i don't claim to know it all. i don't claim to be perfect. i just claim to love jesus.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

2008 on the first day of 2009

so i was a tad busy yesterday and then i couldn't do my typical..what happened last year post. (and because now it's the first day of this year i can call it last year...)so without any more babbling than necessary...

january: nothing really too much that i can remember major. shaun turned 27. the girlies just keep getting bigger. shaun started a new job.

february: what a month. caitlyn was admitted to the hospital for bronchiolitis. she was there for five LONG days. but recovered nicely. the week after that i decided to take a pregnancy test, i didn't THINK i was pregnant, i was just checking because at the beginning of february there was that 'one' time...soooo in the walmart hanidcapped stall with all three girls with me i read the word that changes your life: Pregnant.

march: got to see the newest member of the fam, baby "d". we decided to 'tell'. i actually had a creative way. i was a bit nervous to tell...but it was met with lots of excitement and shock (you're kidding me!) lol. and amelya turned 3. we celebrated on her birthday at chuck e cheese. and had her 'party' and pennelopys pizza.

april: my birthday. 25. wow. five years to thirty...lol.

may: my memory card went to pots. i lost a month and a half worth of pictures. :0( i cried. then i got over it. i love my babies...but didn't and couldn't spend over the thousand dollars to 'try' and get the pictures! (i learned to back up my pics ALL the time...and have been pretty good at it)

june: ultrasound. we found out baby d was a BOY. he was very good at showing that off. lol. we were excited and decided to not 'tell' anyone. breigh turned 2. we went to the 'waterpark hotel' for her birthday. she has not quit asking to go back since then!

july: fourth of july. we went to a parade and picnic. saw fireworks as a fam in fond du lac. and ate at a&w. i decided it will be a LONG time before we eat in the van again. that is so hard with kids!

august: 'girls' weekend at my mom and dad's camper. a trip to the beach for auntie's birthday. and i was feeling hugely pregnant by this point.

september: caitlyn turned 1. didn't start walking. we started anticipating baby d's birth. the girlies started dance.

october: DUSTIN was born. the fact that he was a boy stayed secret for most people til then. i'll be honest two of my friends and my sister accidentally found out. but my sister was SO good at 'playing dumb' and i don't think my mom knows yet that she knew!

november: adjusting well to four little ones under four. only by god's grace did i get by, and continue to get by. i start contemplating if we are really 'done'. lol.....

december: have four is a breeze most days. christmas was crazy with four kiddos, but loads of fun. i'm still adjusting to have a boy and not saying girlies all the time! i LOVE having the kiddos and wouldn't change anything at all....

...yesterday at target the cashier asked me 'are they all yours'. i smiled and said 'yes'. she said SARCASTICALLY!! 'aren't you the "lucky" one'. and i said not sarcastically and as nicely as possible...'YES I AM'. i guess i should've said i'm blessed not lucky. but whatever. it still urked me that she said that the way she did. i truly feel so blessed! she then did go on to tell me how she was baby number three and her dad was trying for a boy and got her and didn't want her because he wanted a boy. then they ended up having a boy and tried for another and got another girl. so i guess she just has 'issues'. she also said she didn't have any kids. maybe i was just her therapist for the five minutes...maybe i should've charged her.

then walking out of target a lady asked me again 'are they all yours' (seriously i should just get a sticker or something 'yep they are all mine'.) at any rate her reaction is completely opposite. she says this 'you go girl'. serious. not even kidding!! she also said i must be an angel. i don't know how to respond to that ever, i've had others say similiar things. i just said, no they are. that's what makes it hard to stop. that is pretty much the truth. we've been blessed with four extremely good babies and toddlers, why stop when we've got a good thing going...lol. so then she ended up parked near me and when she was backing up she rolled down her window and asked if i had them all in yet...i thought maybe she was racing me...i said 'all except him' pointing at the car seat. she said 'oh that's a guy' (serious) i said 'yep'. oh good for you! she said. lol. that lady made my day. i LOVE it when i get NICE REACTIONS and people saying nice things.

when we got to target i had to feed dustin. so i trucked us all in the store and got the girlies some snacks at the snack thing and sat down with them to feed dustin. argh. the snack court thing is right when you walk in the store. i should've charged people for the stares. i can understand kids staring, that's what they do. but seriously as an adult you can make your stare less obvious. i am not a display. nor a freak show. next time i just may charge you, or give you a signed autograph. just please quit staring at me!!

sorry to whine. i know i stare. i know that's where my kids probaby get it from. but i usually can make my staring not obvious and discreet.

