Well my Dr's appointment went pretty well today. She seems to thing everything is ok with the baby but has ordered an ultrasound for next week just to make sure. She wants to give the baby another week to grow so she can see better what's going on. I had to have the dreaded "pap" done today though and she said that my cervix is irritated and that's probably the reason for my spotting the other night. That's probably more info than anyone wants to know!

Thank you ALL so much for your prayers, they are definately felt! I had total peace today when I went in today and was prepared for the "worst". God is so gracious though, and I still have a little one!

Gotta go, I'm so tired tonight!

Jen ºÜº

Ok, Just a short post tonight (yeah right!) since I sent at least two prayer requests today and need to update you two. To fill the rest of you in...last night as I was getting ready to go to bed I had slight bleeding. I of course was thinking the worse and sat down on the couch and cried for about 45 mins. You know that post last night where I talked about not feeling an emotional bond with the baby yet, I guess I do have one because I just broke down last night. I had just gotten off the internet looking at all the "cute" cloth diapers out there, pondering whether I wanted to go that route this time or not and dreaming about what colors I'd end up getting if I did go that route (boy or girl). I haven't had anymore bleeding today but did have some light cramping today when I was up and walking around. I called and the earliest appt that I could get was for Thursday morning at 10am. They told me that if I start bleeding more and I'm definately having a m/c then to go to an urgent care place or the hospital. So, for now I'm "still" pg and I'm hoping to find out on Thursday that all is well and maybe I was just going through pregnancy "growing pains". I'll update you all what I find out on Thursday. Thanks for your prayers :) I really appreciate them. Jen

Nothing too interesting happened today. I was sick most of the day. I had 3 days of m/s reprieve and was hoping it would last but came back today, and with a vengeance. We did get school done today and we got the house picked up a little bit. Still working our way up to really cleaning the upstairs, it's a total wreck right now. I'm basically in "survival mode" though right now and feel it a good day if we can just get school done and the house picked up before daddy gets home.

I went grocery shopping tonight after dinner. Really it was quite hard to grocery shop while feeling like you want to throw up but I made it:) I did almost excuse myself to go to the restroom while the clerk was checking our my groceries. How embarrasing that would have been....

Came home and my 2 y.o. helped me unload the car. He was acting so "big and tough" that he could carry things for me. He also helped me put things away. I think I'm closest to him than any of the other kids, we just really get along so well. He's also my "happy boy", he's always smiling and in a good mood-he's just the "sunshine of my life". I know that sounds corny but it's true. I have very good relationships with my other kids too, it's just that Me and Matty have something "special".

You know how I posted last night about how I was crying over Extreme Home Makeover, I did it again tonight with Wife Swap. I really don't watch that show much but there's been some talk of it on a group that I'm in so I was curious. I started crying when the couples were reunited and then again when the adults were admitting things that they would change and how much the show helped them- can anyone say HORMONES?!? I'm such a wreck right now LOL.

I'm planning on calling tomorrow and making an appointment for my first visit. I'll finally be able to see how the baby's doing:) I think it will help me emotionally too. Right now I'm kindof in the "I feel horrible" "I feel fat" "I'm really tired" "I'm an emotional wreck" "Because supposedly I'm having a baby" thing right now. It's hard to feel an emotional connection with something that you can't feel kicking yet, and you haven't heard the heartbeat of or seen on the u/s screen yet. Almost like it's not "real", and I just feel lousy. I'm hoping things will "click" when I have that first appointment and that my excitement and anticipation will start to overshadow the "blahs" I'm feeling. Right now I'm just in survival mode....

Jen ºÜº

Ok I'll try and play catchup a little bit...

Friday: After school, we took Penny to get a bath and sign up for her new class. Then we headed off to Michael's craft store to hunt down something. Didn't find it but ended up with two kits to make me a necklace and earring set for Saturday night. After that we went to hubby's work to "save him" and basically drag him outta there so he could come home for movie night. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home and got some baked chicken and various sides to go with (potato, broccoli, beans). Hubby stopped and got movies for us with the "boys". The kids watched Scooby Doo and the Pirate something or other and an old movie that I can't stand called Flight of the Navigator. I made my necklace/earring set while I was "watching" lol.

