yep they're mine.

well i was folding wash (yep i've been productive today!)...and the girls were being SILLY! this is them. the video isn't the greatest. but i shot it with my camera. i giggled when i walked into the living room and saw them. they are pretty much the cutest things i've ever seen. but of course they're mine. dustin was sleeping during their little adventure. but i know all too soon HE'LL be joining my crazy girls. who are now playing in the dark. SILLY. but i guess it's better for them to not be afraid of the dark right? lol.



sooo yesterday when i went upstairs to get caitlyn out of her bed...i then walked into the kitchen and saw this...

breigh's baby...all strapped in breigh's booster seat at the table. TOO FUNNY. she's such a little mommy. although i must teach her before she has her own babies...TO DRESS THEM! lol.





and since i've talked about my girls...i thought i would share a picture of my baby boy too! never mind the scratch on his face. he did that. with his fingernails. that are WAY too long i just keep forgetting to cut them

again i know the cutest thing ever right?

well now i have to keep waiting while the video uploads. i really don't have too much to say.

it's snowing. what's new. it's wisconsin. in winter. that's what happens. heck it snows in may sometimes. and may is SPRING. but i won't drag on about that. you all know your weather. and i'm sure you realize, yes it snows in wisconsin. and almost every other state. wisconsin just gets loads of it. okay sorry i'm done. (i can't wait for spring!!)

well well well the video is still loading. but dustin needs to eat. so off i go to feed him. maybe by then i can post this all for you to enjoy!! :0) oh wait. it's done! yay. so now i'm off to do my mommaly duty. :0) enjoy my silly babies!

updated: update a bigger one...or at least more detailed

the 'updated update" is in red

well i'm starting this, we'll see if i get it finished now or wait til later. only breigh and dustin are up...and they're happily playing in the playroom and bouncy seat respectively. sooo i figured i'd start updating you about the appt.

the dr i saw was way nice. and talked way fast. good thing i am a fast talker...i don't think a 'slow' talker would've caught much of anything she said. but because i am a fast talker i totally caught it all. :0) to the point right? SO the lump is pretty big she said. she also said i have a hyperthyroid. but my numbers are not low enough that they warrant meds for it right now. while i was pregnant i was way hyper, but have never been on meds. and my ob never said much of anything. hmmm. i don't know. it just puts you at higher risk for pre-term labor or miscarriage. but the meds you get put on can give the baby cosmetic birth defects. so whatever. and i know when i did have my miscarriage my dr thought it could've possibly been from my thryoid levels. but whatever. it doesn't matter right now. because i am NOT pregnant. (two months in to my 'nine month' no pregnancy goal. lol)

update: **i just want to add to this that as far as i know this is considered a thyroid nodule, not a goiter, which from what i understand is two different things, but thank you to the comment left my 'ot' about reducing iodine intake, my dr said nothing about changing my diet so it leads me to assume that it is not a goiter.**

so she now wants me to have another test done. we are waiting two weeks for it. the reason we are waiting is because i need to get dustin to take a bottle. the day of the test i have to take a radio-active iodine pill and have a scan done six hours later of my thyroid. because obviously the pill is radio-active and i don't need a radio-active child i can not nurse dustin that day. quite honestly that is what bugs me the most! i have to 'pump and dump' my breast milk that whole day. i don't know if i'll be able to bear watching that precious liquid gold go down the drain!

it will also be a bit annoying because i go in at 830 to take the pill then come back at 230 for the test and then be back in at 830 the next day for another test. shaun is taking off of work that day so that'll be nice! his mom also said that she might have off of work that day and could help us out that way too. so we'll see what happens.

the test then will show us what sort of 'lump' this is. ie...a hyperactive thyroid lump or something not so nice. apparently when you have a hyper you it can form this lump. IF that is the case then we would just leave it and watch it. the reason for this is because they get rid of it with a more intense radio-active pill and i can't be nursing or pregnant or having more babies. so we'd just watch it. and if it got bigger or whatever then they would just remove it. and if after doing the radioactive thing and that didn't work, we would just remove it. (my thinking is...just remove it and be done with it!)

IF it is something not so 'typical' then we would do a biopsy and see exactally what it is. and then based on those results go from there. if after two biopsy tries they still can not figure out exactly what it is they would just remove it so it couldn't turn into something bad i suppose.
now i'd rather just have them remove it, because it seems that's the results almost anyways. but i'm not the dr and she doesn't want to 'jump into surgery' if it isn't necessary. so i suppose that does make sense! lol.

we tried a bottle with dustin for the first time last night. it went kind of okay. it took awhile to convince him that mommy's milk was just as good out of a silicone nipple. (because my breasts are not silicone...just in case you were wondering...because i'm SURE you were!) he actually took the bottle better from me than shaun, which surprised me, but shaun didn't know what to do and got frustrated easily. i have had some experience with stubborn babies, from working at the daycare, so i pulled some of those tricks out of my head and with success dustin drank the bottle all. i also think that the nipple isn't quite right. if we weren't supposed to get some 6 inches of snow today i'd run to wally world. but i don't think i will trek out with all four kiddos to do that. if tonight he still has an issue with it, i probably will go to walmart or somewhere to find a bottle he will drink out of. he seemed to gag on the nipple. i don't know. none of the girls ever had an issue and all drank out of the same type of bottle. (the playtex drop in kind) i did have a nipple to attach to the bottles that came in my breast pump bottle kit. those didn't work either. i think the milk came too fast out of that one. we did try the slow flow and the fast flow on the other bottles too, he did better with the slow which i figured he eventually would. we were just desperate to get the baby to eat! he wasn't screaming or crying, but you could tell he was hungry and frustrated that it wasn't coming out of me!

so please just keep praying for god's continued peace and also for my little man dustin. i'm going to try to pump and give him a bottle once a day so that way he gets used to it before my test on the 15th.

i want to say thank you again to all my praying blogging buddies. i want to say thank you to heidi and stephanie for posting my prayer requests on their blogs! it truly means SO much to me. and while you're praying for me and stellan and whoever else...add heidi to your prayers too. her fam is dealing with some medical stuff with her daughter. prayer is powerful. if you don't believe it is just look at the things around you. prayer is so evident every day of my life. i KNOW that i felt SO at peace yesterday because of the prayers of my church fam and you, my friends.

when i started this blog oh so long ago i NEVER thought i'd meet SO MANY wonderfully awesome people. so thanks for meeting me and being my friend. :0) if we don't meet in person here on earth i know i'll meet so many of you when jesus returns and takes us all home! we'll have one big blogging friends party in heaven. how cool will that be? lol.

well i got this done. caity and amelya are STILL sleeping. so i suppose i should go start the wash or something productive...wait blogging IS productive...it just doesn't get my house clean! i've fired my maid and my cook. they rarely show up! and the chauffeur! he's even worse!

small update.

okay. i don't really have A LOT of time to go into all the details...BUT i don't know much anyways. my dr didn't tell me too much. the most i know is that my thyroid is actually HYPER not HYPO. i thought low numbers would mean 'not working hard enough' apparently it's the other way around. what it boils down to is i have to have another test done to see exactally what sort of thing this lump is. my dr says it's quite big. i'll post tomorrow about what the results of THAT test would mean and what they could be. i THANK you all for your prayers. i truly felt them. and feel the love and support from all of you!! and i don't even 'know' you all personally in person! it's so cool! god's peace is so perfect. and that's what i've got!! so now it's off to spend some time with the fam before bedtime. loves you guys and thanks again...and please keep baby stellan in your prayers. :0)

didn't do it.

well even if mckmama isn't doing an 'official' mr. linky and all that jazz...i thought i would still do my not me monday...sooooo

i didn't answer the guy at best buy like this when he asked if i needed help in the camera aisle. "no thanks...i'm just coveting". he didn't laugh at me and smile.

i haven't been thinking of the list of reasons buying over a six hundred dollar camera will actually SAVE us money. i haven't been telling shaun all of them. he didn't tell me that i actually have a point!

i haven't been racking my brain for things to sell to 'earn' money for the said camera. (changing table, printer, a digital camera...) i haven't thought that i would just tell people who owe me money to pay me in best buy gift cards.