before my target trip i met melissa and her girlies at burger king for lunch. my gosh..you would have thought the kids haven't seen each other in years. they kept hugging and smiling! it was so cute. and i love that they are so excited to see each other. plus it was nice to chat again with melissa. then we went to the chiro. then i found out she needed to go to walmart after. i was SO excited. i did too! so we went together. it was SO funny there she had four girls in her cart and i had caitlyn and dustin in mine. wanna see people STARE!! it was ridiculous. people in the parking lot, people in the store, people from airplanes were probably wondering what we were doing! the walmart trip went well and i was glad to have gone with someone. it makes shopping with four kiddos more fun...plus with melissa that gives us a total of SIX kiddos and TWO mommies. :o)

the reason i went to target was because faithful wally didn't have any bottles i thought dustin would eat out of. so off to target. i found the 'breast flow' bottle by the first years. it is a very nice bottle that 'mimics' nursing better. has a short nipple so he doesn't gag on it. and he ate SO good from it!! praise the lord. so i am so excited that i found a bottle on the first try of something new.

last night we went to danielle's for the new year. it was fun. we brought our 'wii' and 'wii' all had a good time playing it. and thanks to chantae using my 'mii' she upped my ranking in bowling! woo hoo. :0) thanks chantae. we also watched a Jeff Allen video. for those of you aren't familiar with him. FUNNY. i had tears i was laughing so hard.

well my little man is up. and wants to eat. so i'll leave you all. a long post for the first day of the year. but seriously what DID you expect? :0)

9 loving words from you.:

He & Me + 3 said...

Great idea for a post. My friend has 5 kids and her email address is rtheyallyours? because that is what everyone asks her all the time. Very funny. People just don't get it sometimes. Happy New Year to you and your family!
XO,
Mimi

-stephanie- said...

what a great year you had.

and one day girl, we are going to meet in one of these places you mention. If I would have seen you in Target, I would have stared, not because you were feeding Dustin or had a boatload of kids, but I would have been thinking..."I know her, I know her", then probably would have scared the heck out of your kids by screaming "AMANDA" or "aproudmommyof4" when I realized who you were. Beware, be ready. :o)
I won't hurt you, probably help you with the kids.

I don't get the lots of kids look or comments, having only 2, but because we had our girls in our 40's, I get the "grandchildren" comments. Excuse me! I'm aware I could be a grandma, but WHAT!

Beth said...

I did a similar post with pics which you've already seen b/c you commented!!!

That is funny and irritating about the cashier but yay for the lady with the nice comments!!! Next time someone asks if they are all your's - say something like "yes, but I had to leave the other 4 at home"!! That should get a reaction!!!

Happy New Year!

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

Happy New Year, Amanda!
So glad you got a great reaction to cancel out the not-so-great one at Target. We have a 'faithful wally', too.
I have a question for you: How do you manage to go shopping with all your kiddos? I feel like my hands are full with just two!

C.C. and Double T said...

Happy New Year!

25 was a tough year for me b/c I kept thinking "It's half-way to 30!" LOL. But, I must say, 30 was actually nothing... totally, a breeze! Now, 31 bugged me. Go, figure.

Hope this year is great for you!

:-)

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Oh my....that was a year of blessings, wasn't it? Wow....4 under four, you are blessed! ((People don't even realize they are being rude))

And, you should ask if they want an autograph. I am sooo over people staring at me nursing. If there is anything attractive about my boob while I'm nursing...stare away, sicko!!!

I liked the recap....nice blog, too!

LivingSimply, SimplyLiving said...

You certainly had a great year...hope 2009 is just as great. I know what you mean about the comments..I have 5 and I get them as well. When I was pregnant someone asked me "What 4 was not enough for you?" I looked at her and just said NOPE.
I was just wondering if you strictly nursed your others? because when I am nursing I am not fertile and can NOT conceive and b/c I nurse a long time that prevents me from getting preg..even when I saw badly wanted to..not sue if it is a 'me' thing..any insight?
I hated the stares as well and now always drape myself in a crib sheet b/c it is lightweight and covers up nicely...now I feel much better..
Happy New Year!
Annmarie

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

You ARE an angel. I wish people would understand that we are all different. Some of us can handle 6 kids, for others 1 is plenty. I always think that we should be happy for those who have a big, awesome family!

Jane Anne said...

I enjoyed reading your post so much! I get asked if they are all mine, too- and my 4 are not as close together as yours. And, I get lots of expressions of happiness that my 4th is a girl. Sometimes I appreciate the excitement and other times it hits that they think I would have been disappointed with a boy. Oh well, it sure is interesting when strangers talk to you!