It's late...but I have to share

I am so thrilled...I nonchalantly found these pictures at 10:00 pm when I should have already been in bed but I was so surprised to find them that now I guess I'm blogging. How 'bout that for a run-on sentence?! Come on, it's now after 11:00. I'm having technical difficulties with the whole new camera/old computer thing and I didn't know these made it into my files. I guess making a disc at Costco and then loading it onto one's computer really does work!!!!-huh

Back to my story at hand. These are my dear friends Emily and Molly. Molly is the lovely bride in the middle. Emily, the hottie to your left. We all grew up together on the eastern half of the state and for the last 2 DECADES have remained friends, been college roommates, and all around kindred spirits. Molly's big day of eternal bliss finally arrived and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. Might I say that it was such an honor to witness Molly's big day, especially with Emily by my side.

My sweet husband drove the entire crew across our fine state for the big event. We made a weekend of the whole thing complete with swimming at the hotel, playing with cousins, and actually eating AND playing in the germ infested play land at Burger King. All Thomas family members were excellent sports and the weekend was a roaring success. Are you loving Kate's headband or what? It's the polka dots....they get me every time.

To top things off, Emily and I (via facebook ) got some of our favorite people from high school together for a little reconnecting dinner. It's the funnest thing to literally talk for hours with friends you haven't seen in 5-10 years. So much to say. Good times ladies...good times!

Merry Christmas!

*cookies-CHECK.....carrots for reindeer-CHECK...chubby baby in polka dots....CHECK....

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!!

Thoughts from this very Tuesday

Would it surprise anyone to know that this kid right here is playing me? He's so capable of being "A Big Boy" with the whole using the potty and all and yet......today, he's back in diapers and totally cool with it. I think he's on to the fact that his mother is tired and sleepy and a tad bit exhausted and frankly not in the mood to check on his bladder status every 15 minutes or pay for super cool and super pricey pull-ups.We'll pull out the big guns again when we're both serious about this delightful issue. And so, we'll try again another day.

On another note: Guess whose $6.29 container of cherry tomatoes opened and spilled while she was loading her items at Costco leaving 1/2 its contents either on the parking lot floor or strewn throughout her shopping cart....gingerly hanging between each individual plastic criss cross hole and randomly dropping onto the ground below before they could be salvaged? Yup, MINE.

It was Awesome!

The late in coming.. getting warmer review

Here it is, Dec. 11th and I still haven't posted a thing for weeks. Everyday, literally, everyday since last Thursday there has been something that someone in this family or all, have had to attend. Insane craziness and I'm sure you all can relate. This post probably has a few too many pictures but come on....its been weeks, weeks full of juicy juicy tidbits and goings on. Here's a little review:

BRODY:

I'm starting with this little guy because he is now officially 3. Yes, December is his b-day month and he couldn't have been more thrilled. It's all documented fully on my new beautiful camera. My new beautiful SLR camera that I have been wanting for years but couldn't bring myself to purchase due to sticker shock. I must admit with the surprising addition of Chance the wonder pony into our family...the sticker shock wasn't as shocking....hmm. My beautiful SLR camera that I cannot (nor can my completely computer literate pal) figure out how to retrieve my pictures. I know the answer lies somewhere deep inside the user manual but I literally haven't had time to figure it out. . Sooooo, in the meantime I'm taking lots of fun and fast pictures and hoping one day to see them in print. I'm thankful for my slow as molasses point and shoot AND my darling sass a frass of a 3 year old!.

(Oh, I could just eat them up. I love having 3 darling boys!)

Kate: Speaking of eating your children.....this little gal is delicious! She's having an awfully hard time letting me blog at this very moment but man she's adorable. Latest tricks: -staring at the ceiling fan...oooooohhhh

-rolling over, 6 oz. bottles..are you kidding me, sleeping through the night, finding and sharing her darling little voice, and blowing out her pants on a daily basis. What's with little ladies and diapers? I cannot find one that shall we say "controls the leakage." It's so grody and annoying and not very lady like. Totally, totally, totally, loving her.

