Boston Dean Cook 11 weeks old!

He started cooing and smiling about a week ago and I tell you what I can not get enough of the little guy. He is so cute and I'm in love with him!

A cure for the blues.....

I had been feeling a little blue and ornery. It had been snowing all day and I needed something to lift my spirits. I first went out and shoveled the walks, jumped in the snow with Savannah, went back inside and bundled the rest of the kids up so we could all enjoy a night in the snow. We had so much fun! The kids made snow angels, pulled each other around on the sled, and threw snow at each other for a good hour. Some neighbor kids also came out and I tell you what....I felt so much better when I went back inside. When we got inside my sweet husband had a cup full of hot chocolate ready for all of us. It was a great way to top of the fun night in the snow with the kids. So if you're feeling a little bit blue and there is fresh snow out side, bundle everyone up and go play like you used to when you were a little kid. It brought back all kinds of great memories! Here are my sweet little snow angels minus one!

Auttumn is pottytrained...kind of!

I'm sitting here feeding the baby and thinking about how Auttumn is potty trained and that I should blog about it. So yippee right....well kind of yippeeeeeeee emphasizing the pee part of that word. She was doing great for about a week and a half, going pee all by herself, even wiping all by herself. The only thing that was a little tiring was that she would unravel the whole role tp every time she would go. That's nothing to what she's doing now. Yesterday I caught her throwing tp wads at Noelle. And yes she was getting them wet from the toilet water. I could hear her laughing and of course Noelle screaming, so I went to see what was going on. Noelle informed me that she was throwing tp wads at her and that she thought it was so gross. "Yes that is descusting" i said, trying to stifel a laugh. Really that's not the worst of it, if Auttumn doesn't make it to the bathroom she'll just sit on the floor and piddle like a little dog. This morning while I was teaching pilates and she pooped in her panties while crawling around the equipment. "Don't worry" I say to myself, it didn't get anywhere but inside her panties. Some days I think I'm going to loose my mind........so Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Auttumn Trick or Treats...

Test Post

Halloween......Thriller!

It was a fun weekend! The kids had fun trick or treating and Colby and I had fun watching Auttumn hand out the trick or treat candy. Savannah was a broken wind up ballerina doll for school and Tiara Gold from HSM3 for trick or treating. Conner at the last minute decided to be an army guy, Noelle was a witch and Auttumn was Snow White. They all looked so cute....and none of them wanted any make-up which made me happy. Colby took the kids for about 30 minutes and then brought Auttumn home and let the older 3 trick or treat with their friends. I was glad when he got home because Auttumn wanted to hand out the candy to all the trick or treaters. Each time some one would come to the door she would yell out HIIIII.......and put a piece of candy in their bags. It was so cute! It made my night!

On saturday I took the older 3 kids to Thriller to see their aunt Lisa dance. They loved it, but I may have loved it more. Lisa was amazing and the guys this year were absolutely fabulous! I could watch them dance all night....I know that sounds a little funny but it's true. I thought the kids might get a little scared by the zambi girls that were lurking around all night but I think they actually got a kick out of them. At least Conner and Noelle liked them. We went with my mom and little brother and then met up with some other family members of mine. It was such a fun night the only thing missing was my cute Colby.

Savannah and Soccer...

Savannah played soccer this year and we had so much fun watching her. I was a little apprehensive about letting her play because the last time she played she really didn't like it and quit half way through the season. Besides the fact that I didn't think she was very aggresive. But I'm glad to say that not only did she really enjoy playing, she was able to be an aggresive player and went after the ball when ever she had a chance.
She assisted on a couple of goals and had several steels. She was great at taking advice and putting it into play and tried hard to listen to her coach. Her team did really well, they only lost one game. Anyway I just wanted to write a few things down about her first soccer season so that I didn't forget. I think this picture is so cool I love the way Colby caught her in action.

