Hospital Tour

I am so proud to say that the hospital passed the State Inspection on the 23rd. That meant a very relaxed Christmas at our house. Saturday, we had the privilege of touring the hospital that has taken so much of Eric's time. With all of us running around, it seemed like the hospital was already open. It is a psychiatric hospital. :) I might be visiting again sometime soon! It is beautiful and i am always excited to say that my husband had a hand in getting it built. In this case..... a large hand. The kids loved it and Jack even broke in a potty. Honestly, it was slightly creepy with all the cameras, seclusion rooms and all the anti-suicide equipment. Enjoy the pictures.

Christmas in Raleigh

Finally! I am slowly but surely getting around to everything. Eric went back to work today so i have been going non stop trying to get the kids rooms organized and everything back to where it migrated from. I just keep telling myself that i only have a few more rooms to go. :) By the time i finish i have to start again. HA! I love it. Now that the kids are in bed and i have a moment i can sit and share our Christmas with you. Dad, Mom and Wes got here Christmas Eve around 2. Wes had me thinking i had a few more hours before they arrived so they walked into a dirty house as i sat on the computer blogging. Oops. The kids were thrilled. It was a surprise for them. We enjoyed the rest of the day outside and hanging out. Before i knew it the day was over and we sat out Santa's milk and cookies ( and some carrots for the reindeer) then the kids headed to bed. We got everything ready for Christmas morning and got in the bed ourselves. I woke up at about 6:45 sandwiched between Jack and John. I'm not sure how that happened but i had to get up. I thought i could get out without waking the boys and get breakfast going so it would be ready. HA! Jack was up as soon as i walked out of the bedroom. He got everyone else out of bed and down they came to see if Santa had come. They played in their stockings (mostly the stocking that Uncle Wes brought. It was full of really cool toys) and with the gifts Santa left while we got breakfast together. Then we passed out the presents and everyone went wild. John was more interested in opening other's gifts. :) The day was a blast cleaning up boxes and paper and playing with all our new toys. Then it was off to the movies. We spent Friday and Saturday around town. To the malls, returning, exchanging and just visiting. Mom and I got a lot of time to just hang out which was really nice since it doesn't happen very often. Eric got to catch up on his rest and the kids had a blast with everyone. Sunday, Dad, Mom and Wes headed home and the rest of us tried to get back to the norm. It was such a beautiful day. We spent all afternoon down at our neighbors while the kids played with their bikes and scooters. The girls and i left the guys and kids to check out the sale at Old Navy. After the long weekend and afternoon with friends the kids were exhausted. Needless to say, it was a wonderful Christmas.

Full Moon

I am slowly but surely getting to the Christmas recap but this was too good not to post. Friday, we headed to the mall to get out of the house. We finally found a table by the window and sat to eat. Jack sat next to the window. I thought it was because he liked watching the people sitting at the tables right outside. As we were finishing our lunch i hear Wes ask JAck if he is scratching his butt. Then i hear Wes (through a lot of laughter) tell him to pull his pants up. Yes, Jack had somehow gotten his pants down past his hiney and was MOONING the other mall goers outside. It was totally an accident that his pants made it down that far. Wes, Dad and Eric could not stop laughing. I had the hardest time trying to get them to stop. I have to admit i had a hard time not laughing myself. I am not sure how the people eating outside felt about it. I just hope that Jack doesn't think that it was so funny he should do it again.

Sheet Snob

Sheet snob: (noun) a person who turns their nose up at uncomfortable or cheap sheets. That is a loose definition, of course. Ella is apparently a sheet snob. I can't say i blame her. Eric and i are turning into sheet snobs ourselves. Until the other night i never knew we fell into that category. I also didn't expect a lady to call Ella a sheet snob at the age of four. :) For the last few months Ella has consistently asked to come and get in our bed because "our sheets were comfortable and hers were bad. They keep her cold." Eric and i decided she needed new bedding anyway so she picked out a set and put it on her Christmas list. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa all the kids got new Pottery Barn sheets! Ella was speechless. I have never seen a girl so happy to open sheets on Christmas! We got them put on and she is now sleeping in between her sheets instead of on top of them. They were so comfortable she had to get up in the middle of the night and tell her Uncle Wes just how comfortable her sheets were. I am not sure he appreciated having to wake up to hear it. I love my little sheet snob. :)

