Our comfy couches are HUGE! They do not fit well in our cozy, non cozy, living room! I can actually tolerate their largeness but there is literally no safe place to put the love seat. If I put it here...

I could lose a wild child toddler out the window...

OUCH!


If I put it here...





I could lose a wild child toddler over the "balcony" of our stair case.





Ouch!

It is a dilemma. Truly. So the love seat has been sitting in the middle of the room, sort of pulled away from the window, and pulled away from the wall, so that no one can fall. So because it was pulled out it was hard to walk in or through the room easily.

It was beginning to

really

frustrate me. Almost just as much the time we had the dead elk head hanging on the wall. That just sucked all energy and life out of me, as was this enormous love seat with no where to be.

So I was very much appreciative when a weeks days ago I was vacuuming and it just came to me! The way I could arrange my couch which would be safe and tolerable. I actually think Heavenly Father inspired me as to how to maneuver the situation. Because, you know, He loves me, and wants to help me even with little thing. I think He helped because it just came to me so easily. I hate to use up my blessings (do you think that might be how it works?) on something menial but I was very grateful for a solution.

So I know it is completely nutty but here is the new arrangement of my furniture which has brought me great joy and relief to not have the love seat in my way anymore.

I am not exaggerating either. Joy and Relief... on a first world level. (if you don't know what I mean by that I will explain in a future post.)

Anyhoo...... I moved a lamp and an end table and viola!

Yup, there it is! Just smooshed right up against the other one. Nutty I know but...Phew! And as you saw on previous posts, it makes a great napping place.

And I took 5 extra decorative pillows that was on the couch and packed them in storage. I know my cool FB friend Kelly LOVES her pillows but they are a pain! This couch had TWELVE total pillows! Every day I was just picking them off the floor. But I still HEART my new/used couch.

Oh yeah...For all those who are looking too closely at how clean my carpet and walls are, or how new or old my house must be...(I know because I have been guilty of doing the same thing)...don't! I have said in past posts, this house is my classroom where I am teaching and raising children. Corey and I purposely bought a used house so we wouldn't have to stress over every little ding (not that we don't care, but six kids live here!). It has worked marvelously also. Our next house is going to be the sterile clean, take your shoes off at the door, "wow, who decorates your house?" one... just you wait and see!

Like father, like daughter!

I had errands to run so Corey was in charge. I threatened him not to let Kate fall asleep or else she would be up all night. Great job!

I guess it is a comfortable spot!

Why do I have my couch in such a crazy position? More to come on that one later!

I also guess it is time to get this kid a pillow! Break my heart! She is too old!

This is "pig". Her favorite of all her "lovies"
He is secretly my favorite too. He is taking a beating though. He use to be so soft and fluffy. This week he is sporting pink chap stick! You can see it right in between his forehead.

I LOVE FAMILY NIGHTS THAT INCLUDE...

• being held in the back yard, on an old picnic table, with the birds chirping, and the show bunnies looking on...
  

"Jacob"

" Honolulu"

"Drover"



"Ashtyn" and her baby

"Joey"

• reading quotes on prayer that were cut by cute little four year old hands....
  

• FHE Lesson inspired by an awesome Relief Society Lesson. I just repeated the wonderful stories on prayer that were shared and the kids actually mostly listened attentively.
  


• children sharing their testimony of prayer which include, finding misplaced friends while skiing, and amusement park rides closing for mechanical reasons right before it was her turn to go. It was a ride that went upside down and she was petrified and actually prayed for it to be closed due to mechanical reasons... and guess what...? Heavenly Father listened of course! I told her to think how much Heavenly Father must love her to close the whole ride just to save her from it!
  


• eating Crunch and Munch as refreshment during the lesson. Ummm...Yum! Thank you coupons, for free Crunch and Munch!
  
  

• and a good game of dodge ball in which mom actually jumped on the trampoline! (Thankfully no documentation on that one!) The kids LOVE it when I get on the trampoline. They think it is hysterical. Sadly it is a little more pathetic than hysterical.

Two darling kids including one who can pose like no other 4 year old boy around!
(UGH! I know I left the bullet point off this one! It wouldn't work, I swear it!)

Also...Kate often only sees out of one eye. If I don't fix her hair , due to a adorable cowlick in the center of her head, identical to her older brother, her hair just stays on one side like that.

SO thankful for inspired programs which we lovingly refer to as FHE (family home Evening)!

What?....A good game of dodge ball always involves tears, right?