Happy birthday Alex, Brayden, and Billy Jr!!!

Whew! Honestly I did NOT plan to have three of my four children born the same week of February although it may seem that way.

A quick rundown for those who don't know.....

On February 21st - Billy JR turned one year old!!

Then on February 23rd - Alex turned nine years old!!

And finally on February 25th - Brayden turned 6 years old!!

(Owen will turn four on April 1st)

Obviously, in this type of situation - separate birthday parties seems ridiculous. We decided to do the big birthday bash at Chuck E Cheese this year, WHICH is a 3.5 hour drive away. Fun.
Most people would rather jump off a cliff then spend 2 hours at Chuck E Cheese's with four sugar filled boys.

Although, with the help we had there, it didn't seem QUITE so crazy. I think it helped that the bigger two boys were able to go off and play on their own. We only saw them when they were out of tokens. haha

The party package at Chuck E Cheeses is nice but it does seem to really rush things along. It seems we were just sitting down to eat our pizza when our hostess wanted to do the cake! And then of course it was time to sing and dance with Chuck E. and after that no one wanted anymore food - just wanted to play.

It goes without saying that when you combine sugar and junk food (cotton candy, cake, lemonade, pizza) with a high stress, high energy atmosphere - you get some OVERSTIMULATED kids.

I think Brayden was feeling it most of all, he was like the Energizer Bunny on crack. And of course, all manners and good behavior went out the window. I was mortified when he began to refuse gifts given to him, saying that he "hated" them and didn't want them. Who's child talks like that?! Obviously mine!

Just as I thought, when we got home after some sleep and quiet, all the boys were having fun checking out their new gifts and playing with all of them. All of the gifts were a great hit! (FYI the Thank You cards should be going out shortly, since the boys couldn't thank people in person at the party- we'll be doing cards!)

Well enough talk, there's not much else I can add! It was a great party, lots of fun, won't do it again anytime soon - so now on to the pictures!!

P.s. These are just a selection of the photos, to see the rest of them - go here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v331/bethanbabes/Chuck%20E%20Cheese/

~Bethany

The end....no more tokens!

It was short and sweet while it lasted...

I regretfully have to say that there is no more October baby in the works.

It appears I've had my second miscarriage, thankfully I had baby Billy between them though. So I know that I CAN get pregnant again, and usually fairly quickly, and it will probably be okay next time.

I did all of my crying yesterday, the day I knew it wasn't going to be good news although I hadn't had it confirmed by my Dr. yet. A woman just knows what is normal in pregnancy, and what isn't. I will spare the details, but I knew it was a lost cause.

I had my ultrasound this morning. A tiny wee little bit of me was still holding on to the smallest glimmer of hope that it's just "one of those things" and everything was going to be fine. It has happened before, to other women though.

Not me, usually in my case-it seems to be always the worst case scenario. No miracles here.

I did not get the official word from my Dr. yet as the ultrasound tech could not tell me anything, but I could tell. There wasn't anything that looked like a baby on the screen, nothing she measured that looked like a baby and no checking for any heartbeats. So it's officially unofficial...now I just wait for the call from my Dr. but I already know what he is going to say.

It's hard to be excited and planning and thinking about the future when suddenly its all taken away from you, the rug pulled out from under you so to speak.

I'm okay today. I've moved beyond the initial shock and grief and am feeling a tad bit better.

I just pray now that things move along quickly and we can start trying to have another baby again soon.

So thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they really do mean a lot even if I don't say it. However I'm not one for socializing or talking about it just yet...almost, just not yet. If I could just curl up in a ball and not emerge for a few months I would. I'd like to deal with it on my own, in my own way, but I know there are those who are concerned about me and want to know how/what is going on .

I'll be able to talk about it soon...just not yet.

~Bethany

Valentine's Day 2008

Valentine's Day isn't a big holiday, but like most holiday there is always this "excitement" in the air, this feeling that it's a special day.
The boys went to school with their Valentine's Day cards all filled out, and while they were at school I made heart shaped rice crispy treats and wrapped their gifts. We hadn't planned on getting them much, but Billy decided to buy them each a new game for their Nintendo DS'. Then, per Billy's instructions, I laid each wrapped game on their pillows with their DS. I wish I could figure out how to post a video here, because I also took a video of them walking into their room and opening their gifts. I think Alex was the most excited (he got Zoo Tycoon 2) as he was jumping up and down with a huge smile on his face. Owen didn't quite understand his game at first I think. It was Go Diego which he LOVES but I don't think he realized it was a game at first, he seemed to think it was a movie or something. Now that he knows what it is however I can't pull him away from it! It's perfect for his level of expertise.
Brayden got Alvin and the Chipmunks, which is a kids version of Guitar Hero (no guitar though...just using your stylus on the DS). It's really fun, especially once he's started to figure it out more.
Sadly, baby Billy got nothing...but I don't think he cared or realized it! He was happy with just sneaking candies he found in the boys treat bags from school.

Soon the sugar starting to kick in....

Happy Valentine's Day to you and enjoy the photos!

~Bethany

...Then comes FIVE?!

Okay so it's not that much of a surprise, as we were trying...yes actually trying, for another baby. However we did not think that it would happen the first try! With our other children it seemed to take a bit longer.

Regardless, we are very happy and excited to be expecting again. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the comments. *sigh* The comments. I suppose you could say I should expect it by now and be used to it...but it still gets on my nerves!
How many times can I hear "don't you know what causes that?" before I'm "used to it". It never gets old...it's just as annoying as the first time I heard it. Very original that one is. Or...the stories of other families someone knows of who kept trying and trying to have a girl but ended up with 6 or 7 boys before they finally had a girl.

I'm saying this one more time for the last time....we were NOT trying to "just have a girl". We actually wanted...yes actually wanted...a large family. Five boys would be just dandy. How many people can say they have five boys, no girls? Not many! Yes some can, but it's a special and rare thing to hear of someone who has only boys and FIVE of them.

Oh I could go on and on about the comments I get tired of, but I'll spare you for now.

You know, I often ignore and try to forget all of those kind of comments but ONE particular comment always will stick out in my mind. A GOOD comment. Once a woman looked at me and all my boys and I was bracing myself for the comment...instead she said, "All boys?" , "Yep!" I replied. Then she said, "Oh you are so lucky! Boys are so much fun!". "Yes they are!" I replied with a thank you.

It's those kind of comments I'd like to receive in an ideal world. I would never go up to someone with one or two children and say "wow you should have more, you don't know what you're missing". The mere thought of that is just silly! So why should people feel they can come up to ME and say things such as "you sure have your hands full!" or "better you then me" or "you must be crazy!" and my favorite "dont you know what causes that?".

Well enough of that, on to the the more important details.

Number five is due October 9th, 2008 but with my history I probably won't have him/her until a week later. Three out of four children now have been a couple days to a week late!

We also are not finding out what gender we are having until the baby is born. Some may think I will not be able to stick to that, but I'm set in my ways. We'll see when it gets closer to that ultrasound appointment, but I told Billy that I want to NOT find out and he's supposed to help me not to give in. As of right now, not even an tiny bit of me wants to find out early...I'm SET on not finding out.

My first appointment, which usually involves an ultrasound to check the size of the baby and see the heartbeat is March 4th. Check back then to see baby punkin's first picture!

So far I feel pretty good. I do tire more easily and by 7-8pm I'm ready for bed...when previously my bedtime was 11pm or later. I also am very thirsty all the time and hungry hungry hungry! Not feeling sick so much yet, but I'm only just almost 5 weeks along. I'm sure in another 2 weeks it will set in. fun!

Until next time......