Movie time

Christmas tradition. We all have them and they are all different. Eric has to leave out green sugar cookies for Santa and have pigs in a blanket for breakfast Christmas morning. I didn't have any of that. We always just went to the movies Christmas night. That is a little hard to incorporate into our family right now because they are all very young. So now we are trying to get our own family traditions going. We are giving the kids an ornament each year to open and hang on Christmas eve before they go to bed and along with the pigs in a blanket we have sticky buns/monkey bread for breakfast. At some point i would really like to take the kids to the movies as a family. Last night was the night! My Dad, Mom , and Wes were here and so the adults once again outnumbered the kids so it seemed like the right time to go. Ella and Jack have been before but i was concerned about John. He was so tired and sometimes that can lead to increased anciness. We get in and get seated for our first family movie, Bedtime Stories. I never heard any of the kids. Well..unless it was asking for another twizzler, more popcorn or drink. Dad and Wes had John and they had a system worked out. John was laid back on Wes and when John wanted another piece of candy he would throw his hand over and tap Dad on the arm and Dad would place the candy in his hand. Apparently there were times when Dad wasn't so attentive and quick to respond to John's request and John would have to throw his foot over on Dad's leg and give him a tap. :) There is no telling how much candy the kids had! The movie was good and it was a wonderful time and a nice reminder of one of the things I used to do with my family on Christmas.

Merry Christmas

I had my 29 week check up yesterday. Belly is right on schedule and Baby's heart rate was in the 140s. My blood work from the diabetes test came back good. I also found out all the other tests they ran were good too. Nice to know i haven't contracted any STDs during this pregnancy. WHAT??? Really???? Does that happen? According to the nurses i would be surprised. I don't doubt it. On to other news, Eric passed the state inspection!!! He is home and sleeping a lot. He has been working so hard the whole 10 months we have been on this job and i think there was a lot of doubt about them finishing on time but they did. I am so proud of him and all the hard work he put into the hospital but we are all glad it is over. The kids are really excited about having their daddy home and Ella is super stoked about getting to love on him all day. Everyone here is ready for Christmas. The kids are really excited. It should be a fun year since Ella and Jack are fully aware of the presents, Santa and of course Jesus' Birthday. Santa brings all the presents and we have cake for Jesus' Birthday. It is a win win situation for them. Jack still doesn't understand the wrapping and the surprise part of the presents. He likes to tell everyone what surprise we got them and they have to wait until Christmas to open it. Nice. :) Jack is also potty trained now. I guess he got it. He hasn't had an accident at all the last week or so. I am so proud! Merry Christmas to you all and i will post pictures of our Christmas soon.

Movin' on up

Most of our new furniture arrived last week and it was just in time. Kim would be in John's/guest room so now that John is in a regular bed , where would he sleep? He and Jack shared their room for the first night. It was adorable and they did just fine. They have really adjusted well and now when you tell John to go get in his bed he goes in Jack's room and gets into his big bed. :) He loves it. Last night John had a hard time getting to sleep and that kept Jack up but Eric went in to see them and all was well. I guess it is official then...John moved in with Jack.

The headboard, footboard and trundles are coming after Christmas

Speaking of loving the new beds, Eric has fallin' head over heals for his new recliner. He sleeps in it every chance he gets. I am so glad he finally found one.

In other news, Jack had taken a big leap in his potty training. He now takes himself to the potty when he need to go. I don't have to tell him to go and do it anymore. He was still going #2 in his pants but i haven't had to change a dirty pull-up on him for over a week now. He is still waking up wet but only a wet accident every few days. Yeah! He is getting so big. We will keep working with him and soon i will have two down, two to go! Speaking of #4, i am 28 weeks and now moving into my third trimester. Only 12 weeks to go. Not likely we will make it that long but you can never tell. Hopefully there will be a job for us to go to and we can get settled before the baby gets here.Now that i have blogged my limit for the week i am going to get some more work done. Hard to believe that Christmas is next week!

