No baby, yet

So I was curious as to what the babynamey ticker would say when you go over. Apparently it doesn't calculate the 5% of women who actually go past their due dates. For an update, no baby, but I still feel fabulous. That's the problem really. If I was miserable I could probably get some contractions going just long enough to get to the hospital and them decide to keep me. But alas, I am still loving being pregnant and I am content to let her come when she wants. It won't be later than Monday anyway. So don't be fooled and have a GREAT New Years!!

Merry Christmas!!!

The kids pulled it off. We have been having an unusual amount of fighting and resistance to chores in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Santa almost had to skip the Schaugaard home this year, but at the last minute, everyone put in 110% effort and got their names on the nice list just in the "Nick" of time. Santa surprised us with a Wii. Everyone is loving it. Of course it is after 11:00pm and they are all still at it. Matt loves his Wii Fit and has been getting better and better at the games. He was a little ticked that he is considered "overweight" and I was "normal" at 39 weeks pregnant. Go figure!! But it made my 2 week weight loss goal really easy to make. I could probably shed a few pounds named Jersey. It will be fun to work out together and keep track, always more motivating. Other highlights are the bowling. I love that the kids kick our butt. It beats going to an actual bowling alley any day. Plus with four controllers and lots of kids, everyone gets a turn and they haven't fought all day. Progress.....

Christmas Eve PJ's

Over Thanksgiving weekend up at our family cabin, I made our yearly Christmas PJ's. I do this ever year just for fun. I am not much of a seamstress, so some years turn out better than others. Usually I go with the drawstring approach, but this year I spent the extra time to put in elastic. I made all of them in one day and finished the last the next morning. Pretty good for me. Jersey didn't get to wear hers in time, but they will still be fun later. This is us trying to get a decent picture. Yeah right, but oh so funny. Plus everyone is straight out of the tub so the hair styles are great. I love this little tradition and the kids love opening up something the night before. We even threw in Christmas socks this year. Matt wore his "girly" socks all night with very little complaining. Mostly that they were not made for a size 13 foot. But who makes socks that big anyway?

Hear the Music!!

Autumn had her dance showcase for Ballet/Tap and HipHop this month. We recorded them and I forgot to snap an actual picture. How silly of me. She did so well though. Especially with the HipHop one. She had a solo at the end and looked awesome!! She will be doing HipHop again in January because she loves it so much. She says it goes along with the kind of music she wants to learn to play on her electric guitar.....when she finally gets one. She is so amazing and talented in all of the areas that I am not. It does make it slightly hard to be able to help her, but then she doesn't seem to need the help.

Autumn and Sage also had the great opportunity to sing Spanish songs at the mall, in a performance at school, and at church for the Christmas Sacrament meeting. They both have learned so much in the Spanish Immersion program at our school. I love the opportunities that it gives them and the extra effort that it takes. Autumn is an absolute natural. She can ace a pretest of 42 words after two days. Autumn is a producer and a pleaser. Sage is not quite there, but has been working so hard. We are working on staying focused and doing our best "every time". Sage likes to keep things stress-free and easy going, a free spirit in a sense.

I love my girls!!

Stoned Creed?

So Creed has a preschool program and had been complaining that he "didn't feel so good". Mean mommy that I am, I gave him some Tylenol and made him go anyway. He had a little duet as a drummer boy. Matt and I were laughing the whole time because our uncontrollable Creed was in a daze the whole time. Completely out of character for him. It took multiple songs just for him to even do the actions and he only sang a little bit of the songs. Creed had been walking around the house for weeks and knew every word to every song in the program. (We had heard them MANY, MANY times.) We recorded it so these pictures aren't the best, but was a great experience. Creed can be calm when sick and with a little bit of meds in his system.

Incredible performance!!!

