sweet sleep

Everyone in our family is back to sleeping well. Yeah! :) I obviously don't function well on no sleep! P.S Does anyone know how to get sharpie off of leather?!

Dear diary,

Friday, Feb. 20
Today I woke up feeling as though someone jumped on my head all night. Maybe it's because the baby & the little boys had a rough night and woke me up 4 times. I should definitely remember this tomorrow night & NOT stay up trying to get things done until midnight because no matter how little sleep I get, I am still awakened at 5:30 am by Len's alarm clock & then again as I'm finally drifting back into a deep sleep at 7:00 by Mack screaming "MOOOOOM". All morning I washed sheets, put away clothes, toys & made bread for the weekend. By noon I realized I better take a quick shower because it's Noah's early out day & I was supposed to get him a present to take to a birthday party at 2:00. Crap! At 1:00 (Mack & Sam's usual nap time) I was at Target with 3 kids in the toy aisle trying to explain that we are not here to buy toys for us. That didn't go over well. We have survived situations like this before, but I only had 1/2 hour before Noah would walk into an empty house, so I agreed to let Sam & Mack pick out 1 toy each that we would wrap & save for their birthday's in March. Good deal. We made it home just in time & welcomed my cousin Kelcee & her family for a weekend visit later that night.

Saturday, Feb. 21
Again with the headache in the morning? Geez! Poor baby Bella is not sleeping well lately. Had to keep kids quiet for a few hours this morning so Kelcee & Todd could sleep, thus we have a few crumbs in our bed from allowing breakfast in bed while trapping kids in our room. I am quickly realizing that Sam & Mack have no concept of time & think today's their birthday & want to open their presents NOW! Big mistake. We spent the day at the dinosaur museum in Lehi looking at dinosaur bones, digging for bones, watching a blurry 3D IMAX movie, and chasing around 3 tired boys that started to resemble monkeys on crack by about 3:00. We actually did have tons of fun, it was just crazy kind of fun! We walk through the door at 4:00, and all the adults & babies are zonked out by 4:02. Todd & Len were downstairs sleeping while the boys ran around them chasing each other with police siren helmets on their heads, but luckily Kelcee & I were able to rest quietly in our beds with our little baby loves. I could've stayed there all night but we had dinner reservations at 5:30. Neede to remind self that 15 minute power naps are supposed to be healthier than long yummy naps. Get up!

Sunday, Feb. 22
We will miss Kelcee, Todd & baby Ethan so much. We sit & talked for a few hours this morning. Eventually, we get hungry & eat lunch before they have to get on the road. Poor babies Bella & Ethan have not embraced the power nap theory. They are desperately in need of long yummy naps. Sam & Mack are still begging for their birthday presents while showing off their ill-mannered, hyper active sides. Noah is joining them. We must say goodbye and get to church quickly because I forgot to get a substitute for my music calling. Noah, Bella & I slip in for the last hour of church, while Len holds an intervention (nap) for the monkeys on crack at home. Did we even eat dinner tonight? I can't remember doing anything other than hitting the bed & vegging in front of TLC while cuddling Bella. Len took over the boys and got them in bed & hopefully fed for me. Thank you honey. TLC had a terribly sad show about a father who murdered his babies & wife. Great- now I can't sleep.

Monday, Feb. 23
Very tired again, but being back on my weekday routine makes me feel energized. I am such a fan of routines after a fun, hectic & fly by the seat of your pants kind of weekend. Noah's at school. Boys are playing & occasionally bringing me toys to transform & fix. Put baby to sleep. Showered. Making cleaning & to do list. Blogging. Ahhh! We also made a birthday chain this morning so Sam & Mack can understand that their birthday is NOT TODAY! They thought it was so fun to make, but still don't get that they have to wait 29 more days to open their presents. As soon as I cut the first chain off, they cried. They thought I was ruining their pretty chain by making it shorter. I tried to explain the concept again, but I still think it's going to be 29 days of crying for their toys. Oh, well at least I know they'll be happy on their birthday & love their presents! Being a parent & especially a stay at home Mom, is such weird work. It's so different than an office, but in my opinion much more exhausting! It's fun, crazy, frustrating, tiring, and awesome all in one 24 hour day! It's 10:30...time to stop blogging & get kids healthy snack. On with the routine!

