October 31, 2012

Halloween was today..
I love Halloween. Though this was was rougher than most.  M's naps are totally off.  I blame it mostly on that.  I made chocolate jack o lantern waffles for breakfast this morning.  And you'd think that would have made for some happy kids, but mostly they were super whiny all morning.  I blame it on the bag of starburst they snuck and ate the night before, or the overflowing excitement.  Either way despite threat of loosing trick or treating repeatedly we had a challenging morning.  Oh and the mummy hotdogs I made for lunch hardly pleased anyone.  I guess that is how I often feel on holidays.  I put it a lot of work and preparation, usually to still hear complaints.

I helped in Kate's class for the party today and that was fun, Interesting to see Kate in her school environment and all the kids she talks about.  I knew most their names just because Kate talks and describes them often enough.

Finally we came home.  It was pumpkin shaped pizza for dinner with monster jello.  Then costumes.  Mom's manditory photo shoot of costumes, and finally after waiting and asking all the live long day... finally trick or treating.

The kids costumes turned out great and they loved them.  I always get the best picture of my kids in their Halloween costumes but last year I didn't get any of M, and this year seemed to follow suit.  I guess she is just busier busier busier.  

They got their bags and we headed out. First stop- just up the stairs to grandma's.  Then in our car.  We drove to our old/new neighborhood and drove to several friends homes, then did our culda-sac, then got in our car and drove to  a handful of friends that don't live in our neighborhood.  The kids were finally happy and having a great Halloween- exclaiming- " this is the best halloween EVER!"  and "you are the best mom!"  All it took was to let them eat every piece of candy they wanted.    I should have known.

It was a beautiful fall day - around 70 degrees.  I can't remember a Utah Halloween so warm.  We could have stayed out all night, but the kids seemed to think their 15 pieces of candy were a mountain, so home we went, and had everyone in bed by 8:30- not asleep mind you, I'm not sure how long it will take for that candy to wear off.

Oct 28, 2012

What a great weekend we are having.

It started Friday afternoon.  Marianne woke up from her afternoon nap and finally her fever was gone and she was back happy unclingy self.  Then  I told the kids to clean up the living room, which they did with no complaint.  Then I asked them to sort the laundry.  And they got pretty far without complaint.  That never happens.
When Jake was done with work we packed the kids in the car to try a new restaurant in town.  It was delicious, and cheap.  The kids behaved well and the restaurant gave free food to kids.  Win Win.  We also ran into a bunch of old friends at dinner too.
After dinner we were having such a great evening we didn't want to go home, so we do what we always do when we want to get out, and went to look at our dirt.  Except now our dirt is a foundation, with plumbing and window wells.. The big kids got out with Dad to look around but Marianne and I stayed in the car because it was freezing.  I let her out of her seat and she had a great time playing with the window wipers, "driving" the car and turning the radio on and up.  When the kids returned she was having a full out dance party with herself, and so everyone joined it.  Simple happy moments with my kids!
Saturday we did some chores then went shopping.  I learned this last very cold week that my kids don't have very many pairs of pants- they have been growing-, so to the outlets for kids pants we went.  The older kids don't mind shopping and like helping pick out things.  And in the end Jake and I found some superhero t-shirts for fairly cheap to wear to the Ward Autumn Festival that evening- to match the kids superhero costumes.
We returned home, made soup to bring and got dressed in costume.  It was fun to be superheros all around.  We had a great evening at the Autumn Festival.  The kids ran around in costume playing carnival games and collecting small prizes and running around with tons of kids, even M.  We of course enjoyed visiting with so many good friends as well.
Home to bed- and not one kids got up asking for something- worn out from so much fun.
Sunday today has been pretty great too.  We made it to church on time- good thing since I had to speak.  And although not one but two of my children nearly needed the hemlick during sacrament meeting as I watched from the stand, we made it through.  Sam is a real big boy now, not only did he wear underwear to church, he also wore his sports coat which I bought for him a year ago and he has since refused to wear each time I have tried to coax him into its handsomeness.
And I only three up twice all weekend.
And While M was taking her afternoon nap, the kids were playing on the iphone Jake and I both feel asleep in the living room for at least an hour- unintentionally.

Yes things are going well.  I am grateful for easy happy days.  It doesn't take much to make me happy.
Hanging out with my healthy happy kids... and a nap.

October 25, 2012

Today was the first real snow.  There was snow yesterday, but it melted quickly.  Both days, after breakfast the kids dress themselves quickly in all their hats, mittens, and coats and decide to go out and make a snow man.  They have lasted about ten minutes both times before they get too cold and come banging on the door to be let back in.
Poor M has been so sick this week.  Yesterday her fever hit 104.  She is mostly still her happy self though.    That picture above is her in the mists of fighting that fever and she is smiling away. What a sweetheart.  I hate to see her sick, and missing so much fun.

