A (Not So) Brief Update

I've been meaning to post some pictures from Christmas but our other laptop (where I had the pictures stored) crashed two weeks ago and the hard drive was completely fried. Don't worry, I still have the pictures on my cell phone, so you'll see them eventually.

The kids have been back in school for two weeks but David has still been home because the college doesn't start classes until next Tuesday. He's been so helpful and it's been nice to be able to rest when I need it. David spent several days finishing up one of our big house projects. With the help of a good friend and his fancy power tools, David has successfully installed all the baseboards and door/window trims in our house. He also put up beadboard around Sarah's room (at 3 feet high) and the baby room (at 5 1/2 feet high). I love the way it looks! It's so nice to feel like everything is put back together again--our baseboards were pulled off over a year ago when we had the new carpet installed and we decided to upgrade from the plain, flat 1" stuff to something more modern and 4" tall. The next project will be painting all of that trim...but not for a few months.

I'm am growing larger everyday and recently hit an all-time high weight, even though I haven't gained as much as last time, I started out 15 pounds heavier. So, I feel huge and am ready for this baby to come...except that we're not totally prepared with the right car seats (to fit 5 seats in the van) or other things like that yet. My mom is coming out here next Thursday and will stay for a week. She will actually leave before my due date, but I'm really hoping (feeling pretty confident) that she won't miss the baby. Either way, having some help will be great, whether she's helping us prepare (making freezer dinners, etc.) or taking care of the other 4 kids while I take care of a newborn, I'm grateful for any aid I can get. I'm 37 weeks along now and I'll hit 38 weeks on Sunday-ish. We're planning another home birth as long as everything is going smoothly---and I hope and pray it does because the hospital here just seems so yucky to me.

I hope you are all having a wonderful 2012. Maybe my next post will be about our new baby. =)

P.S. Do you have any name suggestions for us? The kids have a name that they call her, but I am still undecided and don't have any middle names on a list either.
For first names, I prefer...
1. Very traditional names, or
2. Names that are part of our family history, or
3. Names of people we admire, and
4. Names with 2 syllables, (three syllable names are too long and always get shortened to nicknames, one syllable names often get lengthened when they are made into nicknames).

I don't want...
1. Ultra popular names (check out the top 10 names of 2011 for a list of names we won't use--at least not for a first name), or
2. Names that are too similar to Kathryn (Katie, Katelyn, Kaylynn, etc.), or
3. Names that don't translate well into Spanish (a kid whose parents both teach Spanish has a good chance of traveling abroad or living in a Spanish-speaking country during childhood, so having a compatible name is useful....my name is completely un-pronounceable in Spanish).

Okay, I think that's most of our my criteria. Middle names don't have to follow all the rules. So....any ideas?

Grandma Visits!

This was another busy and fun-filled week at our house. This week I have a lot of pictures, we'll start with one of Sarah - she likes to dress up, all day, everyday. This is classic: tutu with winter gear.

Location of old entrance - right in the middle of the living room wall.

New entrance, where the coat closet used to be.

Here is her messy room seen through the new doorway
and the air mattress that Rory used all week.

Monday - the work on the new entrance to Kathryn's room was completed, except for installing the new door because it was on back order. (The door was just installed today and it's great having a door again.) Classes started at the college and David went back to work--or rather, he went back to teaching. He is ALWAYS working! He is teaching two sections of Spanish 202 and an English course called "International Literature" that he's really excited about. That Monday night, David, Rory, and I ripped out all the remaining old carpet and pad. The dust and dirt was disgusting.

See how that dirt tracks up and over to the left?
That's where the entrance to Kathryn's room used to be.

Uncle Rory - earning his room & board for the week. =)
Just kidding, he was good company and willing to help.

Tuesday - The new carpet was laid in the morning, then Grandma Carol arrived right when it was finished. We picked her up at the Lewiston airport, which is less than two miles from our house. Sarah was so happy to have her visit that she told me that she "was too tired for school" and wanted to stay home and "take a nap" that day. She didn't sleep, of course, but enjoyed some one on one time with Grandma.

Our baby loves the bath more than any of our other kids.
He bounces up and down and gets super excited every time.

Wednesday - Cold and rainy weather kept us inside, but we enjoyed playing some games with Grandma. David taught his first Institute class this semester (Church History), then came home was sick for next 3 days.

Thursday - The sun came out briefly and it was warm enough to play outside. The kids and Grandma Carol had races down the driveway all morning. David slept all day - that's how you know he's really sick because he actually stays in bed.

Friday - Grandma flew home and Uncle Rory found an apartment.

Saturday - Rory, David, and I finished assembling the swing set the kids got for Christmas from Grandma Carol -- we wanted to have it set up before she came, but the weather had been bad, or David was out of town or sick. I read the instructions and let the guys do the hard work.

Sunday - Ward Conference this week. I was a bit nervous because the stake leaders sat and observed Primary the whole time. Then I went to ward council and had to give the spiritual thought with the whole Stake Presidency there. At church we found out my friend's little boy had broken his leg the night before. She's one of my counselors in the Primary presidency. Last week, my secretary's son had an emergency appendectomy.  I'm starting to get a little nervous that one of my kids will be in the ER next week. =) I hope not.

