Oops

I can't believe I have let so much time pass since I've last blogged. BUT I am finally feeling a lot better. I am 17 weeks along with this pregnancy and everything is going great. We have an ultrasound in 3 weeks and we are really hoping to find out if the little one is a boy or a girl. I am hoping for a girl, but only because I have some girl names I like but so far no boy names. I will, however, be ecstatic for either one and will eventually figure out a boys name if needed. ;)

It is almost Christmas! This month has been a complete blur thanks to work. I have worked more, outside the home, than I think I ever have since having kids. It has been nice to get money for Christmas but I'll be happy next Christmas when I'm not working and can just enjoy the season with my family. I almost quit last month but decided to stick it out for the month of December.

I finally did some Christmas baking the other day. I had the day off work, the house was relatively clean, and it is so close to Christmas. I had so much fun!!! (If you live in Salt Lake and haven't gotten treats yet, fear not, I'm having another baking day this week.) Lars just laughs at me. How many people find joy out of spending an entire day doing nothing but baking? It is one of those things that I enjoy anytime of the year, but also is one of those things that makes it really feel like Christmas.
I don't have pictures this year but I made...

Ginger cookies
White cupcakes
Chocolate cupcakes
Pumpkin bread
The most amazing cinnamon rolls

I am hoping to get a few other things in that I have been wanting to bake.

The kids are very excited for Christmas. We had hoped to go to Disneyland for Christmas this year but with the new baby coming decided to hold off until next year (Gotta start saving now!) ;)
I have found that shopping for teenagers and almost teenagers is hard! Why can't my kids stay little. It is so easy to shop for them. Teenagers are expensive, and then you get them something and feel bad that they have so few gifts because they cost so much. *sigh* It is hard for me to have them grow up on so many levels.
Emma wants a pet despite the fact that we already have a dog, a cat, and 3 rabbits. Unfortunately I don't think I am up for another pet just yet, especially since what she really wants is a bird and I always swore I wouldn't do birds. (But it is hard for me not to want to run out and buy her one) I'm such a sucker mama.
I think I've found things to make them all happy though. And Christmas is always fun no matter what simply because it is Christmas.

That's about it at our house right now. Things are finally starting to get back to normal now that I am feeling better. I'm so grateful for my family that worked really hard to keep things at least decent while I was feeling so rotten. And I'm grateful I'm not one of those people that are sick the entire pregnancy!

I'm planning on posting again before Christmas but in case I don't...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!!
I love you all!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

I'm so happy it is almost Thanksgiving! Not only do I love thanksgiving and the delicious foods but now people will stop telling me "But it isn't even Thanksgiving." When they hear me listening to Christmas music, see me writing out Christmas lists with my kids, or talk about decorating the house. ;) ( I haven't decorated the house yet but not because it isn't thanksgiving but more due to my exhaustion, see previous post)

Since I mentioned the previous post I'll give you a small update. Things are going great. I am 13 weeks now and have my second appointment with my midwife on Tuesday. I am starting to feel better and am getting my energy back little by little. Hooray for the 2nd trimester!

Lilli is so impatient for the baby, and everything else. (That is what it is like being 4) She wants to know why it isn't Christmas yet, WHEN is the baby going to get bigger and come out, and when does she get to be a mom. ;) All in good time little one. We talked about just enjoying everything that is happening and how exciting it is to wait for things. (Now to take my own advice!)
The other kids are doing great. Emma made the high honor roll again at school and was moved to the pre-alegebra class. (In fact she and Oscar are in the same class. Oscar was a little put  out at first but only because he doesn't want to share his friends) haha
Oscar did really well on his report card as well. He has improved a lot over the last few years, his major problem has always been...not turning in homework. He has gotten so much better about doing his homework and actually turning it in and his grades are starting to reflect that. He has never received bad grades but when it is something as silly as not turning in homework that keeps him for great grades, well that is something we talk about for sure.
Henry has been working hard to overcome some of his own challenges and we are so proud of him for all his hard work! He is such a great kid. So sweet and extremely creative. Yesterday he was home sick from school and he spent the whole day in his room making a book. He drew all the pictures and colored them, wrote the story, and created some great covers for the book. I'd much rather he spend the day doing that than watching T.V. or playing video games.
I do love my kids, they are all so amazing, and each in their own way. Cant' wait to spoil them a bit at Christmas.

"I'm so tired"...or..."Why I've been MIA for a month"

It isn't that I haven't had anything to blog about, I mean come on, I have 4 kids after all. There is always something to brag about or laugh about. The reason for my absence is that my energy has vanished the last month and I haven't been feeling very well. Not to worry though, I did get checked out by the Dr., and though they did find a little something, they assure me I will get my energy back in another 18-20 years. It may even gradually return off and on throughout that time. I am somewhat used to exhaustion and lack of energy having 4 kids which is why with this little thing I'm in the midst of, it seems the last of my energy has been zapped. I'm sure at this point some, or most of you can guess what I have. It is pretty common. It is a little thing called...

