Trying something new...

Even though I'm in my second trimester (almost 5 months along), I still feel very tired. Part of the problem was my thyroid medicine wasn't strong enough but that is straightened out now and I'm not feeling so bone tired. Yesterday after church, I fell asleep in the car on the way home and then crawled into bed and slept another 1.5 hours. I'm wondering if I really started exercising again if it would make a difference.

Sooooo - I'm going to start my excercise program again and to keep myself accountable, I'm going to post what I did everyday. Even if it is just a walk.

This morning I did 35 minutes of TaeBo advanced and am planning on going for a walk with the kids this afternoon. Tomorrow will be a 1.5 mile walk in the morning pushing a double jogging stroller filled with 60 lbs of kids and some weight lifting. That is my goal anyway.

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On another note - we got rid of our puppies. We made it 38 days before I had a melt down. The puppies weren't terrible or anything and the girls tried really hard to take care of them. It was me who couldn't deal with one more thing on my plate. We contacted Lori of Free Range Whippets (a whippet rescue place) and she took them on Saturday. Lori thinks she may have already found a home them in Canby! I feel so guilty for buying them in the first place but I really wanted to make the girls happy. Last time I do that ;)

We did get more pets though. We are now proud owners of Captain Jack Sparrow- the betta fish, Barbosa-the black snail and Davy Jones-the golden snail. Much nicer pets and easy to care for. We plan on getting another betta fish and seperate the tank (as the betta will kill each other if in the same space). The girls are going to name him Norrington. These names won't mean anything to you unless you have seen the second Pirates of the Caribbean.

I'll post pics later of their set up.

Are we crazy?

We bought Marco's brother. So now we have two puppies. It will be a good decision in the long run as we actually want to leave the house without Marco. Marco and Finn are best friends and will keep each other company when we have to go out somewhere. Finn is so loving and loves nothing more than to crawl up into your lap and lick your face. When Graedon cries, he's the first one over with some kisses. We really love Finn and he fits in well. Here is Finn.

In other news, I went for an ultrasound last Thursday because my doctor measured me at 13 weeks when I thought I was only 11.5 weeks. Turns out I am 13 weeks! Yeah, I gained a week. We got to see our little guy (*note we don't know for sure if he/she is a boy/girl but I have a feeling it is a boy*). He is so cute and perfect and I guess I really am pregnant. The morning sickness is starting to go away and I'm feeling a little better. Just started walking, weight lifting and Tae Bo-ing this week and it feels good to workout again. I'm going to ask for a balance ball and a pregnancy pilates dvd for Christmas. Trying to avoid the 50lb weight gain that I have with every pregnancy yeah right. I do lose it all but I sure hate carrying all that weight.

The girls are in our church's Christmas play and I have been busy sewing two angel costumes and one magi dress. They turned out great and the girls love them. I'll get some pics posted later. I really have missed sewing and hope to get back to it soon (oh and I miss the $$ from it too - Mama needs a new van. :)

Grae just woke up from his nap all pink cheeked and adorable so I need to go cover him with kisses.

Here he is....

Everything came together perfectly so we feel confident God meant us to have Marco. The weather was perfect and sunny, the van we rented turned out to be the same type as the one we are going to buy and I didn't feel too sick on the trip!

Our rest stop on the way to Newport was the Lincoln City Beach. Graedon had so much fun at the ocean. He couldn't stop running and chasing the sea gulls. It was hard to get back in the van but the pull of the pup couldn't be overcome.

We made it to the breeders right on schedule and were greeted to about 5 male puppies all trying to get our attention. The first on that came out barked at us for a long time so we knew that wasn't the pup for us. A sweet little puppy came up calmly to greet Graedon and I so we kept our eye on that one. Another little one came to greet an anxious Ellie and treated her to a lick on the face.

The breeders were really nice and obviously cared about their dogs. After about 30 minutes of checking out the puppies we knew that the first puppy that greeted us was ours. He even crawled into Maddie’s lap while his brothers were play fighting with each other. We loaded him up in the crate we brought for him and were on our way.

He HATED the crate and whined for awhile. He then threw up and went to sleep. We only had to make one stretching stop on the way home. Marco was glad to get out of the van just as much as we were.

He sniffed his way around the house, ate all the old food on the floor, went outside to do his business, snuggled in his fleece blanket we bought him and went to sleep. He is the most mellow puppy we have ever seen. He's so gentle with Graedon and lets Grae lay all over him. All Grae gets is a lick.

Whippets are very thin skinned and don't have much fur so I made a fleece backed nylon jacket for him to wear outside. This was my test pattern so it doesn't fit him to well. At least he wasn't shivering while he was out playing with the kids.

We're getting a puppy!

Not much has been going on here lately. We had a nice Thanksgiving. Thursday we drove to Keizer to Brian's brother and sister-in-laws house. What was supposed to be a 1 hour trip turned into an almost 2 hour trip. I drove because I make a horribly sick/throw up passenger while in my first trimester. Well a 2 hour trip made me a horribly sick/throw up driver. Needless to say by the time we got there, food was the last thing on my mind.

Saturday was Thanksgiving at my house with my Dad, brother & family and sister & family. We provided the turkey (brined of course) as well the potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato pie, apple pie, crackers/cheese/sausage/chips/pickles/olive plate. Sounds like a lot but it really was no problem.

I adore my neices and nephews. My sister has one girl and twin boys who are hilarious. My brother has two girls and then twin girls. I am the only one that doesn't have twins. Do I want them now? I don't think so. Well.....maybe. I guess I don't really have a say in the matter though.

We decided to add to our family and get a puppy. Our criteria was that it didn't shed very much, didn't stink, was quiet, good with kids, wasn't too small, loved walks and didn't really bark. We found exactly that dog. It is a whippet.

This is a generic picture of a full grown whippet. The whippet is smaller than a greyhound but larger than an italian greyhound. We are so excited to finally get a dog. The girls are bouncing off the walls with anticipation. There is a breeder with 3 month old pups for sale in Newport (at the beach). We rented a 12 passenger van and are driving there on Saturday. Our van is only a 7 passenger with no cargo space for a dog crate. Yes we are getting a new 12 passenger Chevy Express Bus Van in April.

I'll post a pic when we actually have the little guy with us. So far God has brought all things together to get the puppy. I told the girls that 4 things need to be met before we can go get the puppy on Saturday.

1. The breeder actually had them for sale and they had a male. -Check
2. The breeder didn't want our first born for payment-Check.
3. We are able to rent a 12 passenger van for the weekend on short notice-Check (& I found a 25% off coupon)
4. The mountain pass didn't have anymore snow. - Still up in the air but the weather report seems favorable.

So we'll see.....