Saturday: We headed out and got everyone haircuts except Hannah, she had hers done not too long ago. After that we went to Target and picked up a traveling casserole dish and some other little things. I decided to not take Penny to class because I had to much to do before our dinner party that night and I was already exhausted. Got home and took a 1 hour nap. Made Greenbean Supreme for the party. Took a shower and got "ready". Went to the party and got home way too late. It was fun to socialize with adults but they're not really our "crowd". Everyone was drinking and of course some of the talk was not nice. It was a party for hubby's work though, and we really couldn't turn it down since he's the "Assistant District Manager". They were celebrating reaching 175 men working, when hubby got here to "fix" this office they were at 50 men working so this is GREAT.

Sunday: Went to Sunday school and Church. I had a hard time staying awake during service, did I mention I'm really tired right now LOL. Grabbed lunch on the way home and took a nap when we got home. Watched Extreme Home Makeover tonight and cried myself silly. Really you shouldn't be able to watch shows like that if you are pg. The lady was a single mom to 9 kids living in a 900 sf house, then took in her brother and his 3 kids because he has kidney failure. They live in Alaska and their house was literally falling apart. The roof leaked in places and wind came in the windows and doors and they were scared for Winter to come because I guess it gets -60º. The show built them this huge house taylor made for the family. Oh, the mother homeschools too, so they built them a schoolroom. I was a tear jerker. I do wonder now though just how that lady is going to afford the new property taxes and utilities for the much larger house. I always wonder what happens when the show pulls away....Now, I'm catching up on emails and udating my blog. Fun weekend huh? Oh, I've got to change dog classes already. I wasn't able to make it to yesterday's class and I won't be able to make it next Saturday's either so I'm changing days. I'm kinda sad as the teacher said there was another Bassett in the class named "Miss Pickles" and she thought they'd get along really well. Oh well...

Jen ºÜº

She did it! Penny graduated tonight. I took the whole family and we did a kindof "Show and tell" about what we learned in class. The first person did something with their dog, then the second person did that thing plus added another, etc....Penny did so good:) Hubby was definately impressed and even talked about her doing the next class! Yay, I wanted to do it, but wasn't sure how to ask him to spend another $100 on pet training. He said we'll do that instead of getting her spayed for now, which we had planned to get done this month already.

Ok, I don't remember how the graduation song goes, so here's a ::::Drum Roll:::: instead.....

The thing on her head is a graduation cap with a golden tassle :) I know, I'm such a nerd for getting so excited about this but I've NEVER had a dog that behaved before! This is HUGE:)

Jen ºÜº

First thing's first, now that we're having #5 I've had to set any new accounts with a different password than I usually use which is: momto4
I've used that one for over 3 years now and it's hard to not just start typing the old one out of habit. I'm not sharing my new one, but I will say that it's NOT momto5.......LOL. Chose something totally different:)

Tonight is Penny's graduation from Puppy Training at Petsmart! The teacher will have a grduation cap and everything so we can take pictures. Will upload pics when I get the chance. I'm hoping that hubby will let us continue on with our training, she does so good but still has a bit to go to be a "calm" dog. I guess part of it is that she's still a puppy but it would be nice to take her geocaching with us and not have to worry about how she'll behave too much. BTW, the weather will be "geocaching weather" soon! We're getting excited. I think the last cache we did was in March when we went over to El Paso to visit my Gram and Gramps.

I'm feeling better again today! Still a little sick, but definately doable with our crazy life. Last week and the first part of this week, I was basically in survival mode. My hubby's so great though, and helped pick up some of my slack. Now, I just got to finish getting caught up on the house! Mlpinky, thanks for offering to come over if you lived closer to me, that was so sweet! I can handle it, it'll just take a few days:)

I am feeling a little guilty right now. I had about an 1/8 or a 1/4 of a diet soda with lunch just now. I'm one that "has" to have something sweet to drink with something salty to eat. Anyways, I just looked at my blog and the little developement thingy says that our baby's brain will begin to grow dramatically today. I hope I did not do permanant damage. :( I'm sure the baby's fine but still, I shouldn't be doing stuff like that, I KNOW better!

I informed hubby last night that our baby was starting to get arms and legs....he just looked at me like I'm nuts. I guess he's not as excited about those things than I am.

Oh, another thing I was thinking about last night about baby Emmie-Rose that died from lack of care. You know it is easy to get upset at the hospital and the Dr's and all but you know what? God is/was still in control of the situation! He could have worked in the hearts of those Dr's or provided another hospital to care for her. Not excusing the decision that the hospital made, because I still think it's wrong to deny care to someone who's still alive, but God could have intervened and saved her if it was His will......just something to think about.

Ok, off to shower, make dinner, and get ready for class tonight!