Cole: This kid kills me. Here he is in all his kindergarten glory last night at the school Christmas snooze/sing a long. I admit that a major Thomas flaw is tardiness. Not 15 minute tardiness but like 4 minute tardiness. Lame none the less. So last night we show up at 7:02 (if that) and the kindergarten kids were already up ON stage and singing. All be darned if my kid was gonna miss singing "Mousey in the snow." So picture me with 3 clothing layers and a puffy vest,(it's like 15 degrees outside) my gigantic Mary Poppins bag, holding Brody's hand and herding Cole and Jack up to the front to get that kid on stage...pronto. Now I'm weavin and bobbin through a stuffy packed house until we make it to the front of the auditorium. It's go time. "Cole, when the song is over, walk up on the stage and go stand next to that kid." And this is why I love Cole. He obediently waited allllmost until the song was over and just walked up...right across the stage and just found a spot to stand. The 2 minutes late Thomas' have arrived. I had to document his coughing spells. Coley has seasonal asthma which is quite annoying..is that bad to say? He coughs, and coughs, and coughs. They're not big deep clear your throat and make progress coughs. These sound fake and wimpy....thus annoying. Anyhoo, I laughed to myself as he sang through the last song and every 10 seconds or so...cough...faa laa, la, cough, la la mousey in the snow, cough! Out comes the nebulizer.

Kyle had an awesome time at the sing a long. He got stuck in the back back with Kate, a bottle and no burper cloth. See it was all up with crazy 2minute late mom and her Mary Poppins bag.

Jack: Let's see, what to report with this guy. He's either uber helpful or the spark that gets everything/one annoyed. I'm trying to focus him on being helpful without being the parent....fine line Jacky pants. Can I tell you that this kid is a fantastic speller?! It's so fun to quiz him throughout the week and then get his test back with 100% . He's a funny one who really really really enjoys watching tv and who's really really really observant. He's not to pleased that I control the remote and cartoon network is not an option. Ah, to be 7 1/2 ..so rough.

Chance the wonder pony: It's Fa-reezing here, bone chilling cold. Thrilled would be an understatement describing the fact that Chance now has his blanket on. I'm not a pet person, I don't want to think about animals outside in the cold. I know that's the way they're made....it's natural and all that. I just don't want to be responsible for a cold animal. With blanket on and backyard fence built, Chance the wonder pony is a happy horse. Kyle is almost done building an enclosure for him to protect him even more during the winters. It's a good thing cause we've ALL been a bit too chilly around here. Which leads me toooooooooo:

Heaters: See this little beauty, she's been running non stop for 2 days, helping me thaw out. In a nutshell the downstairs of our house has stained concrete floors. We love them. At least we thought we would love them. Then the temps outside hit ya know, 15 degrees and real quick it got real chilly inside. Now our floors have radiant heat to stay warm in the winter but nothing was happening. It was 58 degrees in my bedroom and 62 degrees in the rest of the downstairs. You know how annoying it is to be constantly cold??!!! I had Kate in 3 layers with tights and hats on, just ridiculous for being INSIDE. Anyway, Kyle brought home heaters while he figured out what was going on/not working. Finally yesterday he did some tweaking in the control room and just like that....you can feel heat under your feet and it feels soooo good. We are officially back to loving our WaRM concrete floors.


Finally......(my apologies to anyone who is actually still reading) this is for my sister who wanted to see my decor this year. We're still not completely settled and moved in but pretty close. I do love Christmas time as it is most appropriate to use red and green (my personal decorating faves) like crazy! Now I just need to restring the tip of my pre-lit Christmas tree which decided to go dim a few nights back..sAweet.

Whew, that was a good blogging session for me. Thanks for listening. And if you're really lucky your Christmas cards should be out come March.

