I'm sick of being tired and tired of everyone being sick.

Ok...so I'm not really angry. Just over illnesses. After the kidney stones, I became pregnant. Which is great news! But then the pregnancy sickness and exhaustion came on strong. I tried to keep super busy as to not let myself crawl into my bed.

Then, came on the bronchitis. Alexis' croup. Then an ear infection to finish off her illness. Chad got it too. Then Carter. Plus Carter had to finish his of with an ear infection. I think it was like 7 visits to the doctor. Half being to urgent care.

Just as Carter seemed to be getting over it I was reaching 13 weeks (the end of my pregnancy sickness.) That was last Friday. I was feeling on top of the world. I woke up and started cleaning. Chad looked at me funny. And I said, "Yep. I'm back. The baby no longer controls me."

Saturday confirmed it being true. We went to dinner. Not really in celebration but it could have been.

As we were finishing up and telling the kids to finish eating...Alexis started complaining her stomach hurt. An excuse? Full? I thought of both. That's when her complaining turned into full blown screaming & crying. It escalated so fast I looked at Chad in shock. It wasn't like her to do that. He was inclined to think it was a show. I told him she would not do that and something was wrong.

So I escorted her out of the restaurant leaving Chad, Carter and our friends behind. She could not control the screaming despite my pleadings. People just stared. I held her in the car till she had just about cried herself to sleep.

She slept the rest of the night.

And woke up with a low grade fever. My parents were speaking in my ward so we went for that. Plus, Alexis would have been devastated to not be able to give her talk in Primary. (I'm not joking.) So, Chad took her home after her talk.

Sunday: low-grade fevers and horrible headaches.

Monday: High fevers, horrible headaches, midnight screams from the headache...then causing her to throw up...literally from the pain at 3:30 in the morning.

Tuesday: Same as the day before. But came on even stronger. She threw up again from the pain. Plus, that stomach pain that it started with Saturday night came back.

Wednesday: Low grade fevers. Headaches.

Last night, I finally got to sleep through the night. I checked on Alexis on my way out to work at 6:15 am. She was fine. Phew! It might be the end.

I came home from work just now and Chad confirmed it seems it is the end. The 4 day flu. It was horrible. Because she never complains about stuff like that. The weird thing is it escalated at night. So Chad and I could never sleep soundly.

Chad kissed the kids goodbye so he could head out to work.
And he says, "Amber, Carter feels warm."

99.8 WHAT THE HECK! Who ever made up the rule that kids can't be sick at the same time. The second kid only gets sick after the first one is better. I'm over it! So here we go again...another 4 days I'm guessing. That's if Chad and I can stay well. That will be a miracle. We're doomed to be sick for 5 months.

Yes, I am...

12 weeks pregnant.

Some of you may have guessed it by one of the following:

-The kidney stone pregnancy test: "not positive but not negative." I didn't know then.
-You may have thought "That's odd...Amber's wearing that same jacket everyday."
-Or if you have come in my house in the last few months...you would have seen a complete disaster and wondered what my problem was.

Or most likely it was the PREGNANCY GLOW that gave it away...
-My face glows. Yep, it glows a shade of red welts...in other words: ACNE.
-My attitude glows pregnancy. Raunchy pregnancy. I think it was the comments..."Amber, are you ok? Did I do something wrong?" that gave me that idea. WHOOPS.
-My chest doesn't necessarily glow but it sure is something when it doubles in size in 2 weeks. It's ridiculous. I'm not a fan.
(By the way: Thanks to Ashley for her comment "Bust a move, literally. Amber" on the apron post.)
-My glowing belly. Oh, I mean my growing belly. I always look 2-3 months farther along than I am. So yes it is sticking out SOOO far already.
-Or it could have been that you noticed my butt is 4 sizes too big. Definitely, the most obvious clue.