Boston Dean Cook

We went in on Thurs. the 16th at 10 am to get induced and he arrived at 6:48 pm. It was a little long but luckily I really didn't feel a whole lot of pain because I had them give me an epidural right after they broke my water.
Colby and I let Savannah be there during the whole process and I'm so glad we did. She was so excited to see little Boston and when it came time to push she and my dad went out and every couple of minutes she would poke her head in and ask if he was here yet. When she heard his little cry she came in again and asked if that was him crying. It was really special to have her there. Also the nurse who delivered Savannah 9 years ago also delivered Boston. She was my first and last nurse to assist me with my deliveries. I loved having be my nurse the first time and loved her even more the second time. The whole day was just a really special day for me.
I probably should have blogged about his birth sooner because today I'm feeling a little blue and don't feel like writing a whole lot. How ever I do want to say that prior to having him I wasn't very excited about it all. So I had been praying for that instant love to be there as soon as I saw his sweet little face. Not only was my prayer answered but I have felt really quite good considering it all. I'm so in love with this little guy. He is so beautiful and seems to have a calm disposition. I know that may not last but I'll take it for as long as it does. I feel so blessed to have a healthy beautiful little boy and the kids have done really well with him. All of them want to do what ever they can to help him and me. Auttumn did really well for the first few days but has kind of struggled the last couple of days. Hopefully that doesn't last too long.

Unforgettable moments with dad!

Last week Colby played spider with the kids. This is their favorite thing to do with their dad because they get to jump on him, pinch him, kick him, throw balls at him. Just about anything goes. But the funny part is, is when they do hit him his reaction is hilarious. He exaggerates his reaction by shaking his body which in turns shakes his shaggy hair and that is what makes me laugh.

I love the look on all the kids faces! They giggled, screamed, giggled some more and when Colby finally said that he had had enough they begged for more.





That was when he pulled out his treat that he bought at Costco earlier that day....Jelly Bellies! I love it when he plays like this with the kids and I know that it's moments like these that they will look back on as unforgettable.












Look at Savannah's lips, Noelle's especially long tongue and Conner's sweet little angel face! Too cute!

I've Been Tagged

Becky tagged me and I have to admit that I've been tagged before and never did it so I guess I'll play along this time. I'm supposed to list 5 things that most people don't know about me. That does pose a problem, because most of the things people don't know about me are kept a secret for a purpose. But I will share a few:

!. I really like to listen to Rush (not the Band).

@. I love picking out Colors for paint, materials, just what ever.

#. I love to sew especially when I'm pregnant.

$. I'm quite insecure sometimes but I'm working on over coming some of my insecurities.

%. My favorite season is Fall......I love the changing colors!

An Iraq Vet Has Something To Say

A Funny From Noelle

Does anyone see a problem with this outfit? I sure as h_ _ _ don't, I'm nine months pregnant and I need to be comfortable. Noelle on the other hand did, as we were walking out the door to take her to preschool she says, with disgust in her tone, "mom don't walk anywhere with those clothes on because people will think they're ugly." Translation: Don't you dare try and walk me into preschool with that hideous outfit on or I will pretend I don't know who you are.....too funny. Is this what I'm teaching her, that clothes matter more than what's on the inside. Where have I gone wrong bahahahahah!

Auttumn

What am I going to do when little Boston is born.....This little Auttumn's world is going to turn upside down. I'm expecting the worst so maybe it won't be as bad as I think. Wish me or should I say her luck.

Conner....My Little Athlete!

This kid never stops moving. Seriously, he never stops. He is always using what ever is in his hands as some kind of ball, throwing it up in the air, throwing it at the wall in hopes that it will bounce back to him. He frequently uses his blood tester as a ball and I've had to get after him because he's come home with a broken vile of insulin a couple of times and other times without any insulin at all because it flew out of his pack while taking flight. The other day I called the office to see what his blood sugar level was and the secretary said, "He hasn't come in yet....oh wait here he comes, throwing his blood tester pack in the air." I just had to laugh because that is so him. In his own little super star world.
He started basketball the end of Sept. and is really liking it. His team is pretty good but they're still learning how to pass the ball to any player even if you don't know him very well. Saturday Colby and I and Noelle went to watch his game. The other team had some really tall players that just towered over Conner, and a coach that kept looking at her play sheet to see which play they should run next. Mind you, they are only in 2nd grade. So you can imagine how ecstatic she was when the ref kept calling fouls on Conner's team which meant that the other team got to take the ball out. Conner never seemed to be too bothered by it but kept playing his heart out. Colby on the other hand was getting heated and kept cursing the ref and the other coach the entire game. I kept reminding him that they were only 2nd graders and not the Jazz. Any way, it's still fun to watch him play anything because he gets so into it and he is so coordinated.


