I cannot believe how far along I am in this pregnancy, it seems like only yesterday that I found out (I didn’t even know I was pregnant for a while, my tests were faulty and I kept getting negatives so I was 4 weeks farther along than I usually am when I found out). And we also made the decision that this would be our last baby. Craig and I, after talking about it, decided to have one more baby and then be done (this answers the top two questions we get asked-”was this planned?” and -”are you having any more after this?”). I am both happy and sad about this, but while I know I will miss so many things about this part of my life, I am also looking forward to the finality of knowing I’m done as well as being able to make certain decisions without thinking “I might be pregnant then” every time. It’s a little scary for me still to even really think about never being pregnant again, but I am loving the six amazing children I already have now, and I am so excited to meet this little one too. I am so grateful for how good I have been feeling and I am loving the growing belly. All of the kicking is so reassuring and one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. I know I’m going to really miss the kicking.

   I’m 25 weeks along, so 15 more weeks to go (probably less, I ususally go early), and I am still in shock as to how fast all of this has gone. And for all of you women complaining that “so and so” just announced their pregnancy almost the same time as yours, and you feel a little bit like they have just stolen your thunder and spotlight, well it’s way more fun to be pregnant with someone than all by yourself. This is the first time in a long time I have been pregnant without my sister or sister-in-law being pregnant right along beside me, and it’s not nearly as fun without them. Heidi and Banna both had their babies before I even knew I was pregnant, and Mel was pregnant with me for a little bit, but then she had Wells only 2 months in while I was still in the nausea stage. And Korby and I were always pregnant together and always only a few months apart too. I just miss all of the pregnancy talk and sharing all of the shopping fun and baby name chatter. I know, I’m whining, I just miss it that’s all. Anne, we need to live closer, then we could gab all day about our bellies and stuff and go shopping together. Any chance of Dale getting transferred to Utah? I didn’t think so…..

   With four of my kids in school I find it quite challenging to get out of the house most days. It wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact the Haven is in Kindergarten, so my day gets chopped up and I am limited as to where I can go, how far and for how long. I’m constantly checking the clock to make sure we can get her to school on time since I take her in the afternoons. I think it will be easier when she is in first grade and at school all day, but until then I am left with a choppy day. Add to that the very cold winter weather, and I have little children going stir crazy with all of their pent up energy and imaginations. TV is ok, but frankly I’m not a fan of planting them in front of it all day, we need to find the right form of entertainment that is good for them, not vegetative. I am going to try and get some age appropriate craft supplies for them to play with and hopefully it will help with their boredom. Thankfully the internet has LOADS of sites with great information on toddler crafts and ideas for activites.

   Not that I can’t come up with my own…..ok, I can’t come up with my own, but in my own defense my brain is so full of stuff, what with my pregnancy, trying to organize my house, the kids schoolwork and afterschool activities etc…you get the idea….right now I can barely remember my own name let alone brainstorm craft ideas each day. So hopefully I can steer my children in a more productive direction and let their creative juices flow, and also try and find some fun/free places close by to go to so they can run their wigglies out and not freeze in the process (Craig and I are currently discussing pros and cons of a trampoline in the Spring for our backyard). So I’ll be here, making home made playdough (& picking it out of the carpet), busting out the old magazines & blunt nosed scissors, glue sticks, noodle necklaces, and any other things we decide to have fun with. Maybe I’ll even post some of the end results. Or maybe I’ll just go and hide in the linen closet so I don’t have to think about this anymore….yeah, hiding, that should solve everything….. (P.S. I am open to ANY ideas and suggestions…..ANY!!!)

At the Fourth of July breakfast (this was about 9-10 years ago) I was carrying C with both her plate and mine into the multi-purpose room from outside, tripped and did sort of a loud stumbling fall to the ground, right in front of a guy I really liked. Not just a small stumble, but a loud THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! CRASH!!! kind of a running forward, tripping, thumping, stumbling, completely flailing, ugly fall. I’m just that graceful. Any hopes of chatting with him are gone, I mean what’s he going to say “Wow, you really bit it back there. How was you breakfast after you picked it up off of the floor?”  I have no problem laughing about it now, it’s pretty funny, but at the time I was mortified. And no, this isn’t my only embarrassing moment, I have LOTS more, this is just one of the many. Ah well, life goes on. Anyone else care to share their own personal humiliation? I know Heidi will have no problem with this one….

