2008 in 12 pictures

January - Just cute kids in cute warm clothes.

February- quick trip to DC - 1st stop, DC Temple- Beautiful!

Easter '08- it was in March this year:)

April- Tates started horseback riding lessons!May- Taylor gave herself a haircut- ARGH!!

June- trip to Texas, my dad enjoyed Taylor's knight helmet:)

July- Cagey turned 3- and didn't eat his delicious cake.

August- trip to Utah, the kids played dress up with Grandpa Nicolaysen
September- Our first Tropical Storm- whoopee.
October- Tates turned 6- complete with her thrown together horse cake.
November- the baby bump gets big enough to get a kiss from big brother- he's hoping for another sister- go figure.
December - was filled with too many fun stuff, so I just picked this hilarious picture of Cagey. What a goof. Happy end of '08- and new '09!!

Brain Age update

I know most of you are not interested, but this is just for my records. Yesterday I got my brain age down to 20! The best score you can get and Jeebs' went up to 24- hehehehee. Sometimes the thing will compare us and it will say "You did better than James today" or "You didn't do as well as Vanessa today" or vice versa. I think it's trying to tear us apart. But, since this is not a common occurence for me to beat jeebs and for him to get the "You didn't do as well as Vanessa today" message- I had to write it down somewhere and this is the easiest place to do so. Another shock last night, we were laying in bed watching tv and Jeebs asked me a question concerning the dish and pay-per-view. He wanted to know how you go about just watching the first 5 minute preview on pay-per-view without buying the movie. I had to lay there and enjoy the moment for a while :)

It was a green Christmas in this town...

Despite the fact that for Jeebs- every other place he's lived in the US had a white Christmas this year and we did not- we definitely had a fun Christmas. I know, ma, that was a horrible sentence. :)
These are our kids at 7 in the morning, anxiously waiting to see what Santa brought. Tates didn't go to bed until after 9 and she woke up at about 6:50. We let them sleep on a pad in our room so they wouldn't be tempted to go to the living room before we got up. Apparently our floor is pretty comfortable because they slept soundly all night long.

BeforeAfter

Trying out their new gear.

Cagey realizing he had to wear a helmet:)

We had a fun and relaxing day. We started our day (after opening presents of course) with cinnamon rolls and kolaches- complete with hot chocolate even though it was 60 degrees outside. Crazy that I used up so much cocoa powder and milk during the end of October and beginning of November and December, not so much. Oh well. That lasted us until about 3 or 4 when we decided it was time to heat up the smoked turkey- woohoo gobble gobble.com- I made stuffing and Jeebs made mac'n cheese per my instructions. I couldn't stand up anymore for all the stirring involved in homemade mac'n cheese - it turned out super tastey. I think it's because he puts about 2 more cups of cheese than I put in anything. Anyway, everything was delicious and it was the first time I can remember eating all of my turkey and hardly anything else. The kids had fun playing with their daddy and their new stuff all day. It was so nice to have Jeebs all to ourselves and not be competing with the computer screen. Cagey kept screaming "Daddy, come watch me!!" Taylor kept saying "I don't know what to play with." It was really fun. I taught myself hot to knit with Taylor's knitting set that she got from Santa. I've already knitted her a scarf. Jeebs got me a DS with Brain Age for Christmas. It is so much fun and until today my brain age was better than his :) He blasted me out of the water this morning though. Dang it!

And last and least- this is for my brothers. I tell my brother my nose swells every time I get pregnant. He used to say he couldn't tell, but then he liked to make jokes about how I looked like Jeebs busted me in the nose and lips hehehehe. I really don't care because it doesn't last forever. I'm sure it's not as big as it's going to get and it's hard to tell since everything else on me is "swelling". But here it is. Talk amongst yourselves- let me know the verdict :)

Happy Anniversary!! 7 years

Jeebs and I have been married for 7 years today. His name has evolved from James to Jamis to Jeebus, and now Jeebs. I'm thinking of shortening it to "J". He didn't like that suggestion too much. It's pretty funny when even our Bishop is calling him Jeebs :)

7 years ago today we were in Portland, Oregon with both of our families. It was such a fun trip. Our families left from Salt Lake a couple of days before we flew out to meet them. We had a day of shopping at the outlet malls on Christmas Eve and a trip to the Oregon coast- so beautiful and so fun to be all together. Christmas was spent at the house James' parents were staying at and then a huge family dinner at the church with all of James' aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents that lived nearby. Craziness.

