Guess I Won't Bother with the Trampoline Either

So I went for a nice three-mile walk today. Not even ONE contraction, unless you count the two I had in the car hours later. Granted I was definitely sore afterward and had plenty of pain (although not the kind that brings a baby).

So no more workouts for me.

At this point I would actually prefer to have her next Thursday, because at least I can plan what to do with my other children.

Other funny things happening to distract me:

Ivory watched me shave my legs the other day (since I figured I shouldn't torture the pedicure people with four months worth of leg hair). She thought that was very cool. Then today when Dad was in the tub, Ivory stared down at his legs for a few moments and then said, "Dad, you should shave your legs, they are getting really hairy."

I should explain about Dad and the tub. We don't have the older girls bathe with Tyler anymore, but it is not like he locks the door. For instance, take this day.



Daisy was officially invited, but somehow the other two wanted to dip their feet and suddenly it was a party. He is pretty patient with his harem.

Salad

So, we have been doing the food co-op for a few weeks. I definitely feel like we have added many more fruits and vegetables to our diet. But nothing prepared me for tonight. Given the choice between ten pieces of sweet potato or salad, Ivory opted for the salad (since she had tried cucumber with Ranch earlier and enjoyed it).

Then she proceeded to eat three helpings of salad!!!

Basically, I think she likes the dressing (she mixes Ranch and Italian), but that does not discount the fact that she also consumed quite a bit of spinach, romaine, and a few carrots and tomatoes.

In true Ivory fashion, she thanked Daddy numerous times for the delicious salad and then requested it for breakfast.

I am super impressed and a little proud of myself. The non-vegetable eater is producing some healthy habits in her household. Give it up for me!! Too bad I didn't start this years ago, but it is never too late to change. (And make yourself and your family better.)

p.s. Of course when I say that we are adding more in, that doesn't mean that we are subtracting the sweets, evidenced by the load of chocolate donettes I inhaled today. Of course, I did eat an apple first.

Love Letter (kinda)

Dear Pearl,

Okay, now that I have gotten the car seat ready, the clothes washed, the bassinet set up, etc. you are welcome to come early. I know that would not be the trend of the Cazier girls, but Daisy somehow figured it out and do you want her to be smarter than you? I didn't think so. She is already the 'tall' one and she shouldn't get all the perks.

Also, I got my pedicure today, so now that the really serious stuff is taken care of, GET HERE!!



I do appreciate that since you haven't bothered to actually make an entrance, you move constantly to let me know you are there. That thing you do where you stretch and stick your feet in my side is especially handy. I can't imagine that you are comfortable in there because I am certainly not comfortable out here, but I will be kind enough to let you stay for one more week. Then no more Mr. Nice Mom. You are officially out of time next Thursday. I feel I am being overly generous as is. If you deem it worth your time to arrive in a prompt fashion, I promise to love you just a tiny bit more than all your sisters for at least a week. (By then I will be so sleep deprived that I can't be counted on to keep my promises.)

So there you have it. Everyone is very excited to meet you. Ivory can not figure out why you aren't here since I clearly told her you would arrive after her birthday and it is clearly after her birthday now. (She's four, what can I say?) Even Daisy will probably like you...probably.

Love,

Your Mom

p.s. In the case that you have no control over getting out and it is really up to my body to make the first move, then I apologize in advance. My body has never really figured out how to go into labor. I really think Daisy was a fluke, with kind nurses who let me stay at the hospital. As things stand, you are probably in for another week of smooshedness. What can I say? Just remember that this hurts me more than it hurts you.

An Orange By Any Other Name...

This afternoon for lunch, I was peeling an orange for the girls. Ivory came over and clearly stated, "Daddy, that's a orange. A BIG orange." (Yes, I know it should be "an" by Ivory hasn't learned that yet.)

To which, I replied, "Yup, it's a good orange."

"But Daddy, what kind of orange is that? Daisy doesn't like those oranges."

"It's a Navel orange. I think Daisy will like this orange. It smells really good."

"Oh, well, I like oranges, but I don't like Navy-L oranges. I tried them once when I was a baby, and I don't like them."

I just chuckled as I put the orange slices on her plate.