Social skill of the week...before the big day of deliciousness

Yesterday I had Brody lean over and spit into Cole's bowl. Yes, you heard me correctly, spit.

Mom : " Brody are you kidding me? Knock it off we NEVER spit in other people's food......gross, don't you ever do that again!!!"

Brody: (Knowing he is full on guilty.) " LET'S SING SONGS!!!"

So on that "note" ......Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Business of the day

This morning was one of those blur kinda mornings. For some reason Kate thought waking up at 4:40 was a good idea. I on the other hand thought letting her cry it out was a good idea. Instead I lay in bed and tried my hardest not to hear her for the next hour ( and then some) until it was useless-I finally had to get up to start the day. My niece was on her way over at 6:30 in the a.m. to catch a ride to school so Friday was up and running. Cold, dark, rainy, exhausted mornings are such a treat. My routine in the mornings are as follows:
-immediately put on work out clothes so there are no excuses
-get breakfast for boys
-make lunches
-take Jack to school
-come home workout before Kate arises
As I am doing all of these things I am constantly listening to my favorite talk radio hosts. Today was no different .......topic of utmost importance: the health care bill that is being shoved down our throats and tomorrow the senate is scheduled to vote. I won't bore you with all of my thoughts on the matter but my point is this. I have had the names and phone numbers of senate democrats on my counter this whole week. Each day that I heard something insanely maddening about what they were trying to do I wrote it down so I could remember that point. It was my goal to call every single democrat that was so called "on the fence" about the bill and voice my concern. Well this morning as I made pancakes for the youngins (with a sleep deprived headache)-I decided that I couldn't waste anymore time. I began dialing like a mad woman...1 202 224 5824-that my friends is senator Mary Landrieu's (of the great state of Louisiana) office #. Her number has been a busy signal all day long. Hmmm, I wonder why? On the fence huh? Do you think that slime ball majority leader Harry Reid buying her vote with a ONE HUNDRED MILLION dollar additional relief package for her state alone has anything to do with it? I continued though...all morning, all busy signals. Then finally a ring...and then an actual person, "Senator Kent Conrad's office please hold..." I was ON....I was nervous....what would I say? I looked over my notes and thought how this piddily phone clerk could care less about what I had to say but I had to say it. He came back on and I proceeded to plead with him on behalf of the majority of Americans who oppose this bill (and every poll will show that )to vote NO. Please tell senator Conrad who claims to be pro life that there is nothing positive about this disaster - especially federal funding for abortions that WILL remain in the bill no matter how the media tries to twist it. I asked him to vote on principle and not politics. He was polite and said with a little chuckle that they have received a lot of calls. I hope they have. I pray that it will make some sort of difference. In case you feel so inclined to drop Senator Kent Conrad (ND)a little ringy dingy his number is 1 202-224 -2043. He is one of 4 pro life democrats who are on the "fence" concerning abortion in this bill. I already heard that Ben Nelson of Nebraska has caved and will still vote yes. Insane. Maddening. Scary. So after feeling a little success in my dialing efforts and taking the kids to school it was time to work out my frustrations.


This is my favorite friend as of late. My sweet Kyle finally brought her in from the cold and heartless barn so we could re-connect. Do you see those little dots all over ....that's my sweat, and it felt reeeally good. Especially on days when your brain turns on at 4:40 a.m. and is constantly filled with crying, and lunch making, and bum wiping, and insane politicians, and fear for my country and wanting to make a difference. So on this day I went 3 miles which is huge for me. Thank you Earth, Wind, and Fire, Mary J. Blige, Hall and Oates, Pointer Sisters, Justin Timberlake, Rhianna, The Cure, New Order,Gwen Steffani and all my other Ipod peeps. My 'treadmill time' was much needed and much appreciated. Now, back to dialing, I have some senators to contact.

In need of an asprin

It's Saturday and I have a splitting headache. Causes: 1. I'm wearing a hat today (not a wash hair kinda morning) 2. Kate is still screaming (not a nap kinda afternoon) 3. I'm starving (I guess not a preparing meals kinda day) and 4. my kids keep tattling....how is that spelled?



