Emma

Emma will be two months on Monday and it's hard to believe. She is such a GOOD baby! We have had so much fun cuddling and loving on her. She sleeps through the night and has been for weeks now. She eats every three to four hours during the day and rarely cries. The girls love to hold her and carry her all around the house. DJ will randomly walk by and give her a little kiss on the head or pound his fist on her's to give her nuckles! So cute! We will go in this week to see how much she weighs, but she just barely moved out of newborn diapers and just got out of newborn clothes and is finally fitting into 0-3 months. She is a petite little thing. We are so blessed to have this sweet little girl in our family and we love her so much.

Merry Christmas!!!

The kids are all tucked in and waiting for Santa. Donevan and I have been working like crazy the last few hours for every detail to be just perfect. It's a little before 2am and I'm finally getting to bed. I can't wait for morning, it's so exciting to watch all the excitement. Most of all, I am feeling very blessed for these 5 sweet blessings in my life!

The Big Flood!

Now that a few weeks has passed and I have recovered a little bit, I can blog about our flood. Here's the short version of the story. I was at basketball with the girls and Donevan was home with DJ, Emma and some friends watching the Michigan/Ohio State game. Donevan came upstairs and changed DJ's diaper. Donevan then started back downstairs. DJ wasn't behind him, but when Donevan called his name a few seconds later, he came running. Well little did Donevan know, DJ had run into our master bathroom and turned on the tub. They went downstairs and continued watching football. A while later, (45 mins or so) Donevan heard water running. He heard it coming from Ashleigh's room in the basement. He went in there to find water rushing down from the chandalier and soaking her room. He ran upstairs to find the tub running, the bathroom, bedroom and closet all flooded. Yikes! Our 8 day old basement was flooded. Ashleigh's entire ceiling's sheetrock had to be removed replaced and new insulation put in. The room is being repainted and we have to replace all the carpet and pad. The upstairs dried after having a major renovation company come with their power fans and humidifiers. We were devastated, but we are just happy DJ didn't get hurt and that's why we have homeowners insurance. Gotta love a 20 month old! He's keeping me on my toes.

Rivalry At It's Best

A few weeks ago, we woke up Sat. morning to this great surprise. It was the big rivalry day...Utah vs. BYU and Michigan vs. Ohio State. I guess we are just too fun to tease. Not such a great day since both our teams lost....oh and our basement flooded so we didn't even get to enjoy watching the games. The teasing was funny and made us laugh. There is always next year for Michigan and BYU. Go Blue!

I am glad to report that the busiest week of my life is over. I managed to fit in just about everything possible this past week. I had.........

3 Nutcracker Rehearsals to get Ashleigh to
A Baby Shower
Girls Cheerleading Class
Contractors in and out of our basement all week (if you haven't heard our "new" basement flooded...a post for another day)
Insurance Claim phone calls all week due to issue above
TaVaci Singing Car Pool
A Birthday Get Together for a Friend
Donevan's Office Christmas Party
Another Christmas Party
Church Christmas Party
Girls Basketball Game
Girls Friends' Birthday Party
Nutcracker Performance for Ashleigh

So you can see why my blogging hasn't been very good lately. I will try to be better, but I am afraid the weeks to come are going to be just as busy. Next week the girls turn 8. They are excited and we are planning a fun party at our house. 15
7 and 8 year old girls. I'm tired just thinking about it! More to come later!

5 Kids is a BIG Adjustment!

You may be wondering if I am ok. My blogging is at an all time low and if we're friends on facebook you know I haven't been on lately. I won't lie....5 kids is a BIG adjustment. I have recovered well from my c-section, but just maintaining the everyday upkeep of a household of 7 as well as the care of a newborn has left me with no time to blog or facebook.

We couldn't have made it through the last few weeks without my wonderful mother in law Margo and my Parents who were in town from Virginia. Margo had all 4 of my kids the week I was in the hospital. She got the girls to school everyday and made sure they got to their after school activities and took care of a very energetic 20 month old named DJ! He's a good boy, but a curious little thing. I came home from the hospital to a super clean house and all the laundry was clean too. Thank you Margo, you are AMAZING!

