Merry Late Christmas

Of course within a couple short months of me resolving to write more on my blog, suddenly I seemingly disappear again with nary a peep for quite a while. I have several reasons for my lack of blogs posts, so here I will try to catch up without getting long-winded, if I can help it.

Halloween and the prep that goes into it is, for me and a lot of people I know, only the beginning of a very crazy, busy time of year. Throw a new baby, a baptism, and a slew of family coming to visit into the mix and it ups the ante about twice as much, or more. There's more than that though, too, and I will touch on that as well.

Moses' birthday is only six days after Halloween, and since his sister's baptism two and a half years earlier, he had looked ahead on the calendars and decided what day he was going to be baptized and what refreshments he wanted served. So, for the week after Halloween I was busy trying to get the baptism and house ready for Moses and our relatives, respectively, who were coming out to stay for the occasion.

His baptism portrait. Sharp looking little dude.

Photo courtesy of Grandma Sachiko

With all that was going on, I had to keep things as simple as possible, so I wouldn't get too stressed out. Of course, my version of simple is someone else's version of going all out, but trust me when I say I kept things on a simple scale for me.

Moses' baptism was a lovely affair. My mom was very generous and bought him a suit, white shirt, and tie, and he looks super sharp and so grown up in it. Moses continues to astound me. He's still as sweet as ever, he still picks things up really quickly, but little by little I find that he's becoming more and more like a young man than a little boy. I'm so proud of him and his decision to be baptized. He's such a great kid.

The cake I made for Moses. Not my best work, but I'm still a novice when it comes to piping.

The same weekend, we also blessed Hyrum, since the family was there anyway. He, too, looked super sharp in the little white tuxedo my mom bought when Moses was a baby. All my boys have worn it now and thankfully, none of them had a blowout in it, so it's still quite pristine.

Photo courtesy of Grandma Sachiko

While that particular weekend was quite busy, it was spiritual and uplifting and filled with family. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Photo courtesy of Grandma Sachiko

Soon after the extended family left us and the house was quiet once more, I started looking a few weeks ahead to Thanksgiving. I was feeling really worn out from everything that had happened in the last couple months that I wasn't really looking forward to it and wasn't really in the mood to cook one this year. Over the next couple weeks I started feeling more and more down, and my mood got worse and worse.

I've struggled with depression before. I'd been hospitalized for it at one point. I could feel it coming. I had known since about halfway through Hyrum's pregnancy that I needed to prepare myself for it. I tried to brace myself for the onslaught, but what happened to me in the next couple weeks was nothing I could have ever imagined. Post-partum depression hit me pretty fiercely, despite my efforts to mentally get ready for it. I'm not going to go into detail in this post about what was and still is going on, but I will say that things got pretty bad.

Joseph went with me to my six week checkup and we talked and have been working with the doctors to get me the help I need. Joseph set up help for me around the house and with the baby by asking several of our friends in the ward to take shifts.

As far as Thanksgiving is concerned, our dear friends, Mike and Gina, were hosting Thanksgiving and simply invited us over to their house. I'm so glad they did. I love cooking and hosting Thanksgiving, but there was no way I could pull it off this year. Mike and Gina have become our surrogate family, so to speak, since we moved out here. Their generosity, not just for Thanksgiving, but the whole time we've lived here, has been overwhelming. I love them dearly.

My mother-in-law, Char, had been with us for Moses' baptism, but had gone up to Washington to help Kailee (Joseph's sister) as she had her new baby. Kailee and her family had been planning on moving to our area for a while, but Char got a prompting that she really needed to get back to us, so (and I still don't know how they managed everything) Char and Kai got everything packed up and started their move ten days after Kai gave birth. They drove down from Port Angeles on Thanksgiving day.

Now we have some family here and will soon have more. Char and Dave (Joseph's dad) will be here permanently sometime in the next couple months. I have to admit that while having family living close to us has been a strong desire of mine ever since we left Utah, actually having family close by feels a little weird. I had come to rely on my ward family so heavily and forged many great friendships with them, that in my mind, these people had, in a way, become part of my family. I know this weird feeling will pass, but I didn't expect it.

Since the depression has been so bad, Char has been helping me around the house, catching up on all the things I was too overwhelmed to deal with. It allowed me to sort of get in the mood for Christmas, which by my standards, was also kept to a minimum this year. With Char's help, I was able to get some projects done for the kids that I had been planning for months, but lacked the motivation to do. It's honestly a miracle that they happened at all.

