Why Bigger is Sometimes Easier...

While I'm waiting for some videos to upload, I came across a few reasons why bigger families can be easier, written by Matthew Archibold and posted on McKMama's website...I will make some notes underneath:

Why big families are easier:

Patience. I never have to teach patience. My children know that I can’t drop everything for them if I have a baby in my arms.

(Unfortunately, I don't think either of my children are old enough, or have enough siblings yet to understand patience and the fact that I can't wait on them hand and foot individually at any given time...but I'm excited at the prospect that perhaps this will one day happen!)

Work Ethic. My children have learned to work because there are always chores to do in a small house packed with little messy lunatics. And they all learn quickly that sometimes they have to clean up a mess even though they didn’t make it.

(I will agree that Ayris and Asher could fall into the messy lunatics category but I can only give Ayris props for picking up messes when she's not the only one to have made it. Asher is proving to be relatively lazy and nonchalant when it comes to tedious requests such as picking up after oneself...although, he (along with Ayris) is VERY good at clearing his plate off the table and pushing in his chair)

Humility. My children have learned it’s not always their turn. They’ve accepted they can’t always get their way because other people have to get their way sometimes. They’ve learned that some children are better at certain things than they are.

(I'm starting to think that my children need to be a bit older to have learned these lessons! As neither of mine can understand yet that it is indeed not their turn ALL OF THE TIME)

Foreign language skills. You can learn a lot of Spanish by watching ten years of Dora the Explorer that you just can’t pick up in two. And now with the Diego spin off I’m practically fluent.

(This one makes me laugh. I'm sure Chris has learned some Spanish by now...along with the entire episode lineup from the past 4 years. I honestly was thinking that with a boy, Dora wouldn't need to be such a staple but both children have loved it and still watch it to this day (Ayris being a little less interested in it than Asher)...none the less, I would imagine, as long as she's on air, we will have logged about 10+ years of Dora by the time we're done...Lucky US!!)

Laughter. The children have learned to laugh at the insane non sequiturs of younger siblings. They’ve learned that laughing just feels better when seven people are doing it along with you.

(This is proving to be true...and there's nothing better than hearing the kids laugh at one another and then joining in and laughing together about something that quite possibly isn't even funny to begin with)

Competition. Do I really need to go into this? Everything is a competition in big families. The children compete over who reads faster, who drinks their milk faster, who gets to the bathroom first…etc. Everything is a competition and they’re all keeping score.

(I actually could do without this one...but it's definitely true...especially with Ayris...she's keeping track down to the amount of Jello she's getting versus Asher...she always wants more and has to be the first...otherwise, there is a complete meltdown on her part. Luckily, Asher is pretty laid back and lets her get away with it...for the MOST part)

Balance. The floor of the front room of my home is a minefield of toys and childhood paraphernalia. Just walking through the room requires great skill and balance. I’m absolutely convinced my two year old will be a favorite for Gold on the balance beam in the 2016 Olympics. (She might have to lay off the cookies a little but I’ll deal with that later.)

Life isn’t fair. Sometimes you just give it to the baby because you want a little quiet. Not all the time. But sometimes.

(This one is true too, unfortunately. Ayris gets the shaft a lot...I've told Chris a hundred times that she has the absolute worst spot in the family as far as I'm concerned...being female AND the oldest??? The expectations for her will always be impossibly high...and I admit that she has more responsibilities and is blamed more and is expected of more than Asher...which is definitely not fair...at all)

Just say “No.” Being able to say “no” may be the most undervalued skill in this world. The need to be liked is pervasive. The need to be cool even more so. Having brothers and sisters teaches children to say “no” about 143 times a day. It’s a good skill.

(This one made me smile too. I can't tell you how many times the word NO flies around this house...when you count myself, Chris, Ayris and Asher all saying it, we might just be up to 143 times a day with just the 4 of us!)

Praying. They learn that nothing beats praying together as a family.

Nature/Nurture. Having many children has taught me that nature has a lot more to do with who my kids are than nurture. This is helpful, especially when your children misbehave you don’t have to feel bad about it. Just say “Stupid nature!!!” and blame your spouse’s genes.