Tacky Neighbors

Like i said in my last post we had two parties to attend on Saturday. Gavin, our neighbor across the street, turned 3. The kids had a blast. Jack and Ella were the last two standing in the game of hot potato. Neither was quite sure but one ended up with a prize and the other with the potato so they both thought they won. :) Saturday night another neighbor was having a "Tacky Christmas" party. I was so excited but so exhausted i didn't think we would make it. After receiving a pep call from the party we went down about 10:30ish. I felt so old thinking i should have been going to bed instead going to a party. I had to tell myself how young i still am. We got there and tacky was the word. Some of the most amusing sweater vests adorned with appliques, beads, embroidery and sequins. Crushed velvet shoes and reindeer slippers (that had flashing lights), Stripped socks with flashing lights (worn by Lynette with the flashing shoes), elf aprons and really "christmasy" earrings. After lots of good conversation they broke out the game of mad gab. It was so fun. Girls won, it wasn't even close. Finally all of Conrad and Stefanie's co-workers cleared out and it was just the neighbors. A little after 2 Eric and i headed home. He had to be at work at 6:30. Even though we were so tired i am so glad we went. It is really hard to find neighbors like these.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Kim FINALLY arrived Wednesday night and we never slowed down. I finished most of my shopping and that was a big accomplishment. The only accomplishment larger than that was they all got wrapped (thanks mostly to Kim and her skills). :) Thursday we spent all day shopping and then headed to girls night at Stef's. The malls weren't too busy. Friday, we were at gymnastics all day and then home for naps. Friday night Kim kept the kids so Eric and I could go to dinner then to do the kids shopping at Toys R Us. It is amazing how many people were shopping at 10 and 11 o'clock at night! Another task off my list. We got home and wrapped until 1. Luckily my little wrapper was still up and it was a good thing since Eric's wrapping is not up to par. :) Saturday was another full day. Cleaning, errands, and then two party's. We had a birthday party at 3 and we left there to get ready to go see Santa. Eric is able to go with us and after the long anticipated wait the kids got to see Santa. Ella and Jack had a lot to say and John just looked at him. It was overall a great visit. No screaming (except in excitement, she thinks Santa is a rock star), no crying, not even a whimper. Off to pick up a few more things and then home. 9 o'clock was way later than i wanted to get home since we still had another party to attend. Kids in bed and after Eric had some technically difficulties with his computer we were out the door about 10:30ish. More on this party later. Sunday, we are up and getting ready to take Kim back to the airport. After much begging and pleading she still left. It was a wonderful and, as always, a very productive visit. I think everyone is exhausted. Eric is in the last week of the job. Final inspection is on Monday the 22nd so keep him in your prayers.

Baby Update

I had a doctor appointment today. I am 27 weeks and coming along fine. They did the diabetes test this morning and i am sure the results will be fine. The heart rate was in the 150s and sounded really good. This was the first appointment Eric hasn't gone to or kept the kids so i could go. Weird since he only went to two appointments with the other three. The two ultrasounds! It has been nice having him with me but the job is coming to an end so the kids and i flew solo today. They watched them draw my blood. I told them they were checking how much sugar was in my blood so they could tell how sweet i was. :) When they finished Jack asked where the baby was. HA!I guess he was expecting more than blood to come out of my arm. I wish it were that easy. My iron was low but not by much so i will be eating more broccoli and peanut butter. We have narrowed our lists of names. The poll clearly shows what i already knew. That Benjamin Fraser is the most awesome name. :) Eric doesn't like it. His favorite is James Eli and i don't like it so i guess we are even. We have narrowed down the lists. Mine is Benjamin, Fraser, and Joe. Eric's is James, Eli, and Jed. You can bet it will be a combination of one name from my list and one from Eric's. We will all have to wait and see when he gets here. We are getting most of the boy's furniture and Eric's chair in the morning and Kim flys in after lunch. I look forward to finishing the Christmas stuff. Busy day tomorrow so i will update again soon.

Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The kids and i had the best time making this! I know i sent it to most of your e-mails but we still love to watch it. :) Yes, my babies can get down. HA.

Early Christmas

I haven't written in a while. What was i thinking? Things have been really busy here. I guess it is that way for everyone right now. Eric is working long hours now but only two more weeks. I think that sounds great but he thinks he is going to die. Luckily, Kim is flying in this Wednesday and she will help me get everything wrapped up for Christmas so when the job is over Eric can just crash. We went and purchased some early Christmas yesterday. We met Eric at the furniture store at about 5:30 and got the boy bedroom furniture and then Eric finally got his leather recliner. He totally deserves it. I love it just as much. Here are our Christmas purchases:

Eric's Chair. I can't wait to curl up in it.

2 nightstands, dresser with mirror, two trundle beds and i think 3 mattresses later we are set. I hope.