My Mom and Dad were here for a week and I sure enjoyed their company. DJ and my Dad had so much fun playing ball and the girls are always so excited when their Grandma and Grandpa come to stay. Mom helped with homework, laundry, dishes, messy diapers, driving, etc. I don't know what I'd do without them. Most of all having them here just made me happy!

I have to say Thanks to all my friends and neighbors too. I have had some yummy meals and goodies brought by as well as so many generous gifts. I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and an amazing family who is always so supportive of Donevan and I. We love you all so much!!!

Finally, I want to say a big Thank You to my hubbie! I'll never forget laying on the operating table with him by my side holding my hand as we heard together the first sounds of our sweet baby Emma. I love you so much! It's me and you for eternity!

Our Good Luck Charm!

We put Emma in her darling Michigan outfit (Thanks Hilary) on Saturday and guess what? They actually won a game! We are fans through the good times and the bad.
GO BIG BLUE!!!

DJ and Emma

DJ has been so cute with his new baby sister. He loves her and has been so kind and gentle with her. It's super cute!

More Pictures

Big Brother

Emma Jennifer Neider has arrived
8:07 am
6 lbs. 14oz.

Emma Has Arrived!

More Halloween Fun!

Happy Halloween From Our Little Monkey!

Think Pink!

I had to get my blog all ready for Emma's debut! All I can do is think pink!

I will definitely have my laptop at the hospital with me giving updates and posting pictures. I am so excited, I can't stand it. It finally feels real! It better, right, it's happening in a week.

My Super Cute Husband!

My kids and husband surprised me tonight with this fun bassinet! It is the cutest thing ever. They even went to the craft store to find the perfect ribbon to put around it. So thoughtful!

2 Signs That My Baby Is Turning Into A Little Boy!

1. He can now open the refrigerator. Can you imagine the messes I have been cleaning up lately! Keep in mind, he is faster than I am nowadays so there is a lot of me chasing him around the kitchen mad. It's quite hilarious.

2. He can open the front door and escape. He runs directly to our next door neighbors house as fast as he can. They have 3 boys next door and I think he's trying to get out of this house filled with girls and get to the boys!

If he doesn't put me into labor in the next week and a half it will be a miracle.

2 Weeks To Go!

(This is the best picture you're gonna get when a 7 year old is my photographer)


I only have 2 weeks until my scheduled C-section. I am so anxious and excited! I have been having a lot of contractions and not feeling super well so I have made sure my hospital bag is packed. Donevan keeps telling me I need to get off of facebook and get back to my blog. I will try. Once Emma is here, maybe I'll have more to post.

Feeling Blessed!

Today, during Donevan's lunch break we went to a local tile store to pick out the tile for our basement bathroom. We stopped by Wendy's drive through to get a quick bite to eat on the way. As we sat at a red light, there was a man standing there with a sign in the freezing cold. The sign said, "Vietnam Veteran Homeless". Donevan rolled down the window and gave him his unopened Burger and French Fries. We sat there waiting for the light to turn green as this man ate his food. He couldn't shovel it in fast enough. He was literally starving. It's easy in this selfish, spoiled world that we live in to take for granted how blessed we really are. What color tile I am about to purchase for my basement is so petty compared to some of the trials that others are going through right now. I am so grateful for everything that I have and I hope I can always remember the importance of giving and serving others.

3 Weeks

It's a good thing I only have 3 weeks to go because the only pair of jeans I have that still fit are becoming more snug! Yikes! I am hoping that the rest of OCt. goes by quickly. I have a lot of things I want to accomplish before this baby comes. So I am going to post my to do list to help give me the motivation to get it all done.