First, there are the stockings. I've been wanting to do new stockings for the family for a couple years now. The knit ones I'd made before just weren't working out. I happened upon these kits at JoAnn during their after-Christmas clearance last year and thought they were perfect. I bought all five patterns (keep in mind I was not pregnant at the time) and got started on them immediately. I averaged finishing about one every two months, mostly working on them in the evenings after the kids went to bed and Joseph and I would unwind with Netflix. By the time Hyrum was born, I had four of the stockings done and just a little bit left on the fifth one. I love how these turned out. They're beautiful. I'm going to keep my eye out for a couple more so I can make them for Joseph and me.

I'm sorry this is sideways, but I'm simply feeling too lazy to turn it.

My other projects included sewing Moses and Akiko new scripture bags. The one I made for Akiko at her baptism was kind of tight and busted after a couple months. I measured and re-measured this time and got the dimensions right. I love how these bags turned out. I may just jump the gun and go ahead and make three more and save them for the little boys' baptisms. Since Simon is entering Primary as a Sunbeam this year, I made him a crocheted scripture bag, similar to the ones I've made in the past for all the other kids so far, but I neglected to take a picture of it. It's cute, though, and he was so excited for it he took it to his last day in nursery today. I also made Asher an apron since he loves helping me cook, but of course, any of the boys can use it. Things were getting a little silly when they'd borrow Akiko's apron.

As far as teacher/neighbor treats were concerned, I really toned things down. Normally I make three different kinds of cookies, and five of each kind get put on a plate. Last year I made forty plates.

Cookie plates for 2014

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen this year. I kept my list as short as possible this year. I also needed to make gluten-free treats, because a couple of my recipients have Celiac disease. I didn't want to make two separate kinds of treats, so everyone got a gluten-free option:

A simple bag of homemade salted caramel popcorn.

The kids got to decorate gingerbread houses again this year and I found a kit that had five little houses. Of course, Hyrum is too little to decorate or eat his, so I let Akiko do one for him. I had Akiko take the lead with the decorating this year. I think they turned out really cute.

Now the busiest time of year is over. I am so relieved. So much more relieved than in years past.

So, now you all know why I haven't posted anything since Halloween. Not only are the holidays crazy busy on their own, but I've had a lot of other issues and events to deal with.

None of this would have been possible without Joseph, my family, and the many, many amazing friends who have stepped up, put their own lives on pause, and come over to help me in a desperate time of need. I am so very blessed to have so many wonderful, gracious, selfless people in my life. I am also grateful for a very loving Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ, who know what I am struggling with and prompt the people who are willing to listen and act, in order to help me. Little me. I know I am important in His eyes. I matter to Him. He is willing to send me the help I need because He doesn't want to watch me suffer needlessly. If He feels this way about me, I know He feels the same way about each one of us.

I hope you all had an uplifting Christmas season and may the New Year bring you many more blessings.

Halloween 2015 and a Time Warp

Once upon a time, Halloween was a simple affair. Perhaps it was because I only had one child at the time. Maybe it was because I was not yet confident in my sewing and creativity skills. Whatever it was, Halloween once looked like this:

Akiko's first Halloween - 2005

And then this:

Halloween 2006 - Minnie Mouse

Then for a Relief Society activity, we made poodle skirts and I ended up with just enough fabric to make Akiko one, too. That was the first year her Halloween costume had been planned well in advance. The skirt was made in March of that year.

Halloween 2007 - Sock hoppers. Matching costumes with Grandma Sachiko

She liked that costume so much, she wore it again. But this time, she was a "pink pirate." Moses had joined our family by then:

Halloween 2008 - The "Pink Pirate"

Moses the Not-So-Big Not-So-Bad Wolf.

Also the first year I coordinated some costumes.

The next year, we moved to California two weeks before Halloween. I was so stressed out about moving that I had decided to wait until we got to our new house and then just purchase some costumes once we got there. As I began shopping for costumes amidst all the moving chaos, I quickly became disappointed. The costumes were either horrendously expensive, or affordable and crappy low quality. Akiko was also old enough to have a very specific costume in mind. I'm still not sure how it happened, but I managed to pull together something, finishing them within hours of the ward trunk-or-treat party.

Halloween 2009 - The Snow Princess. Obviously pre-Frozen. 

Moses the Mummy.
This costume has since been worn by all our boys.
Hyrum will wear it again in two years.

And that, my friends, marked the beginning of my homemade Halloween costume insanity (though one could argue that it began the year I dressed as Chun-Li from Street Fighter II way back in 2001 - best costume ever).

Since then, I have been pretty adamant about making the kids' costumes. Sometimes they've been easy to put together. Other times they've been more difficult. Most of them since have blog posts, but here's a recap:

Halloween 2010 - Akiko the Black Kitty

Asher the Mouse

Moses as Anpanman - One of my favorite costumes.