i haven't almost seen just how many days are until my birthday...when i could possibly get the camera...it's over a hundred though...darn...

we still don't have the SAME barney dvd playing in the van. i'm still not singing along (quietly, so amelya doesn't say anything). i do not get the songs stuck in my head and i absolutely do not just randomly start singing them.

shaun also has not started singing the songs. he didn't tell me yesterday that he would try singing the 'clean up' song to the guy he works with today. i did not laugh and tell him to try it.

after dropping the girls off at my sister's house. the said barney dvd did not play for minutes until i realized i could shut it off for awhile. i did not go back on as soon as the girls got back in the van.

my arm is not sore from playing wii. shaun has not beat me repeatedly in wii tennis, because i was a number one singles player in high school...i should be beating him! even if high school was eight years ago. i do not beat him in boxing. and i do not jump around after doing it. i have not been having any fun at all with our wii. :0)

i was not bummed that i couldn't find the wii fit anywhere. i have not made it a mission to look for one this week. i am NOT that obsessed. i did not talk about the wii fit at church yesterday and hear how fun it was from someone who has played it. that did not make me want it more.

geez...i better just stop while i am ahead! i didn't realize all those things that never happened to me.

i have my dr's appt with the endrochrinologist today. shaun is coming with me. please keep that appt in your prayers. i'll try to update tonight on the appt. if i think of it i'll try to twitter after it. that way you may know a bit sooner. but i said TRY!! :0) i appreciate your prayers. and i covet them! more than the silly camera.

i'm at total peace about it all though. because our loving god is in total control. regardless of any sort of bad or good results...god knows the answers and has a plan so much better than my own. i just can't wait to see it all unfold. and i just want to glorify him through all of it. to lead someone to him through this would be so beautifully wonderfully perfect. so i am excited to see his hand in all of it. because i KNOW it is in all of it. and it is ALL good.

soooo i'm off. short rambling today. i'm actually tired. it probably has nothing to do with staying up past eleven playing wii...because that wasn't me!!

did you miss me? :0)

i know i've been gone for one day right? lol.



well the three little kiddos are sleeping. and shaun and amelya went outside. she wanted to help shovel. which he already did. but she'll play regardless.



i've really not got much to say. imagine that!



we went yesterday and got the water heater element. oh yay! only 27 bucks. and it works...even better. i guess i didn't realize til this morning that i haven't been having to super hot showers i am used to!!


oh and i went shopping for the wii fit. with no luck. i didn't look THAT hard, but am hoping to find it soon. i also saw some beautiful digital slr cameras. mmmm. i want one. soooo i've decided to start 'raising' money to buy one. in cash. no credit card. because um yeah otherwise i so would've talked shaun into it yesterday! we have the best buy card...it would've been SO easy. but i want to buy it, and have it be mine mine mine. and not have that bill over my head. so yeah. i'm off to sell everything. lol. i do have a changing table to sell. need one? want one? come on!! i also have to sell an old digital camera. need one? want one? sure...come on! lol. actually it is a very nice kodak one and i just upgraded to my current one. nothing is wrong with that. we also bought a new printer. so i am going to try and sell our old one. our old one quit printing pictures decent. so i wanted a new one. well actually i also wanted a copier because starting to homeschool means i need worksheets, and it is way easier to copy at home then try and remember to bring them to the library. the printer was on sale and way cheap. and prints beautifully. it is the 'best' as far as picture and copier printers go. so yay!!

so now remember, if you need a changing table, digital camera or a printer. let me know. really. seriously. because i wanna buy that camera. :0) and i figure i can ask for best buy gift cards for my birthday (april 10th if you wanna donate. :0) ) and i'll have that camera in no time at all. maybe even before birthday. i also told shaun i could quit taking the kiddos to sears for pictures every three months if i had my super nice camera to take better pictures with. so you see...we're all saving money. i spend almost 200 every time at sears. quit going to sears...and save 200 bucks. so yeah...makes COMPLETE sense to me!!

well i suppose i've rambled on and on. and amelya wants to go on color dot com. (as she says, it's really crayola dot come...but whatever) so have a super sunday evening and i'll see you in the morning for all the things i didn't do. :0)

does it feel like monday to anyone else?!?!

it sure does me. shaun has to work today. so it feels like yesterday was sunday and today is monday. but let me tell you how happy i am today is FRIDAY and tomorrow is SATURDAY and shaun has off for two days. :0)





christmas went well. the girls, and dustin, all behaved well and handled the long days like champs. i posted pics to facebook...here and here. i don't feel like loading them twice. sorry. plus this way you can see all 94 of them instead of just a few. see it all works out quite nicely. but here's one of the family that's my favorite...you see at my grandparents on christmas eve we take pictures. LOADS of them. i timed it. it took over 45 min. yes almost an hour to take all the pictures. but it resulted in this cute one...

i love how they're all smiling. and aren't they pretty much the CUTEST things you've ever seen. i was so proud of myself for not buying outfits for them this year either. caitlyn's is from amelya's first christmas. breigh's is from amelya's second christmas. and amelya's is from a rummage sale. dustin's is bought. but that was before he was even born. and it's not 'christmas'y. but darn cute.

the girlies got lots of nice gifts. and so did we. speaking of wii...that's what we got! i was SO excited. i've been wanting one for a long time. but never quite was 'in the budget'. but shaun's mom and sisters got us one. i'm tempted to hook it up myself right now. maybe i will. :0) danielle also is giving us movie tickets. we got a red robin gift certificate for christmas from our name exchange at church. so danielle is giving us movie tickets to complete the 'date night'. i'm excited! now i have to see if there are any good movies out there. that's the hard part!!

the kids are pretty much exhausted though. breigh and caitlyn slept til TEN today. and went down for a nap around one. breigh's been saying her ear hurts too. so i hope she isn't getting a ear infection. she's never had one. actually the only one of the kiddos who has had an ear infection is caitlyn. and quite frankly...it can stay that way!

there is a barbie cruise ship left to be put together. other than that all the gifts are out and played with. and i have to say 'barbie' packages their toys the BEST. we got a barbie car and the barbie cash register and they were the easiest to get out. none of those crazy plastic twist tie things! i can't stand them! but believe me we had plenty of those too!

hmmm what else....oh i've filled my mom and dad and sister and shaun's family in on my 'results' of the ultrasound. everyone seemed to take the not so 'good' but not really 'bad' news well. we'll find out more on monday, which isn't today...today is friday. shaun is coming with me to the doctor. originally i was going by myself. i've decided i'd rather have him come too. for support and to help me not get so anxious, and more importantly to have someone to pray with right before we go. plus he's my husband. it's why we're married. to be supportive of each other! :0)

tomorrow we're going to go get stuff to fix the water heater. it's dying. we think, what do i mean we...i don't know anything...SHAUN thinks it's just the heating element. which is WAY cheaper to buy than a NEW heater. so we have to go get that. then shaun said we can go buy me a printer...that's my christmas present!! :0) if i can find one i really like. then i also said i wanted to get the wii fit. then i am going to do it. and lose this baby baby baby baby weight. and feel pretty about myself. because truthfully i am still wearing maternity pants. the motherhood maternity 'secret fit' ones. i don't know if i still 'need' them. but they're nice because i don't have to button pants and have a big roll of 'mushroom top' belly. it kind of sucks it in a bit. soooo i'm wearing them till this B-I-G little flab is gone. or at least doesn't look quite as bad. my sister is being super nice and going to watch the girlies for us tomorrow too. it's easier to go shopping for printers and stuff like that without them to have to worry about. they're good, but it's kind of a big task to expect them to sit still and listen about printers...which they care nothing about!!

so i suppose. i'll leave you to go see those awesome pictures! go on now you know you wanna. enjoy...and it's FRIDAY. not MONDAY. whoo hooo....

made by amanda

so i thought i'd give credit to myself. i made a button. and now that's that. it was 'made by amanda' creative i know! so you wanna header or a background or both...now i've got the button to put on your site with the new look. i am not claiming to be a 'professional' but would love to 'work' with you. i've gotten stephanie a new header (but it isn't posted yet...we're waiting til everything is done) and working on the background. and jen's header is done and we're waiting to release the background soon... can't wait to share it all with you! so that's that. merry christmas. and hey...thanks for the prayers!!

not normal...

okay. so i just got a call today about my results of my ultrasound on my thyroid. looks like it isn't normal. there is a cyst filled with fluid. that's all i know. and we'll have to see after my appt on monday with the endrochrinologist what happens. i've done a tiny bit of research on thryoid cysts. a VERY small amount of cases can be cancerous. but i'm not doing any worrying until after monday and i get the 'true' diagnosis and can talk to the dr. argh. but i wish i could've just not known any of this til then. god is in control. what is it...is what it is. but now pray for that too! geez. i've really laid it on thick for you guys today! sorry. but thank you too! because you know god is good regardless of anything bad. and romans 8:28 and jeremiah 29:11 and philippians 4:6-7 sustain me through all of it.

pictures...for real...no checking facebook this time baby!