And YA WANNA KNOW THEE WORST.....I AM OUT OF BLACK INK CARTRIDGES ( and I was even already at Walmart this very morning) AND NOW MY PRINTER IS STUCK AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS FINISH MY BLASTED RELIEF SOCIETY LESSON WITH OUT LITTLE BOYS WHINING FOR CANDY AND COMPLAINING THAT THEIR BROTHER IS MOCKING THEIR SNOWMAN EXPLORER OUTFIT.



-No I haven't seen your Pirates of the Caribbean gun.

-Yes you can have a Hershey Kiss thingy

-No you may not have a juice box

-No I haven't seen your water bottle.



Then this guy pipes up on the stairs next to me and creepily says..." Hi Jack, you wanna play?" I ask you......when will his batteries die?

NO..I just want my baby to stop crying, my boys to stop arguing, my lesson to be done and presentable, and a gigantic hunk of meat perfectly seasoned and prepared (with a lovely salad on the side) on my dinner table STAT!

Halloween festivites and free advice

Just so everyone is aware: "Nevo eat "newds" standing up. They-o bound to bounce all o-vo the place." -Cole

And...you're welcome.

I'm just a big fan of October in general. You add a fabulously fun holiday like Halloween and a few dozen pumpkins and I'm good to go. I'd have to say that this year's festivities were my favorite so far. Yea, I'm gonna go with that answer.

The day was just right. Kyle worked in the backyard all day. I cooked all day. The boys played all day. And Kate was a dollhead all day. My cute sis-in-law Jen and 2 of her 3 little ladies + her parents (whom I adore) were in town from Utah and came over for dinner before trick or treating. My folks along with favorite uncle Jens came as well. With culinary inspiration oozing (thankyou dear PW) I managed to make 2 big pots of pretty darn delicious soup and carmel corn for dessert. Nothing like yummy soup and corn dogs for a crisp Halloween night

Dash, Mrs. Potato head (cousin Bergen) , Indiana Jones, and Buzz

Man have we gotten our moneys worth outta these costumes.

My cute festive mom in her fantastic orangey sweater.

Matchy matchy orange squared cousins Kate and Quincy.

I let the boys keep a baggie full of their favorite treats and sold all the rest to a local orthodontist. $18 bucks later and we are done!

the day

It's already after 3:00. Where has my day gone? I had such high hopes for accomplishing things. Instead I'm casually perusing blogs trying to find :

1. a dresser. My bedroom is still holding onto a few boxes. Boxes which contain random pairs of pajama pants, a gazillion pairs of tights(I don't know how I have accumulated this many seeins that I only wear them in winter...sometimes) old swim suits, Kyle's long johns for hunting, ya know...those crucial pieces that make any outfit complete.

2. rugs. Our lovely new home has heated concrete floors. I have always loved the rustic look of concrete floors and agreed to them on the terms that they wouldn't be freezing. They are not freezing, they are coldish. Thus, I need rugs.

3.earrings. I don't need earrings, I just love them and would love to buy them everyday. But I don't. grr.

I did do 4 loads of laundry, that's impressive. Especially now that the timer on my dryer went out and I have to set another timer and make sure I hear that one so my clothes don't burn up or shrink to smithereens. Neither would be cool.

I did do my Biggest Loser workout again. I'm on a roll. Well, trying to avoid literally being rollish is my goal. Getting to my happy place "gym" isn't in the cards right now with the family schedule so I've got to do something and beautiful Bob is my something . It felt good. On the BL topic my feelings are this: I do not enjoy Tracy or Daniel or the old obnoxious southern lady with yucky painted nails who just rubs me the wrong way every time she opens her mouth which is far too frequent. I'm done with all of them.

So now the bus will be here shortly and the older fellas will return and "my day" will be over. I have successfully not gotten to the store, returned the movies, or mailed off bills. However, I did find some fantastic earrings on Etsy and Brody found some yogurt and Kate finally found her napping place. All is well.