Phew. So now for the reason for waiting. I just didn't want to tell my Mom & Dad via email when they were coming back so soon. Chad and I kept the news from everyone and didn't flinch once when it required lying. So sorry for the lies...now it's out and you can make fun of my ghetto booty all you'd like. Because it's only gonna get bigger.

Oh ya...I'm due October 30th. (My sister's b-day)

SERVANT

I drove Alexis to swim team practice yesterday. As I was getting Carter unbuckled from his car seat I noticed his shoes were over on Alexis' side of the car. She had just unbuckled herself so naturally I said...

"Alexis, can you hand me Carter's shoes right there by your feet."

Her hands when straight up to her head. She grabbed both sides of her head and yelled in complete frustration...

"WHY DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE!
I AM A SERVANT!"

My first thought was brief...it was to spank that little girl for being so sassy.

Then I had a better idea...but I couldn't help but bust up laughing wondering where the heck she learned the word "servant" or the meaning of it. School...obviously. I was laughing so hard she pulled the whole, "Stop laughing at me" as she teared up!

So I looked at her very sternly and said...

"Alexis, who makes your lunch EVERYDAY!"

No answer.

"Alexis, do you make your own lunch? NO. I do. I make it everyday because I'm your Mom and I love you. I'm family. Family members help each other. Do you pay me to make you lunch?"

"No."

"Okay then. Once you start paying me to do things for you like making your lunch and washing your hair...then you don't have to help me do things either. But until, then...we help each other because were family."

I was pretty stern in my voice and honestly she just stood wide eyed staring straight at me.

We walked up the walk to the pool area. About 30 feet ahead a mom was holding the gate for us. Not even thinking about the conversation we just had I said,

"Alexis, run up there and hold the gate for us so that Mom doesn't have to."

She did. Immediately. And she ran.

As I walked up through the gate I looked at her to make sure she was going to close it behind us and she had the biggest grin on her face. That's when I realized why she was so quick and I said,

"Why thank you for holding the gate for us family member."

She giggled and that was the end of that.

I'm pretty glad I choose not to spank her. This way seemed pretty effective.

Counting In Spanish

Alexis: "Mom. I can count to 10 in Spanish. Do you want to hear me?"

Me: "Sure."

Alexis: "Uno. Dos. Tres. Quatro. Cinco. Sixto. Seveno. Eighto..."

Me: LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY. "Almost."

I can't even count how many times she has watched Dora the Explorer in her lifetime...but apparently it never stuck.

"Probably"

That is all I have been hearing from Carter recently.

"Hey, Carter. Do you want breakfast?"

"PROB-AB-WEE."

"Carter, do you want to go pick up Alexis with me?"

"PROB-AB-WEE."

Never Yes. Just PROB-AB-WEE. Which according to him is an absolute YES. It makes me smile every time.

They're HOME!

At Los Angeles Airport Saturday morning. The letter's spelled "G'DAY MATES" and posters with "GOOD ON YA" and "Welcome HOME."

There were 53 of us there! All my brother's and sisters, plus all our kids and Aunt's, Uncles and Grandma.

What do you remember about Grandma? "She wear's really big earrings."


What do you guys remember about Grandpa? "He's really tall!"


And Easter Egg Hunt at the park. All the cousins lining up:


The little ones got a head start.


Later that evening...My parents had lots of souvenirs from Australia to hand out.


We had a good time visiting with my parents and hearing their funny stories. It was a pretty exhausting weekend with all the running around and cooking but so worth it. I'm glad to have my parents back. Just a simple hug meant so much. My parents spoke in their ward on Easter Sunday. We went to our ward first because Chad and Alexis had to sing. Then we went to my parents ward. Two sacrament meetings are challenging with little ones. But I must say my parents did a great job on their talks. My mom was so nervous and of course did wonderful. My Dad was in the Stake Presidency and then Stake President in this stake from the time I was 5 till after I was gone to college. Most people know him. He's tough. At the end of his talk he started crying. Literally, tears running down his face when he talked about being re-united with certain people that know him so well. I started balling. When my sister sat down in Sunday school she said, "Did you cry during Dad's talk?" I said..."Yes." Neither of us have EVER seen my Dad cry. Not a single tear...until yesterday.