DUSTIN at TWO MONTHS: 13 lbs 4 ounces and 25 inches long!! my biggest and longest baby at that age!

here's one of dustin's pics i took yesterday. on his TWO month birthday. cannot believe it. it's totally not centered or anything...but he just smiled and i had to snap. so i did. and hey i think it still turned out cute! he's changed so much in these past two months. and i'm still getting used to saying 'he' and having extra parts to worry about during diaper changes. he's brought so much joy to our family...like all of our babies have. and i could not imagine our life without him. as much as a 'surprise' his pregnancy was...i wouldn't change a second of any of it. and heck..i'm love these 'surprises' god throws at us! i'm just praying it's awhile before we're 'surprised' again. you know like nine months at least. there has not been a stretch longer than that since we've been married where i HAVEN'T been pregnant! isn't that crazy???!!! but like i said i LOVE it. and would not want it any other way. because i know there are women out there who would give anything to be pregnant one time. so i will never complain about these precious babies of mine...because i know they are such beautiful and precious gifts from my loving god the father.

and because breigh wanted her picture taken...there is one of the two of them. i love the look on dustin's face! my little breigh is getting too big too. her words are clearer everyday. but thankfully even though she's growing up she still has time for my lap and her naps! she's a bear without her nap. like her mommy she enjoys her sleep!! which thankfully dustin has been giving to me...it was almost SIX AM before he woke up this morning!!! woo hoo!!

my amelya. wow. she'll be FOUR in march. i made her FOUR YEAR check up yesterday. where have the past four years gone?!? they've flown by. she's my little 'mini-me' that's for sure. she's full of love and sometimes an attitude...just like me. mostly it's good. and i think she's starting to get a grasp on jesus. and to have him in her heart. and to live her life for him. i can't wait til the day she fully gets it. and prays the prayer. i'm SO excited to see god change their lives...and i'm SO excited i've been given the opportunity to share christ with them! and my caity bug. what a dare devil!! she loves to climb. and found this present to climb on. good thing it was amy's microwave inside. nice and sturdy!! :0) caitlyn knows NO FEAR. that scares me. the ottoman...a moving ottoman...is her favorite thing to climb on. and sit on. and sometimes attempt to stand on! kid is crazy! and i LOVE that about her. she is interested in how things work and i can't wait to see what she'll discover next. :0)the family. what a beautiful thing. my husband works so hard to provide for us. sometimes i find myself not liking his job too much...like on sunday when he was on call and missed half of the presents being opened because of being on the phone...with someone who didn't know how to open the door...seriously people! i try hard to not get mad at him for it. it isn't his fault for the 'stupidity' of others. but the job frustrates me. he works way too much. with no overtime pay. and is expected to do it with a smile. and that he does. because he truly knows that he is working for the lord and not for man. good thing! because i know that when we get to heaven he isn't going to expect a man to put in over 14 hours of work in...in ONE DAY...and then be back to work by FOUR AM the next morning. sorry to complain. you see i won't complain about my beautiful babies...but i'll complain about their daddy's job. yet there are so many people out there without jobs. so i'm sorry. i'm sorry to complain. i'm sorry if you don't have a job. it's just frustrating to not have husband time.

maybe that's truly what it is. we allow the girls to stay up til eight thirty every night. sometimes a tad earlier...or later...just so they can get that time in with daddy. but then my husband is tired and usually falls asleep on the couch after they go to bed. so we rarely get that 'us' time. the 'us' time i need. and i want. our prayer time is in desperate need of resuscitation. it has pretty much been non-existent lately. have i talked to him about this? oh yes. loads of times. but apparently the tiredness is too much to handle and therefore our prayer suffers. and then our relationship suffers. and then because that is suffering the other stuff that comes with that...well is even more non existent. and i HATE it. i'm being brutally honest here. this may be something i would have chosen to leave out before. but i can't. i need prayer. my husband needs prayer. and now i'm finally asking for it. i'm sick of being on this crazy rollarcoaster. i'm sick of looking 'good'. i want to look and feel that way. i need to change my attitude too. part of me just doesn't want to care. it's easy to not care. i'm sick of taking the easy way out. i'm sick of being mean to my husband when i hate his job or his sleepiness. i'm sick of it all. so my friends. i'm asking you to pray for me. because i can't change him, or the job. i can only allow god to change my heart and keep that stinky enemy out. because i KNOW i've been letting him win for a little too long. marriage is a hard thing. but so worth every second of it. and marriage is something worth fighting for. love isn't easy. but it's worth fighting for. so fight for your marriage. fight for love. because it's better than the alternative. i'm not saying i've been thinking about the alternative. not one bit. but people do. and give in to it. way to easily. so i'll keep working on this marriage thing. because when i quit. well it ain't good. and if it ain't good...i'm not good...or happy. so i'll let my loving father, god, work on me. and us. and i'm going to let him do what he needs to do to me. and quit praying for others to change. because it needs to be me. willing and ready. and now i've finally admitted it. i'm willing. and ready. and i can not wait.

wow. i think this is as personal as i've gotten in awhile. but i'm not going to pretend i have this perfect beautiful life. what i have is a beautiful life. and god is slowly working on perfecting it. but it truly won't be 'perfect' til christ comes back and takes us home. i'm a work in progress. and it's just up to me to let god do that work. because i can fight it...but it just doesn't work anymore. i'm done fighting. i'm done letting the enemy win certain battles. because truly the battle belongs to the lord...and you know what...HE WINS. we win. it's all good. because god is good. all the time. and all the time...god is good. i'm not denying that. i believe that. believe it with me my friends. it's the only 'hope' we have in this world.

so if i don't get a chance to post before christmas...MERRY CHRISTMAS! but i may have a chance to post tomorrow..shaun has to work. and we don't have to be anywhere til supper. so we'll see. hope you enjoyed the 'real' pictures...and no links today! :0)

nope. not me.

these weeks seem to fly on by! and as always on monday...brings not me monday...hosted by mckmama. so go check her site out to join me in the fun...but of course after reading my not me's first! ;0)

it was not me who giggled at the cute little old lady wearing levi's the other day. it was not me who hoped i was a stylish as her when i'm a cute little old lady...

