Easter take 1 and 2 and The baby is a . . .

Easter was busy as usual at our house. And it mostly went well. I had a few moments when "Pregnor"--Lowell's name for hormonal psycho pregnant Heidi came out but we did okay. First of course we had egg dyeing. This year we tried a trick from Family Fun magazine--using a wire whisk to dip the eggs. Win--it kept the boys hands out of the dye and MUCH cleaner than past years. Lose-the weight of the whisk tipped 3 of the cups over spilling dye everywhere. And unfortunately the weather did not permit outdoor fun so that was dye all over the cloth seats/table/floor. I think we'll be back to dippers next year.

We did have fun though. I got an 11 in 1 kit from WalMart, so we dyed, then stamped, then added beads and stickers, etc. I also had a cute kit from Oriental trading so we dolled them all up nicely. And of course I am biased, but isn't Davis just gorgeous in the above picture? Love the eyes, love that kid!

Our finished products, still in the fridge just like this in fact. I have a weird trepidation about eating dyed eggs. Google says I have one more day to make deviled eggs or these are just going in the trash.

Photogenic Davey boy (sorry for the repeats for my facebook friends)

Silly Carter and his off-colored right front tooth. Sad tooth was bumped too many times and is now dead. My mom the dental assistant says it will get better, but will always be a bit off--well for the 1-2 years he'll still have it.

Last week we also had our first soccer practice! So fun! Well, it would have been except it was windy and freezing! I was SO cold! That's Carter following up on a goal. They did okay, we had to redirect their attention a few times, but it was brief and fun enough I think. We'll see how the season goes. It was a little harder on Lowell I think. I have been in several settings where the boys have behaved as their usual selves which does not match the behavior of other children their age. I have for the most part accepted that this is how it is, and with some extra help the boys can still enjoy all the same things as other kids. It was harder for Lowell to watch them not be able to handle the same tasks as other kids: follow directions, wait in line, stay on task. I don't know what to say about that. During conference it just hit me that I have to stop thinking, they are 4 and a half, they should be doing . . .and they should not be doing . . . They are just Carter and Davis and they can do some things better than kids their age and they struggle with some things other kids don't. We'll just encourage them in all things, even things that need more help than others. I don't want to label them as "special needs" but to me all kids have special needs--and it is their parent's blessing/responsibility to know what things will help them perform at their best and be happy.

SO, Saturday morning the boys enjoyed a cold, but fun Easter egg hunt with our ward. And then in the evening we had dinner and a hunt with my family. That was a Pregnor moment when my plan for the event did not match what actually transpired. In the end it all worked out okay but in the moment I had a hard time dealing with it. Here is Carter ready to start hunting.

And then Davis. His start was delayed because the little punk chose to escape our house while I was hiding eggs. Bad decision on action and timing. I can't say why but that week he escaped 3 times. Once climbing the back fence while I was making dinner, once by climbing out the downstairs window and then over the fence, and this last time through a downstairs window that goes into the front yard. Every time he explained something about wanting to see a cat or a friend down the street. Every time I explained that it is not safe and he can ask me and I will take him where he wants to go. Each time he got time out, the last time he also got a spanking and a delayed Easter. So frustrating/scary for me not knowing where that kid is. Another moment of reflection. Both boys struggle with impulse control and consequence understanding. Those are ADHD characteristics, among other conditions. So perhaps I can't rely on my son's ability to control himself. New window locks (in addition to the ones upstairs) are coming and some way to block climbing the fence. If he can't control himself, physical barriers will have to help him. Some would say abuse, and all I can say is for one kid that may be, for my kid it is purely a safety issue.

Finding eggs--we still had a good night after all.

Best brothers (that's what they call each other instead of best friends)

The loot

Playing with their bug catchers. I didn't think they would find bugs in the cold weather, but they discovered a rotten apple with plenty of red ants--so they became their friends/torture victims. Davis did get bitten by one, so there was some retribution--they just don't know how much the boys love them, or that they probably saved them since it snowed 3 inches that night.

