Things I didn't think about until now.

I realized that I am not really prepared for this baby. I just set up the crib but could only find one sheet. So now I need to find more sheets. I will probably just make a few since crib sheets are small and easy enough. Secondly I was at church last sunday and the family in front of me had a baby. She spit up a bit and they went diving into the diaper bag looking for a rag or cloth to clean up her face. They couldn't find any and I could only find a few once I got home. Yeah I am pretty sure I had two dozen or more when I packed them away!

Bigger house + Louder kids = I need a baby monitor. Can I find the one I used to have? No of course not! It sucked anyway though so a new one (or new to me anyway) will be just fine. I have no binkies. I have no bottles. If this child needs to use either of these items I will have to buy new ones. Great yet another expense (potentially)!

All the baby clothes are in the crawl space. In so many bins and boxes as to make me cringe. I managed to find about 10 sleepers of neutral gender and bring them up to wash so I hope that will work out until I can get my Darling Husband to go down there and find me the correct gendered bins full of clothing. At least i don't have to buy anything in that department! yay for 4th kids who will most likely never have the need for new clothes. :) (Like that would ever happen, but we can dream right?)

I'll add more later, I am sure more will come!

Saggin'

So I'm sitting her playing on my BabyCenter and facebook. Emma is on the computer playing, Rachel right next to her. I notice that she has a plumber butt. I put her in a pull up last night because I was lazy and didn't want to find a diaper that fit her. I thought it was cute and just left it.

Ok so I wanted to see what would happen so after about 10 minutes it gets droopier. Then a few minutes later it is around her knees. She is completely oblivious. Sucking on her fingers watching the computer as Emma plays some blues clues game.

I have to change her now. Once I mentioned it to her she pulled off the pull-up and is now running around nekked!

New Years Eve~~A story of my Kids

Happy New Years Eve! I went to the store to grab a few things for the informal, I don't think anyone will show up party we are having tonight. I took Emma with me because she is my shopper. She loves to go to the store regardless of what kind of store it is. I also needed milk and some water softener salt so that was my main purpose. I braved the roads after the 6 inches of snow we got last night and it wasn't really all that bad. Some roads were a bit slippery but I was fine and didn't slide off the road at all.

Now John was here with the other two kids. I love having him home for a few extra days. It is nice to have two parents during the day so I can get some things done. John is a great husband who loves to keep the house looking nice, kids happily playing and me from shoveling snow too much.

I got home and sent Emma in the house so I could get the groceries. What did I see when I opened the door? Let me show you!



Yes John, my wonderful husband, has made the coolest indoor fort ever! He cracks me up with his over the top creations sometimes! Like the time he made a hamburger patty out of 1 pound of ground beef. It was as big as the 12 inch plate.

He also read to the kids while in the fort. There is a hand scanning device as well so that you can get into the fort. Clever boys!





After taking the pictures of the fort I asked him where Rachel was. "Is she upstairs sleeping?" I ask. "I guess" was his reply. Ok I should have caught the cluelessness in that reply, but I didn't. After searching every room upstairs including closets and bathrooms and NOT finding my youngest child; I head back downstairs to ask John what really did happen to our 3 year old.

This is where we found her. I guess that Mormon Doctrine is a bit much for a three year old to take in and not fall asleep. Incidentally, this happens to be her favorite book. She will pull this one out all the time and "read" it to me.





Gotta love my kids (all 4 of them)

Halloween was fun

I enjoyed my time this year for halloween. There was plenty to keep us busy and entertained for the duration of the "season". We went to four costumed activities with the kids and while I suck at taking pictures (I just forget that I need these things!) I did get a few.


Here we have Emma in her first of four Halloween costumes. I really should learn that my darling, precocious, creative and hilarious 5 year old wouldn't be able to settle on one costume for Halloween. She can't even wear less than 3 outfits in a day, despite my constant nagging and frustration.

When I asked the kids what they wanted to be for Halloween I got some great answers. Logan, who was a ninja last year, wanted to be a Ninja! Yay I already had the costume since he doesn't grow all that fast. Rachel, who was a black cat last year, wanted to be a kitty. Another point for mommy! Two costumes down and I still wasn't out any time or expense. Then I get to Emma, the consummate diva, she decided she wanted to be a princess. Ok I can do that! She wanted to be the "Yellow Princess". That for you Disney illiterate would be Belle ala Beauty and the Beast. She wants the costume in the Disney Store that is 70 bucks. Um, I saved a bunch of money on your siblings costumes, but that is a bit extreme, so after telling her no about 7 billion times and her throwing the king of all fits, IN THE STORE, we leave after I tell her that I can find one online for less money.

