Busy busy!

It was a busy weekend around here and this week is going to be very crazy as well.

Friday night we went to Hillcrest High School to support the ballroom dance team youth in our ward. It was a Valentines/Dance Instruction night. Nate was less than thrilled about going. Luckily right before we left to go, James and Sierra stopped by so we dragged them along for some dancing fun! We actually had a blast. There were chocolate fountains with lots of yummy food and the team performed for us a few times. We then learned how to cha cha and foxtrot. Best part of the night.....Nate and James were wearing almost the EXACT same shirt. We laughed all night about it. SO random. We kept saying that they were going to Sadie Hawkins together!!

Saturday Parker played the basketball game of his life. He scored 30 points and his team dominated the other team. They've been practicing hard two times a week and all of the hard work is paying off. He has decided to keep playing into the spring...that would be 3 basketball seasons in a row but he loves it!

 During the game, I took Dallin with his boy scout troop to earn their ice skating belt loop. Dallin has never been ice skating. As you can probably figure out from the picture......it was a complete and utter disaster:

Notice the red puffy eyes?

 I had a bad feeling about this activity from the moment I heard about it. I wish I would have followed my gut and just avoided the whole thing. I know my son, I know how frustrated he gets when he can't master something right away, and how sensitive he can be about it. Absolute nightmare. I became upset as well after an incident with a leader and cried my eyes out to Nate as soon as we got home. My sweet husband took us out for dinner and then decided that we all needed to go and buy a couple of new outfits for our new baby...that HE would pick out since he hadn't gotten anything for her since we found out it was a HER. It was sweet. And it made the whole night SO much better. He picked a DARLING little dress with a ruffle bum. Too precious.

I ended up playing the piano in Relief Society on Sunday. It went much better then I thought. I pretty much practiced the piano more then Dallin this week but it's probably good for me. I messed up a few times but no one should expect perfection when it has been this long!

Our Valentines are ready for the big day tomorrow! We did the same thing we did last year! It's just too cute and easy to not do!

I am teaching preschool this week and we had so much fun at our Valentines Party today! One little girl couldn't make it so it was just the boys.

We sorted Valentine color buttons, made heart hand prints for our moms, decorated cookies and made love bug hats again!

We have all sorts of events this week: more basketball, school luau, scouts, Valentines Day, more preschool, Activity Days and Friday we are headed to Boise! I can't WAIT to see my Boise friends. Oh, how I am need of a friend and family re-charge.

Oh yes, and here is the weekly photo (for you Jami): 19.5 weeks....woo hoo! JUST about halfway! Goodbye morning sickness hello HOT LAVA HEARTBURN! Bleh.

Quote of the day

After getting my hair cut and highlighted I went to pick the boys up from school.

Me: "Hey guys! How was your day? Do you notice anything different about me?"

Parker: "Yeah, you are looking fatter!"

Dallin: "Fatter in a really good way mom!"


Well, thanks guys. Love my honest boys.

Jumbled thoughts for the day.....

So I got a new calling in church last week. No, I have NOT been released from the Activity Day girls.....but when the 1st counselor asked me if I would play the piano in Relief Society I seriously thought I had been PUNKED! I asked if this was some sort of joke. I haven't played the piano since 10th grade! I was seriously SO upset about it for days, and Nate thought it was the most humorous thing in the world. I am going to have an anxiety attack EVERY stinking Sunday! It was the first time in my life I wanted to DECLINE a calling. After a lot of anguish I've decided to suck it up and try though. Wish me some major luck....and maybe some sort of miraculous hidden piano playing skill blessings! Yikes.

A man and a woman in my mom's ward went off on her this past Sunday for something that is completely ridiculous. It's a long story but my mom's feelings were REALLY hurt and she ended up leaving church crying for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Anyone ever wanted to go track a stranger down and seriously punch them in the face? Blame the raging hormones but seriously....don't mess with my mama. I have no patience for mean and inconsiderate people.

