Oh, the Excitement!

We have had a busy week, it started out rough, but has definitely gotten better!

We started Sunday in the ER. Or actually, I did. I was having very strong contractions (5-7 min. apart for more than 3 hours) and at the recommendation of the on-call OBGYN decided it was better to go in and make sure everything was ok. It was. Baby's heartbeat was strong and fast, and I FINALLY felt it move. Turned out to be infection and probably a little dehydration. So as of today, they have stopped!

Jackson had his first day of preschool, the mom's were all there today too. So he will be on his own on Tuesday. But he loved it. He participated and listened and everything. With only miner tears at the end. It was a lot of fun for him, he is very excited to go again... without mom. :)

I got the stitch out of my face today, woowho! And the mole was nothing more than abnormal! BIG Woo-who! So that's one less thing to worry about.

And I have finally begun to nest/unpack/decorate/organize my house! I think it has had something to do with feeling better. I am starting small, but I have some really fun projects planned. This is my first "craft" project in AZ. (It's also the first wreath I've ever made.) It was fun, Jackson helped.

And this shelf is in my living room.
Been hanging things and organizing things. It feels good to at least start, and it feels a little more like home.

Tomorrow I have my 20 week apt., our ultrasound got pushed out a week due to Patrick's schedule changing, so keep watching for the BIG announcement. And we will end the week with Jackson's first soccer game on Saturday, so there will be pics of that too! I have decided that busy is Good! :)

The Nothing is Coming...

If any of you were wondering this is pretty much what a monsoon looks like. I am standing under sunny, clear, bright skies mind you. And there are usually "mountains" in that direction. (Poor Patrick!) It's blacker than black, so the pics don't really do that part justice. They just sort of come out of no where. And they are very cool to watch.

Battle Wounds...

Nope, this one didn't come from my children. It was all genetic and self inflicted!

I finally went to the dermatologist. I know, I probably should have gone about 5 years ago. But with a lot of badgering from friends and family, and a certain discolored mole, I finally did it! I was pretty sure, since I am covered in moles and freckles, that things were going to be worse. But the only potential problem was on my face (of course)! Even the one on my back that freaks people out and has it's own zip code... is just a mole. Yeah me! I really can't tell you how relieved I am and how excited I was that it was only one! (I was sure there would be like 6.) He thinks it might just be abnormal, but was concerned and wanted to rule melanoma out! So off it came, literally, in about 10 minutes. There I was thinking I was just going to be looked over, and the next thing I know he is putting a stitch in my face! Overall, it wasn't that bad, and it doesn't hurt. I will know the test results in about 7 - 10 days. And in the mean time, I get to walk around like this for a week. Awesome! (Ya, ignore my amazing hair and lack of make-up!) But I figured I would produce proof that I actually did it! Needles and all, I am so proud!

Harrison can't see me without pointing it out and then kissing it better. It's actually been very sweet. Jackson was just really concerned that the doctor did this to me. He doesn't want to ever go to that doctor. Lucky him, he didn't get my skin! (thank heavens!)

**Something I learned that I am going to share: You are supposed to get your skin checked every year. Especially if you are prone to moles/freckles or have had a lot of sun exposure or have a history of skin cancer in your family. And don't be scared, it took about 10 min., and it really didn't hurt (the checking or the removal). Ok, so there is my shpeal. But I am only sharing because it took me so long to do it, completely because of fear, and now I might actually have Melanoma! So get it done people! :)

Jane of all trades...

This week marks the beginning of the end...of my slow quiet life that is! I have been needing more to do to keep me busy. With Jackson getting older, and my complete inability to say no, I have accomplished that!

I signed Jackson up for AYSO soccer a couple of weeks ago and officially became a soccer mom. ;) (I still can't believe either one of us are old enough for that!) The season starts on Saturday, he is SO excited. The only drawback? About a week ago, I was suckered into being the Coach! Which totally makes sense, since I know nothing about soccer and will be almost 8 months pregnant when the season finally ends! But whatever, I get my own jersey. haha! So now I have uniforms to get out and meetings to attend and phone calls to make, all before Saturday. Yeah me!

This week also marks the beginning of Preschool. Only preschool down here costs about $200+/month. (Which is ridiculous unless it's going to help him get into Harvard) So a lot of the families in our ward can't afford that either, and have organized into small groups of 4 or 5 for what they call co-op preschool. It's free, technically, we just rotate homes every week. So I am now also going to be a preschool teacher one week a month. I am actually kind of excited about this. Except that our group is all boys, which should be fine, I hope! I can barely control the 2 boys I already have. Are little boys one of those animals that can smell fear?

Fortunately I am feeling a LOT better these days! Which makes everything easier. I have finally started going to the gym, and who knew, but it makes me a nicer person! :) I also got around to finding a fabric store.... some seriously cute stuff to come! I just have to find the time and the motivation (at the same time, that's the trick). But overall, I am excited to be a lot busier! And so is Jackson, so that is like icing on the cake. We have gotten a little too used to being at home all the time. Doing our own thing. And if nothing else, I will have some seriously funny pictures and stories to share over the next few months! ...Wish me luck!