Sage had her Christmas tumbling performance and did so fantastic. This is her before the program and her cousin Hadley. Sage was able to make quite a bit of progress this year and instead of doing the "easy" back-handsprings, she did the much harder aerials instead. We were so proud of her. She hasn't been able to do them for long. Hadley was able to do her round-off, back-handspring, back tuck. Again, incredible!! She just got that too. It has been so much fun to watch them both and have something in common.

Kids and Halloween

These are the long lost Halloween pictures. Sage had a program this year. It was great!! Also all the elementary kids had a parade. The others are on our front porch right before going trick-o-treating. Thank goodness for fairly good weather. I get to stay home and pass out candy. Autumn was a ballerina, Sage was a fairy, Jack was Zorro, Creed was a knight king, and Annie was little orphan Annie.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

So I realize this is a little late, but I wanted to share the things that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for a husband who can cook. I can't make anything unless it comes in a box with detailed instructions. (That means I can "warm" things up.)

I am thankful for family. Last Sunday we had my family over for Thanksgiving dinner. Since it was at our house.... we cooked the turkey this year. Matt and I have been married for 91/2 years and have never had this privilege. Matt of course did everything and it turned out fabulous!! Everything was moist and yummy!! I even had him up until midnight the night before cleaning and moving things and carrying things up and down the stairs. And he did not complain even once. He is the best and I love him so much.

I am thankful for Matt's family too. On Thanksgiving day we had dinner at his parent's house. Of course it was spectacular with place settings and 3 times as much food and a group that big could ever eat. And that is a big group. I was able to sit on the couch and try not to move and no one looked down on me or thought me to be lazy for not helping out. The Schaugaard's have so much love for each other and truly do everything to help each other deal with whatever they are going through at the time. I know I could not have married into a better family for me.

So back to why I was being a lazy bum on the couch.....I am grateful for a healthy, strong-willed baby that can't make up her mind about coming out early or not. I have been having the real kind of contractions for awhile now and the night before Thanksgiving I worked my 12 hour holiday shift. I came home and slept about an hour and a half....not at one time....and it was off to dinner. I was dying by then and could barely walk. I could keep my eyes open but was having a lot of pelvic pressure and tons of contractions. This little one is keeping me guessing. I really would have been so content with January 5th as a birth date. I am thankful for a great job too. It's been hard right now with the kids and pregnancy but I feel so lucky to take care of the patients I do. I took care of three beautiful heart babies that night. Looking at their situations make me so grateful for what I have waiting for me at home.

I am thankful for my kids. Each one is so unique and each one makes me laugh for a different reason. Yes, there is the yelling part to, but I am trying to work on that. Jersey won't recognize my voice unless I work on that. My kids try so hard to do everything that I ask of them and try to do their best. That is hard to do sometimes. I love them for their effort and for the love that they show each other. I was given a great bunch and I worry every day that I won't be able to teach them what they need to know.

I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that forgives me of my weaknesses. I would not survive without the gospel in my life. Everything I have and everything I hold dear is a gift from Him.

I am thankful for my friends. I feel so lucky to have such great ones. I have my sister-in-laws. They are the loving and caring type and are there for you when you go through the worst times. I have my GNO girls who I find I can still be myself around the most. I love these guys and I have so much fun every month with them. I love swapping stories about life and kids. I love the "crazy" conversations about nothing in particular. I love the girls in my neighborhood. I got to go see Twilight at midnight with a group of girls from my ward (and a few other friends) and I can't even tell you how much fun it was. A bunch of stay-at-home moms partying until 3:30am. My neighborhood rocks!! And I have friends at work. The unit I work on gets along great and I feel very much a part of it. It makes me excited to go to work just to catch up on all of their lives.

