Electronic crash...

Our camera, Ipod, Portable DVD, electric toothbrush, and cord to connect the phone to the computer all broke in the past week! So photos are coming fairly soon. I just ordered a new camera.

And just to clairfy, the kids did NOT know I was pregnant until Valentine's Day. They thought the fifth heart was for the kitty.

Things are going great with the pregnancy. I am about 18 or 19 weeks and we find out the gender next week when Nate's mom is here visiting. We are going to have a little party with some friends to find out the gender. More on that later.

Grace wrote an adorable letter to the tooth fairy about not wanting money anymore, just toys. She also said some really cute things when she found out I was pregnant. She was sure I was having twins and I told her I already saw the baby inside of me. She then asked, "when did you have the C Section?" She was also very concerned about being around for the "monogram."

Rita is coming home with lovenotes from her "boy" friends. Yesterday the kids were outside playing and the police came by and for some reason, she was my only child not scared by this at all. And... between the two girls, the entire elementary school knew I was pregnant the day after we told them, I mean EVERYONE (even the librarian.)

Sam is not napping anymore and plays like a good little dude in the afternoon when I nap. He latest toy is the ironing board and playing 911 on it. He was scared to death of the police man yesterday and cried about not wanting to go to foster care and only eat bread and water. He is also scared of war lately as our family friend is being deployed.

And Ellen. She climbs out of her crib all the time, we are still working on that one. I can't control her hair anymore, it is so curly and big. She wants to pick out her shoes and I often catch her putting on her tutus after naps.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Large Family Ideas...

We have had a lot of playdates in the past two weeks! Whenever the moms come over, I always get the same comments on certain things in the house. The first thing is this corkboard that I just made last week. I copied the idea from my friend Candi and it has been a HUGE success in the house. Less cups and everyone is on board. It really helps at dinnertime when we ask one of the kids to set the table.

This is the next thing and it has also been a really big success. The kids are totally on board with it. I made it at my MOPS group and it was supposed to be a plate that you just write your meals on, etc. But I knew that dinner chores would be worthwhile to allocate in my house. The kids love these systems.

This is an old system but I still get a lot of comments on this. We don't have a mudroom but when you walk into our house, I use our wall on the left for our coats and jacket dump spot. The hooks are from Pier One and Nate installed them very well so that they are really sturdy and durable. They don't pull out from the wall. They know to hang up their coats and shoes are to be neat under the jackets. We are finding that it is really important to start these systems because things were quickly getting out of control as we moved into our new home and Ellen became a "big person." My next project is to figure out how to cook for my family and still have leftovers!