Pluses to Being Pregnant

You know, there are a few things I do enjoy about being pregnant and since this is my last go around with the whole giving birth thing, I figure I might as well make the most of the condition! So, here is the list:

1. For once, not having to suck my stomach in. Sure, you may look at the other pregnant ladies around you and compare bellies, but you don't have to worry about eating too much and having a gut. It's ok to flaunt the pooch for a few months!

2. Taking 2nds and 3rds or eating 4 desserts and not have anyone look at you funny.

3. Not having a period! Enough said!

4. Playing what I like to call the "pregnancy card". Only to be used a few times during pregnancy, it's a catch all to get you out of just about anything.

5. Having my husband give me one of those "you're so cute pregnant" looks. I just love those, they melt my heart!

My Babies!

I haven't done a kid update post in awhile, and since I'm not one of those moms who keeps journals about her children or documents their every move through the camera, about all their gonna get is my faulty recollections and a few blog posts to remember their childhood by when their older. Sorry kids!
Anyways, Evan recently graduated from preschool. He went to Bright Beginner Preschool for 2 years and I have no regrets about sending him! He really seemed to catch onto things a lot more the 2nd time around and I definitely noticed an improvement in his writing and drawing. For one, he wrote his name this year and all of his pictures weren't colored with just one color like they were the year before. Amazingly enough, the kid actually seems excited to start kindergarten too. We'll see what he really thinks once he has to go every day, but for now I'll take it that he's not throwing tantrums about going yet (unlike turning 8 and being baptized. He keeps telling me he's going to skip that b-day so he doesn't have to get baptized! yep, I'm raising the next general authority over here...).
Also, I'm amazed at how easily we have transitioned to him being home all day now. I was worried about my "me" time being taken away, but we've worked out a fairly decent system of put Justin down for a nap in the afternoon, Evan and I play some games we can't when Justin is awake, then he either watches a show or plays video games while I clean or exercise. It's been working out pretty well that way.
Evan is still in full Star Wars mode. He watches all the movies, plays all the video games, plays with his Star Wars Gallactics, has lightsaber duels every day and even when he draws, he draws star destroyers blowing up. He also continually hums various Star War themes. It's all about the Force over here!
Justin is 20 months old and still isn't officially walking. He's getting close though. I hope in the next few weeks he'll give up crawling completely and be walking full time. We had him evaluated and at 19 months he had the gross motor skills of a 13 month old they said. Justin also has weak ankles. He qualified for physical therapy, but we decided to just keep an eye on him and keep trying ourselves to help him. Justin has started saying more words, but it's hard for me to believe that he'll be 2 in a few months when he's not walking or talking yet! He very much is a baby to me. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have an opinion on things though! He's got Evan's stubborn streak for sure, and tries very hard to not eat in his high chair and he wants to be outside all of the time. He screams really loudly when he doesn't get his way. It's funny, but the older he gets the messier he gets (shouldn't it be the opposite??) too. He loves to go in and out and to turn things on and off. He's very adept at shape sorting and simple puzzles. He's possessive of his toys and wants to play in Evan's room as much as he can (Evan likes to keep his door shut though). Justin also loves to watch tv. He now will go and sit on the couch and point at the tv when he wants me to turn it on. He's been doing more signs, he's very curious about what everything is now and lately I've found it easier to teach him new signs. Justin HATES nursery or pretty much being more than 1 foot away from me I should say. His separation anxiety has only gotten worse with him getting older and it borders on the ridiculous sometimes. I have no idea what to do about this, except hope it passes in time. I can't help but wonder if the new baby coming has something to do with it though...
Speaking of the new baby, I am now 28 weeks along and this baby is one active little guy! We still haven't picked out a name, but so far we like Luke or Colin. I keep asking my stomach "what is your name?" but we'll probably just have to wait till we see the little guy to decide. I really hope he turns out as good as the other two. For feeling so paranoid about having a healthy baby you'd think I'd try to take better care of myself! I pretty much eat whatever I want and only eat a flintstone vitamin when I think of it. I do exercise regularly, but that's my only saving grace. I guess having my other 2 kids to take care of just seems to occupy my time. Anyways, if you've read down this far, congrats, I think I'm done with the updates for now :)

