Establish a "..house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God."...AND A HOUSE OF FUN! (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119)
Brooks took Camden, Emerson and Aleeya up to Winston Salem for a few days this weekend to work on getting our house there to put on the market. Things like spreading mulch, clearing the yard, etc.
And like myself, my kids can be bought.
They ALL have a price and money speaks to them......... AND BROOKS KNOWS IT.
As a result, when Emerson shows his dad a big juicy worm he finds, then it should be quite obvious what would come out of Brooks' mouth next.
This could probably be my favorite video ever. (link)
My FAVORITE part of this was how he said "10 US American Dollars". There have been many times Brooks has told the kids he would give them "5 bucks" or "20 bucks" to do something. Then when they ask him to pay up he sticks them on his back and starts bucking them for however many times. I can GUARANTEE that before Emerson was challenged to eat this worm that he made SURE he was promised CURRENCY.
BWHAHAHA.
And yes, Brooks paid up, he just liked seeing Emerson react like that at the end.
The things that happen when I'm not around........
We promised the kids a trip to Great Wolf Lodge this year. When I went to go book us in the largest family suite we realized the max amount of people was 8. And you can't cram more in because everyone needs a wrist band to get to the waterpark.
We either had to book 2 rooms or not all of us go.
After thinking about how NOT fun Everly is to get to sleep in her port-a-crib when we're all in the same room and how tempermental Kellyn is when she's tired it kinda made the decision pretty easy. This would NOT be a whole-family trip. :)
It helps when you have clueless toddlers.
At first I was going to take the older 6 since Brooks knows I love places like this and watching the kids' faces. But early January I told Brooks I was just too worn out and exhausted to do it. (this was BEFORE I knew I had twins) PLUS, I couldn't go on the slides with them and everyone KNOWS Dad is more fun in the water then beached-whale Mom.
And staying home with Kellyn and Everly who still take long naps and go to bed between 6:30 and 7 at night sounded quite dreamy to me.
There was ONE condition though...... Brooks HAD to take pictures so I could see their faces and hear/see all about it. I have FOMO. ("Fear of Missing Out)
When he came home proudly and showed me his pictures, I couldn't help but laugh. He didn't have cute pictures of them in the hotel room with 5 kids sharing 3 bunkbeds just because they thought they were cool.
(*hotel picture*)
But he ended up with a whole phone full of pictures of my kids wrestling in the wave pool.
Who's watching these kids anyway?
A LOT of blurry smiles though
And more dunking pictures.... because what makes a mom more comfortable then knowing her 6 kids are busy holding each other under the water......with smiles on their faces.
Camden and Emerson in the background....still wrestling.
No waterslide pictures, or the big water tower pouring on their heads. Just wrestling in the wave pool pictures. haha.
Apparently they had a blast though and Bronson-Royce were the PERFECT ages to take and super low maintenance.
Then before they left Brooks remembered to take a few more in the hotel hallway.
And of them eating huge ice cream sundaes and pizza before they left to come home.
CLEARLY these girls' mom wasn't there to make their hair not look so homeless. Not to mention rip that ridiculous bandana off Emerson's head. :)
They had a BLAST and I loved hearing all about it. I also loved the SUPER relaxing and low key night I had with my two baby girls.
The NEXT day was when we rescheduled Bronson's bday party at the trampoline park (snow storm on the original day).
I was AMAZED I got 5 thirteen year olds to smile for me!!! #Imustbemagic
The only other pictures I got were of these two having the time of their lives.
I wasn't about to venture in the Dodgeball arena to capture the older kids and Brooks in a picture. Talk about the biggest walking target EVER!
Then the NEXT day was Sunday/Valentine's Day!!!!
Keeping with tradition we gave the kids each a poem on a heart with hints and clues to have them find their Valentines from us. Kellyn found her's first and thinks balloons are probably the best things ever.
All the girls were squealing when they found their purses/make-up and treats.
Royce, of course, got some Lego guys mixed in with his treats. #angelface
And the boys all disappeared wearing their new slippers so they could read their 9 total Calvin and Hobbs books while eating all their treats.
It's like the kids were living in a DREAM world for a few days doing over-the-top entertaining things and being spoiled.
So come Monday (President's Day) when they didn't have school they probably shouldn't have been surprised when I put them all to work to bring them back to reality. :)
Good ol' Camden got to empty to the whole toilet so Brooks could take it off when he got home from work. #luckykid
Welcome back to the REAL world!
As most have probably heard now, I had my ultrasound Wednesday of this week. After the kids got home from school I sat them down to tell them the MUCH AWAITED news.
