Missed Sports

The kids this fall were busy with sports and were pretty excited about it too. 

NO ONE was more excited then ol' Royce-man who FINALLY got to play his first season of t-ball!

He would walk up to the plate just a-smilin' at me. Then after he hit it he would turn back, smile and wave while he was running to first.

Then a thumbs up from first base. My heart melted EVERY TIME.

And the best part was, he didn't even KNOW he would get snacks after each game. It's like he hit the jackpot!!!!

Emerson played baseball as well, and sadly this is the only picture I got of him up to bat. He played pitcher some, but catcher was where he was at most of the time. We loved hearing his high-pitched "WHOO" when the pitcher would throw a good one. It was his first time playing catcher so when other coaches came up to his coach saying that Emerson was the best catcher in Fall Ball (less-competitve league then spring ball), it was a surprise to US!!! Emerson just said, "Yea, I know"

The girls played on the same soccer team. Aleeya, ever the coordinated and competitve thing scored about 80% of their goals this year.

Another coach said to Aleeya's coach, "I can tell that blonde girl has older brothers, because when she gets hurt, she just gets up and gets angry enough to score a goal." Ummmm, thanks?

This was a BIG year for Iris. Her first time at anything really. She's so kind, petite and a peace-maker in nature that I was wondering how she would do.

I snapped these at her first game when she asked to play goalie......oh boy.

Her body language says it all.

Aaaaaaand this one.

But as the season went on, she actually REALLY got into it. She came off with a smile one time saying, "I just kicked that boy in the knees." Again, not sure how to react.

But she was a KILLER defender (where she always asked to play) and when the coach asked her to throw the ball in (almost every time) right down the sideline it stayed literally inches from the sideline. #alwaysobedient 

It was fun.

My FAVORITE games to watch actually are Brooks' though. I watch them in a drooling-wife way and it's so fun.

His softball church league ended up having a PERFECT record of 0-16.

"Perfect" in losing.

But heck, they had fun.

And so did the kids each time in the spare baseball field with their friends.

(the shower/bath was orange after every time)

However all of the above pictures were from the middle of September. 

The sports continued on through October with me not being able to attend any of them. I probably missed about 25 games and my Mommy heart was broken and my cheeks were tear-stained a lot. Especially the times I had to drop Bronson off to cheer Royce on at his game so someone would be there (while Brooks was either at another game or working).

And finally (now that I've been feeling so much better recently), I'm ready to "go there" and record  how hard this pregnancy has been.

I've had "HG" this time around that has been pretty severe.

"Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a complication of pregnancycharacterized by intractable nausea, vomiting, and dehydration and is estimated to affect 0.5–2.0% of pregnant women. Malnutrition and other serious complications, such as fluid or electrolyte imbalances, may result."

(my usual position)

It's different then the 1 morning puke or laying in bed until you can move and nausea/low-appetite/weakness of my most recent pregnancies. Infact, I think I only puked 10 times total in Everly's pregnancy. That was a regular DAY for me on this one!

(sneaky pictures by Brooks when I couldn't do a THING about it)

 This is where I spent most of my day. Everly would help make the spitting noises and keep flushing while Kellyn would run grab me some "ice-agua" after (which usually would come up soon anyway)

My regular nausea medicine wouldn't even touch it. So Brooks double the dosage and occasionally and only after 2pm would it start helping. Then he got me another medication to switch off with.

I was STILL losing weight like crazy (12 pounds total), so feeble and weak and my body was too dehydrated to really even try to function.

I don't explain this to complain (trust me, I saved my tearful complaints to my sisters), just to document and explain my horrible mom-ness, friend-ness and everything functioning-ness.

Brooks said the usual way to treat and help a mother with HG is IV fluids. I couldn't GO anywhere so Brooks brought some home for me. He started hooking me up with blood going everywhere "because they were different then the ones he was used to". It looked like a murder scene. Then we saw a car pull up so I threw a blue rag over most of the blood.

An older couple from our ward was returning Brooks' car that he had helped Brooks fix. The wife and husband came in and I'm dying with nausea (he put it on too fast of a flow) and the shivers (fluid temperature cooler then my body). Later the husband told Brooks that he thought we were just doing a Halloween prank on them with all the blood. #prankmyHINEY

AFTER the two hours with the iv that night was when Brooks decided to tell me that was his very first time every administering one!!!!!! AHHH!!! He kills me. 

