Before you watch...

a little warning about this video of my silly kids. Mia uses the actual word for the male anatomy. If you think you might be offended please don't watch but we think it is pretty dang funny! Mia made this song up by herself and sang it the whole time she was in the tub. I think it is time for them to start bathing separately which only means more work for Colin and me.

Poctello trip.

Mia just adored holding her new cousin.

Going to Pocatello was just what we needed. I love going to our parents homes and being "taken care of". I don't know how much they appreciate it but for me it is such a great time to not feel like I have to do everything because I don't. It was such a great time. We stayed in Pocatello for the whole vacation, saw some friends and are amazed at the growth and how things have changed in just 5 years. It was great to be with family. Abby, who lives in DC was there to have her tonsills out and recover and Dana and Jason with their 3 kids, currently live there too. We seemed to pass around a cold bug while there. Debby was sick in bed for a day and her cough lingered for days after that. I started getting sick Saturday night and by Monday I was miserable! I just wanted to take Nyquil and die in bed until I was over it. Since I couldn't do that I took Tylenol and Sudafed. I had so much junk in my chest in the morning I would have to get in the shower right away just so it would loosen and I could stop coughing. I would also have to take a bath at night to relax my chest enough to go to sleep. If I never eat a cherry menthol cough drop again in my life I will be so happy! Finally on Wednesday I began to feel a bit better but I still called my doctor to see if I could take some Mucinex. That helped so much as well as the antibiotics. I was much better Thursday for the flight home. The priesthood blessing was of course the most helpful. I was so grateful that I was sick when Colin, Abby, David and Debby were able to help out and do all of the work for me. It really was so much fun and very relaxing.

Easter

Easter came so quickly this year. We had Jack's 2nd birthday one Sunday and celebrated Easter the next. Of course, it snowed and was cold. This is our 2nd Easter in Cleveland. Last year we were here in April looking for a place to live. I think it snowed at least 2 feet. Saturday we went and decorated eggs with friends. Acutally, the kids decorated them and the Dad's supervised. It was so nice!! We had a little egg hunt here at home in the morning, went to church then had dinner and more egg hunting with friends. The kids all loved it! It was pretty darn fun to watch them. We are going on a candy hiatis for a long time, at least the kids. They don't ask for it unless they see it.

Mia and Molly love to play together! They were in heaven with their creations.

Jackson, as usual, went for a ball theme. The kid just likes all things sports. His Dad has a bit of influence regarding that passion.

100% BOY

We will be welcoming a boy into our family in August. We are very excited. I am glad that Jack will have a brother to hang out with and play with in about 2 years. I am happy that we won't have another drama queen just yet. Two is about all I can take and often I can't handle myself let alone Mia. I know Mia will be a big helper. She is very excited to have a baby to help take care of. I am excited to shop for some baby clothes. I will have to dig out Jack's stuff and see what we will need. I get an itch to reorganize and Colin comments on my nesting instinct. I rather enjoy it though.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jack - March 16th

Baby Update

I had my 16 week appointment today. All is well, at least that the heartbeat could tell us. 157bpm. I haven't felt the baby for sure. I think I have but I know I am within completely normal limits of when I should feel movement. I scheduled our ultrasound for March 25th. I think if this baby would have been born in a cold season I would wait to find out if it is a boy or girl but since it is going to be hot, hot, hot I want to be able to plan ahead a little.

I am debating between putting Mia and Jack in the same room or Mia and the baby, but only if it is a girl she said. If anyone has an opinion on this please comment. I am sure whether we are in this house or another it will be 3 bedroom. I think I would really like to put Mia and Jack in the same room and the baby in his/her own room. Let me know what you think.

Tag- Now you're it!

I have been tagged by my friend Jessi.

6 Non-Important Things About Me.

1. Colin recently got me hooked on LOST. We managed to watch 3 seasons in about 2 months and we are current with season 4. That was a lot of late nights and who knows how many hours of TV watching.
2. After living in Cleveland for just 7 months I have decided that I really dislike the cold/snow/freezing rain/the heating bill.
3. Mia acts just like me, in every bad way, and I really hate that.
4. Even though I could get cancer I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to be tan, I do still use sunscreen and never use a tanning bed, mostly so my kids have a good example.
5. I have the lowest pain tolerance of anyone I have ever known. Just ask Colin.
6. I hate fixing dinner. I would rather fix a huge breakfast or lunch anyday than I would fix dinner ever. Even when I have a menu.

I tag Melanie and Alicia.

I'll deal with it later.

Have you ever chosen to ignore what your child was doing because you knew it wouldn't harm them and they were being quiet even though you knew it was making a big big mess? I did that the other day with Jack. He was sitting at the table with a bowl of apple sauce, I was blogging or reading a blog, he was being quiet, I knew it was going to be all over. I had taken his clothes off earlier because the kids had painted and he had paint all over his clothes. Needless to say I had to change his undershirt and get him dressed again. Ironically he had a bit of a blowout that evening, thank you Colin for cleaning that up, and he had to be changed again. The many joys of motherhood!

From the mind of a 4 year old

Mia dictated the following to Colin one Saturday afternoon while Jack and I were resting
Mia invites Mom & Dad to a birthday party. There will be birthday hats. You can make them out of paper, glitter, modelmagic fusion or playdough. It's going to be a special surprise for somebody who is a girl. We have to keep shoes on, but we have to surprise somebody who is a girl. You can't tell anyone Dad. But Mia and Dad are going to make an animal birthday cake. Any my dog is going to surprise Mommy too. We will make penguins. Ruffie and Mia love to surprise. Ruffie is my dog. We will do games, activities, music, adn stories. We will play with toys and riding center. When my brother is done having a nap and playing on my leap frog, I'm going to ask Santa for a pink leap pad. Love, Mia, Dad, Ruffie and cat.
If you have ever read "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" or "If You Give A Moose A Muffin" that is Mia. We jump from one thing to another in about 5 seconds. She wears me out!!! Jack and Mia are finally starting to play together a little more. Their favorite thing to do is run around the house opposite of each other and when they meet up they laugh and laugh these big belly laughs and turn around and do it again. It is my favorite thing to listen to.

Valentine's Celebrations

Valentine's day was expecially fun this year because Mia is in preschool. She was so excited that there was a party and that I got to be there. We made her Valentine's and she used enough glue to put down a pergo floor. They were wavy and wrinkly but she loved them! We spent about 3 days doing just 14. We printed, cut, glued and put stickers all over each one. It was a bit overwhelming, the mess that is, for me but the kids really had a fun time. Mia woke up at 4am that morning and didn't go back to sleep, something she has been randomly doing lately, so she fell asleep on the way to school. I practically had to push her out of the car to wake her up. Her party was great and she was so excited about every valentine she received. That night I wanted some pictures of the kids together in their red shirts and Mia "hurt" herself but when I got the camera out she was ready to grin. She is my drama queen. Jack even cooperated and I got some pretty good shots.

Colin, being the thoughtful man that he can be, got me a pot of flowers and my favorite chocolates. I didn't do anything for him. I didn't even fix a real dinner that night. My excuse was that I was super tired, which I was, and I was still getting over having a cold. He didn't seem to mind though. He knows me by now, that's why I love him so much!