The news that the kids have been just DYING to know if the boys "would win" or the girls would, depending on the gender of the baby.
Just as in volleyball or ping-pong a TRUE winner ALWAYS wins by TWO!!!!!!!!!!
Not only will the "estrogen dam" start spilling over, but I'm pretty sure it's about to BUST and flood this house for good!!!!!!
CLEARLY my excitement can't be expressed in written word, but I pretty much couldn't wipe the grin off my face all day. But I'm getting ahead of myself...... so I mind as well record the lead UP to the point of finding out the news. It's long....... feel free to quit reading.
First to answer a few questions....YES, this was my first ultrasound of this pregnancy and YES it was a complete surprise.
HOWEVER, I have had the inkling for a loooooooong time. Even been so bold to tell Brooks and we would joke about it a lot. Him believing 100% it was a joke and I was out of my mind though.
This pregnancy has been different. And by different, I mean EXTREME.
I just KNEW there was a reason too.
But everytime I would express something I would get the "Oh, it's your 9th honey" or "Well, you ARE getting older....." comments.
If I had ONE more person tell me, "Well, MY last pregnancy was definitely my hardest on my body too." they were really running the risk of me karate chopping their clavicle.
I'm NOT old. I'm 34. Not even considered "high risk" in medical terms (well.... NOW I am!!! haha). And it wasn't that I DON'T know what a normal Melissa-pregnancy feels like (NOT MY FIRST RODEO!)...whether they get worse or not......afterall, I was JUST pregnant a little over a year and half ago!!!!! Sure my pregnancies have progressively gotten me a little more sick each time, but not from miserable nausea to hooked up to an IV twice a week from #8 to #9!!!!
A few weeks ago I was becoming more and more convinced it was twins but kept it to myself. I sat down and wrote down all my symptoms that I felt PROVED it to myself. Afterall, I was beginning to think I was crazy. Because, honestly.....really.....the odds were NOT in my favor.
My summary of my list:
1. BEYOND sick towards the beginning. Hyperemesis Gravidarum is very common in multiple pregnancy.
2. Didn't feel ANY movement until 21 weeks (when normally/ALWAYS I feel it around 16/17 weeks)
3. My exhaustion level has been extreme. I feel end-of-3rd trimester exhaustion and I'm 24 weeks!
4. Breathlessness. ALWAYS. I have to catch my breath when I'm pushing the shopping cart, after a quick kiss from my husband, after standing up. It's embarrassing
5. ANY minor pregnancy nuisance that I've had in past pregnancies have ALL come together and been times 10. Anything from mouth sores/gum issues, headaches to drop me, constipation where 3 doses of Miralax a day wasn't cutting it. itchy rash (common in multiples) on my belly and back, EXTRA thirsty, can't sleep at night, etc, etc.
6. Feeling a LOT of different movement....in different hemispheres of my belly. Sure one baby probably could've done it but the position they would've had to be in to maneuver like that would've been impressive.
7. Earlier braxton-hicks
8. CRAZY weight gain. Sure, I'm only up 10 pounds from my initial weight, but since Thanksgiving I've gained 22 pounds!!! That like almost a WHOLE pregnancy's worth of weight in two months!
It doesn't matter HOW many symptoms I would put together to try to "prove" my case, Brooks didn't believe me. Actually he didn't know ALL of the symptoms I kept track of. I have kept my complaining or pregnancy-annoyances to myself for the most part....because if I DIDN'T, I always had to flip myself with my stop-complaining elastic.
My self-imposed punishment to make me an enjoyable person to still live with or be around. :)
Finally I confided in a friend of mine and told her all my symptoms. Told her about my weight gain and then went on a hunt to prove my SIZE alone is different. Sure my size would be different from my first few pregnancies so I went to search pics from my pregnancy from Everly so I could compare #8 to #9. Especially having started smaller with this pregnancy then with Everly.
Everly's:
Twins..... 23 weeks.
Emerson's picture from below makes me look even MORE big. haha
Then I found another one from Everly's pregnancy:
Twins, 24 weeks. Same shirt as above:
I convinced myself more and MORE that I had twins.....because honestly, if I DIDN'T, then all I could think about were things like, "If I'm already this uncomfortable, I'm super in trouble later", "this extra weight is going to be sooooo hard to get off since getting the regular stuff off keeps getting trickier and trickier!" and "what if this IS a 'normal' pregnancy and I'm AM just a panzy and getting older?!"
