Summer!

I am having a hard time keeping track of which place I have updated information. The blog has fallen waaaaay behind. Well, I am now 31 years old. So, I guess being over 30 means that I have to start being serious. Nah.

Still looking for a job, any prayers you could spare for us on that would be appreciated.

Aubrey went back full time this week. We'll see how she does it. I don't envy her position, but I do envy her being employed.

The kids are all over the place. Kimmie can ride her bike without training wheels, and Conner is not far behind her. Cameron is nocturnal. We wake up to find him sitting in our doorway with a package of crackers that were on a shelf when we all went to bed. Kenzie is good, but all she does is eat, poop, and cry. Guys tend to like the kids better when they can interact, or at least hold their own bottle.

Hopefully with all the time on my hands I will keep this updated.

Therapy

There is nothing like holding a newborn.  Kenzie has really taken away a lot of my worries.  I still don't have a job lined up, per se, but I am confident that one will happen.  We have been blessed lately.  My kids are great.  

Kimberlie is the best helper in the world (even though she doesn't know how to rinse soap out of her hair).  We went outside yesterday and I tried to teach her how to ride her bike.  She has the balance down, she keeps pedaling and knows that.  She just needs to learn to steer.  

Conner is a really good boy.  He says the best prayers.  He is so concerned with making everyone happy and doing the right thing.

Cameron is a hoot.  He is totally funny.  He is also speaking in complete sentences.  His favorite one, "Me do it." 

I am extrememly grateful to my wife for coming along with me on this journey.  She teaches me so much every day.  I am glad that I thought she was cute 9 years ago when she visited my roommate.  My life has never been the same since.

Web Wednesday (a call to action)

I was reading my sister's blog and she left this post. Now, I understand the reason behind the lead testing on toys, but come on, clothing? Our government likes to over-react to things. (Don't get me started about No Child Left Behind) Basically what is going to happen is anything that is to be sold with children as the end user in mind has to have:
1) a certificate stating that it is lead free.
2) some sort of permanent label that will allow the product to be traced back to the manufacturer.

This law is also retroactive. Which means if someone produces a product today, or has produced a product 30 years ago, it must comply to these standards, even if you bought them at a second-hand store. This law will cause a lot of hand-made mom and pop outfits to go out of business because they can't afford to do the testing, make permanent tags, etc. The deadline for this (February 10) is being called "national bankruptcy day."

Even if you do not worry about ma and pa's you should be concerned because this law will cause the price of consumer goods marketed toward children to cost more. Worst case scenario is they have to destroy inventory on hand which means a loss of millions of dollars to retailers who bought the products to sale.

Now the call to action part. Click on the bankruptcy day link and notify your senators, Representatives about the possible ramifications of this law. Then either post a link to my blog, or post something about this on your blog, Facebook, or whatever you use to get the word out. Tell your co-workers to get involved too. If this is truly a government by representation then the voice of the people cannot be silenced!

Wasn't I Just Awake?

Here it is a mere 5 hours after I went to bed and I am awake again. In a house full of, lets see, 17 1/2 people it seems I am the only one awake. (Mom is probably awake somewhere, but I haven't seen her yet.) This year, to my surprise, Kimberlie is the only one who made it. Conner lasted until 11:30, Cameron finally put himself to bed at 10:30. Which was nice compared to the other two born around the same time. Maysi (Mandy and Derek) had to be reminded of the time and didn't like it. Adam (Michelle and Jason) was on again, off again. We plalyed games, except for Jason who was busy writing a program to help with the money or something on some pirate type game. We never played it. We probably should today because of the effort. I started to get out of control when it got later. I think at one point I licked Aubrey's Squirt bottle. I can't remember why, and I don't even drink.

Today we will have omlettes for breakfast, (dad was a short order cook) some more board games, and a karaoke party. Hopefully, we will get through the day without our tired selves getting angry over something stupid. (Usually happens each year with me bailing to go shopping with Christmas money [I left my money home this year]).

Well, in case you missed it when Ryan dropped Dick's ball...

Happy New Year!!!

It's A.....

Girl. That will make 2 boys and 2 girls.

A Rash of Tags

I have been tagged by two different people so I am going to cover them both in one post. First is the tag from Mandy:

The kitchen sink:



The Fridge:




The Washer/Dryer:


My Toilet:




My Side of the Closet:




My Favorite Room:






My Favorite Shoes:








My Dream Vacation would be Disneyland or Washington DC.



And a picture of my family:


There. For this one I tag Bobbi, Cheryl, and Lisa.


Now on to Bobbi's tag. Crazy 8s


8 favorite restaurants:

1. Tucci's
2. Los Hermanos
3. Bajio
4. That Mexican joint in Casper
5. Serrano's in Mesa
6. My mom's kitchen
7. My dad's kitchen
8. The buffet at Treasure Island in Las Vegas


8 Things I did yesterday:


1. Woke up (begrudgingly)
2. Went to Work
3. Trained the new secretary
4. Got kisses from Cameron
5. Closed a Tupperware party
6. Felt clothes getting too tight on me already
7. Fell asleep with all my jewlery on still
8. Drove the van to work instead of the merc.


8 Things I look forward to:


1. New baby
2. Clean house
3. End of semester (Spanish class)
4. Coming home to kids
5. Putting head on pillow
6. Visiting Casper again
7. Visiting Grandpa again
8. Putting feet up at home after work and school


8 Things I love about fall:


1. Cooler, but not cold, temperatures
2. Leaves changing color
3. It's the real start of the holiday season
4. Can bundle up with blanket on couch
5. Can start drinking hot chocolate again
6. My birthday comes
7. Warmer clothes (cozy!)
8. Caramel apples


8 Things on my wish list:


1. New house
2. Stay home with kids during the day
3. Not have to work anymore
4. No financial worries or stresses
5. New bedroom set
6. Lose 50 lbs and keep it off forever!!!
7. Baby #4 is a girl
8. Mom wasn't leaving me.


For this one I tag Mandy, Cheryl, Lisa, Judy

Posting Just So I Can Say I Did!

Nothing terribly new in the Saga of Baby #4. I have not been feeling well so if I was still doubting whether or not I was in fact pregnant I'm certainly not questioning it anymore! Hopefully taking the prenatal at night instead of in the morning will help me to not be quite so bad off! I typically have at least one really weird dream about the baby whenever I am pregnant. I had that dream for this baby last night. It didn't disturb me quite as much as my dream with Cameron did, but it was still pretty weird. I'll spare you the details!!

We hope all of our friends and family are doing well and we think of you often. Especially those of you have recently relocated to sunny Arizona! I'm slightly jealous -- you're all in much closer proximity to family I don't see very often than I will ever dream of being. This is especially true of Brad & Bobbi who are dead center between my grandpa in Mesa and my aunt in Gilbert! Enjoy the rest of your hot summer and look forward to a very mild winter!

I'm A Try to Post a Picture

Well, I'm back after 8 hours of sleep. Now, we have to get the house ready for Conner's birthday party so I only have a few minutes. This post is not about the writing anyway, it's a chance to show my friends from school how fat and ugly I got...er, how beautiful my family is. This picture is a year old, but it will have to do for now.