YAY!

Only good news at the doctors' today! Baby Boy has turned on his own... finally!! I think it happened just in the last day or two, probably about the time he dropped. Such a Hutcherson, waiting till the last possible second to do something! He looks good, heart rate is good, his cheeks are so chubby as you can see in the picture. I think we have a little Mini Me for Ethan in this one!

Hmmmmm...

Well, supposedly I have 34 days left till we get to meet our new little one (STILL as yet to be named of course! grrrrr), but I'm not so sure it'll be 34 days! As of yesterday, he has dropped. It took me 2 hours to do 30 minutes of errand running this morning. I am really slowing down! Good thing that Bryan came home yesterday from log warrior (training for his soldiers). He had been gone a week and I was just about done in. It's not like he has the time or energy to contribute TONS at home, after all he works 12-15 hour days or longer, but something about knowing he's coming home at some point helps a ton! He did so well at log warrior, his first as a commander, and I am proud of him. He is an amazing man, a wonderful daddy, an awesome husband, a great provider that allows me to stay at home with my wonderful babies, and a righteous priesthood holder. I. Am. So. Blessed!!

Sad.

Today is a very sad day. I just learned that my good friend, Clay Penrod, passed away unexpectedly last night. He was an amazing person and was always an example to those around him. I will miss him, but my heart just aches for his wife and kids that he left behind. I am so grateful that they have the gospel in their lives and I just pray that it brings them comfort during this horrible time.
My fondest memory of Clay makes me smile. During the summer before we began our Junior year in high school, Clay and his best buddies Rhett and Josh, decided to see how many girls they could take on a date during a week. It was too funny. They managed 2 or 3 dates a day! I was fortunate that 3 days after I turned 16, Clay needed another "date". He called and asked me to go out with him that evening. It was the best time! We bought and sold eggs. For those who don't have any idea what that is, it's a simple idea really. We split into two teams and we went on a scavenger style hunt. We went to the 1st house and said, "We are on a scavenger hunt and we would like to know if you have an egg you can spare." Usually after getting us to promise not to egg their house, most people gladly handed over an egg. We'd take it next door and, using a similar approach, "sell" the egg to the neighbor. We collected money that way and at the end of the designated time, the team with the most change won. We took the pennies and nickles and went to the local grocery store and bought generic ice cream and root beer, and plastic cups. We didn't earn enough money to buy spoons so we went and asked the stores deli for 8 spoons. They laughed at us, but let us have them. We took it all to the neighborhood park and had root beer floats. That was all a good time, but the icing on the cake for the evening was actually on the way home. Clay had a really early curfew, like 9 or something, and since he had driven his mom's van, he was trying to get a bunch of high school kids off the swing set and into the van before he was late. Finally he yelled and told them that he was leaving on the count of five. They all ran to the van and pile in. Problem came when the police car rolled around the corner just as a group of kids ran away into a waiting van. Yep. A no brainer. We got pulled over and Clay was so scared that he was in trouble for something. To be late AND have to explain a ticket of some sort was not going to go over well with his parents. He was beside himself. The police checked him out and asked what we were doing. Clay told him the ENTIRE story. Then the cop asked him if we had been drinking and Clay, in his nervousness, said YES!!! Then he offered the cop a root beer float. The cop was trying hard not to laugh and sent us on our way. I am pretty sure Clay was past his curfew that night!

Too tired!

Well, it's been too long since I last posted, but I have been so tired!! The kids have all been sick and I think that they are all FINALLY better!! After two and a half weeks of solid sick, we had better be done or I quit! We've had walking pneumonia, colds, ear infections, coughs, and two DIFFERENT (yes, all 4 kids went through both...one at a time) intestinal viruses. I am so done. The littlest, yet to be named, Hutcherson is doing well. He is growing as expected and although he is sometimes head down and sometimes not, he still has time and room to fix it himself so we are just waiting for now. It's been said that the first two babies had "Motel 6" rooms at this point in the pregnancy, the next two had "Super 8" rooms. This one has a whole "Hilton suite"! Nice huh?! Is it any wonder that I am ready for a nap by 8 am?