Oct 20, 2012

We had a great Saturday planned- of going to the Pumpkin Patch with the park- as the kids call it.  They mean Thanksgiving Point.   But M was still too sick so we didn't make it.  The kids settled fairly easily for picking a pumpkin out at the grocery store.  We have been painting our pumpkins for a few years now.  It is way better for little kids.  Carving just ends up being Mom and Dad carving five pumpkins- and we don't really like carving pumpkins.  Everyone gets into painting.
This year Sam painted a vampire (I didn't know he even knew what that was)
Kate started hers out as a witch but then decided it looked more like an angry bird pig- which it did.
Jake a tiger
and for me mommy- a mummy.
M missed out on all the fun.  I had cute visions of her picking a pumpkin. but as I said she was sick, and we did this all while she slept from 3 in the afternoon almost through the night.  I hope she feels better by real Halloween so she can join in the fun.

October 20 2012

Imagine potty training a kid with who has to be on adult doses of laxatives every day.
Now imagine potty training another kid who has a condition that gives him symptoms like IBS.

Seriously you think potty training your kid was bad?
You have no idea.
NO IDEA.


It took over a year to potty train Kate because of her issues. We had her close, but then her hospitalization set us back a least another nine months  Finally getting her completely trained when she was about four years old.
And almost a year to potty train Sam because of his illness.  Finally getting him potty trained this week, at 3.5 years old.
One week- this week- with no accidents.
 We are calling it.

And now we have more children potty trained than not.
It is a huge success for our family.


And lucky for us we don't have to think about potty training another for more than a year.
I think I might just cry for happiness.

I can only hope the next time I have to potty train, it is with a kid with no health issues and takes the normal one week to three months.
I'll think about it later.
For now we are rejoicing, for the only diapers, or pull ups we have change this week were from a 14 month old baby.

Way to go Sam for joining the big boy ranks finally.

And way to go Jake and Crystal for not killing themselves, one another or their children in the process.

October 13, 2012

We attended a Halloween Party thrown by my adorable sister in law Lisa today.
Which meant we had to have all our costumes done early- and they were.
Kate saw a spidergirl costume like the one she is wearing sitting next to me while I looked at Pinterest like 9 months ago, and has since had it in her mind that she wanted to be that for Halloween.  I saw my chance at a family theme, since it is fairly easy to get Sam to pick a superhero to be, he orginally picked Spiderman, but glady he changed his mind while at a Halloween store a few weeks ago to Iron Man.  And M doesn't even realize she is in a costume really I think- but went as Bat Girl..    Kate had everything in mind, spiders in her hair, makeup on her face, a tutu with sparkles.  I think I made her Halloween vision come true.
The kids love their costumes, even Marianne, who at first wasn't sure about the tutu, but was soon happy and charming the world.
Fun day with our "SUPER" kids.

To complete the theme Jake and I went as bad guys for the super heroes to catch..  Namely robbers, dressed in black with ski masks and panyhose over our faces and a big bag of money.

October 8, 2012

Maize is such a little lady lately.  She seems to have a natural interest in feminine things like jewlery and babies.
From the moment I saw her this morning she had this baby and necklaces in her hands.
She carried them around all morning.  When she took her nap I put the baby out of her bed on the floor  and when she woke up and I went to get her, she was trying desperately to reach it from her bed.
She held it and took it with her through lunch.  Then we took Kate to school.  It got left by the door putting on our shoes.
When we came in I brought M to the living area and set her down.  The minute she was down she went running.  I wasn't sure where.  But before I could chase her, she had been to the door picked up the left baby and come back to me in the other room
She is so sweet with it, hugging it, and of course adding more necklaces to her neck as she found them.
My afternoon also consisted of play and errands with my boy.  He walked around the dollar store with me picking out Halloween decorations.  He lined up his cars when he saw me show M her doll on my camera view finder.   Later he lead family night.  He picked Kate to lead the song, then got up and lead with her, then M (in only her diaper) stood up waving her hand singing (lalala) too and we had three children leading the music singing filling my heart.

It was a pretty great day all around today.
For one- I didn't throw up- not once.
I managed to sneak in a pedicure while M was taking a nap (Dad and grandma are now at home to listen in on her) and the two kids were at gymnastics class.  It was kind of surreal
After gymnastics me and Sam and Kate hiked around grandma's property collecting beautiful leaves for a class project for Kate.  They loved it, finding the best leaves, and "going on an adventure" as they called it.
Later I went to a doctor's appointment for myself by myself.  I didn't wait one minute.  And they were so accommodating   I had asked them to do some genetic testing through my blood to rule out a condition with our kids whose health stuff seems still a bit unanswered.  And although they had to take ten viles or something exhausting, I was so glad they were willing to do it with my prenatal blood screen.
And then I came home to an email, our home plan was approved by the city today and we were given our building permit. And the last of the kids Halloween costumes in the mail.