Namecalling. You can occasionally call your child by the wrong name and still not be considered a terrible parent. They know who you mean just from your tone. Sometimes if you need something done you can call the wrong name and someone will still show up. That helps.

(I liked this one too and I don't feel too bad about calling Ayris, Asher and vice versa because on many occasions Ayris will start with "Grand.., Dad, I mean, MOM" before she gets the right person...and I like the idea that having more kids means that someone might actually show up, regardless of whether or not, it was the one you intended to have there)

Spying. My children have learned that they can’t get away with anything. I have spies who look a lot like them who are willing to drop the dime on them for anything. Even at school I’ve got a child in just about every grade. If they do something I’ll hear. That keeps them nervous. And I like keeping my kids a little nervous.

(I can only hope this one proves true. I've joked about moving to the Farmington school district just so Chris' mom could be on the lookout too...what child would be misbehaving if their grandmother were walking the halls? Especially one that serves as the school psychologist too??)

Friendship. The children have many friends. They’ve got girly friends, crying friends, fun loving friends, consoling friends, and crazy friends. And they all have the same last name. And they’ll be there forever for each other. No matter what.

Love. I think my children have learned to love because there are others around them to love and who love them. I honestly can think of no better way to teach children to love than siblings.

(These last two are obviously my favorites...although all of the kids will have their own group of friends, the idea that they'll have their own built in brothers and sisters who will always be there...I can't think of anything better. It doesn't matter how much Ayris and Asher fight on any given day...and some days, it's ALOT...at the end of it, they love each other and miss one another when the other is gone)

And now, here are the videos I was uploading. Baby Collins was going nuts in my stomach this morning...sure enough when I pulled the camera out, he stopped but I did get a little bit. This first video is of Asher trying to feed the baby fruit snacks to get him to wake up...and the last part at the end where it sounds like "Spraying"...yeah, he had just helped himself to some more I can't believe its not butter...I managed to hide it for about all of three days...but now that he knows it's there, he's been making daily trips into the kitchen. In the first video there's no movement in my stomach but in the second one...there's some in the very beginning and then more at the end of the clip.

P.S. Starting tomorrow, I will be in the 80's!! Were we not just in the 100's?? Yea! Now we just need to agree on a name!

I've also added a few more cloth diapers to my stash...and some necessary (IMO) baby paraphenalia that I've gotten...I'll upload pictures later...

Pregnancy Lapses...A Heartbeat...and a Few Pictures...

So I texted Chris to get the mail once he got home last night. When he walks in he asks if I got the mail...so I get all irritated and I'm like NO....I asked YOU to get the mail. And he says, "Well that's just it, there was no mail, which is weird...are you sure you didn't get it already today?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot, I did."

=) =) =) Not only did I forget that I had already checked the mail but I was ready to be all irritated at the fact that he hadn't!

I just thought the trees looked awesome this past Saturday when we woke up to the snow/ice on the trees.


I never noticed the difference size wise between Ayris and Asher...I mean, I knew they were only a couple pounds apart but I can see in the picture below now that Ayris is far narrower...down to her tiny butt (compared to his) and he's broader in the back/shoulders as well. Isn't it weird how male/female bodies just know how to form accordingly??
The kids have a real penchant for watching Chris feed the lizard. Now that the kids are older and are requesting feedings, Lucy is getting far more attention/food than she used to. Don't you love how Asher is just completely undeterred by the nasty worms and the (in my opinion) gross warm smell that radiates from that lizard cage...and is just chomping away on those Pringles while he watches??

Asher in his ball pit that his aunt Kristen got him for his birthday.
The cats are more of an annoyance to me these days (they need to be shaved as they are leaving their hair all over the carpets which leads to way more vacuuming...BUT the nice mama that I am...I'm trying to wait until it gets a little warmer outside before doing that AND Sophie is an idiot who likes to howl and meow really loud at only two times of the day...right as we're going to bed and EARLY in the morning...OH and she climbs onto the windowsill and opens all the blinds so the sun shines in...AND Sabine likes to sleep on my head...which is also annoying...I'm already up 5 times a night to pee...I don't need another thing waking me up...but I digress on the cat complaints) BUT I thought this was a really cute picture...
The kids dressing themselves one afternoon.
Complete with Asher's new bright orange Crocs...

