I am horrible at this blogging thing.....

So I have learned that blogging is hard for me to do regularly and I really look up to all my friends that make posts regularly.  However, I keep trying and I always want to go backwards and post things that happened MONTHS ago!!!!

Where we live our city is split up by a river.  We live on the west, but do everything on the east side.  We have 3 bridges that run across our river.  1 bridge takes traffic West to East.  1 bridge takes traffic East to West and the 3rd bridge used to be an old train bridge that has been converted to a foot bridge.  The conversion happened a few years ago and Jeff and I have been saying since they did it that one day we will walk across it to get a different perspective of the river.  Well yesterday was that day.  We ran some errands with the girls in the morning and because the weather was cool, a little windy, and rainy off and on we stopped at Dutch Brothers for some hot chocolate before we walked across the bridge.  

Here is our fun walk!!!

Jeff was trying to get the girls to walk on the same foot as him!!!

Almost have it!!! Ok I also love these kind of shots!!

OK We made them hug, but who can resist a cute sisterly hug!!

Ok ok ok sisterly bear hug!

Jasmin is trying to get away or something

And now the chasing begins

This is another one of my favorite shots.....kids!!!

Payeton just walking along minding her own
business enjoying the river!

And this was the perfect day to do it all as well.  Well until the end when we had a few very creepy homeless guys walk right by us.  Jeff's protective instincts kicked and watched me and the kids like a hawk while keeping an eye on the guys until there was a lot of distance between us and them.  He is my HERO!!!!!

Single - Twins - Triplets?

This is a post I have been meaning to make since the beginning of October, but it seems that life has been happening at one pace....EXTRA FAST!!!  So anyways.  Yes to those that have been asking I am pregnant with our 3rd baby........GIRL!  

Poor Jeff well ok both of us.  This pregnancy has been different in many areas and were convinced between my prego symptoms, friends, and my sister that we were having a boy....we were hoping Jeff really wants a boy. I have to be honest I do too.  

When I was growing up...especially in high school I wanted to be married young and have 6 kids.....boys.  Well so far I was married in my 20's and will be having 3 girls.  Regardless I am one happy momma.

So these are the coolest ultra sounds ever.  They are 3D/4D Ultra sounds that actually let you see the features of the baby. You actually get a sneak peak of what your baby will look like.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!!

We noticed right away with Jasmin that she had some chubby cheeks and that smirk

This is Jasmin! Our oldest who is now 5 and in Kindergarten

We were in love right away.  Shortly after her birth (3 months after) I went to the doctors for postpartum depression.  I cried at the drop of the hat, I was exhausted ALL THE TIME.  At first we thought it was normal than one day Jeff looked at me and told me it was time to go figure out what was wrong. I went to the doctor and I was telling him what was going on and he gave me a pregnancy test.  He told me he wanted to rule out other options before we approached the postpartum road.  Well it came back positive.  WHAT????!!!!!!  

Are you joking me.  I was so not ready for this.  I went to the bank after wards to deposit a paycheck and I called Jeff.  I told him the "exciting" news.  He was ecstatic. (We were living with my mom at the time) He was in the garage doing a happy dance and I was in tears.  I was not ready for this.  Not after what the tortuous delivery that I went through (that's another story for another day).  I was scared, I was still trying to figure out the entire cleft palate thing.  Learning how to take care of a new born.  Sure I babysat A LOT, but that is different than being responsible for a new born 24/7.  

Well what I was to do?  I finally got over the shock and the excitement set in. Soon it was time for the 3D/4D ultra sound and this is what we saw.

Payeton, my now 4 year old that is a spit fire!

We had to do a double take.  We thought this has to be a joke, they look exactly the same.  I asked the technician if she was using our old ultra sounds and she said no and asked us why.  I said she looks exactly like my oldest!!

Even after they were born they looked identical the only way to tell them apart was to look at dates on pictures and or to look at the baby blanket.  They both had BLACK hair...a full head of it. Chubby cheeks, skinny little bodies, same eyes, nose, ears, cleft palate......everything.  