I would lose sleep thinking, "Wouldn't that be AMAZING to have 10 kids?!? It's an EVEN number and heaven knows, I have a weird thing against odd numbers. My body can't go through another pregnancy so I have to be thrilled with 9. But 10?!?! How neat would that be? I've ALWAYS wanted twins...ever since I was little!!!! Getting TWO babies with one horrible pregnancy sounds like a dream! And if I was GOING to have twins I would want them at the end of the family because then NO child will be the 'baby' of the family and end up being the spoiled/selfish one that many times baby-of-the-families grow up to be! I wonder what it would be like? Everyone says it's crazy. But I've never experienced that. I like trying new things. I WANT to snuggle two newborns. I have more help now then EVER with my older ones, so if I'm going to have twins, now is the time. What am I thinking? This sounds like a crazy amount of work when I can't even handle with patience the kids I have most of the time....but man, oh man, I hope these are twins." Then get up, use the restroom, lay back down and think of all those things again and even MORE.
The amount of time googling twin-information, looking at women pregnant with twins at my same stage/size, symptoms, etc.....was kinda ridiculous.
When the day of the ultrasound FINALLY arrived, I was SO excited. But also anxious, nervous and feeling silly/ridiculous. I mean, how could I REALLY think I was having twins?! I told myself. "Melissa, you're being lame, and be grateful when you see ONE healthy baby for heaven's sake!"
Sitting in the waiting room ready to go back....... more nervous then I could say.
I went to a Tech College for the ultrasound. The kind where the students need people to practice on for free. It ends up being 1.5 hours long (so a LOT of visuals), possible 3D imaging and the instructor standing by checking everything.
The student immediately put the machine on this sweet baby on the top of my belly. My heart melted.
She started the measuring of the head, and checking the beautiful 4-chambered heart. Eeeeeevery once and a while there would be some appendage that would come in and out on the side of the ultrasound. I noticed it a few times before I asked what it was. She didn't know, but would check in a minute. Then I said, "I know this sounds silly, but would you mind checking to see if there is 1 or 2 in there?" She was a little surprised by my request but moved the machine down to my lower abdomen. and BOOM..... there she was! #perfectlips
Then she quickly moved it back to the top of my belly, saw that baby, then back down to see this one. Then said, "I'm going to have to go get my instructor....."
As she left I just sat there. not emotional at all, but completely filled. It was this feeling of completition and perfection and happiness all in one but not in a giddy way, more in a peaceful way.
I also felt so validated. I WASN'T crazy. This IS different. I just KNEW it!!!!
After that it was a beautiful 2 hours (they wanted to keep looking longer because it was so fun. The instructor kept saying, "These are 'text book' babies and perfect to teach with")
They BOTH measured 24 weeks.....healthy little things. They were about 98% sure there were two placentas in there (a GOOD thing. Better then them sharing one) and both in their own sacs or membranes.
The crazy thing about it was, is that they were SO intertwined!!!! At one point, BOTH sitting by each other. One basically piggy backing the other. Then always one of their feet shooting in the picture of the other twin. We couldn't get them both in one picture with the machine they had there, but they labeled them Baby A (the one on bottom and the one most likely to "come out first") and Baby B/Top baby.
Baby A was so good at posing with the 3D imaging. I just loved this above shot of the sweet nose.
Then with the hand to her face (almost in a I'm-coming-to-WHAT-kind-of-family...DOH! gesture)
Baby B-Top one wanted ZERO and NOTHING to do with us. Usually facing down and giving us a run for our money to find out her gender. Then when the 3D imaging came out she would NOT cooperate and put both hands over her eyes.
"Mom, it's too early.......just 5 more minutes!"
When the ultrasound was done, all I could think about was driving all the way to Brooks' work to tell him in person. Thankfully my babysitter was sweet enough to watch the kids even LONGER so I could do that.
I waited in Brooks' office and when I told him the news his face was a person balance of
shock-incredulous-disbelief and mischief.
After I ASSURED him I was serious and showed him the pictures he started smiling and said,
"Wipe that I-told-you-so grin off your face!"
As seen above, the kids' reaction was priceless with Emerson and Camden (who have ALWAYS wanted "two babies") winning the comment-of-the-day. I said, "Aren't you guys excited for TWO babies?!"
"Yes, but I would've rather had one boy baby then TWO girl babies"
hahaha
Thankfully their tune has changed because just yesterday Camden and Emerson were chasing a giggling Everly around the house. Camden said to Emerson, "I can't WAIT until we can chase TWO girls at the same time around the house! I'm going to teach them to be fast!"
The east coast was prepping for The Winter Storm Jonah last week. Thankfully in our neck of the woods it wasn't going to get bad or really MUCH snow. An inch or two of ice, but nothing like what places north of us got.
