What we have been up too...

Brace yourself.  I have not posted for a while and I need to get caught up.  Big time.  Last time I posted (last Sept,) Jeff was visiting with us in NH while he was completing a dental rotation.  Since then a few major things have happened to the Thomas family.
1. We are having another baby!  Baby girl #2 will be here May 27th.  We have no idea what we will name her and haven't really talked about it since there have been so many other things going on in our lives right now.  Christian has suggested that we call her  Baby Wipey (like baby wipes for diaper changes.) I'm not convinced.  The cousins have also suggested Ashley#2.  We'll see.  It has been a typical pregnancy, pretty easy beside the usual super tiredness during the 1st trimester.  The 2nd trimester was easy and great.  Now I am into the 3rd and the largeness and accompanying discomfort has set in.  I have already scheduled the c-section for Mon, May 27th, which is my parents' 41st anniversary.  I'm not really that sentimental, I just asked for the soonest date possible.  It is a nice coincidence, though.
2.  Ry ended his job at Clark, Leighton, and Thomas.  It is a good thing, and we wish we would have done a long time ago.  I'll spare the details, but it was clear that it was time we move our family away from New England.  We will miss Ryan's family there.  It was so nice to have them close and I got to know my in-laws well.  They are awesome and have been so kind and supportive.  It was hard to tell them we were moving, but we knew it was the right thing to do for our own little family.
3. We sold our house.  Fast.  Too fast.  I guess it was a good problem to have.  We put our house on the market in late October.  It was actually kind of hard.  Not just physically because of my pregnancy, but emotionally too.  It was our first house, the one we brought our babies home to, the gardens and trees we worked so hard on, the improvements we were so excited to complete.  But someone else saw the value of the love and care we had put into our home and we had multiple offers within a month.  We closed mid December to a nice family with a cute little girl around Ashley's age.  We headed off to Auburn for Christmas with the Evers crew and so we could make plans for our new life adventure.
4.  After living with my parents for 2 months,we moved to TEXAS!  Flower Mound, to be exact, a suburb of the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area.  We have been here for a month and a half now, and I love it.  It is warm.  People are so nice.  Our ward is great and the church is strong here.  They have In-N-Out and See's. There are lots of parks and playgrounds for the kids.  Christian has an awesome preschool which he loves.   We have a fenced yard that allows the kids to run around and play whenever they want.  They are happy, I am happy.  (Megan Bruschke, if you happen to read this, could you let me know if Shannon Petersen is still near Denton?  I would love to see her, but don't know how to get a hold of her.  Thanks!)
5.  Last but certainly not least, Christian is fully potty trained!  I know it took forever, but with all the chaos and transition over the past several months, I thought I would wait until we were settled to really push it.  All it took was a trip to Target for a Lightning McQueen potty seat, and C never looked back.  Number 1 and 2.  No accidents in in the past 6 weeks.  HOORAY!
I will try to update more (with pictures) as we do fun things here.  I try to get the kids out everyday before it gets too hot.  And I understand it gets REALLY hot here in the summer.  We will make the most of the fabulous winter/spring weather while it lasts and before the new little baby comes!

Jeff's Sweet Wheels

Jeff has been living with us for the past several weeks while doing an internship in Nashua. I admit, when he rolled up in his new rental car, I was a little jealous.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Highlander. But man, that extra space in the Town and Country was really nice. You push a button and the doors and trunk open and close on their own.  You don't have to worry about your 3 year old banging the car door into the car parked next to you.   I could fit my giant double Bob stroller in the trunk and had room for more.  Satellite radio is really cool. It seated six comfortably.

 I want one.

I swore I would never drive a mini van.  Ever.  But the days of style and flash are gone. I need comfort. I need space. I need convenience. When the Highlander dies, I'm getting me a shiny new minivan.

Worst. Weekend. Ever.

Last weekend was our 6th anniversary. That has nothing to do with it being a bad weekend. I love you, Ry. Happy anniversary! The bad part happened when my fearless and adventurous daughter went exploring and found a bottle of prescription pills and somehow got the lid off. We found her playing on the kitchen floor with pills scattered all around- and something in her mouth. After a pannicked call to poison control, we raced off to pick up Christian from pre-school and head to the ER. Ashley seemed ok after the first hour and a half. She willingly ate the charcoal mixed with chocolate syrup to help absorb the medication already in her stomach. Then, while the social worker was questioning my parental skills in the exam room, Ashley started doing this weird tick. She rubbed her nose with the stuffed leopard the nurse had given her and pulled at the skin on her chest. The doctor came in and let us know that she would be admitted to the Pediatric ICU immediately. I was terrified, to say the least. We were wheeled upstairs to the ICU where Ashley got her IV and monitor leads attached. It was a very sad and scary sight, and she wasn't the least bit happy. Her heart was racing (over 200 bpm for over 24 hours,) and her blood pressure was sky high.