And Ayris in her brothers too short pants...and her new Mary Jane Crocs that she has already torn the straps off of!

In some of Asher's new shirts...Ayris likes to wear his clothes...including his new character underwear. Meanwhile, Asher likes his toes painted pink like Ayris, glitter care bear tattoos, Barbie DVDs, and wearing his sister's bright pink coat...so I GUESS it all evens out.

I thought Chris would appreciate the back of these shirts.

Blogger for some reason doesn't allow for audio clips so I had to put Adler's heartbeat in as a "video"...so you'll see an ultrasound picture in the beginning and then it will disappear but the heartbeat will continue. I uploaded two videos as one of the recorded heartbeats was a little clearer...not sure which one at this point.

And this video is of the kids singing their favorite song, You Spin Me Round...although, instead of the lovely version that they got used to hearing on the radio, they now prefer Chris' Marilyn Manson version...YUCK!

Jello fun...

So after dinner, the kids and I are sitting at the table eating Jello when I just randomly announced to Ayris that jello has horse hooves in it. To which she inquired what horse hooves were...once I told her, she simply stated "Well horse hooves taste real good!"

I think it's funny that upon finding out this fun fact myself a while back, I was kind of disgusted (obviously I got over it if I'm now eating Jello) but to a kid, it doesn't matter if it tastes good. Often times, if Ayris doesn't know what a certain meat is, she'll ask what animal it is...cow, pig, etc.

Anyway, for any of you that are curious, I googled why exactly horse hooves are used in jello and this is what I found:

The gelatin in Jell-O is what lets you transform it into all sorts of different shapes. What exactly is gelatin? Gelatin is just a processed version of a structural protein called collagen that is found in many animals, including humans. Collagen actually makes up almost a third of all the protein in the human body. It is a big, fibrous molecule that makes skin, bones, and tendons both strong and somewhat elastic.

As you get older, your body makes less collagen, and individual collagen fibers become cross linked with each other. You might experience this as stiff joints (from less flexible tendons) or wrinkles (from loss of skin elasticity).

The gelatin you eat in Jell-O comes from the collagen in cow or pig bones, hooves, and connective tissues. To make gelatin, manufacturers grind up these various parts and pre-treat them with either a strong acid or a strong base to break down cellular structures and release proteins like collagen.

After pre-treatment, the resulting mixture is boiled. During this process, the large collagen protein ends up being partially broken down, and the resulting product is called gelatin.

The gelatin is easily extracted because it forms a layer on the surface of the boiling mixture.­­

Woot Woot for Double Digits...

I said I'd be having a little dance party once I got below 100...and we did...finally today. I would have done it at 99 days but I felt like being a slob and not doing my hair/makeup until absolutely necessary...which happened to be today =) But hey, 97 days is better than 99 anyway...WAY more reason to celebrate. I am a white girl with no dancing skill so don't expect much...I made the kids dance too so there'd be at least a little entertainment...

So I'm sure it's all downhill from now...I do think my countdown is going faster now that we're in the double digits. It's a good thing =) I'm more excited by the day to meet this little guy. I'm not sure what it is with this pregnancy but my pelvic and tailbone muscles seem to forget their function upon standing up when I've been laying down for an extended period of time. I feel like an 80 year old for about the 10 seconds it takes for my body to remember how to hold itself up and walk. None the less, it's a small price to pay considering I don't really have any other pregnancy symptoms ever. Well, except for having to pee 100 times at night. Last night, I went pee 3 times in the span of about 5 minutes. I think he was just hanging out on my bladder again because there wasn't much there but it was annoying none the less to keep hauling my 80 year old body off the bed each time. I actually just read in some pregnancy article that a huge reason behind having to pee so often, isn't from the baby pressing on your bladder (although that's the cause towards the end of pregnancy), it's because a woman's blood volume doubles during pregnancy which in turn presses on the kidneys...interesting, I know!

