Weebles Wobble

So last night my loving, caring, humorous husband compared me to a Weeble Wobble. Now picture this we are getting up from the couch and I of course am getting up slower than him. I sat on the edge of the couch with my feet lifted off the floor so I was balancing on just my rear end. My stomach was poking out of the bottom of my shirt and I had straightened my back. (I was trying to find some relief in pain from my hips don't ask me why I thought this look and position would help my situation) Corey looks down at me and starts laughing and says "you look like a weeble wobble" and we both start laughing. All I could do was laugh. Corey continues laughing and states the famous catch phrase for the weeble wobbles, "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down." I love that man! Even if he thinks I look like a weeble wobble.

Finding Joy in Motherhood

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother. ~Oprah Winfrey

Our lesson in Young Women's this past Sunday was finding Joy in Our Divine Potential. We had two ladies from our ward come talk to us about our divine potential as mothers. Both did a wonderful job speaking about being a mother and how much they enjoy being mothers. I want to thank Cami for her story of being a mother. She really got me to thinking about what women everywhere go through as a mother. There are many times that I find myself complaining about how sick I am, or how tired I am , or how fat I am. After listening to the lesson that Cami gave I realize that none of that matters. There are many women out there that could care less if they were sick or tired or fat just to be able to experience carrying a child of their own. Cami went through so much and has dealt with so many feelings and still has a smile on her face. I know that there is nothing I can say or do to make someone feel better about not being able to have children, but I do know that I can listen and be there to support them.
I am thankful for all the mothers in my life that are such great examples and that are so strong. I want to be a better mom because of the mothers I deal with on a daily basis. I love my children more than anything and I am glad that I have the opportunity to be their mom. I am thankful to the young unwed mothers that make the sacrifice of giving up their child for married couples to adopt and have a family with both a mom and a dad. I have many friends that have had to deal with adoption and how happy they are when their new little baby comes home with them and is sealed to them. I am thankful to the stepmoms that struggle every day to be the best mom they can be. Even with the trials of knowing there is another mom in their children's lives they know that they are mom and they help in making those kids better people. Every woman in their own little way is a mom. Whether it is to nieces and nephews or cousins or the neighbor next door woman just have that natural ability to love children and make sure they are safe and that they are loved. So to all the mother's out there thank you for being you.

Rantings of a pregnant, working mother

Ok, this post is not being written to make anyone feel bad it is just me needing to get some things off my chest. First, I must address the pregnant rantings. I am constantly saying how fat I am and that... I can take the fat jokes. I always feel like I am a turtle stuck on my back because when you are pregnant it is just not as easy to move around when you have the belly. My issue is when I walk into my place of employement and some of the employees have to state the obvious, "Wow! you are getting big. How much longer do you have?" I know I am getting big. That is what you are supposed to do when you are pregnant. There is just no getting around the growing belly. It happens. So I can joke about getting bigger, but I don't need anyone seriously telling me that I am getting bigger. I know...
Now that I have that off my chest, the next rant I have is when people ask me if I am going to continue working after the baby is born. I know that the ideal thing for every woman would be to stay home with their children and raise them without having to put them in a daycare or have someone watch them while they have to go to work. I just don't know how that is possible. When Corey and I purchased our home we had to get the loan based on both of our incomes. I don't see where anything has changed from my first or second child to allow me to stay home with my third. Believe me I would love to be a stay at home mom. I have toyed with the option of starting a daycare in my home, but that also poses to be an issue. If I start a daycare you are not guaranteed to have those kids coming to your home. What if their parents lose their job? You don't get paid unemployement when you are self employed. There is also a lot of work that goes into having a daycare. I have researched this. Plus when you have a daycare in your home you are still not giving your own children your full attention. You are giving attention to your children plus 5 or 6 other children coming into your home. So at this time I still plan on working at my place of employment after the baby is born. I will have 8 weeks off to spend with the baby, but then back to work. I hate to do that, but in order for us to keep our home this is how it is going to have to be.