I sure love great day with my beautiful family.

October 6, 2012

There is no question that our little family has had some crazy things happening lately.
We are kind of crazy.
There has been even more crazy happening behind the scenes.
Two giant crazy things.

The first is that we got ourselves a nice Heber lot and are thrilled to the moon about building a home for our family on it in the next six months.
But more on that later.  Funny enough- that we have a little lot with which we are going to build a beautiful home on- is not the biggest new our family has.

This post is about something really special.

Like super special.

It is about Freeman baby #4.

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
wait for it.
Yes.

A fourth child you ask?  They really are crazy!
And that is the truth.
We are crazy.
Crazy in love with the three kids we already have.

It is a funny thing deciding to have a fourth kid.
And by funny, I mean an insanely spiritual nagging that begun when Marianne was just weeks if not days old.

Seeing as how I am literally on the edge of death for the better part of 9 months when I am pregnant, Jake and I had decided that Marianne would be our last kid.
And we were both very happy with that choice.

But then just days after she was born something told me, she was not the end.
Something whispered to my mothering soul, that we could do it again.
It was clear.  But I locked away in my mind.  Realizing that sure, we could do it again.
In a few years.

But that wasn't the end of course.
Marianne our baby is sweet and perfect.
No really she is.
And friends and family jokingly told us that she was a trick to make us want more children.  Because who wouldn't want more perfectly sweet and adorable babies like her.  They thought they were funny saying that.  And I started saying it to.  Knowing it was true. or starting to know that it was by no accident she was send the most adorable, sweet, easy, and happy baby that ever was to our family.


A few months ago I found myself talking to somebody I know.  She talked about a family member who had a new baby, and might not be able to care for it and need to give it up for adoption.  I strangely found myself figuring out how it could be mine.  How I could bring that child into my home, perhaps it could be my next child and I wouldn't have to be pregnant again.
But that was really not the path for us.  It just made me realize the urgency I felt to add to our family.

The year had been hard.
The kids had been dealing with health issues.
Our business had been struggling.
And I felt completely overwhelmed most of the time.

And suddenly, as soon as we opened our minds to the possibility that we might want another child.
Things began falling into place.
Our kids got a bit healthier,
or business  got better..

And then like last time.
When we began to consider getting pregnant again.... we found that we already were a few weeks along.

It may be a little soon.
The new addition will be only 20 months younger than M.  We were hoping for more like 22 like Kate and Sam.
But we have been blessed with truly choice children.
And I have no doubt that will happen again.
I have no doubt that the fourth will be as brilliant as Kate, as loving as Sam, and happy as Maize, or have something special of its own.
I have no doubt that he or she will play with and loves its siblings as perfectly as the others.
I have no doubt that our family will be that much better.
And I have no doubt that we are being blessed in a million ways for our willingness to be parents again and again and again and again, and take all this parenting and raising children and loving the heck out of them seriously.

My husband is a saint.
A saint of a saint of a saint.
And somehow we've been blessed that his business is doing well enough  he has only been working a few hours a day, while he cares for me puking my guts out and our three young young super young children.  And then gets a few hours of work in at night.  I honestly believe we have been so blessed to have him at home for the last three years to get me through my pregnancies and help me care for all of our young children at home.
He is a saint.  I did myself well there.  Truth.

I'm a pretty good trooper too.
I did pack a house, clean a house  (thank goodness my work horse of a mother-in-law was there by my side), drive across the county with all the kids by myself, then unpack into  a new house on the brink of death like always.

Currently I am about 13 weeks along.
Seeing as how I did not actually throw up until I was 6 weeks along leads us to believe I am having another boy.  As with the girls I was throwing up within days, and with Sam I didn't until around 9 weeks.

I know I am always early to shout that I am pregnant.
But I am so deathly ill and fat and miserable so quickly that I hate for people to just think I am grumpy and mean.  I want them to know that I have my reasons.  Specifically that I am puking all day, exhausted, and can hardly get myself off the floor.  So if I don't wave hello, it is not you, it is me.  Really really, it is me.

So there.
Crazy awesome things.
We feel like we are really embracing our Freeman name here.
This baby is due near Kate's birthday.  And hopefully she will turn 6 before the new babe arrives so I don't have four kids five and under.... because that would really be insane.  And a totally different story right?

Tilt your head back now and laugh.  Shake your head, or whatever suits you.