Now they look different Jasmin has brown hair and hazel/blue eyes, and Payeton is a mini me with blonde hair blue eyes.  However, they look like twins in a lot of ways.  I get asked all the time "how old are your twins?" OR "Are they twins?"  It makes me laugh.  Payeton is about 2 inches shorter than Jasmin if even and weighs about 15 pounds less.  They body frames are a lot different.  Jasmin takes after me and is very German built she is one solid girl with wide hips a big butt and thunder thighs not the demeaning kind, but the strong powerful kind--- she is my mini me in body frame size, and hair twirling between her fingers when she thinks, is nervous, or when she tries to fall asleep.  Jeff will laugh at us especially when we are cuddling and we both start to twirl our hair OR she twirls mine and I twirl hers. (Focus Brendon Focus!!!)

Fast forward to beginning of this month!

So here we are again.  This time the gap is a little bit bigger.  We wanted to have our kids closer together, but life happened, Jeff decided he needed to go back to school to support the family, I was working on Masters Degree and there was no way we had the time or the money to throw in a 3rd baby.  Once I was finished with my Masters we decided it was time.  Little did we know it was going to take us an entire year to get pregnant. 

So we had our first normal ultrasound and found out we are having another girl.  Yes we are bummed, like I said before we were hoping for a boy, but we are just grateful that we can have more kids.  Jeff and I knew we were not done at 2, but we were frustrated that we were not getting pregnant and we were beginning to wonder if we were done.  

So here we go again with the 3D/4D ultra sound and OH MY GOSH!!!!!!! Can you say triple take?

Baby Girl # 3

Are you doing a triple take?  I sure did.  As soon as I got home I started digging through my boxes of stuff to find the other girls ultra sounds and started comparing.  Jeff and I both laughed that we are having 3 girls that look the same.  

The most amazing part even though we will not know until the baby is born, that not only will we have 3 girls all 3 girls have cleft palates...... SURPRISE!!!!!  Ok not really Jeff and I both knew that this baby had a cleft palate just like we knew with the other 2. Jasmin and Payeton's have already been repaired. But due to such a high family occurrence of the cleft palate the technician looked from a few different angles and really took her time on the mouth to see if this baby had one. 

When I went in for my 3D/4D ultra sound the technician looked again and said that she can still see the cleft. But other than that everything is normal and healthy!!!!

As I was talking to the technician she said it is not an exact science, but a very educated guess science, but what we see on the ultra sound cannot be 100% confirmed until the baby is born.  

Here is a better look with all 3 of them together.

JASMIN

PAYETON

Baby Girl # 3

Where Did it Come From???

So many of you know I have been on a quest to clean out, organize, clean up...etc.  Well Last night I was in a cranky mood so I decided what a perfect time to work on cleaning off my desk.  I put a movie on for the girls, Jeff was watching football...YUK!!!!  So  cleaned....I have always felt that when you are cranky, mad, angry, upset...that is the best time to clean because (Well at least for me) that is when the emotional attachment to stuff is gone and after about an hour or 2 I feel a ton better and I feel better in the sense that I got rid of.

So last night I was sitting at my desk organizing bills, going through the stacks of papers and stuff, scanning documents, recipes from magazines, etc.  I got about half way through a pile of papers when I came across a Looney Toon's Folder.  You know the kind that we bough in junior high for our papers.  I opened it and about died.  I found even more magazine things that I have ripped out over the years.  I decided it was time to go to bed!!!

I have learned that I like the idea of having magazine subscriptions to things like Better Homes and Garden, Real Simple, Health, Rachel Ray.  But when the magazine gets here it goes straight into my pile of to look at later.  Pretty soon I have a stack of magazines that are 2 and 3 years old and only a handful of them were ever opened.  SOLUTION I no longer subscribe to magazines.