   Granny and Uncle flew in Friday night, and I rode down with my Dad to go and pick them up at the airport. We were about halfway there when I thought I heard honking. It turned out there was some guy honking and franatically pointing at our back passenger side with a very concerned look on his face, but my Dad and I both couldn’t even guess what might be wrong. So we took the nearest exit, and when we pulled over we found that the back passenger tire was completely flat! We had been driving highway speeds on the rim, and didn’t even know it, there was no drag, pulling to the side or anything. When Pappy tried to change the tire it turned out he was missing some key pieces, so we had to slowly drive until we found a Checker Auto Parts to get the parts. Then after all of that it turns out the spare tire, while a great one, is the wrong tire, and my Dad can’t get it on himself, the holes are wrong. It would take specialized equipment to do that, the kind found only in a tire shop.

   So we drove all over (mind you very slowly) hoping one was still open, and no luck. Everything was closed. Finally we went to Wal-Mart, our last hope, and they too had all of the lights off in their lube and tire area. By this time Uncle had called us from the airport on a payphone, knew the whole story and said he would rent a car and meet us there at Wal-Mart and to stay put. So Dad and I went in to kill some time, me to wander in the fabric and baby sections, and Pappy to try and find a file to see if he could maybe make the holes big enough to put the spare tire on himself. Turns out, Pappy runs into the manager for the tire and lube place, and in the course of him helping Pappy to find the file, finds out we need our spare tire put on. Turns out the tire place there closes their register @ 8pm, and it was 3 minutes to, so the guy finds there is one worker left, asks him if he can change the tire for us, and they go ahead and turn everything back on in the closed shop and start in. What really got us about the whole thing was that Pappy had only just mentioned he needed the tire changed, he didn’t think it would actually happen, and Pappy said he didn’t even give the guy a sob story, barely any story at all, and the guy was insistent he help us.

   They popped the tire right on, and then checked the other 3 tires and tire pressure to make sure we were good, then sent us on our way, free of charge! All of that, and they both refused to take any money. So my Dad got both of their names, and the store managers name and will be writing to coroporate headquarters to tell them about their two good samaritans at the Layton Wal-Mart. Uncle showed up shortly after in a rental car since we had not been able to get a hold of him beofre he left the airport, so we all drove back to the airport, dropped the rental off, and then all rode home in my Dad’s now fixed van. So if you are ever in the Layton Wal-Mart, I can personally recommend their tire and lube shop. They’re manager and at least one of their workers knows the true menaing of customer service, and also about just being kind and helpful in someones time of need. (And if you want to hear the whole story in detail, ask my Dad to tell you all about it, he tells it way better than I do.)

   I spent most of Tuesday and part of Wednesday listing some lots of clothing on ebay, and thankfully I got it done. The good news was that I listed 12 different lots. The bad news is that I have about 12 or more lots left to list. *sigh* That is if I can find some more time to list again. No matter what the gender of our new little baby is, I have all of the wrong season of clothing in my stash of girl stuff, and almost nothing left in my boy stash, right or wrong season. So I will for sure have some shopping to do, but I am going to reign myself in and not go loony this time. I’m very happy to be paring down the piles of clothing though, and I was able to send a bunch of bags to the D.I., and I still have several huge stacks I’m going to take to Kid-to-Kid, so I am excited to be getting all of this done. Now I just have to get the wallpaper stripped in H’s room, paint it, put in new carpet, get H a new bed and hope that the crib gets delivered in time so I can get the girls room done and move G in there permanently. And in between all of this room remodeling I am hoping (notice I said “hoping”, I can still hope can’t I?) to sew some layette items and blankets for the new baby, as well as some Summer clothing for my other children. Am I nesting, panicking, or just plain delusional?