Hello Ivory

Ivory had a great birthday this year. She is four! She is a little spitfire that keeps life interesting. She has more personality than she quite knows what to do with. Of all my children, I think I would pause Ivory at this stage in life because she is so cute with her antics, but as usual, I don't have a say in the matter. They just keep getting older.

She woke up to find Birthday Bear on her bed, and that made it official.



(It is often hard to tell when your birthday finally arrives, so Birthday Bear is always a sure sign that today is the day.) After breakfast she pleaded to open gifts and although I am normally an evening-cake-and-presents type of mom, I relented because I just couldn't think of a good reason to postpone. She was thrilled with everything and if you can't tell by the end of this post, we ended up with a theme.



She had already planned to go to Build-a-Bear and make a Hello Kitty friend, so when I took the girls shopping for Ivory gifts, we all seemed to get Hello Kitty purchases. Ivory didn't mind in the least and one of the great things about her is that she is so polite. She thanked everyone numerous times for her gifts. Even when I came home later with a Hello Kitty balloon she was so polite, "Mom, thanks for getting me a Hello Kitty balloon!" (It is hard not to adore her when she is in a good mood. Likewise, it is hard not to beat the tar out of her when she being a stinker.)

In the afternoon just Tyler and I took her to build her Hello Kitty. It is unique to have time with one child. I need to make more opportunities to treat the children to one-on-one dates; they are such a blast. Ivory found exactly what she wanted and came home with her treasure. Granted, I couldn't get her to stop watching Dad play Super Mario long enough to smile for the camera, but you get the idea.



In the evening, we had cake. You guessed it...



We may have gone a bit overboard with Hello Kitty. (Oh, the bow is made out of strawberries and blueberries because Ivory requested a strawberry/blueberry cake. She is so odd, but she will notice if you don't follow instructions.)

Ivory spent time blowing out each candle. I hope all her wishes come true.



I believe she had a really great birthday and I sure love her.



Now that we got that taken care of, I officially invite Pearl to join the family. Tyler would like their birthdays to be a little farther apart, but I am of a mind to welcome her whenever she wants to come (soon baby...please).

The Couch Saga

It is time that the couch saga was told. Granted that doesn't make it any more interesting than it is. So read on if you really care about the adventures of the Cazier furniture.

Many years ago, we were given a sleeper couch by neighbors (thank you Hadlock's). The couch served us well for quite some time. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but I found a slip cover that worked well. However, the slip cover was a beast to put on, so if the kids spilled something, I was faced with washing it and tucking it all in again. I didn't really enjoy the process.

Then, one fateful day, Robyn peed on the couch. (This was bound to happen at some point, so I wasn't really upset.) We dutifully washed the cushion, but cleaning it somehow brought out all these delightful odors that had been hiding inside. The cushion was never the same; meaning I couldn't even have it in the house because it stank so badly.

And so the couch had only one cushion and still the slip cover that I didn't enjoy using and that now fit oddly minus the defiled cushion. It was definitely time for a new couch. And yet, we still went almost a year with the one-cushioned couch. (I guess you just make do with what you have.)

Finally last September, we decided to go couch shopping again. We had gone earlier in the year but hadn't found anything we loved. This time around, we found something that we thought would be a good couch. We ordered and waited and right before Halloween, we had a new plush sofa for our long-waiting tushies.

And thus began my mantra : I love my children more than material possessions...I love my children more than this couch. I knew it was only a matter of time before something happened to the couch and I wanted to prepare myself. Little did I know how soon things would happen.

It didn't help that the couch came with a hole in the back. We called the company right away but they said we would have to wait for another six weeks to get another base to the couch. Fine, we still had a couch to sit on in the meantime. We just covered the back with some plastic so little fingers would not be tempted to make a small hole bigger.

Two weeks later, June managed to accidentally color with marker on the couch. (Not much, just a green streak.)



After repeating my mantra to myself multiple times, I scrubbed the couch down and it was as good as new, but I may have had some words with my oldest child. (Seriously, I expect Daisy to destroy something daily, but why June had an open marker even NEAR the couch was beyond me.) We reiterated the rules:

No food on the couch

No drawing implements of any kind on the couch

No peeing on the couch (This one seems like it should be obvious, right?)

