Ode to the First Trimester

For this ity bity life
I give my whole self
Take my personal plans
Put them up on a shelf

New things more important
Like eating and resting
Can't use the word crazy
So we just call it nesting

I need to write "pregnant"
Across my forehead
A simple way to show why
I look mostly dead

Not time for new clothes
or setting up a crib
Just try to stay grateful
As I lift up the lid

Feeling so weak
Compelled by the retching
I'm sure my poor husband
Finds all of this fetching

I finally have boobs
But does it really matter
They don't seem so cool
With the rest of me fatter

For now it's just me
With this growing babe
Our lives so intwined
The bond firmly made

Despite all my whining
Moping and moaning
We wait and we dream
Just praying and hoping

So I have to give in
And turn over this bod
Relinquish my pride
For our pea in pod

Although I haven't been sick, or tired, or dead feeling, I thought it was cute to post since now I only have 2/3 left till this child comes into this house! I am still wearing regular clothes (thank goodness) and I can't wait for the 8 more weeks till we know what the gender is of Witte #3. AAH!

Ryan and Veronica

That saying "Things happen for a reason" used to make me so mad sometimes, because usually people would say it when something you didn't want to happen, happened. For instance, a promotion you didn't get, or a deal that fell through.

Alanis Morrisette said it perfectly when she said in her song Ironic "it's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife, or meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife."

These things always happen to us and we can decide how we react to them or how not to. Now don't freak out about all of this because it is just a little reflection of years past.

Ryan and Veronica just had their 4 year anniversary on the 27th of August. I was Veronica's roommate for 9 months and knew her for a few years before that. We were Friends but never really hung out until she was called to FHE Chair. Once we were roommates she started dating this dude Ryan who at the time everyone thought I was dating. I would usually respond 'No not Ryan he has red hair, I am not dating anyone." (This will be funny at the end of the post, trust me)

We did lots of things together sometimes with my friend Dan but mostly just the 3 of us, because of Ryan and Veronica I have come to understand that saying things happen for a reason

If they hadn't dated and fell in love and got married and forced me to meet Nathan, I wouldn't be where I am today. They wouldn't be as happy either because I would be single and at their house all of the time and they would really hate it! :) Hahahaha

Now when people ask me how I met Nathan or how my marriage to Jared is, or even how lucky Ben is to have me in his life, and sometimes they ask me how my husband Ryan is doing (yes people have all thought I married a particular Witte except the one I actually did) I can honestly tell them it was all because of my roommate Veronica.

So happy anniversary to my awesome Brother and Sister in law/roommate/Friends!

I am smart! SMR-T

Gotta love the Simpsons! This post is not about the Simpons, but wouldn't it be great if it were?

Anyway. This is what it really is about...

Lucas says to me while we were at Sam's Club "Mommy that has to S's."
I look over and Sam's does have two S's.
He says to me "Dowas (Lucas) has S too."
I said "Yes LUCAS has an S in it too."

I didn't really think about it again until I put this yellow box into my cart and he says...

"C-H-E-E-R-I-O-S, that has S too."
I said "Wow Lucas you spelled Cheerios, you are such a smart boy"
He said "I know I learned da ABC's, I danno (don't) some but I know lots"
I laughed and he said "No laugh its ruuuude Mommy"

So then we came home and reviewed the abc's just for fun and he knew 20 of the 26 letters! I was so impressed! I was dialing Grandpa Horn on the phone to tell him how smart Lucas was and then he started signing "Wow you're really smart" from Blue's Clues.

I was about to give him a lollipop for a treat but then I realized the only kind I had were DumDums.

Hahaha.

I am going to go pick up some Smarties this afternoon because my son is no DumDum!

We found this video and thought it was appropriate for this specific post...enjoy!

I am so proud of my little bash brother who suprisingly know most of his ABC's at 2! I haven't really gone over them with him because he is so into the numbers! He can count to 20 backwards and forwards, how's that for impressive! Well the letter thing is too but...

Hehehehe

Thank You

I would like to take a moment and thank my children for the lovely week they have given me. People always say to me how do you do it? Your kids are 15 months apart, isn't it hard? I can't believe your next two are going to be 15.5 months apart, that will be 3 kids under 3 years old. I shrug my shoulders and say its no big deal. I say this because most of the time it really isn't a big deal. I just have to remember that every day is different, and that I can't get mad or upset the first time they do something that is naughty.

For example...
How can I get mad at my daughter who has started walking and getting into things when clearly she is doing something I would have done myself? (Like rearranging the plastics drawer!!!)

