Yes, son, we do

We have been watching "The Music Man" on DVD a fair bit lately. I love it and the kids love it so it's a good compromise between brainless cartoons and adult tv. We were watching the other day while I spent a good chunk of the day folding laundry when we got to this first number:

http://http://youtu.be/GFRvQ2hDWDk

(Sorry... embedding is disabled on this clip)

When it was over, Porter look at me and said, "Mom, do we know the territory??"

Spilling the beans....

So it's time we finally fessed up: we are expecting another baby in January.

We are extremely happy, especially now that I have reached the second trimester and I am feeling better and that we know that there are no complications. I was initially terrified due to the events of last winter but the ultrasound shows that everything is just fine and I got to hear the heartbeat at my appointment this week. There was a hiccup with my initial bloodwork, which would have meant being a human pin-cushion for the rest of my pregnancy but upon further testing this week, we have received the all clear. I am very happy about that because needles and I are not great friends.

Our kids are super excited. Sarah wants a baby sister, Porter wants a baby brother, and Paige wants twins. (Good thing we already know that it's not twins!) Paige is especially obsessed with the baby and as we were shopping at Walmart the other day, I had to go to the baby section to buy diapers. Paige immediately wanted to know if we were there to buy something for the new baby. She is going to be a great big sister and amazingly helpful since she will be almost 7 by the time this little one makes it's appearance. Porter will be awesome at holding the baby. And Sarah I hope will adapt well and not beat the baby up. Not that I think she would do it purposely, but she will be 3 so ya never know. She might want to play with it like a baby doll. :)

Wish us luck, health, and lots of sleep... we're gonna need it!

Complicated

Sometimes life just seems to throw complications your way. I seem to be having one of those years. We got an interesting phone call yesterday. We don't know exactly what it will mean yet but it certainly has me thinking. I will let you know more when I know more. Just know there may be big things on our horizon.

Kid Funnies

Went into Pro-Build yesterday to pay our monthly house-building account bill. I had my kids in tow, as always. And, as always, they were running around like crazy people. (I don't know what it is about that store that makes them insane...) We went into the accounting office where these two cute grandma-type ladies work. They looked at my girls playing/running together and said, "Oh, aren't you cute! Are you such good friends?" Paige answered, "No, we're sisters!!"

A few days ago, I was driving the car somewhere and my kiddos were in the backseat playing with their toys. With the move of stuff out of the storage unit, my kids have re-discovered a huge bin of their toys that has been stored for the last year. In that bin was a little plastic quarter horse. Paige had taken the horse on this particular car ride. This is the conversation that took place:
Paige: Porter, this is my quarter horse. Her name is Quartery. She's a girl, see? (As she flips the horse over for Porter to see the under side.)
Porter: Holy cow! She has milkers!!

Hee Hee

I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight. It was awesome and can be found here: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/taco-chicken/ .

I didn't follow the directions exactly because my chicken was frozen so I tried to just throw the marinade stuff on top of the frozen chicken breasts in my crockpot on high and then figured I would throw the spices in later. They were only partially cooked after 2 hours and I was impatient so I took them out, put the spices on, and broiled them. I think it worked really well.

The funniest thing happened while they were in the crockpot. I was at my mother in law's house to escape the 87 degree temperature in my own house. I went upstairs to check on the chicken as Jo was coming in the door from being outside. She looked at me and said, "It smells like something dead in here. Do you smell it??" I said, "No, I only smell garlic." Then she replied, after taking another sniff "Oh yeah... I guess that is garlic."

Maybe it's only funny to me because I know she doesn't use garlic a lot and there was a situation a couple of year's ago for one of the nieces or nephews birthdays when copious amounts of Sam's Club take 'n bake pizzas were purchased. At the time, our Sam's had just started to carry these cheesy garlic breadsticks with the take 'n bake pizza. As the breadsticks were cooking (and smelling very garlicy), Jo wandered into the kitchen and asked, "Do you smell that?? It smells like wiring is melting somewhere!" Someone said that all they could smell was the garlic from the breadsticks so Jo came and took a sniff and then replied that it was the breadsticks she was smelling. We all had a good laugh. Then a short time later, when we were ready to eat, Wade came downstairs from his bedroom and upon entering the living room asked, "Why does it smell like melting wiring in here??"

Who knew the smell of garlic could be so repulsive? :)

Such is life...

You all should know by now that our life is incredibly busy this summer. We are 2 1/2 months into our house building and are making steady progress. We started the electrical this week so we are really, really, really, really, hoping that we can work hard and be done in two months time. I think it should be possible because lots of what is left can be done while overlapping something else. Once we get the electrical done, we can have the insulators come, then we can have the sheetrockers come in, then finish the plumbing rough-in, then paint, then put in cabinets, then flooring, doors and trim, etc... Cross your fingers for us. (And we could use any additional prayers you wanted to send our way too...)

We love the house. I walk around and think to myself "Wow. This is so cool. I can't believe we actually dreamed this up and here it is!" The science lover in me is really enjoying the electrical. Weird, I know, but I like seeing how it comes together and knowing how it completes the circuit and why it all makes sense. Adam had the kids help pull wire in their bedrooms. He is so good at including them. He has done such a good job with Porter because he takes him everywhere with him when it's time to work. Porter's greatest joy is to work along side his dad. If they're fencing, Porter gets to help hammer in staples. If they're hanging sheetrock, Porter gets a pencil to help "mark". A couple of weeks ago, when they were still roofing, Porter was so upset because he couldn't go up on the roof and help. Adam has commented a lot about how his dad took him and his brothers with when he was working on things and that he now realizes that they probably were more in the way than they were help but I think that is why Adam loves to work.
Wouldn't the world be an amazing place if everyone loved to work?

One of my friends had this quote on her blog and I loved it so I am stealing it to post here:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car,

wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair perfectly coiffed,

and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels

from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass

stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on

my shirt from making peanut butter sandwiches for a

sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt

under my fingernails from helping weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my

cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Me too.