Some of the order will be delivered Wednesday and some will be delivered after Christmas but it will be nice to have that out of the way. John seems more excited about sleeping in Jack's room than Jack does. Jack thinks Ella would be a better room mate. Ha. I still have to get all the outside lights up. I am moving as fast as i can considering all the kids here. :) Can't wait until Eric is home to spend some time with us. I have a doctor appointment in the morning and will keep you posted.

Happy Thanksgiving

This blog could be about so many different things. I know this holiday means a lot of things to a lot of different people. It means nothing but good food and Christmas shopping to some. I would just like to take a minute and really reflect on all the Lord has blessed me with. I want to be thankful for all i have and sometimes writing is a good way to do that. This will be a "short" list. Some are material things and some are not. They are all things the Lord has blessed me with. This list could go on and on but i will try and keep it concise. Here goes.

I am thankful :

for waking up each morning in a nice warm bed

that i live in a free country

that people are willing to sacrifice for my freedom

for waking up next to my husband

that i am able to hear my children laugh

that i can see my children grow daily

that my children behave

that my children use their manners

for having two dogs that sometimes drive me crazy

that my butt will not always be this large (hopefully)

for having more than enough food in the fridge and pantry

for clothes to wear in every season and often new clothes

for shoes to keep my feet warm

for my cell phone (yes, i love it)

that i have a husband who works so hard to provide for our family

that the Lord is blessing me with another beautiful baby

that i was special enough for Christ to die for

a husband who loves me unconditionally, even though i drive him crazy

a husband who is honest and faithful

for always being able to find a church to nurture me as we move

for always having a roof over my head

for having the best mother, she is the reason i am such a good mother

for being able to call my mom for advice when i have no clue what to do (this includes sick kids!)

for having a father who would give me the world if he could but knowing it is probably best he couldn't

for having a brother that is my best friend (i think that is hard to find)

for being raised in a christian home

i have a family full of love and support and some dysfunction

that all this baby weight will come off

that my hormones will go back to normal and i will no longer feel like i am on a roller coaster

for my TV

for the Internet

for the nice car i have to drive

for children who mind

that John is giving up his baby status

that Ella is so smart and loving

that Jack is such a sweetheart and so funny

that Eric, the kids and i are all healthy

that i have Kim to keep me organized

that I have a best friend like her that cares so much for me and my family

that my children have a safe and happy home

that i have some of the best neighbors i could ever ask for

that i get to enjoy a girls night on Thursdays

that my husband is smokin' hot (heeheee)

that this is my last baby (hopefully)

that Eric's vasectomy worked (don't know yet but i am claiming it)

that this job is almost over

i have my Mawmaw to set such a good example of a christian woman

i have my Papa and Grandma to fight with :)

i have my Grandma who understands what it is like with a house full of kids

that i got to see my Grandaddy and Mawmaw grow old together

that my Grandma and Papa are still growing old together

i will get to see my Mom and Dad do the same

that i can be a stay at home mom

that one day i will be able to get a job

that Alabama WILL beat Auburn this year

that two out of my three kids say Roll Tide and Jack on the occasion

And most of all i am thankful that every morning i wake up that this is the life God has blessed me with. Full of abundance. As we sit down to eat tomorrow i will be with Eric and the kids. I will sit down at the table and look around, smell all the good food i have slaved to prepare and i will be most of all THANKFUL.

25 week check-up

I had a doctor appointment this morning. I am 25 weeks today. Baby and butt are still growing. Almost at the same alarming rate. :) The baby is sitting lower but that is common with a fourth pregnancy. It lends itself to more discomfort but overall we are both doing well. The heart rate was 150 this morning. I like a nice happy baby. I start going to the doctor every two weeks now. I think this office starts them earlier than my other doctors. I guess i will be heading into my third trimester pretty soon. I have to do the glucose test at my next visit but overall everything is well. Many are wondering about the names. Eric has his list at James and Eli with Jed on the side and i stand firm with Benjamin, Fraser and Joe on the side. I guess we will all know when the baby gets here what the actual name will be. The kids are excited and no longer think of John as the baby. The baby is now"in mommy's belly". John likes to pull up my shirt and poke my belly button. Quite often I think he believes it is a built in pillow for his enjoyment. He likes to lay on it and talk. I am sure the baby likes the company. John is still without his pacifier. The first two days he had to figure out what to do without it but he doesn't seem to notice that it is missing now. He is so much more vocal/talkative without it. I love hearing his voice. I didn't realize i was missing it. John is also taking to his bed. He has fallen asleep in front of the door a few nights but we simply move him into the bed and he is fine. He is back on his regular sleep pattern and not up until about 8 a.m.. Ella is more observant than ever. Sometimes that is good and sometimes not. Jack is still potty training. We are letting him take it at his on pace. Eric is working 7 days a week now. It is really a busy time at the job site. He will be off Thursday and for that i am thankful. Maybe we will get our Christmas decorations up. The final inspection is on the 22nd of December so hopefully we will also get some down time for Christmas. We thought we would be moving out at the end of the year but looks like we may extend through January. Plans are always changing so you can never tell where we will be or when we will be there. No word on a possible next job. Eric is too focused on finishing this job to care. That is the update for now. I hope you all are doing well.

