<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ng3oOjFl9Zs/SWVekFD8wrI/AAAAAAAAB4E/fqPrS5Ybvao/s1600-h/sweetim.gif">

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ng3oOjFl9Zs/SWVXxbS8vAI/AAAAAAAAB38/4OHNiPzxdtM/s1600-h/IMG_1924.JPG">It looks like I may have a thumb sucker this time. Neither of my other boys cared about sucking their thumbs, but the last few days Nathan has managed to find his thumb a few times. In one way this is nice because maybe he will eventually be able to use it to soothe himself, plus it is just so dang cute! But in another way I don't like it, because I know giving up thumb sucking is a lot harder than a pacifier- I know people in their teens who still suck their thumb- and I don't want it to affect his teeth later on. So I guess I just wait and see if he keeps it up.

A little bit ago I was outside helping Hubby with something and he asked me what time it was. I had a funny thought (well, it was funny to me). We both can't stand not being able to see what time it is, we have clocks in every room of our house, but neither of us wears a watch. We both have watches, more than one, but we never wear them. I even really like our watches. They aren't nice <a href="http://www.kenmarwatches.com/torgoen/">Torgoen watches</a> or anything, but they reflect our tastes well. I have an excuse though, I wear my watch on my left wrist (well, when I wear it at all) and that is the same arm I normally hold the baby in and I know he'd get scratched by it, so that is why I never wear mine. But I have no idea why Hubby doesn't wear his.

I never got around to making a to-do list today. Jason and Jacob were being very whiney and driving me crazy. Luckily Nathan was great today. I do have a ton of stuff that I need to do, I just never get around to it. Like I need to get the 3-6 month clothes out for Nathan (yep, his 0-3 month stuff is getting small, and he's not even 2 months!). I also need to clean my bathroom (though I did get the downstairs bathroom cleaned today), mop the kitchen floor, go through one of my many junk drawers and clean out stuff I have no idea what we keep for like old papers, <a href="http://www.reidsupply.com/">ball lock pins</a>, broken pens, etc. And I need to do dishes and switch out the load of laundry in the washer so it doesn't get stinky (again, already had to rewash it after it sat there 2 days lol). I did get Jakey to bed early tonight because he was just so whiney. I'm going to try to get Jason to go to sleep earlier than normal too, he stayed up way too late last night.

Some of you may have heard of Project 365. For those who haven't, this is a project where you take a picture of whatever you want every day for a year to watch the change and document the time passing. I've decided to join in by doing a Project 365 blog for each of my boys. I'm going to attempt to take a pic and post it of each of them every single day. (Now you won't have to keep bugging me for pics Nell! lol) It should be fun to look back on their pictures a year from now to see how they have changed. They won't just be pictures of them face on just posing, they will be pics taken at random of them during the day doing whatever they do. The links to their sites are in my right sidebar.

<font size=-1><center>A few days ago I remember overhearing a conversation where a few people were discussing the economy and how people were getting laid off or finding it hard to get a job. One of them joked that two professions that you would never have to worry about finding work are doctors and lawyers. Doctors because there are always people getting sick and hurt no matter what the economy is like, and lawyers because this country is sue-happy. Which is true, we are very litigious. That is why if you have been pondering a job in the legal field, but worried that you would not find work with the economy the way it is, you should go ahead and go for it. Although there have been layoffs of legal professionals, they are still able to find work with many companies. You can find <a href="http://www.realmatch.com/Jobs/Legal">legal jobs</a> at www.realmatch.com. They will match you with the job you want. Some of the most needed legal jobs are for tax attorneys, court reporters, and paralegals. There is also a need for judges and magistrates. So if you are interested in finding work in the legal field, now is the time to check out realmatch.com and get matched up with your perfect job.</font></center>

OK, finally getting my Christmas pics posted! Had to sort through nearly 300 pics and pick out a few to show you all. :)<br /><br />Frosting sugar cookies<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ng3oOjFl9Zs/SV5SN0Z1MSI/AAAAAAAABzQ/GzsfipDiShc/s1600-h/IMG_1429.JPG">

