Ash is smarter than me. . .?

Well, between the holidays, work, spending time with the kids, and a new dog I haven't had much time to get on here and write anything.

The other day I had Ashleigh at work with me. We were talking about Christmas or something, and she was putting her coat on. She turned to me and said, "Mommy, I am smart. I am in school. I know more than you. All you do is help customers all day. I am in school. You're not. I am smarter." She sure showed me. But, I still love her. :D

"I'm a lucky girl"

So Ashleigh LOVES to rhyme. She says a word, and we go back and forth rhyming that word. Well, she was in the car with Lorri, and she wanted to play the game. Here is pretty much how it went.

Ash: "I'm a lucky girl"
Lorri: "I'm a chucky girl"
Dani: "I'm a sucky girl"
Ash: "I'm a ducky girl"
Lorri: "I'm a pucky girl"
Dani: "I'm a mucky girl"
Ash: Can you guess the one that came next?

Oh, kids. . .

Po-Fig. . .What does it mean?

So, my little brother (can I still call him little even though he is WAY bigger than me?) is in Russia on his mission. Apparently he is doing pretty well with figuring out the language. He wrote me a letter and said, "I am just so po-fig about things that i just dont care a lot of the times." He said he wasn't sure if 'po-fig' was English or Russian. Does anyone know what this means? I am assuming it is Russian. It is funny reading his email because his grammar and his spelling gets worse with each letter. (Not that I am perfect, either) I guess he will be an expert in Russian by the time he comes home.

A Handsome Prince For Ash

I started work again. . .YAY!!! Lorri is babysitting the kids for us. I have to say she is our savior right now. I wouldn't have been able to go back if it wasn't for her. (Although, maybe that wouldn't have been so bad). : )

So, Lorri told me the other day that she and Ashleigh were talking. Ashleigh told her that she lived in a tall tower and that a handsome prince could cast her spell by coming and his heart had to be filled with her love, then he would recue her and they would get married. So, I feel there are a few things about that that bother me. One was that Lorri asked her, "What if the prince isn't handsome?" Ash's response was, "NO, he has to be handsome." Do I put that in her head, that we can only marry someone handsome? It makes me think back on a conversation I had with Ash about being pretty.

I was looking through a magazine and Ash pointed to one of the girls and said, "Oh, she is SO pretty." I asked her why, and she told me because she was wearing beautiful makeup. I then proceeded to find a picture of a model with barely any makeup. Ash told me she was okay. Then I asked her if I was pretty. She said, "You look pretty on Sundays, and when you go out with daddy." (The only times I every have makeup on). So, did I teach my child that we are only pretty when we are wearing makeup? Have I gone wrong in barely ever wearing makeup? If I did wear makeup every day, would that have made a difference in her thinking process?

Oh, what we worry about as parents.

So, I was at my sister's house last week. VOTING DAY!!! She came home with a sticker on letting the world know that she voted. How cool, I thought. Until I looked at the bottom of the sticker. It says 'Yo Vote' (I voted in spanish). My issue with this is that I thought you had to be able to speak English to be a citizen. And, don't you have to be a citizen to vote? So, why do we need stickers in spanish or any other language for that matter.


On a more positive note. . .while we were there, Lindsay (my sister) made us ice cream. This was the BEST ice cream I ever had. I is called 'Fat Man's Delight'. . .yeah, the name says it all. I believe the recipe came from my sister-in-law, Ruth.

Fat Man's Delight Ice Cream:
1 lb. milky way bars
1/2 can chocolate syrup
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

Cook above ingredients until melted. . .continue to stir over low heat until candy bars are melted.

Stir in:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 quart half and half.

Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Pour into ice cream maker and enjoy!
Seriously. . .try it!

So, when I was in the hospital waiting to leave with Garrett, the nurse came in and said he was shaking. She wanted to run some tests. Now, she noticed this about 20 min. after his circumcision. I figured he was shaking because the doctor just cut his penis. I let her run the tests. Everything came out normal. The doctor from the ICU even checked him out. So, the doctors let me take him home. The reason I am telling you this is becuase Aaron and I were talking about all the tests they ran on Garrett that day. We realized that the doctors were checking him for drug addiction. They thought I was taking drugs during pregnancy because a shaking newborn is a sign of drug dependency. HAHA!!! I bet it looked really great that I was trying to leave the hospital a day early. Oh, what they must have thought of me.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

My Darling Matthew

Well, as some of you have seen from the video from Garrett's birth, Matthew is a character. Lorri, Danielle and I took Matthew to Great Adventure Fright Fest on Friday night. Matt wanted to play games, yet I didn't bring money (for that reason. I would have spent it all on silly games). When we first got there, Lorri lovingly spent her only $5 on a game and he won a fun Elmo hat (pimp daddy hat). He then wanted to play more games. I kept telling him, "I don't have any money." Toward the end of the night, I said again, "I don't have any money." He looked at me and said, "No, Lorri has the monies."

