2nd Trimester rocks

So, I knew that the second trimester was better than the first, of course experiencing it three previous times, but this time for some reason it has been that much sweeter! I can actually go a whole day without taking a nap and not feelin exhauted by the end of the day! My house is clean, I'm starting to exercise again, and life is good!

Oh, have any other prego moms had any crazy cravings? Mine has been grapefruit (I can't get enough!), Montreal smoked meat sandwiches (Kevin was able to track on down for me one day - I know, he's sweet) and cream of mushroom soup. Kind of random!

Kevin got back from India 2 weeks ago, and though we haven't seen him a ton (he's had to be on-call a lot), it's been so nice to have him home! He has some awesome pictures that he took on his Facebook page - I don't have his camera and so can't download them onto this computer. He did spoil us all a ton, and we all have new outfits! Here is a picture of the dresses and little Indian outfit that Kevin brouht back for the kiddos. Aren't they so cute?

I did Monica's hair in rags the night before, for the first time, and they turned out pretty cute! I think Ethan looks like a little prince (although it took a bit of convincing and a little crying before he would wear the outfit!)! They were all so happy to have their daddy home. This is one of their favourite things (dad included!)...

A new post!

Well, it's been about 7 months since my last post! The reason for that is I didn't really feel I could completely fill in the picture without being too emotional! I wanted to be able to post when I felt good and happy about my situation, and right now, I am!

I'll have to go back and explain what happened...so we were doing P90X, and a lot of people asked why we ended up not continuing. The real reason is that I became pregnant! Kevin and I had planned to go on a cruise to the Eastern Carribbean in the beginning of November, which is why we were doing P90X. The monday before the cruise, I was waiting in line to get Ethan and Kristen's H1N1 shot (we waited a LONG time), and we were only a few people away from the nurses, and I realized that I was starting to miscarry. I was devistated of course. Luckily, one of my friends was in line with me, and she was able to console me as I was crying. I then took my little ones to the nurse, and she gave me a look and said, "I know it's almost harder for Mom than the kiddos to get the shot"! She thought I was tearing up because of the vaccinations! I explained that no, I was fine with getting them vaccinated.

Kevin met me at emergency, and I had an ultrasound. Even though I was at 10 weeks, the baby was the size of an 8 week old fetus, and there was no heart beat. I was really heartbroken. I saw my family doctor, and she said that it should still be fine for us to go on our cruise. There would be a doctor on board if we needed one.

So, Kevin's mom arrived and we took off for our cruise! It was so nice to get away and be by ourselves. I was still in mourning, but it was nice to just be with Kevin and not have to worry about anything else. Anyways, we got on the cruise on Saturday, had a "sea" day on Sunday and then Monday we were heading to the Dominican Republic. We were there about 5 minutes, when I rushed to the nearest toilet (a port-a-potty!!!) and realized I was in trouble and was hemorraging. I was in shock, bawling, and Kevin didn't really see where I had gone, so it took him a minute

to find me. We were able to get back on the ship, went to the doctor, and we ended up spending most of the day there! They were able to get things under control (I won't go into details!) and I was able to go back to our room that night. The next port was the US Virgin Islands, so I had to get an ultrasound to make sure all was okay, and it was, and we had a wonderful rest of a trip. We even got a bit of sun!! All in all, even considering the really scary aspects of the trip, it was a really nice vacation with Kevin.

We still wanted to have another baby, but we were both a little worried. We ended up getting pregnant, but I was so scared that something would happen, that I seriously was stressed out whenever I felt something "weird". There was even a time when I seriously, with very strong emotion, felt like the baby didn't make it. I cried like I've never cried before! I was so full of grief. It was awful.

BUT, I guess I'm announcing to anyone who actually reads this, I have made it through the first trimester and I am officially in my second! I am almost 14 weeks along, and I am due October 22. We are pretty excited to have a fall baby. I went to the first prenatal checkup and was able to hear the strong heartbeat, and teared up because it just made it that more real that I was actually pregnant and the baby was okay!! I feel big, but I'm pretty sure that a fourth pregnancy is usually bigger than the previous ones! Anyways, that is our news, and I didn't want to say anything until we were in the clear. So there you have it!

P90X

Kevin and I have committed ourselves to a huge endeavor of completing the P90X training program. For you who don't know about it, it is a program containing 12 workout DVD's, a training schedule, and a nutrition plan. I decided that it would be good to track our progress and record what we go through. We started last Monday, and we are discovering how intense this program is. It's not just the workout, but the nutrition plan is very strict as well. It's all about portion size, eating only certain foods and only certain amounts, cutting out almost all fat, eating a lot of vegetables and protein, and making everything from scratch (no processed) . I guess the words that come to mind about this last week are: exhaustion, cravings, a LOT of cooking, and building self control (when I see something that is not in the program to eat, I am so tempted, but I know I'll feel guilty if I eat it). It's nice because Kevin and I are doing this together and we can encourage each other. This first week has been really hard, I think mostly because I've spent a lot of time cooking (I have to cook Kevin's lunch for the next day - usually after I put the kids to bed). We've almost survived the first week, and now we're trying to simplify our approach. We only have one more workout to go and then we can rest! (1 rest day a week). I'll try to post at least once a week, even if it's for our own benefit! Wish us luck!