The next year after that:

Halloween 2011 - Reused costumes are the best. I only had to make Little Red's riding hood.

And the year after that:

Halloween 2012 - Tombo and Kiki. Another of my favorite costumes.

Asher as the Mummy.

Simon making his debut as the Mouse.

We moved right after Halloween that year, and the blog, unfortunately got put on the back burner shortly after that. Here are the costumes you missed:

Halloween 2013 - The Incredibles.

Asher also had an Incredibles costume, but refused to wear it. He was traumatized about being a "scary monster" from the year before, he wanted nothing to do with Halloween and was genuinely freaked out about the whole affair. He stayed home with Joseph and passed out candy while I took the rest of crew to gather goodies. These costumes were a huge pain to put together. Finding long sleeve shirts and leggings in everyone's size and making sure the shade of red matched was nearly impossible. I honestly thought this was going to be a simple costume to put together, but it was not the case at all.

The next year was much more simplified:

Halloween 2014 - Asher as Fancypants

Moses the Orange Kitty

Akiko the Black Kitty, again

Simon making his debut as the Mummy

Asher's costume was so obscure, nobody knew who he was. They all called him a pirate. He would get irate with them and tell them, "I'm Fancypants!" Besides us, there was only one other person who recognized him, a missionary serving in our ward. But Asher knew who he was and that's all that mattered.

Moses' costume is an homage to his favorite YouTuber, Stampy, who plays Minecraft with his friends and posts videos of himself playing Minecraft with his friends.

Thankfully, Akiko and Simon were just using old costumes, so I only had two sewing projects: the fancy pants and the orange cat.

And, hey, with that, we're all caught up to this year:

Halloween 2015 - Asher the Blue Ninja

Moses as Harry Potter

Akiko as Luna Lovegood

Simon as Anpanman

Hyrum the Pumpkin

When I found out we were pregnant at the beginning of the year and realized I would be due within a month of Halloween, I told the kids almost immediately that they needed to think about what they wanted to be. In early March, I asked for their costumes and told them they were not allowed to change their minds. I thought I was doing myself a favor, but it ended up being somewhat of a disservice.

Over the next several months, I put together a list of all the things I'd need to gather, researched, started pricing things out, and planning what to do and when. I happened to go into the fabric store on a day when sewing patterns were on sale for $2 per pattern, so I snagged Asher's costume pattern immediately. That was fortuitous.

Unfortunately, because of the worst first trimester ever and the nearly debilitating anemia, my planning wasn't able to be put into action the way I'd hoped. I also had a three week long road trip that went through five states to plan and execute in the middle of summer (which I promise will be blogged about soon). Most of the costumes didn't get put together until after school started. I do not recommend commencing a sewing project when you're eight and a half months pregnant.

I'm very pleased with Asher's ninja costume, even though it took everything out of me to put together. Hyrum's costume was easy enough. I was able to work on that while Joseph and I watched Netflix in the evenings. Those two costumes were finished before the baby came. With Hyrum's costume, I thought I'd have a much smaller one month old baby to fit into a knitted sleep sack. He was too big for it the moment he was born. But knit fabric is stretchy and he only has to wear it a couple times, so we squeeze him into it anyway.

With the Potter costumes, I really just needed to sew a couple simple robes and gather accessories. I wasn't able to get to cutting and sewing the robes before the baby, and because of the c-section, I wasn't able to cut the robes myself, but our sweet missionaries came by and helped me measure and cut out the fabric. I'm not particularly happy with the end results, but it's because of the pattern and instructions I found and followed that are at fault. I know what to do to fix them, but I didn't have any more time (or fabric). Besides, the result I ended up with still gave the general idea of what we needed, so I'll live with it.

Simon was originally slated to be Elmer Fudd. I even went as far as purchasing the fabric I needed. However, with no pattern to work off of, little time, no energy, and no desire to try to track down a rifle, Elmer Fudd got scrapped and Anpanman was pulled out of retirement.

Simon is thrilled. He wouldn't have known Elmer Fudd anyway. He's not particularly familiar with Anpanman either, but we do have some toys that I brought back from Japan a few years ago that are super popular with our kids. For a few months lately, Simon has been asking us to tie blankets around his neck and then he runs around the house yelling, "I Super Simon, the hero!" So, when I pulled out all the accessories for the costume which, for the last five years, have been used as pajamas, getting him into costume and character was an easy sell.

I really should have kept things more simple this year, but you live and you learn. Five kids to get ready for Halloween is no easy task, but it is something I enjoy doing and I do know my kids appreciate the effort. It will be nice someday when they start doing their own costumes, but I know I'll miss all this craziness, too.

