I'm on my own now!

Well, my mom is gone and Rich went back to work. I keep wondering what I'm going to do with five kids by myself. I'm feeling very out numbered, yet very blessed. We had a great time with my mom here. We kept very busy. I didn't realize how tired I was until we got home from the airport and all I wanted to do was sleep. While mom was here we went and cut down our Christmas tree and went on a sleigh ride in the snow (mom stayed in the car with Garrett-she didn't want to get snowed on!) We baked lots of goodies, we decorated sugar cookies with the kids and went shopping for Christmas presents. We also went to Longview Lake and looked at the Christmas lights. They do a huge display of lights and they are so fun to watch. My kids keep asking if we can go back to see the moving lights since they have displays of characters riding skate boards or skiing, etc. It was really cool. We also drove to the plaza to look at lights down there. I've decided that driving all the way to the plaza to look at lights on buildings is quite boring. I'd rather look at lights in the neighborhood, they are more exciting. Anyway, we kept busing while mom was here and I was sad that she had to go home. Paris keeps walking around the house looking for Grammie and I know that Savannah misses her. Grammie would hold Savannah when I was holding the baby- yes she is spoiled. Well, Garrett is getting big way too fast. I can't believe how long it takes for the nine months to get here and then how quickly they grow up. It seems it should be the opposite. This is my last baby and I'm trying to cherish every moment. Although I'm struggling to enjoy this adjustment period that my family is going through. The kids have not been very good since we brought the baby home and I hope this will pass soon. I finally got so frustrated this morning that I broke down in tears. They didn't understand why I was sad and I told them that I just wanted them to behave and it made me sad that they weren't getting along with each other. They all told me they would try, but soon forgot as they were fighting about 5 minutes later. Oh well, this too shall pass- I hope. Well, I'm just rambling on so I'll stop but I wanted to post some cute pictures of the kids.

Isn't he so cute?

Paris and Dakota waiting for the Christmas tree to be bagged. Tyler ended up in the car after about 10 minutes b/c he was too cold.

Decorating cookies is so much fun.

My sweet baby boy.

Grammie with Garrett before she left.

Paris and Savannah are such big helpers when it comes to taking pictures.

Garrett at one week old!

Well, One week has passed and all 7 of us are surviving. It has been so nice to have Rich home for the week and have my mom here. We had our Thanksgiving day feast today and what an appropriate day to have it, Garrett's one week birthday. We are so thankful for our kids and all of our family. We have been very blessed and watched over. Thanks to everyone for their love and support. We wouldn't be where we are without all of our friends and family. I just wanted to post some pictures of Garrett. He has changed so much and is such a good baby. He actually sleeps at night (knock on wood). The Lord knows that we need a sleeper, since we are up all night with the other kids.

What a sweet little boy.

Savannah is a good big sister!

Garrett Allan Hollingshead

We'd like to introduce you to the newest Hollingshead addition. Please say hi to Garrett Allan Hollingshead. We was born Nov 21, 2008 at 9:39 am. He weighed 6 lb 12 oz and was 18 inches long. He likes sleeping, mom, and sleeping. He does not like baths and probably won't like circumcision after tomorrow. I'll let Hill tell you more when she returns from her vacation from the 4 star hotel she is staying at where she is being pampered by customer relations professionals.

Surprise Baby Shower

So I have some awesome friends. There is a group of us from Dakota's preschool that get together occasionally for play groups and girls night out. We have become good friends. Well, this wonderful group of ladies put together a surprise baby shower. The invited me over for a playgroup and lunch. When I got there they came to my car to help me with all of my stuff. They are so funny. Anyway, I walked in and the table was decorated and there were presents on the table and a cake. Amy made the cake and it was so cute. Thanks to you all for a wonderful surprise and all of the fun presents. It was a fun day and I was glad to have good company and good friends. Now it is time for the baby to come.

Baby update

I went to the doctor today. They said the baby could come at any time now. I am only dialated to a 1 and am 50% effaced, so it could be a while. But I'm excited that I'm progressing and am finally considered term. They also told me that my iron levels are pretty low. I'm taking a supplement to help that before the baby comes. I guess that is why I have been so tired. I just thought it was the fact that I have 4 kids and am pregnant. But what do I know!!! Anyway, I just thought I would let you all know the update. I'm ready to be done.

Halloween and other stuff

Happy late Halloween. I have been such a slacker on updating my blog. We have been busy getting ready for the baby to come. Here are my happy trick or treaters! Halloween night we had some friends over for Chili and Homemade rootbeer (Thanks Kerry and Tony). Then we all went around our neighborhood trick or treating. We live in a horse u type neighborhood and it is perfect for my kids (and me). I was really tired when we were done. Tony pulled Savannah and his daughter Avery in the wagon, which really helped me out.

This is the group of kids at my house for Halloween night. They were all anxious to get out and get some more candy (because we didn't get enough at our ward trunk or treat). We had a great night- thanks everyone for coming over.