Sunday we got to repeat the whole evening for Easter #2 with Lowell's family. Same dinner, same Easter egg hunt--more desserts and more kids. Here are all the cousins ready to get started.

We had the traditional dog Easter egg hunt as well, I took this indoor shot to commemorate that. Maddy, Oscar, and Maxwell--kind of shaggy but man we love these dogs!

Easter was also a fun milestone, I felt the baby move for the first time. :) 15 weeks. Tuesday was even more fun--we found out that the baby is a GIRL. Man, I made you wait a long time for that! We're quite excited of course, but most of all I loved seeing the little miss jump around.

Also this week,

Monday we went to the dino museum and also caught a reptile show while we were there.

Tuesday my dad joined me for a trip to the Children's Garden. This is the only pic I took:

But the boys had a great time and played for nearly 2 hours without even going throughout the whole park (which is not big). It was their half birthday and also Jesus's birthday in Mormon tradition. I told Davis it was Jesus's birthday and he wanted to know if He was going to come over for cake? Cute bubba. I just said Probably Not.

Wednesday--okay my days are off--we went to the Gardens Weds, we just played at home Tuesday. Wednesday night we enjoyed some time outside in fairly nice weather.

Today we enjoyed having Lowell off for Spring break and went to the zoo. It was busy, but we still had a good time.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Farm Country and the boys have soccer practice.

And Saturday I am going to go get a massage (thanks to a Christmas gift from Lowell) now that I am out of the 1st trimester but can still lay on my stomach fairly well. Then we are going to go to Lagoon and perhaps catch up with some old friends too. Should be a great day!

Here Comes the Sun

We had our first official trip to the Gardens this week and I found it fitting that "Here Comes the Sun" was playing as we got out of the car (on a Bee Movie).
Little Darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter. Little darling, it seems like years since its been here. Here comes the Sun, Here come the Sun, and I say, It's alright.

It probably doesn't make much sense to others, but the Gardens is just my place of respite. My breath of fresh air. For whatever reason, as I walk I just sigh and relax. It really is a long winter away, especially the first bit of this year as I have been sick and hormonal. But Saturday was a joyful day.

Until Mother Nature had better ideas and the weather turned icky including 2 inches of snow on the ground when I got up today. Ugh. Holding on to my inner sunshine . . .

We did manage another good day Monday for our UVMOM play group--an Easter egg hunt at a local park. So fun to see all our friends and you know the boys love all things holiday.

C&D with A

Cheesy Carter

Davis showing off his Star Wars basket

This one makes me laugh, I was cleaning up the kitchen and looked over to see the boys just like this:

They are carefully looking over the Toys R Us ad with many requests. I guess they have high hopes. Sadly I have not been to Toys R Us and don't really intend to for Easter this year. Don't feel too bad for them though, they are getting an above ground pool and Lagoon season passes.

Tuesday the wind came in hard and heavy so we thought, let's make lemonade, i.e. let's fly kites with grandpa! My parents live in a very windy locale so we drove up for a visit and my dad taught the bubs to fly a kite. We have done it before but this was the longest we've actually gotten them to stay up. Davis was really in to imitating grandpa and loved holding the kite on his own. Then we hit a park too, good day. Thanks Dad!

The next day was the beginning of bad weather so we hijacked my dad again for a visit to the aquarium. The new penguin exhibit was open and the boys were anxious to go, but I was worried that it would be busy. I was right! It was super crowded, thank goodness my dad came along. The boys really did LOVE love the penguins though, so it was worth it.

Sideways Davis watching a penguin swim by. If you haven't been in a while several new things have opened so it's worth the trip.

Carter is almost as tall as the penguin

C man just being cute sitting in a boat. We go by this photo op spot every time but most of the time I don't have my camera, so this time he was excited to get his picture taken.