Hyrum's Story

Last time I wrote, I was two weeks from my due date and Hyrum had finally flipped heads down. All was looking well for a vbac. At my 39 and 40 week check ups he was still heads down. My due date had come and gone and my doctor wasn't going to discuss inducing until I had reached 41 weeks because the risks of uterine rupture increase with vbacs if they induce. She did order me to to a stress test to make sure the baby had enough room and amniotic fluid and see that everything was okay.

Monday afternoon (4 days post due date), I showed up to the hospital for the stress test. Everything seemed to be fine. I'd had some fairly regular Braxton-Hicks contractions, but nothing major. They sent me to ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid. I saw the technician grimace, but she didn't say anything to me. Once she was done, she sent me back to labor and delivery for more monitoring. A few minutes later, the nurse came in to talk. Hyrum was breach. The doctor came in after a while to discuss what to do. I had already called Joseph and after we talked and prayed, we decided that the best thing for all of us was to just go with a c-section. Yes, I was disappointed, but I'd kind of had that gut feeling that the vbac wasn't going to happen for a few weeks, even though Hyrum had been heads down for the last month.

Tuesdays, apparently, are c-section days at this hospital, so the staff kept telling me how serendipitous it was that I had come in on that Monday for the stress test. My surgery was scheduled for the first thing Tuesday morning. We were expected at the hospital at 5:30am. We had a lot of juggling to figure out how to get the older kids taken care of. Asher had been sick and home from school for nearly a week, so we needed someone to watch both him and Simon, make sure the older kids got off to school and that they had after school care. Luckily, we have very good friends who were willing to rearrange their already busy lives to help us out. My friend Becca offered to come to our house at 5:00am to be there for the kids when they woke up, make sure they got off to school, and hang out with the little boys. Our other friends, the Warners, offered to take care of Akiko and Moses after school.

We had one last meal together as a family of six and everyone went to bed early. Around 1:00am, a contraction had woken me up. I thought maybe it was a strong Braxton-Hicks, but a couple short minutes later confirmed that I had started labor naturally. While this was something we had been waiting to happen for the last several days, it felt too little too late at that point, especially since we knew the baby wasn't in the correct position.

Joseph and I spent the next couple hours puttering around the house getting those last minute things done and killing time before we felt like we really needed to go. We woke Akiko up and asked her to lay in bed next to Simon in case he woke up, but of course, she was so excited the baby was coming, she was wide awake after that. I dealt with the contractions the best I could. I was trying to hold out until Becca would be able to show up, but by about 3:00am, I just couldn't handle it anymore. Unfortunately, that's when Simon decided to wake up and freak out that I wasn't in bed with him. I laid down next to him and tried my best to get him back to sleep while not making any noise with every contraction (which is nearly impossible) and relax as much as possible. I had to give up after about the fifth contraction. They were just too intense. We had to go. Thankfully, Simon decided that it was a great time to play on the Kindle, so we sent him to bed with that and left Akiko in charge for the next hour until Becca would show up. I got in the car. Joseph got in after a couple minutes. Apparently Asher had woken up and Joseph had to get him back to sleep. Moses slept through all the ruckus like a good boy.

We got to the hospital a little after 4:00am and I was hooked up to the monitors. Since we were a bit early for our appointment and was in labor already, the doctors had to be called in. I had dilated to 3cm, but the nurse couldn't feel a bottom or a head, so they wheeled the little ultrasound machine in to check Hyrum's position. He was transverse and was not going anywhere. He couldn't move from his position because of the contractions. Everyone rushed to get the OR ready, which wasn't that big of a deal since we were only a little early for our scheduled appointment.

Around 6:00am, I started to get delirious from being up all night. I'd only gotten about three hours of sleep. I tried to rest the best I could between contractions, but they were so close together and more intense, it was impossible to do. About 6:15am, they wheeled me into the OR. At that point I was panicking, exhausted, sobbing, in pain, delirious, and about ten other negative emotions all at the same time. Thankfully, my anesthesiologist is a friend of mine from church and I had requested that she be there, which she was happy to oblige. She was amazing. Kind, caring, and got her job done as quick as she could to put me out of my misery. I'd never been more relieved to get poked by a needle, even though it still hurt.

It was so bright in the OR, but I kept my eyes shut through almost everything. I just wanted to sleep through it all. At some point, Joseph showed up. At some point later, I heard Hyrum's first cries. A few minutes later, he was laying on my chest, though I couldn't hold him because my arms were strapped to the table. I remember kissing his chubby cheeks and crying. I vaguely remember Stephanie, my anesthesiologist friend, keeping me up to date on everything that was going on. Everything was such a blur. I was almost too tired to care.