On a different note. Here is Paris with her pretty hair cut. She was getting a serious mullet. I love her little curls and now I don't feel like I have to waste my time pulling her hair in piggies for her to pull them out 10 minutes later. She loves for me to do her hair, but hates it pulled back.

Finally, we got the girls their bunk beds. Last weekend, we rearranged rooms to make room for the new baby coming. We put up the bunk beds for Dakota and Paris (I have new bedding for them, it's just not on). Then we moved Tyler into the baby's room. It has it's own bathroom for him (and the rest of us) to have some privacy. He really struggled at first, but I think he likes it now. Savannah is now in Tyler's old room in a toddler bed. I was really worried about it, but she loves it. Now if I can just get her to sleep past 5:45 am, I will be a happy mommy. Now the only thing I have left to do is go through the baby's clothes and wash them. I'm ready to be done being pregnant. I think Savannah knows that changes are coming. She is so clingy and just cries a lot. I don't know what to do for her. I think between her crying and Paris whining all day long I might go crazy. I think I'll have to stay in the hospital for an extra day or so. A friend of mine in Enoch told me that I should stay in the hospital one day per child and husband. So that puts me there for a week- Okay I think I would go crazy for that long, but it is a nice thought!

Ward Halloween Party

On Friday night we had our ward Halloween Party. It was so much fun. The kids all had a good time. Our ward does a chili cook-off and a trunk or treat. Our ward activities person thought it would be fun to have the Thriller dance performed. I couldn't resist a chance to humiliate myself and decided to participate. I am posting the video and you all need to remember I am 5 weeks away from having a baby, so be kind! (the video is at the end, so as not to distract from the rest of my blog!)

I realized at the party how big Tyler is getting and it made me sad to think how fast he is growing up. I saw him as I was standing in line to get food and during the costume parade they had for the kids. The rest of the time he was off with his friends. He came and found me in line for the costume parade and told me that he decided he would come walk with me. I felt very privileged. He also informed me that he missed my dance. I asked him, jokingly, what kind of son he was for missing my awesome dance!! He said he was sorry and that he watched some of it from the hallway. He had been tortured enough by coming to all of the rehearsals. Then during the trunk or treat he informed me that he was going around by himself. I asked him to just walk with me and the girls, but he was too big to go with mom! Well, I ended up losing Dakota too. So Paris and I walked the parking lot and then she was tired and buckled into her seat and proceeded to eat her candy (I thought she was tired!). The kids got lots of candy (I'm contemplating passing it back out on Halloween) and they had a blast with there friends.

Savannah is pouting because I took her binky so I could get a picture of her. Notice she wouldn't look at me? This is her universal face of I'm mad, embarrassed, sad, etc.

Dakota with her pretty Barbie dress! She is getting so big.

This is my sad attempt at being a zombie. I haven't done stage make-up since high school (luckily, you can't see it very well in this small picture). Tyler helped me with the dress. He took it to our flower bed outside and got it dirty. Then the kids wondered why I was cutting up my dress. I had to explain it was only a costume and they should NEVER cut up anything other than paper!
Paris was not real thrilled to have to be in the parade. She cried at me the whole time.

Now on to the video. We all had a good time learning this dance. It was also fun to get to know some of the other people in our ward that I don't know every well. Thanks to Adam for teaching us the dance!

Cider Mill

For play group we went to the cider mill and had a little tour. We had doughnuts and cider (my kids would not eat the doughnuts for some reason) and then went on a hay ride. It was fun. I took a few pictures of the kids and thought I would share them. It was pretty cold that day, but luckily no rain.

Weekend in Illinois

I finally got out of Kansas City!!! I like to get away every now and then and this past weekend I got that opportunity. We met my mom and brother in southwestern illinois. There wasn't much there but we got to see family. Friday, Rich took the day off work and Tyler was already out of school for end of the quarter. As we started to leave, Rich noticed the tire on the driver's side of the car was flat. We stopped to fill it up and noticed a nail in the tire. Rich told me that we needed to get it fixed before we could leave. I wasn't happy, but new that was the safest thing to do. After driving around for about an hour to find someone to fix it, we passed a little tire shop. They were able to get us right in and fixed in about 10 minutes. What a blessing. I know that we were being watched over, even if I didn't have the best attitude!! Then off we went. Paris got sick the night we got there, so she and Rich stayed at the hotel while the rest of us went to dinner. Saturday, we went swimming and then got ready for the wedding. My mom's adopted sister, Georgia, got married. The Wedding was beautiful and at a friends house. The kids had a blast with the other kids there and enjoyed being outside. After the wedding we went to dinner with the groom's family. It was really fun and luckily we were outside and the kids didn't have to be quiet.