I can't believe how fast the last year went. We had so much going on that it just zoomed on. Exactly one year ago today Hubby accepted the job offer that got our year off to a busy start. We had 2 weeks to pack, get the house on the market, and move down to Utah. I did almost all of the packing myself since Hubby still had work, and I got it done in 1 week. We moved in with my parent's until we could sale our house and find a new one. My brother also came home from his mission a few days after we moved in so the house was packed. We had 14 people living in one house. Fortunately our old house sold pretty quickly, we accepted an offer on it just 3 weeks after putting it on the market. So we were able to go look for a new home and in 2 months we were in our nice big house here that we love.<br /><br />Then I found out baby #3 was on it's way just days before we moved to our new house. On top of my nausea the whole family ended up getting bronchitis that first week in the house so we just lay around, miserable and half unpacked, until we got better. Besides being tired the pregnancy went well though, and the next few months passed quickly.<br /><br />My little sister moved in with us in May, which has been great. She is almost 20 and it's been fun having her live here. I also started my first garden in May which helped the summer go by quickly. I didn't manage to grow much but it was a neat experience.<br /><br />In June Jakey turned 2. He has grown and changed so much, it's sad how fast kids grow up. July brought my 5th wedding anniversary and Hubby's 28th birthday. The warm summer days went away all too quickly and in September Jason turned 4. Now, he has really grown up a lot in the last year. Getting so smart. He can write his name now! Granted, half the letters are backwards or upside down or sloppy, but you can read it lol.<br /><br />Then we came to the holiday season. Halloween was a lot of fun and the boys enjoyed trick or treating this year (and I enjoyed the candy). I was getting huge and uncomfortable and so ready to be done being pregnant, so October and the first few weeks of November went by very slowly, probably the only time of the year that didn't seem to be flying by lol.<br /><br />And then in November we were blessed with little Nathan. Although things did not go as planned we were so happy to finally have him with us. He has been so much fun and the boys love him to pieces. I am happy that my c-section recovery was not too bad this time and I have been able to take care of my kids without too much trouble.<br /><br />Thanksgiving was spent with my side of the family which was a blast, and before I knew it Christmas was upon us. We went to my parent's on Christmas Eve, spent Christmas morning with just us at home, and then headed up to Idaho Christmas Day (I still haven't posted that adventure, I will, I promise!). I love the holidays with kids, it is so fun to see the excitement and happiness in their faces. Of course, Nathan is too little to care yet, but it was nice to have him their with us.<br /><br />And so the year wound down to a close. It really went by faster than I can believe. Is it really 2009 already?! I managed to stay up until midnight last night to say goodbye to 2008. It was a good year, but so busy. I hope this year will be just as good, but maybe a little calmer. I hope to enjoy my children more, especially this newborn time with Nathan.<br /><br />I hope you all have a wonderful year in 2009! May you be blessed with happiness and love.

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ng3oOjFl9Zs/SVpTYv1iQ6I/AAAAAAAABzE/bRGoPRmM_6M/s1600-h/todo004sample1.gif">Mostly I want to get the tree undecorated so the boys can play in the living room again. I also might be going with my sister to look at wedding dresses. Yep, my little sister is getting married! Hard to believe. So that should be fun. Hopefully my hungry little chunker will let me put him down for a bit so I can get started. He just fell asleep so I'm going to see if I can put him down now.

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Today I began the post-holiday cleanup. We left for Idaho Christmas day and didn't really clean up anything before we left, so it was all waiting for us when we got home. So I've been putting away toys and things as well as unpacking from our trip. Tomorrow we are going to undecorate the tree. It's pretty dry and shedding needles all over so it will be nice to get that out of our living room and allow the boys to play in there again.<br /><br />We got a lot of snow this last week so Hubby had to shovel the driveway last night so he could get the car out for work today, and today he finished the rest of the driveway and the sidewalk. I let the boys play out in the snow today and they had fun. We have some drifts that are as tall as they are.<br /><br />The boys have been really good today. Mostly they have been in the playroom enjoying their new toys. It's really nice when they play well together and don't make too much mess.<br /><br />Tomorrow I'm going to try to get pics uploaded so I can post about our wonderful Christmas.

I was thinking of everything we got this Christmas and realized that this is the first year that I haven't gotten Hubby <a href="http://www.ties-necktie.com/">silk ties</a>. I swear every year he's gotten at least one tie. I think I finally realized that he has about 20 ties and wears only 3 of them lol. I got him mostly practical gifts that he actually needed. Stuff like a new electric toothbrush, base for his shaver, and wallet. Not very exciting, I know, but he really did need all those things. Once I get pictures uploaded (not tonight, it's late and I'm too tired) I'll post some pics of our Christmas and the great presents Hubby got me.

Yesterday, while at the inlaw's house, we were watching movies. We had to find a TV/DVD player combo that worked since they had some that weren't working. There isn't a TV stand in their family room so we were using an old TV and a piano bench as <a href="http://www.importadvantage.com/TV-Stands.htm">tv stands</a> and balancing the VCR and DVD player on the TV. Finally they got it working and we got to watch movies. We got them Hoodwinked and Wall-E for Christmas so we watched both of those. We actually watched Wall-E 2-3 times while we were there because the boys love it. Good thing we bought it for ourselves too. :)

One thing I love about the holidays is the sales they always have afterwards. It's a great time to stock up on stuff for the next holiday. Like wrapping paper. Last year after Christmas we bought wrapping paper that was on <a href="http://www.buy.com/specialty_store_6/weekly_deals/62329.html">sale</a> for like 50 cents a roll. Of course we are out of town this weekend, but hopefully Monday there will still be some good Christmas stuff for sale. I might actually get some decorations like place mats and stuff. I love Christmas decorations but we've never really gotten much besides the lights.