Joseph and the baby were lead into the recovery room while I was put back together. I eventually showed up. Joseph greeted me with an excited, "Did you hear how much he weighs?" I shook my head no. "Ten pounds and two-and-a-half ounces!" I knew he was going to be our biggest baby. My belly was so big at the end and I had gained about 58 pounds this time. I wasn't quite expecting a ten pounder. I kind of remember the doctors and attending nurses in the OR exclaiming what a big baby he was. Nearly everyone on staff has said something about it. I still think he's a perfect little newborn. He's still way smaller than Simon is now.

So, here we are now. Hyrum is perfect. I'm slowly recovering, but doing a lot better at this point than I did with Simon's recovery. I was able to walk around a little bit 24 hours post-surgery. I couldn't do that last time. Everything hurts, but little by little it's getting better. Now that the baby is finally here, I feel like we're on the downhill side of everything. Life is crazy. I miss my crazy family at home and they miss me. Joseph is trying to scramble around getting whatever he can while being a single dad for the time being. Ladies in our ward have set up meals for us for the next several days. Friends are stepping in to help us out wherever and whenever they can.

I am truly grateful for how everything turned out. It wasn't what we planned on, but we had always known the risks and were aware of the complications. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father whom we can rely on to guide us in our decisions and lead us to the best possible outcome. I grateful for the opportunity I have to be the mother to the most amazing kids I've ever known. I love them so much. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father trusts me to be their mother on earth. They are such a blessing. I'm excited to see what ingredient little Hyrum brings to our wild, crazy concoction of a family.

I wish Asher were in this cute picture. Perhaps he was the one who took it.

I love this sweet picture of my family so much.

Those cheeks! I can't stop kissing them!

Introducing...

Hyrum Brady Wecker

10 lbs. 3 oz., 21" long

Tons of black hair and a dimple on his cheek.

I'm in love.

Quick Baby Update: 38 weeks

I keep meaning to write a big post about our epic road trip that the kids and I took this last summer, but whenever I sit down to write it, I realize that I didn't grab the camera to upload all the pictures. Getting up off the bed or even from the couch or dining chairs is such a chore these days. In fact, lately, in the morning, Simon, instead of asking me to simply get out of bed to get him anything, states that I need to "roll out of bed." It's pretty amusing.

Anyway, for the last several weeks, the baby, like Simon had done before, kept flipping around back and forth, and always transversely. At last week's appointment, my doctor had me schedule a version, where the doctor manually pushes the baby into position. I did not want to do this. I was not convinced it would work, or rather, that the baby would stay in that position. It didn't work with Simon and it's extremely uncomfortable. I remember crying last time. I was so stressed out about it all weekend long, so I called and cancelled the appointment first thing Monday morning. I'm glad I did.

I had an appointment today and, happy day, the baby is finally heads down. He's a mover and a sharp jabber (I've nicknamed him "Jabberwocky"). I can feel him move around constantly and, especially at night, when I'm trying to relax, is when he likes to really jab my ribs and press into my diaphragm so I lose all my breath. I think he's still going to flip around some more, but I'm glad to know that he knows how to get into heads down now.

So, my next appointment will determine whether we will proceed with a VBAC as planned, or, if he's flipped again, whether we'll schedule a c-section just to be safe. I could really use prayers that we'll be able to do a VBAC. A c-section is so hard to recover from and I've got so much to plan in the next several weeks, namely getting Halloween costumes finished and planning Moses' baptism. Then suddenly, it will be Thanksgiving and Christmas in no time at all. I feel this holiday season may be pared back a bit from what I normally try to accomplish.

Here's a shot from two weeks ago. We travelled 5.5 hours to attend a session at the Sacramento temple where our friend was going through for the first time. Last time I travelled that far at 36 weeks, I broke my ankle. This trip was, thankfully, non-incidental.

Back to School Time!

I figured the first day of school would be a good time to give an update on the kids. I was going to post while they were in school, but it was an early out day at 1pm, so there was hardly time to do anything particularly productive except clean the kitchen.

5th, 2nd, and kindergarten. Asher is trying to make a "K" with his fingers.

Akiko: 

Akiko started fifth grade this year. She's officially one of the big kids at school. Last year she was in the 4th/5th split class and this year it's just a 5th grade class, but she has the same amazing teacher, which is awesome. She got into the GATE program last year, which is California's Gifted and Talented Education program, so she gets to go on a couple special field trips. All of her teachers have loved having her in their classes.

I still can't believe how fast she's grown. She's almost as tall as me and her shoes are only two sizes smaller than mine. I have to tell you how amazing this girl is and I'm so blessed to be her mother.