Landon has a little friend.....well kind of a friend. He has a love/hate relationship with this boy. Sometimes they get a long great and sometimes they feud non stop. The thing is, I have seen these two in action and Landon is rarely the boy who starts the fights with this boy. The boy will hit or kick Landon and Landon won't stand there and take it. He defends himself......hey, he has 2 older brothers. (Not that I am saying it's ok) Problem is, the little boy's mom thinks that Landon just comes out of nowhere and hits her kid all the time since her kid will come crying to her as soon as Landon retaliates. Part of me just doesn't want the 2 of them to play together at all anymore. It's a strange and awkward situation since the mom and I are friends. We frequent the same places all of the time. Sometimes being a mom is so hard.

Baby Girl has been kicking a lot more lately. Nate still can't feel it but they are getting stronger. 18.5 weeks:  Almost halfway there!

I am so thankful to my sweet friends who sent me little PINK things over the past few days. My pink pile is growing! My favorite thing has been watching the BOYS excitement as I open a gift. All of the "Oh, how CUTE!" and "Look how SMALL" comments from them just make me melt. It is hard for me to even IMAGINE what they will be like with a tiny sister around. And yes, I cry everytime I open something up. I just can't help myself.

A day we won't forget

Two weeks ago we went to Nate's cousins wedding. While we sat in the back corner watching the father of the bride dance with his daughter for their "last dance" I got all teary eyed. I wondered if my husband would ever get the chance to experience that in this life. I wondered if he would ever have the chance to go to a daddy daughter party or be invited to be the prince at a princess tea party. I thought about my boys and wondered if they would ever know what it was like to have a girl in the house. I knew I would love this baby no matter what we found out yesterday. I was all ready and geared up for another sweet boy. It's all I know and it's all I have loved up until this point.

For years I have identified myself as a "boy mom." I have embraced all things boy as I realize that I have no choice when it comes to what sex of baby comes to our family. Boys are fantastic and I absolutely adore being a mom to my sons. People have asked me for years if I wanted a girl. The answer was always of course but I honestly feel like you just "get what you get and you don't throw a fit." Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and if that includes 4 children or no children, all boys or all girls, we have to trust that he knows what we need....even if it isn't what we had in mind or our ideal. After the painful experience of infertility this past year I have been feeling so blessed and SO ready to accept any miracle baby that comes.

 As I got ready for the ultrasound yesterday I turned PANDORA on to the Michael Buble station and let the tunes flow. I decided NOT to wear pink as I have done for at least 2 of my gender ultrasounds. I thought Dallin was a girl....wrong. I KNEW Parks was a girl......wrong. We found out Landon was a boy at 12 weeks due to a CVS test and were THIRLLED to find out he was a HEALTHY baby boy. The doctor had us scared out of our minds thinking he had trisomy, or downs, or even worse. I decided on a flowy beige flowered shirt. I was ready to hear that is was another boy! At least I thought I was ready...then the song "My Girl" came up on Pandora.....I started to cry. I washed my face and had to start over with the make up. I was almost done when the song "Daughters" came on by John Mayer. Lost it again. I just kept thinking over and over again that IF we are to ever have a little girl in our family....this is IT. This is our LAST chance. I finished getting dressed and ran over to the gas station to get a Coke (my first caffeinated drink in over 4 months) I wanted this baby to be active so we could get a good view.

With my blood pressure off the charts (thanks to Coke and nerves) we first me with my Dr. He told me he was getting a good vibe today and thought this baby was a girl. He wanted to come in and see the ultrasound and wondered if that was ok. It was fine by me...I wanted the second witness there anyway! The tech started looking around and immediately I saw SOMETHING. I just knew it was going to be a boy. Then the tech said, "The darn cord is right in between the legs." She poked and prodded until she said, "O my....I see 3 little lines!"

Then the Dr. walked in and took one look a the ultrasound and said, "Well, THAT is a girl FOR SURE!" He was SO happy for us! "Waaaahhhhhh!!!!" I was a blubbering mess...I looked over at Nate and saw that tears were coming down his cheeks. I was pretty much in disbelief. We watched our little one move and squirm. She put her little arms up by her head and I'm pretty sure she waved at us. ("She".......sounds so different!")

As Nate and I left the office I started to sob. I kept saying over and over..."I'm dreaming right now.....this just can't be true!" We were both over the moon. Calling our loved ones was so amazing too. It's pretty fun to think that after 5 grandsons on my side of the family we will FINALLY have some pink!

