To Do

Things I Need To Do:

- laundry

- pack for 7 people!

- make cookies for teachers

- get a container to put cookies in (eek! Should have done that earlier today)

- make 4 hoodie towels

- shower (debating on washing my hair tonight or tomorrow)

- dishes (yep, it's been one of those nights)

- make sandwiches for the boys' lunches

- get music from Jill's laptop for our very long road trip

- go to Kindergarten Beach Day (tomorrow afternoon)

- take teacher gifts to school (I'm thinking of killing two birds with one stone tomorrow)

- SLEEP! (hopefully Luke can get back on the schedule we had and not this up 3 times in the night business)

Jill can clean before the party :)
(it's mostly clean, Benjamin just keeps dumping out the same basket of toys and then a big boy picks them up and he dumps it again)

And here I am blogging, while waiting for Isaac to fall asleep.

Today I went to the 2nd Grade Award Ceremony. The kids vote who gets what award. Adam got a reading one and "Hardest Worker."

I found out that voting was at their school and since we were already unloading for the awards, I went early to the ceremony and voted, with 3 kids in tow. Voting went great. But the last 5 minutes or so of the award ceremony, Benjamin decided he was done. Thankfully, Isaac found a little snack sized bag of Lorna Doone cookies in my bag. Benjamin rejected the Smarties because I wouldn't let him have the whole thing to dump out- that is what he does at home and screeches really loud when anyone walks in his general direction.

Oh, the joys of being out in public with a 2yo. And since having more than 2 kids is weird, me with my 3 not-school-aged children at a school thing (meaning I have more than the 3), I get looks and comments. Usually the comments aren't mean but comments mean I'm not blending in with the crowd. People notice me and my entourage.

Isaac hasn't talked to me for a few minutes, I think I can go cross at least one thing off my list.

Randomness ***WARNING: I am tired and I rambled

I had every intention of posting about Luke. with photos. And then Isaac got sick. I thought he had a fever because he got a few vaccines yesterday. And it still might be the vaccines. But he napped. He never naps. And then Benjamin fell asleep on the stairs (twice) and then on the couch. I kept waking him up. But he wanted to sleep.

Also, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was on the ball with dinner. Today, not so much. Bryan. Made dinner and we (the 2 of us) ate it. The boys had turkey sandwiches about a half an hour before we even started making dinner, compliments of Austin. That boy likes to make sandwiches. And toast. And toast bagels. I love his elaborate snacks: sandwich, grapes (if we have them), cheez-its or goldfish (or some other cracker) and fruit snacks.

Tuesday and Wednesday we tried new recipes. We will be adding them into the rotation of meals, easy and good. I need to look up more recipes to try. I think I'm in a rut with dinner and I'm not so motivated to make it. But those new recipes, I had dinner planned and was somewhat excited to make it.

Hopefully Isaac will be feeling better tomorrow. It's Field Day at school and we can go! But we won't be going if anyone is sick. And I'd like to get some sewing done.

Time is going so fast but so slow. I keep thinking "we are leaving for Ca in a week :(" and then immediately after that I think "WE ARE LEAVING FOR CA IN A WEEK!!!" and then the mental list begins about all the things that need to get done. But usually after thinking "laundry" someone or something distracts me. I think I need to write everything out or type it out so I have it somewhere besides my head.

I should sleep since I probably will end up with Isaac in my bed or Benjamin (he got in our bed before 7am today). Last night everyone but Austin came into our room.

Right Now

Right now I am:

- fighting an almost 2yo back into bed. Over and over. And over. Seriously, I have lost count on how many times I have put him in bed. IT'S ALMOST 11PM!!!

- I'm exhausted

- in need of a shower.

- grateful for soccer tonight so the 3 big boys went to sleep nicely (well, when Isaac is too tired he fights it but Benjamin has given Isaac a run for his money in a lot of things and fighting bed is one of them).

- grateful for friends

- grateful for friends that are like family

- grateful for family

- grateful for Jill (I know she is family). She read books to the boys today. And put Benjamin down for a nap. Before i had to go get boys from school. And kept Luke when I went to get the big boys from school.

- missing Katie. 7:30 is so early for Ben to wake up, especially if I was up since 6:20 with the baby and then checked on the big boys to make sure they were up and going for school. And I have to load up the boys to go get a DC. And I'm making dinner. And we haven't played Pinochle since we beat Matt and Bryan.

- missing my mom. Sometimes you just need your mom. And I like having my mom around. Especially when I have a baby.