Jen ºÜº

Sorry I've been MIA for a couple of days. I was so sick yesterday and the day before. I'm feeling pretty good today so I'm hoping that I'm on the upswing :)

Thanks for praying for me/us Becky. I really am going to stand by my previous decision and not "do anything". Really, there's nothing I can do to help Mom. Grandma wants me call Social Sevices and find out what programs they have for when/if Mom goes homeless. She wants me to track down a mental health Dr. and get her on some new meds. The list goes on and on and none of that is going to help my Mom. Bottom line right now, my mom is an alcoholic, only she doesn't drink alcohol.......she sleeps. She even jokes every once in awhile about "needing a drink" because her life is so rough right now. There is nothing bad in her life right now, only the consequences of some of her decisions, which she thinks is happening to her. Only God can fix her heart, all of that other stuff is just a bandaid. All I can do is stand by and be there for her and pray for her daily that she would allow God to work in her heart. I'm not trying to gossip here, just sharing some specifics so you all know how to pray if you're so inclined.

On another "depressing" note, I read a blog today about a baby that was born at 23 weeks. She just died last night from starvation and lack of blood transfusions. The hospital decided that IF she survived, that she wouldn't be quality enough to spend the resources/money on to get there. On Sept. 11th they decided to stop giving her her food and any further blood transfusions. Also, they called all of the areas hospitals and convinced them that the baby was "not worth saving" so they couldn't find a hospital willing to take the baby for further treatment. It's really sad, the things that go on in this day and age. I know I sound like an old fogey but it's true. The baby's name is Emmie-Rose by the way, so Becky I think I'm going the Emmie-Rose route with my girls' name, kindof in tribute, but also to remind me daily of how blessed I am with a "live baby girl" if I should so be blessed with one :)

Well, that's all folks! I've gotta get some housework done before hubby gets home. It looks like my house has thrown up! It's having sympathy sickness' for me...VBG

Jen ºÜº

Ugh, still got the yuckies. Still haven't thrown up but I'm in a perpetual state of nausea. It's really hard right now to eat anything, but I do feel better once I do. In fact, if I don't eat anything, I feel worse but the thought of eating anything makes me sick...oh the joys :) Thankfully this passes soon and I'll forget all about it, I don't really remember my other morning sickness', well I guess I remember them but don't "remember" them. Kindof like childbirth, you know it hurts but you forget about how bad the pain is because the baby's worth it.

We had kindof a lazy day today. Got the house picked up a bit and hubby's bag packed for a short trip to L.A. He's flying out tomorrow night and helping to interview on Tuesday, then flying home Tuesday afternoon to make it to AWANA Tuesday night. Poor guy's gonna be tired.

Nothing else much to write about. Well, my grandma is pressuring me to do something about my mom again. I'm really not in the position right now to do anything and not convinced it would help her so I'm not for now. Oh, the dramas....like De'Etta says, "Choosing Joy!"

Jen ºÜº

Ok Ok Becky,

Here ya go...

Yesterday I was feeling pretty yucky. Mom was going to be running some errands and called to see if I wanted to tag along. I told her no, I wasn't feeling well. She started probing me as to what was making me sick, so I told her I had morning sickness. She said, "like when you're pregnant?". I said, "yeah". She said, "Well, you're not so why would you have that?". I said, "Yeah, we are having a baby...". She said, "You mean you're pg?". I said, "Yeah". She said, "REALLY?!?!". I said, "Yeah...". She said, "I'll be right over!".

She was actually excited! I expected her to have a positive reaction, but not be THAT excited. I guess she believed me when I said we were "done". LOL

I ended up going with her running her errands but was so sick the whole time. Hubby took us out to dinner to celebrate a "victory" at work. We went to that cool little chinese place again where you put all of your meat, veggies, and noodles in your bowl and personlize your sauce and they fry it up right in front of you. It's the coolest place.

After that, I stopped and rented some movies for our movie night. I got the kids "The Incredibles" AGAIN and they got "Inspector Gadget 2". We're so fed up with our movie rental place it's ourageous! The last 5 times we've turned in our movies, they've not recorded somehow that we've turned them back in. Last night as I was checking out hubby called me on my cell to tell me that we got a card from them in the mail about some movies that were due in August. One of the movies that they said we still had was the exact copy of "The Incredibles" that I was checking out at that very minute! Talk about weird...hubby's threatening to go across the street to the other guys', we'll see.

Today was very unproductive. I was soooo sick again. Hubby wanted to get a whole bunch of stuff done around the house, but I just couldn't bring myself to do much. I did help him out a little this afternoon with some yardwork. He got a little crazy with the "hedger" and we had piles of limbs/leaves to pick up, LOL.

