Pinterest has been my new addiction this school year.  I have found some amazing craft ideas, projects, activities, pretty much everything I do now is found on there.  I LOVE the website.  I am always looking for ways to save money on groceries.  Pinterest has a link to an ebook "2012 Family Guide to Groceries Under $250 a Month".  It would be worth the $3.49 to buy this ebook.  Even if it saves me $20 a month. . .I have to get this book.  

Catching Up

A new school year, a new post. I am not very good at keeping up on my posts. School started and the kids are at Hatikvah Charter School. They love it there. I love the curriculum, the atmosphere, the staff, everything. The kids are learning Hebrew. Ashleigh speaks almost fluently. I am so proud of her. Matt and Ash talk to each other in Hebrew all the time. It is great practice for them, and they have their little secrets they tell each other (great bonding).
I am PTO president at the school (I volunteered last year, and now I can't get away from it). I really enjoy doing it, even though it is stressful at times. I get to be with the kids at school a lot, and the school doesn't mind that I bring Garrett and Desiree. The other day was picture make-ups. I brought the babies and Garrett got away from me at one point. One of the teachers came up and said he had wandered into her room and was sitting with the kids during story time. What school does that for you? Awesome!!! I am also learning a LOT about time management, organization, opening up and talking to people. This is a great experience and I am glad I took the job.
Aaron is still at Merck right now. He loves being scientist. I still get to be home with the kids which has been the biggest blessing for our family.
My biggest struggle right now, I think, is Ben. I love him so much, but he is a tough cookie. He goes to full day kindergarten right now. The first few weeks were tough. I had to drive him because he wanted to be with mommy all the time. We finally got him to get on the bus (so helpful). He has some obedience issues at school (he does at home also). I think part of it is that he never was in preschool. He is still adjusting. I will offer treats to the kids for getting up and helping me clean, Ben will say, "well, I don't want a treat". And he will just sit and watch everyone clean. Or, if I actually get him up to help, he crawls around, grabs 1 or 2 items to put away, and that is all. I am trying really hard to give him more positive attention during the day. I hope this will help. I don't want him getting the negative attention from doing 'bad' things.
Aaron has bought an RC car for Ash, Matt, and Ben. The kids LOVE going to a big parking lot and racing the cars around (they go up to 35mph). Aaron just ordered one online for himself. We even bought a clear cover and painted it pink for Ash. She was really excited about that one. The cars are nice because when something breaks on them, Aaron can fix it (and the kids get to help for the most part). It has been a GREAT bonding activity. We all go together and just let Garrett and Desi run around.

Summer Fun

I don't have pictures because I am terrible at remembering my camera. We are having an exciting summer so far. We have visited Meme and Pops, Uncle Kenzie got engaged, we have visited our favorite splash park, gone peach picking, visited Crystal Springs (our local water park), played video games, had late nights hanging out together, joined our library's reading club, and have been learning about other countries. We are really enjoying this summer.

I am my mother

Over the years, I have noticed things about myself that scream my mom. I am not complaining. . .about everything. As I get older, and my relationship with her has grown, I have been able to learn more about her. In learning more, I am able to recognize more things about me that come from her. Last Sunday, I realized just how much I am really like her. Being 8 months pregnant, I am exhausted all the time. We were sitting in sacrament meeting, and Aaron had to take Garrett out because he was tired. I was left with Ash, Matt and Ben. I pulled out a few notebooks, and pens for each of them to draw. Ashleigh asked if she could draw on my arm. I said, "sure." I figured whatever would keep them happy, would keep me happy. One by one, the three of them started drawing on my arms. By the end of sacrament, my arms were COVERED, but I got some peace and was able to close my eyes.

Later in the week, I desperately needed a nap. I hadn't been sleeping at night due to the pregnancy. I needed to calm the kids down, so I put a movie on the tv, curled up on the couch with Garrett, put Ben in my nest, and handed him a pen. When I woke up, my leg was covered.



This is something we used to do all the time with my mom. We would draw on her at church to keep ourselves busy, we would sit in her nest at home and draw while she took a nap. I have officially become my mother. And, I couldn't be happier (all the negatives included).

An hour of my day. . .

I spent an hour trying to keep the kids busy. . .First, we made forts in the living room. When the kids started fighting, I turned on YouTube and we started dancing. Here are a few pics.

Matt's slice

Matt and Ash were running around as the kids ALWAYS do. But, Matt's pants were a bit long. Ash accidentally stepped on them, and he slipped and fell. He hit just the right spot on the floor and sliced open his chin. It was GROSS. I don't like to deal with hospital emergency rooms or stitches. I prefer the butterfly method. So, I called Virginia over to help with the other kids so I can patch up Matt. Here is the 'battle wound' as we are calling it, and the butterfly.

It's a GIRL!!!

We officially found out today that we are having a GIRL!!! YAY!!!