Now that I think about it, the nurses do it at the hospital! Stinker. But he got good at it with the following times I needed the fluids.

Anyway, I guess after the wife saw me word got out through our church that I was pretty sick. (Something Brooks and I hadn't told really anyone except my closest friend) She shows up the next day with chicken soup (the broth was all I ate for DAYS. It was HEAVEN). I told her not to bother since I had freezer cooked dinners for October so my family was covered and Brooks 100% covered the mornings with making breakfasts, packing lunches and getting the kids off to school. But her kind gesture was so sweet....and the few other meals people brought. 

My close friend here has been a life-savor coming and picking up my kids and not returning them until nap time. 

But Everly HAS been so sweet. Never leaving my side and being awfully snuggly!

The older kids would come home from school and each take a room to clean up (the three kids during the day can make QUITE the disasters if you can imagine). Brooks would come home from work, get the dinner on the table, finish the never-ending laundry and get kids to sports/church and then everyone in bed...only to fall in his exhausted every night. Never complaining and with a good attitude. I really have been so lucky to have him with a more open schedule with TIME to do this. This wouldn't have been able to happen any other pregnancy with him in residency before.

Even realizing the blessings of timing and my uber helpful family, it was so hard emotionally, mentally and obviously physically for me. I had to hormonally talk myself into not throwing myself a pity-party and that I WILL survive this and everyone will come out un-scathed and my kids will remember who I was!... and that I won't make a permanent indent in the couch forever. My sweet neighbors (all elderly) had me on the prayer rolls at their churches and my 85 year old neighbor came over one day to help get the babies out of the car for me. He gave me a big hug, said he's been praying which then opened the flood gates. I'm sure this bawling lady in his arms worried him even more. I'm sure Heavenly Father was tired of hearing from me, but I WAS reminded how comforting it is to know my Savior HAS been through all of this for me before and He COULD comfort me.

I realize people have gone through harder things, but this has been the hardest thing for me to personally go through.

So understanding this, you can see why I feel like shouting from the rooftops with happiness now. 

For the past 3 or 4 days I have felt so wonderful. Not 100% by ANY means but a functioning, happy, errand-running person with strength to hold her baby!!!! The past 2 weeks I have haven't even puked (I think my family visiting started the good luck streak)!!! I bet the parking lots are grateful I will no longer be using them for relief anymore! I've gained back 3 of the 12 pounds lost and now only deal with occassional nausea throughout the day. BRING THAT ON!!!!! I will take it! I don't even care that I can't eat dinner still, but I PIG out at lunch now because I CAN!!!! And food TASTES good! And I can EAT whatever I feel like eating instead of only eating stuff if it would taste good coming back up. My teeth are no longer stained with bile-yellow coloring (TMI?), I feel like walking around and clicking my heels in the air and I feel like finally shouting,

"I'M SO SO SO SO EXCITED TO HAVE A 9TH BABY!!!!!"

What a place to have arrived to!! I'm SO grateful for health. I'm SO grateful for my family and I'm SO incredibly grateful to still be carrying this baby that the family has worked so hard for. 

What a feeling of gratitude I have going into Thanksgiving week 

(AND I EVEN PLAN ON EATING THE FOOD!!!!! I can't wait!)

Halloween

My kids were so excited for Halloween......then again, they ALWAYS are. 

And it kinda bites I didn't lighten up the pictures, but here they be anyway.

This is Kellyn earlier in the day. She put on her Anna costume at 9a.m. and it was on until it was time to go to the Church Halloween Party.

Of course, accompanied by Elsa.

THIS girl loves Sofia the First, so it was kinda a no-brainer what she was going to be.

The two boys wanted to be ninjas, and they needed new sweatpants anyway, so it's kinda a win-win all around. (Emerson-white... Camden-black)

A maskless Spiderman posing like.....um...... I have no idea.

The PROBLEM that night came with Bronson's costume. 

He wanted to be a UNC fan with face paint. Then the face paint turned into a clown-scary UNC fan? I don't know, but he did it.

