December 17th, 2010

I have been so bad about doing this blog! My excuse is a combination of being sick because of this pregnancy, and being forgetful because of this pregnancy. I barely seem to remember my own name. The kids have treated me so well for the last couple of weeks. They have been sleeping some mornings until 9am (so have I), they have played nicely with each other and required little from me besides meals. Usually they have to remind me about the meals. Since I don't feel like eating I assume everyone feels the same way. I am so glad I have such great kids. People keep telling me that this pregnancy is probably harder because of the little ones I have at home, but I really do not think that is it. The three of them make it easy on me.

We decorated the tree a few days ago. The tree has been the highlight of their worlds ever since. Rachel runs through the house as soon as the sun goes down turning all the lights out so she can see the Christmas tree lights better. And you should see how Rachel and Lilly can spot Christmas lights when we are driving in the car. I will usually hear one of them shout "Mom look over there! Way over there! I see one!" I search and search until I see a speck of light coming from a house in a distant neighborhood that may be Christmas lights, or may be just a porch light left on.

We went on a walk the other day and about 5 minutes in, Lilly informed me that she was having a heart attack. I asked her if she knew what that was and she responded cheerfully "oh, it's OK. I got it out!" On the way home she told me Carson was now having a heart attack. I would love to know what goes on in her precious little brain!

An anonymous family gave us presents for the Twelve Days of Christmas. This was a nice thing, and the kids have had a blast. My one issue would be the "4 calling birds" we got in the form of recorders. It has been non stop music action at our house. Really my complaint is in jest. Mostly I love listening to the three of them try to harmonize. In the excitement of opening the gift last night, Carson put a blanket over his head to pretend he was a ghost and took a tumble down the stairs. He was just fine, but it scared him and me both!

Sarah asked me to watch her kids for an hour the other day, and since I had to be in Boise anyway, we planned to take them to Burger King to play while I watched them. Before hand we all met at the mall with my mom. What a disaster! The seven kids were manageable with the three of us, but as soon as Sarah left, chaos ensued. We decided to just stay at the mall to play in their play area, but we thought we should feed them first. Getting all seven kids (ages 1-6) on the escalator, safely to the food court and back down the escalator was a challenge enough. The added challenge of keeping any one of them from running off while we were eating, plus the occasional bathroom need was difficult but doable. It was not until Ian had an accident that things fell apart. I took him to the car to change him while my mom took care of the rest of the kids in the play area. This was our first mistake. I should not have left her with so many. Sure enough right after Ian and I left, Rachel and Lilly decided they needed to use the bathroom. My mom wasn't sure what to do with the others so she left Brady in charge. Luckily he is a responsible boy, because when my mom got back everyone was still there. I was hallelujahing when I got to the car because I happened to have a pair of pants for Ian to wear. By the time Ian and I got back (with one extra stop at Sees for some stress relief chocolate) it was time to go. After we got all seven kids across the mall and to the appropriate cars everyone looked totally worn out, but I took the cake. Between being green and being wiped out, I looked like death. The trip was a memory I would not trade for the world. A side note about the mall trip. Carson approached three different old men and either hugged them around their legs or tried to get them to pick him up. I am going to have to watch that sweet boy or someone is going to walk away with him.