Novemeber Phone Favorites

Woah November?! I thought we talked about taking things slow?! I feel a bit betrayed! How did it go so fast!? Here's a round up of phone favorites. 

One of E's new favorite things to say is that she has stinky breath and that she needs a lemon to suck on. I love the faces she makes but she has no problem sucking on the lemon. 

Now that it's chillier at night I asked E if she wanted me to blow dry her hair. She was pretty excited. It has been years since she has worn her hair down and it was so soft and luscious that I had to snap a picture before she tied it back again. 

This girl is a beauty inside and out!

Bear helping Daddy with the leaves.

This little man woke up a bit cranky but no fever so I sent him to school, He came home and he was on fire. I set him on the couch and he didn't move at all, which is so not like Duke. His temp was high so I tried giving him medicine to no avail so I had him drink as much juice as he could. His one ear was really red so I decided to see if he would let me clean it out. I used the ear scraper and found some puss. Whelp that's not good. So I loaded Duke and Gretta up, picked up E from MDO and we headed to the Dr's. What a gong show. I didn't know we were going to go to the dr's office when I loaded everyone up so I didn't pack a diaper bag, 2 hour wait in the waiting room, Duke and G had peed through their outfits and E was starving. Finally get back, it was in fact an ear infection. Get a script. hen we drive Gretta home, pones dies, can't remember where Gretta lives, E still starving and needs to pee. I tell her I'm proud of her fro holding it and she says "Mom, this is not a time to be proud! This is the time to find a potty or a toilet or whatever you want to call it!" I almost died laughing at her. Pull over so she can pee outside of the car, she had to pee so bad it shot all over the inside of my car. Drive around for 1/2 hour, find G's house. Head over to pick up our prescription. Wait in line for 20 minutes. Hangry kids, Finally our turn, it wasn't ready, they ask me to come back and I tell them to get it done.... NOW! 1/2 hour later it's done. Go get french fries for the kids. Had to wait 5 minutes for them to finish, which wouldn't be a big deal... but after our day it was! Once they finished and brought them to us they were too hot and Duke burnt his mouth. Finally at 7:30 we get home (we left at 1:30). It was a crazy day. But after drugs and snuggles Duke was soooo much better after 24 hours!

While crafting with Gretchen she accidently cut through my power chord. It was terrifying and hilarious. As with any state of emergency I called Mom Tobler and she told us how to fix it. Poor Gretchen was so embarrassed and felt so bad! 

But with some tape and love we got it back together. So glad I have a person where we can laugh it off. 

One of Bear's favorite activities is lining us his toys and then counting them. 

The face he makes when he's trying to make me laugh. 

... and this face....

One of E's beautiful creations she made at school. 

This picture is full of my favorite things. 1. My mug that Gretchen got me for my Chirstmas/ birthday gift. Its says You're My Person on it. 2. My blanket scarf which is SOOOO warm. 3. May fake coffee which is delish! 4. Sitting in my sewing room working on a project! Which added all up essentially = perfection. 

On Sunday I threw my back out writing on the chalkboard. It was a nasty one, and I was pretty immobile for a few days which wasn't possible with three kiddos to chase. So finally I went to the chiropractor since I was no longer able to lift my feet and breathing hurt. After I was adjusted I felt so much better. I could walk and get into my car without wincing so I went home to let Gretta get picked up, the kiddos plugged into a show and then I napped while they napped. Jakob came home and I went and got adjusted again. Came home and felt funny. I fell asleep for a half hour and then I woke up and decided to take my temperature. 102.6. So I texted Dr. Kyle and he told us to go into Labor and Delivery. So off we went. By the time I got into the back my fever had broken but they took blood and urine and I had a work up done after a lengthy wait. I was sent home with a diagnosis of a UTI and sent home with some meds. At 1:00 am the pharmacy was closed so we went home. I had a fever on and off all night and felt even worse I the morning. Kids went to school, Gretta got dropped off, we went to the chiropractor again. I got my meds. and then I decide to call my Dr. little man hadn't moved all day which was totally abnormal. I went into the office and Dr Sheridan didn't even know that I had been to the hospital last night and he was beyond upset. So he did a sonogram, and the doppler, internal exam and felt my back. then he sent me for an ultrasound of my kidney's. So the final verdict was.... I had the flu, thrown out back, UTI and a swollen kidney which should fix itself on my meds but if I wasn't improving in 24 hours he was going to admit me. I was literally broken. And I was preggers and taking care of 3 kiddos. It was a crazy week  but after 24 hours I felt much better. Only problem is the next day Jakob caught my flu and stayed home from work for two days. So glad that is over! 

Now onto being healthy and having an amazing December!!!

E's First Day of Pre-School

Since we had paid for the month at Duke's MDO program E has been attending school there once a week. She loved it so well I figured we should just keep her there. Then Mrs. Cole suggested that I enroll E as a peer model at Duke's school. So I did. It was a super simple process and she now goes to school the same time as Duke!

She loves going to school but is a bit dissapointed that she isn't allowed to ride the bus. (It's for special ed students only.) She is making friends and always comes home excited about her day! The teacher says that she is super sweet and helpful.