Summertime, and Pictures!!

Summer has been wonderful so far, and we've had a lot of fun with more to come. We've been to the lake, the "ocean" beach, to the spray park, the shubie wildlife preserve, picking strawberries and making homemade jam, and just playing in our backyard with all the neighbour kids! Sometimes there are up to 9 kids playing in our house. It's been so fun for our kids.

Monica and Kristen were the recipients of 2 free gerbils and they have been the highlight of their summer! They love to hold and pet them and take care of them.

Okay, so I finally figured out an alternative way to download pictures onto my computer after the first way wasn't working. Hooray! now my posts won't be so boring! (and I'll have to take more pictures!)So here we are:

Monica just before her dance recital at the end of the school year. She loves dancing!

Sisters! They love each other, really they do (sometimes it's hard to tell!)

My smiley little guy! He's such a happy, loving little boy.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

Clouds in the Sky

So, after my blog that I'm so tough, I guess I'm not so tough after all. I'm fine with physical work, for the most part, but I'm having a hard time keeping up with the emotional and mental work! I've decided that being a single mom is not fun, and to any single moms out there my hat goes off to you. Your job is very hard!! I try to keep it together when I'm with my kids, but it's difficult at times! The other day Ethan was crinkling some paper in his hands, and said "garbage" and went and threw it in the toilet! It made sense in a way, so I can't really blame him, but I had to rush to the toilet and save the papers before the toilet clogged, and then realized that what he had thrown in there were pages from my scriptures that he had torn out and crumpled up!! Yikes. I was not happy! He has been so cranky lately too, but really, how can I really be upset at him when he runs to me saying "Mama" and gives me a big hug? It's a good thing there are small ways us moms are paid, or it might not be worth it! Anyways, I'm very excited that Kevin gets home on Sunday after being gone for 2.5 weeks. We all miss him!

stronger than I think

So Kevin's been gone for a week now, and we have a week and two days to go! Almost halfway there. It actually hasn't been too bad, other than missing him a lot. I think that I really am pretty tough. I think that if someone called me "wimpy", or even "girly" I would have a problem with that. I just spent the last few hours working on a rock wall, hauling rocks from construction sites (the construction guys said it was okay! just in case you were wondering) into the vehicle, and then from the vehicle to our back yar. I had to pause halfway through to put the kids to bed, and then kept going at it, and then mowed the lawn. I feel really tough right now ;). I find it quite satisfying to work outside. I think it's the farm girl in me coming out. My kids are troopers too. They came with me to pick out the rocks, and Monica and Kristen wer carrying the "best" ones and puting them into the car. I didn't have the heart to tell them that I wouldn't be able to use them on the wall because they were so small. They had fun though. There you have it - work can be fun!

My busy life

Okay, so I know that some of you thought I fell of the face of the earth for a while, so I thought I better write something to update our lives! One of the problems is that our computer will not upload pictures, and I was kind of waiting to post until I could get some pictures on here, but to no avail! So this will have to be a non-picture posting.

I guess first of all my brother is doing so awesome! He's been able to be transferred from the hospital to a specialized center for people who have had brain injuries and he gets to go home on the weekend. They are working on increasing his strength, and I had to laugh when he told me in his water polo class that he has to play with one hand to make it even with the other team! I am so, so grateful for this miracle and it has attested to me that prayer definitely works!!

Our family is doing awesome. I am a few weeks away from running my first half marathon here in Halifax. I'm very excited! I also have been passed the torch from Amber Richards in our Relief Society, so I'm going to be very busy. But life is good, and I couldn't be happier.

Monica and Kristen are loving dance and gymnastics, and violin lessons are going well. They love the warm weather, and were ecstatic to discover new neighbours with 4 kids around their age, who love the outdoors just as much as they do.

Ethan is growing like crazy, and is now walking everywhere, getting into anything he can, and is starting to talk. He absolutely LOVES balls, and will scream the word at the top of his lungs when he sees one. He loves animals, though they are all "kitty" to him, and loves playing with his sisters.

Kevin is doing his rotation in ICU which keeps him really busy. He's been working a lot on research projects, one of which he will be presenting at the Canadian Plastic Surgery Meeting in Kelowna in June (he'll be spending 2 weeks in BC which he's really looking forward to). He's also been working a lot on writing his music. He's been able to finish a few songs and they sound really awesome. Maybe he'll become famous from them someday! Needless to say, he's not getting much sleep, but he is getting lots done!

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful spring FINALLY!