The answer is simple. I can't because earlier she let me pull and tug on her hair to get some pigtails on her head. I will mention that, the entire time I was doing this she was staring at herself in the mirror, cooing and laughing at herself because she knew she was so pretty. Hahahah Oh girls!

How can I get frustrated at my son for picking up the slack in the kitchen? I had just rinsed all of the dishes to put them into the dishwasher and he decided to paint them with yogurt... "Cool" he says to me and then begs to wash the dishes for the second time, so he could put them in the dishwasher.

See what he neglected to tell me I forgot to ask was, how much soap he had put in already. I just put in the cascade tab when Lucas screams "No Digy, too much too much, put it away" I run upstairs and see my kitchen floor covered in SUDS. Lucas thought Bridget had done it when in actuality he had not rinsed the dishes all the way and squeezed the soap all over the dishes on the bottom rack. Did I get mad? How could I? The floor needed to be mopped, he was saving me a step.

How can I yell at my kids for dumping toys all over the floor? Especially when I had just organized and relabeled them all into new bins? How could I? They were sharing.

Sharing means dumping and pushing all of the toys to cover Bridget. See she was happy. How could I get mad? I needed to vacuum that other area anyway.

You all are probably thinking, where are you Valerie when all of this is happening? Why aren't you preventing any of this? The answer is simple. THE OLYMPICS!!! I have been watching the Olympics!!! Not all of the time, but it is the only thing that has been on for the past 14 days. I will run a load of laundry or heaven forbid go to the bathroom, check the mail, answer the phone and when I am done with these little tasks, this is what I have found my children doing. I have realized that getting mad isn't worth it. They are awfully cute and haven't been fighting...

well, until they saw Grecco roman wrestling. They weren't fighting they were demonstrating their unique Witte wrestling skills. The Witte's have this thing where whenever they are together they always end up wrestling each other. No joke. They even wrestled when they all were together this April for Nathan's birthday. What do you expect with 7 boys?

I just would like to thank my children for keeping this week un-boring! Yes, un-boring!

There are so many other things like filling the washer with crayons and toys and blankets while I was in between loads. Putting real rocks in the fish tank so Hiccup the froggie would dance. I just think to myself after synchronized swimming is over and the Olympics are over, and Nathan stops traveling, maybe just maybe my kids will get back to normal. But what is normal? I guess that will be another post...definitely for another week!

Music Monday #4

Today we made horns. Some call these kazoos but I have another way to make kazoos, ah another week.

This is what you need...
Wax paper, Construction paper, glue, tape, something sharp (wooden skewer) rubber bands, scissors, and of couple toilet paper tubes.

Let's construct...
First you cute the construction paper the width of the tubes. Then you glue the paper to the tube. For extra hold tape the seam of the construction paper to the tube.

This is Lucas making sure we did a good job. :) Crazy boy!

Then you poke holes into the tubes, so you can change the sound later. Like a horn.

After that cut the wax paper into a square, and put on the top of the tube. wrap a rubber band around the top and you have a horn! Blow into it for a tooting good time.Here is the finished product. This project was very easy and practically no mess. Lucas enjoyed the cutting the most. I recommend this to anyone with a toddler running around their house. Happy Monday!

Rumors

The rumors are true.
I am pregnant again!
We couldn't be happier.
Witte #3 is due March 16th, 09.
What does this mean?
10 more weeks till we find out the gender! Aaah!

There it is--------->
The baby in my tummy.
Lucas's baby doesn't photograph well.
(he thinks there is one in him too)

Luckily for me, my baby hasn't started to kick yet. Lucas's baby is already giving his ribs problems, he keeps complaining about the "bebe kickin."

Weekend Recap

Our little area of Denver was pounded with rain. So bad that the main road was completely flooded and they had to close our only road out of our neighborhood. The had detours set up but it was a major inconvenience. To add to that little inconvenience while the crews were cleaning up the water the road broke in 4 pieces and now will be closed for the next 3 weeks. Did I mention where that road broke was right in front of the middle school, so people are having to drive through our neighborhood to get their kids or to work. It is just awful. To top it off Nathan went outside to see how bad it was in the front of the house and we have a 24" deep hole under our porch all the way down to the driveway. Yep that's right everything just ran down and down and now there is no dirt under the front porch of our house! That is not good. Nathan had to rip up the flower beds and attempt to fill the holes before our next big freak rainstorm.
Then Nathan had to go in to work. I was frustrated but I went to Veronica's house to hang before we all went to the Arvada Stake BBQ. Nathan met us there and we had a great time visiting with friends and family. There were lots of people we haven't seen in a long time and it was just nice to go to an activity and not have to help with any of it.
Everyone was talking about how cute Bridget and Elijah were and that is always nice to hear! :) I had fun and I know Lucas did......he had 6 pieces of watermelon and a hot dog and a bag of chips! His favorite part I think was running around in the fields with Noah and Daddy. I am glad we went, even though we came home to our huge cottonwood needing a face lift and that messy dirty dirt pile in the front of our house.