...as long as i'm talking about clothes i didn't giggle at the guy at hu hot who was wearing a shirt with willie nelson on it and said "have a willie nice day" (apparently i'm easily amused)

i was not a little bummed that i didn't win the camera raffle-way mckmama had. i don't get bummed about things like just a really super awesome camera.

i did not find it absolutely hilarious when my friend's daughter, after seeing a guy dressed up as 'santa' at story time said this "santa left in a green car"....truth be told the guy drives a green car and she probably saw him when she came in for story time! so funny i can't deny it!

we did not have way too much snow and cold here the past few days. it was not over 20 degrees BELOW ZERO yesterday. i do not live in wisconsin where winters are NOT fun most of the time.

and because it wasn't cold out yesterday we didn't go out in it and celebrate christmas at my mom and dad's house. we didn't make the girls wear snow pants, boots, and everything else for a five second RUN from the house to the garage. i did not wish we had an attached garage.

when we got home i did not have to sit in the neighbor's yard for almost a half hour so shaun could blow the snow that had drifted our driveway shut.

i did not listen to the same barney DVD again while waiting for him. i do not have almost every song on that DVD memorized.

because i don't have them memorized i do not sing along with them. amelya has not said to me
'mom please don't sing the songs' almost every time we watch it. or she doesn't say 'mom are you singing along?' and then proceed to tell me to stop. (seriously people it's barney songs...i can't be THAT bad of a singer! have you heard baby bop???)

i did not convince my hubby to go to hu hot. i didn't feel bad when after we went, he said he doesn't like it??!!?? so i didn't say "i'll just come back with melissa"

and my baby boy is NOT two months old already today. i am not in denial that the past two months have flown by SO fast. i am not super excited that he now sleeps til five thirty every morning....and then goes back to sleep again! i do not love getting a full night's sleep again.

so i guess that's it. really not much this week. sorry my friends! i am just not creative or something today. either that or later i'll think...darn i could've said this or that.

so it's C-O-L-D here yet again today. two hour delay for schools even. plus they had a snow day on friday. what a nice long weekend. shaun and i ventured out in snowstorm eli saturday to finish our christmas shopping. which is pretty much DONE. i have to go somewhere today, but other than that...we're done. yay. and good thing because christmas is like a few days away!

we went to fleet farm saturday. shaun had been GIVEN a 100 dollar gift card at work the day before. so we figured we'd go try to spend it. we found what we needed and only ended up using like forty bucks of it. then he said...now i have to remember to use it next time. we have a hard time remember gift cards...so then god reminded me of the gift revolution that i had seen awhile back. and about the show 'secret millionaire' (real life millionaires giving away THEIR own money) so anyways i told shaun...well we could just give the card to the person in line after us. he said really? so i explained to him the gift revolution thing...he didn't say much. but i think he wanted to. so we stood in line anticipating WHO was going to get in line after us. a nice lady and her husband did. so i was getting nervous to see if shaun would do it (he is SO shy) and then the lady, who is nice, let this other person in line ahead of her because he only had two things. so we left the store with out giving the card away. shaun said he didn't want to give it to him. then i'm like, well we can give it to someone walking in. shaun looked all nervous again. so i said I'll do it! he said...OKAY!! i think he was happy. well then would you know it NOT ONE PERSON was walking into the store. so i was all bummed. then a car pulled in next to our van. and i jumped out. well then i had to chase them down because they walked a different way than i anticipated! so i tapped the lady on the shoulder and said excuse me? her and her husband turned around. i said here...we got this as a gift and felt led to pass it on. the look on their faces? SHOCK. pure and utter shock. she stood there staring at me and the card like i had been doing crack or something. her husband broke the silence and said. wow. thank you. merry christmas. and i smiled and said merry christmas...and literally skipped back to the van. i was so pumped. that felt so good. it was SO much fun. i would've loved to see their faces when they saw that there was over 50 dollars left on the card. the card didn't have a total on it.

i wish i would have more things to do like that. i've been praying about what to do. and when that came about...i was stoked! it was an answer to my prayer. i could give away something...and totally and completely bless someone. ohhh it was fun. so now i'm trying to think of more little things that i can do. all year round even. it shouldn't have to be just at christmas time. so let's get thinking. and share the joy all year 'round!

dustin is two months today. he has his appt later. i'll try and post the stats. although i think he may be my biggest baby at two months old. i'm excited to see. he'll have to have shots too today. i'm one who does the shots. and don't want to debate the pros and cons. i've done some research but don't feel the need to not get them. my mom is on first shift and is going to meet me at the chiro and then take the girls home with her, so i can take dustin by myself. works out great!

christmas was great at my parent's house yesterday. we cancelled going out to eat, because a lot of family would have to travel. so we made it to my parents after shaun got done working and blowing our snow so we could get out. it's only a seven mile trek to town. so not too bad.

the girlies and dustin got great gifts. and so did shaun and i. my sister gave me the cricut jukebox! i'm so excited. it's semi-annoying have to switch cartridges all the time. now i can just load up the ones i use the most and voila. no more semi-annoyances! now i just need the time to play with my cricut!

well i suppose i've got some diapers to change and kids to get dressed...they're in there jammies yet. so til next time my sweet friends!

update and random babbling

hey. thanks so much for your prayers...and continued prayers.

i'm finally starting to 'drain'. which means lots of nose blowing, but a little relief of the awful pressure! dustin woke up and seems better than he did at five. and i know it's an answer to prayer...not just coincidence. he's still stuffy. but doesn't sound rattley like he did at five am. praise god. i just am praying it stays away. i never called the dr. because i didn't feel the need to. plus he has his TWO MONTH check up on monday. can you believe it?!? i can not. i am in denial that my baby is already two months old. as in plural. with an s and the end. AH!

shaun is working today. hopefully not too much longer. we have christmas shopping to finish. and there is yet another snow storm coming. expected to bring like five inches. geez. we're getting loads of snow here. i can't wait til the kids are bigger and can all go out. truth is though i am also glad that they're little. i don't like playing in the snow. i blame it on the one month i worked in the two year old room at the daycare. getting 12 two year olds ready for outside is no fun. and takes forever. it has given me only scary memories. lol. not scary...just lots of work. for like five seconds of playtime outside!

tomorrow is christmas with my mom's side of the family. i'm praying everyone can make it. i haven't seen a lot of them since...i don't even know when. it's sad. i don't like it. but ever since my grandma got put in the nursing home, like eight years ago?, we've never all gotten together. except for my grandma's funeral i guess. but then again that was already five years ago. i can't believe it's been that long. i miss her everyday. when i see little old ladies out and about it reminds me of her and i smile and tear up usually. she was such an awesome grandma. i can't wait to see her again in heaven.

so we'll see what the storm brings and who it brings. after we're going to my mom and dad's house for christmas. i can't believe it's christmas already. it should be a fun time. my parent's house is feeling small though already with our four kiddos...wait til my sister starts...it'll be full of kids!! but i know my parents love being grandma and papa, and feel pretty safe to say they wouldn't change a single thing! it's so fun to see my dad with the kids. he was working a lot when we were growing up. and missed a lot. i sometimes find myself 'jealous' of the relationship he has with my kids. then i snap out of it, and realized how blessed i am by it and how blessed they are. and how blessed he is. i just pray he realizes it.

and i'm also hoping to talk my dear hubby into hu hot. my mom is watching the girls. and we're bringing dustin. soooo it'll be way easy to eat there. we'll see. i just have been craving it.

i posted some pics up on facebook today. here is one link and here is yet another. so go ahead and enjoy them. because we all know i'm too lazy to post the same pictures up twice! plus i can post so many more up on there a heck of a lot faster. :0)

enjoy your day. and i'll probably not be back until not me monday....probably!

quick prayer request.

i just have a quick prayer request. and that's it. i promise. it's actually for continued prayer for me to feel better. and for dustin. when he woke up at five this morning he was sounding really stuffy, which he had already been, but he was also sounding really raspy and congested in his chest. i get SO nervous with that part of it. for those of you who haven't ever heard me talk about this, but caitlyn was hospitalized last winter with bronchiolitis for almost five days. and had to be on oxygen for most of the entire five days. the ped told us when we had her in that she didn't want us to take her home and 'have her peter out on us'. so now i ask for prayer for me to not get all 'hyped up' about this and for wisdom and discernment on what to do. i think if he sounds bad when he wakes up again i will call the doctor's office and see if i could try giving him an albeuteral treatment like we had to give caitlyn. part of me just wishes i had an oxygen reading machine to check his O2 levels. that's what scares me. caitlyn's dropped close to 80. which is not good, they want them at like 92 or 94. so please just keep our whole family in your prayers and i'll try to keep you all updated! i'm still feeling yucky and can't hear most of the time. i just hope i don't get an ear infection, that is no fun as an adult! but i will survive. and i will continue to just trust god and know and fully believe and trust he is in full control of every single aspect of every single thing in my life!! thanks for praying my friends!! i truly truly appreciate all of it! i love you guys!!

sick.

that's ME.

darn. i hate colds. this is my first one of the season. and it's a doozy. i didn't want to go TWO DAYS without posting....you all might get worried again.