   I can’t sleep. It doesn’t matter how tired I am, I am so wound up and thinking about so many things that I can’t seem to wind down enough to just go to sleep. I feel like this pregnancy is speeding by me, and I’m not ready at all! I have so many things I need to sew, for my kids, for my family and for the new baby, and so many projests I want to get done before D-Day. I try to go to bed, but I just end up laying there, with a million things winging through my mind, and I can’t drift off. I felt a little like this while pregnant with G, but this time I am feeling it so much more and I’m not sure why. I’m not panicked, I’m just feeling like I have a lot more to do than time to do it in. And here I am, posting this instead of getting some of those projects done….yeah, this isn’t helping is it.

I’m feeling great otherwise, and frankly I am really enjoying this pregnancy. It has been a wonderful one so far, even with all of the aches and pains and stuff that go with pregnancy, I’m feeling really good, and I am so excited to meet this new little one. And P.S. Mom, I don’t know why you left that case of Ho Ho’s here, the last thing I need is for Craig to find me in a pile of crumpled wrappers and my face smeared in choclate frosting, crumbs and gobs of creamy white filling. I crave chocolate the most when I’m pregnant, so I don’t need this temptation, yummy as they are. I think I can fix this with a quick donation to D and his friends after school snack stash. That is if I can get them out of here before I cave into their chocolatey goodness…..mmmmmm, chocolate! Ok, I’m only going to eat one….

   Ok, I have now made three batches of these stupid no bake cookies, and they’re not working! I made these more times than I can count when I was growing up and they turned out gooey, chewy and delicious each time. Now I’m a grown woman, and no matter what I do I get a crumbly mess each time. I have done everything possible, even following the directions and ingredients in each recipe exactly and and still I get crumbs. The recipes all state that if you boil it too long you get crumbly cookies, and if you don’t boil it long enough it will never set properly. One recipe has you bringing it to a full boil and cooking it for 1 1/2 minutes, then in another recipe for only 1 minute. I’ve tried both and even tried just 30 seconds, and still the same crumbly ending. I hate this stupid cookie, and I’m still going to keep trying until I get this dumb recipe to work! Blast this cookie and it’s chewy goodness. And yes, I really am mad and obssessing about making a lame cookie. Help!

   A few nights ago Haven and Noah were playing with some little animal figurines, and Haven kept calling out “Sharlick! Sharlick! Sharlick!” at different times during their little scenarios. Who in the heck is Sharlick? Then I hear Noah say “No Haven, it’s not Sharlick, it’s Charlotte!” I realized they were playing Charlottes Web with their barn yard animals, and Haven heard it as Sharlick’s Web instead. Well at least Noah heard it correctly. Hmmmmmm, might be time to make her an appointment with Pappy.

   Who knew that my tiny little G would turn out to be such a tough little girl. I am sure that being the 6th child and a smurf as well gave her good reason to be a fighter, yet I still can’t help but laugh as she barrels past me in their lastest favorite game of “chase” with G being the “chaser”. The kids call her name telling her to come and get them, and then run while she is in hot pursuit right behind them laughing hysterically the enitre time. There is a lot of squealing, shrieking, and giggling, and they all think it’s the funniest game to play right now. G of course thinks it’s hilarious, and loves that she gets to chase them all too and be a part of the “big kid” fun.

She loves sitting up to the table in one of the big chairs like everyone else, and if we make the “horrific mistake” of putting her in the highchair instead, the waterworks commence and she acts like her little world has crumbled down around her. She can turn the tears on and off, and it’s pretty funny to see her start with the dramatic cry face when she is told “no” or doesn’t get her way. She looks so cute when she scrunches up her face as the tears roll down her cheeks. I never thought I would get such a little actress, and no, I don’t give in to any of her drama, I know better than to cave to those kind of antics.

G is quite the little love though, and any chance she gets will throw her arms around your neck and give you big hugs and kisses. She will snuggle for a few minutes at time, just to let you know she still loves you, then she hops down and is off to rejoin the other kids playing. Another favorite of hers is to hold your face with her two little hands on either side and turn it one way or the other and plant as many kisses on your cheeks as she can, then wait for you to do the same to her. I must admit, the pure joy on her face anytime I return from an outing or even when I greet her in the morning is priceless, she throws her little arms into the air, yells “Mama!” and and looks so happy, it’s as if we had been separated for ages. She is so thrilled to be reunited again and doesn’t hold back on the hugs and kisses.