I didn't. I did however find one at Costco just in time for her birthday that was pretty cute! Yay she is happy, I am happy and costume planning is done. Well if you notice the picture above, she is not a beautiful princess. She is however a wonderful monkey. Yes that's right folks once I got the Halloween decorations out we found the costumes. The monkey one fit her perfectly. Now she wants to be a monkey. Ok no big deal right? Sure i spent money on a Belle dress, but that can be used for dress up and it was her birthday.

She was a monkey for our Trunk or Treat with Tooele Mommies. She was a Princess for the halloween carnival. Oh yeah there are two more activities left. Guess what that means. Yup you guessed it, two more costumes. For the ward dinner/trunk or treat she ended up being a princess again. No not in the Belle costume, not in the snow white dress from the carnival, but a completely new one! She had a cute little dress-up dress that is very princess like. She threw that on, a crown from our dress up box and a lovely purple feather boa.

Now comes the actual day. It is cold. It is raining. I have been feeling like crap for the last two days due to pregnancy, dehydration and fatigue. Yeah I tend to stop drinking water when I don't feel well. Stupid really, but this blog post isn't about me. Daddy is taking them Trick or Treating. I try to convince Emma that the monkey costume would be best since it is a very nice and warm costume. Like a little coat. NOPE! Apparently she is a movie star who when seen in public in an outfit will never wear said outfit again. She now wants to be a rock star. Yeah, it is 5pm no one has had dinner but there is a break in the wind and rain so we figure it's now or never. Emma finds herself a very pretty dress, we tie a feather boa around her waist (no it wasn't the same boa from before) and I make up her face in my makeup. Since i hadn't planned on a rock star I have nothing flashy, but somehow we make it work.



She wasn't happy that I was not going to be trick or treating with them, or that Daddy opted to drive them around the neighborhood as opposed to walking in the rain which had started up again. Oh what is that you say? Where is Rachel? Asleep upstairs in the spare room. She had half a grocery sack of candy from the night before so I didn't bother waking her up.

yeah Halloween was fun. So glad it only comes around once a year.

Living on the Moon

Once upon a time I lived in Happy Valley. It was happy. It was a valley. It was near to all my family and we all got along. Singing songs while holding hands around town was a common occurrence. I'm pretty sure that is where all things good come from, this magical happy valley.

Then I got married and moved to Sin City. If anything bad happened on the news, it was in Sin City. That kid that died from child abuse, it was down the street. The drive by shooting? Yeah that was about 3 miles away. Oh and the house fire that killed someone you ask, why yes I knew the family and my kids played at the park with that someone.

We outgrew our house and needed something bigger. Well being that Sin City is a very expensive place to live and that Happy Valley was a bit too far from work and even more expensive, we decided it was best to move to the Moon. Now don't get all excited, the moon is really a rather nice place to live. I can feel good about my kids playing outside. My 6 year old can walk to his friends house down the street and I don't have to watch to make sure that no one kidnaps him. I can see the stars really well from the Moon. I mean I didn't know there were that many stars! Wow!

We have a Wal-Mart. A SUPER Wal-mart. Well what else would you expect to be here on the moon anyway? A Nordstrom's? I could use a few other options for my shopping pleasure, but it doesn't take that long to get back to Sin City so if I really need something that the "great and terrible" doesn't have I can head back down to earth.

Now I love living here on the Moon. I keep trying to get people to move out here so we have more friends and family near by, but they keep telling me its too far away. That is in fact one of the only reasons living on the Moon is not so great. I can't get anyone to come and visit. Well some do because I am just too awesome to pass up, but most make up excuses or just tell me strait up that we live on the MOON! Duh it would take all day to come and visit!

I get it, really I do. That is one of the reasons I like living on the Moon so much, because it is nice and out of the way. Quiet and calm where I can sit on my porch and watch the stars and the freight trains that pass by everyday. So in the end don't be afraid of taking a trip to the dark side of the Moon. You might just find there are some really nice people living there.

School

I love school. I want to go back to school and just learn. Really! I yearn for more information on several topics and I would like to be one of those people who know a little bit about everything. You know the annoying guy sitting next to you at the company Christmas, whoops I mean Year End party. Yeah that's who I want to be.