I am thankful for parents who bought a cabin. I love spending time with my parents and with them having a cabin, we get to hang out with them for multiple days at a time. After eating Thanksgiving dinner with Matt's wonderful parents and family, we left and drove the two hours to the Uintas to spend time with mine and my sweet sister and her kids who I don't see nearly enough. You know how mom's are. They sit you on a couch and wait on you. I didn't have to do anything all weekend except play games, watch movies, read, make 8 pairs of matching pajamas for Christmas, eat great food (junk food is a given at the cabin), sleep, and watch my husband and kids go sledding in the 4-5 inches of snow. It would have been so much fun to participate in that part but I wasn't taking any chances of delivering in Evanston. I didn't even have to do the dishes one time. I love the cabin because it is not home and there are not the overwhelming projects waiting for you. You can really sit back and relax.

I am grateful for a wonderful Christmas season. I have much to look forward to and I am more excited this year than most. We are 2 presents away from being "done" and I feel so much relief that I can sit back and relax for the rest of the month. When I say relax, that of course is at a party, a performance, a program, etc. It will be a very busy month full of the great stuff, spending time with loved ones and watching your children succeed.

Happy Holidays!!

Halloween 2008

This is the couple's party this year. We are the groovy looking hippies front and center. What a fun group of people. We love our neighbors!!!! Matt made bell-bottoms this year and of course the wig. I was growing the "love-child" and we had our "van" outside. What a blast!!!

Who would have thought!!

We have had the opportunity to go to a couple's Halloween Party every year at our awesome neighbors' house. It is a riot!!! Last year Matt insisted on being Nacho Libre and I was his love interest. He was hilarious and gutsy. Who would really show up to a party in tights and no shirt with the people you go to church with. You can just keep laughing now........and a little bit more.....

Cowboy Jack

So just in case anyone was following, I haven't said much about my not so little Jack. I was waiting for the right picture. Jack seriously considers himself a cowboy. As soon as he walks in the door from school, he puts on his cowboy boots, straps on his holster, puts in his play guns..... sometimes a squirt gun if that is all he can find.... attaches his handcuffs, and of course adds the hat. He plays the rest of the day like this. Sometimes he wears a cape or a plastic sword. He wears this gid-up to the doctor's office, the store, his friend's houses, etc. This is at the father's and son's campout for our ward. Apparently he really didn't catch this fish. The old guy next to them did and Jack just wanted to pose for a picture.

Family Pics

Don't you love taking pictures with kids. First of all, outfits...what a hassle, then you have to bath and make sure everyone is clean. Then you find a place and hope the lighting is right. Then you have the awesome photographer try to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time. Hopeless really and yet we torture ourselves every year for these classic memories. And each year I am so grateful for photoshop. This is 100 pictures later and still not everyone is looking at the camera. Oh, and another thing, no matter how much you bribe, someone is always mad. Can you guess who?? This is one of the only smiles.

Annie's Hat

Things are never boring at our house and we don't buy toys because the simpliest things bring such joy, and hours of entertainment. You can save a lot of money that way. Don't you love the socks!!

Matt turns 31

So my hubby is 31 now. (And yes that is all we take pictures of these days is birthdays.) Matt was hilarious!! On the Sunday before his birthday he agreed to have a family dinner with my family because we don't get together as much as we do with his family. He cooked the chicken...yumm...the cheesy potatoes.....hmmmm... and we had a yummy cake from Costco because lets not kid anyone, I can't decorate like that. Everyone else brought stuff to go with the dinner and it was great. Then Matt led us all in a round of "Happy Birthday to me". And of course the candles were out in one blow. He was so lucky to get all new tires for the suburban as a present because the day before he, like usual, decided to drive 50 mph on a dirt road coming back from a ward boys' overnighter. He, of course, got a flat and then the spare also had a slow leak. The new tires have a bigger tred and he likes them. Absolutely no stress on my part. Happy Birthday Honey!!

