It's a Sharp Life . . .

This New Years was a bit of a quiet one. We usually have friends over or go out with friends, but this year, it was just Chris, me and the kids. We took them to Denny's for dinner (their favorite) then came home for the rest of the evening. Chris played checkers against Jewel and Nathan for a while, then Jewel taught him how to play chess. Now that was interesting! As the hugely pregnant lady, I just stayed on the couch and watched. But at midnight, Chris insisted that they all needed to bang pots and pans to welcome in the new year. Here they're just getting ready to storm out into the cold and wake the neighborhood. Here, they're clammoring the pans with all their might-- Jewel obviously has a do or die attitude about this very important job! Then, finally, a job well done for all of them!

But that's not really saying anything, lol! Chris has had a 4 day weekend twice now, and I've found the holiday vacation is making us way too lazy! I was actually glad to get up early this morning. We went to the baptism for the son of one of our very good friends. There were quite a lot of people there and we ended up sitting in the very back. We left Jordan with my mom and just took Jewel and Nathan, so it actually was more reverent than usual for me--except that Chris kept poking Jewel and Nathan when I wasn't looking. I finally pointed out a 2 year old that was being more reverent than him, and he had to agree. After the baptism we had lunch at their house (lasagna and the best garlic bread ever, YUM!) and it was fun to see a lot of friends we usually don't--just because everyone gets so busy! Chris took all three kids sledding after that (I had a lovely nap) and Jordan told me they went on two mountains. Chris and I both signed up for Skype (let me know if you

. . . and I'm up way too late! But with this pregnancy, nothing I does gets me to sleep peacefully at night. My belly is very big now, and moving from side to side is a big deal, I have to hold my belly and move it along! For those of you who don't know, we're expecting baby #4 at the end of February! It's a GIRL!! Jewel has been beside herself with excitement over finally having a sister (although she loves her brothers dearly!) Nathan merely said, "I knew it was a girl!" And he did. The morning I found out I was pregnant--and still reeling fro, the shock--I had only told Chris. I was walking down the hall and Nathan came up behind me. He said, "Mom, when are we going to have our baby girl?" My mouth just dropped open and I didn't know what to say! I gathered my wits enough to say "I . . . don't know, I guess we'll just have to see." It satisfied his 5 year old self, but I was blown away. Later in the pregnangy, he told me a co

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've written on here! After finals I was content to do practically nothing for a couple of weeks, then school started again! Jewel started the day before me and loves it so much she commented on how she wished she could just live there! I have school every day from 1--3pm. It's my CNA class. The teacher is actually a nurse that was with me when I delivered Jewel, I had known her through my CNM's office (certified nurse midwife) and she stayed 2 hours after her shift to be with me. When I heard the name of the teacher, Linda, I was like hmm , what are the odds??? I haven't seen her since then, but always remembered her fondly. Then I walk in and there she is! It's a lot of fun but somewhat exhausting to be there every day! Chris almost has the basement finished! He re-did the shower and floor in the bathroom down there, and put in cabinets and shelves. The carpet should hopefully be going in on Monday. Natha

And you think I'm finally going to write about the ER visit I eluded to a couple of weeks ago? I will, but he was in there again on Tuesday. My poor baby. The first visit was because Nathan got into the Spray N' Wash, and thinking it was water, squirted poor Jordan in the face and eyes . I missed it while I was doing laundry, and when I saw Nathan playing with it, I took it right away, and while Jordan's hair was slightly damp in places, his face was fine. He also acted fine for hours, then started crying and wouldn't stop. I also noticed he wouldn't open his eyes! I called poison control first, and they agreed I should take him in (I'd tried rinsing his eyes out earlier, but it didn't seem to help.) It took forever, but I finally got in there (Jordan was running around the waiting room the whole time) and they squirted some stuff in there to check the eyes--the doctor said he could see a slight infection, but that it would be gone by morning. And it was

About school! Can you believe it? I'm really, truly enjoying it. I went to psychology class today, and I always feel like I learn so much. My professor is great, and makes everything so interesting. I am behind on my Medical Terminology though, and I need to get to it! I already have my classes planned out for the next two semesters. This fall, it's CNA (certified Nurses Assistant.) It's only 2 hours a day, and my sister will be here with the boys--Jewel will be in school. The clinicals I'll have to do the last few weeks, once a week, will seriously be at 4 in the morning, and til about 7:30, so my kids won't even be awake! In the spring, I think I will be doing the math class (The horror!) and taking the EMT course. My friend Amy, who has been an EMT for years, encouraged me to do it, and I must confess, I'm very excited! I'd do it this fall, but CNA is already a pretty big class to handle. Now, if I could just finish editing my book already . . . (insert r