yesterday i got my haircut!! i LOVE LOVE LOVE to get my haircut, and i haven't had it cut in quite awhile. since before dustin was born in fact. so it's been over two months. i was planning on taking a picture yesterday to share with you guys. but i didn't. and since today winter storm dawn is here and i'm not leaving my house and i don't feel good so i'm NOT taking a shower. no picture for you. i got them cut short. well to my jaw. and then high lights and some low lights. figured we'll stay a tad 'darker' for winter. i in fact was debating going dark again. i did two years ago. went really dark. it was fine. it looked like i had tons of hair. which is nice. because i so do not have tons of hair. but i decided to stay a little blonde. shaun likes them better that way. and i don't keep it just because of that. but i like to keep my man happy, and wanting me. :0) lol. truthfully, because he is a boy, i don't think the hair color matters THAT much. ;0) at any rate i feel 'cute' so the haircut was a success. i like to feel 'cute'. it's funny though because growing up i remember HATING it if my mom called something cute. and i sure don't hate myself.

and guess what!?!? breigh had her first haircut too. she wanted them cut because me and amelya did. so i figured sure. she really doesn't have much hair TO cut. but carol found some and it looks super. okay really...you can't even tell. but she still is cute regardless! and she was so proud of it. i saved a chunk of her little curl and we're all set. amelya had a trim. and you can tell a bit on her hair. but she loves it and can tell she feels so special. for awhile i had all four kids at the shop myself. i brought along the single stroller to put caitlyn in, dustin stayed in the carseat and the other two just stood by me or sat on a small stool. my sister came after work and took them to her house. but they were there for a good forty five minutes. and they were good.

which brings me to my next question...do people just not SEE good kids anymore? amy said when she left all these ladies made comments on how good they were, how they wouldn't have even guessed there were four kids, and the receptionist told them to come back anytime and followed with i don't say that to everyone. a few weeks ago when i had them at the resturant after dance i got the same comment from someone sitting behind us. 'i didn't even know there were four kids back here'. am i the only parent who EXPECTS my kids to behave in public? am i the only parent who BRINGS my kids in public? i don't think so. so why do these people ALWAYS tell me this stuff? i hear it all the time.

from little on i've always taken my kids places. most of the time, by myself to walmart or the grocery store. i've taken them out to eat quite a bit too. when i can get help...i TAKE it. but a lot of times it is just us. they've grown up knowing what is expected of them. and they know when i say we will leave without eating...i mean it. we WILL leave. i've never had to leave yet. but i follow through with other things i tell them, so i think then they realize that i mean that too. i always try to follow through with my 'threats' i do not give them 'empty threats'. that's when they learn...ohhh i can walk all over my mommy. WELLLLL this mommy ain't getting walked on. and my kids know and understand that. so maybe that makes my kids different than SOME. but not ALL kids. my kids are going to be my friends...only after they are my children. i NEED to be their mommy first and friend second. i look forward to being my children's friend, but they need to have the respect for my as their mommy first and foremost. without 'rules and regulations' i'd be raising a bunch of crazy children. i don't place to high of expectations on them either...and yes my children were being a little loud at the resturant this week, but i explained to them that this is NOT the place to be loud at, they can be loud at home or outside. so they needed to stop or we were going to leave. and well guess what? they listened. and at mcdonald's in the playland...they can be loud. that's an acceptable place. they've learned that and understand that AFTER and ONLY AFTER they are done eating they can go play and have fun. and they know that when i say one more time down and we're leaving. it's ONE more time. and they leave with me. they don't 'talk ME into things' i talk THEM into things. I AM THE MOM. not the pushover. i always try to give warnings to at places like that. like okay pretty soon we're leaving. and then i tell them one time a little later. that way they've been warned and don't fight it. and 90 percent of the time. it works. amelya has cried a little a few times, but still leaves and doesn't through a fit. and if she does through a fit, like at the mall last week, no treats. we were going to get a cookie. she through a fit when we were in the bathrooms. after that she asked for a cookie. i asked her if she thought she deserved one after throwing a fit. wanna know her answer? she said. NO. and i said you're right. and we didn't get a cookie. so she KNOWS what is expected and because she is human, still fails, but then learns from her failures and probably won't be throwing a fit and get a cookie next time. i could've given in to those beautiful blue eyes and my hungry for the best peanut butter cookies in the whole world stomach but i didn't. she learned that what mommy says is what mommy means. simple as that. so none of us got cookies. maybe next time, i hope so!

sorry to go into all of that. guess that's where my mind felt the need today. but now all my girlies are awake. dustin, who is going to be TWO MONTHS old on monday is still sleeping. but he slept through the night til five this morning!! he's been doing that for almost a week and a half or so. usually it's been til four, but the past two mornings it's been five!! woo hoo. and since i went to bed after feeding him at 9. i got a super night's sleep.

tomorrow i have to finish our christmas shopping. sunday we have christmas out to eat with my mom's side of the family and then after that we're going by my mom and dad's house to celebrate christmas with them and my sister and her husband. (that sounds weird to say yet) i also need to finish addressing my christmas cards. and then get stamps to mail them so people get them BEFORE christmas. i'm handing out most of what i can though. so okay. if i don't see you tomorrow, be rest assured sunday i'll be too busy as well. but i'll SO be back for not me monday. :0)

the biggest loser commentary you've been waiting for. :0)

good morning.

while i have a quick second i am leaving you with my feelings on biggest loser...so off we go. first off i was a teeny tiny bit surprised that america picked ed. now i want to know...did we do it to just spite him? or did we do it because we thought he had the better chance? no i shouldn't say 'we' because i didn't vote, mainly because like my friend jen, i didn't care. and quite honestly i probably would've voted for ed. to spite them. and well that isn't very christian like and therefore i withheld my vote because i would've been voting with my 'flesh'. but wow did they look great! i hope they can get preggo soon and start that family they've been wanting and waiting and working for.

for the 'kicked' out contestants. i was kind of disappointed in the tom sr and jr team. i think if they would've worked really hard, they could've lost more weight and possibly won. but at least they lost weight and i'm hoping they keep it up. adam and stacey looked great. renee! she look fantastic...except for the hair. i liked the short bob haircut better on her. honestly i think the shorter short hair made her look older. but she still looked fantastic weight wise. shellay and amy looked great too. amy looked so cute. she is the type of person who you just want to squeeze because she's so cute. and so confident. you could see it in her. i'm so happy for her. did you notice as the season went on she started wearing her glasses less and less. i think she did that because she wasn't 'hiding' behind them anymore. i could be wrong. phil and amy looked so good too. you wouldn't guess that was the same guy! and she almost won. colleen and her dad, right now i can't think of his name, but at any rate. he lost 24 years of life by being on the show. in a GOOD way. his 'age' of his body was over 70 and now it is down to 52. awesome. and he looked awesome. for sure a cop i might be afraid of. if i ever did anything that warrented a cop checking me out anyways. don't think i have to worry. colleen looked fantastic too. brady looked great. and good thing he got those braces off...that were like the invisible kind so like it mattered. boys are weird. okay i think i covered all of them...

...now for vicky. i have to admit she looked good. and she worked hard. but i am SO happy she didn't win. and michelle. yay michelle. she looked so cute! and she worked hard too. when ali said she had to lose 100 pounds i KNEW she had it in the bag. and she did. 110 pounds. she deserved it. and also because i don't think ed and heba deserved the 350000. now i am wondering i didn't look at the percentages. but i know ed wouldn't have won the 10000 but would heba have won the 250000? i'm sure they looked and they know. but seriously if they aren't happy with winning the 100000 i'll take it. gladly. i'd even take half that.

now for the clothes. i have not seen so many boobs in my life! why must they think they have to squish and squash their boobs all out of their dresses?!? it drives me crazy. good thing shaun didn't get home til amost eight and missed most of the boobs hanging out. i don't need my husband having to be tempted like that. and i know he's a man and human and may just look. so cover those girlies up! please. because I DON'T wanna see them either. there are ways to look confident and even sexy with out all that flesh and cleavage hanging in my face.