The latest goings on....

It's a total "fallish" cold and misty Sunday night and I love it. Jack and I have returned from successfully delivering pumpkin sugar cookies to our new neighbors. Woop de doo you may say but seeins that Kyle didn't exactly put his "best foot forward" on the neighborly kindness gig with the one gal.....I had to step in and wave the white flag of neighbor love. I chose to wave that flag with a plate of cookies. I think it worked. The other neighbors have 3 dogs...... very, very active/hyper/nerve racking dogs. I don't do dogs. I'll have you know that I held that plate of cookies as high in the air as possible shaking like a leaf while being "welcomed" down the driveway by Kugo and company. All cookies were delivered, no harm was done and my sweatshirt is soaking in prewash. Wet dog paws....grrrrrrrrr.

We had our primary program today and Jack and Cole were great. Poor Mr. Cole wasn't feeling so hot so we let him go for just sac. mtg. I always feel bad for the parents whose kids freak out and freeze or who scream into the microphone. I sure appreciate my boys memorizing their parts, singing the songs, going to the Saturday dress practice and having a great attitude about church. It's what we do and my sweet little boys help strengthen my testimony today. I loved watching them sing and I have to admit that I choked up just a smidgen watching Jack sing "I know He lives." What a great song. I had never sung it before and I absolutely loved it. This was my first time in 3 years not leading the primary music or being involved somehow so it was actually nice just to sit and enjoy.

So, besides the big program these are the highlights of the week:

Let's start with this little dollhead. While she is currently screaming in her swing, I am choosing to remember the sweet sweet fact that she did indeed sleep through the night last night. Besides that she's been wearing her fancy new red shoes like it's nobodys business.

This kid learned how to "thumbs up" this week. We've also been puzzle crazy around here and you put those 2 activities together and you get one happy Brody.


Mr. Cole has had a pretty bummer week. We don't speak of the fact that he missed "Pajama day" due to his blasted cough and fever. Poor kid was a trooper and made it through his speaking part today with flying colors after chewing his cough drop at the microphone. Love this kid.

Jack is a reading machine. His latest achievement.. a juicy chapter book about the young Boba Fett. To my dismay but not surprise, he really prefers Star Wars over Ramona Quimby. I love that he has started quietly reading to himself in the morning before he comes down for breakfast. He's even reading the Book of Mormon on his own and I'm just so proud of his cute little 7 year old self.

As for me I thought I'd share my 2 favorite things as of late.

-My turbo microwave/oven combo that gives me the option of: #1. melt or #2. soften butter AND cream cheese AND defrosts meat to the utmost perfection. I love it. And... of course my Mickey pumpkin. His return each fall makes me smile. I am easily pleased!

Reasons # 346, 347, and 348 why I love having a girl..

Is it wrong that I enjoy this look so much?

The week/end review and what not

Am I the only one who has been rudely bombarded with enormous and disgusting amounts of fruit flies these last 2 weeks? My house is by no means spotless but random plates laying around with caked on leftovers you will not find. This influx is baffling I tell you.

Wait a second....

NICE......Brody's contribution in his bedroom (upstairs no less) to helping mom fight the good fight vs. the gnats. Isn't that how you spell nat....gnat? Anyway, a 3/4 eaten apple, a pair of plastic vampire teeth, and a pin lanyard from Disneyland. The perfect combination for a 2 year old's bucket.

Some ladies husbands bring home flowers for a surprise. Not mine!!! This is what I got as a big fat juicy SURPRISE and welcome to the family this last week . I have yet to formulate my entire emotions on the subject so that will have to wait for a later post. Until then....I really like FLOWERS. In case your just dying to know his name: Chance the wonder horse. He's not even 2 yet and he's quite hyper. I've watched him several times start at the end of his "for the time being" make shift corral get a running start and try to leap the fence. That's right, leap the fence. What in the world would I do if this dear pony actually succeeded in his escape attempt? The point is I DON'T WANT TO BE WORRYING ABOUT PONIES IN MY FRONT YARD AT THIS TIME IN MY LIFE. Deep breath. What's done is done and Chance is here to stay. Maybe next week for our anniversary I'll get some flowers.... or maybe a beautiful bucket of grain or possibly a lovely bale of hay.