Here's a pic of im playing baseball which his most favorite sport. He would ask me before each game, "Mom which batting stance do you like better, the one where I swing the bat three times and then point to where I want it to go, or the one where I point the bat where I want to hit the ball and then pull up on my sleeve." Too funny! I haven't written very much about him and I needed to write a few things down before I forgot them.


One last thing, the other day when I picked him up from school the first thing he said to me when he got into the car was, "Hey mom, did you know that I'm the only 2nd grader that can tackle Chaz." Chaz is his best buddy that lives next door. He is twice his weight and head and shoulders taller than him. The funny thing is, is that chaz is only 5 months older than him. They remind me of Rob and Big on MTV

My Little Noelle

Doesn't that look like so much fun. As kids we used to do this or maybe I should say my brothers used to do this until my dad would tell them to stop because some unlucky brother got worst of the landing. They would pile on top of each other and occasionally they would beg me to be the one on top.....but I knew better. The one on top was the one that got cremated and it only took once for me to know that it wasn't the most desirable position to be in. My kids pile blankets at the bottom of the stairs and then take turns going down on the sled. They just giggle and giggle.

I'm Going To Kill My Sciatic Nerve......if it doesn't kill me first:(

For the past month I'd say, my left sciatic nerve has been killing me. Well the baby finally turned so the head was down and that seemed to relieve some of the pain, until today that is. Now it's worse than ever. I took the kids over to the park and thought I would watch them from the car so I could listen to talk radio....Bad Idea. Auttumn decided that it would be fun to hang from a bar that was at least 5 ft. high. I jumped out of the car and ran to her.....Another bad idea but necessary. My first step I just about fell on my face but quickly recovered only to get to her right before she fell. Which if she had fallen she surely would have broken her leg. But now I can not sit down with out excruciating pain down my left leg. So for now I'm standing, yeah for me.

Sally Foster

What does this name mean to you? Sally Foster......Can I say that I hate the PTA fundraisers. I know I may make some people mad but it's true. However my sweet little Savannah can not pass up an opportunity to earn something or make a little money. In fact she has it in her mind that she is going to sell over 100 items. The funny thing is she will do everything in her power to reach this goal which seems so unrealistic to me. I wish you the best of luck my little go getter! So if she shows up at your door or you receive a friendly little phone call I'm apologizing now:)

I'm Having Troubles With My Blog

I changed my template and lost all of my widgets. Does anyone know how to get them back or how to get the new widgets to show up?

Noelle Sure Loves Her Dance Teacher!

Noelle loves her dance class. She is actually quite a little dancer. Well today was her day to go to dance class. We got her tights and her leotard on, put her dance shoes in her bag and on her way out the door she asks me if I will pick her up today. Her dance class is right next door so I said, "why don't you just walk home because I have to go visiting teaching and Savannah will be babysitting" she agreed that she would. Tonight my neighbor, the one who runs the studio, calls to tell me that Noelle had waited for all the little dancers to leave so she could ask her dance teacher if she would give her a ride home:) So her sweet dance teacher puts her in her car and buckles her in ready to give her a ride home. Wendi, my neighbor, kindly tells the dance teacher that Noelle just lives right next door and the dance teacher says, "I know, I just love her and she wanted me to give her a ride home." So she gave her a ride home which is about 50 yards. Hilarious!

Where's Auttumn....?

So here is my scare for the day. I had sent Noelle to dance which is at my next door neighbors house, left Auttumn right out front on my sidewalk and ran inside my house to get the phone. I was not even gone 1 min. and when I came back out side Auttumn was no where in sight. I yelled over to Noelle and asked her if Auttumn was over there and she said no. I went over to my other next door neighbors house thinking maybe she went to knock on their door but no...... I went back over to where Noelle was and walked around that house....still no Auttumn. Came back home thinking, maybe she went inside the house without me seeing her....nope she wasn't in the house. About this time I was starting to get panicked because there has been a couple of kidnapping scares down at the elementary school. I went back over to the neighbors house to see if maybe she did go over there and I just didn't see her the first time.....Still no Auttumn. At that time my neighbor across the street yells my name and with a big smile on her face brings Auttumn over to me. My heart stopped racing, the labor pains that had begun to start, suddenly stopped and I relaxed. I asked her if Auttumn had knocked on her door and with a giggle she said, "Um no, she was in my bathroom". Not only had Auttumn knocked on her door, she had walked in leaving the door slightly ajar and made herself at home by using her bathroom. The funniest part about the whole thing is my neighbor had just gotten home from picking up her kids from school, walked inside to use her bathroom and found the little terd. When my neighbor opened the bathroom door Auttumn looked up waved and said with a smile, Hi. Why was I so panicked she was just in my neighbors house....alone.....in the bathroom. What in the WORLD!