Time Out for Women

This is the Schaugaard girls at the "Time Out for Women" in Logan. We always have so much fun together and have done so many girls-only things throughout the years. I love this family!!! This is the first time we have gone to one of these and it was fabulous. Thanks to Steph for planning a great over-nighter. We drove together, ate dinner, went to the concert part that night. Then it was off to the hotel room where I picked to sleep in the room with the "snorer" and the other pregnant sister who would be in the bathroom all night, just like me. That way we could switch off and I wouldn't wake anyone. The funny part was we went right to bed and slept great, the other room stayed up talking. I was so impressed that they could just keep moving. I needed my sleep.....The next day was full of great speakers and wonderful music like Kenneth Cope. My favorite parts were getting autographs from all of the performers and speakers on my cool Time Out for Women bag and of course the non-interrupted talking in the car and between everything else. Sometimes it is great to just get away from family and life and rejuvenate yourself and turn your focus again on what is most important. And I will never look at a sink full of dishes the same way again. :)

You go girl!!

Sage's 7th birthday!! She invited her two best friends over for dinner, cake, and then we went to the movies. We saw KungFu Panda which the kids loved. Sage and her friends did not stop giggling the entire night. It was great at the movies. Good thing it was at the $1 movies on main street in American Fork and there are always so many kids that no one cares if they are loud, which is great for us. Sage got her ears pierced, girly jewelry and make-up, and lots of Barbie stuff.

ANNIE!!

I can't forget about my sweet Annie. She is such a great girl.....not baby anymore. She is showing off her tricks. Annie has the best glare and grumpy face I have ever seen. But only for a second, then you are hooked and give in. Mostly she just wants to be loved. She will go to the most random people. Like at nursery, she won't go to any of her teachers, but loves to go to one of the guy teachers in another class. It is so cute!!! Her favorite without comparison is Mindy from across the street. Annie can say her name and runs to her ever chance she gets. Mindy will be moving soon and me and Annie both will be loosing our best friend. The one that is always there for you and the one you can talk about everything and nothing. Annie loves to watch SuperWhy and The Letter Factory. She is starting to sing, which is so much fun in the car. Annie loves my big belly and loves to lay her head on top of Jersey and get kicked over and over. They will be such "friends".

Creed goes to Preschool

Creed started preschool this fall. He is going to Learning Dynamics by our house, otherwise known as "the apple school". He is such a smart boy and knows all his letters, sounds, colors, and we are working on shapes and reading with him. He impressed his teacher during his assessment. But don't be fooled, anyone who knows him knows that his smarts don't stop there. He has managed to "beat" every form of child lock known to man, flooded our house three times, and snuck Annie out of the house to pick strawberries and blackberries in our yard during nap time. He can run the DVD player, loves to play on PBSkids.org and can pull that up by himself. He can put on his own 5-point harness safety belt and can now undo it, too, which is just fabulous while we are driving around the city. The only thing now is his resistance to potty-training. I have googled ever trick in the book but if anyone has any brilliant ideas, leave them in the comment section. I would really like to not have to change three in diapers.

Autumn Dance

Autumn has been taking dance classes! This is at her performance last spring. She was in a ballet/jazz class. She won an award for being the best student in the class...always trying her hardest, listening to the teacher, having a positive attitude, and working with others in the class. We were the proud parents in the crowd. We didn't know until they called her name. Only a few people received one. This fall she is taking ballet/tap and hip hop. She is loving it.

Memories!!

1. Add a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Sage Tumbling

Sage has been taking tumbling now for a year and a half. She started in just a preschool class and has grown and developed so much, especially in the last few months. At first it was just really good cartwheels and then back bends and arch ups. Back walk-overs followed and front walk-overs took a little while to get. These pictures are right after she got her back handsprings for the first time in early summer. After she learned how to do one, she skyrocketed and can do 11 in a row on the grass in our front yard. She is working on aerials and she recently moved up 3 classes. She loves to tumble and can't walk in a straight line anymore without doing some sort of trick.

Jack and Creed's Birthday

Since Jack and Creed have birthdays one day apart, they had a combined party this year. We are hoping that we won't be doing this every year, but at least they are both boys and have similar friends. We had a Cars theme and played games, ate cake, and had a pinata. It is not very smart to give any kind of long stick to Jack....he gets a little feisty!! Jack and Creed were given so many toys and loved having their friends in the neighborhood and their favorite girl cousins there to share their special day with them.

