Learning the Hard Way

This is how we spend our evenings when we create mud in the backyard and then track it through the house.

At first I second-guessed my ability to be a mother of so many boys with such a high dislike/low tolerance for mud. (I seriously hate it!) And then I remembered, "I'm raising men, not boys. And these men will know how to clean up after themselves."

And they did a pretty good job. :)

Presidents Day

On Presidents Day we decided that we would drive down towards San Antonio and go to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. We went there a few years ago and had a great time. We wanted something that we could do together as a family, and since I'm not up for much walking around, and the boys ages limit us, this was a good fit. They were super excited when we told them we were going to go and drive through the park and see lots of big animals. 

Big animals we saw. Lots. Especially these kinds of animals, with horns. There were some with curved horns, some with long straight horns, and some with twisted horns. The boys had fun looking through the catalog Dustin bought so that they could identify which animal we were seeing. 

We also got a bag of food to throw out the window. I was amazed at how many people we saw feeding the animals out of their hands. I realize that these animals are used to people doing this, but come on, they're still WILD ANIMALS! They will still bite you!!!

Check out this buffalo. It was so big!!! The boys were excited when we went by this big furry fellow.

Actually, they were pretty excited about most of the animals we saw. Because you have to drive so slowly through the park, the boys were able to enjoy not being belted in, and they were allowed to sit so that they could view the animals.

 The zebras are a huge attraction. They are very friendly, so they get up close and personal. But we didn't enjoy them as much as we did last time, because of this car in front of us. To be honest, it was more than one car in front of us. But this lady felt the need to literally park her vehicle for 10 minutes so that her kids could hand feed the zebras (which they specifically warn you not to do because they really will bite) and take pictures of them from every possible angle. I was fuming at the ears. Eventually we rolled down our windows and threw food at the zebras to get them away from her car so that she would move on. At that point, we were so tired of waiting that we didn't stop very long for the kids to get a more personal look at them.

 The ostriches weren't big fans of coming too close. 

 We were all dying at the adorable babies with this mama bird. Aren't they cute?! We saw lots of tiny ones with their families as we drove through the ranch. Must be baby time for a lot of animals.

 Once we finally got through the park (it took us much longer than we thought, due to the traffic, and annoying patrons who had no respect for the line of 15 cars behind them) the boys got to get out and actually pet some critters.

 Because we'd been here before, I saved some of our animal food for the boys to feed to the goats. Jensen was really the only one who had the patience to let them eat out of his hand. I think Carson was too afraid, and Mason wouldn't hold the food long enough in his hand for them. There were quite a few baby goats as well, and Mason was so cute. At one point he was kinda surrounded by 3 or 4 goats and he happily said, "Hey guys!"

This was the one video I shot of us seeing some Italian donkeys. I'm sad I didn't start recording sooner, because Mason was screaming with delight when we first saw them. At any rate, you can still tell he had a good time. We all did.

Jensen's 5th Birthday

So, today is actually not Jensen's 5th birthday. It is, however, my awesome mom's 65th birthday! Jensen's birthday is tomorrow. We celebrated it today, nonetheless. 

It was a perfect, no frills, fun party. We played with his friends at the park, and the weather was wonderful.

I convinced Jensen to have his birthday party at the park by saying we could get a piñata. He was immediately sold.

We also opened presents. Jensen was awesome at opening gifts, because he got so excited with each one. You know it's a good birthday when everything is "Just what I wanted!!!" It's also a good indication that you're 5. :)

The kids happily ate vegetables and pizza. My awesome mother-in-law was kind enough to pick the pizza up for us, so it was hot and just in time for all those little hungry tummies.

We also had cake. Jensen really wanted a Batman birthday party. (He has probably only ever seen a cartoon of Batman once. At a friends house. I'm pretty sure he knows next to nothing about Batman. But he thinks he's cool, so whatever.) I made the cake the night before, and the boys thought it was great. 

The best part about blowing out the candles was that we had to light them outside- always tricky because of the wind. So as soon as I got all 5 candles lit, and we were in the middle of singing "Happy Birthday to You" Jensen just blew them out. :) Then he proceeded to go and tell all his friends what his wish was…but not any of the moms. 

 It was such a fun morning. Very low stress for me, which made it all the better. I can hardly believe my funny little "Baby J" is 5. Where did that last year go? I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing next year…

Happy Birthday Jensen!!!!!

 

Check This Out

So, I know you're all super jealous of my newest pregnancy equipment.

Due to a lot of pain associated with my separating pelvic bones, my doctor recommended that I get a support band to help relieve the pressure that this baby is creating on my body. So, after a little internet research, Mason and I took a trip to the store and got me this. 

I gotta say, I thought it was going to be uncomfortable, but actually, it makes my back and hips feel really good. I guess I didn't realize how much support my back was missing out on. :) The only real problem with wearing this (under my clothes, of course, not like in the picture) is having to go to the bathroom. You know how a pregnant lady's bladder is. Particularly when you're a sweller, like I am, and there is a high amount of fluid intake going on. Going to the bathroom constantly is already a pain, but if the band makes it so that I can actually walk again, I guess I'll just deal with it.