I wanted a really fun and cute way to share the news with the boys. My friend Nikki told me about an idea she had heard of so I threw it all together before the boys got home from school. Here it is!

http://youtu.be/pKhJ6VholeQ

Later on, I had to go to the mall to get my Landon some new pants. He has holes in pretty much all of them. While I was there I stopped at Gymboree and bought my very fist little girl outfit! It is for next Christmas. I started looking around at all of the girl things and I couldn't even handle it! I was SO overwhelmed. I grabbed the little clearance Christmas outfit and got out of there ASAP. I felt SO out of place! We absolutely have NOTHING for this girl!

Dinner out as a family was the way we ended our day of celebration. It was a great day we won't ever forget. Thanks for all of the phone calls, texts, messages and everything. I have such a great support system and I am thankful for each and every one of you. I've said it a million times but we really are so blessed.

We're having a.......

Today was a WONDERFUL day! I feel like I am dreaming! My boys get a little SISTER, my husband gets his baby GIRL.....and I will have a  DAUGHTER! That sounds SO strange!

I'm thrilled.....and terrified at the same time.....if that makes any sense at all.

I'll write more about today's big events a little later. We are off to celebrate tonight!

Predictions: Boy or Girl?

2 days until the big reveal! (That is....if baby cooperates!) I thought it might be fun to record what everyone THINKS we're having!

My Intuition...another BOY
Nate's Prediction.....GIRL

 Family Matters:

Landon says its a GIRL
Parker says its a BOY but he wishes it was a GIRL
Dallin doesn't care as long as the baby is NOT sharing a room with him

The Chinese Birth Chart says it is a GIRL. (Although the birth chart said Parker was a girl too..hmmmm)

Old wives tales:
BOY: carrying more like a basketball then a watermelon, Starnes family=BOYS.

GIRL: fast heart beat (160), morning sickness galore, crave oranges and orange juice, craving sweets not salts, facial acne

SO, the question is......what do YOU think we're having??? I'd love to see!

Family time in Jackson Hole

We started out our little vacation with sunshine and some to die for views. The roads were just a bit scary on the way there....there are a couple of pretty steep passes you have to get over to get over to Jackson. Of course on the way over we had to stop and get some famous SQUARE ice cream cones! YUM!

Once we got there we checked in to our family suite cabin. It was so nice and comfortable. The boys were LOVING it. Dallin said, "Mom, I think this is the nicest apartment I have ever lived in."

The next morning Nate got all ready for a day of depositions so the boys and I got ready for a DAY of FUN! We obviously couldn't get any skiing in with this expectant mom so we were geared up to find us some other things to keep us busy in Jackson Hole.

We lounged around until it got a little warmer out.   

Then we went to our first AWESOME destination. Can you guess by the picture where we are???

Bet you didn't guess BIG O TIRES!!! Yep....we walked out to the car to find a LOVELY flat tire. Luckily the little maintenance guy at our cabin filled my tire up enough to get us over to the tire store. An hour later we were back on the road. Apparently one of the sensors in my tires had gone bad.

Next stop....Teton Village for an afternoon of sledding and playing in the snow castle.

Now THAT.....was fun!

Mrs. Preggo couldn't participate in much of the snow festivities but it was really great to watch the boys laugh and run and enjoy the snow since we haven't had much over in IF this winter.

On the way back to the cabin we saw 3 MOOSE! They were so beautiful! We were pretty excited about it since we haven't ever seen one after all these years of going to Yellowstone.

After Daddy got finished up with his meetings we went out for a delicious BBQ dinner and followed up with a good long SWIM! The water felt so good and we had the pool all to ourselves!

The next morning while Nate headed off for more lawyer stuff the boys and I went over to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. Dallin and Parker were especially fascinated by all of the weird and crazy things. 2 headed sheep, birds, and cows. Albino porcupines, buffalo, and trains made out of match sticks. There was tons of cowboy and vampire stuff too. SO random.  

After Ripley's we went over to the candy store for some treats. It was hard to find Dallin a candy he could enjoy now that he has the BRACES on!

Then we met Dad for lunch and made the SNOWY trek home. Serious WHITE KNUCKLE moments here. It was SO incredibly windy that it was almost impossible to see the roads. We were so happy to get back to the highway where the roads were just wet.

A GREAT trip together. LOVE memories made with my family. Totally worth skipping school. ☺

Cookies, parties, getting fat and playing hooky.