Anyways, in my quest to de-clutter my house and clean out so when we move we have less to pack I will pick up a magazine look through it and pull out recipes I want to try, things I want, articles that yell at me...READ ME..... or anything else that catches my eye and get rid of the magazine, however, now I have this folder of ripped out magazine things....NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH IT?

I took it to bed with me and started going through it and I cannot believe how many pages I have ripped out and today I have no idea why.

I am always in awe of how fast I can accumulate stuff and than cannot remember what it was for or why I even bought it in the first place........I still maintain that when I sleep little gnomes come out and add Miracle Grow to things just to hide a giggle later as I scratch my head in wonderment.


The good news is I almost have a desk top again!!! YEAH!!!

I'm In Trouble

So yesterday at the store we were looking to get some snack and lunch food stuff for the family.  While walking down the cookie/snack isle...(which by the way was created by the devil).  Jeff and I looked at each other and both said we need some chocolate.  He likes the Chips Ahoy cookies and I like Oreo's especially the double stuffed.  There is just something about the cream filling...YUMMY (to those of you who feel the need to tell me what is in it to change my mind....please don't!!!!!).  I have been hungry for them and we never buy them for 2 reasons they are usually expensive and 2 I really don't NEED them.

I was looking at all the flavors they have now.  Birthday Cake, pumpkin filled, mint, lemon.......ok there are ton of "new" flavors...to me they are new because I am used to Oreo's and Double Stuffed I had no clue how many flavors existed.  I was just about to turn to Jeff and say what happened to the good ol' fashion Oreo's when my eyes landed on Triple Double Oreo's.  I thought I died!




          


Yes this is a true...they are soooooooooooooo good.  So after church Jeff asked me what I wanted for lunch and I said I want a vat of milk and my package of Oreo's of course he just laughed at me.....than I followed up....well it is for the baby not me....Which made him laugh even harder.  He said no and I need to eat healthy. DARN HIM...So I was good and ate a good lunch than only had 4 of them........for right now TEE HEE TEE HEE!!!!!!

Parenting Moments

So today was one of those days that started out good.  First we went to a friends son soccer game, than afterwards we all went out to breakfast.  At the soccer game our friends dad gave our girls each a silver dollar.  The girls were way excited because it was money for their bank for Disneyland.  During breakfast the kids were rambunctious....but they are kids right.

For breakfast I had a California breakfast burrito.....instead of sausage it had shrimp.....it was probably one of the worst breakfasts I have ever had......

After breakfast we rushed to say hi/bye to Jeff's parents as they are headed to Utah for a week.  They were dropping off a truck for us to borrow because last week Jeff's truck decided it was done it the head gasket blew.  But we only figured that out after we changed out spark plugs, replaced a radiator cap and it still was not working.  So the next step was to pull the engine apart to get the head.  We were hopeful that we could replace the gasket and be good...WRONG...the head is cracked.  So we have been down to one car which is not bad but Jeff works about an hour away and all week has been working 12 to 13 hour days.

The truck blowing up was just the icing on the cake of our past 2 weeks of chaos and issues.......Jeff injuring his knee 2 weeks ago started it........and not that it has been super major problems, but just one thing after another after another.........and it ended with Payeton being so constipated that she was miserable for 2 days before we dumped enough grape juice and Miralax in her it finally all cleared itself out.........

We were blessed to all week have kind friends that were willing to pick up Jasmin for school and bring her home.  Through a little bit of car switch-a-roo we were able to borrow a car for about a day.

Anyways totally off topic.  So we said hi/bye to Jeff's parents and to get some keys.  We rushed over to the Oregon State Police graduation as a friend of ours graduated from the Academy today.  So we went to see them and support him.

After the graduation we went out to the dealership in hopes that a car that they said we could afford would be ready, but it was not.  While at the dealership around 1 pm Payeton started to have a melt down and that when the good day started to slowly turn.

The grocery store we like and can afford is on that end of town...the opposite end of where we live....so we thought we would stop and pick up some lunch stuff, but we started questioning it because of one tired girl.  But we braved it to save on gas and time.  Than we stopped and got some lunch.