- missing my dad. Because I think my dad is great. And Bryan needs a buddy to go to home improvement stores with. We are a sight with our 5 boys and I am not a lot of help. And then to have help with the home improvements. And to watch sports with. I watch but it just isn't the same. And Bryan cooks when people come to watch sports with him.

- missing Matt. My boys want to swim tomorrow. That means I get to sit out there and watch them.

- okay. I'm missing family.

- apparently, I'm emotional. Must be needing sleep and having a toddler refuse it is frustrating and confusing.

- wishing I was eating ice cream. Butter crunch to be exact.

Busy but not really

I have been wanting to post about the new addition to our family for a month but I wanted to include photos.

And I want to blog about everything that has happened for the past month. But with photos.

So I will just blog about random things and hopefully I can will blog about Luke soon- he deserves his own blog post.

Soccer:
I enjoy it. I like the boys being a part of a team and learning to work together. I love cheering from the sidelines. I especially love how tired the boys are from running for an hour that they go right to sleep without a fight. I don't love the rush of eating dinner, getting to soccer practice, and then rushing through the bedtime routine. But one negative in all the positive, I'm sure I will be a soccer mom for a while.

Schedule or lack of:
I have forgotten how having a new baby messes up your schedule/routine. I mean, I remembered how you adjust but I forgot how hard it is for me. I feel like I'm a pretty easy-going person and I have recently learned that I like need a schedule. I forgot how I don't really go anywhere with a baby that takes me us away from the house for more than about an hour or 2. My sleep is even more ridiculous than usual. I forgot how much I like sleep. I am a little scared for summer and the lack of schedule that comes with it.

Grateful:
I am so grateful for family.
The family I was born into, so many came (and all my siblings wanted to come) to celebrate Adam's baptism and Luke's baby blessing.
And the not-so little family of boys I share with Bryan, those boys are pretty darn cute.
And my ward family. I don't like being the center of attention. I prefer to hide in the background, hide in Nursery. But us having a baby has brought some attention. In our ward the last baby born before Luke was 17mo. And no one is pregnant. And we had our 5th boy. And so many people have offered to help. Watch boys. Meals. Clean (!!!- I know crazy that I didn't take them up on it right?!). And just asking how things are going. And to look at him. It has been nice to have so many concerned about us, especially with our parents not an hour away anymore.


I don't really have anything that we have been "doing" or anywhere we have gone to report on. We are learning how to be a family of seven(!) and enjoying all the company we have had/have.

Waiting

I haven't been able to make plans because I'm waiting. Not that I have plans that need to be made. Except dinner. And that had been a HUGE challenge lately, sorry to the people who eat dinner with me.

I'm waiting and waiting and waiting.

I pick the boys up from school. And we do homework. I try to scrap dinner together. Some nights (i.e., 3 night last week) we have soccer practice. Not a lot of planning and nothing that can't be missed.

Saturday, we had soccer games. I signed us up to provide snacks for all 3 games. Jill worked 4 nights in a row, so it was a good thing I was able to be to those soccer games.

But now, I'm waiting.

I hate waiting.

So today I started doing things that I was putting off. Unpacking. I have had the necessities unpacked for a while. But now I am not waiting, I'm unpacking. But I don't like unpacking.

Bryan wants things up on the walls. I can't think about stuff like that while I'm waiting. And I don't really feel like I am good at it. And we have a lot of windows. Windows make hanging things up hard.

Adam stayed home from school today. Sick. Tomorrow he gets to stay home too. Hopefully, he will be back to school on Thursday.

They have a Jog-a-thon on Friday. And Adam maybe has a birthday party to go to and maybe soccer practice.

But how can I plan anything while I am waiting.

Today was good

Today.

Ben woke up about 6am.
And did NOT go back to sleep.

I looked for, and found, my passport and social security card.

I did laundry.

I went and got a Texas Driver's License!!! I've been living here for over a year, it's about time.

Jill is fabulous. She watched, and picked up, boys while I was gone for hours getting my DL.

And on the way home, I picked her up some Del Taco (thank you Chicken Soft Taco Thursday Night). Then I didn't feel bad about the dinner not being ready before she left for work.

Took Adam to soccer practice.

Now I'm blogging/playing on my phone while the 3 big boys fall asleep. And Bryan has Ben.

Tomorrow is the Kindergarten Stick Horse Rodeo!

I need to empty the photos and videos off my phone for the KSHR.

Journal

I have decided I need to journal more. The older I get (or maybe the more kids I have), the worse my memory gets. So I decided I am going to do that here. I have tried a hand-written journal, I have a few entries spread out over years. And I don't love my handwriting.