My bother, Brennon, decided that kids need an off switch. He thought it would be pretty cool if you could put the kids in bed and turn off their switch and then go out. I laughed at him and told him that is what we call a babysitter!!! He said that would cost money and wouldn't work. We determined that he is not ready for kids. I was cracking up at dinner, because he said that he needed a drink from being with the kids all day. He didn't even have to take care of them. It was really good to see mom and Brennon. Oh, Savannah even went to mom's room to spend the night at the hotel. She wanted to go with Grammie. I was really shocked. Then about 12:30 a.m. Rich woke me up and told me he could hear her crying. So I went and got her. She woke up very confused because she didn't know the people in the room. But even a couple of hours is a nice break!!! Then Sunday we headed home. We had a really good time. Thanks mom and Brennon for meeting us. We sure do miss you all and can't wait to see you when the baby comes.

Conference Weekend.

So, as most of you know it was General Conference this weekend. What a wonderful conference it was. I wasn't able to hear all of the talks, due to loud kids and arguing with little boy about listening to conference, but what I did hear was great. I am so excited about the announcement of the temple coming to Kansas City. I was just screaming with excitement and Dakota started yelling "We're getting a temple." I'm not sure she even really knows what that means, but it was cute.


On Friday night, we had a ward bonfire. It was really fun. We went to Cedar Lake and roasted marshmellows (well, Rich helped the kids) and visited with friends. Then on Saturday night, I decided to invite a few friends over with their kids for ice cream while the men were at the Priesthood session of Conference. We had a fun time. Thanks to all of you who came. I think we had about 30 people here and 23 of them were kids. The kids all played in the basement and it was surprisingly less chaotic than I thought it would be. When it was time to leave we decided to come down and clean up real fast. Well, to my surprise the kids had been playing in the bathroom. The door to the closet in the bathroom had been broken. Rich was home by then and told me not to worry about it. Then he said we really don't need a door on that closet anyway. Well you tell me if you would want a door.
This used to be a fish tank and the closet door would allow privacy in the bathroom. Anyway, Rich tried to fix the door but it is broken. Well, despite the door, we had a great time.

Sunday came and the kids were bored with conference. So I decided to paint their toes and fingers to keep them occupied.

Well, last year Tyler had painted my finger nails at school for Mother's Day. He thought that he should be the one to do all of the painting from now on. Dakota was nice enough to let him practice on her toes. Although, she kept telling him he wasn't doing it right.

Then he wanted to do mine, but I told him no. I should have let him because I could barely bend over to paint them myself. It was a fun weekend and we are very blessed to be able to listen to the prophets and apostles at home.

Lucky 7

Well, I got tagged for the first time since blogging (thanks Jade).

7 things I can do:
1. I can change a diaper (I have lots of practice)
2. I love to read
3. I can talk- LOTS!
4. I can sing
5. I can calm a crying child (usually with a kiss or hug)
6. I can bake bread (thanks Chauntelle for your recipe)
7. I can smile even when I want to cry!

7 Things I can't do:
1. I can't sew
2. I can't sleep most nights
3. I can't keep my house clean (the kids are really good at making messes)
4. I can't decorate
5. I can't remember things I have just said (I have to ask Rich "did I already say that?")
6. I can't make it anywhere on time
7. I can't stop missing all of my family and friends who live so far away!!

7 Things that attracted me to Rich:
1. How laid back he is.
2. His respect for his mom and sisters
3. His patience with me
4. His testimony of the gospel and his respect for the priesthood
5. His work ethic (He works really hard to support our family)
6. His desire to have a family and for me to stay home
7. His sense of humor

7 Things that I say most often:
1. Stop picking on your sisters (to Tyler of course)
2. I love you
3. What were you thinking?
4. Not right now
5. Be quiet
6. Are you okay?
7. Anyway

7 Celebrity Admirations:
I don't really have any.

7 Favorite Foods:
1. Shrimp
2. Cookie dough ice cream
3. Lemon-berry slushes from Sonic
4. Chicken Sandwich
5. Chicken Salad Sandwiches
6. Hamburgers
7. Any chocolate

7 People to tag:
1. Sarah
2. Dani
3. Kerry
4. Lindsay
5. Carrie
6. Holly
7. Megan

This was harder than I thought it would be!!!

Savannah

I thought I would share a video clip of Savannah! She is so cute (most of the time). She really doesn't talk much, but she is funny trying. Enjoy!

Random Pictures

Savannah helping me clean. What a good helper she is.

Okay, the other day the kids are bored and so we pulled out some Halloween crafts. These are what the girls made. The bat and pumpkin were more than I thought when I bought them. I thought the kids would be able to put them together themselves, but that was not the case. It required hot gluing and cutting. I started these projects after Savannah went down for a nap, but she decided that she didn't want to take a nap. So I was trying to keep her away from everything and help the girls do these. Savannah is not helpful when it comes to cutting and glitter glue, she thinks that everything is fun to eat. Anyway, the girls had a good time. The projects only lasted for a few hours. The girls left them out and Savannah ate the eyes off of everything and pulled all of the stickers off. I guess they will learn to put things away so Savannah can't get to them.

Rich trying to relax, but the kids never leave him alone when he gets home.

I have to admit that I kind of like this set up. Just means that they aren't hanging on me!!!

Paris at the park. She loves to have her picture taken. She is getting so big. Now if I can just get her to stop whining at me and crying all day over everything!! She is such a sensitive child.