Yea!!!

I'm not sure what else in the future will parallel with the excitement I feel right now BUT Asher just pooped in his potty! I had been watching him closely all morning because he normally goes around 10:30 each day...and by this afternoon, I figured he was just holding it for lack of wanting to go in the potty AND for the fact that he had no underwear to do it in (the last two mornings, he had underwear on until he pooped in them but this a.m. he's been commando since waking up)...anyway, a few minutes ago, I noticed him going behind the chair and I knew he really had to go...so I "hid" his potty chair behind the couch (he likes privacy...even in diapers, he always went to hide when he pooped) and told Ayris not to look at him...so we ignored him and then voila...there it was...the entire bottom of the potty and more was covered--BLEH...is all I have to say about that...even though I'm not super excited about emptying that poop everyday now until he decides regular toilets are for him...it's still worth it to know that he's done it once so it'll only get easier from here. He ALSO has gone potty in his peter potty (the stand up one) twice today. Needless to say, he's gotten ALOT of praise AND was excited about one of the cars he got to pick out for going poop. Ayris picked out some tattoos (she's been getting rewards too for encouraging him) and Asher decided he wanted a butterfly...he requested it be put on his butt...maybe he was proud of all that his butt accomplished too!

Yesterday we received a bunch of packages with some spring clothes for the kids along with baby #3's new carseat and highchair:

There are a number of cool things about this highchair...for one, it folds down completely flat in about 10 seconds (not that I'll probably ever take the time to do that but still a nice feature if I wanted it put away for all of those parties we throw OR for when traveling)...it also has two trays...one that snaps onto the top of the bottom tray (which should make for easier cleaning) AND two different seat cover options (which would make it nice for cleaning, if and when I ever decide to run the dirty one through the wash!).

I don't think there are any special things about this carseat, aside from one review I read that says it actually clips onto restaurant chairs and shopping carts...but considering it took me like 100 hours to figure out how to move the restraints up (even with reading the directions...they had it on the smallest setting...and unless you have like a 14 inch long baby-which is coincidentally the size of this little guy now at 25 weeks) then the kid is probably not going to be fitting in that setting) so we'll see if Chris can figure out those extra functions.

And then today we received two different brands of cloth diapers. I found a deal yesterday online where you could get $25 off a $50 purchase from diapers.com...considering one of these diapers alone could cost close to $25 bucks, I figured getting two diapers AND 6 cotton soaker liners was a good deal.

The green diaper is a Bum Genius 3.0 One size...which means that it should fit your baby from birth until potty training. Actually, I should say it fits kids who are not in the 100 percentile for weight range...it goes from 7-35 pounds...so in Asher's case...since he's 43 pounds, it obviously would not have fit him into potty training...the blue diaper is a Fuzzi Bunz and it is a medium but the nice thing about this diaper is that it is perfect for thin and bigger kids as there are a bunch of snaps that alter the size. The Fuzzi Bunz had the SOFTEST lining ever. So soft, that I would totally consider switching to these myself if they went up to like 145 pounds.

Here is a picture of the diapers opened so you can see the snaps. It's harder to see the snaps on the Bum Genius but there's three levels of green snaps which is what allows it to be a small/medium and large. And then with the Fuzzi Bunz, you can see all the white snaps which allows you to tighten/loosen the fit of the diaper. I am SUPER excited to try cloth diapering and build up my stash once we go through like the 500 disposable diapers I've already purchased for this little guy.


This will probably be the last of the potty training posts *fingers crossed* as we've pretty much figured everything out. Now I just need to get to the next step of him being in underwear...and then eventually training on the actual toilet. None the less, I think he's made REAL progress! It sure is nice to have such superstar kids! =)

Weight gain and potty training...

It's things like this:
That have caused me to gain 3 pounds in the last week, making my 170 goal seem absolutely ludicrous at this point. But when I think about the kind of things I've been making and then consuming...like Cinnamon raisin biscuits with icing, buffalo chicken cheese dip, stuffed mushrooms, funnel cakes, chocolate pudding/cream cheese with pecan crust cake, and then the complete package of those chocolate/vanilla/strawberry wafer cookies I bought this weekend and were only three short of being gone the next morning...yeah, I can see why. I decided I will go ahead and do the 3 hour glucose test at my next appointment...because seriously, if I do have gestational diabetes and it goes undiagnosed, this kid is coming out a toddler. FOR REAL.