Well that's my last two days in a nutshell! Hope I didn't bore you too terribly much!

Jen ºÜº

Ok now on to my day. We had our first park day today with our Sonlight Az. group. I am in charge of setting up "speakers" to come and visit with us each month. I was not able to schedule anyone for Sept. so you know what I decided to do? I decided to do a workshop with the kids on dental/oral health. Of course I volunteered for all of this before I knew I was pg and before morning sickness. I stayed up a little late last night getting everything together. I made up a goody bag for all the kids that had a toothbrush, toothpaste packet, a cool dinosaur flosser, cups for rinsing and spitting in, a napkin, a coupon for Colgate, and a storybook from Colgate. It went pretty well considering that I'm a recovering "shy person", and definately don't like to be put on the spot:) Also, when the kids started getting into their bags the wind started blowing pretty hard, so we had a few bags and cups flying around. The kids finally got their teeth flossed, brushed, and then we used this new rinse from Listerine that basically dyes any plaque left on your teeth. The kids did really well and had alot of fun. Most of the mom's liked what I put together, a couple didn't think it was so great. Oh well, I tried! I know that it got MY kids motivated to brush/floss more, that's all that counts I guess.

After that we headed to the Kirby shop to get bags. Man, those things are expensive!

Then we headed to the grocery store to pick up the fixins to make our own pizzas. The kids were wanting pizza and we're trying to not eat out unless absolutely neccessary. The pizzas were *ok*. Better than the last ones we did about a month ago though. We tried making our own dough last time and it just didn't taste good. Tonight I bought some of that stuff that comes in the biscuit section. Again, ok but not great. Hubby seemed to like it though.

After dinner, I almost crashed on the couch. Hubby sent me upstairs to go to bed and I laid there and slept maybe 10mins while hubby was gone with the kids to take our movie rentals back. They got home and when hubby was getting them ready for bed they woke me up. I couldn't go back to sleep, so here I am { : P

Off to read everyone's blogs...

Jen ºÜº

Oh goodness, the baby name thing can get very funny. I'm on a Yahoo baby name group and some of the names that people pick for their kids is just outright funny. I kindof feel sorry for some of those kids, they will be teased mercilessly if they go to public school. Here are some of the funny/odd ones:

Hunnii
Reef (to go with his sister Coral, I personally think this is cute but still funny)
Slade
Zeddock
Treson
Zucherro
Trendon
Jadzia
Jordonica
Bellamy

Needless to say, my names were not a big hit on that list. They are obviously wayyy too boring!

Jen ºÜº

Yes Becky, Shaun Alexander is a Seahawk. That's not why we chose it though, lol. I guess since my hubby's such a Seahawk's fan he could be pulling for it but, Michael's always wanted a Sean, and it just didn't "fit" with the other boys so we're considering it again this go-round. The Alexander just fits so nicely with it. So far, the consensus on names between my blog's comments and a baby name Yahoo group that I'm on....

Boys:

Sean Alexander
Jackson Carter

Girls:

Megan Elizabeth
Emilie Rose

I think we'll end up with Sean or Emilie. Just like Violette, Jackson is too... something, and I will chicken out. And I like Megan and Mc Kenna but Emilie just really calls my name for some reason. So, for now I'm carrying a Sean or Emilie. We'll see what happens closer to d-day.

Tonight was our first week of AWANA. It went pretty good, but I have a bigger group than I did last year. Last year I had 4 Kindergarteners, this year I have 9 1st-graders. It makes it hard for the kids to be able to say their sections because there is *only* so much of me to go around. We're praying for more workers this year. I'd hate to hinder the kids because of a lack of leaders. I am thankful that Hannah's group *only* has 2 kids for far including her, so she should be able to finish her 1st grade book and move into and finish her 2nd grade one this year and get her plaque at the end of the year. I can't believe how *old* she is getting. She'll be 8 in February. Definately lights a fire under my bum as far as raising/mentoring her. My job's almost "half over" with her....Yikes! I find it so hard to parent older kids. Give me a baby and I'm good to go, ya know. You feed it, keep it clean, and love it and it "coos" smiles and loves you back. It doesn't have an "attitude" that needs adjusting or anything, babies are EASY. It's the teaching/discipling/mentoring thing with kids that I struggle with so much. Maybe one of these days I'll get the hang of it, hopefully before I'm a Grandma!