Say What You Need To Say...do what you need to do

I'm so sad that I missed his concert! But that's beside the point. I don't know how many of you have seen the movie "The Bucket List" and if you have, did you like it? If you haven't you should....it's a good movie. Any way, my mom just finished with a round of radiation treatment and prior to that a round of chemo therapy so needless to say she has had a rough year. But regardless of her pain and suffering she continues to bless my life and all those around her. I don't know what I'd do with out her....that day will surely come but I hope that it is later rather than sooner. She is my hero, inspiration, and proud to say that she is my mom in every sense of the word!

One of Laundry's Little Blessings

I don't know about everyone else but it seems to me that laundry is a never ending story. I swear, the minute I think I'm a head of the game and I have a day or two to rest, I'm bombarded by 5 more loads. Well today doing laundry wasn't all that bad, in fact I received payment for all my hard work. While I was folding an enormous load of whites I found a couple of dollar bills.....wait......there is a few more, and more and more and when I was finally finished I had recovered not 1 not 2 but 42 dollars out of my dryer. You'd think my husband would say, "Hey Amy I've miss placed some money have you seen it?" But no, he had no idea that he had even lost the money. Now I know that 42 dollars really isn't that much, but hey it took me about 20 minutes to fold the batch so I'll just go ahead and assume that I'm worth 126 dollars an hour to do house work....why limit it to just laundry!

The Baby Has Hick-ups!

The other night the baby had the hick-ups and they all wanted to feel. The kids always want to be feeling my stomach to see if they can feel the baby move, especially Savannah.

Dinner Guests!

Last night we had some friends over for dinner and the kids put on a little performance for them. Noelle and Auttumn went to town dancing all around the room showing off their dance moves. They were so gracious with my kids and my kids loved having the attention. I'm so grateful for nice people who make you feel at ease. What a blessing it is to me to have those kind of experiences. I had such a nice time last night and Colby made a delicious dinner......delicious.....let me say it one more time.....it was so yummy! Savannah and Conner held their attention at the dinner table, telling the couple all about their activities they're involved in, and Noelle and Auttumn held their attention when we were all done with dinner.

Let's Color.....on paper and on my lips!

This is all very self explanatory.....I don't even need to write a word.

Auttumn's Birthday!

Auttumn turned 2 on Sept. 7th. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She is the funnest little girl! She almost always has a smile on her face, now that smile may be a defiant one or mischievous one or a I told you so one.....but never the less it is a smile. She even wakes up with a smile. She loves to sing, color, read books, bother Noelle, make messes in Savannah's room, watch Conner and dad play the xbox, get into my makeup, put lipstick on layer upon layer, give hugs and kisses, and sleep right in the middle of mom and dad (that's just until she falls asleep, but she doesn't need to know that now does she). She is a delight!!! We bought a Spongebob cupcake cake and sang happy birthday to her. She loved every minute of it and sang happy birthday for the next couple of days. I can't even begin to say just how much I enjoy her little personality even if she causes way too much trouble for her age.

Wow this year is flying by!

It has been so long since I've posted and maybe, maybe not I'll really post this time. Since January....Well let's see where do I start...Colby and I took the kids to Disneyland in Feb. and had the funnest time. We left Auttumn with a friend and took the oldest three kids, which was the best decision I've ever made. The kids were awesome, they loved Disneyland! The first night we were there Noelle sat up on the top bunk and sang songs to her self and talked about how excited she was to go back to Disneyland. Still to this day when Colby and I ask the kids what they want to do on a Sat. she'll say, "I want to go to Disneyland."