John is Offically a Big Boy and Our "First" Snow

Last night Eric and I made the decision to turn John's crib into a toddler bed in preparation for the move. I know that he is not the recommended 2 years old but neither were Jack and Ella and they turned out just fine. We already have the furniture for the boys picked out. It is just a matter of going and picking it up, well, and figuring out what and how many pieces to buy. (All bedroom furniture donations can be made payable to Eric and mailed to the house.) :) He did so well. Especially, considering he is still without his pacifier. He only woke up when Eric's alarm went off and then he was back to sleep. I couldn't resist opening the door this morning to see where he ended up sleeping and there he was....my big boy sleeping in the bed. I left the door cracked and about 10 minutes later i could hear the unmistakable pitter patter of John running around upstairs. I met him at the top of the staircase and he was so happy. I love seeing the kids in the morning. They are always so excited to get the day started. It is so full of adventure for them. Where does that go when you grow up? On top of John's first big night, the kids and i came down stairs to get breakfast started and let the dogs out. Snow! Yes, snow. Technically, it snowed Tuesday afternoon but there was no accumulation so i missed it BUT not today. I saw the flurries and what little covering it left. I am from Alabama and yes this counts as snow.

No where near the beautiful snow fall in Idaho but i don't expect much to compare to that. I am hoping for more snow before we move so we can really enjoy the big hill in our back yard. Going to get ready for gymnastics day!!

John's First (self-imposed) Timeout

I was late this morning. Not that running late in itself is unusual for my crew and me but this morning it was all my fault. Yes, I know that most of the time it is technically my fault but only because i have forgotten something for the kids. This morning was not that kind of late. I called my Grandmother. I probably could have waited but better to do things when they cross my mind. If i wait it will be another week before i get to it. So after some good conversation i started Ella's preschool. Only an hour late. :) While we are working John is going crazy. If it isn't a pencil ticking him off, he and Jack are fighting over one green chair when there are two sitting there. I have no idea what all the screaming was about since the issues kept changing. Maybe it is just time for this "stage". Utter frustration because he can only partially communicate and can't quite do everything he wants just yet so he gets mad. He has no patience and after about 20 minutes of him not knowing what he wanted and screaming about it my patience had run out too. I try to ration my patience through the day. Finally, as he was standing in front of me crying i just told him the same thing i tell the other two. "If you don't settle down you are going to time out. That is your warning". In my head i am thinking that it is a good time to start him in timeout. Realistically, i am putting myself in a big hole. Trying to get a one year old to stay in a corner while working with Ella. What was i saying??? I can't not follow through now. Apparently John knew just what i was saying. He began to push a little chair across the floor. I am thinking he is pushing it to the living room which is fine as long as the screaming stopped. Wait, no not in the direction of the living room but the timeout corner. Maybe he was going to stand up in the chair and look out the window. No, he is sitting down, facing the wall and crying! Did my son just take himself to timeout and stay??Why yes he did. Is this awesome or foreshadowing that maybe timeout isn't really a good discipline for him? He stayed over a minute. Actually, he stayed until i told him to get up. Then i gave him a stern talking to and told him to say he was sorry. He said something and off he went. I am very pleased with myself. My one year old knows that what i say is what i mean and i have been consistent enough with the older two he already knows what to do! I thought i was going soft since there are some many of them to keep up with. I guess they don't see it that way. Patting myself on the back for being a consistent dictator. :) Did timeout work for John? The long lasting effects of consistent timeouts is yet to be seen but for this instance (even though he put himself in the corner) it was a success. No screaming since. Probably doesn't help we took away his pacifier. He is to old for it now. We were going to ween but it looks more like we are going cold turkey. Maybe his moodiness is the withdrawals. I am loving every minute of them growing up!

