You Have Your Hands Full

"Wow, you have your hands full." That comment used to make my blood boil. Every time I heard that comment from some stranger in a store what I really heard was "You have too many kids". I began getting these kinds of comments after the birth of Levi, our 3rd son, and I could just about guarantee that I would get at least one comment from some stranger EVERY TIME I went somewhere with the boys. Usually I get more of those kinds of comments when I'm with the boys alone and Ron's not there. The problem I think with comments like "you have your hands full" and other comments like it is that I could never decipher what exactly was meant by them. In my defensiveness I would automatically assume that people meant the worst. After all, what else could people mean when they said things like that? This weekend has changed my perspective. I'm not sure why. I think I've come to the realization that my family is just not the average family. I think people are surprised by the fact that once our newest addition is born I will have 4 boys. I think that having 4 kids of the same gender is quite different than 4 kids. For some reason moms of families with both boys and girls tend to tell me that having girls is MUCH different than having boys. I'm not sure if this is just a consolation as if to say, "It's okay that you don't have any girls because ______(fill in the difficult thing about having girls)." Boys also have the stigma attached to them that they are loud, full of energy and generally hard to handle. So what did I experience this weekend that changed my perspective? In all reality, this weekend was nothing different but I found that when I heard comments regarding the number of ducklings that were following behind me I was not defensive but proud. Yes, I'm crazy. I'm totally crazy about my 3 handsome boys and I'm already crazy about the little one growing in my belly. Yes, I have my hands full. My hands are always holding on to the little hands that need my guidance and love. Yes, we can be loud and crazy but my boys are never lonely and always have a playmate. In fact even though I enjoy peace and quite every now and again, I would much prefer the loud and craziness that comes from my the sound of my boys laughter. So this weekend when a lady in Albertsons shopping with her teenage son stopped me and said, "Oh, you have 3 boys." I put my hands on my belly and said, "Yes, and I'm having my 4th boy in February." She then went on to tell me that she had 3 boys, her 4th child was a girl and then she had another boy. We had an instant connection though we had never met before and will probably never see each other again. That connection is that we are moms of boys and not just one boy but lots of boys! Later another woman said to me, "You earn an award with all those boys." I said "Oh thanks, I'm having another boy in February." She said "I only have one and I don't know how you do it." I smiled and continued shopping all the while feeling very blessed that I don't have to "do this" all on my own. My husband is a great husband and an awesome father! I think God's changed my heart about those comments. Instead of looking for the negativity I am counting my blessings. My favorite comment from this weekend came from a cashier at Target. She asked if we wanted a girl. We were truthful and said that we would have liked to have a girl and before we could finish she said, "This baby is still a blessing." Nothing could be more true!

Need a Name

Nope, not looking for names for the new baby yet. Ron has a name that he loves but I'm waiting until my next ultrasound to start going down that road. What I need is a new name for this blog. I can't keep "The Perry 5" when clearly we will have 6 Perrys. "The Perry 6" doesn't sound right to me for some reason. I suppose I have some time to think about it since the new little guy won't arrive until late February or early March.

Small Changes to the Same Routine

We are living much of the same routine as we normally do and yet there are little changes going on all the time. The boys and I went back to school after Labor Day. Seth is a big 3rd grader and he has an awesome teacher this year.....yep, it's ME! Evan is a 1st grader and Levi started his second year of preschool. Each of the boys loves school for his own reasons. Seth pretty much likes school because it is his social network. Evan loves school for the arts and crafts class after school. Levi loves his friends and his teachers. The new baby continues to grow. I'm 18 weeks pregnant now. At the last doctor appointment the doctor had a hard time finding the baby's heartbeat. Turns out everything is fine. The doctor did an ultrasound and the baby was just moving around too much for her to catch the heartbeat. I have another appointment at the end of the week and hopefully we'll be able to schedule my next ultrasound soon and be able to confirm that we're having a BOY! The big news - Levi had a birthday and turned 4! He was counting down the days til his birthday and was very excited that Daddy brought cupcakes to his school to share with his friends!