No school on Friday meant go play at the park. We decided to invite Bill Cosby.

And finally we ended the week/end with taking all four kidlets to the 3D Toy Story/Toy Story 2 double feature. Everyone but Cole, mom, and Kate made it through the entire show with out a little shut eye. Yea that was fun coming out of the theatre at 10:30 with kids who had just woken up and whose parents had forgotten their jackets. Pixar shows are fabulous.....3D Pixar....even better.

So there you have it. Gnats, ponies, Bill Cosby, and Toy Story. That my friends, was my week.

My number four..the little lady

I feel like she's been hidden these last few months. Only local yocals have really met my little lady which is truly unfortunate. She's a doll baby...literally. A lady in Target the other day stopped me mid aisle to clarify with her daughter that I was indeed holding a live child and not a doll. Now really folks, does a grown woman browse the Star Wars aisle with her icee drinking 2 1/2 year old holding a dolly? She's still quite small, and quite bald, so maybe that threw the lady off.

I was just informed that "Kate's qwying" by Mr. Brody. That is a regular occurrence around here these days. She's a crier. She really enjoys being held for long extended periods of time of which I have little..thus, crying ensues. We're learning to roll with it though and each day she gets bigger and better. I'm loving her smiles and if I'm not mistaken she actually giggled just a smidgen today. She still has blue eyes which is totally bizarre in our brown eyed family but I'm loving those as well.

Hopefully Kyle will locate the crib and set 'er up this weekend so the insanity known as "nighttime" will come to an end. I do NOT enjoy sleeping with my children, especially those that cry a lot and have blue eyes. I'm a big believer in the power of the crib.Everyone needs their own space...even little ladies. Anyday now I'm hoping for some good solid sleep. It was a cruel trick to have 3 previous children who slept through the night at 3 months and then this little lady. I adore her but man I would just LOVE to sleep for like 4 hours straight without a single stirring of my soul.

As my number four she is fantastic. She's the princess of the house in that she has the undivided attention of her 3 older brothers and they do any and everything for her. I love watching them baby her, they're real naturals and it's pretty darn cute. So besides her tiny stature, bald head, excessive crying, expensive formula, constant bum rash, and stinky chubby neck, Kate is the little lady of the house and my perfect number four.

How 'bout a few pumpkins for the new porch

It's Monday evening... 7:30-we just made an 18 minute trip to the pumpkin patch and have returned. Returned where you might ask? Well, I am pleased to report that we have finally made the move into the new abode. And, after weeks apart, Frank the trusty/sweaty computer guy came this very afternoon and hooked up my dear friend PC. We are reunited again and it feels so good.Life is splendid. I am back. It is Finally Fall!

It's about time

So here's the deal, I'm almost ready to post again. See, it's been 10 weeks since we have been cohabiting with my wonderful in-laws. On this very day our house to be has passed it's plumbing Final inspection and now only needs THEE FINAL FINAL inspection (which Kyle is all over). In a matter of days I will then move into my new lovely home with my things. My things which I have missed all summer...one being my own personal computer with all my pictures..pictures which I will thus share.

Now, does anyone even read my blog anymore? I know how annoying it is seeing the same lame title of a post over and over again. I'm sure sorry about that. You see, the bags under my eyes from lack of sleep are still over powering my senses and frankly I'm just still so blasted tired. And I'm too computer retarded to download pictures on my in-laws computer...I know I'd mess something up so I just took a break hoping that soon I'd feel inspired to post again!

WE PASSED OUR PLUMBING FINAL>>..................I'm officially INSPIRED!!