Today, Friday, February 24, 2012:
• I am trying not to have a baby. But I want things done before I have a baby. So I did laundry, the never-ending laundry.
• Jill took the 2 littles to run errands. Which was perfect because then I could return some stuff to Target and get a couple things there. And if I had them, I doubt I would have done it. And I wanted to return the stuff before baby because I know how much Bryan hates returning things.
• I washed and remade the boys' beds before going to Target too.
• I had the big boys clean out and vacuum my car. I hope it looks good :)
• I vacuumed the downstairs. I also swept before I went to Target but Ben ate again so I decided all the floors needed to be done.
• Ben missed refused his nap today. And I decided it wasn't worth the battle today. He is now drawing on a magna doodle while watching The Fresh Beat Band. Before I gave up, he got out of his bed and went straight to Jill's room and got on her iPad. I guess I should be happy that he has napped for as long as he has since Isaac was done a lot younger.

• Tomorrow we have 3 soccer games one at 10am and the other 2 at 10:15am, good thing Jill is going :)

• Sunday we are having Jill's birthday dinner. I still need to figure out what she wants with Pulled Pork. And what cake/dessert she wants.

• After Sunday dinner, I can have a baby. My doctor thinks that is a good goal.

• I don't want to miss the Kindergarten Horse Stick Rodeo on March 2nd.

I don't know how often I will be doing this but hopefully frequently.

For Me to Remember and WARNING: LONG POST WITH NO PHOTOS!!!

I haven't gotten on the desktop since Bryan has set it up, so still no photos since I don't like what the blogging app did to all my photos from previous posts.

Anyway, I don't want to forget some things.

Ben climbs.
Ben climbs out of bed. A big crib. And Bryan's comment to it "3 points of contact" He has been teaching the other boys how to climb down the ladder from attic space in the garage- yes, the others seem to take after me and my dislike for ladders but it is so cool up there (so I'm told), they are willing to go up.
Ben climbs on furniture. The couch. My bed. The boys bed, though I am grateful he hasn't figured out how to get to the top bunk. Yet, anyway. The dining chairs and to the table. Step stools in the bathroom to play in the water. Park equipment.

It's tiring.

Isaac is independent. When he wants to be.
Isaac is a great helper. When he wants to be.
Isaac is also having bites of food he doesn't like. This is a big deal. And there are a lot of things he doesn't like. Potatoes. Noodles. Beans. Most vegetables. Rice. "I like meat. And bread. And cheese."
Isaac can spell his name (he has been able to do this for a while) and is practicing writing it. He also likes to practice writing everyone else's name. Mostly during Sacrament Meeting but he's quiet.
Isaac is worried about the baby in my tummy. Asks on a regular basis if the baby is still there. Does my tummy hurt. Mostly because I can't do as much and I'm not suppose to be doing anything right now. One more week and I think I will feel more comfortable (and more importantly, my doctor will feel more comfortable) doing stuff because they won't stop me from having a baby now.

Austin is reading so well. He asks what things mean. Even though he can read words, he wants to know what it means. For example, tonight while he was reading "'Josh,' laughed Dad" He said "that doesn't make sense" so we talked about what that meant.
Austin loves to help. He likes to be the only one to help. Like he will clear the table all by himself or he will "watch" Ben for me. And he does a good job.
Austin has a great imagination. I only enjoy being on the couch when I can nonchalantly listen in on the playing.
Austin says he doesn't like playing soccer. But he does.
Austin likes being a big brother. He can make Ben laugh all the time and is really good about playing with Isaac.

Adam. Adam is my first born. And he acts like it. We remind him all the time, he is not the parent. But he is very responsible. I have had him "babysit" while Jill is getting ready for work upstairs.
Adam likes chores. He says he doesn't but he does. He vacuums. Austin and he clean bathrooms. Today, we had an issue with clothes and some whining. So Adam folded 2 laundry baskets of clothes. He did a great job and wasn't whining (like he was when he got started). And then when Bryan took Austin to soccer practice with Isaac and Ben was napping, he switched laundry, carried laundry up to my room, showered, got clothes ready for school tomorrow and helped clean up dinner.
Adam likes playing soccer.
Adam likes being outside.
Adam learned how to ride a 2-wheeler. And wishes we had more concrete. Like at the old house.
Adam likes being the oldest brother. And he is good at it.