In my post earlier today, I said that I have been making smoothies for myself for breakfast. Jake decided today that they looked good and asked me if I would make a "smoovie" for him too....how could you say no to that?????

Jen ºÜº

Ok, question for all you ladies who've had kiddos. Was your morning sickness different depending on whether you were having a boy or girl? The reason I'm asking is with Hannah, my first, I just had nausiousness-no throwing up. With all 3 of my boys I had horrible/forceful vomiting! I've just been nauseous for about a week now, mild at first, but now it's definaely morning sickness. I've not had any throwing up yet, don't know if I just haven't "peaked" yet or if I'm having a girl....I'm wondering if maybe that "T" poisoning (testosterone) has something to do with it.

I stayed up and got some of those song boards done last night that I needed to do. Does anyone have any good kids' Sunday School songs to share with me? We try to stay with ones that "teach" something rather than just be catchy (ie:Father Abraham, had many sons...").

I went to Target last night to check out their maternity section and I think I've solved my shirt problem for now. They had some cute "jean" jackets that were on the long side on clearance for $9.98. That will stylishly cover up my flabby arms and I can wear those t-shirts for the time being. De'Etta, I like your idea of going to the women's section and getting those stretchy pants. I'll have the check it out. I also picked up a copy of "Fit Pregnancy" last night. I think I'm going to start hitting the gym a bit and work on my flabby arms. They have a walking workout regimine plus guidlines for weights and such. We joined the YMCA last month and will be dropping our regular gym membership so I've been dragging my heels a little going to an unfamiliar place.

I've also started eating "healthy". At least I think I'm being healthy. I've been craving juice like a mad woman, so for breakfast I've been making yogurt/juice(V8 Splash)/banana smoothies. I also bought a box of bran flakes to have for bfast or lunch. For dinner last night I made a roast in the crockpot with potatoes,carrots,and greenbeans. I'm really trying to stay away from the junkfood and soda. Not 100% there yet, but working on it. I'm really hoping to *only* gain 15-20 lbs. this pg so that it will be mostly baby and not very much in way of "fat stores". Got enough of that already! It really goes against my grain to be eating so many carbs, and thinking it's actually "good", but I'm going for vitamins/minerals here and really I have to have the fruit. I could do without potatoes, but hubby loves them.

Well that's it!

Jen ºÜº

What do you think?

These are the names that hubby and I have come up with. Your opinions?

Boy:

Jackson Carter (Jack for nn)
Sean Alexander
Jonathon (something)
Andrew (something)

Girl:

Megan Elizabeth
Mc Kenna Ryann
Emilie Rose
Violette Noella (2 of my great-grams)

Our other kids' names are:

Hannah Morgann
Brandon Tylor
Jacob Noah
Matthew Isaac

Thanks,
Jen ºÜº

This morning I woke up feeling pretty spunky. I started a roast in the crockpot and got the kitchen picked up and checked emails/blogs, then I felt sick. So I laid down for about 2 hours on the couch. I've also had this terrible headache for about 2 weeks now. I got this timely newletter in my inbox this morning telling me that headaches are common just like morning sickness from the hormonal changes. After my 2 hour rest it went away, and without tylenol!

My 2 yo Matty decided that he wanted to pray for breakfast this morning. This is his prayer, "D Low, ehh ahh buh, ehh eee do, bee t bdee, MEN!". I roughly translated is as, "Dear Lord, thank you for this food, please bless it to our bodies. In Jesus name, Amen!". Two year olds are so cute!

Oh, and this totally made my week last week. Whenever Matty wants me to pick him up and hug him, he's started saying, "hold me, mommy". When I was a teenager, there was a little 2 yo boy that I babysat that would say that, and I just thought it was the MOST adorable thing. Of course it made me dream of the day that I had my own littles and the cute things that they would say. And now MY little is saying the same cute things that I always found cute when other kids said them. Life is good:) There's a song that I've heard before that says "Life aint always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride." Isn't that the truth? There will always be hardships but there are ALWAYS blessings as well, we just have to look for them....

Jen ºÜº

BTW, Becky I answered some of your comments in the comments section. How's your WW going? Not trying to bug you, just still pondering whether I want to do it or not:) Seeing if you can do it first!

Ok this is just a "vent" post. And really, not very important but I've got to get this off of my chest.