We were sealed on December 26th, 2001 at the Portland, Oregon Temple by James' grandfather- it was a wonderful and special day. I remember after we were married and I had changed out of my wedding dress- I went out to meet James to leave and go check in at the hotel we were staying in for the night and my family went the opposite way to go back to the hotel I was staying in just the night before with them. It still makes me a little sad to think about that moment. I knew nothing would ever be the same.

My sister (with a little help from my mom:) planned and carried out my whole wedding. It was beautiful and I hoped that one day I would get to do the same for her. I miss you gee. We're always thinking about you. I managed to make it through the whole sealing without crying until I hugged my crying sister. I probably would have fallen totally to pieces if I hadn't been so nervous about being newly married and if I had known what my sister's future would hold.

I know, Jeebs looks so young. I have aged him well :) I have that effect on people. Happy Anniversary Jeebs. 7 years down, eternity to go :)

I had to throw in this picture - this is one of the first dress shops we looked for dresses. I kind of think I should have gone with this dress, but at the time it wasn't at all what I had imagined in my head for my wedding dress, but it is really flattering. I think my mom liked it better than what I ended up with.

Preggo Brain

I really thought I had a midwife appointment today at noon. Well, noon came and I hadn't heard anything from my midwife. She was going to come to my house and she's never been here before so I thought I'd at least get a call wondering where exactly we lived. Nope, nada, nothing. So I couldn't remember if she had given me an appointment card or not, but I dug in my wallet and sure enough there it was. Dec 23rd, which is tomorrow- at 12:30. Well, I was close anyway. hehehehe I had a chiropractic appointment this morning and I really like my chiropractor- she's had 2 homebirths and she really understands what pregnant women need with chiropractic. She only adjusts a few things at a time which is different from what I'm used to, but it is helping me not to feel totally crippled. I may actually be able to have more children if I can make it through this one :) I have been so anxious lately about this baby. I know I've blogged about it before, but I am a total insane-oe lately. I have decided I just can't worry - and while that works sometimes, I still find myself dwelling on the stupidest stuff. We finally have cold - dryer weather today- perfect for making candy. So, I'm going to try my hand at making some almond rocca- a recipe Elizabeth Lewis sent me- thank you Elizabeth. I may also try to make some more fudge. I need to take some treats to my visiting teachees- we'll see if that happens :)

This weekend was very stressful- I did get my hair done Saturday morning and I feel somewhat back to normal. I went to someone new and I really like what she did. I did get a huge breath of hair chemicals- which I am sure was wonderful for my unborn child and then later when I got home- our propane tank to our fireplace sprung a leak and leaked completely out. Luckily, I only smelled a little bit of it- but again, the baby got a lot of chemistry that day :( We had the missionaries over for dinner that night. Then, on Sunday I participated in a musical number- which always makes me so freaking nervous- it was my idea too- I don't know why I get myself into those things. But, I think it turned out great- thanks Elizabeth and Amy- I think y'all are the only 2 in our number that read this blog:) if not thanks to Jamie and Kimberly too:) After all that, I had to do sharing time in Primary. I had a fun idea that kind of flopped- the little kids got a little too carried away with it- and the older kids ran out of time because we looked up so many scriptures- oh well. Scriptures are the best teachers, right? So, needless to say, I'm glad that weekend is over.

Christmas should be fun and relaxing- I've ordered a smoked turkey from gobblegobble.com. They are located in Tyler, TX and we had one when I was at home in Texas for something one year. It was so dang good!! I'm so excited to eat another one!! For some reason I've craved turkey, ham, hotwings and anything mustardy this pregnancy. It's got to be another boy. I generally don't like ham or hotwings. Weird what pregnancy does to you. Okay- now that you can't remember a time before reading this blog- I'm off to make some candy and eat lunch.

Tricky Trampoline

This morning I took the dog out and I saw these tiny cute little spiderwebs on the grass. They were all covered in dew and I thought they were really cool so I had to take a picture. It also reminds me of a piano piece I had to play when I was taking lessons. It was called Tricky Trampoline- I can still hear it in my head- the illustration on the front of the music was a spiderweb with dew. Interesting...
Oh and if you zoom in on the camera really close to the water drops- it just looks like tiny floating bubbles.

Christmas is coming...