Today - We had the best weather (near 60 degrees) that we've had since early November. The kids didn't have school today, so we enjoyed playing and working outside most of the day. They helped me wash all the windows in our family room inside and out. They played on the swing set and in the mud. I took advantage of the warmer weather to do a little spray painting (it has to be at least 55 degrees and you have to do it outside). A friend recently gave me an old chandelier that she didn't need anymore. It was in great condition, but was that shiny brass color - so I spray painted it to an "Oil-rubbed bronze" color aka black with golden flecks. Now it will match our new door knobs and soon-to-be newly painted other light fixtures. =) I also spray painted our mail box dark blue. It was previously a rusting aluminum color. David had the day off - so he helped out around the house in the morning, then went into his office for the rest of the day. He says he gets the most work done on days like that because he doesn't get interrupted nearly as often.

I need to paint the door still.

Family Night

He stood up here all by himself.
He likes playing in the kitchen (this one AND mine).

Week 1 - Back to (pre)School, MLA, and "Uncle" Rory

Exciting events of the week:

1. Preschool started up again on Monday -- hooray for afternoon naps for everyone else! The college doesn't start until this week, so David was still off and spent some time at home, until...

2. On Thursday, David flew to Los Angeles for the annual MLA (Modern Language Association?) convention where he presented a paper on something about Juan Rulfo and Brazilian literature. You'll have to ask him for more details. Suffice it to say, the paper was very well received. David hated LA though -- too many people and very expensive food. It was $6 for the bottled water at his hotel, so he suffered and drank the nasty LA water from the tap. Ewww! I would have bought the water.

3. My cousin, Rory, arrived here on Saturday morning. He will be attending the law school just up the hill, starting on Monday, and is staying at our house until he finds an apartment. He arrived just in time to save my sanity. The kids loved playing with him this weekend.

4. On Saturday we also had a contractor come knock out a wall in Kathryn's room. Here's the story: her room is actually intended to be a "study", so the entrance to it was right in the middle of the living room -- it literally cut the best living room wall right in half and made it difficult to arrange furniture. Plus, it was annoying that her room was "off the family room" while everyone else's rooms were down the hall. My solution - close off that original doorway with a wall and create a new entrance from the hallway. We had to sacrifice a coat closet to do it, but it's going to be just fine and I'm excited for how it all looks. Right now we're waiting to get a new door so the old closet doors are still hung and you have to walk through them to get to the bedroom -- it's like entering Narnia.

5. Last night Rory and I painted the entire living room and dining room. It's awesome to not have all the spackle spots that the previous owners left, or the 3 shades of paint samples that I put up a month ago. Earlier in the week, David and I painted the ceilings in there too -- no more shiny, grubby ceilings!! While David was gone, I painted our bathroom and the half bath. Everything is painted in a neutral beige color. David was sad about our bathroom because he liked the dark brown that was in there. It was way too dark for me - the place felt like a cave. He doesn't use that bathroom anyway though (the roll-in shower leaks water everyone), so I went for it. He'll get over it someday. All of the this painting and remodeling is in preparation for new carpet that we're getting in the living room on Tuesday. I'm so excited! The old stuff is over 20 years old. It smells and it's filthy.

6. Sarah is worked hard this week at school and finished a few projects. She also decided that her bangs were "getting too long". She didn't have bangs before...but she does now. They turned out pretty good, for a 4-year old. (Sorry, no pictures, David had my phone, aka camera in L.A. all weekend). They look like a cross between baby doll bangs and 1980's bangs that just need some hairspray and a good tease. They look best when they're pushed back in a headband. =)

7. Joseph has been working furiously on a little preschool workbook because he wants to finish it and give the whole thing to Grandma Carol, who is coming to visit us on Tuesday. He also enjoyed playing outside on the swings and riding his bike this week when temps broke 45 degrees.

8. Kathryn is having an identity crises. She alternates between wanting to be a big girl who plays with the older kids and wanting to be a baby. She asks me to make baby food for her (rice cereal with pureed fruit, or yogurt and fruit) and wants to eat the same thing as baby David. Then at bed time, she throws a fit if I put her in the crib. She wants to sleep on her toddler bed, and I don't mind because for the most part she'll actually stay in her bed and go straight to sleep.

9. The little guy - baby David - is getting stronger and more coordinated everyday. He pulls to standing on everything and easily goes from sitting to crawling and back to sitting. He adores the bath! He splashes and swims around on his tummy, and doesn't mind the water getting on his head or face. He still wakes up at least twice every night, which is getting to be really annoying. I've tried letting him cry, but he seems to be ravenously hungry most of the time, so I give in and feed him. The kid isn't exactly chubby either - in fact he's around the 25th percentile in weight - so I figure that maybe he does need the calories. He does sleep longer on the nights when he eats 3 dinners (at 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm).

10. David got a new calling at church. He will be teaching institute every week. He's supposed to get released from his Sunday School calling so that means he won't have to travel once a month, aka I won't be alone at church with all the kids!

Well, that's all for now. I'll take some pictures in the morning of all the new stuff around here: hair cuts, holes in walls, paint & carpet, and maybe I'll throw in some of the babies too because I know that's the only reason people check this blog -- to see pictures of the kids!