We took Matt to the kiddie rides for a bit. He went on one little critter ride that the adults weren't allowed on. Danielle and I kept telling him to give a thumbs up and say, "You got it dude." Well, he got the "You got it dude" down pat, but the thumb part was a little trickier. He would throw up his pointer finger and say it. Then he would realize that was the wrong finger, so he would put it down. He would then look down at his fingers for a minute, and every once in a while, he would get the correct finger. It was adorable.

We had decided to go off from the group family costumes this year (Matt wanted to go to Pop's ward halloween party so it all worked out), so Matt was going to be Spiderman. He wore his costume for a week straight (he still won't take it off). Saturday morning, he was wearing the Spiderman costume, and he hit Ben. Ben started crying and he looked at Ben and said, "It's okay, it's just my muscles". So, they got up and started playing. They were 'hangin' out against the wall, and Ben looked at Matt and said, "muh-muh?" Matt said, "yeah, Ben, those are my muscles." I guess Matt decided that Ben didn't know how to say muscles well enough, so he started practicing with him. He pointed to his biceps, "Ben, can you say muscles?" Ben repeated, "Muh-muh". Then Matt pointed to his chest, "Ben, can you say boobies, BIG BOOBIES?" Oh, the innocence of a 3 year old.

Mommy's Home

I am finally home. It has been a long and frustrating day. Being that Garrett was born at 1:23am on Tuesday morning, technically, I was to stay in the hospital until Thursday. Had he been born right before midnight on Monday night, they would NOT have let me stay past Wednesday. So, I told every doctor and nurse that I wanted to leave on Wed. They told me they would do what they can to get me out. Unfortunately, not one thing got done that they said would. The hearing test wasn't done until Wed. night, but most importantly, the circumcision didn't get done until Thurs. late morning. I pushed and pushed for it to get done on Wed., but Aaron came to visit early morning, and My mom and dad came later in the morning. I was delayed in the pushing, and the doctor that was to do the "cut" was stuck in labor and delivery ALL night long. Then I was promised that the doctor does the rounds early (like 7 or 8am), and it would get done then. But, again, it all got delayed and nothing was done until Thurs. morning at 10:45. He then has to stay in the hospital for 4 more hours. I figured at that point, I am already stuck staying in the hospital, may as well take advantage of it, so I ordered the free lunch, and one for Aaron, and took my nice hot shower, and watched some tv, and most importantly, I bonded with Garrett. It was very frustrating, yet very pleasant.

Anyways, I am home now. Aaron brought Ashleigh to pick me up. Lorri took Ben and Matt to keep the chaos at the hospital to a minimum. It is almost 6pm on Thursday, and Aaron took the kids outside to set up the trampoline and give me some sanity as I can't leave the house for a while. Garrett is doing very well, he is healthy and happy, and VERY CALM. The kids are ecstatic to have him home finally. Ashleigh was asking me ALL kinds of questions on the way home. I almost forgot Garrett was in the car as he was silent the entire way.

For those who know I was having the pelvic bone separation, it did separate more at birth. Luckily, it isn't serious. It is a very common thing to happen, and I guess it didn't separate too much with me. I was asking to OB about it, and she asked if my leg was dragging, or if I had to swing my leg around to walk. I told her no, that it was just sore to lift my leg. She said it was totally fine, and that it should heal nicely, considering I take it "easy". I can't do stairs (maybe 1 time a day if needed. So I will continue to sleep downstairs for now), and no heavy lifting (as that is with ANY birth), so I am avoiding the kids at all costs. It is at least nice to have Aaron to help for a few days. Ben is the only one that I would pick up, and I am telling him mommy has owies, and can't lift him for now.

Slo-mo of clips from the delivery room set to Michael McClean's "You're Not Alone".


The Birth of Garrett Kenton Rockwell from John Rockwell on Vimeo.

Garrett Kenton Rockwell was born September 16 at 1:23 AM. He was 8 lbs. 12 ozs. and just under 21 inches long. Whitney and the baby are recovering at Saint Peter's University Hospital in room 3603.

The siblings meet Garrett for the first time. Matthew has some medical questions about the delivery. May not be suitable for children due to the use of medical terms...

The kids meet Garrett. from John Rockwell on Vimeo.