To Do
~Clean and organize pantry
~Clean out junk drawer in the kitchen
~Mud room cabinets organized
~Mud room lockers cleaned out
~Go through DJ's clothes (get winter stuff out and put away summer stuff)
~Go through my closet and get rid of things that I haven't worn in ages
~Cars cleaned out

Our basement continues to progress. Our texture is getting finished up today and then our trim will start. That will take about 2 weeks. We are doing some cute/fun trim stuff in the kids rooms that I am excited about. I will post pics later for sure. Our tile for the bath and laundry closet is being layed this week. Then our paint and carpet and we're done. Hopefully the last few weeks of this project go smoothly, I can't wait for it to be done. The thought of my house doubling in size makes me so anxious. I can't wait for the kids to have their own closets. No more sharing. We will have so much more storage space. Most of all, I am excited for a place for my kids and their friends to play when they come over. Yeah!!!!

Scentsy Party For Everyone!

I am hosting a Scentsy Party Open House on Thurs. night from 6-8. Everyone is invited to attend and bring friends if you'd like. I LOVE these products!

My out of town friends/family can order also. Just go to www.scentsy.com/hshirley, click on "My Events" on the left side, go to October 2, click on Christine N's Party, then Shop for Event. Shipping is 10% of their total and make sure you have it shipped to yourself and not the hostess. You can shop until Oct. 6th.

There are so many great new products that I am excited about. I can't wait to try the new plug ins and all the new fall scents! Plus they have some awesome new styles of warmers! I can't wait to get the new Roma warmer for my basement. It's so cute!

My Week

The weeks are flying by and that is fine by me. Here are just a few highlights of my week.

~Hosted a sit down fine china luncheon for 12 on Monday
~DJ 18 month Dr. visit (yucky shots)
~Searching for new clothes for Brittany who's grown a ton in the last month
~Activity Day Girls Craft Activity on Wednesday
~Made dinner for a family that just had a new baby
~Visited another friend in the hospital who had a new baby (All these babies are getting me so excited)
~Carpool for girls activities
~My Dr. Appt! 5 1/2 weeks to go. Nov. 3rd 7am. C-section scheduled. No weight gain at my appt....weight loss...sounds great hu, no I'm still throwing up in the morning. Yuck.
~ 3 Diorama school projects started
~Clearing out the entire basement to get ready for sheet rock. Not a small project since all the girls stuff, toys,storage, couch, tv are all down there even though it isn't finished.
~Helped the girls sell $500 worth of fundraiser items to help pay for cheerleading uniforms.

In the weeks to come we will be:
~Converting the office into the girls bedroom for a few weeks while we sheet rock, etc.
~Doing whatever work in the basement we are capable of doing on our own
~Getting things ready for Emma's arrival
~House guests
and much much more.

I will post pictures of the basement as the progress moves along. We feel a sense of urgency to get it finished since we will be the parents of 5 children in 5 weeks. Unbelievable!

18 Months

I can't believe my little DJ is 18months old! He has brought so much joy to our family. We have been able to spend so much one on one time together since he was born and I just love him to pieces. Today was his 18 month appt. at the Dr. It is always sad when they have to get shots. The good news is no more shots until Kindergarten. Here are some stats from his appt. today.

Weight: 24 Lbs. 35th percentile
Height: 33.5 inches 83rd percentile

He grew 2 1/2 inches from his appt. 3 months ago.

He is definitely turning into a little boy and not my baby anymore.

While visiting some of our friends in town, Donevan and DJ couldn't resist getting on their Harley!

For all my I.F. Readers!

Has anyone been to our Old Navy lately? Well you're in for a surprise...and not a good one. I went there today and the doors closest to Sears were closed and so was that entire section of the store. (girls/boys/baby)I just figured that they were remodeling and changing a few things around. At the checkout, I asked what was going on and she said they were closing that part of the store and that the kids and baby sections would be on the other side now....with the adult stuff and maternity stuff. I can't believe they are going to try to cram all that in together. So then in my mind I thought, "ok, they can't afford that part of the store and so they are leasing it to another business". No that's not the case. They are using that 1/2 of the store for employee training. How ridiculous! I am just mad. This is my favorite store to shop at for my kids. Now it's just going to be a crammed mess and don't even try to think about bringing a stroller in there and shopping. Ugh!!!

The good news about my trip to the mall today is that I parked in the expecting Mom spot in the front row. That's exciting!

Busy

I haven't been much of a blogger lately. I've been really busy, but here's a little journaling about my life lately.