Potty training is going a LITTLE better today. He pooped in his underwear and obviously peed at the same time...but otherwise, he's gone pee in his frog potty the other times. I could get used to see his little naked self running around though...

Here he is washing his hands...
I loved how his little belly pooched out when he was straining so hard to get that soap.

And this is him right now watching Tom and Jerry...looks comfy huh?

And yea! Just as I was about to post this, I saw Asher go over to his potty all on his own, sit down and go pee! This was the first time I wasn't "reminding" him. I've decided the three day method doesn't work for him. I was on McMama's website today and she was writing about how she lets her kids run around naked while they are training until they really aren't having too many accidents anymore...because putting underwear on them too soon continues to make them think they're in a diaper and they tend to just let loose...which is probably why I went through 9 pairs of underwear yesterday. I've noticed he's doing a lot better now that he's naked. So we'll see! I think this is going to take longer than 3 days...which is seriously going to limit our outings...but who wants to get out in this weather anyway?

I am so OVER potty training.

It's only day one and I'm just like whatever about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't care if the kid stayed in diapers until he was 10 at this point BUT the whole reason I'm doing this is because he can't go to preschool in the fall unless he's potty trained...and I figured that it'd be better to get him acclimated now versus after the baby is born...I didn't want to deal with the regression...but seriously. This blows. Hardcore.

I don't know if Ayris was just a genius or what but I potty trained her a little earlier than I am Asher and she had two accidents. TWO. That's it. All it took was her peeing in her underwear twice and she was over it. She's never even wet the bed. I'll be dam*ed if I'm letting Asher wear underwear to bed tonight. I'll continue trying to train him during the day but no way am I washing full size bedding and making the bottom bunk bed daily until he decides to learn how to hold his pee.

I'm already failing at trying to implement this woman's 3 day plan...like the part where I'm not supposed to get irritated/frustrated. Well, sorry, but it's really hard to not get annoyed when this child has now peed through 9 pairs of underwear and went poop in another. It's like he's not even trying! And each time he does it, we have this conversation about trying to tell Mommy the NEXT time he has to pee. He always says okay but does he do it? No, he just keeps peeing on himself. And he's not even holding it...I mean, until there is a sufficient amount anyway...which is a plus since he's peeing all over the house...at least it's not A LOT but that's besides the point. I just don't see how the concept is that hard. He knows how to pee in the potty...he's been doing it on and off since he was about 15 months old when I just tried sitting him on the toilet.

Anyway, I'm over caring at this point. I'm going to start rocking potty training like we're living on the blue lagoon. As I was peeing for the 20th time today myself, I was wishing we were just on some island so he could run around naked and just pee wherever. So this is what my child/children (Of course Ayris can not be left out of the festivities...and any chance to get naked is at the top of her to do list) look like currently:

I decided to move all of this peeing in the potty fun downstairs to his frog potty. The 3 day book said to keep taking him to the toilet...well that's super cool and all but he can't climb onto it himself and it's ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS. And I'm over climbing stairs for today...until bedtime that is...then I will willingly run my children up there and put them to bed. Since he has been stripped down naked and allowed access to his frog, he has peed in it twice already. So hopefully we're going to turn over a new leaf here.

At this rate, baby number three (since it is a BOY) will be training right along with baby number 4 (if it is a girl) because its obvious that girls are a little more advanced when it comes to "getting things" the first time around. Sorry Chris...you were obviously a rockstar genius...being potty trained at 18 months and all. Course I was potty trained by 18 months too...but it's definitely more of a success story when coming from a boy. You should even consider posting that as your facebook status...that's something to be majorly proud of...you were obviously WAY ahead of the game.

What is going on with...

