20 Weeks-Halfway done!

The kids are showing off their cute little bellies.

Mason really believes that he has a baby in his tummy as well.

I had my ultrasound last week and really didn't want to talk about it until I found out the results. The ultrasound tech was TERRIBLE and said a lot of things and didn't say a lot of things that made me very concerned. My midwife finally got the results back from the hospital, and everything looks good. So, now I can talk about it.

Now, if there are any ultrasound techs out there, let me tell you a few things when you are dealing with pregnant women:

Do: Pretend to be excited for the mother and father, even though this is my 4th child, it is still a wonderful and exciting experience for us, don't ruin it!
Don't: Let your annoyance shine through when the baby won't cooperate and get in the correct position for you.

Do: Answer the parents questions when they ask you what anatomy you are looking at
Don't: Stay silent throughout the ultrasound unless the parents ask you to

Do: Ask any needed questions before the ultra sound starts
Don't: Ask the mother if she is in for an ultrasound because of problems minutes AFTER you have started the ultrasound, then tell the mother that you can not answer any diagnostic questions when she is freaking out that something is wrong with her baby.

Again: Do ask any needed questions before the ultra sound starts
Don't: Ask the mother if she is measuring normal at her Dr. visits after you have just measured the baby and then tell the mother AGAIN that you can not answer any diagnostic questions.

Do: print off lots of pictures of baby, hands, feet, profile, face, bum showing gender, etc.
Don't: Print off 2 measly pictures, one that even a Dr. couldn't recognize.

Example of a good Picture:

Example of a bad picture. I wouldn't mind if I got this picture if it was one of many, but it was one of TWO pictures. This is supposed to be the front of her face, you know the ones that look kind of alien like.
Do: Tell the parents congratulations as they leave the office
Don't: Send the parents off by telling them that their midwife will let them know the test results on Monday, making the mother think there was a problem and she needed to know the test results.

Just a few tips for those of you that are already ultrasound techs or thinking about becoming one!

FaceBook In Reality

Repurposed Skirt

I've had this skirt since around the time Reece was born, so at least 8 years. It actually got lost in the dark recesses of my closet and I found it recently and realized it was time for it to be retired. I wanted to make something else out of it because of the story behind it.

Here is the story, it may be completely boring, so feel free to skip over this part.

At the time I bought it, Michael and I were dirt poor college students. Reece was a newborn, so I quit my job and no longer contributed an income. Michael was working maintenance at Campus Plaza, an apartment building near BYU and was also a full time student. In the college paper or magazine there was and article about 2 or 3 members of the BYU track team and one of them was a friend of mine from high school. I cut it out and with a little note like, "I'm sure you've gotten a thousand of these, but I thought I would send it anyways" I sent it to his mom (Dee Jones). Apparently his mom had heard about the article, but was unable to get a copy of it, so the copy I sent was the only copy she had. Along with a thank you note she included a gift card to Old Navy. That gift card meant the world to me, it meant a new outfit! It seems so silly now, but back then it was so rare to get new clothes. So, with the gift card, I bought this skirt and a shirt.

It was so thoughtful of Dee to send the gift card, and I don't think she knows how much it meant to me and what a blessing it was. Hopefully, now you do Dee.Since I'm such a sentimentalist, I decided to make a bag out of it.

And here is the finished product. The pictures were taken a few months ago, before I was pregnant, I miss my waist!

I had my ultrasound today and it is a.....

February's Homeschool Field Trip

We walked around the Salt Lake Temple, no matter what your religion, it is impossible to deny how beautiful this building is. We also went to the Church History Museum

Building Temples

I'm so proud of Michael for completing this maze!

Valentine Festivities

These heart shaped bean bags sure got well used this past week. They are made out of felt, I was able to make 2 hearts from one piece of felt, the kids stuffed them with beans and I sewed them up, we made 12 bean bags in all. We played a game where you throw them into a can and whomever gets the most in the can wins. Then we made a big tic-tac-toe board out of poster board and played tic-tac-toe. Maya used them for math questions ie. 2 pink plus 5 red equals? The the kids also came up with their own games such as bombs and grenades, the rules were basically the same as dodge ball.

I made rice crispie treats and formed them to look like giant Hershey Kisses. I cut a piece of parchment paper into long skinny strips and wrote a personalized note on each one. Michael and I hid them for the kids and played hot/cold until they found their kisses.

For some friends we made heart shaped sugar cookies.

The kids decorated the cookies for our family.

Since Reece is homeschooling this year, he isn't able to exchange Valentine cards with class members. We decided to make Valentines for his close friends, this was probably our favorite activity this Valentines.

We started with our "crayon graveyard" seen on the left.
The kids peeled the paper off of the crayons and I cut them into small pieces.

I found some heart shaped ice cube trays for $2.5o at Target. The kids filled the hearts with different colored crayon pieces.

The molds were made out of silicone, so I figured they could probably go in the oven. I gave it a test run and it worked. We baked the crayons for about 15 mins at 250 degrees. The crayons melted and formed a heart shaped colorful crayon.

The finished product.

Maya

Maya went to a birthday party where they hired a professional face painter. How fun is that? Afterwards she was glad to pose for a few pictures for me.

Sometimes she is just so weird, I just don't know where she gets it from!

Hope You Have a SWEET Valentines Day!

If you are familiar with Utah, it is obvious I didn't take these recently. I actually took them this past summer, I'm not cruel enough to make my kids pose half naked in the winter.

Our Newest Edition

Introducing Rodrick.....Isn't he adorable? There is just something genetically ingrained inside me, that I get a new pet every time I'm pregnant. Yes that is somewhat of an announcement if you caught it.

Michael was sweet enough to get me a bunny for my birthday, I have wanted one for the last 2 years.
He is really good with the kids, they love to chase him around and play with him, and he loves getting out of his cage. But, when he is with me, he just lays on my chest and lets me pet him. I hope it stays that way!

Boys and knives

Reece is always begging to carve with his pocket knife. As a mother of an 8 year old boy, you might realize why I'm hesitant to allow this. Then I saw a craft on Blue Yonders blog and I thought I would let Reece give it a try. He cut out a heart shape about the same size as a bar of soap, traced it onto the bar of soap and then carved away. He was pretty proud of himself and wants to make one for each of his friends for Valentines Day.

Another Texas Update

Ok, so my sister Linsey asked me to bring my "nice camera" so I could take pictures of her and her boyfriend Frank-a-licious. She swears up and down that they ARE NOT engagement pictures. You be the judge!







The story behind this picture....I basically wanted to see how much power I had over them. I convinced them that I was going to take a really cool picture where they had to get in a sumo wrestling position. Unfortunately, Frank caught on before I could snap the shot in it's full glory. Don't worry, I don't "normally" do this to my regular clients.
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