I think that was about all we did this week. I am excited to dye eggs tomorrow and also for Easter parts 1 and 2 this weekend. Of course I will post extensively about it. We sure love our holidays.

On baby 3 front I had a fun time getting to see him/her down the hall at work the other day. I love our nurses, seriously the best gals anywhere and good friends too. The baby has gotten so much bigger and was just jumping all over the place. It's getting more real for me all the time, but seeing the little one moving was really fun and an eye opener about life inside of me. We got a quick flash between his/her legs and I swear I saw 3 lines which would be a girl but it is super early and it wasn't a good look. We'll peak again in a couple of weeks. For now it put a big smile on my face just to see the baby's heart beat and see how much its grown.

Finally, another preschool dilemma that I would LOVE anyone's take on. So I have been planning on putting the boys in the advanced class at the Legacy Center this fall. They have to test into it and with the exception of writing their name by themselves (we're working on it, fine motor is not their strong suit) they could get in the class and we have until June to master the name bit. The list of things they need to know is pretty much everything you need to know for kindergarten so I am assuming they will then move on to learn a lot of what you would learn in kinder. That had been my plan but today I started thinking about how much they like their current preschool, at the high school. And especially how the people there like them and care about them and are patient with them. Academically my kids may be ready for K, but socially, emotionally, and even physically (they still are having accidents--OY how I hate it. I'm starting to think it is ADHD related and may need medication to help, seriously they are 4.5 and HATE having accidents, I don't think it is laziness any more). The high school preschool has been very accomodating of the boys' challenges and I haven't had a single complaint about their behavior when you might remember that they were kicked out of their first preschool in 1 week. And they are still a struggle at church with special arrangements made just for them because they can't make it through singing time. We have such a good ward. Anywho, so I am starting to wonder if it may be better to keep them where they are happy and cared about but where they may learn less academically than to try a new school where they could excel in academics but it is a big unknown as to how their other issues may play out. The hardest thing is that I kind of have to decide soon, you have to register early before either is full. I want to sit down with their current teachers and ask about next year's curriculum. Will they just be learning the same exact things over again or do they change it year to year? I don't mind shouldering some of the teaching at home, in fact I know my kids learn best sitting at my lap or at the kitchen table with me. They know all that they do now because I have been working with them since they were in the NICU (no joke, I was obsessed about bringing in stimulation)--academics is kind of my thing and I have tried to surround the boys with learning toys so we could learn and play together. I have plans for the summer with sight words and progressing in their basic reading skills as well as more fine motor practice. I have no problem continuing to teach them next year but of course some of the social/emotional stuff I just can't teach them. And they really have grown in this school, academically too. Funny, today Davis didn't want me to leave (he usually does okay) and I walked him back to the circle and one of the pretty little girls they always tell me about just batted her eyes at him and asked him to sit next to her. I didn't get a second look, bye Mom--you can go now. LOL. Such flirts. Anywho, there's my drawn out preschool spiel, again. Yes, I overdramatize things but these are my babies! Any input would be appreciated! Oh and if I do go with the high school preschool I can choose from 2 days a week or 4--they do 2 now but doesn't 4 sound like a lot? Hmmm . . .

P.S. Thanks to Becky for sitting with my sleeping men last night so Lowell and I could go out. We needed it. Got to chase the pregnant crazies away--seriously I am so hormonal, watch out!

What's on my camera this week?

I'll admit it, I'm not really feeling it tonight. But I did want to update the blog anyhow since it has been a while and since I have the weekend off, it will be a while again. Just not feeling great just now--headache and tummy ache. Some bowel issues too, but I won't go into that. And maybe a little down too, tired and just a bit irritated at the world (and the healthcare plan). Just one of those days I suppose, I will be my happy self by tomorrow I am sure, especially since my beloved gardens will be open again after a barely endurable 5 month hiatus (even though yes I still took the kids last week with my fav employee sister and yes we went sledding there on New Year's, so technically we have been there). Anywho, here's what's on my camera from this week: Gross, sorry but I wanted photo evidence of this NASTY bug I found in my food. At first I thought it was an olive so I had eaten some of the veggies already. Full body shiver.