Natural Cleaning Solutions

When I was pregnant with Evan I discovered I could not stand the smell of cleaning products. And then, once I had the little guy, I had nightmares of having to call the poison control center because he ate some Comet or something. So, I started experimenting with making my own cleaning products, read a book or two on it and basically now I clean with bon ami and a mixture of vinegar/water/peppermint oil. I did get over some of my paranoia and Steve likes his cleaning products so we still have some of the other stuff in the house, but I find those two things do most of the cleaning jobs just fine. However, we have tile in our kitchen and bathrooms and I hadn't found a way to get the grout clean since we moved here. After almost 3 years, the grout is getting gross! Then, my Real Simple magazine came a month or two ago and had all these great ideas of how to clean with common household items like lemons and castile soap (ok, I admit, castile soap is not a common item in my house...)ect. and there was a tiny section on cleaning grout! So, I decided to try it. Basically, you mix creme of tartar with lemon juice and scrub the grout with a toothbrush and then wipe clean. As you can see from the pics, I've gotten fairly good results from this process. Of course, I didn't have enough creme of tartar so only half my kitchen grout is done. But I can't wait to go buy some more and finish the job and not have my kitchen floor gross me out anymore! Hurray!

my cleaning "kit"and my cleaner tile grout

can you see the clean strip compared to the nonclean grout?

a close up so you can better compare!

Family Scripture Study--Act I Scene I

The Scene: Just after dinner, the family is gathered around the table

Steve: setting scriptures down-Ok, let's read!
Evan immediately stands up on the bench and walks a little ways, bumping his glass of milk and spilling it everywhere.
Steve: ACK! Evan just spilled his milk and his glass was full!
Me: huh? It was full, are you kidding me?
grumpily I get up and investigate the damage and try not to yell at Evan.
Me: yelling at Evan-Evan! You better come help clean this up!!!
Evan: NO!!
Me: Then I don't want to look at you!!
Evan runs into the other room screaming and crying
Me: Was that too harsh Steve?
I go and comfort Evan while Steve finishes cleaning up the mess.
Me: Weren't we supposed to be reading scriptures or something?
Steve: Yep, we're on Nephi chapter 1
Steve starts to read
Justin can suddenly be heard screeching from the other room. He's still stuck in his high chair due to the fact he refused to eat anything but pickles for dinner. I go into the dining room to retrieve him. He keeps signing for more pickles...
Me: ACK! Justin is all wet!!! His diaper must have leaked!
I drag Justin into the room where Steve is reading and try to change him while being spiritually enlightened. Justin keeps crying and crawling away. Steve puts the scriptures down and helps me change Justin.
Steve: ok, back to Nephi...
We're all on the couch now, Steve is reading, I'm listening and the kids are crawling all over me. Suddenly Evan starts wacking me and Justin with pillows and his blankets.
Me: Stop that Evan!!!
Evan: Just one more time!
Evan hits me again with a pillow.
Evan: Just one more time!
Evan hits me again with a pillow.
Me: EVAN! I SAID STOP!!!
Steve closes the scriptures.
Steve: ok! we're done with chapter 1!
Me: wow, I can't wait till tomorrow so we can do this all again!

Movie Theatre Popcorn: Innocent Treat or Addictive Substance?

I LOVE popcorn! I was pretty much raised on it, so when we go to the movies, it's essential we shell out the cash for a big tub of it. Last night was no exception when Steve and I went to see Land of the Lost. We pretty much ate the entire contents of the giant bucket so we decided on the way out we'd actually take advantage of that free refill you always tell yourself you'll get when you buy the largest size. We thought the kids would think we were cool parents that we brought them home popcorn. Well, little did we know what a big hit the popcorn would be! It seems I have reproduced some little popcorn addicts and so I don't know if it's just my family or if there really is an addictive chemical in that stuff. But, here's an example of when you know the popcorn has gone a little too far--literally. I was making dinner and I looked at the kitchen table where the bucket had been sitting and it was gone! Justin had been there just a moment ago eating out of it, so I curiously peer around the corner to see what could have happened and see my little son scooting across the carpet while precariously holding this huge tub of popcorn. I would have totally snapped a picture if the fear of having to pick up popcorn kernals off the carpet for hours wouldn't have overcome me first. It really was a pretty cute sight, but J screamed bloody murder when I wrenched the bucket out of his hands. And tonight, while cleaning the kitchen, I kept stopping to eat some. And eat some more and keep eating...you get the picture. That popcorn is some dangerous stuff!

shouldn't there be warning label on all that goodness?

Steve and Evan's Excellent Adventure

People kept asking me if Steve took Evan on the Father/Son Campout last weekend and I got the feeling that people were surprised that I said nope! (It was too far away and required travel near Price--a place we shun at all costs). But what they maybe didn't know was that just the weekend before that, Steve and Evan had gotten plenty of Daddy/Son time in when just the two of them went to CA together for Steve's Dad 60th b-day celebration! Now, you may wonder why Justin and I didn't go too. Well, have you seen me lately??? Being hugely pregnant does not lend itself to traveling (I pretty much am crippled if I get up after sitting in one spot for more than an hour) and Justin is a homebody. As in, when we go anywhere, if we aren't home again in a couple of hours he gets pretty grumpy. So, combine pregnancy + doesn't travel well Justin + grumpy me because I tire easily and can't keep up with everyone=not fun trip. Besides, I've never had one on one time with Justin, so I thought four days of the just the two of us would be really fun.