She is definitely showing her independence, and will happily do “chores” right along side her older siblings, and refuses to accept their help, insisting upon doing the job all by herself. She’s a wonderful little helper with putting dirty clothes in the hamper, putting toys away, putting books back on the shelf, and she loves to help set and clear the table. Her size may be tiny, but she has such a mighty spirit, heaven help any that get in her way since she is determined to stay the course and make it to the finish line without anyone elses help. I love her feisty little ways and happy little personality, it’s no wonder she is such a favorite with all of her brothers and sisters.

   Ok, Consumer Reports caused a HUGE upset with their initial report, and I understand why. But now this has come out, so please go and read this, it’s really important, and needs to be read in order to make sure you know all of the facts. And please note that the car seats were tested at front impact and side impact. There has been some confusion as to what the testing was. I’m just posting the whole article here for convenience but I am also including the link since there is also a video on the page: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16691288/&GT1=8921

 Consumer Reports retracts infant car seat study

Original report was outsourced and flawed, magazine admits

Consumer Reports magazine backed off Thursday from its recent negative report on infant car seats, saying test crashes were conducted at speeds higher than it had claimed.

The magazine reported Jan. 4 that most of the seats it tested “failed disastrously” in crashes at speeds as low as 35 mph. In one test, it said, a dummy child was hurled 30 feet.

Consumer Reports said Thursday it had received information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing that the speeds at which its side-impact tests were conducted were higher than the 38.5 mph reported.

In fact, the NHTSA said the crash tests were conducted under conditions that would represent being struck at more than 70 mph — twice as fast as the magazine claimed, said NHTSA administrator Nicole Nason.

“Consumer Reports was right to withdraw its infant car seat test report and I appreciate that they have taken this corrective action,” Nason said. “I was troubled by the report because it frightened parents and could have discouraged them from using car seats.”

The Yonkers-based magazine said it would review its study, retest the car seats and publish a new article as soon as possible.

The magazine tested the type of infant car seat that faces the rear and snaps in and out of a base. It found only two of the 12 seats worth recommending, and it urged a federal recall of one seat, the Evenflo Discovery. Evenflo had immediately disputed the tests’ validity.

On Thursday, Consumer Reports spokesman Ken Weine said a recall was still being urged for the Discovery and for another seat which was judged unacceptable because it did not fit well in several cars. Evenflo spokeswoman Jam Stewart said the company would comment later.

The original report found that all the car seats except the Discovery performed adequately in 30 mph frontal crashes, which is the standard for seats sold in the United States. But it noted that cars are tested by the NHTSA at higher speeds — 35 mph for frontal crashes and 38 mph for side crashes — so the magazine said it tested the seats at those speeds.

In the 35-mph frontal test, Consumer Reports had said the seats separated from their bases, rotated too far or would have inflicted grave injuries, Consumer Reports said. At 38 mph, four seats flew out of their bases following side impact.

“When NHTSA tested the same child seats in conditions representing the 38.5 mph conditions claimed by Consumer Reports, the seats stayed in their bases as they should, instead of failing dramatically,” Nason said.

Weine said Thursday there was no information casting doubt on the 35 mph crashes.

He said an internal investigation was under way and he could not yet say how the test may have gone wrong, or who, if anyone, was to blame.

“This is very early,” he said. “We found this information out very recently and as soon as we did we wanted to take the most important step which is openly communicating with consumers.”

The magazine asked its readers and others who may have learned of the tests “to remember that use of any child seat is safer than no child seat, but to suspend judgment on the merits of individual products until the new testing has been completed and the report republished.”

 So let me know what you think, or anything else you have heard about this, I want to hear it. I have heard a LOT on these articles from people I know, and surprisingly a lot of wrong information about the side and front testing, and why some failed etc. I just want to shake some people and tell them to actually READ the article, not skim it. Skimming gets you general ideas about an article but you don’t get all of the nuances and fine details that are necessary, so take 5 minutes and READ!