We made a fondant cake for my sister Hillary's birthday and for a UVMOM project I was delayed in getting done. Davis was such a big helper--he was there for almost the whole time, 2 hours!

Carter used the opportunity to lick the bowl (getting batter in his hair) and to play wii. To each their own.

Davis carefully rolling out fondant pieces.

The finished product

Proud kiddo with the finished product, he was so excited to make it for his aunt.

Sick Hillary blowing out the candles. Sorry you were so sick on your birthday hon. And that I was so cranky too. Thanks Cyndel and Jarom for coming to play, my how the boys love you all.

Little C asleep with his Star Wars bobble heads tucked in with him. Behind them is his "Star Wars the Clone Wars" Easter basket. Oh my. Seems like a waste of money, but man those kids use them a lot and take them everywhere. And since I am thinking of a Star Wars themed Halloween this year, we can double them for that too.

This is what happens when Davis says, "Mom, we're not doing anything." They were "building a castle" in the bath tub. A mess and an accident waiting to happen but in the spirit of imagination I let them continue with the rule that they had to put everything away when they were done. And yes there were complaints (my eyes are SO tired, my feet hurt, I can't walk) but they did clean up.

Davis also had a sweet thought this week--I woke up to snow and mentioned how yucky it was and Davis said, "I think it is kind of like peace." And it was peaceful once I took the time to really look at it. And a little child shall lead them . .

Not pictured--lots of playing outside, another trip to Farm Country, a few visits to Target to get Toy Story 1 and 2 on Blu-Ray for only $7 each (including a free ticket to Toy Story 3 worth $8.50), and going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks the squeakquel. The boys laughed and enjoyed it, wasn't my favorite but okay. Also picked up New Moon and saw a short clip from Eclipse, excited about that--although I have to say the hair/eyes are different for each movie and from the short peak at Eclipse, I'm not sure I like this director's version of that. I've been reading Stephen King's new one, Under the Dome and while I can't say I would recommend it to anyone due to language, violence, sexual, and just plain disturbing content I am still intrigued by the concept of a town suddenly trapped by an invisible force and the break down of society that ensues. Also a good reminder to check my food storage.

Oh and baby #3 had check-up #2 and all is well. 10 lbs lost and I think I am headed up again so that will probably be it. Heartbeat was strong, 152 and quickly found. While I think I still look very much the same, baby has replaced fat and sleeping is becoming interesting. I keep trying to sleep on my stomach but it doesn't quite work. Time for a new body pillow I think. Also still hard for me to grasp there is a little someone growing inside even though I have seen him/her twice on ultrasound. I think when movement can be felt it will become more real. The nurses have assured me they will help me find the gender as soon as it is discernible so that is really only a few/couple weeks away. I will be 14 weeks Sunday. Very much looking forward to Easter next weekend--one more fun holiday and the last big candy holiday for a while.

That's it for us--I am going to curl up with my book and hope ER leaves me alone for a while. Loves!