Oh, and someone brought their kid to my nursery class yesterday with ring worm on his face!!! Had no idea that stuff was incredibly contagious! How soon is too soon to ask to be released? Oye....At least it wasn't pink eye! ;)

Into the WILD

Our fun activity this week, while Patrick was off, the International Wildlife Museum. In Patrick's words, "I thought it would be lame, but it was pretty cool!". All of the animals are real, dead, but real. Which meant we got to get very close to most of them, even pet some. And they had EVERYTHING! All three of the boys were in their version of heaven!

This was about as close as we could get Jackson to most of the animals. He loved all of it... from a distance. (I did get him to pet a jaguar, baby steps!)
Harrison was not as shy. He was all over the place.
When we walked into this room, I thought Patrick was actually going to cry. Pure, overwhelming joy... that's what's on his face!
This picture does NOT do justice to the size of these bears! They were amazing!

They really are wild at heart!

A week with Uncle Kenny

We had more excitement than usual, Patrick's brother Kenny came to see us for a week. The boys, especially Jackson, were SO excited to see him. (Jackson gets super overjoyed whenever we have visitors!) There is a bit of a soft spot for Uncle Kenny though, he has always been a big part of the boys lives, and a lot of fun and help for me. So we were glad he made it out.

Fortunately, Patrick was off for the first two days he was here, so he got to spend some time with him too. We ended up going to the mall and taking the boys to see Transformers 2. Kenny, bless his heart, also babysat for us so we could go see Harry Potter. Yep, that's 2 movies in 2 days...it was AWESOME! And our first date in about 6 months! (Thank you, thank you!)

There isn't a ton to do (outdoors) other than swim, but luckily, he likes the water! So we also spent quality time at the pool. The boys LOVE having the big boys around to play with, and I loved not having to try to keep track of them both by myself!! Jackson is doing all kinds of tricks these days. And Harrison no longer wants to be helped, he runs himself all over the pool. (Literally, he just runs under water, but it gets him places.)We made it back to the mall again, had our Movie Night, there was a lot of playing and a lot of relaxing. (We even made it to Texas Roadhouse, my favorite!) It was a fun week, we are very glad he came to see us!

Sigh....my wild boys!

We've been hanging out with Kenny for the past week and having a lot of fun. He even got to take part in our Movie Night Spectacular, we watched Wall-E. It was totally uneventful until Harrison decided he needed to climb all over me... and within a couple of minutes WHAM! I'm pretty sure he broke my nose with his head! It made the most horrible cracking sound (that Kenny and Jackson heard too), but no blood. (Thank heavens, my nose has been bleeding constantly for weeks!) I woke up this morning to a little bruising, but no swelling. It hurts like crazy and my head is KILLING me! I'm hoping it's just bruised, but should it still hurt like this? I want to cry!

On a higher note, Jackson gave his first talk ever in Primary today. It was about Temples and he was VERY excited! He did a really great job. (Until the end when his Amen was followed by a very loud GROWL in the microphone. I turned bright red, but he thought he was fabulous!) He really did do an amazing job, I was very proud of him for being so brave.

I really do love my kids, I can't imagine my life without them! But they are so destructive and rough! And they've got attitude to boot! Sometimes I just don't know what to do! But there is another one coming, so I am going to have to figure it out ...I just hope my house and I survive long enough to do that! And I would probably be more patient if my head didn't hurt so bloody bad! lol.

Presents, Food & Snakes

Patrick's birthday was a fun filled morning (he had to go to work in the afternoon)! The boys got to pick out everything. They got him a giant lunch box (Jackson remembered that dad needed one), a sling shot and ammo, two monster truck hot wheels, Spider-Man the movie and a talking Optimise Prime card. (I'm pretty sure everything after the lunch box they thought was for them!) We got everything ready while he was sleeping, they colored him pictures too. And no one was more excited than Jackson! It was fun.

He wanted BBQ chicken pizza for lunch, so Domino's delivered! ;) I made him his favorite cake...yes, with strawberries! (The boys also picked out the candles and helped blow them out! The cake however, it all his!) When the eating was over, he took them outside to test out his sling shot. They both got to shoot it. It was bloody hot and blindingly bright, but they loved all 5 minutes of it! And then he was off to get ready for work. He works so hard and so much! We love him for all that he does for us, and the boys always miss him every minute he is gone!

....And when he came home at 3 am, this is what he killed....
His face pretty much says it all! haha! That would be our first rattle snake (in the yard) and it's also a very young one! (Which is scary, and deadly!) He has started a rattle collection.

It was an exciting couple of days! We've had another snake since then, but it didn't have rattles. Yeah!