I can't stand "modern" maternity clothes!!! I couldn't find any t-shirts that had "regular" length sleeves, they are all those 1/4 length or whatever they are called. I'm sorry, but not only do my arms feel naked but I don't want everyone seeing my "flabby" arms. I'm scouring ebay right now looking for something from the last couple of years that I might actually WANT to wear. I guess I'll have to try and sell those 5 t-shirts that I just bought last week cuz I just can't stand them! Also, what's up with the little "belly band" jeans now? Whatever happened to the full belly panel??? I'm so frustrated, I'm not about to be one of those moms that walks around with her belly hanging out of the bottom of her little tank top that says "HOT MAMMA" in rhinestones! At Walmart the only thing they had in the way of Maternity t-shirts were ones that had silly sayings like, "You're bothering us". Give me some REAL clothes people!

Ok, done venting now. Back to your regular programming....

JenºÜº

The workshops yesterday were great. Still pondering it all and I'm sure it will take me a couple of weeks to work through it enough to share here. Let's just say, I was motivated/encouraged/convicted/etc. to be a better mother to my kiddos. I'm going to take it one step at a time, hopefully in the right direction:)

Today my two year old broke my "conservative" glasses while I was taking my nap. Needless to say, I was not very happy but was incredible entertained with the kids' reenactments of their "mommy" with them on. I can still wear them around the house but one stem is missing so I won't be wearing them out anytime soon. That means I'm forced to wear my "sassy" glasses. I like them but I've not been wearing them as I'm just not feeling quite as sassy lately.

We start our new year of AWANA on Tuesday. The kids are totally excited. Me and Michael are excited too. I am leading the song time for the group that we're working with so, I've got to spend the evening tonight making up posterboard song word things. For some reason our church is lacking in "kids songs" so I enlisted the help of my Pastor's wife from Wa. to help me remember some of the songs from my childhood. Those combined with the ones from last year should make for a good year of Sparkies.

One prayer request for you all. My online friend De'Etta's husband just deployed last week. It's always a hard thing to go through, no matter how much you're trusting God. Please pray for comfort for this dear family and that her husband will see tangible fruits of his being over there. He's a Chaplain BTW, so I'm praying that there will be souls saved and souls refreshed that are already believers.

Jen ºÜº

Ok a quick funny (at least to me!) from today. The kids have this rubber snake that they like to tease mommy with from time to time. Matty was chasing the older kids around the house with it today yelling, "NAKE!", "NAKE!" and then giggling. They of course played along and acted totally terrified of him in between giggles themselves. It was too funny. Since we ditched his "B" (binky) two weeks ago, his vocabulary has taken off. He's saying all kinds of new things...wish I could remember some of them! I've got "mommy brainloss". LOL

On to the workshops tonight. Me and Hubby both have the kids' cold from last week and were dragging, but we're both glad that we went. Something that stuck out that I just wanted to be sure and share tonight was this quote:

There is no greater joy than doing the plan that God shows me, in the place that God leads me, with the people God entrusts to me, through the power that God gives me.

There is a ton of other things that I could share here that I learned tonight, but this seemed to be something that might help at least a couple of us out right now, so opted to share that alone....hope you find something in it to grow from like I have.

Jen ºÜº

Ugh! I feel HORRIBLE today. The kids were sick last weekend, I think I have that now and I'm so nausious which I'm guessing is the baby. I have a horrible headache and took my "allowable" pg dosage of tylenol but that barely did anything. We have that conference tonight and tomorrow too. I was hoping to be feeling well enough to actually learn something, right now I'm thinking I'll be suffering through it...

I did this name thing off of De'Etta's blog. I couldn't just copy and paste the code because it "wigged" out my blog but I'll at least do the acronym. Becky, what do you think, is it me???

Jennifer

J is for Jealous
E is for Enlightened
N is for Nice
N is for Nutty
I is for Industrious
F is for Fearless
E is for Extreme
R is for Relaxed

If you want to do this quiz go HERE

Have fun!
Jen {:P

Well today was my first "real" day of morning sickness. No throwing up yet but I expect that that should be following shortly. I remember when I was pg with my last one, they had just come out with those Guacamole Doritos, you know, the GREEN ones! I had been wanting to try them so badly so I attempted, but never made it, my hand was literally shaking as I was bringing it to my mouth! I had to wait a couple of months to join in on that fun. They're not that great by the way, I really didn't miss anything!

I ended up taking a long nap today. I really wish I didn't *have* to, because it's such an interuption to our day, but I can hardly make a day without at least a small one. I've had insomnia for*ever* and I'm just stuck in this cycle. At least my kids are still young enough to take a nap or have quiet time too still. What am I gonna do when they're older? We'll see.

