Im Back, Maybe!

When you don't blog for say 5 months there is so much that you miss that it is hard to know where to start. I guess I will start with where I have been. For 4 of the 5 months I have been spending all my time on my knees in the bathroom or sleeping on the couch! Why do we have kids again? I am pregnant with baby number 3 and due November 23rd. I haven't thrown up in about a month but have spent the last month trying to catch up on the things that I neglected for 4 months.
We had our ultrasound today and I was strong and didn't look at the gender. So we are having a mystery baby! I figured since we have one of each we would spice it up a little for number 3 and not find out what we are having. The ultrasound definitely isn't as fun but its good to know that everything looks good.

So some of the highlights that I missed are:
-Disney on Ice (March)
-Maddux turned 2 (April)
-Easter in Manti (April)
-Jacie graduated from preschool (May)
-Tim ran a half Marathon (May)
-Jacie playing T-ball and Maddux saying "its my turn" (May)
-Jacie's dance recital (June)
-Tim ran the Ragnar race (June)

Here are some cute pictures that my friend Amanda took!

Maddux was such a grump that out of all the pictures she took there is maybe 5 that he actually smiled.

Basement Fun

We are finally starting to finish a room in our basement. I am ready to get the guest bed out of Maddux's room and finally get it decorated for him. I also really want a toy room done but I'm still trying to convince Tim. This meant that we had to clean out some of the crap that is down there. I could not believe all the empty boxes. Why on earth do I keep empty boxes? The kids had a great time though. They loved helping clean, sweep, and most of all playing in all the empty boxes!

Art Project

Jacie loves to do art projects. If they are too messy I usually make her wait until Maddux is down for his nap. Jacie decided that she wanted to paint. Maddux immediately wanted his own paint brush. I thought this is just water and paint, the worst that could happen is a glass of spilled water right, no big deal. Well, while Jacie painted a nice picture Maddux decided to paint himself!

Jacie will not just smile she has to pose and make silly faces. What a girl!

The final masterpiece! I think he also managed to spill the water!!

Random Thoughts

I am always thinking of things to blog about but never get around to it. Tonight the kids are in bed and Tim is playing XBOX so I thought I would post a little something.
An update on Maddux. The last two nights he has actually made it through the night. I think that he has made one or two whimpers but that's all. It has been great. There is one bad thing though, Jacie for some reason has come into my bed the last two nights. Seriously can I just sleep all night in my bed and not have the share my pillow? She has had a little bit of a cold and so I think she wakes up coughing or something and then decides to come into my bed. Its kind of funny, she comes over to my side and just kind of slides in, then later usually takes over the bed!
Last Saturday night was the Miss America Pageant. Even though I am a former "pageant girl" I have always loved Miss America. I remember as a little girl watching it every year. The whole family, well I don't think Kyle, would make sure we had a pen and paper and then we would make our list of who would make it to the next round. This year was cool for two reasons. One instead of having just the pageant they had a whole reality TV show about the girls with them competing in different areas. It was nice because you actually got to know the girls a little and not just see them walking across the stage. The other reason that it was exciting was that Miss Utah was from Manti and won Miss Utah as Miss Sanpete (I was Miss Sanpete). It was just cool being able to see someone I know competing for Miss America!
As of December I am pretty much a stay at home mom. I went from working once a week to just working one weekend a month. I must say it is VERY nice to be home but at the same time it is a lot of work! It is crazy that going from one day a week to nothing could be that different but it is. I do love it but it is taking some getting used to! I am trying to be a better housekeeper, trying to do more with my kids, and trying to find things that I can do for myself. If any of you have any organizing tips or things that you do to stay sane please share because I am running out of ideas!

Again?

I know I have complained about Maddux and his sleeping habits but really, can he just get over it? He was doing so well for awhile, sleeping through the night and waking up about 7am every morning. I would prefer 8 but I will take an entire night of sleep over 8 any day! I can't even remember when it started up again but its been maybe a month. He wakes up at like 4am and just starts yelling "momma, mooommaaaa, momma" so out of selfishness I go get him and bring him to bed with me. Remember I love MY sleep! Now its every night and some nights its 1:30! Seriously, he is almost 2 and this has to come to an end! So now I am doing the whole let the kid scream thing AGAIN! I hate that when you give a kid an inch once he expects a mile every time. So if any there are any suggestions on how to get a kid to sleep through the night, every night I would love them!

Christmas Morning

We had an amazing Christmas. As the kids are getting older it is more and more fun! This year was especially nice because we didn't have to travel. In years past we have woken up and done our own present opening and then gone to Tims parents and then headed South to my parents for even more presents. It is great to see everyone but it gets kind of crazy. This year my parents came to my house as well as my brother and his family. It was a good thing that the kids slept in later than last year because we would have been in the dark. The power went out about 6:30am and didn't come back on until after 10am! It was kind of sad not to have any Christmas lights on but we managed. As I looked through our pictures I realized that I didn't take very many pictures and pretty much none of Jacie, oops! Jacie got a barbie house (no pictures of it!) and Maddux got a little 4 wheeler from Santa. Cayden, my nephew got the little pony, I think Maddux liked it more than Cayden did! We were very spoiled!

I love the Holiday Season but I am glad that it is over so we can get back to our routine. I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and wish everyone a Happy New Year!

The Month in Review

We have been busy this last month, just like all of you! Here is a little glimpse of what we have been up to!

Art projects, making toast, dress-ups at Grandma Thorsens (Tim loved that!), movie nights, arcade games at the movie theater.

Next we have Jacies dance recital. These things are always so dang cute! I thought Jacie did really well, she loves to dance and loves her dance class. All of the girls in her class are from our neighborhood so that makes it even more fun.

We can't forget Jacies preschool Christmas program and visit from Santa. Maddux thinks that he should be in school also. After all, anything that Jacie can do so can he! When I drop Jacie off at school he tries to sit down at the tables like all the other kids, he has even put his coat in one of the cubbies!