First things first, the MOST important bit of information as if late.....I have found the perfect chocolate chip recipe! I'm ALWAYS trying new chocolate chip recipes in search of the very best of the best. This last one was pretty darn good. I'm keeping this one on file for sure.

Here is the link:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-big-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/

And here are the cookies! YUM!

And speaking of eating cookies........I'm getting fatter!!! 16 weeks! Yippee!

And speaking of getting fatter, I had a boy at the dollar store come up to me and say, "Hey, you're fat!"
Yeah, that made me feel awesome. Little sh*%.

And in other news, I hosted a very last minute 30th birthday party today for my sweet friend Tawnya. When I heard she didn't really have any plans for the big 3-0 I jumped into action. A few friends, a fun game and a delicious lunch later, I think she felt celebrated and very loved. I adore any excuse for a party, even if we only have a few hours to pull it off! I forgot to take pictures during the actual party, but here is the aftermath.

I am SO looking forward to playing with my family for a couple of days in Jackson Hole. Nate has to work up there for the next few days and I insisted that the boys and I come along. They are only little once and even if they miss a few of days of school it will be great to get some quality family time in. I can't wait to take the boys sledding and swimming. We're staying in this really cute family cabin. It really is a beautiful place to visit. We're lucky to live so close.

Yeah, we're awesome parents like that who encourage their kids to play hooky. Shhh....don't tell on us. ☺

A very random post indeed......

Last time I was pregnant I was 25 years old. I swear there is a huge difference between 25 and 30. So, I'm 16 weeks pregnant and still throwing up at least 2 times a day. I SWEAR this went away at about 12 weeks when I was pregnant with Landon. I am still extremely tired too. I go to sleep early and take 2 naps every day. Yep....2 naps! Seriously, I feel like I'm 80 or something. Grateful to be pregnant, just wanting to feel a little bit more like myself...that's all.

The only place I have been DYING to eat at......Chuck A Rama! Sick I know. Something about having a small little sampling of all sorts of food AND desserts just makes me giddy. Nate took our family out for a night on the town the other day. He made my dreams come true by taking us to the Up-chuck. He's such a romantic. ♥

My Dallin just finished up another season of indoor soccer. He did a GREAT job as the goalie. He wasn't even afraid of the ball at all. Unfortunately his team lost ALL of their games.....they ended up tying their last game. Yahoo! That is right...I am cheering for a tie! The best part though, Dal still loved it and still wants to play again. Gotta love that positive attitude. You also HAVE to love the crazy striped socks that he borrowed from Dad's Argentina box. Hehe.

My two elementary boys received their report cards. Dallin straight A's once more and Parker got all A's and a B+! We took the boys out to celebrate with some Orange Leaf last night. Proud of my smart and hard working boys.

Taught preschool yesterday. We had so much fun heading over to the library for story time and then doing a few crafts at home before it was time to go. We were down to 4 kids because one was out of town and one moved recently! 4 kids = EASY!

I love my Landon. We've had so much fun being home together this past year while the boys are in school all day. He is so sweet as I've had a hard time these past few months. The other day I told him I needed to lay down for a few minutes because I was SO tired. He came in, tucked me in and said, "Ok Mom, you and your baby sleep good ok?" "Don't worry about me, I'll just be playing Nick Jr. for awhile." Love that sweet boy.

Doesn't Jack just look THRILLED in this picture? Hahahaha! I love it! He puts up with SO much crap in this house.

In other news, I am a total and utter BAWL BABY. I have pretty much forbidden myself from listening to ANY country music on the radio anymore. I start sobbing to every stinking song. I am a hormonal basket case. I probably shouldn't share this story for fear of total humiliation but hey, here it goes.
Yesterday I went to pick up the boys from school and the Chick Fil-et COW was out in front of the school reminding the kids to go to Chick Fil-et for dinner that night! It was a fundraiser for the school. The cow was standing out there waiting for the bell to ring and for the kids to come. When I saw the pure JOY on the kindergartners faces when they came out......yep, I totally lost it. I was crying over a dressed up cow holding a sign.

 Wow.

Less than 2 weeks until we have our gender ultrasound. I bought some cute BOY bedding online the other day. I think its another boy and it was a steal of a deal.

Alright, this rambling has gone on long enough. ☺