As for Baby Brud #4, he is still all about changing positions. Yesterday at my doctors appointment he was head up (it took the poor nurse forever to find his heartbeat until she finally moved to the top of my uterus instead of the bottom). But I have also felt him doing somersaults and hiccuping with his head down. In fact last night he woke me up at 2 am because he made such a huge movement. I'm nervous about his constant position changes, because if he is still in any breech position come time to deliver, I won't be able to have him vaginally. Major bummer. I pray everyday that he will be cooperative and go into the correct position.

We also get to take another look at him in a couple of weeks. My doctor is anxious about how big he really is, and so she's scheduled me for yet another ultrasound. (His size could also make things difficult if he's huge like Mason AND breech.) I know there is no way to tell how big he actually is, or will be, but I am curious to see what my doctor says.

So, there you have it. An updated pregnancy report on our sure-to-be cutie.

Random Stuff

Just thought I'd add a couple of photo's from the wedding back in December. It was crazy windy that evening at the temple- we all should have done our hair up!

This was the nice family picture they took for us. I really did work hard with Mason on what a "nice smile" was. A lot of good that did.

I liked this cute hugging picture, too. My sister-in-law posted another one where all the little boys are hugging me and Dustin was just chilling by himself. It made me laugh.

 Nothing made me laugh like this one, though. How funny are these boys? I love them.

 And this is the Nativity set I made at Super Saturday this year. I took these pictures because my mom was interested in seeing them. Originally we were supposed to paint our blocks white and then adhere the fabric pictures to the fronts, because they were printed on white muslin. But someone suggested staining the blocks and cutting the figures out. The hard part about doing that was the star, the shepherd and the drummer boy had tricky parts, but I just worked around it. Anyway, I just finally got them spray lacquered this week and I loved the way they turned out. All ready for next Christmas!!!

In other news, my baby is apparently very healthy and strong. I feel like he's trying to fight his way out of my abdomen. A lot. And he likes to change positions still. (Which is SUPER comfortable, let me tell you…) At 31 weeks, it's getting a little late in the game to be in a breech position, as far as I'm concerned, so please pray that he'll be a good boy and permanently get his head down so that I don't have to have a C-section.

Ted E. Bear

Jensen's class at Mothers Day out has been doing a literacy activity called the "Ted E. Bear Project." The students get to take home the class stuffed animal, Ted, for a weekend and then they journal about and share what they did with him. This weekend Jensen got to bring Ted home. 

 Ted came home with a backpack full of clothes, a journal, toys and books. Jensen LOVED dressing Ted in different outfits. You can totally tell my kids don't have any dolls to dress up. (Maybe we should think about getting some Build-a-Bears and outfits…)

 We didn't have any grand plans for our weekend, so Jensen just hung out with Ted, and they did what we normally would do. He played games with him, brought him along while we ran errands, etc. I tried to take pictures of things to add to his journal. 

My favorite journal entry was on Sunday. Jensen would always tell me what he wanted to write and I would put it in the journal. That day he wrote, "Today Ted went to church with me and my family. Ted was good at church and he took a nap there. He also played with me in the car, which was fun. We sat quietly and played the quiet game." Sometimes he just cracks me up!

 We had fun playing with Ted and documenting our experiences. The goal of the Ted E. Bear project is to introduce students to journaling while making connections with other students in the class. I loved participating in this. I'm an avid journal keeper, and it's something that I have worked on with both Carson and Jensen. Every Sunday morning we take 10 minutes or so to write in their journals. Jensen narrates while I write, and then he draws pictures or letters at the bottom of the page. Now that Carson can write, he journals more on his own. I love reading what they wrote for different things, and it's hilarious to hear things narrated from a child's point of view. I really do hope that they come to enjoy this habit of regular record keeping.

Sniff

One of my friends recently blogged about how she felt she was in a "funk." It was reassuring, because I was feeling it too.

All this past week my kids have been passing around the sniffles. They were nice enough to share with me. (Sniff.) I think this pregnancy may go down as the one where I kept getting sick. I don't typically like to take meds (even when I'm not pregnant) unless it's really bad, so I've just been downing tons of liquid and eating lots of oranges. I forgot how much I like oranges. I had to buy a whole bunch during my grocery store trip yesterday. So good. I digress.

I've also been experiencing pretty constant sciatic nerve pain in my left leg for the past week. This has not been fun. I can't seem to get that "Police" song out of my head…"every step you take, every move you make…" Thankfully, today it has been feeling better. Hooray!

My sleepless nights have already begun. Between the sniffles (sniff), the nerve pain every time I roll over, and getting up to go pee, I can't say it's been a good sleep week. Plus, my Mason really loves to wake up bright and early. He's awake for one reason or another around 5:45am every morning. If he gets out of bed before 6, I take him back to his bed. If it's after 6 when I hear his little feet coming for my room, I let him crawl in bed and snuggle with me. He knows he has to be quiet and try to leave my hair alone. But this morning, he started trying to tell me something. I took his paci out so that I could understand what he was saying. At first I thought he said that dolphins and fish go in the water. But he corrected me saying, "No, dolphins "fim"in the water." And then he went back to being quiet. Makes me wonder what is going on in that cute little head sometimes. The other boys know not to come out of their room until 6:30am. (I'm so glad Carson can read a clock now.)

I was lucky enough to sneak in a couple of naps this week, though. They were much needed and much appreciated. I'm hoping with the sniffles on their way out (sniff) and the nerve pain that seems to be getting better, that I'll have a better week next week. And maybe my birthday date to see Les Miserables at the Alamo Drafthouse tonight will brighten my mood. :)