Morning, noon, and night sickness

That sums up the few short weeks of pregnancy that have passed. I don't recall feeling this sick, this often, this early!

I'm also incredibly tired.

Now this is all "normal", but it seems to me I wasn't weighted down by these things in the past until I was like 8-10 weeks along!

Nonetheless, I'm pushing through each day and doing what I can. Homeschooling is going well, and I've started Gwen doing some early reading prep as well. I hope to have both of them reading at about the same level by late spring.

Both the kids had to go in for fillings and did just great. Our dentist is wonderful. Unfortunately, Gwen has to go in 3 more times and Ethan 1 more time to get them all finished up. I cannot believe my little Gwen had 5 cavities! Both of them will have their teeth sealed when they're old enough as they inherited grooves in their teeth from me.

Elsa has had a cold for a few days now and its a constant struggle to keep that nose clean! She's started freaking out any time it starts to drip, so I have to always have something on hand to get her cleaned up or she starts losing her marbles a bit. Something about a runny nose really gets her worked up!

Jason is liking Costco and the people he works for. The drive, as you might assume, has gotten VERY old. He's spent a lot of time re-working our finances and budget to see if we could move earlier than planned, or maybe even rent, but it looks like we're still here for a few more years (unless we win the lottery... which we don't play). There just isn't any way you can make a grueling 1.5 hour commute home not miserable. Luckily the drive in isn't bad (because he leaves so early), but the drive home just wears him out. I remember those days of commuting and how grateful I am that I no longer have to do it! I can't wait until J either finds a job close to home or our home moves closer to his job and he doesn't have to end his work day drained and frustrated at how little time he gets with the family and leisure before having to go to bed to get up early and fight the drive again.

Short

Just a few lines while I'm here, trying to rest my weary bones for a few seconds. Tonight I'm watching my cousin Ben and this house is full and noisy with 4 kids all wound up. Guess I should get used to that, huh?

Here's a link to our pictures from Christmas. I took shockingly few pictures for some reason.

Gwen had her first filling on Thursday and did great. I just love our dentist. We'll be back next week for Ethan's, then the week after for Gwen, then Ethan , then Gwen once again. I can't believe Gwen had 5 cavities and Ethan 2! I need to remember to talk about having their teeth sealed to prevent further cavities since they both have deep grooves in their teeth like I do.

Elsa has reached her "terrible twos". During our weekend in Spokane we REALLY saw it emerge. I know how to weather this... I've done it twice already. But that does not make it fun and this little one has a will and determination that I don't recall in the others. As exhausting as it is, this is the groundwork for the future years and we must be consistent and firm in guiding her. So far her favorite thing to do is shriek "MINE!" over everything or "NO!" at the gentlest suggestion or to hit me when she's angry.

Well, Ben was just picked up and I must get the kids into jammies and into bed as they are VERY tired.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all that jazz.

What a whirlwind 2.5 weeks! Life is just starting to return to normal. We had a wonderful Christmas weekend (after spending Christmas all by ourselves) and over New Years, we visited our Spokane family and enjoyed ourselves there as well.

I always feel a great relief after the holidays are over. I enjoy them a lot, but its also a lot of work, a lot of stress, and a lot of money! I enjoy routine so its nice to get back to that.

There is some news... I'm pregnant! I found out the Monday after Christmas but I didn't tell anyone... I wanted to see if Jason would guess on his own. He did, during our dreadfully long drive to Spokane (thanks snow and ice!) and the next day I told family. I'm very early, like only 6 weeks or so, due in early September. The kids are so excited!

We're off to our weekly visit with family, so that's all for now.