Georgia on my mind

So last weekend we took a family vacation. I mean the whole family. Mom, Dad and Wes drove in and met Eric, the kids and me at a cabin in Suches, GA. It was just north of Dahlonega, GA. The drive was a hot mess, as Ella would say. Those back roads are tricky and so with the beloved GPS and the mapquest directions we navigated our way to the cabin. We arrived late but the kids were so excited. It wasn't until the morning we realized how beautiful the place was. Three ponds, cobblestone bridges, water wheel (that is somehow beside the water instead of in it), apple trees, and a stream that meanders through the property. Everywhere you turn are mountains covered with trees in magnificent shades of yellows, oranges and reds. So much space to run and enjoy. The kids and dogs were thrilled. They could run free. We took an afternoon to go to Dahlonega for lunch and to check out the shops. They were such neat shops. Full of old antiques and unique little trinkets. It was such a cute town. It was like taking a step back in time. Headed home to watch the game.......oh, wait we didn't have TV!!! What??? Well, we had a TV, DVD player and dish network. Too bad the dish didn't get any other stations than PBS and QVC. I should have checked that before i booked it. After many rotations between the car and the blackberry we were thrilled to hear Alabama won. I bet i leave my DVR on next time! Mom, Wes, Eric and Ella did attempt to do some fishing in the horseshoe pond. No bites but on an up note Mom did see one. HA! Sunday, we had a "girl/guy" day. Mom, Ella and I drove down to Dawsonville and hit the outlet mall and the boys stayed at the cabin and fished. I think they took naps through the day too. I had a few good finds at the outlets and while we were gone Jack caught his first fish. He told me all about it when we got back. He was so proud but still talks about the fish biting his finger. Time to head home on Monday. We all took the morning to explore outside. I love walking through the woods. Makes me feel like a kid again. Eric looked like a kid the whole weekend. I was glad he was able to go with us. I would have hated for him to miss it. Staying in a cabin was much different from the beach houses and condos we are used to. Mom was caught wiping the windows here or dusting there. She couldn't help herself. I am glad she did. Maybe we just aren't as "rustic" as we thought. :) I am waiting on pictures from Mom and Dad's camera so i can put them all up at once. I would like to share a video of Ella and Jack playing the player piano in a local shop in Dahlonega. Thanks Uncle Wes for the quarters. These are videos i will cherish. Eric and i had such a relaxing weekend just being kids again.

Note:I have to send a shout out (that means thanks) to Mom for finding out about Dahlonega and getting everyone together to make this happen!

Ella's words of wisdom

A conversation Ella and i had this morning as she was getting ready to go to the dentist. Picture: Ella is standing with her hand on her heart because she has a boo boo on her elbow and won't bend her arm.

Ella: Mommy God is washing my heart.

Me: What?

Ella: God is washing my heart.

Me: Why do you say that.

Ella: Because...because, when your heart, God is, when your heart goes bumpty bumpty bumpty that means God is giving your heart a bath.

Me: Why would God be giving your heart a bath?

Ella: Because it is dirty and that is where he lives.

Me: Why is your heart dirty?

Ella: Because that is where all the food you eat goes through so he washes it.

Me: HA. No, your food doesn't go through your heart but sin goes in your heart. Like when we aren't nice or don't tell the truth. That makes our heart dirty.

Ella: Yeah, God doesn't like a dirty heart. He is always washing mine so it is clean. See feel.

So glad that God is willing to spend his days washing my heart. :) Ella is wise beyond her years.

Baby names

Who knew that naming a baby could be so difficult?? You always want to give your children a name that people can't make fun of or that is not hard to spell or pronounce. Well, at least Eric and i do. With a girl it is fairly easy, see Eric and i have our favorites and it usually is the same name. With a boy it is the complete opposite. So i am glad that when we were pregnant with Ella we worked out a system to name the kids. Eric has a list and I have a list. We each get one name. How simple. How fair. I mean really, i think i should be able to name them whatever i want since i am the one that carries them, has them, feeds them and then for 90% of the time cares for them. But, Eric did contribute to the creation part and the monetary support so i can stay home and raise them so this is the fairest system to have. We will never agree on a total boy name. I will be okay with his choice or not like it at all but it is still his choice and he will feel the same about my choice. Whatever we come up with will fit the baby and will be wonderful, i know. Still i am concerned because we have used all the boy names we were passionate about. Now we just have names we like. We did already take care of the girl name just in case the ultrasound was wrong (thanks mom). Eric says he is not worried but here we sit with a long list of names. I just want to get it narrowed down to a few options and then we will name it when we see it, like we did John. So, i am throwing up the names we have so far for a vote. Pick your top three. There are names on this list that Eric is totally against and a few i won't even consider. Feel free to put together two names you like if i haven't and leave a comment for us. Eric says we have plenty of time but that means he wants to discuss names while we are holding the baby. :) Here are our lists:

Eric likes: James, Jed, Jeb, Eli, Evan,

I am partial to: Fraser, Joe, Campbell, Benjamin and maybe Alexander and Judson.