Spring Break at the River

Rough life, eh?

Brooke, Chelsea & Alexis waiting for their sunscreen to soak in before jumping in the pool. When I was packing Alexis' bag she insisted on NOT bringing her green bathing suit. But once she saw her and her cousins could be TRIPETS she quickly changed and was grateful I packed it.

My sister, Mindy, and I spent spring break at the river with our families. It was so nice to get away. We played a good amount but worked our tails off. We spring cleaned my parent's huge kitchen. We cleaned out all the cupboards and cleaned the ledges and shelves up high. Scrubbed everything. It took forever and I think I might vomit if I smell 409 again. Mindy's older kids scrubbed the bathrooms. Alexis and Chelsea (5 years old) vacuumed around all the base boards and window sills. It's a 5 bedroom house. They worked hard. Brett, Chad and Jacob got the sprinklers working again. Thanks to the no-good gardener out there. Brett cleaned the 12 car garage. Chad pressure washed the house. Jake and Chad fixed the leaky valve by the pool and got the jet ski working again. One that no one has been able to get working since Jake was at the river with us last summer. Phew. Yah, it's tiring thinking about it. But, we still managed to have lots of fun laying out, playing in the pool, tubing, wake boarding, kayaking and watching movies.

Another Prayer...

Alexis said this tonight:

"Dear Heavenly Father, We are thankful for this day. Please bless Grandma and Grandpa Miller on their...(GIGGLES from Alexis) I mean, bless that we can have fun with Grandma and Grandpa now...."

It was so darling. She realized on her own how habitual it was to say "bless Grandma and Grandpa on their mission that they will be safe." She cut off mid-sentence and corrected herself now that they are home. It was so sweet.

Happy Birthday Carter

Carter's turned 3 a week ago. We were thinking of doing a party with his friends but life has just been too busy for us these last few weeks. So, better luck next year.
In between Conference sessions on Saturday, Chad took Carter to the driving range.

Saturday night after the kids had fallen asleep we decorated their room with blue balloons hanging like a chandelere in their room. Lots of blue streamers on the ceiling and around his bed and his door. He came walking into my room in the morning so casually.

"Mo-om...it's my birthday!"

We made him french toast and bacon and let him open one present from Grandma and Grandpa Miller. A play-doe set. Then we pulled it all out on the kitchen table and he and Alexis kept really busying during Conference. We had dinner at Chad's parents. And since Carter is such a picky eater we tried to keep it to what he does eat. Hawaiian Rolls, corn, potatoes, & BBQ chicken (Occasionally he eats it...he picks his meat out of every meal. It's so frustrating.) We made him a cupcakes.
I was totally going to make this awesome skateboard cake but put it off for his party that I am now not going to have. Whoops.

He opened his presents and was a happy camper.