PREGNANCY! 

You heard me right! We are having a baby. The kids are all ecstatic and we are too. The 5th little Andersen will make his or her arrival at the end of May (or if I'm lucky yet again, closer to the beginning) ;)

It is kind of strange to be at this stage again. We really had thought Lilli would be the caboose but once she started praying for a baby brother or sister we figured we might be headed down a different path than we thought. Kids prayers are very powerful! So we only have 30 weeks left and I think Lilli may just burst with excitement and impatience long before we get there. 

It will be interesting to find out what we are having not only because this baby is the tie breaker as far as boys versus girls goes but also because so far we have had a gender switch with each child. To this point it has been...boy, girl, boy, girl. SO will this one be the one to break tradition? Or will we have another little boy? Time will tell and though I'd really LOVE to wait for that moment in the delivery room when they say "Congratulations! It's a..." I know I'm not that patient. (Neither are the kids) So sometime near Christmas we will probably find out what this package contains. (I've always been one to try to figure out what my presents are before Christmas anyway) 

 My guess is that we are having a girl. Any guesses from you all?

Girls weekend

Emma and I celebrated her birthday this weekend with a mother/daughter overnighter. We stayed at the Little America Hotel. Emma thought it was the coolest thing ever. We went out to eat, stayed up late watching movies, and eating snacks. It was a lot of fun!

The next morning I woke up early so I could order room service while she was still sleeping. She woke up just as they finished laying out our breakfast. She was so surprised and happy! The food was wonderful!

Afterwards we headed over to Gardner village for our manicures and then just walked around and looked at all the shops. After lunch it was time to head home so Dad could take her to a play. We had so much fun and I think Emma had a wonderful birthday. 

Happy Birthday again Emma! I love you!

Our room

We were upgraded to a King suite!

The view from our little balcony. 

Olive garden

Our breakfast

Emma loves being treated like a princess! 

Gardner village

The witches are out here!

12 is swell

So, my Emma is 12. In our church that means she starts the youth program. That seems so big to me. 

Emma is such a great young woman, which is what I have to remind myself she is now, a young woman and not a little girl. She is so smart and such a help to me. She is sassy and spunky, usually in all good ways. ;) She came into this world screaming and there have been times throughout her childhood that she proved she could still scream just as loud. Usually, however, she is calm and sweet and full of fun. 

For her birthday this year she decided to have a mother/daughter birthday weekend. We are going to go to a hotel, order room service, watch movies, and then I have some fun things planned for the next day as well. I will post about them another time since she might read this and I am keeping those a surprise. 

It should be a fun weekend and hopefully Dad and the other kids make it through without us. GOOD LUCK DAD! :)

And 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!! 

♥WE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!♥  

Baking

I ♥ baking

Just a couple of the things I baked this week. Some weeks are just about baking

Key lime pie- oh so delicious!

Lilli and I dyed the filling green. She thought it wasn't green enough before that. 

My first made-from-scratch German Chocolate Cake

The filling- LOVE it

Starting to look pretty good

The chocolate icing

Amost ready!

Delicious

Okay, so it doesn't look perfect but not bad for a first attempt. Plus the taste was perfection!

I've never had a German Chocolate cake with chocolate icing but it was...well to coin an appropriate phrase "icing on the cake"  

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now that fall is in the air (Well mostly, this is Utah so it can still be 80-90 many days) I will be doing tons of baking. LOVE fall and holiday baking. If anybody wants dessert you know where to come! :)

A fine romance

I posted about my scandalous affair once (with food) but have I told you about my fine romance?

He's a goofball and I love him! 

Love...True love...

Marriage, it is an amazing crazy thing. And I think our society has an odd view of love and marriage. We kind of think about it all backwards. You have your ups and downs in a marriage. You have your good and your bad. How can you not, you are dealing with two flawed human beings, meshing their lives, thoughts, and actions. It is not going to be perfect. It can, however, be happy, even with the bad. You have to be unselfish, forgiving, and willing to overlook their imperfections as they overlook yours. 

I often think about arranged marriages. I have talked to people that have personally dealt with arranged marriages. In fact I was talking with a friend the other day and she related a story to me. Her friend's parents had an arranged marriage. So she asked her friend "But do your parents love each other?" Her friend replied "Of course they do!" 

It is like the song in Fiddler on the Roof. "Do you love me" He asks her, "Do you love me" Her reply is that after everything they've been through, how she has worked with him, been with him through the good and the bad, raised kids together, lived together, how can he ask. She says "If that's not love, what is?" And that is true love. It is unselfish and forgiving. Both people have to be willing to be unselfish and forgiving, and obviously if forgiveness is needed then you aren't going to be perfect at the unselfish part, but you love each other and want to make it work. 