Also in Feb. we found out, to our total surprise, that I was pregnant with our 5th. Needless to say I cried for a couple of days and was bitter for the following 2 months. Now
that I'm about to have the baby I feel at peace with the idea and we are all excited to have our little Boston join the family.
March and April were a blurr, no not burr which they were that too, but Blurr...I can't recall them. Except, that I was anxious to start on our planter box garden so I started planting way too soon and had to replant most of the plants because it kept freezing. Dumb whether...or maybe just dumb me. But, after much effort to begin with, our garden has been a success and I'm proud to say that we've actually harvested quite a bit of food.

Actually I do remember something fun Colby and I got to do in March. Colby and I went to Florida to see a Boston pre-season game down in Fort Meyers. We had a great time! We were only there two nights but if you know my husband he can make a 3 day trip seem like a week long by packing it full of things to do. Both mornings we woke up at 5 am to go hunt for seashells, and we found some great ones to take home to the kids. It was a little early to be waking up on a vacation but it was worth it.

In May we celebrated Savannah's birthday by giving her birthday party with all her friends. She said it was the best party we have ever given her. It was a Hannah Montana party which was her favorite singer at that time, it has since moved to the "Jonas Brothers". The girls played a few games, ate dinner, and then played the big, bigger, biggest game to top off the night. It really did turn out to be a really fun night for her and I was glad because she deserved it. She is such a great little girl with a very big heart!

June...School got out and the kids were so ready for the break. Except that little Conner was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 weeks into the vacation. On June 17th, the day before our family reunion, Conner started showing signs of diabetes which then led me to test his blood. It read HIGH on the meter and Colby and I headed down to the hospital in AF. I couldn't believe how brave he was, the nurses had to stick him several times to draw blood because his little veins kept collapsing and he barely made a peep. Before we left for the hospital Colby gave him a blessing and in that blessing he mentioned that Conner was now a part of the diabetes club which we have in our family. At the time I thought to myself that it was kind of a strange thing to say in blessing but later realized that it made the world of difference for Conner because it was a phrase that he could relate to. Something that made an impression on me while we were at the hospital was when Conner looked up at Colby and I, and with all sincerity and with a smile on his face said, "Thanks mom and dad for supporting me." What 7 year old says something like that after just being diagnosed with diabetes. He never cries when he has to prick his finger, which is at least 5 times a day, nor does he when he has to be given a shot, which is 4 times a day and sometimes more. He's a little star!!!!!


The family reunion, despite missing the opening dinner which we three were all so sad about, was great! My sister-in-law who put it together amazes me with what she does. She and my brother did an awesome job and we all had so much fun being there.

July was hot and long! The forth of July was fun though. We bought tickets to the stadium of Fire where Glenn Beck, The Blue Man Group, Miley Cyrus, and last but certainly not least Savannah performed. I loved Glenn Beck, I loved the Jets that flew over head, loved the parachuters, didn't love Miley Cyrus or the Blue Man Group and I loved the performance by all the little dancers, which included Savannah. They were great!


August...I'm still pregnant....but the kids started school. Yeah...for two reasons, it gives me a break and they are really liking school this year. Savannah has a new teacher who she loves, Mrs. Young and Conner has Mrs Lowery and is doing really well. He is doing just fine handling his diabetes at school which takes a lot of stress of me and I am starting to feel like I just might be able to handle this 5 children thing that is about to happen to me. Noelle is in preschool with Mrs. Redd and she loves it there and I have to say that out of all the preschool teachers my kids have had, she takes the cake! She is awesome!

Here they all are on the third day of school. Happy (which is a feet in and of itself) and ready for the day. Even Auttumn got ready to go, with her one shoe on, hair band on the other foot, and her birthday suit. Wait a minute how did that happen.....oh yea I'm a mother of four and at least three of them had there clothes.
Now it's Sept. and we'll have to see how this month goes. So far so good...I actually feel really good physically and calm emotionally.

It looks like I accomplished what seemed like the impossible.....I made a post on my blog:) Happy day. I also listened to Sara Palin's Republican speech today on You Tube and loved it. She is inspiring to say the least!!!!!!

My New Year's Goal!

To be the best I can be ever single day......no matter what is thrown my way!