I am impressed with how much Bryan gets done in a day. It is obvious to me since I haven't been able to do very much lately and with moving. I keep thinking things will slow down a little and he can relax a little. But then I remember that he is doing so much, partly because I'm so pregnant. So life isn't going to slow down. If anything, he is going to be even busier with the other kids and soccer just started up again...with 3 of them playing. Life will slow down just as football games start happening, which is what he would prefer anyway :)

Jill is so good. She helps even though she doesn't have to. She watches the boys. She takes them on errands, and sometimes it is one at a time so it's like a special date. She watches stupid shows with me and doesn't make fun of me for watching them. She sometimes takes ALL FOUR BOYS! like the other day, Bryan and I went out and she watched the boys, picked up pizza, had them showered and in bed asleep before we got back.

Me. I get to watch. I get climbed on (I forgot to list that on Ben's stuff). I get heartburn. I limp around. I try to have dinner most days, especially on Jill's work days but sometimes that is a huge challenge. I go to doctor's appts. all. the. time. (it feels like it anyway) Austin reads to me while I'm lying down. Okay, that sounds pathetic. I do more than that. It just feels like not so much since I like doing things for myself and I did vacuum the dining area today after taking the boys to the park and having dinner mostly done (yes, that is me tooting my own horn).

Thankful

I have decided (more than once) that things happen when and how for a reason. Even if it is difficult, there is a reason. I'm not sure of the reason this time but there must be one.

We are moving. I am 8 months pregnant. And I have 4 boys. That need attention and love and food and supervision.

I knew I would be slow moving and not tons of help with the actual moving of boxes. But I thought I would be able to pack everything myself. Turns out, not so much. I thought I would be able to clean (both the house we are moving out of and moving into). Again, not so much. I thought I would be able to help with getting things organized. I must toot my own horn here because I have done more than I had expected with all the previous failures.

Celeste came by on her way home from the temple last week. So she could feel better about leaving her kids with her husband for the morning. And packed a good portion of my kitchen. I really appreciated it but didn't realize at the time how great that was.

I went to a regular doctor appointment the day after we signed papers for the house. I wasn't put on bed rest but pretty close. And instead of going every other week, I'm going every week to make sure I'm not dilated too much.

Bryan and Jill have done SO much this week. Meeting with painters and carpet guys. Loading and moving bins. And loading and moving bins. And moving furniture. And taking boys with them on trips to various places (including the new house and the old house, Lowe's, to get lunch and dinner, the list goes on). And cleaning.

Oh the cleaning. Jill vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed after the new carpet was put in. She wiped down baseboards. Cleaned the entire kitchen (even using a Shop Vac). After the painters and carpet guys were done. She cleaned all the bathrooms. She wiped out closets. The list, again, goes on and on.

And Bryan. My dear, sweet, hard-working husband. Actually accepted help. Has worked (the job he gets paid to do) and moved and packed and cleaned and still been a "dad."

And they both have encouraged me to "take it easy" and "are you sure you should be doing that?" and taking over with the boys when I couldn't.

So many people have offered to help. And me, being stubborn and thinking "I can do this," have taken some. But again with encouragement.

On Friday, the "big moving day" of furniture and such, a couple men from the ward came over for a couple hours with their trucks and moved and moved and moved (I never realize how much stuff we have until it is being moved). And my 2 boys that are home with me, we're not. Thanks to Isaac's friend having a "birthday party at Legoland" (he was the only friend invited) and Ben invited over to "play" at my SIL's parents' house. Ben was going to go to Celeste's house and then shortly after I called to tell her "thanks but no thanks" her wonderfully helpful husband showed up. Jill was beyond excited (or maybe that was just me glad that Jill wasn't the one helping Bryan move stuff).

A couple car loads this morning and a few hours of Jill and Bryan cleaning the old house. And me with the boys and the pool fence people. I think we are set. Jill went to her Stake Meetings tonight and we are headed to Sam's Club, since I have been saying "I'll buy that after we move" to almost everything.

Now we just have to "finish" unpacking. And try not to have a baby for a few more weeks, well at least 2 weeks.

And once a desktop computer is set up, I will try to post photos. Until then, Instagram is my photo place right now :)

Catching Up

I have SO much to journal/blog about. Here is a quick recap of the last year since I didn't write a Christmas letter and a lot has happened this year and I need to remember it.

