I’ve spent the last 5-6 months filling in the cracks of our year supply.  I got my hefty rebate check from American Express this month and used it to finish buying what we needed today.  Man that feels good.  Yesterday I cataloged everything and printed a list I will keep in the pantry where we store it all.  As we use things I can keep track.  That way I don’t run out of things like wheat like I did recently.  A lot of it is still in bags but I have all the buckets to transfer stuff to.  It’s just a matter of getting a good day when I have lots of energy to be hauling buckets around.  I honestly feel that we could survive on what we have and maintain our health with what I have stored for at least a year.  That is a tremendous feeling.

Everyone was sick last week with the exception of Serra.  On Sunday when everyone seemed to be better she started in with a sore throat.  Yesterday she was crying because she said it hurt too much to swallow.  She had hardly eaten anything for 2 days except for banana shakes.  I took a gander in her mouth and was horrified with what I saw.  Her throat was nearly swollen shut and had pus pockets.  Appetizing, I know.  I had her to the doc within the hour and she tested positive for Strep.  24 hours later she is a new kid.  I am so thankful for antibiotics.  I found out that Strep left untreated can turn into Scarlet Fever or Rheumatic Fever with lifetime consequences.  This is the first bout of illness we have had around here in almost a year.  I guess we have to pay our dues once in a while. 

I made Hot Chicken Salad the other night for dinner.  It’s a chicken casserole and has almonds in it.  Rosie started spitting it out after a few minutes.  “Mom, I don’t like the bones.”  Maybe that’s why so many kids are adverse to nuts in food.  After all, who really wants bones in their cookie. 

Weston continues his daily destruction of everything in his path. (With a smile)  And baby #4 made its presence known last Sunday.  I have been feeling the faint stirrings of life since then. 

I asked Serra today if she wanted a baby brother or a sister.  She said she doesn’t care either way as long as this one looks like her.  “It’s not fair…Rosie got a twin so I want one too.”  AWWWW…

So what’s new.  Wes and Rosie have colds and that’s always good times.  Lots of snot, less sleep than usual, and humidifiers going.  Has anyone with kids bought cold medicine lately.  Since last year all the age and dosing recommendations have changed.  What was OK for a 2 year old last year is now OK for a 4 year old.  Rosie still fits into the weight requirement so she gets meds when I can get her to take it.  Sometimes it gets slipped into her juice.  I watched her drink it once and she was making faces.  She noticed the taste difference in the juice.  She doesn’t like medicine.  She says “it tastes lucky a me”. 

Rosieism:  Rosie recently discovered she had hair on her legs.  One evening she got quite a disgusted look on her face and declared she needed to take a shower.  She had already had one that day so I asked her why.  She showed me her legs and said, “look, there is hair all over my legs…it’s lucky (yucky)…I need to take a shower and wash it all off.”  I know how you feel little one but unfortunately it’s just not that easy. 

We finally rented out out other house.  We are only getting in rent enough to cover half the mortgage, but at least it’s something.  I would really like to find a way to unload that place without hurting our credit but unfortunately the so called mortgage renegotiations that the banks were supposed to use bail out money for are not happening.  The requirements are completely impossible to fit into and so we are left with a house that is worth literally half of what we paid.  In the meantime Brian is still pulling in just enough work to keep our heads above water.  We feel like there is a ticking timebomb financially.  We are just not sure where to go from where we are right now. 

Baby news:  no news is good news…all doc appointments have gone well.  I am nearly 16 weeks and I look like I’m 30 weeks.  That’s typical for me though.  When I’m 37 weeks I look like I’m carrying triplets. 

Serra has managed to avoid the sickness of the younger two.  I bought what I thought was a shower cap the other day.  Oops! It ended up being a hair cover for black girls that is supposed to help your hair grow faster while you sleep.  Serra thinks it is just the greatest thing and is now on a campaign to get her hair to grow faster.  She wears this thing all the time.  Brian calls it her do-rag.  She asks daily if her hair looks longer.  She is such a funny kid.  I was helping her with her homework the other day.  It was math and she needed to write down  the # 17.  She gets confused with the teens and tens.  ie…17 is confused 70 on paper.  I told her to write – one seven.  She proceeded to write the #7.  I kept saying, one, seven.  She finally got fed up with me and said, “I DID…I wrote 1 seven.  I started to laugh and she just looked at me like I was crazy.  This morning she was trying to be helpful for Valentines Day.  She helped make omelets for breakfast and then said when we started cleaning up.  “I am going to help unset the table.”  I guess if we set the table for dinner, we unset it to clean up. 