Since I've been so sick lately, she has really stepped it up in helping me out. She's getting better at cooking and cleaning and is so good about helping Simon and Asher and she does it all without much complaining. We did a massive deep clean in her room right when summer started, and for the most part, she has kept her room in pretty good order and I'm really proud of her for that.

She's a really good example to her friends and was one of the first kids in Primary to pass off all thirteen Articles of Faith. She's obsessed with cats, loves to read, loves to draw, loves Minecraft, loves to bake, and has found that she's got a knack for skateboarding. She can be kind of shy when she's around new people, but gets really goofy and funny when she's comfortable. It astounds me every day how much she has matured and grown, both physically and emotionally. She's always kind of been that way, but it's definitely become more apparent since she's entered her tweens. I love this girl of mine. She's the best!

Moses:

Moses has started second grade. He got a teacher that I've heard rave reviews about from other parents, so I'm pretty pleased. To be honest, I don't hear many negative reviews about any of the teachers at our school, but some of the teachers have been there for years and years and his teacher is one of those. 

Moses had an amazing teacher last year, too. She was teaching a 1st/2nd split class and noticed that he was way beyond the other kids academically, so to keep him from getting bored after his mundane first grade work was done, she began pulling resources from teachers in higher grades and giving him extra work to do while the other kids finished up. She ended up pulling things from the 7th grade teachers. On a whim, she tested his reading and comprehension levels and he tested at 7th grade. She was quite astounded. He was the only first grader reading the Harry Potter series. We're keeping him with his peers though, because that's where he needs to be socially.

Moses really loves his video games. He did a whole bunch of chores around the house and earned enough money to buy himself a new Wii. He didn't want to get a WiiU, because they're just too expensive and he wanted to be reasonable. Actually, he really just wanted to get MarioKart Wii. Moses wants to design and program video games when he's older. He has an active imagination and is constantly making up concepts for new board and video games. 

He loves reading and most nights, before bed, we find him reading a pile of books to Asher, then he stays up late and reads to himself after Asher has fallen asleep. For a while, I was constantly finding large piles of books in his bed. He is currently working on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I'm pretty sure I didn't read that until high school.

Moses is still the sweetest kid on the planet, though sometimes lately he's been getting a little sassy as he tries to assert his authority. I know that's just a phase, so I let it slide for the most part. He's fairly good about helping out around the house, but there's room for improvement. His mind is always just somewhere else when he supposed to be doing something I ask him to do. All around, Moses is a great kid and I love him dearly.

Asher:

Where do I even start with this kid? Bouncy, goofy, silly, happy, joyful, funny, helpful, loving, cuddly, smiley, exuberant, playful, jokey, energetic, friendly, handsome, adorable, and on and on and on. I love this kid so much. He makes us laugh a lot every day. 

He started kindergarten this year. He's had to wait two long years for his turn and now it's finally his. He feels like such a big kid now. I missed him a lot today. He got the same teacher that Moses had (she actually told me she requested him), so I'm pleased with that because she's fabulous. He's a really friendly kid, so I have no worries that he'll have any problems getting along with his classmates once he gets comfortable. 

If there is one thing that Asher has really gotten interested in lately, it is helping me out in the kitchen. He loves to help me bake and cook. It's not a totally new thing. I had him sautéing onions when he was two. But lately, if I start cooking without him he gets really upset. He doesn't particularly like it when I don't let him wield a knife, but I let him do most other things, like measuring, stirring, and adding ingredients. He is genuinely interested in how everything comes together to form a meal or baked treat.  I love having his help in the kitchen. 

He also loves helping around the house. I usually call for Akiko and Moses to do things, like empty the dishwasher or set the table, but when I call for them, Asher is the one that comes running. I love that willingness and openly hope that it never, ever goes away. 

Asher has reached that stage where if he's trying to do something, and it doesn't go perfectly right the first time, he gets really emotional and upset. It's frustrating for me. On the other hand, this summer he hopped on a bike and started riding it without any help. You see, we have one of those balance bikes and they are amazing. Simon had recently gotten big enough for it and pretty much commandeered the thing. Lots of fighting between the boys ensued, but we were finally able to convince Asher that he was big enough for the "big boy" bike that we had waiting for him. He's a small kid, barely five years old, so the bike is still a little unwieldy and wobbly for him, but he loves to zip back and forth along the front of our house any chance he gets. 

I love Asher Crasher so deeply. I'm so glad he part of our family. 

Simon:

After we dropped the kids off at school this morning, I thought, and possibly said out loud, "And then there was one." I've never had just one kid at home. Not since before Moses was born. It was really, unusually quiet at home. I know that will change in a few short weeks, but I'm kind of wondering how I'm going to keep Simon occupied and entertained for the next year. 