My Brother Ron stayed with us last weekend while he brought his daughter Brooke to college. It was fun to have him here! I have been so excited to have my niece Brooke only 30 mins. away. DJ and I drove up there on Tuesday to see her apartment, have lunch and do a little shopping. It brought back a lot of memories of my college days there...and falling in love! Fun Fun!

Tomorrow my Mom is coming to town for a few days. We always have so much fun shopping and just being together. The girls are really excited for Grandma to come too.

I've continued with my nesting! I cut the corn off of 4 doz. cobs last night and froze a bunch of fresh corn for the winter. I also got a box of peaches today to do the same with. I don't know where all my energy is coming from, but I'm going to be productive while I have it.

I had another Dr. Appt. today. It went very well; it's always fun to hear Emma's heartbeat. I was surprised to find that since my appt. 3 weeks ago, I didn't gain any weight. I haven't had much of an appetite lately. Emma is measuring perfect, so no worries about that. I have had a major obsession with chewing ice (iron deficiency) and leg cramps in the middle of the night (calcium&potassium deficiencies). If you've ever experienced these leg cramps you understand the pain I've been going through. They are horrible...I would almost rather be throwing up(BTW-I am still doing that in the morning, ugh). It's really hard to believe that in a month and a half I will have 5 children. On my last airline flight this summer, the attendant looked at me as she watched all my kids march onto the plane and stared at my belly and said, "What are you trying to do girl, keep up with Brad and Angelina?" I laughed, but really I feel very blessed to have a big family and I wouldn't trade it for anything. My friend Ali always says, "We're bringing BIG Families Back". I guess we are!

The kids are doing great. The girls love 2nd grade and love their teacher. I can't believe how much more difficult 2nd grade is though. Now that school is back in session, our life is a lot more hectic. From the moment they get home from school it's just running. We have ballet, singing, gymnastics and cheer activities to get to and it's sometimes hard to find time to fit in chores and homework. DJ continues to keep me very busy. He is just the cutest thing and his personality is so much fun lately. He understands just about everything we say to him and he's starting to try to communicate back. His most common word used is "ball". He loves his sports!!! He misses the girls while they are at school, but I sure have enjoyed having him to myself. He only has a few more weeks to be the baby, so I have been spoiling him a lot. I find myself rocking him and getting as much cuddling in as I can.

College Football started so pretty much that's the weekend highlights for Donevan at our house. He has 3 TV's set up in the basement so he can watch 3 different games at once. Insane!!! I tease him, but we really do enjoy football season at our house and he works so hard during the week that it's fun to see him have so much fun on the weekends.

That's about it for now. Hope everyone is happy and healthy and enjoying the beginning of Fall. It's my favorite time of year!!!

Only 55 more days to go! I am so excited...this is less than 8 weeks. I can do it, right? I can't believe I will have 5 kids. Wow!

One of my all time favorite shows is back in business tonight. 90210! I have it recording so we'll see if it's any good. If it makes me feel young again, it's worth watching.

First Day of 2nd Grade

Blessings!

My cute friend Lori posts her weekly blessing on her blog and tonight I am feeling quite blessed and am going to copy her with my SUMMER BLESSINGS:

~Fun camping trips
~Staying up late and sleeping in the next day
~Snow Shack and Sonic Drinks
~BBQ's with family and friends
~Neider Family Reunion at Lagoon
~2 Awesome Weeks in Virginia
~Waking up in the morning and having no schedule for the day
~Watching Donevan and DJ on the riding lawnmower together
~Turning 30
~Boating at the Lake
~Fourth of July in I.F...love it!
~Watching DJ grow from a baby to a little boy. I swear this happened overnight!
~Having a house full of neighborhood kids...I really will miss this.
~Not setting my alarm clock for 2 1/2 months.
~Watching my belly grow and counting down the weeks until Emma's arrival. (10 more weeks 'til my delivery)

My #1 blessing is that I am able to stay home with the kids. I cherish every moment I spend with them and recognize how blessed I really am to be able to do this. Thanks Donevan for working so hard and making this all possible. I love you!