Check the side of the page to vote! :)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! Our neighborhood is fairly new and still in the construction stage so there are more empty lots than there are houses to trick or treat. I am not real big on Halloween so we kept it simple. Down the street and home again. We got in about 8:30 and our freinds came up so we ended up hanging out and the kids played until about 11. It was a fun night. I am so glad we live in a neighborhood where we have friends our age and can really enjoy doing things at home. The kids had a blast and the weather was beautful. I couldn't have asked for a better Halloween.

Pumpkins

A few years a go Eric and i discovered that we could carve really neat pumpkins with the assistance of those handy dandy tools and a pattern. We were really pround of them and then of course they started to rot the next day but we enjoyed carving them. Fast forward a few years and things have gotten out of hand. I have the tendency to try and out do myself every year. It never ends up well for me. :) Back to the pumpkins. Last year i thought it would be cute to do a pumpkin that matched each of the kids Halloween costumes. The pumpkins were huge and i ended up carving 6 pumpkins! How would i ever top that??? This year the pumpkins were not as large and i am thankful. I think it helped keep me reasonable. We only bought four this year and in an effort to let go of my control and learn to delegate, I delegated one of the four large pumpkins to Eric. I told him it was all his and he could do whatever he wanted. In all honesty, had it been ugly i would have probably carved something on the other side to show or just "accidentally" dropped it. :) He did a wonderful job. So now to the unvailing of this years pumpkins.

Half way there (plus a week)

I meant to take a picture last Tuesday when I was exactly twenty weeks along. Apparently, some would like to see the size of my belly. I can promise you that is not the part of my body i am concerned with growing. We are officially 21 weeks at this point and i had a check up yesterday. Baby's heart rate was in the 140s and seems to be growing fine. Blood pressure and weight were up but i blame that on the different office i visited. :) Yes, some call that denial. We still have a long way to go and a lot of changes between now and then. I hope with all we have going on time flys. Pregnancy is always more enjoyable when i look back on it. The baby is moving and Eric felt it for the first time last night. It is so exciting when you can feel they are getting stronger...... until they start kicking your ribs and bladder. I feel so blessed to have been given the responsiblity of raising these four beautiful children. We are still working on a name. My mom keeps reminding me that i should keep a girl name on hand since we all know what happened with the other ultrasound. :) Eric has conceded on some of his crazier names but has added a few others to his list. When we get them put together i will put up a voting box so you guys can let us know what your favorite is.

Note: Please excuse the fact that i have no make-up on. I didn't feel the need to put any on when i went to vote (or most of the other places i go). :)

The Brackin Monster Bash

I thought i would be the coolest mom on the block by throwing the kids a little Halloween party. Since there are only two other kids on the street it wasn't that big of a deal. I started thinking in advance what we could do. It was only going to be for a few hours and so i picked out crafts, games and treats and began collecting all the supplies. Monday rolled around and with all of my advance thinking and planning i had still failed to physically prepare for the arrival of the two other kids. Go figure, i procrastinated! I got everything finished as the first little boy, Gavin, arrived. We started on a craft and waited for the last little girl, Madelyn, to arrive. I know, i make it sound like an army. With five kids and one me... it felt like it. We started with a cute bat craft and quickly moved to the cupcake snacks. We read a cute Halloween book that then led into a game of mummy wrap. Yes, i probably killed at least one tree with all the toilet paper we used. Totally worth it. I will plant a tree on the hill to make up for it. :) We then turned on the "tunes" as Ella called it and played with balloons. The girls got crafty again with Fall picture frames and the boys just played. We took Gavin, his treat bag and craft back to his house at lunch. Madelyn stayed through the afternoon. They attempted to play the mummy wrap game again but not near the enthusiasm they had the first time. The kids were exhausted. I guess that means the party was a success.