Disneyland Bound!

Every year Greg's parents send us on a trip. Last year just Greg and I went to San Diego for a belated honeymoon. This year we decided on a family trip! Greg's parents make it a point to take every grandchild to Disneyland. Greg's two oldest have been, but Quinn and Emily have not yet (sadly, either have I). So, for our trip this year, we are taking all of the kids to Disneyland for his parents! Oh darn, I have to go too!!!
I found a steal of a deal for a room while browsing the internet for two days! Greg and I are in charge of paying for the room and food. Family suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, two meals provided, pool, hot tub, wireless, etc. When traveling with 4 kids, it get's expensive! But, this deal I couldn't pass on. Now the total price about gave me a heart attack, but I had to remember what all we were getting.
I am so excited to go! The kids will miss a few days of school, which is alright because they are all doing amazing! So, mid November, we will be Disneyland bound!

Spring Break

Spring Break is officially OVER!!! Greg's kids went to Spokane with their mom for the week to visit their grandma, which left us with only Emily for a whole week! I missed the other kids very much, but it was so nice to have some one-on-one time with Emily. I feel like there is so much going on all of the time and Emily being so quiet and reserved, she gets left out of the mix a lot. 6 out of the 8 days of Spring Break, Emily came to the deli with Greg and I. I was worried she would get super bored knowing that we would be super busy. She did so well. Every morning she would help me brew the coffee, then she would make her breakfast (always eggs and bacon) and then proceed to go downstairs and watch cartoons in the area that Greg's mom set up for the grandkids. She would even help me sweep and mop in the mornings! She was such a great kid while at the deli (it would sometimes carry over to home!) I felt bad because we have to be at work at 7:00am, which meant no sleeping in for her or staying up late, but she handled it like a trooper.
Today marks two weeks until my procedure. I have had a lump on my breast for almost a year now. And instead of getting smaller, which the doctor last year told me it would, it has gotten larger and rather painful. So, April 14th it is officially being removed. I was hoping it would be an office procedure...not so much. I get to check into the outpatient area at the hospital for a day surgery. I am rather annoyed with this, but what can you do?! My mom took the day off of work to be there, which I told her I would probably be out of surgery by the time she gets kids in class, but she still wants to be there. Can't argue with a mother, right?! So my mom and Greg get to sit in the waiting room and plot against me!
Everything else is good. Kids are still keeping me super busy and the deli is back open after we got to take 4 wonderful much needed months off. I won't lie, I could totally be a stay at home mom and love every minute of it! But, I kind of need to work, so back at it I am. Also planning on going back to college in the fall to study medical billing and coding. Filled out my FASFA already and applied at a local community college. I am oddly excited about going back. Something I've always wanted to do, but never had the time nor the money. One of those things that gets pushed aside when you are a single mother. Having a wonderful husband by my side to support me and my decisions is a true blessings.

Cheerleading!

Fiona and Emily got to go to cheer camp for a week. Every day after school they would go to the high school and practice the cheers with the high school cheerleaders. Then that Friday night, the girls got to perform at the high school basketball games! Of course, the games were on Valentine's Day, so Greg and I got to spend our night at the high school watching our girls perform! They were so adorable!

Babies

I have to admit, when I pictured my life, I always imagined having 3-4 kids, enjoying my pregnancies and cuddling with my babies. When I was pregnant with Emily, I was miserable! I had morning sickness 4-6 times a day for 8 months, wasn't very uncomfortable but oh so very tired. I was HUGE with her even though she was only 7lbs 3/4oz. With Kara, I had no morning sickness, but had crazy heartburn the whole time (she did have a beautiful head of hair!) I was very uncomfortable during the last few months of pregnancy, but I hardly showed until the last month. I even wore my regular jeans into the hospital! Still, the dream of getting married one day and having 1 or 2 more babies was always my dream. Then I met Greg who had 3 amazing kids. My love for them grows and grows every day still. I feel like they are my own. 4 kids running around and all of their activities, I am exhausted! Still, the talk of having just one more baby comes and goes. Pros: We would have a baby together and have a product of our love for each other. Cons: Our youngest is 8 and all of the little birdies will be out of the nest in 10 years! That will give us time to travel and do whatever while we are still really young. Greg and I are never on the same page about having a baby. When I feel like I would like one more, he doesn't. When he is wanting another baby, I don't! Our friends are all for us having a baby! For the most part, I think that I have made up my mind about NOT having another baby, but there are those moments and sometimes days, that I would love to have just one more. Even have it planned out on where the nursery would be, work schedules, etc. And then a Monday rolls around where 3 out of 4 kids have activities going on after school and I think to myself, "and I am thinking about having a baby to throw into this craziness?!" We are still officially undecided. Greg is set on having one at the moment, he just wants to get through the summer madness of running a business in a small coastal tourist attraction, and then the subject will be seriously approached. I love my kids and I love my life, but to add another one to the mix or not...this is where we stand! But, in all fairness...I do make beautiful babies!

Christmas

Christmas this year was so laid back and relaxing. Normally, we would have Christmas morning at our house with my mom and then head up to Vancouver to spend the rest of Christmas with Greg's family at his parents condo in Vancouver before heading to his aunts house that evening in Lake Oswego for family dinner. But, this year his parents decided to have Christmas at the beach and came down to their beach house...which is 5 houses down from our house! The kids got to run back and forth and the girls spent a lot of time with Greg's mom baking and crafting. My mom was going to come over, but she hurt her knee really bad right before her kidney surgery and can hardly walk. Greg and I took her food everyday and brought the kids over to her. (More about my mom's health in another blog!) We were able to get the girls both bikes this year and Liam was in the transition year of not wanting presents and only gift cards so he could buy what he wanted. It was odd for him to not be unwrapping hardly anything and mainly just opening envelopes, but he really enjoyed purchasing his own stuff a few days later! The weather has been super nice here and the girls have been able to go out every day and ride them with the other two neighbor girls! It was an odd December where weather is concerned, but oh so nice!

Emily Turns 8!

Oh my how the years have flown by! It is hard to believe that Emily came into this world 8 years ago and forever changed my life. This year she was really into Monster High and One Direction. Oh to be young again! She got her first Monster High dolls and One Direction CDs. This girl is one of my greatest blessings. She is so tender hearted, sweet, caring, compassionate and sensitive. She tries my patience, she gets upset over the smallest things and is oh so very stubborn. She has pushed me to my limits and also been my reason to live and push myself harder. As frustrating as she can be at times, she is one of the sweetest kids I know. To think about how quickly these past 8 years have gone by, I cry knowing how quickly the next 8 will go. I want to keep her little forever. I love my snuggles and my kisses. I love her bedtime routine and how it has to be the exact same every night. I also love how when something is wrong, she needs me and only me. I know that will change in a few years and I dread that. I think sometimes we get so busy working and not living and I miss so many little moments. Things Emily can do now: *She is reading chapter books. *Preparing to do multiplication *Showers by herself (which she could have done sooner, but it took me some time to let that go too) *Rides a bike *Talks on the phone with her friends...A LOT! *Cuts her own steaks and other meat Looking forward to see what else my beautiful girl learns and grows in this year!

The "Cheesecracker!"

As I stated in a previous post, when Greg and I flew back from San Diego, we literally had to make a mad dash to Emily and Fiona's ballet. It was Tillamook County's version of the Nutcracker. Tillamook is known for their cheese (which is what I missed the most when I lived in Michigan). A lot of dairy farms around here (luckily the town I live in does not have any dairy farms!) So, they made the ballet with a farming theme. Rather adorable! They had a performance on Friday December 13th and Saturday the 14th. Busy, busy, busy!!