Photos of miscellany...

Conner and his coach, learning the fine points of basketball.





















Ashley and Daddy, getting ready to attend the 5th annual Daddy Daughter Dance. They made it to 4 of them. Big deal in our house.
















The teeth photos as requested by Michelle. Way improved over where we started. I will have to find before pics soon to show you.

Pregnancy star date 30 weeks...and more.

Oh man...this blog has been neglected yet again! I am such a bad diary person. That is why I have none from my childhood. Ah well...at least I take lots of photos, so I can record memories that way.

On the baby front. I am 30 1/2 weeks and have officially lost 2 pounds since I started cooking this little baby. That is funny. I feel like I have eaten everything in sight, and according to the ultrasound I had the other day, the baby is in the 85% for size and is estimated to weigh nearly 5 pounds already. Not that I necessarily believe that, but I am huge, and feel heavy. Blood pressure fine, blood sugar is somewhat okay. I say somewhat because I am not totally convinced that my monitor is any good. But, whatever. Lots of protein in my future just in case! Tons of pelvic pain and pressure...Like, I can't lift one leg without having severe pain. I got this with the last 2, but way later. I spend a big chunk of time laying back on pillows on my bed, which isn't any good for my house, but it keeps the weight off my vaginal area and upper legs. Sorry...I know that is TMI, but it hurts and I should mention it for posterity. It has been hurting for nearly a month now!

Rachel went to the dr. today for a check up and weighs 20 pounds naked. 32 inches long, and healthy as a horse. Tons of impacted wax in her left ear, which made for a very unhappy baby when the dr took it out.

Nathan is talking in huge sentences and sounding very grown up all of a sudden. Where did my little boy go? He grew up overnight, and it is somewhat disconcerting.

Conner is playing on a YMCA basketball team and is having lots of fun. He has played 2 games so far and is showing much talent with basketball, just like his brothers. He can dribble with the best of them. He is learning how to read now.

Braydon is Mr. Artist lately. He made cards for the entire family for Valentine's Day and is constantly giving me elaborate drawings of Club Penguin stuff. He is learning multiplication tables, and can spell quite well now.

Aaron is still our homebody and self entertainer. He can lay around making legos all day long, or read a book forever. He is a huge Club Penguin fan and it made his life when I bought him some cards from Wal-Mart. They are collector cards that they play this game with. He is also learning multiplication and spelling alongside Braydon. I like homeschooling this way, because it is easier for me, and it helps them to be somewhat competitive.

Adam just finished his basketball season. He was on a junior high team and got to play quite a bit. There is a tournament coming up the beginning of March, but other than that, the season is done. We ran the concession stand and enjoyed it, until they took the huge big screen tv out of the room. That was the highlight for the boys, since we don't have cable here. Oh well...we probably didn't need to watch any anyway. He is still an artist and fuels Braydon's desire to draw daily. Spelling like a pro and interested in learning about lots of things.

Ashley got her braces taken off, and is loving that. She is 5'9" and happy as a clam to be taller than her mom. She recently enjoyed going on a daddy daughter dance with her dad. They have held this dance for 5 years and they have made it to 4 of them. Last year, basketball interfered, but they have been faithful all the other times. She has a ton of penpals, and is enjoying reading everything she can get her hands on.

Austin is thinking about his future. He wants to go to Vo-tech and take culinary arts. I think it would be good for him to learn how to cook, even if it is something he really isn't interested in right now. He loves to work with his hands, and wants to do a manual labor type deal, but culinary is very hands on, and he likes to eat. I think it will grow on him. And, even if he doesn't make a career out of it, the skills will be good forever. You can always take more classes later, I always say. He just recently started to volunteer at the local library. He works 3-5 Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. He is enjoying it so far, so we will see how long it lasts.

Is this a good enough update? Probably missing a ton of info, but better some than none, huh? :)I haven't spell checked this either, so if it is bad or grammatically incorrect, please don't notice.

Here, have some pictures....

1st pic is Nathan, looking silly, as always.
2nd pic is me, in my pregnant glory!
3rd pic is Rachel, with her new chewy letter...cost a fortune, which seems to be the norm for all disabled/special needs items. Oh well, she loves it.

blech!!!

Just an update for posterity...I feel like crap now! My back hurts frequently, and I can't stand for long periods at a time. I have alot of pelvic pressure and I think it is the Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, or something like that. I hope this is going to be a temporary problem, but I don't think it will be. I spend a lot of time in bed, or just sitting on a comfortable chair. I am ONLY 25 weeks and 3 days...this is nutso! I have a pic of me, but have to upload it when my husband can tell me what to do. Hope all of you readers are fine and healthy!

Michelle asked.......

