Almost Halloween

We went to a Ward halloween trunk-or-treat and how disappointing! We showed up shortly after 7 (we were just a few minutes late because I forgot the candy and we had to go home and grab it), went around the circle in the dark (why did it start so late again?) then packed up and came home- no more than an hour total, and half of that was driving time. Again- thoroughly disappointing. It's a good thing we have parties the next two nights. I didn't even get pictures, it was so rushed. I'll do my best to get some tomorrow. But I am thrilled about the way the costumes turned out. The girls were absolutely adorable!!!

To rewind a bit, I drove the girls and myself out to Illinois two weekends ago to get a break and to sew those costumes. It was so much fun being home again. The girls were thrilled (that first night that kept running in and out of their bedrooms screaming and laughing) and loved every minute there. Unfortunately they didn't adjust to sleeping very well, but otherwise it was a blast. We love being with grandma and grandpa. I did a lot of shopping (had to catch up on my Kohl's) and even more sewing. I was up late every night and spent most of the day sewing those costumes. But it was well worth it! Mom was a huge help and we were able to make the dresses look better than I had hoped. We made a trip to the Children's Museum one day, which was fun. The week flew by and by the time we left Saturday the girls were crushed. Ellie told us that she could stay at Grandma and Grandpa's- we have two other girls, we would be just fine without her. What a cute thing to say! I wish I could have stayed longer and gotten a little more rest! I've been exhausted ever since I got back. That was a lot of driving for one pregnant girl! We're going to try and convince Mom and Sybil to come visit us again soon :)

I am definitely not doing well with this pregnancy. I am constantly tired and frustrated with... everything. This little boy is bringing out some kind of monster in me. I am getting bigger tons faster, my usually glowing pregnant skin is riddled with acne, I get charlie horses every night, my body definitely doesn't handle the day-to-day tasks nearly as well as it used to (aka sore back and body) and I really am just constantly exhausted and an emotional wreck. It will be a very long 3 months until this little boy arrives.

Enough complaining.

So again, hopefully I will get some great pictures of my Oz family tomorrow and have them posted soon. After all that hard work, someone ought to see them other than in the dark! :-D

Creative

I have decided recently that I'm tired of always cooking the same thing, so I've been trying out new recipes. There were a couple from my brother, Geoff, a couple from my mom and a couple that I got off the internet or one of my many cookbooks. I was getting excited about it until I got going. I have tried 5 or 6 of those new recipes so far and it has been rather frustrating. Steve has enjoyed them all, which is nice, since he can be picky sometimes. But the girls and I haven't been nearly as thrilled. I can see why my mom was so frustrated with me- the pickiest of eaters. How frustrating to make a meal and not have it eaten! So far we haven't found any new "family favorites", but there are a couple that I'll probably make again and see if maybe the girls had a bad night or I fed them too many snacks before dinner. I'm hoping that's all it is. I still have many more experiments to go.

I'm feeling much better now with the pregnancy. I went in today (they had to reschedule me from Monday) and I'm at 24 weeks, measuring 23- just as I figured. The heartbeat is still strong in the 140's and the doctor said the ultrasound looked great. Always good news. Probably the fastest appointment I've ever had (I doubt it was over 3 minutes with the doctor) but that was fine with me.

Being in the relief society presidency has given me quite the eye opener into just how hard the Relief Society President has it. I don't know if it's just this ward, but there is constantly something that needs done or a family in need. She's pretty good at delegating, and just what I have been assigned to do has me exhausted. How in the world do we keep so many sisters happy and prospering in the Gospel? And raise a family! On a day like today it makes me wonder.

Funny girls

The girls just crack me up sometimes. Katie has such a unique way of speaking and I'll be sad when she loses it. We were driving the other day and we smelled skunk (which the girls have now used to label any bad smell that enters the car). So of course we started talking about it.

Katie: I pell kunk!
me: you smell the skunk?
Katie: Yes, kunk pell poopy?
me (trying not to laugh): I suppose the skunk might smell poopy.

later on...
Katie: I see booties!
(again Steve and I try not to laugh) and after consideration... Oh- you see birdies?
Katie: yes, I see booties

So funny. Also, Ellie has become enthralled with anatomy, both male and female. I have had to correct her for drawing certain body parts on both girls and boys and let her know that modesty carries over in our drawings, not just with what we wear. I'm not even going to say who she drew yesterday, but I would have been terribly embarrassed if anyone else saw the picture before we had Ellie draw clothes on the poor exposed drawing.

We took a couple family pictures this morning before heading over to church to listen to Conference. I'll try to get one put up on here as soon as Steve is done editing it :)

About my pregnancy: I've told a couple people this lately, but I'm getting too old for this. And I'm not even 30 yet! I have had more aches and pains and pulled muscles that it's getting ridiculous. I apparently pulled a ligament and it didn't heal for 2 full days! Ouch. I also pulled a muscle in my neck- never fun. Then this morning I woke up and could barely stand or breathe because I managed to pull a muscle in my back. Again- absolutely ridiculous. If I hadn't seen the ultrasound I would swear there were 2 babies in this tummy of mine (although most everyone else would argue that I'm not very big...). I have had lots of headaches this time around as well, which I don't really remember having with the last three pregnancies. Steve has decided I need more exercise to keep my body more limber. He's probably right. So in all my spare time (and I don't mean at 6am) I'll see what I can do :-D Yes, yes- woe is me. But even amidst my frustrations, this pregnancy is going great. This little boy is extremely active! I see the doctor again tomorrow morning and we'll see how I'm measuring. I'm typically 1-2cm smaller than "normal", so we'll see if I'm following that trend again this time. Steve has edited lots of pictures tonight. I'll see if I can snag some tomorrow and post them- it's been awhile since I've done that.