The family update

I feel like I tend to leave Matt out of the loop of things, so I just want to update on everyone in general and add a few pics. Ashleigh - she started school and as of now is LOVING it. She is a huge helper around the house. She actually just finished doing the dishes for me. Her favorite thing is to have a girls' night and pamper mommy. She puts lotion on my feet and legs (I have been teaching her some good massaging techniques), and she brushes and styles my hair. And, yes, I have left the house with 'her' style still in it so she knows I love the hairdo. I love having a princess around. Ashleigh, as she is growing up a bit, has been showing an amazing spirit. The other night she and I were in the car alone, she asked me to put on a Jesus movie because it had been a while since we had seen one. I put on 'Finding Faith in Christ'. We got to talking about Jesus, and she was asking how we know Jesus is there. I talked to her about Graham and how we can't see Graham in heaven, but we know he is with Jesus and Heavenly Father. I also asked her if we can see or hear Jesus and Heavenly Father. She said, "No, but I can talk to them when I am scared." We decided that we talk to them through prayer. I asked if she can hear Heavenly Father next to her when she prays for that comfort. She said, "No, I just know he is there to comfort me." I am amazed at how much she has grown.

Matthew - he is a sweet boy who knows when loves are needed. He cuddles me all the time, and needs a lot of love himself. He is very sensitive. It amazes me how I have 2 boys who are VERY MESSY, and love getting messy, yet the second they drop a piece of food, they start crying and whining to pick it up. Matthew ADORES his big sister. He wants to do EVERYTHING Ash does. Including go to school. This morning he asked me if he could come out to the bus and ask the bus driver if he can get on the bus. He walked out with me, and just started walking onto the bus. The driver giggled, but I ended up having to pick him up and carry him back to the house. He was very sad. He loves Lightning McQueen from Cars, and Buzz Lightyear, Spiderman, Batman. Sometimes he will be all of them at the same time. There are also times where Matt (in wanting to do EVERYTHING Ash does) dresses up in Ashleigh's princess dresses or her leotard. I guess I should take a picture of it. He LOVES the water. We went to Ricky's lake for Labor Day, and all he wanted to do was be in the water. I told him he had to wait to go in until Aaron arrived, but he was so anxious, Pops finally caved and took him in. They had a blast. Matt does tend to get bullied by his brother and sister. He is the sensitive one, so the second they start teasing he is the one to run and scream instead of fight back. So, they keep doing it because of the reaction they get. I feel sorry for him.

Ben - The bilingual bully. He loves to run after Matt and bite him. Every time they bite each other, I make them bite themselves quite hard. It doesn't seem to get the point accross. The other problem is that Ben knows biting is him power against Matt and he uses every second of it. We were at the park, and Ben was taking a toy Matt was using. Matt leaned over and bit Ben on the arm, then ran. I told Matt to come sit in time-out, but Ben was standing at the bottom of the stairs holding onto the railings with a huge evil grin. Matt knew if he headed back down the stairs, Ben would bite him back. So, he went all the way around the playground to get to me, and keep away from Ben. Ben was satisfied because he scared Matt away, and got the toy. Oh, boys. They are definitely more destructive, more physical, and more. . .well. . .boyish. Ben also worships his big sister. She will play with him, and he will be laughing, then Matt will come along and do the same exact thing. He will just look at Matt and shoo him away. I guess Matt does get left out a lot. The kids have been going to a spanish speaking babysitter for a year while I was working. Ashleigh and Matt learned words here and there, but Ben speaks it. I know he has conversations with me in Spanish (probably a mix of the 2), and I have NO idea what he is saying. We say agua instead of water, and leche instead of milk. Ben will give you a beso instead of a kiss or an embrasso instead of a hug. He does know the english word because we say it both ways to him, but I think it's great that he knows spanish, and I want him to remember the little that he does know.

Aaron - He is loving his job at Schering-Plough. He works in the lab. He tests new drugs to be put out on the market basically. He really enjoys the people he works with, and it is a GREAT company to work for. I can't remember him coming home once in the past 2 years working there where he has been depressed, or not happy with his day at work. It makes for a happier home. He currently is teaching the 15 and 16 year olds at church. I think 17 is included in that, but not positive. I think he really enjoys them because they do interact, and they know a bit about the church. They do joke here and there, but I think Aaron likes that too.

Whitney - Due with our 4th child in 3 weeks. I am very scared as it is another boy. I am very excited to have another baby, though. We really felt like this is what the Lord wanted, and so I am trying to embrace it. We have decided to name him Garrett Kenton Rockwell. Garrett is a take on Gary (my dad), and Kenton is Aaron's dad's name. I am anxious for him to come mostly because I can't walk at this point and it is hard to care for 3 kids when you can't get off the couch. I make do, but it is hard. I know that having a new baby isn't going to be much easier, but at least I will be a bit more mobile (after a few weeks of recovery). I have been working at Porcelanosa Tile for the past year. I started maternity leave a bit early because I have pelvic symphysis separation (my pelvic bone started separating). It isn't anything dangerous, or something to worry about. . .it is just painful. Makes running after 3 kids so much MORE FUN!!! I have loved working, but also love being home with the kids, as hectic as it gets. The kids are loving having me home. It has been nice.