Z and Green Week

So Z week was delayed and not that exciting thanks to the evil cold that took me out for most of the week. I'm still shaking the last of the yucks from my head but thanks to Zofran I am feeling better. Not 100% but more functional than I have been in a while. Makes me so much more optimistic about life I must say. I've also thought a bit about my relationship with food. I love food. I like to eat and my weight challenges reflect how food makes me happy and also how it is stress relieving in some circumstances for me. So I have just put together that some of the depression from being pregnant is not being able to enjoy food. It is still a forced effort just to eat so to not have that joy in my life has been sad. Alas, the food is still out there and I will enjoy it again some day. In the meantime I am soaking up any sunshine I can get--including that brought to me by my silly little boys. We had a nice day last Friday so Friday fun day included 1.5 hours at a park and then a "picnic" in our backyard consisting of foods they had chosen from the store: Lunchables, Capri Suns, HandiSnacks, and Spiderman popsicles. Balanced diet all the way folks! :) So Saturday we finally made it up to the Zoo for Z week. Two earlier plans were cancelled due to illness and both on lovely days. So Saturday of course is was snowing/raining--wet, cold, yuck. We still stopped at the Dutch Store to get Lowell a Sammy (no lunch meat for me :() and I had to get a pic of Carter and his "duys--(guys)". Lowell's Star Wars bobble heads that he insisted on taking everywhere that week and now who dutifully watch over him in his bed. Though I noticed last night they are mostly "bad duys" (Darth Maul, Jenga Fett, and 2 assorted weird bad guys vs. Luke Skywalker) so not sure how protective they really are. Anyway, silly Carter boy.
Carter with his duys in a tunnel at the Zoo--shielded from the weather.
D and C under the umbrella
Unfortunately the elephants weren't out so we didn't get to see Zuri the baby for an extra Z word and recently both of the Zebras died, so just Zoo for Z week and we didn't even stay very long. Oh well. Big hoorah ending to our alphabet adventures--it has been fun though and a great way to try new things and have something to do in the long winter. After the zoo we went to see Disney on Ice. Yes that is kind of a "girl" thing to do, but this was Worlds of Adventure starring Cars (but it turns out for only 10 minutes, which we missed most of being late-darn). Davis has been really interested in going to see a live Disney show but none of them come to Salt Lake--so we went to Disney on Ice to somewhat appease him and you know what, he loved it all the same! He and Carter were mesmerized, barely moving for the whole first hour. We got front row seats in the upper balcony (just $2.50 more/ticket, so worth it!) so they could hang over the rail and see everything quite well. Of course they both said their favorite part was Mickey, another brief portion but those kids are Mickey fans. I thought it was okay, Lowell and I were both almost dozing but it was cute, the music was pretty good and it was fun to see the ice skaters. Fun time by all, and mostly worth the money.

Yesterday we had an especially fun day--St. Patrick's day! Lowell's family is Irish so each year we celebrate St. Patty's day a bit more than the average to honor his heritage just like we celebrate Dutch Christmas to honor mine.
The boys woke up to leprechaun prints throughout the house
And even on the window (gasp!) that messy leprechaun. It led out to his "treasure" in their swingset playhouse. Here they are finding it:


So worth the couple of bucks in random treats for their reaction--so easily pleased. We also went on a picnic to a park with Hillary and loved some smoothies and sandwiches and another1.5 hrs at a park. They met another little boy there and were fast friends. Then we had Lowell's family over for a big dinner and play time with the cousins. Added bonus, Becky and family recently back from Korea were able to join us, yea! Bummer-I slept through a good portion of it, I was so beat from back to back call nights and then keeping the kiddos busy. But I caught the tail end and some yummy food, potato leek soup with Irish soda bread, potatoes with cabbage and onions, and some glazed carrots. They had pork chops too--but they are on my food aversion list, so no go. Good times--oh and an assortment of green drinks which I was in charge of as well as pots of gold to hand out for everyone to take home too.

Here's another little clip of the boys from last week, just silly good fun.



And that's all for this week. We have been focusing on green and may do another color next week or perhaps a shape or just kick back. Hillary has been on Spring Break this week and we have Cyndel next week so we're just enjoying both of them and some nicer weather (even though it isn't so nice outside just now). Hope you are all well, loves!

Y? Because we love you!

