26 weeks

26 weeks? Really? Does the ticker on this blog really say 14 weeks left? HOLY CRUMB where does the time go?

Here I am in all my glory at 26 weeks...

I am so so happy to report that I am feeling better in this pregnancy than any of the others. About 2 oclock I get extremely tired but other than that and the sore muscles I have no complaints at all.

We had another ultrasound last week and were so happy to hear that things are looking better than last time. I still have SUA but her heart and other things they were worried about look much better this time around. She is very small and is measuring a few weeks behind where she should be but other than that things are good. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and well wishes. We are very optimistic!

And lastly the hair... as you can tell in the above pics I did not cut it. I was too afraid I would regret it. I didn't want to cut it just because I am pregnant and dying to change something :D ha! So I will wait til after the baby and see how I'm feeling about it then.

Still long... you should have seen the smile on Chris's face when I walked in the door.

Here comes the bride

Just a few pics of this beautiful bride.

Karo-Syrup Plates

Chris doesn't have a living blood grandma. Both of his mom and dad's mom and dad have passed away. This is so sad to me because both of my grandmas are alive and awesome and so fun and we get to see them all the time and spend time with them.

One of Chris's best memories with one of his grandmas is making Karo-syrup plates. I had never heard of this but it was something he did almost every time he went over, so this week for FHE we made Karo-syrup plates. The kids LOVED it and thought it was the coolest thing ever. It is so simple to do and you probably have everything you need on hand.

First take a plate ( we used Styrofoam but Chris usually used plastic ones)

Put a few puddles of karo-syrup on the plate

Add a drop of food coloring to each puddle

Then just rotate the plate around and let it run till all the colors mix together for some fun tie-dye action.

WHALA! Karo-syrup plates

Ignore the awful blurry pic, it was the best I captured of all three

beautiful masterpieces. Chris said normally the syrup spreads out better and the colors aren't so dark, but we used small plates and weird food coloring.

It was fun to relive a blast for Chris's past. :)

Death of the TV

Meet our TV... actually I should say meet Chris's TV because that is how it really is.

Everyone has their "thing" mine is pictures. I take pictures of every event, Chris doesn't get it. For Chris getting a nice big TV has been his "thing" since we got married I don't get it. For me our 15 year old big box TV was just fine. But Chris wanted... no needed this TV, and so we spent our entire Christmas budget this year on a TV. Granted we did get it on Black Friday for a screaming deal... but still it was out entire meager Christmas Budget. We did not get one other thing.

Fast forward to last Wednesday....

Okay take a closer look at that bottom left had corner....

Did you throw up a little in your mouth? Because when I got out of the shower and came downstairs to find this.... well it wasn't my proudest moment. I was sick, and scared to death for my little son who I was sure would be dead when his daddy got home.

The culprit? This little treasure...

If you are wondering what in the world that is, it is what is left of a bunny ear antenna. We have never had "TV" and have always just got whatever we could through an antenna. We bought this gem when we first got married and over the years it has been abused. It still does a decent job however and we have kept it around. Last week Taycee broke the top off the longest end leaving it sharp and jagged. I guess Kaden though the lines it made when he drug it across the TV screen were pretty cool, "like his doodle pad" in his words. Unfortunately there is no magic erases to sweep across the TV and erase those lines.

On the bright side of this story..

I called Chris hoping to lessen the blow for Kaden by telling Chris before he got home. Do you know what he did? That kind, gentle, understanding jewel of a husband I have said "Oh well, life goes on." The TV he had waited and begged for years for, the TV that he still gets a big childish grin about when he watches, HIS TV had just been defaced and he didn't even flinch. I felt silly for being so worried. And my love increased for him 10 times more. He truly is an AMAZING guy.

Also, when the TV is on you don't notice the scratches at all, so the picture quality is still just as good. :) It just looks sad and damaged when the TV is off.

And her name will be...

*Note since the making of these letters there has been a great debate on weather it should be an *i* or *y* so it might be changing!

This story actually starts back when I found out I was pregnant. Kaden insisted that I was having a "sister" from the moment he knew a new baby was joining our family. I tried to convince him numerous times it was a brother because I really wanted a boy. He was not budging, no matter what I said he insisted that this little baby was a girl. Lo and behold he was right.... well about a month ago I was sitting with him in the living room and out of nowhere he tells me "her name is Addison baby" once I realized he was talking about our baby I teased him a little and said "no her name is Tessa ( or one of the other names we had been throwing around)" he would get so upset each time and tell me with conviction her name was Addison. About a week after that he was saying the blessing on dinner and out of the blue said "thankful for baby Addison, please bless her" a few days after that as we were sitting down for dinner and Kaden looked to Chris and said "Oh no daddy, someone is missing!" Chris tried to reassure him we were all there and pointed us all out by name, he replied "no daddy, I mean baby Addison." It was sweet and I had a definite feeling that Kaden was already very familiar with this little girl joining our family. It was a simple reminder of how thin the veil is for these little ones.