We had quite the adventure getting up to the inlaws but that will have to wait for another post. Right now I'm busy catching up on emails and stuff. I wish I'd brought my own <a href="http://www.buy.com/cat/laptop-computers/212.html">laptop computer</a> but at least SIL's laptop is the same kind as ours. I just hate not having my links all available so it's a pain trying to get to all my regular sites. Oh well, I'm not going to worry about it tonight. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ng3oOjFl9Zs/SVMsmNRj2PI/AAAAAAAABy8/2Fa13Ie6YVo/s1600-h/santa.jpg">Well, it is time for me to head to bed. The stocking are full, presents placed under the tree, and the boys are sleeping peacefully. Merry Christmas!

<font size=-1><center>Around this time of year I know that many people pull out the credit cards to finance the holiday season. Every year I try to work the Christmas spending into our budget, but so far it hasn't worked and we've had to use our card. I really hate adding any extra debts to the other things we already owe, but in the season of giving I feel bad if I don't get stuff for people. We really have done better this year than previous years but still have added to our debt. Luckily we should be able to pay it off with our tax return next year, but having that added debt feels like a weight on my shoulders.<br /><br />Debt can cause a lot of problems in a persons personal life, as well as with their credit. Having a large debt to credit ratio causes your credit score to go down, making it harder to get financing for other important things in your life like cars and houses. If you feel like you are drowning in debt and having a hard time paying it off then go to cleardebt.co.uk. There you can apply for an <a href="http://www.cleardebt.co.uk/">IVA</a>, which helps you come to an agreement with creditors you owe money. When you cannot afford to pay off all your debts they may be willing to come to an agreement on how much you can pay over time. Learn more at www.cleardebt.co.uk.</font></center>

Today's to-do list is going to be short. For one, our house isn't that messy right now and Hubby already vacuumed for me and promised to do dishes. And two, it's almost Christmas so I'm giving myself a break to do some Christmas-y stuff.<br /><br />* Put away some laundry<br />* Frost sugar cookies with the boys<br />* Wrap presents<br />* Make PJ pants for the boys<br /><br />See, the only real chore I've given myself is to get the laundry folded and put away since I have 3 loads just sitting in piles waiting. Once Jakey wakes up from his nap we will frost cookies. Then I will measure the boys and see if I have some good material to make their PJ pants. That will be their Christmas Eve gift. Then after the boys go to bed I plan to get Christmas presents wrapped. I love wrapping presents.

I'm so glad I don't have many places to go lately. Not only is it harder to go anywhere with 3 kids but add in the snow and it is just too much hassle. I try not to go anywhere alone with the kids. It is much easier when I have Hubby or my sister with us. Of course I'm glad we haven't had snow or ice as bad as some are having. It seems like the whole country is being pounded by winter storms. Even places like <a href="http://www.i4vegas.com/Tips/">Las Vegas</a> and LA have gotten snow. And their are the many people still without power after the ice storms in the Northeast. So I am happy we have had pretty mild weather comparatively. But I still don't like the cold. :)

It is snowing outside but we have nowhere to go right now, so I'm just staying warm inside and watching the snow come down. I am planning to make some sugar cookies for the boys to frost today, I just need to check if I have all the ingredients. And then we may go see Christmas lights at Temple Square tonight. I also might wrap presents today. Should be a lovely winter day.<br /><br />I am so excited that Christmas is just 3 days away! I love watching my boys open presents and seeing what surprises Hubby got for me. And I am excited for it to be over too, lol. It is a stressful time with all the presents, traveling, etc. So I am always happy to see it come and go.

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<span style="font-style:italic;">"From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist it would be necessary to invent it."</span><br />- Katharine Whitehorn<br /><br />Have you been in the stores in the last few days? It is crazy! We went grocery shopping yesterday and also picked up a few last minute Christmas stuff and the stores were so busy. I guess most people are like us and wait until it's almost too late to get their Christmas stuff. Every year I promise myself that I am going to start my Christmas shopping early but we never do.<br /><br />How are you all doing with your Christmas preparations? Done? Scrambling for those last minute gifts? Not even started?

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ng3oOjFl9Zs/SUwnFupfAxI/AAAAAAAABy0/u8JCTkQdyQQ/s1600-h/watch.jpg">

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ng3oOjFl9Zs/SUwiViAkcYI/AAAAAAAABys/UmdngKmcOK4/s1600-h/IMG_1417-2.jpg">Being a mom is exhausting and I lose my patience much too often, but when I'm holding my sweet sleeping baby and he gives a little dream giggle, I know it is all worth it.