My baby countdown ticker? I think it's stuck? I have a friend who is a month ahead of me and her ticker is at 81 days...and I'm still stuck at 106. Obviously when you do the math, it all adds up...but I must say, I'm pretty sure her countdown is going far faster than mine...like I go look at her ticker daily just to punish myself...or for lack of something better to do...I'm not sure which. Maybe it's just getting under that 100 mark that makes the difference? Well I'll be doing a little dance about 6 days from now!

If you remember, I wasn't thrilled that this little guy was in fact a guy upon finding out 5 weeks ago BUT now I can't imagine it being a girl AND I'm finding that my BABY boy Asher is on his way out while some new insane boy is coming forth. His latest thing is saying "Whatever Mom!"...where did he learn that? Crazy and nutso are also his favorite words. Today in the car, Ayris told him he was crazy, to which he responded "I am not crazy! I am NUTSO NUTSO NUTSO in the head!" So apparently, there is in fact, a difference between being crazy and nutso. Needless to say, I'm excited about potentially having another sweet little boy who will fit into the mama's boy vision that I have in my head...and that Asher used to fill. Because I'm pretty sure I've lost both kids for the time being. Chris is their favorite. They love him more. And believe me, Ayris' reason for loving him more is totally conceivable. It's his hair. He has WAY better hair than I do. Luckily, that reasoning isn't good enough to make me care. But I must say...it is TOTALLY awesome to do everything for your children and then realize that you're only going to be their favorite when they're sick...which, like I told Chris is a total bonus...it makes sense that I'd get to be the favorite when it entails all the work...like cleaning up puke, or getting up in the middle of the night, etc. And don't get me wrong...Chris does all of those things (luckily, we haven't had these issues for a while though!) but I just think it's funny that the mom gets to be the favorite when it entails all the things that go unappreciated at any other time (taking care of them, cleaning up after them, etc).

In other news, the weather super sucks out today. We had to take Chris to the airport and saw semi's along with numerous cars in ditches, etc. As we were getting ready to leave, Chris was like, Asher is wearing his sister's pink coat? To which I responded, yes...we're just taking you to the airport...no one is going to see him. After getting in the car and seeing all the wrecks, I rethought my decision to wear flip flops. It seemed like a good idea at the time because we'd just be driving to the airport and back so really, I didn't need my shoes...but then I began to imagine getting into a car wreck and having to stand out in the 5 feet of snow in my flip flops...that didn't necessarily appeal to me but there was nothing I could do about it now. After dropping Chris off, I decided we needed to get something to eat because I was getting that feeling that I could pass out at any minute (I usually get it after taking a really hot shower or if it's been more than like 4 hours since I've eaten...I'm thinking this boy might an Asher like appetite!) so I told the kids we were going to DRIVE THRU McDonalds...so they'd know that we weren't doing the playland. Of course, Ayris said we needed to go to the playplace because "MOM!! We have our socks on!!!" (there've been many times they didn't have socks on so I told them they couldn't go...cuz it's a rule...but lo and behold...McDonalds actually sells socks now for the playplace--I'm not kidding!)...so I caved and said we could go in...afterall, starting tomorrow we will be stuck in the house for a bare minimum of 3-4 days so we can potty train Asher...so the least I could do is let them have some fun at the playplace. One of the main reasons I didn't want to go in in the first place was because of my flip flops...people look at you weird when you're out in your flip flops during a snow storm. And of course, an old man had to comment about how weather appropriate my shoes (or lack thereof) were...but after explaining that I was just going to drop off my husband and then head straight home...but then was pressured into the playplace by the kids, he understood. None the less, the point of this entry was the texts Chris and I sent back shortly after getting to the playplace:

Chris: Are you home now?
Me: No, we are at the McDonalds Playplace so I of course look like a total idiot in my flip flops
Chris: Well stand next to Ash. With his purple socks, blue sandals and pink jacket, no one will notice your flip flops.

HAHAHA. That just made me laugh outloud. It didn't even phase me that I had Asher out in his sisters purple polka dot socks, his blue crocs and his sisters bright pink coat. So basically, Ayris was the only normal looking one today...although she had her crocs on too. And yes, people...they are sandals...but at least they had their socks on with them...be it purple or not (laundry is currently being done!)...again, I wasn't envisioning everyone trampling around in the snow today!