p.s. I don't have much time or interest in watching many TV shows, however after a long day sometimes nothing sounds better. I look forward to Thursday's because I know it's my night to veg & let everything go. I am really annoyed that I have to wait 3 weeks to watch another new episode of Grey's Anatomy. Maybe I should make a Grey's Anatomy chain.

sorry baby girl

It's gotta suck being the 4th child sometimes!!! Even though we have spent a significant amount of money on a cute bouncy chair, high chair and bumbo seat....I laid Bella on the kitchen floor for a second while I wiped off the table. It really was only a second, and when I came back she had fallen asleep on the floor! Poor baby! I don't think Noah's little body ever touched the bare floor until he was crawling & even then...only after a thorough vacuuming.

She was totally out, so I carried her to her lovely, comfy, clean bed where she is still slumbering, and will probably wake up very surprsied that she's not on the floor!

A few days ago, when I actually utilized one of the pricey conveniences that I thought I couldn't live without. I'll have to keep this picture readily available in case she grows up & complains that she got the shaft because she's the 4th child! I'll have to tell her I know there are less photos of her, hardly any video, and she slept on the floor once...but I have more time to hold her, she doesn't have to wear hand me down clothes like Sam & Mack and she'll have more one on one time with Momma when the boys are all in school. So, maybe being the 4th child does have it's perks! Not to mention I love her just as much as I love all my babies, but we will always be the only girls in the house & that makes our relationship really awesome!

Love is in the air

Happy Valentine's Day!
The boys had parties today at school & were so excited to trade Valentine's cards.

It was the first time that I can remember that they got dressed & ready by 8:30....

except Mack, whom I found like this on the kitchen counter!
We do have TV's, but he prefers watching Spongrbob on my tiny i-pod screen!

Daddy & his girl!

How cute is this little sweater & hat?! My Aunt made it- just whipped it up!

I wish I had that kind of talent. Daddy is pretty cute too :)

We are going out to dinner with some good friends Saturday night & the kids are going to the Monster Truck show for a birthday party during the day. Fun!

P.S. Sorry my entries are so short & choppy lately. I am always holding or nursing Bella while I blog & have to type with one hand! It's too annoying to type a long note!

Zions

Len surprised me Friday & asked if I'd want our family to go to Zion's National Park for the weekend with his brother's family. yEs! It sounded wonderful to get out of town! It was a long drive for the kids, but they were great & loved Zions. They called the hotel room our "new home" & Noah told Grandma on the phone that we were staying forever!


This is the whole gang taking in the gorgeous scenery. It was much WarMer than SLC too!

Our little FaMilY!

There are more pictures to follow in the next posting....

Zions, continued

Saturday we drove to St. George to visit Len's sister, Cheri & her family. It was awesome to see them! Peggy & Cheri got me a special biRtHdaY CaKe: chocolate cake, with strawberry center & cream cheese frosting! I'm SUCH a diva! It was perfect though :)

tHe BoYs climbing rocks (& nearly falling off!)

Cheri getting some iSaBeLLa LoVe!

Sam said in the car as we were driving through zIoNs...."Daddy, is that volcano gonna splode?" I guess it could look like a volcano to a kid! The kids were amazed at the big red mountains & they loved the tunnel through the mountain too (especially when Daddy & Uncle Steve honked!)

This is what everyone's shoes looked like after walking through Grafton, an old ghost town. I love the red dirt, but the red mud was not fun to wash off the carpets in the car & all the kids' clothes! Oh, well- it was worth it. We had sO MuCh fUn! This was definetely a memorable birthday, and I hope to make it an annual tradition! Or at the very least, Len & I found a beautiful place to retire someday!