We've had an amazing summer and on the eve of my girls starting 2nd Grade I am a little emotional. You would think that the older they get, the easier it gets sending them off to school, but it doesn't.

New Pictures!

I'm so excited about my new picture wall.(click on picture to enlarge)
My very talented girlfriend Shelly
(see her photography website:http://shellyabrown.typepad.com/photography/)
took these darling pictures of my kids and we hung them up this weekend. We even left a little spot for Emma's future picture. By the way- I don't think I was holding the camera very straight because the pictures look crooked in this picture, sorry!

7 Months....some random journaling!

Whenever I hit 7 Months in a Pregnancy I feel a sense of relief. It was drilled into my head when I was pregnant with the triplets that I had to make it to 7 months/28 weeks.(I made it to 33 w/ them) So, I think in my mind I am still obsessed with that magic number. Well here I am at 28 weeks and very excited. Emma is approx. 2 1/2 pounds and moving around like crazy.

Today I had my 7 month appt. All is well. So far I have gained a total of 9 pounds since my first visit. It helps that I am so sick the first few months and lose a few pounds during that time. I'm sure the next few weeks will be filled with much more weight gain.

If you see me regularly, you may have noticed that I refuse to wear maternity clothing and I haven't worn any yet. Thanks to the style of low rise jeans that fit perfectly below my belly and a lot of my blouse type shirts that still fit I've been able to avoid maternity wear. I do feel like I am growing fast, so I might not be able to keep up with my stubborn ways. Because of my refusal to wear/purchase maternity clothing, you might see me in my last two months of pregnancy wearing the same few outfits.

My nausea in the morning has returned. Yuck. I had some relief for a while, but I am back on my zofran. Once I eat and get my medicine in me, I'm good. I've had other issues that include a few trips to the chiropractor for some sciatic nerve and lower back problems. I did a major grocery shopping trip today at a discount store where you bag and load all your groceries yourself.(Winco) I had two cart fulls and I'm sure the heavy pushing has done me in for a few days. I saved a lot of money, but probably not if I have to pay to go to the chiropractor again tomorrow. I can barely walk tonight. This reminds me of a funny incident that happened a couple of days ago. Ashleigh after cheerleading was asking me how to do a herky jump. I was trying to help her do it and without even thinking I just said, "I'll show you". So there I was my 7 month pregnant self doing a cheerleading jump in the middle of my living room. Not smart. I thought I was going to die after doing this really dumb thing. I spent the night in the bathtub and couldn't walk the next day either. Let me just say, I am 99% sure this is my last pregnancy.

I really can't believe I will be bringing a new baby girl home in 74 days. I should be in a panic more than I am. I'm so NOT prepared for her arrival. I think by your fifth child you are less obsessive about every detail. I just want a healthy baby girl....no NICU.

I have started my nesting phase. I spent 3 hours in my office yesterday organizing. I ended up with 3 trashbags full of papers for Donevan to take to work and shred (he has a shredding company that will shred it all....just in case you thought he was going to sit there and shred 3 trashbags full of papers...NOT). I'll move from room to room until I feel very organized for Emma's arrival.....then my chiropractor, bathtub, not being able to walk routine happens all over again. What can I say...I have 4 kids, I can't sit in bed and eat bon bons all day. That does sound good though.

Trouble Maker!

HOW CAN I BE MAD AT THAT FACE?

Back To School Shopping

Back to school shopping with Triplet Girls! What Fun!
This has been my experience this week.

#1 Child: Wants everything...points to everything...everything is so cute...she has to have it or else life will be over!

#2 Child: Could care less about what she wears, what her folders look like, or anything else related to purchasing for school. She is more interested in who's playing in the cul-de-sac at home while she's stuck shopping and how much longer this is going to take.

#3 Child: Over analyzes everything...can't make a decision because she's worried she'll find something better at the next store we go to.....doesn't end up buying anything.

I'll let you decide who is who!!!