Logan however does not share my enthusiasm for school. Oh sure once he is there is loves the kids, the work, the learning, the RECESS!!! But oh my good heavens is it hard to get that kid to school in the morning! He pitches a fit pretty much each and every morning. One thing that I have found that helps out a bunch, and don't shoot me for this, is that if I wake him up early make his eat and get ready for school, he is allowed to play video/computer games until school starts. If I warn him that he only has 5 min left he usually, and I mean USUALLY, gets into the car without too much fuss if any. There are days that I wish the video game was never invented, for instance last night, but I am glad my 6 year old son has found his niche in this world. Lets just hope he makes me, I mean himself a millionaire some day.

That was too easy

Rachel loves to play in the water. She will sit, well stand anyway, at the sink for an hour playing in the running water if I let her. She loves it so much that I often put her up at the sink in the kitchen while I am cooking and let her play. It keeps her busy, out from under my feet and I know she isn't going to get hurt. Well tonight I was making fudge and so I had to be at the stove stirring constantly. She was so whiney that I put the stool up by the sink and let her have fun.

Well 15 minutes later she is still playing and I am done with the fudge. I don't exactly like high water bills and with the lawn watering season upon us, well you get the idea. I turn off the water, get her down, leave the room and sit down at my computer to pass the time while the fudge cools.

In comes the raging beast! She is screaming and pitching the biggest fit! I could have cut off a toe and it would have produced less noise from her. I tried ignoring, that made it worse, I told her to stop, she ignored me and continued her unintelligible tirade. I had had enough so I closed the computer, looked her right in the eye and asked if she would like to sit in time out until she calmed down.

"NO!" was the answer I got from her. I offered her more solutions to the "No Water" problem, including TV. All were answered the same way, "NO!" in her high pitched cutesy little voice.

I had had enough, "Rachel do you want to sit in time out or be a good girl and go watch TV?"

Then as calm as can be she says, "Yup!" and walks away to watch Wonder Pets. WHAT!!!! Just 2 minutes ago you were screaming at me that you did not want to watch TV and now it's ok? Good even? I looked at John, sitting on the couch beside me and we both laughed.

"That was too easy," I said, "But I'll take it!" Two year old children are some of the most irrational people on the planet. But don't you just love them!

Cannon Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Guess What!!!!

I am moving!!! Yay for selling our house! We will be moving on the 26th of September. Anyone who whats to come and do some community service, come on by! John and I will be renting a storage shed and then moving a few things a day into it, so come the 26th we will only need to move the big stuff and then the things we are going to keep with us down at Mom and Dad's!

Yes we will be moving into my parents house for a few months while we build a home in Tooele. Now I am sure you are thinking, Why are you moving to the other side of Nowhere? Well we love the small town feel of it and we are excited that we can get a great house for a decent price.

So anyone want to come and pack with me you are welcome to come! I am going to need all the help I can get.

Vacation

I had my vacation. Granted it was to the hottest place on earth (ie Phoenix Arizona) but it was very nice this last week with temps getting no higher than 95 the entire week. We went down to Barbara's (John's oldest sister) house for two weddings. Brian and Ashlee got married in the Mesa Temple on Wednesday and Michael and Anna got married on Thursday. They were both nice, but just between you and me I like the reception of Mikes better, cause they had a chocolate fountain and a white chocolate fountain and pretzels and some of the tastiest strawberries I have had in a while.

I was able to visit my cousins who live in Gilbert and we had a fun time talking. I can't wait to see them all in a month at the Andersen Family Reunion. We were also able to just relax without having to do much of anything.

Oh and on friday we went to the most wonderful pool! it was in a cousins backyard (no not my cousins, but I would love to be part of that family!) but holy cow that was a pool!!!

It had a wading area for the little kids and then there was the rock water slide, grotto, waterfalls and hot tub. It was so much fun to play in the pool. The deepest part was about 8 feet deep so it was plenty deep for the "boys" do do their Cannon balls. (yes that was a play on words)


Rachel, Emma and Logan all had a blast in the water, something I thought was impossible since emma freaks out when we actually get into the pool. She doesn't like to get the water on her head because of her fear of drowning. Have I mentioned that Emma is destined to be kidnapped or killed? She is fearless! Never concerned about where I am in relation to her (she has wandered the Super Walmart by herself, with joy.) and she has freaked me out on cliffs, ledges, near water, streets, you name it, she has gotten too close, gone too fast or hasn't stopped so many times I am still amazed she is still alive.