A month later, Robyn peed on the couch. It was such a sad thing. She was in the hardly-ever-wet-the-bed-anymore stage. We had separated the girls so they could fall asleep faster and Robyn was still down sleeping on the couch. It was getting late and I told Tyler (jokingly) that we should get Robyn off the couch before she peed on it. (ha ha) He went downstairs and she was sitting straight up on the couch sobbing in warm pee. We probably missed it by minutes. Regardless, she was scared to death and so sorry. I didn't scold her even a bit because she is my sensitive child who already knew that the last cushion was done in by her; she hardly needed a complex. Chanting my mantra once again to myself, I eased her worries and tucked her into bed while Tyler cleaned the couch. Fortunately there were no hidden odors in the cushion and it was very salvageable.

We haven't had any other mishaps with the couch since. The new base came in, with no hole. There was still an issue about two throw pillows that had not been included, but I wrote them off as not worth fighting about. Amazingly, the pillows came in last month and we went to pick them up this weekend. The store was having a huge sale: EVERYTHING 70% OFF. As we walked through Robyn quickly spotted 'our' couch and identified the hole in the back. I was surprised to see that it was being sold for $400.00 more than we paid for it. WITH THE HOLE, AND 70% OFF!! Seriously, can you ever trust retail people? I decided that browsing the store for good deals was pointless so we got our two pillows and quickly exited.

And so ends the saga (for now). I still have small children and it would be beyond hope to think that this couch could handle five girls and keep the 'new' look, but for now I am very happy with our addition and I will keep chanting the mantra to myself. For after all, a couch is made to be cuddled on, made to be used, made to be read on, possibly eaten on (after a year or so), and certainly made to be lived on. And every single one of the culprits who might draw, spill, or pee on my couch is certainly worth more than a few down-cushions and a wooden frame.

How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?

Watching Ivory the other day made me laugh.



Check out that cheek, distended to full capacity. It actually made me think of other distended things in the house.



I think the sucker brought more immediate enjoyment, but overall, I think I will get more out of my swollen situation.

Happy Valentine's Day

Nothing says I love you like a whole bunch of sugar in the morning right before you leave for church.



But I couldn't resist those heart shaped doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. (And the pink strawberry milk to go with.)

p.s. I did purchase them yesterday as to avoid buying things on Sunday, and they stayed surprisingly fresh.

I love you family.

Dad: I love that you tease me. (I know I always give you a hard time, but I realize it is a form of love, so don't stop.)

June: I love that you are getting so big. It was cute watching you help Daisy take the Sacrament today.

Robyn: I love that you are so loving and thoughtful. I feel I can ask you for anything and you would do it for me.

Ivory: I love that you remember everything and yet could still (almost) keep the secret about the doughnuts.

Daisy: I love how helpful you are and how smart you are getting. You are super cute when you get me a towel after my shower.

Pearl: I love that we get to meet you soon. Still, wait a week so you miss Ivory's birthday, okay?

The Sneaky Chef

It is Friday afternoon and I am feeling some relief. My Valentine's craziness is behind me. (Minus one child to a party this afternoon.) I can start to refocus on cleaning my house and getting ready for this baby. I really need to go downstairs and start on dinner, but sadly, I am out of energy, so pigs in blankets is about all I will be good for.

I do have some healthier meals planned this week, but they will just have to wait. Speaking of which, I am trying to be better about getting fruits and vegetables into our diet. This would be much easier if I liked vegetables. I certainly don't hate them the way I did when I was a child, but if there are carrot sticks and cookies at a party, there is no question which one I am going to eat. (Although I will usually take a carrot stick to make myself feel better about eating eight cookies.)

So I joined this food co-op thing called bountifulbaskets.org. For a reasonable price, they load you up with a random assortment of fruits and vegetables. My goal is to bring home all this good-for-you food and actually use it in a week. I am not doing too badly right now. I have another pick up tomorrow and we have used most of what we got last week. The asparagus is patiently waiting its turn because I am not fond of asparagus and I am too tired to make it tonight. But other foods have been used.

My kids, like me, don't love vegetables (wonder where they get that from?). I can usually get them to try a bite, but there is still much cajoling involved. If I put vegetables in something such as soup or a casserole, I can usually get even more down their gullets. However, this week, I am proud to say that I took cauliflower, pureed it, and put it in smoothies. I have never seen my kids down a vegetable so fast. (Granted, they had no idea it was there and it probably tasted more like berries.) I don't plan on doing this all the time because I want my children to get used to the normal taste of veggies as well, but for a small moment I can smile to myself as I see them slurp up the dregs of their cups.