I guess that's all for now...I'm tired and need a nap. I'm pretty sure I got up 4-5 times last night to pee...that seems to have been the case now for the past few weeks...lets hope baby boy realizes he's got another good 4 inches he can move upward. Seemingly, I've noticed boys like to hang out low...I've mentioned that hiccups are my favorite thing...with Ayris, I would let everyone in the office feel when she had them...with Asher, they were always down by my crotch...so having others feel them wasn't as common...and I'm pretty sure as I'm typing this, baby boy is kneading my bladder with his tiny little toes...no kidding.

Just a few things...

Oh my goodness, these kids are crazy! Here's the exchange between them right now:
(Ayris and Asher start fighting over some SpongeBob valentines' cards)
Mommy: Ayris, can you just try to include him? Then he might not irritate you so much.
(In her nicest possible voice)
Ayris: Sure mom. Asher, could you please go away from me for a while??
Mommy: Um...that's not exactly what I meant by "including him"...I meant that you should try to get him involved in what you're doing
Ayris: Okay, Asher, (couldn't hear all of what she was saying) about this cow?
(Asher just starts messing up her cards again and Ayris starts yelling at him)
Ayris: Get away from me Asher...you're freaking making me mad! Darn, Darn Darn MAD!
(He continues to pester her so I jump in)
Mommy: ASHER! Quit annoying your sister...do you want a spanking (again with these idle threats)??
Asher: No mommy, don't spank me.
Mommy: Okay, then leave your sister alone!
Asher: Well...you can spank me a little.
I just started laughing at that point. I seriously can't win with these kids...they're just too funny and smart.

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days.

This is Asher finding a good use for his "RIBBIT" potty. Starting on Monday, we will be starting the 3 day potty training method...so hopefully by Wednesday or Thursday, we'll be all grown up!

Asher put Ayris' feather boa in the bathtub and when I came in to get her out, she had found a new use for it.
So Asher's new obsession is with the spray butter. He's been interested in it for a while but the other morning, I saw him walking around with it (I had left the kitchen baby gate open apparently) and just decided to let him have it.

The following morning, I was getting ready for my 24 week appointment when I walked into his room and found him yet again with the butter! He thought he was being sneaky!

Today I decided to put on my good mom hat and let the kids play out in the snow...armed with some Tupperware containers and a few spatulas.

AND, I'm not sure what kind of stance this is but when I asked Ayris to pose for this picture, this is what she did...

Thanks to Grandma Molly for this orange shirt and the other clothes you sent. The kids liked them...and I'm not sure if Asher will be getting his shirt back...Ayris seemed to like this best =) BTW Grandma Molly, if you wake up in the middle of the night with the sudden urge to buy some other cotton items that can be worn by little people...Adler subliminally told me to let you know that he'd like some BumGenius or Grobaby cloth diapers...wink...wink...=P I'm just saying...I think he was a little jealous to hear all of the excitement from the other two this afternoon =)

On another note...I had my 1 hour glucose test yesterday. My doctor excitedly sent me a note saying "YOU PASSED!" after getting the results...when I looked at the normal range, it was 60-130...and my number was 129. Um hello...aren't we a little close to the better-start-resisting-those-sweets-before-you-pop-out-a-15-pound-baby-range??? I emailed her back and she said we could go ahead and do the 3 hour test (yeah, cuz I'm SUPER excited to drink even more of that stuff and then SIT there for 3 hours!) or we could just monitor my urine samples. Well really, when you think about it, how accurate are those urine samples? If you could find out everything you had to know by that stuff, then why would there by a need for the 1 and 3 hour tests to begin with? SO...I don't know where we're at...she's not in again until Monday so we'll see. I suggested just doing the 1 hour test again at 28 weeks but if worse comes to worse, I'll just do the 3 hour and suck it up.

The little man did hear my request for hiccups though because he is now having them regularly...and they're not quite like I imagined. He seems to have them with his whole body...like there's little earthquakes going on in there...but none the less, still exciting.