I really don’t remember the girls being as big of menaces as this boy of ours.  He is a tornado that twirls around the house making messes faster than I can clean it all up.  The girls think it’s very unfair that I make them help me clean things up as they declare they didn’t do it.  Well, neither did I.  He has learned how to get into the spice cabinets where all the oils and vinegars and sauces are stored as well.  I used something called fish sauce about a year back for a soup.  It was gross and I should have thrown it out knowing I would never use it again.  However, it cost money and so it sat in my cabinet.  Well, the boy pulled it out and managed to break the lid spilling fish sauce all over the floor.  Most of it was on the rug so I gathered up the rug and took it to the laundry room.  It dripped all the way.  This stuff smells like a fish market.  It took me a full day of baking soda treatments on the floor, and double cycles for the rugs it encountered in the washing machine.  I was gagging the whole time.  2 days later I think the smell is gone.  If the kid isn’t in the kitchen tearing things out of cupboards he is in the toilet.  We used to be able to just keep the lids down until he figured out how to open them.  Now even keeping the doors closed doesn’t work as the little scrapper can open doors.  He doesn’t seem to get “No” quite yet.  He gets upset when I tell him no but it doesn’t keep him from trying it again even with me standing right there.  Yet he is so sweet and has a big toothy grin that just melts me.  He runs to the door when Brian gets home hollaring the whole way, and throws his arms up in the air to be picked up.  Hopefully, he will be more manageable by the time the next one arrives.  Times ticking quickly on that though. 

I’ll get organized and show some pictures soon. 

Here are my 25 things.  Don’t forget to check out Brian’s below.  He was surprised I posted them.

1. I love Disneyland.  I didn’t discover this until a few months before we moved from CA.  I feel like I wasted good D-Land time the 3 years we lived there.  We ended up going 7 times that year. 

2.  I love to watch movies…even more now that we have the ultimate movie watching room.  The movie theatre is the best but let’s be honest…after paying for a babysitter and for the movie and treats you have to dip into your savings to afford it.  I prefer happy pretty movies though…none of the politically correct garbage that wins all the awards. 

3.  Brian and I have been married for almost 11 years and we have never had a fight.  We dig each other.

4.  I didn’t date at all in High School.  I felt like dating was to find someone to marry and I had no intention of getting married any time close to high school.  Although I dated a little in college I actually told guys no without giving them a chance.  (If you saw the freaks that approached me you would understand)  I just knew I would know him when I met him.  Just when I started wondering if he was killed in the war in heaven he showed up.   I was nearly 25 and in Utah that’s old maid status.  But boy-oh-boy was he worth waiting for. 

5.  I always enjoy food I don’t have to cook more than food I prepare.  It’s not that I am a bad cook…I am actually quite good (ask my husband). 

6.  I love to sleep.  I love the feeling of climbing in bed at the end of the day…the kids are all asleep and it’s quiet and I can just melt into my mattress. 

7.  I am happiest and most productive when my house is clean.  It’s a major effort though with 3 (4 if you count Mo the dog- who I dislike intensely) tornados running around making disasters where I have just cleaned.  (I don’t count Brian because although he tends to be messy it is usually confined to his office and I can just close the door…and I do)

8.  I’ve never had a manicure or pedicure. 

9.  I don’t get nastalgic about houses or cars.  When they have served out their purpose I am happy enough to move on. 

10.  I think candy is a waste of calories…that, and it leaves that gross fuzzy film on my teeth and I hate that.  I don’t enjoy eating it except for a piece of good quality chocolate now and then.

11.  In my vain youth I swore I would never drive a mini-van…guess what I drive…Honda Odyssey.  And guess what…I LOVE IT!

12.  I love photography.  I take great pleasure in capturing something beautiful ( usually my children).  I also love browsing  through others family photos. 

13.  A life changing event for me was when Brian rolled the car with 2 year old Serra in the back seat, and walked away unscathed.  The thought of what might have been made me take a long hard look at my life.  I am so thankful they are still here with me.

14.  The most magical time in my life has been the first moments with each of my brand new babies. 

15.  I was the first car in a six car pile-up on I-15 during a blizzard.  It was the first time I had ever driven in the snow (bad timing for a blizzard) and the guy in front of me slammed on his brakes when he saw the 30 car pile-up ahead.  I reacted by doing the same to miss him and my truck started fish tailing.  I spun several times and slammed into a snow bank followed by five other cars.  The highway was closed shortly after that and I spent the night on a wrestling mat in a middle school in Fillmore, UT.  Good times. 

16.  My husband is perfect for me.  He fufills all the fantasies I ever dreamed up in a husband.

17.  I love being pregnant.  Except for a few minor annoyances I feel healthier and better than any other time in my life. 

18.  I love this country.  I can’t imagine living somewhere else.  However, I feel lilke it’s going to Hell in a socialistic handbasket.  (Am I being too pesimistic)

19.  I don’t mind long road trips…even with my kids.  We took a 4000 mile one just a few years ago and it was absolutely fantastic. 

20.  I consider my siblings my best friends but my husband is my bestest best friend. 

21.  My mom is the greatest example of how I want to be as a mother and if I am able to be even 1/2 of what she is I will consider myself successful. 

22.  When I was in school sometimes my best efforts only resulted in C’s.  It was really aggrivating back then but now I realize I have been blessed with other strengths (like common sense) and I’m OK with not being a total scholastic brainiac.  (Have you ever noticed that some of the smartest people are completely lacking in common sense?)

23.  I HATE Mary Kaye “parties”…as well as any other similiar “party”.  If I like the product I would rather order it and have it delivered in the mail.  (Sorry if you are a peddler of said products)

24.  I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I attribute the happiness I have experienced all my life to living by my religious convictions. 

25.  I have 3 fantastic and beautiful children and one on the way.  There was a time when I thought this reality would never happen.  I can’t believe how blessed I am.