Carter in a nut-shell:
-He is such a sweet boy
-He's gentle, loving, content and a cuddle-bug
-Almost ALWAYS has a smile on his face
-Shares really well
-Is kind to everyone around him
-Doesn't fight back very easily when kids bug him or steal toys from him
-Picks dandelions DAILY, if not HOURLY for his Mommy.
-Always tells us, "I love you, TOO!" Before we get a chance to tell him we love him.
-Loves playing swords with the older neighbor boys in the courtyard. He listens to all their instructions on what noises to make, how to swing it as to not hurt people, etc. BUT, if he see's a dandelion while playing...he pauses the game to pick it and run and give it to me. SO SWEET.
-Loves riding his awesome tri-cycle.
-Loves, loves, loves the RIVER. He was so sad to leave this last week. He just kept saying. "I love this house." Me too, Carter.
-Likes to tube and smiles the whole time.
-He will play by himself with his toys, dinasour's, or mini-skateboards for hours.
-Has adopted the nursery leader as one of his FAVORITE people and has her wrapped around his finger. One day I peeked in and saw snack time was over but Carter was still sitting at the table eating fruit snacks. I noticed they kept re-filling his plate. I went in and said..."What is going on?" and she laughed and said, "He just asked for more fruit snacks so politely." It's hilarious because she is normally much stricter than that. But not with Carter. He really does get whatever he wants because he's such a little angel.
-Cleans up his toys when asked.
-Loves to color and will color with Alexis for an hour straight.
-Loves his Grandma's and Grandpa's and Aunts and Uncles and Counsin's...A LOT. (Even the one's that tease him. (Cough) Jacob. He still wants to be around them 24/7.)
-Stays in a shopping cart! Hallelujah. Something, Alexis never did.
-Adores his older sister and follows her everywhere. Although, he continues to call her "Sezzis."
-Loves Hamburgers...but picks out the meat every time. If you tell him that's not a hamburger he will NEVER believe you.

A fun week ahead.

Sunday was Carter's Birthday...I'll post cute pics later since I am in a hurry to get out the door. He is adorable and we love him so much. He picked out his present months ago but didn't know he was getting it. A Sub-skate. Basically a little skateboard made for the water.

Monday: Clean-up. Took Alexis to the Doctor: She woke up with CROUP today. Went to the BEACH. Heck, why not? We keep going even when we are sick. Today was too beautiful of a day not to go to the beach. Carter even tried his sub-skate at the beach to surf the little waves. It was so cute. Then I was off to the doctor. I have been sick for 2 1/2 weeks. Oops...I have BRONCHITIS. More cleaning. Lots of laundry. Packing and we are off to the R-I-V-E-R in 1 hour. We can't wait. The kids keep asking: When we wake up we are going to be at the river, right? Yes, we will. Then, they both scream "YES" as they jump up and down.

Friday night we get home from the river. We'll be getting food ready for the weekend. Then, we can enjoy my parents arrival and party with all my family. So fun. I guess you can say I'm so excited I posted about it before it happened. Hopefully, these meds Alexis and I are on now will make us all better.

The Count Down is ON....

Next Saturday, I get to see two of my favorite people. My parents. This picture was taken 1 1/2 years ago when they left on their mission. I haven't SEEN their face since. So SAD, huh? They went here on their mission. A-U-S-T-R-A-L-I-A
Some days went fast. And then there were those days where you feel down and you just want your mom to put her arms around you and say everything is going to be ok...yep...those days went really slow. I love my parents. I have always been so close to both of them. After I went on dates in High School I'd go in there room and jump on their bed and tell them all about it. I can't wait to see them again. And neither can my kids. They are more than thrilled. Although, I wonder if Carter is just going with the flow of excitement since he was only 18 months when they left. He turns 3 tomorrow...so he's definitely changed A LOT!
I bet they are super tan since they just got done with summer over there. The crazy thing is...because of the timing they've only had 1 winter in the last 2 1/2 years. Summer here. Summer, Winter, Summer there. And now a Summer here.
I know they are going to be missed there but we are ready to have them home again. I do have a favorite story of their mission. They were teaching a guy about the church. On a Sunday morning my mom answered the phone. It was this guy.
"Sister Miller?"
"Yes."
"I did a bad thing."
"What did you do?"
"Well, you know our last discussion where we talked about not stealing."
"Yes."
"Well. I went to a bar last night and stole a guys wallet. I feel really bad."
"So you just left with his wallet?"
"No, they were bugging me so I took a metal bar and hit the guy and girl in the head. And then I left."

Can you imagine being my Mom? She was dying. He was so concerned about stealing the wallet after that being his most recent discussion that he didn't even seem concerned about hitting a couple with a metal bar! I know it's not funny but I was busting up when I read that letter because who the heck does that!

And for your entertainment. I think we need more signs like this in America.

Let the count down begin...