The meds she took wouldn't let her little body rest and even though she was VERY tired, she just couldn't fall asleep. She stayed awake for the next 36 hours with only 90 min of sleep. Still, we were hopeful we could take her home that evening. It soon became obvious that she would have to be there for awhile. We called some friends in the bishopric and Ryan gave her a beautiful Priesthood blessing. On the evening of day #3, things started to look up. Ashley was sleeping better, she started jabbering again, and even had a few bites to eat. I quickly called in the nurse to see if we could go. After a check with the doctor, we got the all clear. Ashley was still woozy for the next two days from all of the medication she was given. It was a lot- at least a dozen adult doses of morphine, atavan, and vallium to counteract the meds she ingested. She was happy to be home and free from all of the leads attached to her. I admit it was kind of funny to watch her try to walk around the 2 days after she got home (only beacause I knew she was safe by then.) The doctor has assured us there will be no long term effects on her little body. I think she is right because Ashley is just as happy, talkative, and hungry as she normally is. I hope this experience will always remind me what a blessing my children are. Sometimes on long, challenging days, you can forget how much you truly love them. This was a cruel reminder, and one I hope to never experience again. I'm just grateful she is ok.

PRESCHOOL!!

Today was the big day! I was really excited for Christian to start school because he is so ready for more interaction with other kids. I was pleasantly surprised on our recent trip to CA when Christian and Trevor not only played together, but had a great time doing it with very few tantrums. He was a little disappointed when he found out that I would drive him to school instead of taking the school bus (we have several that drive up and down our street during the day.) But after I convinced him that the car was quicker, he hopped right in.

I admit I shed one tear after he walked off holding his teacher's hand, but I was mostly ok. I am so excited for him and I know that this is exactly what he needs! We are still working on potty training. There has been a lot of progress, but #2 is still a challenge. I will probably shed more than a few tears of joy when he figures that one out.

Summer Catch Up

I have been a blogging slacker lately. But not as bad as you, Stacey. You have some serious catching up to do. Get on that! We have all been sick around here for the last week or so. Between colds and teething, I haven't got much done. We have had a little fun though. Christian is borrowing a Power Wheels ATV from his cousin, Johnny, until he is big enough to ride it. He has had so much fun doing loops around the house and going on ATV rides up the street to the park. He is really good at steering and has only crashed one time that I can think of.

Ashley is starting to walk on her own and can make it across the family room now. She is still a speed crawler and super mess maker. Not only does she empty the drawer full of the kid plates and cups, she climbs in to make sure she got it all.

Same goes for the toy basket.

And the playroom.

I really don't have a whole bunch of exciting things to report. It has just been a fun, lazy summer. We took a trip to Connecticut to visit friends, our first hotel stay, swimming in the backyard pool, the ice cream man, fireworks on the 4th of July...typical fun summer stuff. We are getting excited for a trip to CA in another month. Except that plane ride is going to be a bear. Have I mentioned Ashley is walking now? I wish they offered "family flights" so I wouldn't have to worry quite as much about being disruptive to other passengers. Because we will be. Very, very disruptive.

Ahhh...the Lake!

I love going to Lake Winnipesaukee. I know, stupid name. But let me tell you, it is a little slice of heaven there. We jet skiied, paddle boarded, boated, shopped in town, had german chocolate ice cream...the list of awesome stuff goes on and on. Of course I forgot my camera. Luckily Ryan snapped a few pictures with his iphone. Memorial Day weekend was pure bliss for Christian. He swam in the still frigid water until I made him get out to warm up, drove the toy Jeep like a pro off roader (Ryan was so proud,) and enjoyed every minute of being outside and on the lake.

Ryan also took this little gem of Ashley. I think this is to date one of the cutest pictures of her ever taken. I love this happy little girl!

March Showers, Spring Flowers

Last fall I planted a bunch of bulbs. A BUNCH. This month I saw the fruits of my labors. The daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips have been so much fun to look at and the cut flowers have brightened my kitchen. I'm going to plant bulbs every fall from now on!




I wish you could smell these through the computer.




Last week I also mowed, aerated, de-thatched, and fertilized our lawn. Now all I have to do is sit back and watch the thick, green grass grow. Who ever thought I would find such pleasure in gardening? Next up, planting the vegetable/flower boxes. Just call me Farmer Cindy.