The kids came home Thursday from school to these *HUGE* (#sarcasm) snowflakes falling. But it didn't take away from their excitement in the least.
School was cancelled on Friday (as expected). The kids really had a blast making one snowball outside.
Yes, I realize she's not wearing shoes. I took the picture from the INSIDE of the house through the glass door. Cold isn't really my thing. But it WAS enough to move the Yeti up to the road because I knew later in the day all the rain was going to turn to ice....and ice it did! During naptime on Friday we heard the little ice pellets hit the window (actually a super calming sound). A lot of people had their power go out in the Greenville, so I did what most responsible people do in that case..... you CRANK of the heat and hurry and bake a ton of cookies.
After naptime there was enough ice to make it run for the kids to slip down the driveway, "ice-skate" down our hill and who knows what else they did outside.
Kellyn kept going outside. She would get one thing wet or cold and keep changing her outfits. Clearly, we are not quite geared up for snow around here.
Barefeet/skirt to hoodie with sandals. Progress is being made!
Later her Jasmin-pants and tennis shoes came out and proved to be quite wind-resistant.
Saturday morning there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. Enough that we could try our first time making "Snow Cream"..... which apparently EVERYONE in the South does and I've been a traitor this long for not making it. It was QUITE tasty that the kids kept asking for more. I would just say, "Ok, go get me another 16 cups of fresh/untouched snow outside"
They loved it.
Poor Bronson had his party scheduled for Saturday morning which we had to cancel. Well, because EVERYTHING was cancelled. No one could get around anywhere! Brooks was home all day so he and the kids were pretty much outside playing, tubing at the church-yard by our house and having snowball fights.
Aleeya did such a good job capturing those above pictures and some video of them tubing and giggling. I just wasn't going to go outside, so it was easier to send my daughter with my phone since the boys wanted video of all their runs down the hill.
Royce had a blast in the snow too. I kept waiting for him to tell me that HIS choice of outfit made him cold, but it never happened.....
I enjoyed curling up inside with my pregnancy book and drink...... well between doing a gazillion loads of laundry from all the wet clothes in the snow.
The snow days extended and church was even postponed 4 hours and then only a hour long (versus 3 hours). Monday school was cancelled too.
My survival technique?
Cookie dough.
The thing is, my kids love cookie dough as much as I do.
The OTHER thing is, I'm ALSO a lot smarter then the kids, because I HIDE the cookie dough in the vegetable drawer where no one ever opens anyway. Yes, I had it ALL to myself through the whole extended weekend and it ended up all being eaten. #momsurvivaltip
I AM so glad the kids got their "Snow-fix" though. They had a blast.
Glad it was here....and now it can go. :)
This is the girls today (Friday) in low 60 degree weather. MUUUUUUUCH more my speed since we've been out here for hours.
I was telling Brooks that I think I have an identity crisis as a mom sometimes. I still feel like a "young mom".....the mom with toddlers and infants....and basically at the same mom-hood stage I was in medical school (YEARS ago). But apparently while I THINK I'm in the same stage, I'm not.
I'm now in the Teenager Mom stage.
What the HECK?!?!?
I HAVE A TEENAGER?!?!?!?!
I really can't wrap my mind around this concept.
Bronson turned thir-TEEN this month!!!!!
This picture popped up on my Time Hop feed from 4 years ago with Bronson when he turned 9 of the two of us.
This is us today.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE those 4 years made.
He's turning into quite the young man.
(and I ALSO can't get as close to the chair as I did in the other picture with big belly in the way!)
I rarely send notes in my kids' lunch boxes (if ever!) so I thought, "I'm gonna be the good mom and write a birthday note to put in his special lunch" (Chick-fil-A nuggets, mango, cookie, beef jerky and his favorite fruit snack). That might get me some MAJOR Mom-of-teenager points, right?
I smiled at home thinking of him opening his lunch box.
When he came home I heard him downstairs with his brothers and they were all laughing. I asked what was so funny and he just smiled and said, "Big thanks for the note in my lunch box Mom." And then his brothers busted out laughing.
Apparently there is this thing Bronson and his friends do on someone's birthday that when they find out, they punch the person 13 times (spanking-machine-turned-punching-bag method). Bronson hadn't told any of his friends it was his birthday for obvious reasons. Then he gets to the lunch room and out of his lunchbox falls a note that says,
"Happy Birthday Buddy. Sure love you."
I guess that's when the loving-punch-fest began for my poor son.
hahaha.
So much for being thoughtful.
That night we gave him his cake......which he wanted a cookie-cake.....from the store.