And if you have any great ways to prepare vegetables, I would love to hear them. (Especially asparagus.)

Collagen Valentines

Last year I saw this valentine idea on my friend's blog. I instantly fell in love and vowed to do them this year. I still love the stuffing out of them and plan on doing them next year, but I couldn't help doing a twist on them when I saw these on OrientalTrading.com:



They kind of look like they could be Mick Jagger's daughters.



I think they are adorable. I still give all the credit to Alissa for coming up with such fun ideas, but I'll give myself some credit for creating the cute girls in the pictures.

Happy Valentine's Day (early) everyone. I am glad that I am finished making them. No late night on Thursday for me.

February—5, Caziers—0

I like February. It is a short month, so it goes quickly. There is Valentine's Day which is a fun holiday if you don't overdo it. Ivory has her birthday this month (and perhaps Pearl). There are lots of things to like about February...except that we ALWAYS get sick.

I guess 'we' is a relative term. Someone always gets sick. Ivory has been sick on her last three birthdays. (Which is really sad since she is turning four this year.) Our family just can't make it through a February without some illness taking hold.

January passed with nary a problem in our house this year. Daisy had a slight cough, but it was only in the mornings and it passed on its own without much hullabaloo. Then, February 1st hits. Vomit and diarrhea descend upon the house, followed by a nasty cough and an bonus urinary tract infection. (Our first, lucky us.) I don't know what we did to you February, but we take it back.

Not everyone was affected. Luckily yours truly has not been under the weather at all. I attribute this blessing to the fact that I am already in plenty of discomfort and February must have taken that into account. (Fat lady already miserable—check...might as well leave her alone this year.)

Now I just have my fingers crossed that we have done our time for the month. Now I can really buckle down and get ready for this baby. Heather commented on my last post that I was probably busy getting ready for the baby. Um...yeah, I guess I should be doing that, huh? I read back through my old blogs and six weeks before Daisy I had a list on which I was working diligently. This time around...not so much. I really should get my act in gear because she will be here before I know it. (Once again, February is not a long month.)

I am just finding it hard to get motivated. Friday, the kids were out of school and it would have been an excellent day to get projects done. Instead, I just watched them play. Their latest endeavors involve lava...and lots of it. They walk around with force fields (i.e. hula hoops) that protect them from the lava, and then they even dress up as different colors to thwart the lava.

I give you GREEN GIRL: Her powers include something or other about being green and the lava doesn't like it. Dang, I should have written this post while June was still awake. She would know why she was green.



BLUE BLASTO: She is dressed as blue to imitate water. (Which is lava's arch nemesis.)



PINKALICIOUS: Her secret identity is California (also know as Pink Lemonade in our house (that's another post)). Apparently lava does not like any variety of lemonade?



And finally the RED DEVIL: Her powers include being sucked into this game at the last minute and not enjoying being stuffed into a red dress that was too small for her. I should have put the cranky picture in because it took me a lifetime to get her to smile. Such is life as the youngest.



And so together they have thwarted lava once again.



You can see why it was more entertaining to watch them than, to say, find the car seat and clean it out for the new baby. Okay, okay...next week I will buckle down. Wait, I'm too busy next week. How about the week after...

Blogging Slump

I am fairly sure this has something to do with being very pregnant and not motivated to do much (although I did make bread today—kudos me!).

The other reason for decreased blogging could possibly be Super Mario for Wii which Tyler and I have been playing every night. He has much more thirst for the game than I do, so I play until my scheduled bed time and then he stays up earning extra lives (which I quickly use up, because let's face it—I stink at video games). He told me this morning that Mario can only have 99 lives (good to know).

I'm hoping that he won't be tired of the game by the time Pearl arrives, so he has something to do when I make him take the late shift.


And, although this is not related at all, I thought I would bring it up: I completely forgot about Groundhog's Day this year. It is not like it is a prominent holiday in my mind, but it usually crosses my thoughts at some point; not this year. But has he ever NOT seen his shadow? Aren't there always six more weeks of winter? At least in Utah, right? Does he not see his shadow in other states? Anyway, I'm not trying to bag on Phil, but I don't think I need his prediction to know that we will all be craving spring well before it gets here.