So Y week had a bit of a bumpy start. My poor Davis boy was sicky sick (which yes has spread its way around but has [knock on wood] passed up Carter amazingly). Still we ventured over to BYU to honor the best Y around these parts. I had hoped for great weather and perhaps some hiking, at least part the way to said Y but it was not in the cards. You could hardly even pick it out on the mountain as it blended in with the snow so well. Maybe later in the summer. We went to the Creamery, uhhh . . .where's the Creamery. And while I'm at it, where's DT? So out of the loop. Yes I live in Utah but no, I actually rarely go to BYU. Kind of creeps me out really, not sure why. So for the past several years I have only been there to go to graduations and to get chocolate milk for our friend Sam. Didn't know they had torn down DT and rebuilt the "Creamery". Note, the new one is little and kind of lame. No sundaes. Just ice cream cones. And my silly little boys didn't want any! Davis I understood since he had been sick, but come on! We talked Carter into some and I had a scoop of red sherbet something or other. We then wandered about showing the kiddos campus, my old dorm (Fox Hall--hi Kristen and Erin!) and the building across the way of our silly friends (hi Mark, Scott, and Michael!). We walked through the creepy sculpture garden that used to scare me at night and then headed back to the car as Davey was going down hill. Lowell had to carry him and then he threw up several times outside the Bean Museum (which we've not been to, someday) poor bubby. I had my camera but didn't find anything photo worthy oddly enough. But there was our weak tribute to the "Y".
On a slightly more pleasant day we tried out a new park, the Olympic park in Lehi and it was great! We spend almost 2 hours soaking up some sun. Can't. Wait. For. Spring!

Carter giving me a Y
And Davis on the Yellow slide, it's a stretch I know.

Carter bug has been fascinated with Star Wars since he has gotten into playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii with Daddy. Davis, not interested--weird. So McD had Star Wars toys and I got some Star Wars fruit snacks that were on sale and just had to laugh as the boys were enacting all sorts of drama with the candy pieces. Davis is more or less tormenting Carter and stealing his snacks to eat. Carter took his to bed with him and everything! On a side note, Lowell also got Lego Indiana Jones and today at the park the boys played "Indiana Jones" for half an hour. Jumping across tables, finding treasure, cracking their "whips"--all with theme music of course. Too funny, so glad to see their imaginations budding, makes park time all the more fun. Having a twin brother does as well!
For Y we also played with Yeast (bugs--oh how we love to feed them to wake them up and then watch them grow!). Thanks for the idea from Amanda, we had ourselves some Yummy bread. I felt Rice Krispies counted as Y for Yummy as well, so we had that too.
And we worked in the Yard. The nasty snow melted (again) and daddy and Davis spent a good amount of time outside digging up the gardens together. Getting itchy to plant. Plus I can see my tulip buds poking out behind Davis's foot. Come on spring!

We also went to see Princess and the Frog, not sure if I mentioned that last week. We liked it okay, if a little dark for my taste. Some of the "voodoo" magic could have been toned down for me. We also went to see this little one:
Who is growing along just fine. Still a little area of bleeding that they are watching, but nothing too concerning I suppose. The little one was waving his/her little arm at us which was fun and the boys have gone on and on about it since. They heard the heart beat and would be happy to tell you all about hearing their "sister". Not sure where they got that, but they think it is a girl, as do we. A while yet until we'll know for sure. That appointment graciously led to the first Z of the week, Zofran. And not a moment too soon as I came down with a horrible cold that night (the Zofran took some time to get, but arrived in time to halt the 30 hours that I had been unable to keep anything down). It's been a lousy couple of days and I am just reminded of how it sucks that you can't take anything for a head cold while preggo. Oh well, forming a healthy baby is more important than my aching head, but I am still cursing it a little bit. I even took a sick day from work, which trust me, happens extremely rarely. But after working Tuesday night when I threw up 4 times and then had to draw a gal in the ER (while thinking if my Dr. knew just how dehydrated I was, I would be there myself) I decided I needed a day. Of course I am back tonight, but just treading water. Whine, compain, whine. Yep! But tomorrow we'll pick up Z week with the Zoo and then go to see Disney on Ice! Hooray!