Tonight I took Penny to "class" at Petsmart. The teacher absolutely LOVES her and told me tonight that she's the "best" one in our class. Not bragging because it's really not from me. Bassett's are just ruled by their tummy's and if they can do something to get a treat, they'll do it! She really is a good dog though. She's really eager to please, her nose just gets her into trouble sometimes.

Well, that's it for today! Tomorrow night and Saturday we having a "Couple's Conference" at church that covers marriage and the family. I'm really looking forward to it, I've been trying to grow in a couple of areas, and I'm eager for what God is going to teach me/us this weekend:)

Jen ºÜº

Just a quick note to everyone. If you go to post a comment, it won't show up right away. I have the comments set to "moderated" because of my experience over on Myspace. Not sure if anyone but my friends could actually find this blog because I think I set it to private or something but just trying to be safe. I've had a couple of people who posted like 2 or 3 times the same post and I'm guessing that it's because it doesn't show up right away....

Jen ºÜº

Today we went to the mall so the kids could get some of their energy out at the play area there. It's still a tad too hot to play at the park, hopefully next month though!

After the mall we came home and cleaned the downstairs as a surprise for daddy. He had to teach an OSHA class tonight and didn't get home until 9pm. He was pleasantly surprised with our efforts. Now, maybe we can tackle the upstairs tomorrow....

Ok, for a couple of blog comment replys:

De'Etta, I've not scheduled an appointment yet. With my last one they basically wanted nothing to do with me until I was 10 weeks along. I've also been "bad" and not found myself a Dr. down here so I'm really clueless as to who to go to. I'll have to break down and just pick one I guess. Hey, thanks for the compliment on the photo montage up top. I really created because I missed those pics from my other blogs and wanted to be able to "see" them somehow on this one.

As for you Becky! I'm so glad you left that comment. I feel better now! I've been so *worried* about you. I knew that you thought you might have been pg last week, then started, and then right after that I found out that I was pg, and I haven't heard from you since. I'm glad to hear you're doing ok:) How's your WW plan going? I was halfway thinking about doing it but probably won't because of the money. How much are you paying a month BTW if I might ask?

Oh, and my due date is May 14th. A pretty good chance of a "May" baby. If I'm a little early, still May, If I'm a little late, still May. I'll try as hard as I can Becky, K? For everyone else who doesn't know why May is THE month, we have all the months Jan-June filled with a birthday(s)....except for May. She's been teasing me about this for 3 years now and I swore up and down that I was "done" having babies. Guess we weren't lol.

Well that's it for today. Pretty boring actually. I guess that's good though, right?

Jen ºÜº

Well we had a pretty boring day. I'm extremely tired right now, not sure why. The kids have had a "cold" for a few days. I'm not sure if it's that or if it's the pg.
It's weird, it's only been 2 1/2 years since I was last pg and I feel like I know nothing! I'm feeling crampy, achy, tired, grouchy, and "fat"....those are all *normal* right? I'm not complaining or anything, I'm just feeling sooo not like myself right now though.

Oh! I told my grandma about the baby last night. Her and Grandpa were the ones that I was really dreading telling. We were talking about Mom and trying to figure out what we should do, if anything. I decided that since we were already having a "heavy" conversation that I might as well break it to her. She seemed happy. Her and Grandpa just worry about me getting in over my head, but she's happy for us. She also told me that that "settled it" as far as mom is concerned. She said that I need to focus on MY family and let mom "go" if she's gonna go down. It's sad, but she's gotta hit rock bottom, we can't help her at this point....

We did get some laundry done today, got dd's stuff moved over to her new room, and got the guinea pig's cage cleaned out. Tonight we took Matty to get his pictures done at Sears. I'm ONLY about 8 months late for his 2 yo ones but since he's not 3 yet I figure I'm still good. I'm going to try and post them here so you can see...
These are the three poses that I ordered. I only ordered one sheet of each as they are so expensive but I got enough. It's really hard because with pics of your kids, there are emotions involved and it's so hard not to walk out of there with tons of them. We've *easily* spent $150 before. Especially when there are so many cute poses or they each capture a different "look" or personality trait of your child.

Well that was our day. Exciting huh? LOL

Ok, I'm off to read your all's blogs...

Jen ºÜº

This is our puppy, isn't she getting so big? This is Penny "helping" Matty to use the big-boy potty.

Naptime again at our household...