Ash's first day of school

Okay, so it has been a while since I have updated. About 5 days after I did the last entry, I found out I was pregnant. Things got a bit crazy after that. Considering EVERYONE is blogging now, I figured I should update this, and keep up as best as I can. I figure if my sister-in-law with 6 kids can do it, I surely can. Thanks for the push, Mandy. : )

We have officially started school. Ashleigh is now a Kindergartener. YAY!!! She is going half day. Part of me is loving it, and part of me wants her to go full day. She is an enormous help around the house, so I love having her home, but to me that is selfish. She is so ready for school. She has been looking forward to this day for the past 3 years. I would love her to go full day for her. Also, as much as she is a helper, she is still a sister, and therefore she does tend to tease her brothers at times. But, I am not complaining. I LOVE HAVING HER HOME!!!

Pops and Zachary came down to our house on Tuesday night Sept. 2, to give father's blessings to Ash and Zach. As soon as they arrived Ash ran to pops and said very enthusiastically, "This is my last time to visit you." I thought it very cute that because she is starting school, she can no longer visit with anyone.

We had a lot of fun getting ready for school. Grandma had bought Ash a brand new outfit for school, but it was too big. I brought it to the store to exchange it, but they didn't have any other size, so we had a girls' day out on Saturday. I took Ash to JC Penney and she picked out the adorable outfit in the pictures (amazingly she chose jeans. But they have hearts made out of rhinestones on the pockets, so I think that helped.) Then we headed over to the nail salon, and both got pedicures. She got a manicure to match. I don't have pics of her nails, but they are a turquoise blue with a white design and sparkles over it all. Very cute.

On Wed., grandma brought over doughnuts for the kids. We all had breakfast together, and then Ash quickly put on her brand new outfit. I straightened her hair and she was ready to go at about 8am. The bus comes at 8:42, but she was VERY anxious to wait outside for her bus. I did what I could to keep them busy inside the house for a while. At about 8:30, we finally went out on the front steps. Matt and Ben sat very nicely while I waited with Ash. Luckily the bus comes right to the front of our house, so no one has to be packed into a car, or running around a busy street. She got on the bus and we headed to run errands.

Waiting for her to come home was a little different. The bus was supposed to arrive at 11:52. We went outside at about 11:45, and ended up waiting until 12:30 for her to actually get here. I know new bus routes, new routines, I just hope it's not that long every day. It was difficult keeping Matt and Ben busy for that long without them getting too close to the street. They, had fun being outside, though. They waved to all the trucks driving by. Ben caught an ant. That was fun. He was very proud of himself, "I got it. I got it."

So, the bus finally arrived, and Ash starts coming down the stairs. I said, "How was school." She replied in a huff, "It was SO HARD." I asked her what was so hard about it. She said, "It was so boring. We did HOMEWORK ALL DAY LONG." I started laughing. Then, she turned to Matt (who through all of this is VERY disappointed that he doesn't get to ride the bus or go to school yet.) and said, "Matt my school is so boring, you wouldn't want to go there anyway." After about 15 minutes of prying, I got her to tell me they had singing time. We sang the "bear hunt" song 500 times. Anyone want to hear it? She also told me that she snuck onto the playground for 2 minutes. But did not get to play with anything in the room at all.

Although Ash's first day was BORING. . .she was still VERY excited to go back today. We were out on the front porch 10 minutes early again. I will update you over the next couple of days to let you know if it gets any better. : )

Today was her second day at school. She got off the bus (time was a little better, 12:10), and I asked her how school was. She said, "Much better." She told me she was able to have free play which helps. She did NOT go on the playground today. It makes me happy that she still considers it a fun day even though she didn't get to go outside. She did a 'girl' puzzle, and although she doesn't remember a single name of any other kids, she wasn't shy and talked to the other kids and made friends. I am very proud of her. She says she is still shy with her teacher, but that will be broken in time. There is a girl she sits next to on the bus that she talks to, but again, doesn't remember a name.

Jan. 3, 2008 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We started the year off sick. Both boys have had a nasty cold for about a week now. Aaron got it on Friday before New Years and is finally getting over it. Ashleigh is coughing and definately has the cold. My throat started hurting yesterday. . .my first day back at work. I am fighting it with all I have got. Fruits and Veggies. We'll see if we make it to Hershey's Chocolate World on Sat. with the fam.

My goal for the New Year is to wake up with the kids every morning. Matt is an early riser (sometimes as early as 5:30am). I usually snuggle in bed with him for about an hour. I want to get up and play with him. . .even if I have to turn the tv on and snuggle on the couch. As long as I get out of bed. So far, I am doing well.