so story time. i think we're going. well the plan is we are going. however miss caitlyn woke up around seven. and is sleeping again. and five to eight. so i don't know if i just went and got her too soon or if she's coming down with something. she didn't feel warm or have a fever. so i think i just got her too soon. and as far as story time goes i'll just reiterate to the girls how santa isn't real. he does not come to our house etc etc etc. and then they'll be fine. i don't think they all have seen a 'santa'. in 'real life'. so it'll be interesting. i'm also interested in what amelya will say about him or to him if the guy talks to her. we'll see how it goes. but thanks for the advice my friends! i love hearing it.

alright. now because caitlyn is napping and dustin is too, it gives me the perfect opportunity to shower! so off i go. but before i do...we're having another winter strom predicted for tomorrow night. winter storm dawn. who is claiming to bring six to ten inches of snow. good thing most of the ten-ish inches we got last week melted over the weekend. otherwise we'd have loads of it. and today is set to be warmer. yay. the past two days have been way below zero with windchills. and that is way cold. today i think it's supposed to be above zero. with a high of 15 according to my buddy pete petoniak. lol. so off i go to get clean and shower....

biggest loser

oh yay!

you all know what i'll be doing in about an hour and a half. plopping my tookie in front of the tv. for the biggest loser finale. where michelle better be showing off her tookie and taking the money. or heba. or ed. but please please please it better not be icky vicky. no no no no no. i really hope not.

so today was dance, brunch and chiro. and shopping at good ole fleet farm, where i did not buy pretzels thank you very much. bought presents. and i'm almost done christmas shopping. woo hoo. i also got to talk a friend on the way to the chiro. it was nice to chat with her and she accidentally called me. but i had to call her because i was a forgetful friend and forgot to bring a circle punch to her house this weekend. and i had to know if i really forgot or if i dreamt that she told me to bring it. turns out she did. oops! then when i got home my pocket accidentally called her, but i think i caught it before it rang. if not. sorry chantae.

it's the same friend i took pics of this weekend. and they revealed what they are having. but you all just have to wait...her dad hasn't quite got the card yet. and because i know everyone out there reads this...i'm not sharing. okay they don't read this. i don't think. but just in case you never quite know...i'm not telling! and miss chantae if you can figure out how to send me the pics that'd be great...because it'd be more fun to SHOW them instead of just telling them. :0) because you all care so much, right? it is exciting to be having a baby so i'm excited for her. and therefore because this is my blog and you're my reader...you are to be excited to. k? okay. that settles it.

tomorrow we might be going to story time. i haven't decided yet. 'santa' is going to be there. we don't do santa, as i've stated a gazillion times already, so if you haven't read all those gazillion posts and want to know why we don't comment and i'll explain. so anyways. amelya knows santa is not real. and for those of you who didn't know that already, sorry you were lied to. he's fake. he's a guy in a costume and sure won't be coming down that chimney. anyways i get off track. so i struggle with bringing them to storytime because am i confusing them? i guess not too much. they've see 'santas' before and i always tell them he is just dressed up and he doesn't bring presents mom and dad do. although amelya always is persistent it's just me. (but she's kind of right it's me...spending dad's money) so do i bring them and just 'prep' them before? or do i just skip it altogether? my friend also doesn't do santa and brings her girls to storytime too and i know she wasn't sure about it either. maddie is breigh's age (2 and a half...already?!? a half wow) sooo do they 'get it'? i'm not sure. but regardless santa is something they will always see. so is it okay to purposely expose them to it? i just don't know. so we'll see. if anything we'll go. they'll cry at the guy at the suit and i'll just explain to them it's just a guy in a suit and that's that. they won't 'sit on santa's lap' they won't get a picture. so who cares? right? i'll let you know. because i'm sure again you are so curious to know.

alright. i need to think of something for supper. maybe frozen pizza. that's always the easy route. and then it doesn't make dishes. because we can use paper plates. hmmm. that's sounding real good. considering the dishes in the dishwasher need to be taken out because they're clean and then the overflowing sink can go in the dishwasher...well not the sink, ack you know what i mean. i think i may be a bit tired. that's when i start getting crazy. well more crazy than my normal crazy. so toodles. and please root for michelle. i'll be thinking of you while planting my tookie. :0)

quick update.

just wanted to let you all know my ultrasound went fine. i really don't know anything though. i got moved to a different room because it was a better machine. and the lady said, i wanted to take good pictures of the cystic thing in your neck. sooo it leads me to believe it's a cyst of some sort. but i was too nervous to ask any questions. so silly me will probably have to wait until my appt on december 29th to find out anything. which is okay with me. i told shaun that if it would be 'bad' news i'd rather not know til after christmas.

but truthfully god has given me such a super perfect peace about it. and regardless of the outcome he is still in control and still on the throne. and he is still good. and thanks for all your prayers. i truly truly felt every prayer. it was such a sureal feeling. but i know it was all from god. so thank thank thank thank thank YOU!

i'm working on perfecting my background skills. and i'm getting better. i made the one you're looking at. it truthfully looks better on a two column layout. it fits better. so i just have to perfect it for the three column look. i am going to start working on stephanies tomorrow. i worked a bit on it while shaun was in the shower and now need to make a choice. shaun or the computer. and honestly i was choosing the computer before. and now need to choose my husband. because as much as i love my blogging friends, i love my husband more. so toodles for now. :0) and thanks again!!

sure was not me.

it's monday again. and i NEED to be quick. the girlies and dustin slept 'in' until almost seven-thirty. so that cuts our time short before mom's group. but i also have my thyroid ultrasound today too and won't be home in between, SOOOO i had to post it now....otherwise you all might get worried. :0) thanks for worrying though. lol. soooo here we go...

i absolutely did not have a post where i used the word SO so much that i talked about how much i used it, then in the next post i did not count that i only used the word so three times. that's just plain ole weird.

i wasn't going to burp dustin and slap my hand in poop that had leaked through a onesie and a shirt and splatter on my hand. that'd be gross. my children know how to keep the poop IN the diaper and not blowout of it.

breigh wasn't eating in the living room, and she definitely was not eating fruity pebbles for supper. and she did not spill them on the blanket and floor. because she didn't do that. I DID NOT pick up the cereal off the floor and put it on the blanket. and then i didn't shake out the blanket on my kitchen floor because it needed to be swept anyway. my floors are always swept and my kids always eat well balanced nutritious meals. and they never would eat in the living room after napping through supper.

at fleet farm i did not buy a bag of white chocolate covered pretzels, because i made candy with my mom and sister. i did not buy them and think, well i'll have them eaten before we make candy anyway. i did not eat the full bag of pretzels in a day and a half.

i didn't giggle at amelya when asked when she went potty last, she said "i just went at thirty oclock". my kid is a genius and knows how to tell time at three. lol. no she doesn't. i just thought it was cute.

breigh is not wearing pajamas that are about a size too small and her belly is not hanging out of them. i wouldn't 'give in' to let her wear pajamas that don't quite fit. well actually i didn't give in, shaun did, but whatever at least she's wearing pajamas.

i didn't feel bad this morning after reading mckmama's post about getting her period back. i didn't feel happy because i haven't had a period for almost two and a half years. and i am so not dreading getting it back again.

so there you have it. short sweet. and very random. but that's me random. and sweet, i'm not really too short, shorter than some, but really just an average height. see there i go being random again. :0) i'm also kind of tired. not too much sleep last night. and that's my own fault. shaun and i spent it working some glitches out. and now they are worked out. unfortunately we work them out at wee hours of the morning and get a few hours of sleep. but they're worked out and i praise god for that. we needed the talk. we needed to 'get it all out' instead of keeping it in. i'm better at that surprisingly enough! alright. so off i go. off to get ready for mom's group. to my praying blogging buddies please keep my ultrasound in your prayers and i'll try to post tonight about it. :0) thanks so much!!

i'm alive.

and still tired.