You just need to be patient, girl!!! My birthday celebrations are not that exciting, but here goes. We used to combine kids who were close to each other. Adam and Ashley are Dec 10th and 12th...that was a given. Then the 3 middle boys are in May, June, and July. They were also together. Austin never really got parties per se, because when he was in school it was hard, since his birthday was RIGHT at the beginning of the school year. We knew no one at that point. And then the older he got, the more it seemed kind of corny because he was older and didn't know alot of kids his age. So, last year, I decided to do one giant party in August for everyone. I don't know if you've ever watched kids by the dozen, but the Jeub family did a family celebration and I loved the idea! So, we invited everyone we knew and had a huge bash. We had a swimming pool set up for the little kids, with a sprinkler, a huge tub of water balloons, a volleyball net, horseback riding, and water guns. It was hot as all get out, but still fun. People brought food, we provided drinks and cake...a huge cake! Everyone either brought a gift for the kid of the same age as their own, or some even brought gifts for everyone. Some gave gifts to a few, and not all. It all worked out fine, and the kids had a great time with their friends. It was more than the gifts for them...but that part was nice. LOL!

If we did it again, we wouldn't wait until August because it was almost too hot...adults brought chairs and we had shade tents up, but it was still way hot for those who didn't play in the water.

Happy, Michelle?? Huh??? :)

Rachel asked....

Hi Rachel...love your name, by the way!! :) She asked if there were any activities my kids want to do that either we are unable to do, or just don't want to do. Well, hmmm...that is a hard question, because my kids would love to do anything and everything ever offered. Seriously. I make the joke that they would be the first in line to attend a funeral just to have something to do. I hear other families kids say they don't want to go somewhere and that shocks me. So, in some form, I am sure they feel slighted. We don't run all day every day. LOL!

The oldest two were in, or going to be in, basketball this year, but there weren't enough kids wanting to play. This surprises me, as we have a huge homeschool group. My third kid is in basketball currently. The oldest three were in robotics until recently. The youngers have been in basketball and soccer through the YMCA. They all do homeschool bowling once a month, and 4-H once a month too. I honestly try to discourage much more than that. Homeschooling has the tendency to lend itself to being way too busy, but then you put a large family into that mix, and that is a recipe for disaster. They would love more, but that is just their personalities, not because they are lacking.

Any more questions? I love a good topic starter. :)

In bed on a Sunday with nothing to do but type...

Well, fooey! My back is out again, and boy does it hurt. I am stuck in bed until whatever is locked up is let free again. Tony just took the whole group to church by his self. That should be interesting, but they are good kids, so it won't be bad. Then they eat lunch at the church. I wish I could enjoy this alone time without being cooped in a bed hurting, but I guess I will take the quiet however I get it. :)

Ashley just turned 16 and Adam just turned 12. Birthdays in a row, that used to be shared in the party sense, but not anymore. I think we will wait until January to have a party for each of them, since Dec. seems so busy. We did the huge family party and that was awesome, but hard to organize. I would love to do one every year, because that avoids the whole party all the time thing that comes with a large family, but we didn't get to it this year, so now I am stuck with the party kids wanting something. It will be small, whatever it is. Adam wants to go to laser tag or Incredible Pizza which is a huge pizza place with games and a go kart track. Pretty fun, but expensive. And far away... Not sure if that will be a reality or not. Ashley really doesn't care what she does, but she just wants to get together with a bunch of giggling girls and do something girly. LOL~!

I discovered today that Conner can draw on an etch a sketch....do you realize how hard those things are to draw on?? That is pure talent right there! I took a photo of one of his drawings to keep..it was a boba fett or jengo fett slave ship from star wars. Not bad for a 6 year old, huh? I might try to upload it on here so you can see it.

When I announced on facebook that we were having another boy, someone commented that this just means MORE LEGOS. I had to laugh out loud because that is exactly right. That's all these boys do all day long....we own so many legos and we look like a store. They are never picked up and I step on them all the time, but they DO learn from them. So, it will be my burden to carry, I suppose. HAHA!

Rachel the happy child has turned into Rachel the grumpy child. I don't like this new little change, because nothing is making her happy. We feed her, she is still grumpy....we give her a toy, still grumpy. I don't know what is going on with her, but boy howdy...She needs to get over it soon or this house will become a bit more stressed out than it needs to be. At least with a typically developing child you can send them to time out, or if need be, give them a spanking when they are being unreasonable, but with her like an infant, it wouldn't work. She had no understanding of cause and effect, so there is no way I will be spanking her, ever! And putting her in time out just makes her cry harder, and then momma feels bad because she has this baby who is so sad....argh!

Well, I need to take some pain reliever and lay down. I know they say that laying in a bed is the worst thing for a bad back, but this is different. My spine at the bottom actually goes crooked, and makes me all out of kilter. My shoulders actually are different heights when this happens, and my hip joint starts to rub itself when I walk. the pain is awful and I have tried so many things to kick it back in place, and nothing works. It must be a nerve or something, but there is no walking or stretching it out...It is gone, down for the count, until it lets go, then I am completely better with only a little soreness. Weird.