(Should I be taking any of this personally?)
He got his junk box that apparently was the "best one I've ever given any of the kids".
Also a pair of shoes and a mini-camping chair thing he has wanted ever since he saw Brooks get one.
Happy Birthday to my firstling, my trial-and-error child, my ever-the-tease-and-prankster, by babysitter, my responsible and my SUPER-proud-to-be-him-mom child.
I'm 22 weeks now. I know, I know......it FEELS like I should be 46 weeks by now! Baby being a one-pounder (looks closer to 6) and the size of a spaghetti squash (as if we all know what size that is!).
I'll back up a little.......
19 weeks I reached my pre-pregnancy weight again (after losing so much) but it's funny because it has PORKED on since then. I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with the chocolate covered almonds that keep disappearing. On the healthy side, berries have NEVER tasted so good. As in I keep downing containers. If Strawberry Shortcake pops out of me in May I wouldn't be surprised at all.
20 weeks I still hadn't felt the baby move yet....which was weird because I usually feel my babies move closer to 16 weeks. Since I haven't been in to a doctor yet (I know, no surprise there!.....in my defense I have one on call every day!) I told Brooks he needed to take me to his clinic to listen for a heart beat on their office doppler. His work is about 25 minutes away, but we still jumped in the car one night anyway to head on over. I was SO relieved when I heard a pretty darn strong 152 heart beat. I told Brooks, "I was beginning to get all worried I was having a fake molar pregnancy and growing some weird mass you used to dissect in Pathology. I mean what if this mass I have killed myself over was a big ol' ball of hair and nails!!!!!" (Have I mentioned my pregnancy dreams are kinda crazy?) He thought my concern was ridiculous but with new peace that I INDEED had a baby in me, we drove home. Two days later, of course I started feeling the baby move. Molar masses don't kick like this.
21 weeeks. I couldn't help but think and notice that my belly is a lot bigger then other pregnancies. Other people are kind enough to mention I look bigger as well. #mentalpunchintheirface. I think I just stick out farther for being in the supposed "honeymoon" stage of the pregnancy..... then again it IS #9, but still.... But when I lay down and doctor-husband measures the fundal height I'm measuring right on track. It's just when I stand up and all my other organs and innerds that are angry with me decide to poke themselves out. I'm kinda in a battle with a few of my organs. I'm determined to show them who is boss..... they just might be tougher then me. #Ihateadmittingdefeat. I did have an amazing surprise last week though when my husband just picked me up from the house and then dropped me off at a hotel for the night.....by myself.....with a king size bed. Do you REALIZE what kind of a pregnancy nest I can make with 8 pillows?!?!? It was the most heavenly surprise. It was nice to relax my sore muscles from the family soccer game the day before.....that I LOST in. Losing is becoming more common for me. :)
We find out the gender in 10 days. It's KIND OF a super big deal around here. Like more then ever before.....because this baby is the
TIE BREAKER!!!!!!!
With 4 boys and 4 girls already, this baby will determine "who wins".......and SINCE my family is kind of competitive, you can imagine the hype. Boys have always "won" around here ever since we had our first baby. And as MUCH as I HATE odd numbers, #9 is proving to be pretty exciting.
When I found out I was pregnant Brooks and I just looked at each other and said, "This BETTER be a boy".
It just sometimes feels like this house is a dam teetering on being flooded and broken down by an ocean of estrogen.
Estrogen that manifests itself in eye rolls, defiant stares and sassy comebacks followed by tears and emotional declarations for the whole world to hear. Then again this SAME estrogen cares for the babies, snuggles them, changes their diapers and creates little imaginary games to entertain the little kids.
On the FLIP SIDE testostrone making its presence known with sticks, dunking contests (then primal screams of victory), wrestle competitions (with brackets and all) downstairs, de-pantsing, teasing and killing all the bugs I don't like having in my house. When I took Royce to get his kindergarten shots last week, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around HIM being my "baby boy" if this one wasn't a boy.
HOW IS MY BABY BOY SO BIG?!?!?
I just REALLY miss holding a little bundle of blue.
Then recently I've seen Kellyn and Everly who play SO well together for hours. I think of them growing older and having a little sister just like them to share a room with and be the three
musket-ettes together. Now THAT would be cute.
So now I sound like one of those moms that says, "I don't care which gender it is".....but first and foremost, I'm just THRILLED it's actually a baby, that moves and kicks.
Unlike EVERYONE else in my household who has a DEFINITE preference on "who should win", I can actually see the fun and pros in having either gender.
It's gonna be a LONG countdown until the ultrasound..........