Today both my littlest boys had some comic relief for me today! Thank goodness for that, as it has been a long week with all the kids taking turns being really sick! First Jaden. He was playing trains in his room being very good and we hear him singing. For a speech delayed little boy, he sure can sing! He was singing "I am a Child of God" for a while then he switched. He started in on what was supposed to be "Follow the Prophet", but it's a new one that he is learning. He was singing away at the top of his lungs, "Fa-all-all off it! FA-ALL-ALL OFF IT!" Made me LAUGH! Next was Jacob's contribution to my happy day. He's been sick since Friday night and although he hasn't thrown up since early Saturday, he has alternated between bouncing off the walls and looking pale and limp as he laid on the floor. This afternoon he came into my bedroom to complain that he didn't feel good again. I told him to go lay down on his bed and rest for a while and that maybe that would help him feel better. He tells me, "Mom, I'm not tired sick I'm... you know... the "f-word" sick" WHAT!?!?!?!!! I was thinking to myself, "oh man! What did he learn in Kindergarten this week?!" and I reluctantly asked him, "The "f-word" sick? What's the "f-word"?" I just cringed waiting for his answer wondering how I am going to explain that he can't use this word. He says, "you know, Mom... frow-up (throw up)sick". Bryan and I both about wet ourselves laughing... well, at least pregnant me about wet myself!

Well, in other non-snow related news this week, we found 3 things out at our ultrasound this week. One, it is undeniably a B-O-Y! The "turtle" shot was very clear. Two, the problem that we were most concerned with has resolved itself (YES!! No automatic c-section for this girl!!). And three, the baby is really, really flexible. He is currently frank breech, which means he is headed out bum first. His legs are straight and his feet are up by his head. It's still early enough that it isn't a big deal for him to be breech, so we are trying not to worry too much about that.
Jaden has done his share of keeping my mind off of it with his antics. Yesterday, he came running into the kitchen with his snow/ski hat pulled down to his chin. He says "momma, loo*click* me, loo*click* me!" I look and he is swinging his head back and forth and saying, "AHHHHH!!! Can't see! AHHHHHHH!!!!" Silly Jaden! I told him to be careful of the counter edge. He was too close and it would hit him right in the face if he swung his head too far to the right. He peeks with one eye out from under the hat and says, "Whoa, TOOO close!" So he scoots himself over into the middle of the kitchen and really goes to town swinging his whole body back and forth, "AHHHHH!!! Can't see! AHHHHHHH!!!!" I notice he is slowly scooting himself over to one side and I warn him, "be careful my blind Jaden!!" Just about then, he bumps into the recycles can that I keep in the kitchen. It was cartoonishly funny. He fell, bum first into the can, legs went straight up, knees to his still covered in a hat nose and his hands went out behind him trying to keep the can from falling backwards. He was so stuck. He scared himself so badly and was crying. He couldn't get the hat off without his hands and they were busy. Trying not to laugh at him, I helped him out of the can and I say "Maybe we shouldn't do that anymore" and he says, "Nooooooo! Neder (never), eder (ever) adin (again)!" I guess both of my little guys are very flexible!!

The Old Saying...

You all know the old saying "when H-E-double hockey sticks freezes over". Anyone who has ever said that, prepare to pay up. It has. Hell has frozen over. We have snow on the ground, and more on its way, with the exception of a half day on Thursday, the kids are on a streak of snow days compliments of the school district, and I am going bonkers!! Friday the 29th of January was the last day of the semester for the district. The kids had a half day. They hit the door off the bus at noon and by 3 I was looking at the clock thinking it was time for dinner and then bed. Sigh, not so. Saturday we got about 9 inches total. Sunday we were still buried and church was cancelled. Monday was a scheduled "teacher work day". Tuesday and Wednesday all we had was sunshine glaring off the snow in the yard. Streets were clear, temps not too bad at all and yet... no school!!! Thursday I though, "surely, there is school today!" Well, sort of! School had a "2 hour delay". The bus picked them up 5 minutes before 10:00 and then Jaden and I raced off to a very, very packed commissary. We got home just in time to unload and put away all the groceries before the kids got home again. Friday, on ONLY the threat of a few flakes in the early afternoon, school was cancelled again!! What in the world are they thinking?! We got a total of about an inch yesterday and then some rain. Nothing that would have hindered the teaching of our kiddos and the saving of the sanity of hundreds of mothers across Colonial Heights. Today it's at it again. Snow, snow everywhere... is this week to be a repeat of last week? Oh, I hope not!