"Now we're even!" says Eleanor.

So, there's a long story here, but it boils down to this: we decided to find out the sex of our baby this time around. The kids were DYING to find out and while we didn't find out for Theodore, the payoff wasn't as big as I had hoped.

The deal was that Peter would be told first, and the ultrasound technician was very nice about whispering in his ear when the time came. I could tell from his squeal of excitement what it was, but I had to wait for him to tell Eleanor first before he would tell me.

And it turns out that Eleanor will finally get her sister. And I will finally get to use all those cute girl clothes again that I'm saving in the basement. The kids are thrilled; Peter and Eleanor were both confident that it was a girl, so nobody is disappointed. I think Matt is a little nervous about her disposition, though. While he's not averse to having another girl, he (and I as well) definitely hope that we don't get another stubborn girl.

In which I surrender

Annie is gone. Not gone gone, but she no longer resides at our house. We brought her back to the shelter this morning. The people at the shelter were really nice and understanding, especially when I cried.

It was an interesting two months. I will miss our crazy dog, but not badly enough to regret my decision. Thank you, Matt, for letting me get rid of her.

(Although you should have seen the kittens there! Oh, they were hard to resist...)

Number 4

Matt and I are proud to announce the upcoming birth of our fourth child, due sometime between the summer solstice and the winter solstice*. Yay for us!

*This is me, poking fun at my sister, who refuses to tell me her due dates.

Just your normal, everyday shopping trip...

Names withheld to protect the sure-to-be-traumatized-by-this-when-they-read-it-in-15-years children.

I went to the grocery store yesterday for my weekly shopping trip. I was feeding the missionaries that night and couldn't put off shopping any longer. I had a long list of things to buy and a short window of opportunity to do so. Annie was home in her crate and would need to be let out as soon as I got home. We would get home just in time for lunch. We got loaded up in the cart and started shopping.

Bananas. Check. Strawberries. Check. As we were on our way to the kiwis, E started saying in her typical fashion, "I need to go pee! I need to go pee!"

It wasn't the normal time for her to go; she's usually very reliable about her calls of nature. Whatever, though, I'm a roll-with-the-punches kind of mom. I parked the cart at the front entrance, unbuckled T, and guided my two kids into the women's bathroom. E got into the stall, closed it behind her, and promptly peed in her pants.

Now, I don't have a spare change of clothes for her or any of my other kids waiting in the van in case such an event does occur. Some people would, but I don't. I wasn't going home, either, because I really, really needed to get the grocery shopping done and this was the only chance I would get. Here's what I did:

I took off her wet clothes and shoes. Luckily, I had a plastic bag in my pocket from a walk with Annie, so I threw her wet things in the bag. I washed E off in the sink, put a T diaper on her (it barely fit), and put her in the shopping cart. She was clothed in a long sleeved shirt, vest, and a diaper. That was it.

Then I headed back inside the store. I bought new underwear, pants (well, technically I bought her a new outfit. There weren't any pants I liked and I liked the outfit a lot), and the cheapest shoes I could find: flip flops. Good thing it wasn't freezing outside!

I checked out my purchases (including the bananas and strawberries), then turned right around and headed into the dressing rooms. E took off her diaper and got dressed in her new (Tinkerbell!) underwear, pants, and shoes.

Then I finished my grocery shopping.

Temporary insanity

We got a dog.

Yes, that's right. A dog. Actually, a puppy. Puppies are worse than dogs.

Don't ask me why. I was the one who actually made the final decision. I think that somehow I got this idea that it would be easy. Ha! It's like a bomb went off in our house.

I would give her back, but I can't for four reasons:

1. We've spent too much money on her.
2. Matt won't let me.
3. This would be the first thing to come up in my childrens' therapy sessions in 20 years.
4. Actual quote from Eleanor: "Mommy, yesterday was the best day I've ever had, because we got a dog, and I love her, and I love you for getting us a dog. Thank you, mommy."

She's a great dog when the kids aren't around her to rile her up. We got her from the shelter and she's a collie/Boxer mix but looks all Boxer to me. She's 8 weeks old and her name is Annie (name courtesy of Eleanor).

Constant attention.

This is the face of a happy girl.

She's a very beautiful dog. Eric, are you jealous yet? You can have her!

How to make your niece and nephew love you and your sister hate you: Pop Rocks!

Aunt Diedra rolled into town for Christmas and we had a blast. We ate our weight in sugar and Diedra took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. At one point we let the kids eat the gingerbread house they had decorated, and instead of picking the candy off and eating it the polite way, my two boys decided to just gnaw off the roof.

One of my Christmas presents was a little digital camcorder, perfect for uploading videos to YouTube. So I present to you the first of many videos of my kids. Enjoy watching my baby eat Pop Rocks.

My daughter cut her own hair yesterday...

...but it's actually not that bad. She was cutting paper during her quiet time (cutting paper is one of her favorite activities) and decided her hair was in her face. I didn't even notice until Matt found the hair on her floor last night.

She basically cut bangs for herself. I fixed them a little this morning, and it looks pretty good. It could have been a lot worse. Still, this was something I hoped I would never have to deal with.