By the time we got home from our day of leaving the house at 8:45am we made it home just after 3.  We ate lunch put the cold stuff and all laid down for a rest.......Than this momma turned into momma bear......

After naps we went and filled up my car with gas picked up the truck we are borrow from Jeff's brothers house.......and everything the girls said and did I was yelling at them.  I was cranky. Was it too much to ask for some peace and quiet?

After yelling at Jasmin for the 500th time in a few hours.  I had a moment I thought BRENDON WAKE UP SHE WANTS SOME ATTENTION.....so I asked her what she wanted for dinner and she said scrambled eggs.  Than I asked her if she wanted to help cook them.  She said yes.  So I "taught" her how to make scrambled eggs.

She actually did a really good job.  It was amazing at how quick attitudes changed for me and her........


I am excited for church tomorrow I have not been in about a month because of being out of town, Jasmin having her tonsils removed general conference. I am in need of spiritual uplifting and a "break".

Motivation in a Can

As I sit at work and work on various projects I make mental to do lists for when I get home and on occasion I write the list down.  I look at it and think "Oh yeah I am totally going get home bust a move and feel good about life!" I may be low on energy, but the motivation is there.  On my drive home I get so excited about being home and starting dinner, doing laundry, organize pictures on my computer, delete old files that have been on there FOREVER......whatever else I need to get done.  BUT as soon as I unlock my front door and walking it feels like the motivation stops at the thresh hold of my home and no matter how hard I beg, pull, plead, bribe....motivation just stands there and shakes his head and giggles.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

So I was thinking about how to "invite" motivation into my home...and this thought crossed my mind

"They make energy in can.  Why can't they make motivation in a can?

                                              

It seems like every other commercial on TV anymore is about some sort of energy drink, but why not motivation.

As I was talking to a friend about this idea and she suggested an energy motivation cocktail and I added a Pepsi flavored energy motivation cocktail!!!  

Well there you have it folks the inter workings of my crazy brain!

KIndergarten

OH MY GOSH!!! OH MY GOSH!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!!

In exactly one week from today my baby...well my big girl...Jasmin will be starting Kindergarten.  She is beyond excited, however, I am an absolute nervous, anxiety ridden mother.

I lay awake at night thinking things like

What if she picked on by other kids?  What if she is the one picking on other kids?  What would happen if the school is put on lock down?  Will she adjust well to the school and routine?  Will she be bored and not like school?  Will she be the one in class that just does not get it?

I think you get the idea.  But my baby is going to school......HOLY COW!!! I just brought her home from the hospital 6 weeks ago and here she is trying to read, starting to write, is absorbing everything at the drop of the hat and is ready for school.  But boy oh boy I am not ready for her to start school.

This is my baby that is starting Kindergarten....ARE YOU JOKING ME??
When I look at her this is what I still see!!!

But this is reality. She is ready for school for sure!!! I love this little stinker!!

So as I lay awake at night being a paranoid mom.  I think I should homeschool her and keep her here with me all day where it is safe and I can keep and eye on her at all times.  But when I actually watch her I know deep down that she is one of those kids that needs to be with others her own age.  She is a smart cookie that will benefit greatly from school.  

I am excited for her and it makes me extremely happy to know that she is ready for school and is very excited about her new school and making new friends!!!

Payeton is struggling with the fact that Jasmin gets to start school and she does not.  She keeps telling me that she is 5 and is ready.  I just keeping telling her that in the mornings it will be just the 2 of us and we will have a lot of fun.

Tonight was the schools open house and Jasmin was bouncing off the walls looking at her new classroom.  But when we walked in the teacher automatically looked at Payeton and said welcome.  I said nope not that one this one and introduced her to Jasmin.  The teacher looked really confused thinking Jasmin was in first and Payeton was in Kindergarten.  My girls are so tall that I get that all the time.

I love my girls to death!!!