Happy Birthday Andrea

Happy Birthday to my GREAT Friend ANDREA!!!
We had fun celebrating Andrea's birthday while camping. Andrea is one of the best friends our family has ever had. We are so grateful to have her in our lives and for her great example. Andrea is someone who is always helping others without expecting anything in return. She is the greatest mother...who loves her kids and makes many sacrifices to make sure they enjoy life to the fullest. When DJ was born and had colic BAD...Andrea would come over almost every night and hold him. He would immediately calm down for her and it gave Donevan and I a break. We love Andrea and wish her the best Birthday ever.

Downata Weekend

We spent a long weekend camping and having fun at Downata HotSprings! We went with a few families and had a blast! Downata was the greatest place with waterslides and fun warm pools. They had something for all ages and the kids were begging to stay when it was time to go. It will definietly be a yearly tradition for us now.

I have a confession to make!

Yes, I have a confession to make. I have been cheating on my blog with Facebook. Since I discovered how fun Facebook is a few weeks ago, I can't stop cruising around on it. I love it. I have found so many old friends and lots of relatives. Send me a friend request if you're on there! Happy Blogging...and Facebooking.

Blogging In The Summer...Not My Thing!

I guess blogging in the summer just isn't my thing. It should be...it's the time when we are the most busy and my life is probably the most exciting. I guess I am in a bloggers slump.

We have been busy since returning from our trip. It took me a few days to even recover...traveling pregnant and with 4 kids is very exhausting.

We have had some fun nights and all day last Saturday boating. The girls are learning to waterski. It's been really fun.

The last few days I haven't gotten much sleep. DJ hasn't been feeling well and after having a fever for a few days I had a friend who's a P.A. come and check him out. He has double ear infections. I feel so bad for him. No wonder he hasn't been himself.

We have also been enjoying having our 3 nephews in town for the week. We've had fun playing guitar hero, watching movies, boating, and just hanging out. The girls are of course enjoying their cousin sleepovers too. All 6 of the kids are off to the cabin tomorrow with Grandma...fun fun. What a brave Grandma!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

The Date Is Set!

I had my sixth month appt. today with my Dr. and we set a date for my c-section. It's going to be Monday, November 3rd. November seems really far away, but I know the summer will continue to fly by and then I'll have Sept. and Oct. while the girls are in school to prepare for Emma's arrival.

We're Home!

Well we are home from our trip and very sad to get back to real life! We had a BLAST!!! The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins and we enjoyed just hanging out with family everyday. Some highlights of our trip are on my slideshow. Of course I always wish I had gotten more pictures. There is always so much to do and see when we are in VA and never enough time to do it all. Our trip definitely went by way tooo fast. Thanks to Mom and Dad for enduring us taking over their house. Thanks to Ron and Beth's family and Rusty and Virginia's family for the many many sleepovers! And thank you to Gary and Heather for driving from Richmond to see us all! We love all you and thanks for making our trip so much fun!!!

I Made It!

I made it to Virginia. We left Idaho Falls yesterday at 1o am and made it to my parents house last night around 11 pm. It was a long day. The flights were long and hard, but I'm glad we're here and we can't wait for all the fun we're going to have the next few weeks. I decided yesterday might have been one of the most challenging days of my life. You know the screaming baby that drives everyone nuts on the airplane. That was my little boy! The flights were full, so he had to be on my lap. He didn't like being confined and I think he must have had trouble with his ears. He definitely wasn't himself. We really missed Donevan's help!

We flew into Washington Reagan Airport and the view at night was absolutely amazing. It was fun for the girls to see all the glowing monuments..and fun for me too! When we stepped outside, we were overcome by the humidity. The girls said, "why does it feel so foamy?" Last summer when we came they couldn't believe the trees and said, "Mom, we didn't know you grew up in the forest." Kids say the funniest things.

By the way, my poor husband doesn't do well when we are gone. Please call him, text him, feed him, etc. He needs a little extra TLC. We love you Donevan...thanks for being so good about us leaving you and thanks for working so hard so that we could come on this trip. You are the best Dad and Husband ever!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Well our favorite holiday has started off great. We went to the parade this morning where the girls were thrilled to be a part of their cheer organizations float. As I watched them up there, I couldn't believe how big my girls have gotten so fast. They started going to this parade when they were 2. We love this small town of Idaho Falls!!!