Last night I sent Jeebs to Walmart with the kids so I could wrap presents. It's always so much more exciting when you have presents under the tree to shake and guess about and dream about etc. So, they went to the store and I was able to wrap a lot of the kids' presents to put under the tree. They got back from the store and it was nearly bedtime so they had to get ready for bed and only had time to shake a few presents. So, this morning this is what we woke up to....

They had taken all the presents our from under the tree and sorted them out on the couch just to shake each and every one of them. I love Christmas!

Percy proves useful

Does anybody else hate bending over when they're pregnant? Yeah, me too, especially when I'm in lots of pain from my stinkin' pelvis. Well, tonight I was heating up a bowl of frozen peas in the microwave- after I got them out I tasted them and they seemed freezer burned so I was picking them up to throw them in the sink and somehow they slipped right out of my hands. Hot peas and pea water all over my kitchen floor and stove. There was even one lone pea on the other side of my bar- that tells you how far they flew. Relaxin is a nasty little hormone, I must say. So, there I was with pea juice on my pants and peas all over my kitchen floor. Percy came to the rescue. I've never seen him eat peas, but I guess he sensed I needed help and he immediately started devouring them as fast as he could. I got up several handfuls because I didn't want to be cleaning up pea-filled dog puke at midnight tonight. He really did do a good job getting up what I left behind and picking up most of them before I had to bend over a 100 times. He really is annoying sometimes and James really can't stand him, but I just love having him around at times like this. He is also getting a lot better at not running away every second of the day. I've been letting him out by himself in the morning and he takes a little trip a few houses down, but he comes running back when he's done (usually). I think he's just a big yard, country kind of poodle. It must kill him to stay inside all day and wear his little argyle Christmas sweater :)

Christmas Activity

So, the Christmas activity is over!! YAY!! The skit turned out really nice. There were a few glitches with my sound and video guy- but that's what happens when you hire family members :) j/k jeebs. I am really depressed that after all that work I did not get one single solitary picture!!! I was literally so busy and then so much in pain- I could barely walk and I couldn't think of anything except getting things over with. I got home and realized after parking it on the couch and cramping up in my toes and legs that I was very dehydrated. I've been drinking water and had a big glass of milk. The cramping has almost subsided-- and I would have to say with all the trips to the bathroom I've taken- I'm on the way to being good and hydrated. Now, if I can only walk through church tomorrow- we should be good. I can't think of much else intersting to type and all I can think about is how I wish I had some stinkin' pictures of my dang skit!! Man, a month of preparation and nothing to show my family or friends that live a thousand miles away. ARGHHH!! Well, at least I'll be able to pay more attention to my poor children now.

Hooray for the Half Point!!

Yesterday was the official halfway mark of this pregnancy. We have had a little bit of stress the last month with Jeebs' job closing and medical bills piling up, but miraculously we got a job offer we couldn't refuse and Jeebs has a new job!! A full-time job. They are thankfully letting him work from home for a lot of the time- the job is in Raleigh and we live 2 hours away. I have another midwife appointment in 2 weeks- right before Christmas, should be fun. The baby is kicking and wiggling a lot lately so it is always a stress reliever to know the little person is still okay.

Jeebs had to go to Raleigh yesterday and on his way home he was nice enough to go into Pottery Barn and see if they had the rest of the bedding I got on sale. They had the quilt, a sham, and the crib skirt- all on a very good sale. So it was regularly over 250$ and I got it all for under 90$! I am so excited. It is a little girly so I'll probably have a boy and not want to use it :) Ebay, right??

Yesterday evening I let Tates stay up if she would rub my feet. I got her lotion and everything and it was heaven. She got to stay up an extra hour and I got new feet. Man, it is amazing what a foot rub can do for one. It has been really nice here lately, but today and the next couple of days are going to be nasty. It really knocks the Christmas spirit out of me. Hopefully it'll be cold for Christmas day! It just doesn't feel like Christmas when you're in short sleeves and burning up. Yes, I know I was raised in Texas and we had a lot of hot Christmases but no, you do not get use to it.

Recent happenings

Lately we've had a crazy household. Tates is losing teeth left and right.

Cagey is wearing ballet slippers. My mom got these on ebay and they were too small and too girly for Tates. So, I thought I'd try them on Cagey.And, last but not least, Tates is standing on her head. I told her any little girl that can touch her feet to her head and have a perfect point needs to be in gymnastics!!!

this last picture is of Jeebs and the kids getting the electric trains ready for our primary skit. Boys really never grow up :) Peter Pan would be proud.