Anyway back to the topic, Emma went down the slide with her daddy! She was under water for about 4 seconds and once she and daddy came up, she was a bit frightened, but she was telling me all about how she held her nose when she went under water 5 seconds later! She almost went a second time!

Logan of course had a blast since his cousins were there to help him play. He had Caden and Tricia who are 6 and Atticus who is 8 to help him be the goofy kid he is. They were all over the pool acting like zombies or submarines. They just had a blast is all I can say.

On the way home we caravan'd with Jim and Keri and then stopped at Navajo bridge. It was over the colorado river in arizona. We got out and let the kids wander around for a bit.

As you can see I too enjoyed getting out of the car for a bit too.

I need a break

I want a vacation. An honest to goodness, leave town for a week with no idea where we are going kind of vacation. No family weddings, no meet an old friend for the day, no time schedules to keep. No jobs to worry about or houses to clean. Yeah I want to lay on a beach, without worrying about kids drowning, and just get sunburned. Ok well not sunburned, but you know what I mean right?

Neil and Amy you are not helping the matter by going out and cruising around the sunnier climes and having a grand ol' time without the kids. I wish that this year is the year that we can take some of our tax return money and do the same thing. John is too responsible and thinks we need to pay off some debts and get a computer instead. :)

I need to get some pictures up here on the blog too. I should attach that camera to my wrist! The kids do such silly things. Ok rambling again. Sorry.

Went to the Rec center

I really think that I will have to make better use of this membership I get charged for each and every month! The west valley rec center has a "Edutainment Center" that is just a big McDonalds Playland on steroids. It has the MASSIVE maze of pipes, tunnels and bridges, but there is also a supermarket, a race track, video games, legos, a theater complete with hand puppets, police station and a mini bb court.

The kids love this place. I have been there twice this week with "my" kids. I just sit at the door (the only one in or out) and read my little book. Ok so I have to spend much of my time watching star performances and keeping the little ones from having a break down, but geez this is a great place. I don't have to clean anything up, the kids get all worn out so that they can be calm little angels once we get home, and I get a little break from the "I want a . . ." every 3 minutes.


Oh yes we will be going back there very soon.

Self Development

I think I need to develop parts of my mind that have lain dormant for quite a while. I was recently reminded of how much fun I had writing for pleasure. Before I got all caught up in writing essays and briefs for college, I actually wrote fiction. Oh and poetry! How can I forget poetry. I think that was my first love. I absolutely love the way the words look on the page when I have penned them. To read a creative outpouring of my, or someone else's, soul is a priceless thing.

Whitney has rejoined a writing club we were a part of many years ago. It was how we met acutally, writing our little stories set in a world of fantasy. It got me to thinking that I still have something to say and I can find time to put it down on this virtual paper. I have found time to read emails, to play incessant games on facebook, to watch and play with the kids. Where did the time go that I saved for myself? I stopped reading. I stopped writing. I became this person I am today. I am not ashamed of who I am. I love being the mom, the cook, the wife, but I forgot to be Sherri somewhere along the way. I need to get back to her and find out what she has been doing these last 5 years.

Funny, I have been Mom for almost 5 years now. Seems like only yesterday I was holding my precious little boy for the first time. Amazed at how perfect he was and stunned that I could love him so much. Logan was just the start of the wonder that is motherhood. He was not long alone before we brought him a sister, and then another. I love my family. I love being called MOM.

I think I will have to write more. I'll keep you posted.

facebook

I am spending a lot of time on facebook these days. I just guess it is because it is so much fun to play the games and stuff. I was reminded of the fact that I really need to keep blogging. I guess it is correct. I mean after all, how will my family and friends who don't facebook know what I am doing? :)

A Mothers Christmas Poem

The Night before Christmas for Moms

It was the night before Christmas,when all thru the abode
Only one creature was stirring,and she was cleaning the commode.
The children were finally sleeping,all snug in their bedsWhile
visions of Nintendo Wii and Barbie flipped through their heads.
The dad was snoring in front of the TV,With a half-constructed
bicycle on his knee.
So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatterWhich made her
sigh"Now what's the matter?"