this will be a short post. but my friend miss jen has her header up that i made her. :0) go check it out if you so desire...which i think you should. and i quickly made my sister a header too...so you can check that out too. i've gotten the whole header thing down. yay. now just to keep on perfecting the background stuff. but i've gotten some pointers from some good blogging buddies. so thanks to you guys. and i'll keep working. and miss jen is going to debut her new background i did for her after christmas. she's keeping it christmas-ey til then. :0)

the church christmas party went so well today. loads of fun. and games. i LOVE games. and i will admit, i'm a teensy tiny really teeny bit competitive. so it was loads of fun. we played the bible version of apples to apples and then catch phrase. catch phrase was more competitive and therefore a little more fun. all in good fun though. i love being able to joke around and have fun. i love love love my church family! especially my worship leader alisha halbach. lol. okay that's an inside joke. she told me today she googled her name and got my- myspace site up. lol. so i told her i'd mention her in my blog so that it would come up there too. lol. so if you did miss alisha. HI. :0) but truthfully she has a beautiful voice and gives it all to god. she's 'recorded' a cd and it is so good. but she needs to do a new one because she's written loads more songs. i've been so blessed to call her a friend! and she is secretly my twin. lol. that's another inside joke. she has complete opposite features then i do. i'm pale and blonde. she's dark and dark hair. wow. you guys really don't care i'm sure. but since it is my blog that's what i said. :0)

so survivor is on tonight. i'm excited. and then tuesday biggest loser. oh yeah. is it bad i look forward to tv? mmm. maybe a little. but that's that. my kids watch tv. probably more than recommended. but so did i. and i think i turned out pretty okay. for the most part. and it's not like they are watching the simpson's or even spongebob. they are allowed to watch either. and we don't have cable. so thanks to the digital tv programming we get pbs kids for most of the day on 38-3. so that's all they watch. and barney's a little weird, but educational.

alright enough babbling. toodles for now. and you know i'll be back tomorrow for not me monday!! hopefully i remember the goodies i thought of this week! :0)

oh and my girlies finally took naps after our trip to the mall friday. but less whiny as the day progressed. that goes for all of us! :0)

frustration.

and tiredation. if that's a word.

i'm frustrated and tired. i've been working on this goofy background thing when i can. and well i can't get jen's too look how i want it. but i'm still working on it. photoshopping it is a lot of work. i made a 'practice blog' only for me and her to see. so that helps. but i'm getting frustrated because the tutorial i found isn't helping much because my measurements seem to have to be different. so i keep trucking. i don't want to give up on it. so i'll keep working. jen wants something a bit different for the background anyways. and she seems busy, so that means it's okay if i'm putzing with it yet. i HATE it though because i just want to figure it out and for it to work. sorry. i'm kind of whining. but truthfully my husband would not understand the whining. so it's left for you guys.

and i'm tired. i've been getting enough sleep. but i know that 'hypothyroidism' has a symptom of fatigue. so that easily could be it. which is just wonderful for me. lol. because i'm not already tired. anyways i'm whining again.

tomorrow i get to take my friend's pictures for her and her family's christmas card. i'm really excited. and i am really excited because she's having a baby. and revealing on her card. so that means i get to know first. :0) we've come up with a few ideas on 'how' to do it. so i'm hoping they work. maybe i can share a picture of it with all of you. we'll see.

so speaking of whining...my overtired children are full of it...right now. breigh and caitlyn were in their room yesterday. quiet. NOT sleeping. for TWO hours. and since we had to go to my mom's for candy making they didn't get to sleep at all then. and today we're going to the chiro and the mall...which means no room for a four hour nap they need so desperately.

as much as i'd like to pretend they aren't crying. i can't. so mommyhood calls. and you know, it's okay. i'd rather have a room full of crying babies then no babies at all.

biggest loser.

i just want to clarify that i want michelle to win biggest loser. just so you know. because i do not likey miss icky vicky. i also feel heba was kind of mean through the whole show. ed is nice enough to 'give up' his spot. but really it doesn't matter because either way their family is given the chance to win. kind of 'luck out' that way i guess. michelle deserves to win because she worked hard and didn't 'play the game' i think if you want to 'play a game' go on survivor. that show is full of people playing the same game. i do not like how biggest loser turned into that this season. but what can i do? just hope michelle has worked her tail off and looks smokin' at the finale and blows the other two out of the water. we'll see. can't wait til tuesday. for now i'll wait for tonight for survivor and the finale of that on sunday. (i have a bit of a problem with the whole reality tv thing...amazing race was SO good sunday. and i teared up a bit when the couple put their rings back on...)

i also finished jen's header, and a background. once i'm given the 'go ahead' i'll share it with you all. i've spent a lot of this morning working on it. i'm exicted to share it with you all. and i'm so glad i have such good kids. i put dustin in my sling so he hung with me...literally i guess...and the girlies were so good at playing by themselves. i just wanted to finish it for her. :0) alright. i guess i've 'ignored' my children long enough. (i did take care of them...i can take breaks from the computer when they need me and come back...that's what is great about it.)

til later. and probably tomorrow. :0) amanda

oh yay.

okay this is going to be quick. it has to be because i hear the girls awake upstairs, but they are talking not crying or screaming...so that's why i'm taking this quick minute. did you see my new background? wanna know who did it? me. yep. i figured it out. that's really all i wanted to say. i'm SO stoked to have figured it out. with a little help from few sites. but i did it! since i wanted to quick do it this morning it's nothing special. and i probably won't keep it for long. i was just excited i figured it out. i'll still play around a bit i'm sure. to 'perfect' it. but now...jen i can match you background to your header?!?! if you want of course. and i've gotten another 'offer' to let me do something for someone else to. super fun. now that's three. jen, stephanie, and my sister. alright. well the girlies are still chatting, but i must go get them. i need to feed them you know. and just for the record. i only said 'so' two times...well three now...but quite the improvement. and i won't tell you how many times i backspaced it. lol. off to get the girlies. i hope i have a chance later to blog...because i need to give my little commentary on the biggest loser. how vicky's hair still makes her face look pale. and how i'm bummed she made it to the finals. and how 'sweet' ed was to let heba in the finals. maybe she'll make it. either way they're given the chance to win the money! well i guess that was my commentary. short and sweet...just like me. alright!! i'm going. toodles.

oh i'm SO excited.

okay maybe i'm a big dork. well i probably am. but anyways. i've gotten another award. and i'm SO excited. i LOVE awards. :0) it makes me so excited to know others read my blog, like Julie, who gave me the award said. so without further ado...here's the award.

and here's what the award 'represents': "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find, and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers." Now I'm supposed to pass it on to 8 bloggers!

now miss julie gave the award to a few of my blogging buddies already, so i'm giving it to those who haven't yet been blessed by this super great award!! (in no particular order...lol)

1. Honey Mommy

2. Rachel

3. Jessi Dawn

4. Jen

5. Stephanie

6. Shara

7. Francesca (i know there are three of you...so you all three can share it...but i've been chatting most with miss francesca :0)

8. Jill

oh boy...it was hard to pick eight. but these are all 'new' friends i've made over the past few months and have been SO blessed to share thoughts with all of them. so since i could only give eight i just picked eight. i so could give out more. i think i use the word so too much. sorry. wait...i'm SO sorry. :0)

so i only have a quick minute...a quick minute...that sounds funny, because we all SO know that all minutes are only 60 seconds and really none go quicker than the other. okay. wow. i'm crazy.

i've had a super blessed blogging week. after my post yesterday i've gotten SO many (there's that word again!) comments and i've been so encouraged and blessed by each and every one. i decided to go with the 'updated' card for our christmas cards. and since i know it's loads of fun getting 'real' mail. i'd love to share them with you my blogging buddies! after all i got 150 of them. what was i thinking?!?! i don't even know that many people. well okay i do, but i don't send christmas cards to all of them that i know. SOOOO want one? email me your address and i'll send you one. really. lol. maybe i'm not only a dork, but lame too.

this morning i checked out my buddies blogs before story time and found out i made mrs. 4444's 'nice' list . i was so excited. she took the time to 'give gifts' to all of her blogging buddies. not 'real' gifts. but what she would give if she could. it had to take her FOREVER. thanks so much again!!