So Steve and Evan had our blessing to go to CA and set off the Thursday night before Memorial Day and Justin and I hung out in the quiet house all weekend. I had 3 things I wanted to do, things it would have been hard to do with both kids: go to the park, go swimming and go to a Gymboree class. We only made it to the Gymboree class, but J loved climbing and exploring on all their play stuff. And then we went to Sunflower Market and Walmart that day too (two other places I don't enjoy going with 2 children). And then on Saturday we went to the Conservation Gardens and Arctic Circle with my parents while Evan's room got painted. On Sunday church and my mom came over for dinner. Not swimming or the park, but nice relaxing activities :) On Sunday night things took a turn for the worse when Justin woke up with a burning fever and then on Monday was super grumpy while I had problems of my own from some apparently spoiled cookie dough from the night before. My kind sister and her family took care of us though.

As for Steve and Evan, they got to tour the Jelly Belly factory on Friday. Something Evan LOVED. Candy, pipes, machinery--what more could my kid ask for? And there were squirt gun fights, toys Grandma had got for the kids and a couple of bbqs. The big 60th b-day party was on Sunday and they got the cutest shirts made that said "When I grow up I want to be 60!" with Fulkerson 60 on the back, kind of like a baseball jersey. Steve said Evan was really good the whole time and had a blast. It was nice too because Tanner, his cousin his age, was there too so they got to play with each other all weekend. I think all in all, Steve and I made the right choice by "spliting" the family up!

Grandpa and his Dodger Cake

Evan losing the squirt gun battle with Grandma

the fam in their cute shirts


Evan and his cousins at the Jelly Belly Factory

Evan's party-induced coma stare

Evan's Room

It's no secret that Steve and I are NOT renovators. As in, we've lived in this house for almost 3 years and haven't done a single thing to it. No new flooring, no new cabinets of any kind and not even a drop of paint has this poor house seen. Luckily for us, the house is in good enough shape we can get away with that, but eventually we decided we were done with talking about changing things and decided to start small but start we would. Evan's room seemed the logical choice since he has a really old bed and a really old dresser and that's it in there. We knew if Justin and Evan were going to share that room soon, it would need some TLC. So, Steve and I came up with a plan for the room, we know what we want to get from IKEA for the room (bunk beds, storage shelves ect) but we thought, first, we should paint it. We heard Jimmy Curtis was for hire, so we had him give us some quotes and thought we could afford one room at a time. After much agonizing over color choices, I came up with a plan to make everyone happy. Steve wanted a neutral color (he picked a very nice one called Yak Skin) so 3 walls got that, and Evan wanted DARK brown, so he got one accent wall in Oak Gall. And I got a room that didn't look boring! I loved how it turned out, Jimmy did a great job and now that one room has color, I can't wait to have Jimmy come back and jazz up some more of our rooms!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

(it's hard to see the yak skin color in these photos, but i swear it looks SO much different than the white his room used to be!)

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I'm really beginning to not like Tuesdays. It seems lately bad things keep happening on Tuesdays. For instance, I had a little car accident two weeks ago today. I was dropping the kids off at my sister's house so I could go visiting teaching and when I pulled into her driveway, I hit the edge of their fence that kind of sticks out. It put a dent/scratch all along the driver's side of the van. I was devastated to say the least that I hurt my 2 month old van!!
Then, today, since Evan has been homebound due to illness, and it was one of those days that the kids have just been screaming nonstop since they woke up, when Evan wanted to walk to get a donut from Dunford, I was like, sure, let's get the heck out of here! So, we are having a nice walk to the donut shop, something we have done countless times before without any mishap mind you, when I ask Evan to open the door to the store so I can bring the stroller in. As Evan is opening the door it slices his big toe open! Blood immediately starts welling up and I rush inside and ask the cashier for a band aid. She comes to investigate and we can both tell it's not your minor little cut. So she eventually takes me behind the register to their little office where we sit Evan down and she brings me some neosporin, alcohol wipes, gauze and band aids to try to clean his toe up. I can tell through all the blood the door sliced all the way through his nail and continues down his toe. I'm not one for blood! I call Steve to come get us and between his help and a kindly gentleman who works there who came to assist as well, we get Evan bandaged up as best as we can. I have to say, Evan was a real trooper, he barely cried and didn't complain at all. The cashier gave Evan and Justin stickers and the nice man who helped us as well packed us up some donuts and cookies he said we could have for free. I thought they had been especially kind to us so I asked "what's your name?" thinking I could send a thank you note later and he said "Doug Dunford"! Wow, I felt special!

So, Evan's throat still hurts and now he's got a sore toe, poor kid, and now you can see why I'm not looking forward to next Tuesday...Evan's toe after we cleaned it up at home