Anyway, Simon is... well, he's Simon. He's such a mommy and daddy's boy. He's still rather distrustful of anyone outside the immediate family. He's bossy and can be very insistent on how he thinks things should be. He knows exactly which buttons on Asher he needs to push in order to start a fight or a screaming chasing "game", for lack of a better term. He loves to be clean and wants to take a bath all the time.

Simon picks things up faster than any other kid I've ever known. He's known his alphabet since he was barely two years old. He picked up all his colors and shapes and numbers around the same time, too. He can spell and recognize/read everyone's name in our family. We started memorizing a new scripture and he had it memorized before anyone else (even me). No wonder the kid has such a big head. He has a lot of info that needs to be stored there. I jest, of course.

Simon is very empathetic and, especially lately, is always concerned about my well being. He's excited for the new baby, though I don't think he knows quite what to expect. He was so cute with my sister's baby boy, so I have a lot of hope that he'll be an awesome big brother. 

Simon loves to go shopping and get pizza at "Taco Tuesday", which is his name for Costco. He does not like being cooped up in the house all day and feels the need to go somewhere, anywhere, every day. He is obsessed with swings at the park. Sometimes if we go to a park, I'll purposely pick one that doesn't have them because otherwise we would spend the entire time on them and it's a huge battle trying to get him off of them.

I am so glad Simon is part of our family. Three year old kids can be difficult to deal with a lot of the time, but for every moment of stress and frustration there are just as many, if not more, moments of awe and jubilation. Simon is my good buddy and I'm his "good mommy" and I love him so much. 

I love these goobers so much. I'm the luckiest momma.

Baby Boy:

We have a name picked out, and some people know what it is, but I'm not making a formal public announcement until he is born. I have about a month left, around five weeks or so. I really dislike the last month. It drags. Literally drags. On and on.

The baby had been transverse, a fancy way of saying sideways, for a long time. At my last appointment, he finally changed positions... he was transverse in the opposite direction. I feel him move constantly and can tell he is flipping all over the place in my belly. This, to me, is not the best news. Simon was a flipper, which was why we decided to have a c-section. I really want to do a vbac. They're so much easier to heal from and the hospital stay is not nearly as long. However, I understand all the risks and I am willing to do what's best to bring this kid into the world. He also has a whole month to figure out what position he'll finally be in when it's time. So please pray for me that he decides to go heads down and stay there.

Hello Old Friend

It's been almost two years since I've written anything on the old blog. Almost two years since I got called as Relief Society president in our ward, which was the main culprit for my extreme lack of posts, not to mention the need to take care of my active and growing family. A lot has happened in the last two years and there is really no way I could catch up with it all. A lot of things have gone undocumented with nary a picture to prove anything. This is unfortunate for this history of our family, but it is what it is.

I've often felt the nudge to document something, even a short blurb, but it all seemed so overwhelming at the time, so writing got put on the back burner. But here we are now. A chapter in my life has ended and a new one has begun. Of course things overlap, but there are some defining lines that mark the eras.

So why now? Why try to pick up where I left off after so long? Well, I seem to have a bit more time on my hands... for now. Every once in a while I've perused my writing and felt that twinge that I need to keep up with our little family's history. We're also still far removed from our families in other states and many of them have remarked that they miss reading what we've been up to. For now, I think I'll just reset and give an update on everyone in the family. This will probably be a long post. I may have to do it over the course of a couple posts.

Joseph is suddenly one extremely busy man. It all began with a letter he received last spring from the county asking if he'd be interested in serving on the grand jury. This is something Joseph was certainly interested in, so he marked "yes" and sent his response off. We didn't exactly know what this all meant, but it's something that's right up his alley. Fast forward through the whole selection process and since the beginning of July he is serving a one year term as a civil grand juror.

Two weeks after that began, Joseph got called as our new bishop. Our stake president was moving, so near the end of June we had our stake conference where the new stake presidency was called. Our bishop got called as a counselor in the new presidency, which meant our ward now needed a new bishop. After a few weeks of the new stake president visiting our ward on Sunday, Joseph got a call from the stake clerk asking us to come in and meet with the stake presidency. I kind of had a feeling he'd be called into the new bishopric, but didn't want to speculate or anything, so I pushed all my thoughts aside. I certainly didn't expect him to be called as bishop though.

