Where shall I give birth???

I am soliciting advice from anyone who's had a baby at McKay-Dee Hospital or Ogden Regional. It's pretty simple. Which hospital should I have this baby at? As I've mentioned before, I'm a tad indecisive and rely heavily on other people's opinions. If you have any info or personal experience- good, bad, scary, etc., I would love to hear it.

And while I'm at it. I CANNOT decide whether I'm putting the 2 older kiddos together in a room or completely revamping the house so that all 3 kids have their own rooms upstairs. I secretly know that they should probably have their own rooms, but I am even more secretly lazy and don't want to move the office to the living room, the living room to the family room and then the family room to the basement (which means we should probably finish the bathroom in the basement, etc, etc, etc). It kinda makes me want to vomit and I'm starting to sweat as I think about it. Any success stories about 2 kiddos who already won't go to bed miraculously going to bed when sharing a room? I was planning on having this all worked out a few months before the baby came. Oops.

Tea Party 2009

Last Saturday (Valentine's Day), was my mom's annual tea party for all the girls. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...

Like always, my mom completely out-did herself, amazing me with how elegant everything looked and tasted. We also made scrapbooks for the event. So fun. Thanks mom- we love you and look forward to this tradition every year!

Temple Open House

Last Thursday we got to go to the Draper LDS Temple Open House. We really talked it up for about a week before we went so the kids were really excited. Colby has asked a few times why he can't go inside so I love that the church allows us to go through these new temples with our kids so they can have a short glimpse into what the temple is all about. It was breath-taking and the organization was incredible. Kara's words as we were leaving were, "That was a great temple!"

Don't they look like a cute little engaged couple?

Ontario '09

Our little trip was a success and we all had a fabulous time. It rained nearly the entire time we were there- just like last year. Word is, it NEVER rains there but I think the locals are lying. I wasn't the funnest shopping companion ever since walking more than 2 minutes gives me constant contractions, but thanks to Melissa insisting on pushing me around a wheelchair, my shopping longevity was spared.

Here are my favorite purchases

I have worn those pants literally almost everyday since I got them. They are a pregnant woman's dream and I can't take them off long enough to take a picture of them. So Colby snapped a shot- not bad for a 4-year-old, eh?

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Bad News. I took a risk and bought some athletic shoes, in which I am in desperate need of, at a store that does not exist in Utah. Wore them for an hour to find that they hurt like heck.

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Good News! Cameron got an Ontario trip put on his schedule this weekend and I'm going to try to go with him so I can take the shoes back. What are the chances? And heck, maybe I'll pick myself up another pair of those pants- they were only $7...

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Obviously there were tons of laughs and good times. Here are a few highlights-

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*Walking around Victoria Gardens in a wheelchair and a gigantic umbrella that still didn't cover 2 girls and a wheelchair and then violently being pushed into some prickly bushes.

*A bread bowl with baked potato soup at Corner Bakery Cafe.

*2 hour conversation with a random lady on the couch in the mall who woke me up to ask me how pregnant I was. About 2 seconds later, we were talking about her and her husband that is cheating on her.

*The Lovely Ayres Inn and Suites employees. Seriously, this hotel is amazing. They got us breakfast after it had completely been put away. Hot cookies in the lobby after a long day of shopping. They shuttled us all around creation, gave us 7 pillows and let us check out hours early and late. And all for a great SkyWest discount!

*10:00 pm (11:00pm Utah time) dinner at Cheesecake Factory

*Coming in under budget. That's right. I did it. Alright, it's not much to brag about since being really pregnant puts a bit of a damper on your shopping spirits. I'm afraid the damage would have been much worse if I had not been great with child. ...You know I couldn't let this post go without some reference to the budget. C'mon- it rules my life!

Love is in the air...I think

Happy Valentines Day!