Anytime he walked into the room the younger two girls freaked out. Like when I tried to take this picture.

Or Everly screaming bloody murder when he walked by (which of COURSE encouraged this 12 year old boy to keep doing it!)

Honestly, it wasn't even that scary. 

Not that I could convince the girls of that though!

My absolute FAVORITE part of Halloween is making Brooks dress up and it's even BETTER when I can embarrass him by dressing up ridiculous myself. The had the BEST costume to do that this year too...... sadly, I was too sick to go to the church party, so me and Everly (who had the cutest little Superman/tutu outfit) stayed home.

I had a friend send me these two pictures of the night at the church. She said Brooks wasn't anywhere around these two at the time. I wanted to say, "Tell me something that DOES surprise me" :)

Maybe this was where he was hiding.......

(The Batman shirt I got him.....the only "costume" he would wear that night. haha)

GOAL ATTAINED

Brooks and I have had a goal for a little over seven years.

7 YEARS!!!!!!

In 2008 we bought our home in Winston Salem when he did his Pathology Residency. Not knowing how the housing market would be when we left and not wanting to "eat it" when trying to sell, we buckled down and paid a lot extra on our monthly payment.

It was hard. Money is tight on a resident's salary anyway, let along with a family our size and paying extra. Also seeing other people do things that would be nice to do, but instead paying extra to the home. One quote (I think it's Dave Ramsey's?) that we kept saying was 

"Live now like no one else so one day you can live like no one else"

We prayed to ask for help to get out of debt as soon as we could (as our prophet has counseled us) and shortely after, opportunities for Brooks to do work for the state as a side-gig gave us extra money towards the house. The state-work has continued here in South Carolina with a lot of extra work for Brooks to the point where he even has a few doctors working under HIM now. And as promised, we have used the money towards debt.

Well as of last month.......

I actually felt like crying. And I'm tearing up now #pregohormones?

The plan to pay it off fast (even with renters in it now) has been the plan so we can sell it this year and use THAT money to pay the majority of our medical loans off. We also have a goal/date set for paying that off as well if all goes as planned. Fingers BIGTIME crossed.

Working towards this goal has been so unifying and filled with a lot of extra blessings. It's also given us a HUGE high seeing the number of only paying $20,000 in interest over the 7 years vs. $149,000 in interest over 30 years!!!! That's almost the cost of how much we BOUGHT the house for. haha.

It's a freeing feeling. It's nice to get THAT debt monkey off our back.....

afterall, I already have 8 cute little monkeys climbing on it as it is.

The Big 8

The DAY we checked out of the cabin was Aleeya's birthday. So there was singing to her while we packed the car and unloaded everything when we got home. Not exactly very exciting birthday stuff. She even made HERSELF this paper to put on her shirt saying,

"I am the birthday gril! 8"

#momguilt

Brooks sat down and asked her if she could do anything today what did she want to do. She said she wanted to go play football with dad and the boys. So they did.

While I wrapped her presents.

Which were then UNWRAPPED by these to EVER-so-guilty-looking sisters. They started in on the Twix in Aleeya's junkbox. Not sure if I should applaud them for their taste or get mad. So I just took a picture instead.

Aleeya came back home and saw her two presents wrapped. Phew. She knew the shoebox sized one was the junk box so she picked up the other one (Princess Legos) and shook it.

Then she said, "I don't know what it is. It sounds like legos but I don't want legos."

BWHAHAHA. #jokesonher

She was lucky enough to get a cake for her birthday (so sad, Brooks' birthday a few days before was completely un-celebrated and I felt bad I couldn't do a thing. Brooks said it was a dream come true)

She wanted brownies with Snickers on top....and then some Frozen princess Legos.

Presents time.

Deep breath.

She opened up her Legos present and............

I KNEW she would like it.

And the best part is, she actually has Emerson build all her Legos. It's a win-win. He loves to build stuff, she gets her castle and THEY PLAY NICELY TOGETHER!!!! (VEEEERY rare for these two)

The finished Frozen castle.

For 8th birthdays we always try to do something special for the party so the week after Aleeya had her birthday party at Gravitopia (trampoline place).

My body wouldn't let me go to the party (#TOTALmomguilt   WHO MISSES THEIR KID'S PARTY?!?) and Brooks put his foot down saying I wasn't going. I gave Brooks a step-by-step list for him to do.