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

I wanted to do this before 2008 ended, but I just ran out of time. Speaking of time that is one thing I would like to modify in 2009. I read my friend Pam's blog and she made a good point. Most people don't stick to resolutions. I even rarely make resolutions because I know I won't follow thru. So instead there are things that I would like to modify. I would like to make more time for family, friends, and fun. Sometimes I feel like I never have the time to do the important things like sitting down with the kids to read a book. I know the kids would love for me to read every book they have every day all day. I don't want them growing up thinking I didn't have time to read to them or that I was too tired. So modification #1 time.
In 2008 a lot happened. I went to Arizona with some of my soccer buddies in January to play in a tournament and got stuck in AZ due to a snow storm in UT. To be able to play soccer again in a tournament setting was a great experience. February Corey and I got older and we celebrated our 5th year of marriage. March Camrey and I got some one on one bonding time at princesses on ice. Camrey still talks about going and seeing the characters skating. This was also an experience shared with my soccer friends. April and May seemed to be quiet months. I remember mostly that they were much colder months than years past. So for 2009 here's hoping for a warmer April and May. In June we attended the Jackman family reunion which was smaller than it has ever been. The funniest part of this trip was Camrey knowing what our white elephant gift for the bingo game was and she was not going to give it up. It was a butterfly net. She was so excited that she got this prize. In July I got pregnant! Need I say more? This was also the month of the beginning of the carni trail. Each year I look forward to working the concession stands at the Pioneer days rodeo and the Weber County Fair. I am not sure why. August brought pregnancy sickness and my first doctors appointment. I skipped out on the bow hunt this year due to being so sick and didn't want to be sick in the mountains. September we heard the heartbeat of baby Bailey. October my work switched our districts and made other changes within management. That in itself was a huge adjustment. I flew to Portland in October for a work meeting and flew back the same day. This is something that I really don't want to do very much. I felt like that day I spent more time on a plane and in the airport. Brennen also turned 3 this month. November we found out that the baby is a girl and everything was on schedule. I think this was also the month that Bailey realized that she could move and she hasn't stopped. Camrey also turned 5 this month. I can't believe that she will start kindergarten this year. What a wonderful experience to go thru these stages in life. From feeling the baby move for the first time in your belly to crawling then walking to talking and then to getting ready for school. And then of course there is December which is eventful in itself with family and friend get togethers to celebrate the Christmas season. I want all my family and friends to know how much they mean in my life. We are blessed to have the support that we have. Every day I thank my Heavenly Father for the gifts and blessings he has given me and my family. So today I am saying thank you for a great 2008 and here is looking forward to a better 2009.

Merry Christmas!

This year was a great Christmas for our family. We have been so blessed. The kids were so excited this year. I love the age that they are and it is only going to get better as they get older. Camrey and Brennen had so much fun opening their presents. Corey didn't have as much fun until later in the evening, but once he got what he was waiting for Christmas was enjoyed by all. I hope all our friends and family had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve

The last two year's the "Hansen's" have invited us to join them in their Christmas Eve day tradition of swimming. The kids loved it last year and couldn't wait to do it again this year. This year we went to the Aquatic Center in Clearfield. I think everyone had a great time. After swimming we went our seperate ways and Corey, me and the kids met up with the Martin family to have a lunch at Olive Garden. This has also become a tradition that we have done every year. I forgot my camera for these good times, but the only thing you are missing is the fact that the pregnant lady (that's me) spilled her son's milk all over the floor and almost broke my water dish because I couldn't hold on to it for some reason. Thank you to our family for the great time we had at Olive Garden. I look forward to it every year. Next we went to my Dad's house for more food and fun. We didn't eat much there, but we had a great time. Thanks Dad for hosting an enjoyable evening. After my Dad's we have a family tradition on my side to light candles at my Grammy's and Papa's grave sight. We sing a couple of carols and then it is homeward bound we go to get ready for Santa to come. I let Camrey pour the milk and Camrey and Brennen picked which cookies Santa got. This year was such a fun year for the kids. Camrey even wrote the letter to Santa herself. Below is a little collage of the day.

Christmas baking

I did it! I finally let the kids bake some cookies with me and I didn't have a nervous break down in the process. I took two pictures with the final product. One pan is Camrey's cookies and the other pan is my cookies that I decorated. You can't really tell the difference which means either Camrey is really good or I am not great like I think I am. Just kidding. I had to monitor which frosting Brennen had because he had a habit of licking the knife when he was done frosting and I had to make sure the knife didn't make it back in the cup. Overall it was fun and the kids had a great time.