My Girls!

These are my girls at the end of the school year. My girls are so great with Annie and play with her so well. I am reading which is what I did in all my spare time this summer. I LOVE Stephenie Meyer and devoured her series Twilight multiple times. I am reading The Host in this picture. Matt has been such a supportive husband and even read the books so I would have someone to talk to about them. He says they are good, but reading them from a girl's point of view is a little too much for him. He made sure I could go to the Barnes and Noble party for the Breaking Dawn book and is of course seeing the movie with me in November, (after I go at midnight with the other obsessed moms in the neighborhood).

Special Day for Autumn

My Autumn is eight!! She chose to be baptized on May 3rd. She had a tremendous amount of support from our families at her baptism, the largest group of the day. We are so grateful for the love, support, and influence our family has been for Autumn. It has been an incredible experience for me to watch Autumn change with the gift of the Holy Ghost. She feels the spirit so easily now and cries easily at church and at other special experiences our family has had this year. She also prays with the spirit and during family prayers while everyone else is laughing, Autumn can bring the spirit back in a room with just a few words. We are so lucky to have her in our family, especially as the oldest. She truly understands the concept of being an example for her siblings.

Classic!!

What a great little girl Annie is. She sees something and goes after it. Creed was taking a bath and Annie decided that she needed one too. Luckily for you Creed likes to soak the bar of soap extra good when he baths so the water is cloudy :)

Something Fun to do

This spring we went to Discovery Gateway downtown. It turns out that it cost quite a bit for a one time trip, but not much more for a 6-month membership. So we got the membership. We have been back a number of times and always have a great time. Each time we go, we spend time doing something different. These pictures are from the first time. The kids loved the play house with kitchen and play area, the medical helicopter on the Terrace, and of course the Elmo-all about the my body exhibit. The Elmo part was the best in my opinion, but it was a traveling exhibit and isn't always there. Other trip we acted out the Three Little Pigs; spent a lot of time in the science area experimenting with wind and tubes; played in the market area buying "food" and picking "food" from the garden; and they loved the colored balls and tubes in the first area. It is pretty stress free for a days worth of fun....just have to keep counting heads and have an extra eye on Creed because he likes to leave the area despite how many times we talked about not leaving a room without mommy.

Early Spring 2008

Some really nice person actually bought something from the ice cream truck that frequents the neighborhood. Autumn had just gotten home from picking out her new scriptures, so it was soon after her birthday in March. Autumn and Sage are sharing, or trying too. The very cute toe head blonde is Regan from across the street. He is like one of the family. He is Jack's best friend and he also has the coolest parents. When Jack is in trouble, Regan has no problem playing with Creed. This is on our front lawn....clearly before the sprinklers are running. Who buys ice cream in March???

Best of 2008 (in no particular order)--Family Vacation

Annie was not a fan of Mickey Mouse. She cried bloody murder and sweet Mickey ended up sitting on the ground just to get her in a picture looking at the camera, but I liked this one better because he tried so hard. I was changing Creed so we missed it. FYI: 10 days of apple juice, apple sauce, and sliced apples that come in toddler kiddy meals takes it's toll on a kids digestive system. By the end of the day, either Creed or Annie was naked...and we did pack a change of clothes. Something to remember for next time.

Disney Fun!!

We love the Characters!! We waited in every line, including the Disney Princesses which took almost an hour, but worth it. We did have some fun memories of characters picking us out. This is at the beginning of the day, I think on our early admission day. We played with Goofy, Chip and Dale, and Pluto for 20+ minutes that morning. I know, we could have ran to a ride, but it's hard to run anywhere with 5 kids and a stroller. So why not take advantage of what the kids want to do anyway. I had to keep telling myself that this vacation was for them, not me :)