I DID manage however to get the "white cupcakes with blue frosting, frosting and rings on top" that she requested done.

Brooks remembered 1) jumping

2) pizza

3) cupcakes

4) Presents

And he EVEN remembered to take pictures and hand out the goody bags as they left.

I don't mean to brag, but I married a rock star.

AND I BIRTHED a pretty awesome, loving, spunky, fun ROCKSTAR of an 8 year old......

our first little girl (I think she started a slippery slope of a trend)

with a nice blend of tenderness

to juuuuuust enough splash of fun. 

Happy 8th Aleeya-beeya.

Cabin Getaway

For us to get away for Fall Break is a NEW idea to us....but thanks to my aunt it was able to happen.

We rented a cabin for 3 nights. The only requirements were 1) river and 2) hot tub.

Maybe I should've included a larger couch, but still this place was perfect for us.

The first day the boys grabbed their fishing poles to go catch some fish. I don't think anyone was more excited about it then Brooks though.

Bronson caught two pretty fast.

(why does he look like he's 15 here?!??!)

Camden caught three (no he did NOT jump in to get them, he's wet from the hot tub)

Then there was Brooks. Who kept trying and trying.

This is the smile he gave when I told him Camden had caught his third and he still had zero (and it was also dinner time)

Yes, fishing all day for the older ones and basically getting out and in and out and in the hut tub for all the littles.

I was on the porch reading (Everly never left my side)

Or I could lay down on the couch the watch everything out the big window. It was just so peaceful. I loved that there was no wifi, and no way for anyone to get a hold of us!

And I KNOW this happened in the middle of October, but quite honestly, I have had a hard time looking at the pictures of fish to even post them. How ridiculous is that? Anyway, here are the LESS gutsy/mutilated fish pictures

Brooks be-heading the fish with Everly watching VERY closely.

I can't tell if she liked it or not but she just couldn't look away and she kept grunting and pointing.

All this time poor Emerson was curled up in his cave upstairs with a fever.

It was actually a rather comfty "cave" so don't feel too sorry for him.

That night it was tinfoil dinners and s'mores around the fire pit.

And juuuuuuuuust when it was about to get dark, ol' Brooksie caught himself TWO fish.

Phew, because I don't think he would've slept well had his boys kept out-catching him.

At nights there were ping pong games, pool table tournaments, board games to play and World Series games to watch (since we don't have cable or anything at our house, this was a treat)

The river itself was actually freezing. Like SO cold that watching someone swing into it on the rope swing and then them not being able to breathe made you laugh for a long time. And if you were tubing then you really didn't want ANY part of you body touching the water. 

YET, it still didn't deter the kids.

(if only I had gotten Brooks' reaction on video when he hit the water.....bwhahaha)

Emerson started feeling better and still hadn't caught a fish. Bronson threw the line in, hooked a fish and then let Emerson pull it in. So Emerson SAYS he "caught" this one. :)

Then Brooks made him gut the fish. Emerson's commentary and disgust was so funny. He kept saying, "I'm going to regret this"

Everly, as always, is so helpful during card games. Poor Iris tried to have so much patience.

(Mom and Dad, Iris beat me at "Golf" fair and square. Wow. I've really lost it)

Another night we dutch-oven-ed it like real mountain people. I guess we are legit now, right?

Getting the charcoals ready.....

Dutch oven Shrimp Jumbalaya, grilled freshly-caught fish and dutch oven peach cobbler. 

Kids said it was their BEST dinner ever.

(while I had myself a Cup-o-Noodle. How did I get such a seafood loving family?!?!)

Like I said, I deleted the fish pictures but there ended up being 9 caught to grill up. Brooks thought of doing it in the kitchen....hahaha, silly boy. There was NO way that fish smell was coming inside. So there he was outside cooking them on the grill.

I looked over at my family, eating along this peaceful river with waterfall sounds, barefeet and clothing-less children abounding and I thought......

This. is. Perfect.

It really did feel like a little bit of heaven to me. Through all of October and November there have been 4 days I have not been puking quite a bit. Three of those days were while we were there. 

Like I said, a little bit of heaven.