I can't say I've been a huge fan of Valentines day in the past. I'm really rather indifferent to it. I don't love it, but I don't sit around and feel sorry for myself either. I decided to change my attitude this year and try to have a little more fun with it.

We had a rough start since I came down to the kitchen to find an entire pitcher full of Mt. Dew spilled onto the kitchen floor, bar stools and counter. Remember how much I HATE sticky floors? I was less than thrilled, to say it delicately, on this so delicate of days. I was so excited to make the kids red heart-shaped pancakes but my Valentine spirit was dampened and stirring up batter while my feet were stuck to the floor was the last thing I wanted to do. After giving the kids a bath to wash off their sticky bodies (since they tried so hard to clean it up before I saw it), and getting on my hands and knees 3 different times (with a big 'ol belly in the way, I might add), I calmed myself down and made us some pancakes with nothing but a cheerful smile on my face. Alright, that was an exaggeration. But it was worth it because the kids loved them.

The day will only get better since Kara and I are off to my mom's for our annual Tea-Party which we've been looking forward to for weeks! And then home to prepare for a husband who will actually be home for Valentines day (at least the last bit of it). Have a good day!

Ace of Cakes

Katrina registered me for a cake decorating class for Christmas this year and this is my first creation. The first week we learned how to level and frost a cake without getting crumbs or knife marks, and a few other things (I was obviously asleep the whole class evidenced by the plethora of crumbs and knife marks- I think the picture hides it well). This week we learned how to do stars, printing, dots and paper transfers. It's a fun class and I now know a few things to do and not to do.

1. DON'T wait until the day of to prepare the cake and frosting. The class isn't until the evening, and I thought I had plenty of time to complete these tasks among a few other things I needed to get done that day. Not so. After coming home to a frantic wife who he hadn't seen in nearly a week, Cameron so graciously went to the store for me to buy more shortening and then he actually made my icing for me while I was working. What a guy.

2. DON'T be stingy on the shortening when greasing the cake pan. Both my cakes completely stuck to the pans leaving huge chunks of cake behind and a less-than-pretty cake to have to decorate without knife marks and crumbs.

3. DO listen and take notes in class because your memory sucks and there's no way you can rely on it when it comes time to perform.

4. DO eat before class so that the edge will be taken off your sour mood.

5. DO consult your husband about how to rig up a turn table (a must have!) to decorate your cake because your too cheap to buy a real one. I'll just say that those spice racks do more than store spices. What a delightful invention.

6. DO watch more Ace of Cakes. What a cool show.

Budget Schmudget

Just kidding. Okay, I'm not. It's only been 6 weeks and I am definitely feeling the "I can't spend money" whoas. Sometimes I absolutely love being on a budget. Why? Because it takes the indecision out of shopping. I am a very indecisive person. And if know I can't spend it, it's almost easier to just say no. Okay, it's not always that easy. It's much easier to just stay out of the store in the first place. Which is funny because I find I have a lot more time these days, just by not going out to "shop" as much. I also love it because I am a total control freak and I absolutely LOVE knowing EXACTLY where my money is going. And much of the time, a budget is a big huge pain in the butt and it just plain sucks.

Last year I went on quicky shopping trip with some friends and this year, after the new budget was revealed, I decided it just wasn't going to happen. But............I took back a few things for Christmas (it's not that I didn't like them Cameron, I promise. They just hurt. ...stupid feet), I had a little extra cash that was burning a hole in my pocket so I decided the shopping trip was on. I know, I know, if I was truly Gazelle-like (from the good 'ol Dave Ramsey book) all that hot cash would go straight to debt, but- nobody's perfect. So, I'm off tomorrow to Ontario California. Home to the Ontario Mills Mall, one stop shopping for all your shopping needs. Can't wait! Can't wait to see just how good I can be or if I'm just being an idiot. Remember? Just staying away from shopping is my best line of defense and I just lost a few men. Alright, I'm done rattling on. I really just needed a new post so I didn't have to stare at the old one anymore.