So please, do me a small favor. If for any reason you would come back and read actual current posts, leave me a comment. I'm hoping that this 10 week (and counting) sebatical in crazy town is almost over and life (with pictures) will return. I'm hoping that I'll still have readers out there!

In the meantime....did I mention that WE PASSED OUR PLUMBING FINAL????!!!!!

Oh and baby Kate.....sittin pretty at 10.5 lbs!

2 weeks and counting

To say that the last 2 weeks have been eventful is an understatement. In a nutshell the Thomas family of now six.... have:

-moved out of their home
-welcomed a newbie darling bundle of tiny pinkness
-moved into their grandparent's home for the summer
-forgotten all items that were "pre packed" for the move to use at grandma's ie: blow up pool, light sabers, plastic blue bin full of summer reading books etc. etc. etc.
-tried unsuccessfully to locate said items in storage barn...
-tried in vain to get newest member of the family to sleep longer than 2 hours at a time once the sun goes down
-not entered a grocery store(a beautiful benefit of having wonderful friends provide meals pre move and then a fantastic mother-in-law who has kept us fed every night.) It still feels weird to be out of my routine.
-become accustomed to the sights and sounds of "liquid gold" otherwise known as breast milk. Let it be known that I am not a breast feeder, it just never worked for me. The bottle on the other hand made me as the mother.....how shall I say it......much more pleasant. Since newbie little Kate is still so newbie I re-focused from day one and decided to try it one more time. In the meantime- modesty has become a little lacking around these parts. As the mother of 3 boys I tactfully explained that no, mom is not feeding Kate from her stomach..mom's use their CHEST and by golly boys have chests too, just not for feeding. Animals also have chests ..yadda yadda yadda. They all were slightly intrigued and now it's just commonplace. I'm proud of myself for sticking with it. An automatic pump is a beautiful invention!
-managed to stay somewhat sane in a new "closer" environment.


All in all I know I'm getting a little help from above to get through these next few months. The fact that I am still awake and alert enough to function all day is amazing. I truly hate the night time at this stage....it stinks to high heaven. The fact that I am still feeding her myself and not dying of pain is a miracle in itself. I CANNOT wait for my new house and space and all that excitement. In the meantime, I have the best situation possible. My in-laws are so thoughtful and kind and have welcomed all SIX of us loudy loud louds for the entire summer. Now if we could just find those light sabers.

Introducing........

Kate Linnea Thomas:

Born: June 30

5 lbs. 8 oz.

16 inches

totally adorable

OH so much to say and so little energy.

Long story short...she arrived 4 weeks early. I went in for my usual Monday appt. after having a semi stressful weekend. She hadn't been moving enough for my liking all weekend and by Sunday night I thought I should go in. I decided that because I already had my ultrasound scheduled for the next day I waited it out. Ultrasound showed 2 week lack of growth and lower than liked fluid level. Combining that with her slow kick count my dr. decided that I needed an amnio to make sure her lungs were developed so that she could induce me. All this was unexpected and a little scary. The amnio thankfully showed her lungs were ready enough and I started the glorious inducing process around midnight on the 29th. I won't bore you with gory details other than she arrived safely Tuesday morning. NICU nurses were there to check her out and found nothing of concern. She didn't even need oxygen...amazing. She's so incredibly small and dolllike - it's a little scary doing the basics like diaper changing. The whole girl thing is totally throwing me off....I'm loving it though...as are the fellas! We are all so thrilled ( Brody...ah, not so much, he's coming around) and still in amazement that she is finally here.

So on to moving...that's TOMORROW...can't wait. I don't know what my computer life will be like in the next 8 weeks so I have to get my fix in now. I'll hopefully figure out guest blogging on my mother-in-law's computer. Life is so crazy and busy and exhausting right now I can hardly see straight (literally...the sweet newborn schedule has begun). But how can I complain, I'm gushing over this little gal, finally my Kate is here!