Since then both kids call the baby Addison, every time Taycee sees a baby she says look it is an Addison baby. We've tossed around other names but nothing feels right. So it has been decided by Kaden that her name will be Addison Marie Clayton... or maybe Addyson Marie Clayton. :) Anyone have an opinion there?

Me Day

Today was a "ME" day. As in Chris worked from home and watched the kids and I spent the day out of the house with just ME, MYSELF, and I. Then I went and got my hair done and ended the day with a Relief Society Dinner party. Now I am in bed, a plate of nachos polished off and two kids sleeping soundly across the hall. The only thing that could make today better would be to end it with a massage... and to be honest, with the husband I have that just might happen. I know what you are thinking.... yes he really is that great. He lets me have "me" days when he can tell my stress levels are reaching maximum. With 2 weddings and about a zillion things to get done in the next 2 weeks I was there. Not to mention I lost my phone, Kaden defaced our new flat screen TV and I am quickly running out of clothing that fits. So he took over for a day and somehow managed to get all his work done, take the kids to the park and clean up the house.... yes he really is that great. He is my super hero, my modern day real life super hero. I couldn't make it without him.

Tomorrow I have an endless to do list...

Finish editing Kelsey bridal session

Finish... okay start the wedding video

Find music for above mentioned video

Write a toast

Do the laundry

Unpack from last weekends trip

Return countless dresses I have bought, tried on.... and looked like a fat cow in

Update this good ole' blog with the recent happenings including the latest baby update, the name story, the TV story, the latest (LARGEST) belly pic, the new hair ( the votes were totally split), a few pics of (one of) the beautiful bride(s)

Work on hand stitching the veil

Get things ready for this weekends party

Get things ready for next weekends bridal shower

Set up appointments for my "pamper day" for Heather

it goes on and on and on.... you get the idea

But tonight is still part of the "me" day so I am going to forget about the above mentioned looming list and finish off the day in peace.

Goodnight.

-Me

Out with the old

IN WITH THE NEW! :D

So what do you do when you are pregnant and you really really have the urge to change SOMETHING.... completely make-over the kids room. (Hey it might just have saved my hair) I was planning on doing this for Kadens birthday, but 2 months early isn't bad. If you remember when Kaden turned 2 we did his room in all CARS decor. Unfortunately that is not a very gender neutral theme and with this new baby on the way Taycee and Kaden get to share a room. After searching through many ideas I settled on crayons, simple easy, bright, fun, and very fitting for my kids considering Taycee colors on the walls about once a week. Once the theme was decided I spent hours searching online for the right decor. It was a lot harder than I had anticipated it to be. Chris gave me a budget ( a very small budget considering I was re-doing an entire room furniture and all) and I started planning.

I desperately wanted bunk beds with stairs not a ladder because I felt like they were safer for my accident prone children and the stairs beds came with drawers in them... EXTRA STORAGE! The problem was that all the beds like this cost around oh 600-1200 dollars not including mattresses. I had all but given up hope of getting the beds I want ( considering they were 3 times the amount of my budget) when I came across a KSL ad that had a bed just like the one I wanted. It was listed for higher than I was willing to pay but I decided to go look at it anyway and see if they would be willing to drop their price. LONG story short, we went and saw the bed and before we even offered an amount he lowered his price in half and included the mattresses. WAHOO! He all but gave them away to us. I was thrilled. We borrowed my Dads truck and picked them up 2 days later.

I am proud to say that I completed the entire room for 80 dollars less than the budget I was given. That includes bedding, paint, stickers, curtain, book shelf, coat hangers, letters, bunk beds, closet curtains and the materials to make the kids drawings. Yes, I did pat myself a little on the back. ( I also sold Kadens old room decor and entertainment center/dresser on KSL which put an extra 150 in my budget )

I am still waiting for my multicolored bead curtains for the closet since we had to take the doors down so the dresser would be functional. Also in the next week or so we are getting the 2 large drawers that roll under the bed.

Now for the reveal.... ( please ignore the semi blurry pics, I had to put my crappy lens on to get a wide enough angle.)

Kaden was over the moon excited to get a "tall bed" that he got to sleep on the top of. Taycee has also been sleeping in here even though she still has her crib in her room. She hasn't rolled off yet which was my main concern but she is getting up a lot earlier than before. She sleeps SO WELL in her crib and never cries or tries to get out, I am hoping she will adjust to a bed and get those old sleeping habits back.

One of my coat hangers fell down, but I need new screws to put it back up.

The kids made about 20 drawings on contact paper and I stuck them up all over the walls. This is my favorite drawing from Kaden.

The new letters I made.

missing the bead curtains...

I LOVE the growth chart. It is one of my favorite items.