What I've found is this...Lars is wonderful. He can drive me crazy, make me laugh, make me cry (not on purpose, don't get the wrong idea) As I've said before though, he "gets me" in a way no one else can. I can't imagine anyone else understanding me the way he does. And he is so forgiving of my flaws and mistakes. I have thought about the "What ifs". What if something happened to him? Would I remarry? (This is something you talk about when you are married.) What would I do? The truth is I have a hard time seeing it. I simply cannot imagine myself with anyone else, no matter how crazy he makes me ;)

I was young when we got married, and young when we started having kids. I wouldn't change a thing though. I knew I wanted to marry this man. I knew I wanted to spend forever with him, my life and beyond. Still do. 

It isn't always easy though, marriage. It is always worth it to choose to work it out, when both of you are of that same mind; to make the marriage happy. To make each other happy. You may not always succeed short-term, you will make mistakes but overall you can make a happy marriage. 

The fact that we are friends, as well as husband & wife, helps. Makes it even more worth it. The fact that every time we go through a hard or bad time, we talk it out and help each other, and we come through stronger, that makes it worth it too. Every time it seems we take a step back we take leaps and bounds ahead to make up for it. And when he looks at me, he doesn't see the over-tired, over-weight mom of 4. He sees me, the real me. He thinks I am beautiful and wonderful still. That is true love. And I feel the same way about him. He is handsome, sweet, and cute. Always will be. 

We laugh, love, grumble, mumble, and grow together. Through it all there is an underlying foundation of love and friendship. That is what true love and marriage are about. And every time he does something sweet with the kids, like snuggling them in bed, reading them a story, or helping them patiently with homework, it melts my heart. When he comes in the kitchen at dinner time and asks what he can do to help, it makes me weak in the knees. And when he asks me, still after almost 14 years together, if I'll go on a date with him on Friday, it gives me butterflies in my stomach. That right there is true love. 

And all of that is what makes a fine romance. 

OSCAR & M-I-C-K-E-Y...

M-O-U-S-E

I'm so glad the cake turned out good! Lars actually helped me decorate this one!
The black frosting was awesome because it turns your teeth and tongue a purplish black color.
 (I ate the peach part)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OSCAR!

"No, no! I'm 13 now, I think I can blow out my own candles!"

OR CAN HE 

Can't believe he is 13 now!

We did have some fun with him yesterday...

He thought it was pretty funny too!

He is a great kid and we love him! 

The painting Emma made for Oscar. I think it is pretty awesome.

More presents!
Birthdays are great that way ;)

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY OSCAR!

13 is great! WE LOVE YOU!

Beyond the ordinary

We were invited to a BBQ at some friends and I brought dessert. I wanted to try something different. THIS is what I made...

Caramel Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
with something like a banana bread crust! YUM!

I know! Amazing right? It's okay to drool a little ;)

The crust was amazing, I would change it a little if I make this again (Which I know I will) but the taste was fantastic.

The custard was so so, I think I would use one of my other custard recipes next time. But the caramel and chocolate sauce were AmAzInG!

13 - Entering the realm of teenage life

My firstborn is turning 13 this Sunday. 13 years! Wow, I can't believe that much time has passed. I was so happy the moment I found out I was pregnant. The first time I held him in my arms solidified the love that had been growing for 9 months. He was an easy baby, not such an easy toddler/preschooler, but always full of fun and life! He was a fun toddler but the fact that he is full of life made it so that he was just more of everything. More fun, more creative, and...yes, even more of a handful. ;)

He has his struggles, like everyone else, but he is an awesome kid. He is smart and such a talented artist. I'm sure he'll read this at some point and be embarrassed, but that is my right as a mother. He is kind to those around him (though there are times when his siblings might disagree) makes friends easily and is just generally happy. I am so happy that he is my son! 

So the teenage years are upon us now. I know how to be a mom to young kids and screaming toddlers are a piece of cake to me, but I'm not sure how to be a mom to teenagers. This will be an emotional adventure for both of us. Come what may and love it, right?! I am excited about so many things, but I will take a minute to lament the passing of the childhood years for one of my kids. He is no longer a little kid (of course I knew that when one day I looked over and realized he had shot up and is taller than me)

I do love this kid and can't wait to see what great things he does in this life (and I will be there when the crappy things happen too) 

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY OSCAR!!!

Great-Grandpa Oscar and Oscar

SUCH a cute baby! (About 9 months)

All boy! Checking out a worm on a rainy day.

Oscar and Heather (About 3 years old)

Oscar and Bonnie (Distant cousin from Denmark)

Baptism day. He is such a cute guy!

Pizza party (10th birthday)

Halloween 2007 (He was an artist)

Such a sweet brother to his baby sister

Brothers- you play, you fight, you're friends for life.

Christmas 2009 (Rockin' the shaggy hair)

First day of school 2010 (7th grade for Oscar!!)