Our stake center is about a 45 minute drive from our home. It was a very quiet car ride. We had a lot to contemplate. For some reason I felt that a calling of that magnitude wouldn't happen until we were much older, wiser, and more refined. Perhaps, also when our kids were older and better able to take care of themselves, out of the house even. The Lord has other plans for us, however, and we both understand that we need to jump into this with both feet, with faith, and know that we will be taken care of. It's been a little over a month since that meeting and I can already see the change that has come over Joseph, the extra strength he's been given, and the love and support from our ward family has been overwhelming.

In addition to being on the grand jury and being a new bishop, Joseph has also gotten very involved in the Masonic lodges both in Eureka and here in our home town. Last week, he went away for the weekend and joined the York Rite, which is a further extension than just being a member of a Masonic lodge. He's been enjoying his membership and has loved learning about this ancient fraternity and it's strong ties to what we believe in as LDS members.

All in all, Joseph is a very busy man. He still has his full time job, on top of it all, but still makes time with our family count, and I really appreciate that he does that. I love him so much and I'm so proud of him.

On to me. Since Joseph got called as the bishop, I've been released as the Relief Society president. I currently have no calling, which is kind of weird, but I think there's one waiting for me soon enough. My stint was rather brief, but I really enjoyed the experience. I got to know so many women in the ward I would not have gotten to know otherwise. I am in awe of some of the things my sisters do, not only for our ward, but for the community. I feel like I learned so much from them and I hope to perpetuate what they do, because someday they will be gone and people like me will have to step in and keep things going. I really love the work that the Relief Society does, not only on a local level, but worldwide the things that are accomplished are mind-boggling. The sisters of the world really help move the Lord's work forward.

This last year has been a rough one on me physically. Last October, my beautiful, wonderful, amazing sister was gave birth to her first baby. There was no way I was going to miss that, so I drove to Utah with Asher and Simon to help her prepare for and then help take care of her and the baby once he arrived. By the way, my nephew is perfect. Unfortunately, the whole time I was in Utah, I suffered from the worst allergies the entire month I was there.

While I was in Utah, Akiko got a new kitten. Its name was Fluffle. We all thought it was a girl, but a trip to the vet to treat the grossest case of tapeworm I've ever seen told us the kitten was a boy. Akiko was in denial for weeks. Fluffle was a spunky kitty. Always attacked Sparky when he came in to eat. Always on the table and counter. Always missing the litter box. Cute cat. Very cute cat. Silly even.

Unfortunately, he ended up being a bad fit. I was extremely allergic to him. Not sneezing and watery eyes kind of allergic. I literally could not breathe. He exacerbated my normally mild asthma so bad I was having horrific attacks several times a day. He almost sent me to the ER for treatment a few times. We didn't know he was the culprit until January. I still feel bad that we had to get rid of him, but when mom can't function, the entire household falls apart. Oh, I also got bronchitis for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas, both of which were hosted by us for family that came into town to visit. That was the icing on the cake. I still can't quite figure out how I managed to pull those off.

When I was finally able to breathe after getting rid of Fluffle, we found out we were expecting again. The joy of anticipating a new baby quickly went away when I began experiencing the worst morning sickness I have ever known. Most days I could not get out of bed. I missed about five weeks of church. I felt like I was going to die. None of my tricks for warding off the nausea worked. I tried everything and everything failed me. It was the worst.

I finally started feeling better after the 13th week, but still felt really off. I was extremely tired all the time. The nausea was still in the background. I'd have maybe one good day a week when I felt well enough to get things done around the house, so I'd end up over-exerting myself on that one day and be useless for the next several days. At one doctor appointment, my blood pressure was really low and I was diagnosed with anemia. I was prescribed an iron supplement and told to eat a lot of iron rich foods. I feel a lot better now, not 100%, but at least most days I'm useful. I feel bad because I'd been sick in one form or another for several months and barely able to get the bare minimum done in my calling. I was finally starting to feel better and excited to be able to do more when I got released. I guess it's really a blessing in disguise.

As of now, I have about seven-ish weeks left I think. I've lost track. I'm due sometime in the first week of October. I've been given two due dates: October 1 and October 9. I've learned that due dates don't really mean anything; they're simply approximate guesses. Oh, and if you hadn't heard on Facebook, it's another boy.

In the next month and a half, I've got to get three kids ready for school, which starts in a week and a half, rearrange furniture and get the crib set up, get all the baby clothes out and washed, get Halloween costumes made, and start getting things lined up and prepared for Moses' baptism in early November. I want to get as much done as I can before the baby comes. I have no guarantee that I'll be able to do any of it afterwards. We're going to try to do a VBAC (Google it if you don't know what it is) and I'm the best candidate for one, but I understand the risk that this baby could also end up being a c-section like Simon.

I'm going to have to leave this post here. It's quite long already and it's getting late, so stay tuned for an update on the kids in the next few days.