Last Christmas time, we were in California.
For New Year's we went to Utah for Gramma J's funeral.
Bryan accepted a new job while we were in Utah, moving us to Texas a couple weeks later.
We celebrated Bryan's birthday with pizza in a hotel in Midland, TX (there is not a lot in west Texas at 10pm).
In February, Jill and Katie and Odin came for a visit while we had an ice storm.
In March, Jill, Katie, Odin, Mom and Dad came for a visit.
In April, my mom stopped (via plane) on her way to Emily's. Bryan's parents came for a visit and we went to San Antonio to celebrate Easter with Jarrod and Susannah and their kids.
In the end May, we made an unexpected trip to California because of my mom's accident.
In June, we stayed in California and went to Jacob's high school graduation and saw most of the Brown's.
Middle of June, Jill moved in :)
In July, we celebrated the 4th at a Ranger game with Jarrod and Susannah and family. At the end, we went to California- flew with 6 kids (Elena and Annie). Bryan came back to work. I stayed with 4 boys- alone.
In August, Bryan came back to California. Matt came home from his mission and we all wore bleach-dye shirts at the airport. And took family photos with my family= parents, siblings/spouses, kids- a lot of kids.
In the end of August, school started. And soccer started (4 or 5 days a week of soccer)
In September, BYU football game trips started happening. Jill went to the Ole Miss game, in Mississippi. We went to Austin, TX for the UT game and met up with Jarrod and Susannah. Bryan met my dad in Utah for the UofU game. Brian Durr came for a week.
In October, my parents came for Halloween- okay, they came for the BYU v TCU game at Cowboy Stadium.
In November, soccer ended. Jill, Ben and I went to Utah for my uncle's funeral, probably one of the best services I have been too. So grateful for family. The next weekend, Bryan and I and the boys drove to Utah to spend the week of Thanksgiving (Jill flew up the day before Thanksgiving). 5 of my parents' 8 kids were there. And the extendeds are always fun.
So far in December, Bryan's parents just went home Wednesday after being in Texas for a week. We also made an offer on a house on Wednesday. It was accepted on Thursday. Now we (mostly Bryan) is getting everything worked out so we can have the keys mid-Feb. The big boys had an Early Release Day today. We are having our FIRST Christmas at our house. We have been married for almost 11 years and have 4 kids and this is our FIRST time. Can you tell this is a little weird for me?

I have enjoyed the past year. I am surprised on a regular basis what I can handle and what I have learned about myself. I am looking forward to the changes, challenges and experiences that are coming up. The beginning of the year will be stressful but worth it.

Sundays

We have church early. Early like it is the earliest I wake up all week. Like church that is 15 minutes away starts at 8:30AM!
Every Sunday Austin asks if I'm going to take a nap. Not because he is worried that I didn't get enough sleep. Not because he knows how much I love my Sunday naps. But because while Ben and I nap after church, Bryan plays video games. Mostly one game in particular. Zelda. Isaac calls it "Zul-da."

Jill is great. She took this photo and sent it to me.

Soccer Practice

We are enjoying our first soccer season. I feel like we are at soccer more than home these days. And now that we are halfway through the season, the weather is perfect for soccer- cool enough for the players but warm enough the spectators aren't freezing.

These are of Isaac from one of our many soccer practices.

Ranger Game Date Night

Last Tuesday Bryan got tickets from work for the Ranger game. We tried to find people to go with us since the game didn't start until after 7pm, I was not letting the boys go (it was a school night). But people are busy. So Jill was fabulous, stayed home and took care of the boys- even making dinner!

It was a great game. And Bryan and I rarely go out just the 2 of us, so that was different and nice. Of course I took dorky photos of us, I had to document we actually went. just. the. two. of. us.

Bases loaded and no outs! It was a great game.

Baseball is a little more relaxing :)

Why we don't take more photos of just us.

We hope to get these seats again, they were great.

Ben.

I think I have a pretty good memory, most of the time. But I think maybe I forget how active and investigative my toddlers are. I remember thinking Austin was a climber and even posted blogs with photos of him climbing. Then Isaac came along and was given the nickname "Tornado." And really Isaac has been my most active, challenging and stubborn child but he is so cute and loving that I enjoy the challenge- most some days.

Now Ben is in that investigative stage. I love it. I love that everything is new and exciting. But he has taken everything to a new level. He figured out how to climb on the chairs while at my parents' this summer. So we pushed in chairs. Until he figured out how to pull them out the next day. Then we got home and I was happy with my counter height table and chairs that he could NOT climb up. And then he did. We bought a baby gate similar to the one my mom has- it swings open, it is lovely. It is perfect, if it is latched. Tightly. If you don't hear it click, Ben has figured out how to open it, climb up and close and not-quite-latch behind him so when you pass by the stairs you don't think he is up there. But he is. Emptying Jill's drawers and such. But I still love it. And I LOVE that he LOVES to be in Nursery at church. We are still working on Sacrament Meeting.