Jen ºÜº

This weekend was spent hunting down maternity clothes for me and dress (work) clothes for my dh. Maternity clothes are sooo expensive! I decided to not go the thrift store route because even though the clothes from there are still in fairly good shape, I don't think they would last me 9 months. In the past I've just gone to that maternity store in the mall and gotten 3-4 pairs of pants/shorts and then like 4-5 shirts and called it good. I had a really hard time finding clothes to fit me this time. They are all cut different and more "stylish" than I'm used to (g). Also, everything right now is sleeveless and I just don't "do" sleeveless. When our weekend was all said and done I ended up with 7 t-shirts, 3 "nice" shirts, 3 pairs pants, and 3 skirts. I'm pretty happy about my purchases and bargain-shopped as much as possible.

I also about two weeks ago, decided I'm getting "old woman's" feet (VBG). I'm one of those people who absolutely HATES wearing shoes and if I have to they have to be something like sandals or "keds". Well, recently my feet have been just hurting after we get home. I can barely walk on my right one, it feels kindof like a stress fracture or something. So, I bought myself my first "nice" pair of tennis shoes. I had a cheap Walmart pair for the gym but they had no support and were just strictly for working out. So today was spent shopping in my new "Nikes" and my feet didn't hurt at all when I got home! WOOHOO! So, against my wishes but out of neccessity, I'm now a "tennis shoe wearer".

Tonight, I "broke" the news to my Dad and Michelle. Wasn't sure what their reaction would be, but they were both excited, or at least happy. They are the first ones to "know". I will probably tell my Mom the next time I see her but will delay telling any of our other family. I'm even afraid to tell the kids right now. Since it's still so early, there's still a chance of m/c at this point (I've had one before) and I don't want to get their hopes up. Don't know how long I can hold out though as I'm just not good at keeping secrets! My oldest might be on to me though, she was reading all the t'shirts that said "BABY" or "Hot Mama" on the front in rhinestones, and said, "What are you having a baby or something?" and then walked off to find daddy. BTW, I did NOT buy one of those rhinestone t-shirts! Although, I DO live in Phoenix, maybe THAT'S what the "Hot Mama" meant....I am considering making one for myself that says, "Watermelon Smuggler" on the front. Saw those on eBay and thought they were cute....

We had a HUGE rain/thunderstorm again last night. Lightening struck the grocery store's lightpost a block away and fried the whole lighting system for their parking lot. Today we just had some heavy winds and there was lightening off in the distance but nothing major here. This week however, it is supposed to storm for the next 7 days at least! I'm on cloud nine. Last Summer we literally had I think 2 days of rain. Then is sprinkled enough to "register" as rain sometime in October, then it didn't rain until like April or May of this year! We've been CRAVING rain! It's so refreshing when you haven't had it for so long...

One funny story for you and one of those "cute things kids say" things....when I got home from church today my 4 yo came running out to show me what he found at the park this morning.....his armful of "pokie-pines". He was carrying an armful of "pinecones". I think we'll paint them green and glue some beads on them and make them "Christmas trees".

The kids had gone to bed last night with runny noses so they stayed home with daddy this morning. He took them to the park since they really weren't sick this morning after they got up and got moving. I hate when that happens. The kids are not feeling well, you hmmm and ahhh over whether they are "sick enough" to stay home, you make the decision to keep them home, then they are fine! Oh well. To tell you the truth, the only reason I went to church today was because I had a SS class to teach. The morning sickness is starting and I just didn't feel like corraling 2 & 3 yo's this morning. You know what though, I had no class! Everyone was absent today. I also didn't have anyone in nursery, so I actually got to go to the adult SS class and church service this morning. That was a treat, I'm glad I decided to go.

Ok, enough rambling for now! I really wrote a book about nothing much, VBG. If you made it this far, WOW! Ok, off to read your all's blogs!

Jen ºÜº

Well, I took a test last night and it looks like I passed. I guess I get straight "A's" in the baby dept. *snort* I'm happy of course, and already dreaming of baby names, etc. Hubby's happy but dreading telling everyone at work...I guess he gets teased pretty bad already and this will only fuel it....I'm also dreading telling my family as well. Most of them think we're crazy for having four, and now we're working on number five. My grandpa even teased me last pg that I'm going to have to buy a schoolbus for them all....very funny huh?

I am sad though right now for my friend Becky. I sortof feel horrible/guilty that I'm able to have a baby so *easily* and she's trying so hard and has not been able to yet. Maybe if you all feel so inclined can you please pray for her as I know it's probably got to be rough on her. I'm really trying not to be too joyous because I feel bad for her, I know how bad she wants a child. Somehow I feel "selfish/greedy" for having so many when others have a hard time having just one. So again, can you please pray for her?

Jen ºÜº