We are so proud of you sweet girl! You are so grown up! It's crazy to me how one month we are all just hanging out at home and the next I now how two kiddos in school. The morning are busy even without the kids and 2 1/2 hours fly by fast! I still have Gretta so I'm not all alone but I can get quite a bit done or run errands. My kiddos need to stop growing up so fast! In only a few months E will be in Kindergarten! 

Manny's Lip

One afternoon Manny was jumping on the couch and he fell off and hit his face on the foot of the wing back chair. It bled pretty nicely but I was amazed at how swollen it had gotten! So we decided to take some selfies. This boy cracks me up!!

So glad we put an ice pack on it when we did or else who knows how big it would have been? Even with a swollen lip this guy is a stud! Love this sweet boy!

Friendsgiving

 For thanksgiving this year we stayed home and oh my gracious it was so nice! Since we weren't having any family come we decided to do Friendsgiving. Caleb (a friend of Jakob's from his home ward in Vegas) just moved to Missouri a few months ago with his wifey. We still hadn't met her so we invited them up... and they said yes which meant I actually had to make a thanksgiving dinner..... YIKES! 

After putting on a Thanksgiving dinner last year with Janet I wasn't TOTALLY freaked out about the sides but the turkey had me terrified! After chatting with Mom Tobler and Melanie I made up a plan.

Jakob was in charge of handling the bird. We got our turkey from Target and I will totally be going back there again. It came with a packet of the most delicious gravy inside of it! (Another thing I was super stressed out about!) Winning!!!!

All stuffed with veggies and ready to go!

So beautiful!

Okay, turkey = piece of cake! I was so impressed with how simple it was especially since we cooked it in a bag.

The rest of the meal I cheated on... cranberries (from a can), sweet potatoes (from scratch and received lots of compliments. I used this recipe.) Mashed Potatoes (done by Jakob), turkey, stuffing (from a box), fresh green beans, and rolls (from a bag). Oh and Dixie salad which I left in the fridge and totally forgot about. Tiffani brought Pumpkin Cheesecake and Berry Pie. Delish!

Cheating or not it was fantastic and I was pretty proud of us!

Caleb and his wifey Tiffani. 

The best shot I got of the group! FAIL! It was great meeting Tiffani and visiting with Caleb! We are looking forward to seeing them more now that they live 2 hours away!!!

This year instead of a gratitude tree we did a gratitude chalkboard. It was lots of fun!

And once Caleb and Tiff headed home, it was snuggle time. It was a wonderful thanksgiving!!!! We have so much to be thankful for. Family, friends, our home, our health, our jobs, our Savior, our ward family, our warm beds, clean water, my dear husband and the list goes on and on. We are so blessed!

Birthday Week

 My birthday week was rather chill. I kicked it off by going to DSW and successfully purchasing a pair of shoes for a penny. Yes a penny. FREE SHOES! And they look like diamonds on my feet, I'd call that a win!

Then Jakob and I went to the symphony. It was wonderfully done. we got to hear a piece composed by a 23 year old and it was beyond impressive!

My actual birthday was just low key and that was wonderful. Sam (Gretta's Mom) brought me cupcakes, I had lots of phone calls which made my day and I felt very very loved! And while I was spoiled with love and a few gifts my favorite gift was a phone call from my sister Melanie. Our relationship is really quite "new" as our contact in the past was very sparse but she called me for my birthday and our conversation meant the world to me. I am so grateful to have so many wonderful friends and an amazing family. I'm grateful for my little people and for E who did everything she could to my me feel special. It has been a wonderful year and I look forward to seeing what 27 holds!

Gender Reveal

Last week we had our gender reveal! It was super casual but all of our friends came to find out with us. Gretchen was our secret keeper. This time around we did confetti inside of black balloons. We hung up 12 balloons and everyone popped a balloon and the confetti fell down. It was a lot of fun to have everyone involved! 

AND..... It's a BOY!!!!!

I honestly cannot tell you how over the moon excited I am! Another boy! Another little man. A buddy for Duke. E wasn't very pleased but here is hoping then next baby is a girl. Now it's time to battle over baby names with Jakob. Who knew that this would be so difficult? The first two were a breeze but this one is rough!! Bring on the boy ties, sweaters and messes! So excited to meet you little man!

E Preschool Photos

 While E was in the mother's day out program, they took school pictures. I had totally forgotten that it was picture day, since the notice came home with Duke the month prior. Once they informed me that they would be taking pictures I didn't think much of it. I was expecting E's fake smile and a messy little girl but I was really surprised! 

They actually turned out amazing! Even still I wasn't about to spend $35 for Preschool photos especially since E was only in the MDO program for a month before she transferred. So here are the proofs, with a terrible photo shop job to take out the watermark. :) Yes, I am that kind of Mama. 

What a sweet smile that girl has!! We sure do love you Miss E!

Baking Cookies

I really don't do many activities with the kiddos any more. And in an attempt to be better I decided that we would make cookies together. They were soooo excited and It was super cute! Duke may have eaten more chocolate chips than actually made it into the cookies but it was fun. Now here are way too many pictures of the joy! 

This is what memories are made of!