Big Belly Krystal

This is me at ALMOST 38 weeks... I think... Anyways, sorry you had to see my pile up of towels, I had showered all the kids and because I was short on time, instead of bathing them one at a time and reusing the same towel like I usually do, they all went in and out and each had their own towel. But yeah, thats me, and my belly. And yep, another boy, and we are closing in on a name, but no we wont tell. Everyone I've told what name I was considering hated it and tried breaking me but the name has a wonderful meaning (soon to be revealed when baby comes- IF we do go with the name I have in mind). Part of me just wants to randomly pick a name from the baby book but whenever I do that... well let me give you an example: Im getting up right now to grab my baby name book and post the first 5 names I randomly open to.

1. Ridley
2. Jaspar
3. Peverell
4. Valerian
5. Reshean

And that is why Im not doing the random thing. Many have said, "Oh you'll know when you see your baby for the first time." Oh really? Most babies come out all red and squishy. Yes they are beautiful but it takes a few weeks for newborns to take shape. Plus, Isaiah was born COVERED in dark hair. Not just his head, but his face, his arms, shoulders, back, rear end. If we hadn't had a name picked out he may have ended up being named Esau.

My other issues include: not wanting a name that can be shortened into a common nickname (Michael: Mike, Samuel: Sam, etc)

And not wanting a name so common that my child will go through any given grade in school as ______ "#2" or "#3" or "Avila Kid," and

I have known WAY too many people in my life and I either

A. dont like the person with that name
B. like the person with that name but dont want to think about that person every time I call my kid
C. like or dislike the person but dont want them to think I'm intentionally honoring them by giving my kid their name, and finally
D. cant name my kid after an ex or criminal

I know, Im way too picky but havent I earned that right? I've been carrying the child for nine months now- and only have two weeks to go! Now I should get off the computer and go back to nesting... I have towels to wash.

Carmen's Birthday

Carmen wanted a Barbie cake!

I think she peeked through the mask because she's now pointing out how perfect she got the tail on the donkey.

Carmen had fun with her friends at her birthday party. We had pizza and fruit and punch and instead of a pinata I had put candy and prizes in balloons and had the girls pop them to get thier candy out... most girls weren't heavy enough to pop the heavy duty balloons so I whipped out the scissors and saved the day.

We had all the girls decorate their own treat box to hold thier treat bag in.

We had a great time! My baby girl is now 4 years old! Later that evening we went to TGIFriday's and the kids were perfectly behaved. Carmen brought along some Polly Pockets she had received for her birthday, Julian was coloring and doing the word find on the kids menu, and we were in a booth next to the bar which had many TV's airing basketball games, so Isaiah sat quietly and watched basketball! It was great! Then the servers sang and brought out icecream for all three of the kids in celebration of Carmen't birthday.

Easter Trip!

We drove through the night to get to El Paso early Saturday morning.

Sunday morning the kids got Easter baskets.

Later that day Carmen had her cake and presents.

And an Easter Egg hunt!

And an empty pinata.
And Carmen got a new princess to add to her collection!
And Isaiah got Krispy Kreme to keep him busy all the way home!
This was our trip to El Paso for Easter. Grandparents threw Carmen an early birthday party. We had a great time and the kids got lots of candy and presents! It is good to get home though.

Journal Entry

This is how today went:

Last night (I know, this doesnt really seem like part of the day but it is) I could have gone to bed by 12 or 12:30 am as I have been getting to bed earlier lately but I felt like I hadnt seen Nick in weeks so we stayed up chatting and laughing until about 2am. I know, bad thing for parents of three kids (especially with one in school) to do. I enjoyed that time with him, going over the day, and the kids, and laughing about silly things people do and say. After reading scriptures and praying, we went to sleep. This morning Isaiah beat the alarm by about ten minutes. He started with a simple "Mama, down now!" and when we didn't respond right away, it turned into a loud cry. Nick got up and got him and his blanket. I heard Nick struggling on the couch to keep Isaiah calm but it didnt work so I got out of bed, grabbed Isaiah and his blanket and bottle (yes, we're lazy- but in our defense he is a thumb sucker and if it werent a bottle, it would be a thumb- and hes getting his calcium). I layed Isaiah in bed next to me and I stroked his hair and tickled him a little and just cuddled him. He cheered up, was happy and climbed out of bed and back into the living room happy. I was too hungry to fall back to sleep so I asked my wonderful husband to make me a PB&J, which he did, I ate and went to sleep while he took Julian to school. I woke up at 10 and sat on the couch for a little bit playing DS with Carmen then started getting ready for my doctors appointment while Nick took a nap. He needed to be up in time to be at the school at 12:30 to read to Julians class. I set the alarm on the cell phone, put it next to Nicks head and the kids and I left at 11:25. I made it to the doctors office at 11:40 for my 11:45 appointment. The appointment went well, baby is doing well and I am now on my weekly appointments. Only a few weeks left! When the kids and I got back in the van I called Nick to make sure he had left. I called him four times and he didnt answer so I called one of my sisters to call the cell phone I had left near his head because it used to be her phone number and is not programmed in my phone. He called me and said he has just woken up, the alarm hadnt gone off! I ran home, threw the kids in the house and I rushed over to the school, making it into the class room at 12:35. Julian was so upset. Nick had told him he would spend lunch with him and then go read to his class and when Nick hadnt shown up even the teacher was concerned. I explained that I had just come from the doctor (being 9 months pregnant sure helped my reason) and I read to the class. Julian was SO happy. I finished reading at 12:45 and I was home by 1. After Nick got ready for work we went to lunch at Subway. The kids dont like the Subway apple slices because they have peels so Isaiah ate them like watermelon. Then Nick left to work and I went to pick up Julian. Julian thanked me for coming but kept asking why his dad hadnt shown up. The only consolation I could give him was that Dad is planning on going to lunch with him next week and bringing him a suprise meal. I decided to take the kids straight to Target to get a gift for a birthday party Julian is attending tomorrow and when I was driving down 43rd Ave at McDowell I saw a fist fight taking place between four guys at the Shell Station. I called the police non-emergency line and they took my information and as I was driving away from the area I saw police cars headed in that direction. The kids and I had a talk about bad guys and police. Hehehe, I love getting to talk to the kids about reasons to be good. We went to Target and got the things we needed, including marked down Easter candy. When going through the toy aisle Carmen grabbed a toy she wanted and I kept telling her no, that her birthday is next week and we will save our money to get it for her birthday. She kept crying and crying and crying until I realized she was then crying because I had run over her foot with the cart and her poor toe skin was all scuffed up. Isaiah made me carry him through almost the entire trip throught the store, causing me to have 5 minute apart Braxton-Hicks contractions that lasted until two hours after we got home. The rest of the evening was a Spongebob/Fox News marathon as I was too tired to do much of anything. I fed the kids dinner and they finished up while I was on the phone with my sister in Utah. While I was on the phone with her Isaiah had gotten into the pantry and poured Raisin Bran all over the coffee table and was eating one flake at a time, not even touching the raisins. It was everywhere! So I cleaned up the table and changed Isaiahs diaper and found simple cleanup things to do until 9pm came so I could vacuum without it costing me more at the peak rate! The rest of the night was easy, reading scriptures, praying, pj's, brushing teeth and sending kids to bed. After putting them to bed I realized that the watermelon that I had cut and wrapped a few days ago was bleeding all over the counter, I had to clean up the mess and bleach the counter. I rinsed and stacked the dishes in the sink (I'll wash them tomorrow). Now Im just waiting for Nick. Now the reason I decided to document today is because yesterday Nick was all upset saying that he feels like every day is the same. I can say that no day is the same. Sure some days are similar but I am glad they are similar. We are healthy, he has a job, our routines with the kids are consistent, and I like it. Of course, he wasnt talking about daily routines but the fact that each new day has not yet brought him a truck, a camaro or a motorcycle. I doubt tomorrow will bring him one either but for me at least, it will be different than today.

Family Fun

Last week my family came to visit. I cant just say parents because there are still 4 siblings of mine living at home. They also have three foster kids but they stayed behind. This is some of us at In N Out. From left to right, my little sister Jessica, my teenage brother Ryan, my Aunt Rebeca, Carmen, my Dad, Julian and my brother Mark. They love chocolate shakes!

My teenage siblings, my brother Mark and Julian went to Stratum Laser tag in Mesa. Next door to Stratum is a bouncey house place called Xtreme Play. My mom and I took my sister Jessica, Carmen and Isaiah there but Isaiah didnt have sock (required) so we ran next door and caught Julian before entering his first laser tag game so he could lend Isaiah his socks. He is such a good boy.

This is the smallest of the bounce houses. It is for ages 3 and under. Isaiah played basketball for the whole 2 hours we were there, never once going down a slide.

He is obsessed with basketball!

Carmen and my sister Jessica went down the second biggest slide but Carmen refused to go down the biggest slide. She actually climbed to the top then sat in the corner for 5 minutes scared before going back down the ladder backwards. I highly recommend Xtreme Play. Adults arent allowed on the equiptment but I dont mind that at all, I dont have to worry about big teenagers pushing down my kids. They also have alarmed wrist bands so kids dont escape, they have a sitting area with a couch and TV for parents and kids to rest, they have a video game area with a Wii and a few playstations, an air hockey table and a gated toddler area with toddler toys. All that is included in the price and play is unlimited. Adults are free because they dont go on the equiptment, ages 3 and under are $5.95, ages 4 and up are $8.95, Mondays are family days where children are $5, they are closed Sundays, and there is also a snack bar with pizza, nachos, icees, candy, t shirts, and socks! Im sure one of our kids will end up having a birthday party there!

Stratum and Xtreme play are located just north of the 60 on Stapley (east side of the street). And for those of you who didnt know, In N Out is south of the 60 on Stapley (west side of the street).

A is for Alphabet, B is for Basketball, K is for KindergartenLaureate

Isaiah loves basketball. He would have done a little better and more if he wasnt watching a game on tv at the time. He learned his letters by playing a VTECH computer at every meal, its the only way we can get him to eat. Our kids dont like eating so we always have had to distract them from ages 6 months to 3 years. This one was his.

And this is the award Julian got today at the Monday Morning Assembly. He got the Kindergarten Laureate Award (and a free kids meal from Mimi's Cafe!) We are very proud of our smarty pants.