Also, even with a rash from head to toe (literally spots under his hair and the bottoms of his feet and palms of hands) from an allergic reaction, he is so pleasant. He screams when he can't communicate what he wants but we just do trial and error. "More cheese. Oh you don't want more cheese. How about milk? Oh just one sip of milk. How about a cracker? Good. We like goldfish. Oh. Maybe Cheerios now. Maybe your tired." I love my 16 month old.

Before Soccer Wound

Adam was hurrying to get to soccer practice. Finished his dinner and being the good boy he is, went to take his plate over to the sink but before sitting down for dinner Isaac or Ben kicked a soccer ball right where Adam hopped down. Sadly, Adam slipped on the ball, fell and hit near his eye on the window sill- this is the window sill kids walk on.
I took photos and everyone wanted their picture taken, well, kind of.

Ben the Climber

While at my parents' house, Ben decided to climb on the chairs around the table. So I kept telling yelling at everyone to keep the chairs pushed in. Then he decided to pull the chairs out and climb from the chair to the table.

I don't know how I forget how much 15mo like to climb and how they want to be held and then they don't want to be held- especially at church. But I love the toddler stage. They learn and grow so much, it is fun to be a part of it. I'm even enjoying Ben's "tantrums." I end up laughing so he ends up laughing.

First Day of School August 22, 2011

I have a lot more to post about but today was the first day of school so I figured instead of trying to catch up, I'll just post about this and maybe get to the past stuff later.
We missed Meet the Teacher night. I'm sad about that because I met Adam's teacher today after school as we were crossing the crosswalk, she was on yard duty. She seems nice but I'd like a little more than "hi, I'm Adam's mom" and her telling me how sweet Adam is before we lose Isaac because he walks runs faster to the car.
I'm hopeful about a great school year even with the goofy photos the boys let me take.

Jill

We love having Jill live with us. Not just because she likes the same USA shows as me or that I was able to go visiting teaching with NO children or that she will run errands with me (and my 4 boys!) but those help :)

She watched all the boys while I went visiting teaching one day and as I was headed home they were heading out to get ice cream cones. So Jill turned around and I jumped in the car. Here are a couple photos from after ice cream. The first one is from the 4th of July at the Ranger game with Ben asleep on her- see she is the BEST.
**I wrote this months ago but couldn't get it to post with photos.









I don't know why I didn't get any photos of the 2 big boys. They probably were too fast getting inside and getting cleaned up :)

July 4th

Happy 4th of July! (just a little late)

Bryan's brother and family came up from San Antonio. They came over for dinner on Sunday. Monday we went to the Bennett's for swimming and food before going to the Ranger game. I can't remember what we did on Saturday, probably something luxurious like yard work.

I have photos on a real camera but I am on the couch and my camera is in my purse in the car and I can't be bothered with that.

Isaac on the way to the Ranger game



Austin, Ben and Jill at Ranger game



Jill holding sleeping Ben



Ben asleep



The game was good. The fireworks were good. It was a good 4th.

I Apologize

Sorry. I gave some siblings a hard time (via the blog) about not blogging. And even posting photos they have texted to me. And here I haven't posted in a while. Truth is I have TONS of photos, especially on my phone, that I could post.

Some reasons I have not blogged:
1. I'm lazy.
2. I have 4 kids, so does that cancel out #1?
3. we have been busy, see #2.
4. I had a week not that long ago that I was only home one day and I did a little laundry but sewed most of the day.
5. I'm getting excited about taking all the boys on a plane ride in a few days, so my mind is occupied with mental lists of what I need to pack- I have NEVER flown with so many kids.
6. The splash park is a must with my Sonic drink and so that means I can't blog if I am drinking my Route 44.
7. I've decided that sewing is a priority these days. Maybe I should rephrase that, getting fabric ready to sew is a priority.
8. I don't want to move so many photos from my phone to instgram (see #1).
9. I only blog for myself and Dad and Matt but Matt hasn't emailed any photos for a long time so I don't feel so bad.
10. I will blog soon. Maybe not until I'm in Cali and everyone has gone to Brazil- but no promises because I always think I will have more time in Cali than I actually do. Plus, Bryan is coming back to work so me with 4 very active boys and no dad to wrestle with them or take over when I am done is going to be challenging. Why am I excited again?