The sick one...

My poor Abby was up ALL NIGHT last night throwing up! My sweet hubby took the 1-3am shift as I lay in bed hearing her gut rejecting whatever was in her little body. :(
As of 8:30am this morning she had thrown up 15 times... about every half hour last night. My poor sweet baby!
She is now resting on the couch with her "bucket" if she needs it watching playhouse disney. I hate when the little ones get sick! They are so helpless!

The Big D!

OH MY HECK!!!
DH actually agreed to spend a very large amount of money and take a trip down to Disneyland!! I am SO EXCITED!! We haven't really taken a "real" family vacation since we've been married. Either the kids were too little or too sick or I was too pregnant... always a reason not to go... But Abby can ride 90% of the rides and the big kids are stoked!
We'll be staying at a beautiful SoCal resort courtosey of g-ma and g-pa... gotta love family! I love it because it's a 2 bedroom unit with full kitchen and laundry in our room. Talk about saving money on meals and room in bags! The best part is that we get to do this as a family adventure! We leave in 3 weeks and I can't wait to come home and blog about it with TONS of pics!!

YAY!!! :)

Ode to the baby one... Abby is 4 today!

Yes my littlest wonder is 4 years old today. I'm having very mixed emotions about my baby growing up... but alas there is not a thing to be done except ponder the wonderful tributes of my last born. (And yes... she is the LAST one!)

Here are the top 4 reasons I love Abigail in honor of her birthday today:

1) She is my "Zeus"! She has fought through major medical issues and still lives life with a huge smile on her face. She, to me, is the epitome of strength.

2) She is way to smart for her own good! I love her curiousity and yearning to learn.

3) She is the "little mother" always the first to comfort or console (even if she caused the issue in the first place!)

4) She is my last baby and I get to enjoy every "growing up" moment with her.

I love you Abigail! Happy Birthday Abby!!

my new addiction...

Sorry that I've been MIA! I've found a new addiction thanks to my lil' sister... FACEBOOK! I love it! I can't believe the amount of time I've spent connecting with friends, loading pics, sending flair... I LOVE sending flair!
I plan to be more on top of things here so no more long sabaticals.
This past Sunday I started a detox cleanse called the Master Cleanse. It's basically lemonade, purified water, and laxative tea for 10 days. Well I had every intention of going all ten... but couldn't make it past 3. At 3 days I was throwing up and almost passing out. So I decided to stop instead of push it.
But I was remarkably happy with the way I felt after the 3 days! I lost 7 lbs, and I don't "crave" anymore which is nice. I don't wake up and instantly reach for a Dr. Pepper... the love of my food life! I've been eating heathier and paying better attention to the way my body feels and when I really feel hungry as opposed to bored.
So that's the update! My pirate boot still resides on the "mommy ship" and will for another couple of weeks.
Onto the land of making dinner and folding laundry!

My new Pirate boot!

Arggg Matey's! According to Mason I am now officially a pirate. That is due to the fact that my fractured ankle requires me to wear a fracture boot.

Yes folks... she's done it again! I've added yet another bone to the broken bones list. I turned my ankle on Monday and it was sore but I thought nothing of it. Yesterday is was still sore so I took motrin and soldiered on. I woke up this morning with it throbbing and hurting even more. By this afternoon it was swollen and I could barely walk... so off to urgent care I went. $150.00 and a few x-rays later the dr says you've fractured your "whatever it's called" and we need to cast it and you'll be on crutches for a few weeks... ummm... NO!

So I ask if there are other options and he mentions the walking boot... after I say, "well Dr I have 3 small children so crutches would not be the supreme choice for me." Oh is his response. SERIOUSLY!!

So I'll be Pirate Jenn for the next 3 weeks until they can x-ray it again. If there is still significant pain and swelling then, they will send me to an orthopedist to make sure there is no tendon or ligament damage.

At least with this boot my husband can watch me shake it a little more. ;)

Another day in the life of Gimp!

Happy birthday Chloe!!

My big girl is officially 8! She's had a wonderful birthday so far that has been captured on film and will be posted about later... but for now... 8 things I love about Chloe:
1) She always knows when someone is sad and is the first to comfort them.
2) She is an AMAZING big sister to both her little brother and little sister
3) She can power through a cheese pizza like it's no body's business!
4) She's creative and thoughtful... she like to make notes and cards and leave them for family members.
5) She my first born... there is nothing more special than that!
6) She is smart and witty and works really hard.
7) She always tried to be her best and whatever she is doing. She tries not to give up and will try anything once (except food... PICKY GIRL!)
8) She loves her Heavenly Father and has chosen to be baptized on Feb. 7th... I am so proud of her!

Happy Birthday Chloe!!

back to school.... YAY!!!

And the countdown has begun... the kids are tucked tight in bed with stories read and teeth brushed. Backpacks are packed and lunches made, clothes are layed out and mommy is seriously jumping for joy with the thought of the kids going back to school!
Chloe is very excited because her birthday is tomorrow so she starts the new year off with cupcakes at school (they are baking right now... it's nice to have a certified kitchen at home!)

Oh I cannot count the ways in which my life will go back to normal... starting with some morning time that will not include work, cleaning or yelling... maybe heading to the gym or doing some reading... who knows? The opporunities are ENDLESS!!

So to all you mom's out there that are also counting your back to school blessings... congratulations! We all survived Christmas Break! YAY US!

The AMAZING sewing Susie Q!

I know that I've mentioned my dear friend Sue before on my blog. She is first and foremost a dear friend but she is also an AMAZING seamstress! With Chloe's 8th birthday on Monday we decided we wanted to get her a baptism dress... well nothing fits the incredible tall and skinny one so who better to ask to make her one? Sue Quackenbuch seamstress extroidinaire!
So Chloe and I headed over to her shop and gave a VERY brief description and Sue took measurements and off she went. Today we went in for her fitting and both Chloe and I were flabbergasted at the beautiful creation Sue made! There are still a few minor adjustments to be made but holy heck.... I was almost in tears! And cute Chloe didn't want to take it off. I just can't believe the talent of this woman!

So thank you Sue! You are not only a wonderful friend but you have talents I only dream of posessing!!

Here are a couple pics from the fitting today:

She's just walking out of the changing room


the biggest smile! She's so excited!


The AMAZING Susie Q making some adjustments


Chloe's first look in the mirror... her jaw dropped it was SO CUTE!

New Years Eve...

So much fun! It was my daddy's 54th birthday... Happy Birthday Daddy!
Neil and I went out for a family birthday dinner with my dad, stepmom, sister, step sister and her boyfriend Steve. It was a nice evening out with adults. We then went to my dad and stepmom's house for a game night with their friends. Lots of good food, good people and good golf! Yes... my dad got a Wii for his birthday and him and his regular golf "foursome" played Wii golf... it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen! They played for 3 hours... we were playing yatzee and dominoes while the "men" were entertaining themselved with the big boy video games.
About 11:30pm and well into heaven only know how many bottles of wine we broke out the Rockband game that Neil and I brought! Now I was one of only 2 sober people there (the other being my underage step-sister) and we had so much fun taking pictures of the "adults" rocking out.

So here are a few shots of the evening to get your 2009 off to an entertaining start!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

a couple shots from dinner



The golfing buddies... birthday boy is on the right


Lisa really got into Rockband...


No... she REALLY did!!