(for those of you who are wondering who is holding Bridget...it's Nathan's little brother Chris. Chris is #6 of 8 Wittes, and he is almost a carbon copy of what Nathan looked like in HS)(Ryan, holding Elijah is Nathan's other little brother Ryan. Ryan is #3 of 8 Wittes. Elijah looks just like Ryan. That is what I think.)(Oh, Nathan is #1 of 8 Wittes. He is the oldest and most handsomest of the group. That is what I think.)

She's 9 months

ALREADY! I can't believe it! Seriously, she is growing so fast it scares me! Here is a little day in the life of Bridget Louise Witte. She always wakes up like this....She is always smiley and happy to be here, in our lives. We get her dressed and she is ready to take on the day. That is just one thing we love about her! See what I mean:
We take her down stairs to see Lucas and to play a little and she has a big breakfast and then heads for the stairs...
When I say heads up I mean walks up she pulls herself up and walks up as many as she can...
Then she likes to scare us by leaning ALL the way back. You can't tell but she is singing really loud in this picture! Where is she going? Right into Lucas's room to play with his toys because he is downstairs playing with Thomas.
She also LOVES books and babies. Maybe we should have another one just for Bridget to play with. Maybe the one she has will be good enough for now...
I sure love this girl. If you met her you would too!. Happy 9 months Bridgey!

Music Monday #3

Today we made Flat Maracas, next week we will make round ones.

Before we could start the kids wanted a snack. I know the picture is crooked but Bridget looks like a doll sitting in that chair!

Here is what you need:
(the scent crayons aren't necessary but I had them and Lucas wanted to use the stinky crayons)

First color the plates
(I used small plates because I have kids with little hands, but you could use big ones.)

Bridget thought it was hilarious to sit with Lucas

Then you staple all around the edges, leaving a 2 inch hole at the top. Then you fill with rice.
(You don't have to use rice, dry popcorn-unpopped, salt, beans...anything will work)

Lucas was very into this, look how serious he is!
Bridget opted to use her hands
The last thing you do is staple the last 2 inches of the plate and shake away!
(staples work much better than glue and you don't have to worry about dry time)
Lucas was double checking my stapling job.
They were quite easy to make and will last a very long time. We put them in our music box and will use them for Jack's Big Music Show tonight. We are doing a music themed Family Home Evening.

(these pictures were all taken in Bridget's room, yes those diamonds are hand painted. My husband is great at full filling my visions. It looks awesome trust me!)

Happy Monday everyone!

1930's Wife

I had a really hard day at church today with my calling and we ended up leaving early because of it. I read an article out of the Ensign and then read a book for a bit. (I finished Breaking Dawn) anyway. I was thinking to myself...was that selfish? I left the kids with Nathan to take care of upstairs and banished myself to the basement. I stumbled upon this quiz to see how I am doing as a wife and mother and apparently I am just as I thought I would be...

87 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

...Very Superior! So I patted myself on the back and then continued to be by myself...till I went upstairs to Nathan making scones with the kids. Isn't he awesome? I guess I trained him well! :) Hahaha Everyone should take this test. It is so revealing!

(I am totally kidding about me thinking I am a superior wife...sometimes I think I could be better, sometimes I think I couldn't get any worse! Until Nathan starts complaining I am just going to "keep on swimming, keep on swimming"....)

But seriously, anyone who can make this kid happy deserves a superior wife!
This is Lucas after one scone!

BIG READ

Melanie Hess had this on her blog and so I thought that I would do it too:

According to The Big Read, the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books on this list. How many have you read?

The instructions:
Look at the list and:
Blue font=you have read.
Green font=you intend to read.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. 1984 - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchel
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy--this is the last book I read
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (half of them)
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez---I just ordered this at the library
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas--THIS IS A GREAT BOOK and MOVIE
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92.The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo--another favorite of mine

Your turn post which ones you have read...
I have read 35 out of 100...not bad!