AND because i'm a dork. my new friend, jen. same jen as above. offered to HIRE me to do her blog header. HIRE!??!! i thought. wow. so i offered to just 'do' it. no hiring needed. she emailed me pics and i'm SO excited to do it for her. i've worked on it a little bit. but still no finished product. i'm...you guessed it...SO excited to share it with you when i'm done. ohhh. and my sister said i could do her's too. oh yay! since she didn't get back to me soon enough, now she has to wait. lol. she won't mind. i'll tell her that. i'm her OLDER sister so i GET to TELL HER what to do. it is NOT the other way around. lol. seriously though i kind of have a problem with that. but i can't help it when she STILL does what i say. i don't even realize i do it sometimes. oh well. she's dealt with it for this long, i'm sure she's just used to it. right? :0)

so now i should quit blabbing. i need to start supper. since shaun has been working after six each night i have plenty of time yet. tomorrow we're going to my mommy's house to make candy. for the first time in my life. hmmm. 25 years and a few grandkids later and she decides to start traditions. oh well. i'm all up for it. :0) so i'm off to do supper. and next time i'll SO try not to use SO so much. :0) and if i do...know that i'm SO sorry. loves to all!!

another christmas card!

UPDATE: okay my friend, who i emailed the cards to, suggested adding US to the card...so here's that card...now you have THREE to pick from. thanks for the help...here's the newest new card...

original 'new' card...

okay. so i love the scrapblog site. and made another christmas card. now i'm in a pickle. which one do i print?! or do i print both and then split them up. oh i just don't know. i kind of like this one better. why? i don't know i just do okay. i had to antique the picture. but i like it better that way...fits the theme better i think. so i want your opinion. that one or this one...

i like them both. each for their own reasons...oh i just don't know...so HELP!! please make my decision. i'm very indecisive. i just should quit playing around with it. but i so LOVE the site. i'll probably be making new headers all the time now. and my new blogging buddy jill gave me some new tips too. so i'll be trying them too. maybe not today...but soon. you just wait. :0) really it's nothing to fabulous, for you, but for me it is and i'm excited to play around with it.

oh and my other blogging buddy, i've got lots...lol, Julie, shared this post about a fantastic program she uses and other goodies. go check them out. of course AFTER you're done reading this post.

i've also found a video on another, you guessed it blogging buddy's blog, cassandra posted this and i found it to be very good. now you all may have guessed that me and my hubby don't have any issues getting pregnant, we have issues NOT getting pregnant i guess. but in all seriousness SO many people do have issues. and that post has a great video i encourage you all to watch. and you may need a tissue or three thousand.

i don't know if any of you who maybe just started reading this fantastic blog, lol it's my blog i can say that, know this but we had a miscarriage before amelya. we got pregnant two weeks after our wedding night! we found out a few days before christmas and we found out at my 12 week appt there was not heartbeat. i shared my feelings awhile back on my whole miscarriage after reading the blog about audrey caroline and the letter angie wrote her. so then i blogged my little heart, and tears, out here. i encourage you to watch the video and read my post. and just have a little tiny bit of understanding.

i don't think i can or ever will understand what it feels like to not be able to get pregnant. or at least struggle with it. i know, one time, how it felt to read the negative pregnancy test when we 'tried' for ONE MONTH to get pregnant after the miscarriage and my laproascopy. i remember being so bummed. i couldn't imagine reading "not pregnant" month after month after month...i'm sorry to anyone who has to deal with that. know that i'm praying for you. for god to give you perfect peace about your situation. and that you just continue to lean on him and trust in his awesome plan for your life. because our god is so so so so SO good. all of the time.

so i've also come to terms with the fact, that, are you ready? i don't think god is done with us having babies. it's something we've been praying about and we both feel that, well, this isn't 'it'. i don't know what to say about it, besides we're just following god's leading. because i know full well, I was ready to be done. then something happened. i started listening to what GOD had to say. lol. and well it's been pressed upon my heart, and shaun's for that matter, that we just aren't done yet. or maybe right now. maybe a few months from now that will change, or maybe it won't. all i know is that i'm looking to GOD for my answers not this world. the world will through so many things at us.

'how can you afford it' (um god provides, and since i don't ask them to pay for it...why are they worried about it then)

'isn't four enough' (no, i don't think any number is ever 'enough')

'you're crazy' (that may be true, but not because i keep having kids!!)

'are they ALL yours' (well yes, and i'm so very proud of it)

'you know what prevents this right' (well yes i guess i do, but then i should ask them if they know the truth about that little pill they take?)

sorry. i've really been troubled lately on all the information i've been finding out about the 'pill' and other forms of birth control. do your research. then seek out god's answer. that's what we did. we've decided to not go on any sort of 'medicine' birth control. this may be too much information, and well, then stop reading. but this is my blog, so i'll share it. because it makes no difference to me. so we've decided to forgo the 'medicine' stuff as i've said already and stick with condoms for now. and after i get my period, lord willing, because um i was pregnant with dustin before i got my period last time, we'll then do the 'natural family planning' or 'ferility awareness method'. i've done a little research on both of them. haven't decided what quite yet to do. but i know that this is what god wants us to do right now. birth control is a very controversial subject. but it is also a very personal choice. and a choice that a couple needs to make together. and seek out god together on. so that's what we're doing. and i feel at peace about it.

i don't want to start any sort of debates either. i'm sorry if i've riled you up. but i wanted to share how i feel. i also want you to be open to what i've shared. i want you to get educated about your choices too. so research things. and understand what you know and know why you know it.

boy this post was all over today. and i could still go on and on. lol. imagine that! must be naptime at our house. and yep you're right. shaun had off this morning. well i should say, even though dance was cancelled shaun didn't go in until later this morning. he just wanted to sleep in i think. he didn't get home until after 730 last night, so i think the girlies, well i KNOW the girlies, loved playing with him all morning. i actually kind of liked it too. i've decided he should get a morning off at least once every other week. like when he worked the weekend before he should get a morning off the next week. makes sense to me!

we've got loads and loads of snow here. snowstorm carter came...and is STILL coming. i don't remember the last time we've had this much snow so early in the year. maybe this is all we'll get. ha. yeah right. it is wisconsin after all. we can get snow in may for pete's sake.

well i think i've rambled on long enough. sorry. now go check out all those links i gave you! please don't forget the video. and share with cassandra how it touched you too! let her know i sent you. peace out. (i don't know why i said that. but i did. and even though i have the backspace button to use to my advantage...i won't. i'll let you in on a little bit of my craziness...)

it absolutely positively was NOT me. nope.

woo hoo. monday. that means...NOT ME MONDAY...join mckmama and her mckfriends for your little version...or big...depending on the things you didn't do of course. since this is MY blog it's MY turn.

well i am NOT lazy and instead of changing dustin's bassinet sheet because he spit up. i just picked up the matress and turned it, so that he was sleeping on the foot end...but now it's the head end. i figure it's getting double the useage out of it.

speaking of me NOT being lazy i didn't let shaun get up when amelya was screaming for me last night. i also didn't sigh a sigh of relief when he got up. i was just so tired.

i did NOT get all happy to have blogging buddies who gave me so much words of encouragement after this post. (thanks to you all my blogging buddies...after your kind words and the word of god on friday...i've gotten so much perfect peace out of it!!)

i so will NOT brag that my six week old is rolling off his belly all the time now. i don't get excited and so extremely proud of my kids like that. heck who am i kidding...yes i do!! go dustin!

i am NOT secretely excited that we are having our THIRD named storm of the year...snow...and will be getting like TEN INCHES tomorrow. i am only excited because i know how excited the girls are going to be. me i dislike the snow.

and even though i am NOT secretly excited. i am so NOT bummed a lot that we'll probably have to miss dance class tomorrow...when shaun was coming. i will NOT make him take off next tuesday then and come watch his girlies dance.

because i can handle disappointment i was NOT bummed when my aunt couldn't cut my hair last week. i can always wait and do NOT get so excited to have my haircut.

i am NOT enjoying all of amelya and breigh's screaming and excitement over christmas lights when we drive. i am NOT starting to get all excited over christmas lights either.

i also am NOT so far behind on deciding when to print my christmas cards. and last night i took a picture of all four kids...i did NOT say after...hmmm maybe i should make a NEW CARD. because i didn't already spend loads of time making one already. and of course after i made it they are all signed sealed and delivered.

okay. i guess that's it for me today. i need to start moving and get ready for mom's group. i'm sure i'll blog tomorrow...because we'll be buried in snowstorm carter. ten inches of snow. wow. so have a happy day and if you live in the sunshine...boo hoo. send some my way.