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her handShe descended the
stairs,and saw the old man.
He was covered with ashes and soot,which fell with a shrug.
"Oh great" muttered the mom"Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho-ho-ho!" cried Santa"I'm glad you're awake."
"Your gift was especially difficult to make."
"Thanks,Santa,

but all I want is some time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled"I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she asked"What good is that?
Run along,Santa,I've no time for chit-chat."
The mother's twin. Same hair,same eyes,Same double chin.

"She'll cook,she'll dust" She'll mop every mess.
You'll relax,take it easy,Watch The Young & the
Restless." "Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream come true!
"I'll shop. I'll read.I'll sleep a whole night through! "

From the room above,the youngest began to fret.
"Mommy?! I scared... And I am wet."
The clone replied"I'm coming,sweetheart."
"Hey" the mom smiled"She knows her part."

The clone changed the small one,and hummed a tune,as she bundled the
child,in a blanket cocoon.
"You the best mommy ever. " I really love you."
The clone smiled and sighed"I love you,too."

The mom frowned and said"SorrySantano deal. "
That's my child's love,she's trying to steal."
Smiling wisely Santa said"To me it is clear"
Only one loving mother,is needed here."

The mom kissed her child,and tucked her into bed.
"Thank youSantafor clearing my head.
I sometimes forget,it won't be very longWhen they'll be too old,for
my cradle-song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone"It works every time."
With the clone by his side Santa said"Goodnight. Merry
Christmas,Mom,You'll be all right."


-Author Unknown

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Oh my what a dress!!! I so would love to win this. How cute would Emma be wearing this dress!!

Craft Boutique

I am putting together a small boutique for neighbors and friends. It will be at my house on Saturday October 11th from 10am to 1pm. Please come if you are in the area and look over my stuff!!

Also I am going to be a part of the Girls Day Out boutique. For more information on that please check out their blog at http://www.girlsdayoutboutique.blogspot.com/. It will be November 8th from 9am to 5pm.

I will be debuting several new ideas for boys at these shows too so bring your transformer loving little guys for some great items!

New items in my store

I have been trying to come up with some fun ways to expand my stores offerings and I have come up with these. My kids loved the fifty cent wands I got from West Fest this year, but they were trashed in a matter of days. These have been tested by my wonderful army of 3 and 4 year olds for the last week and they are still going strong.

Let me know what you think! You can purchase on from my congo at www.hyenacart.com/mainstreet on Monday the 15th!

Picture tag

Ok so Amy tagged me for this picture tag. I guess that means I better find them batteries for the camera.

Take the pictures right now, no cleaning, sweeping or pushing aside things before you take the picture. No cheating!

Kitchen Sink! With all that crud at the bottom of the sink I promise I didn't cheat!

Pantry. Yeah I have a messy one. I have been meaning to clean it.

Yet another pantry pic so you can see the fruit loops at the top!

My wonderful Fridge!!! Yeah it is stocked with just about everything. I have just finished cleaning out the leftovers too.

My favorite room and also Caspers favorite room.

BATHROOM! It is scary but mostly clean

MY KIDS RIGHT NOW. Emma has given up her afternoon nap, but she usually falls asleep at 5:30 or 6pm right now. I just cant get her to nap during the day!

Rachel just woke up from her afternoon nap.

ME. Good greif, I need makeup!

My CLOSET. Yeah I want doors on this thing!

Laundry room. Ok so I use it as a storage space! So sue me!

My FAVORITE SHOES. I love these things. I wish I had a pair of brown and black ones too.

Ok there you go. Promise I didn't cheat!!!

Back to School

Ok so I am not going back to school, but I am going back to daycare. I was going to watch a friend of Logan's this year until his older siblings got home from school, but I figured why not add another one so there was a friend for emma too. Well I did and now I have 4 additional kids! It is wonderful. Oddly enough I really am enjoying it. I have never been so tired at the end of the day, but it is very easy going kind of day. The kids are all getting along really well together, knock on wood, and that gives me a few minutes a day to get my house picked up or cleaned a little bit.

Yes I am keeping the house fairly clean. I can't say that it is spotless at all times, or ever really, but you can see the carpet in all the rooms, the bottom of both kitchen sink basins, and the counter tops. I even manage to mop the floor once a week!

The extra money is great to help with the few bills that we were falling behind on and some in the coffers for some sod this fall! Yay!!! I will have grass that can be walked on in bare feet. What a concept! It is just the back little bit, but I really needed to have some grass in there with all the kids I have during the day.

Oh and congrats to Heather and Jared~ You know why.