ALL Boys

I had to go to the doctor last week for first trimester screening. This means that I had to go in for an ultrasound and a blood test. I'm not a fan of blood tests because I hate needles but getting an ultrasound is a treat! I'm a big fan of getting to see the baby! I was 12 weeks and 1 day on the day of my ultrasound so I knew that it was probably too early to tell the gender of the baby but I went in hoping that we'd at least get a chance to see.
When I went in for my appointment the tech was very nice and explained that she needed to get a certain view of the baby for this screening so it may take some time. She had me lay on my back and after quite a bit of prodding with the ultrasound wand she had me lay on my side facing her. This position didn't seem to work and baby Perry was being extremely uncooperative. After more prodding and poking she asked me to turn on my other side facing away from her. After what seemed like an eternity of her searching and me staring at a wall she was finally able to catch the baby in the correct position.
While she was doing all of this poking and prodding she began to make polite conversation with me. You know the usual "Is this your first or second baby?" kind of questions. She had a surprised look on her face when I said, "Nope, my fourth." The next question is what you would expect. "How many boys and girls do you have?" I told her that I had all boys and asked if she could possibly tell the gender of this baby. She told me that at 13 weeks she could tell pretty clearly but at 12 weeks it was still too early. She must have had a change of heart or felt bad that it had taken so long for her to get the right shot that after she was done with her measurements she said she'd take a look and try to see if she could tell the gender of the baby. It didn't take long. She said, "Oh, here it is." I looked at the screen and said "4 boys" She agreed that it looks like a boy but then said it still is early.
I've seen three other boy ultrasounds and this one looked like a boy. My mom said that I shouldn't buy anything until my 20 week ultrasound when I can be sure. I think that's good advice and I will follow it. However, I'm pretty sure of what I saw and so it looks like Ron and I will be the proud parents of ALL BOYS!
And in case you're wondering (because I've already been asked this question by a couple of people) we're not disappointed. We figure that God knows what He's doing by giving us 4 boys. We're blessed to have the 3 that we already have and we're blessed to be adding another one!

To the Doctor

The boys will be starting school in a couple of weeks and I need to turn in their immunization records to the school. This means a trip to the doctor to make sure they are up to date on all of their shots. So I made an appointment for Evan and Levi (Seth gets sick from shots and so he'll go on another day) and we talked about how we will probably have to get shots but we will be brave and we can't scream and cry because that will scare the other little kids in the waiting room.
While in the waiting room we're having a good time watching Wall-E and looking at the fish. The nurse calls us in and both boys do a fabulous job while getting their hearing checked along with temperature and blood pressure. Then she takes us into "the room". My boys know this room as "the place where you get shots" so this is on the top of their list of places NOT to be EVER!
They begin to get nervous as they have to put on the gowns and begin asking if now is the time that the doctor will give them a shot. I'm getting nervous myself because they have done great so far and I know that soon the crying, the tears, and the screaming will begin.
The doctor comes in (not their regular doctor because she was busy until September) and he says, "Okay, who's first?" To which both Evan and Levi reply, "Him" and point at each other. The doctor decides that Evan is the oldest so he should go first. And then....he says the magic words! Evan doesn't need any shots today! YES! Evan is so excited! Then it's Levi's turn. And what do you know? No shots for Levi either! It's a dream come true for the boys and for me!
But alas, the dream must come to an end because the doctor says they've never had blood work and they should really get it done.
So down to the lab we go. We're waiting our turn and there is a lovely older lady sitting next to us that speaks louder than all three of my boys combined. This is a great thing because nobody gets upset at elderly women that speak loud but they do get upset at kids that are loud. She's speaking to a lady that is with her. I think at first this must be her daughter but the more I hear them speak I realize it is not. The older lady comments on how great the kids are being. Even when I have to talk to Levi about being loud she comments on how calm I was and how she would have been a lot meaner. I love this lady!
Our number is up. Evan sits down like a big boy. He puts his arm up and allows the tech to prep him and then he sees the needle. He doesn't like this one bit. And then she pokes him and the tears flow and I have to hold his other hand so he doesn't rip the needle out of his own arm. I try to get him to focus on something else and it isn't working. The tech is done with him and he's still crying.
Now it's Levi's turn. Levi has just witnessed this terrible crime against his brother who is still crying and he's having none of that! So I sit in the chair and put Levi in my lap. I convince Levi to put his arm out and the nice tech asks me to hold his arms. She sticks him and draws the blood quickly. Evan is crying at what is being done to his brother. They both cry all the way to the car while saying, "I don't want to go to the doctor anymore."
I can't really blame them. It does hurt a little to get blood drawn. It isn't fun when the only time you ever go to the doctor they poke you with needles. I'm a big chicken and everytime I get my blood drawn I refuse to look.
Thankfully, they don't have to go to the doctor again until next year!
Here are a few pictures of them at the doctor....all taken BEFORE the blood draw!

Time for Change

Well, I guess it's time to change the name of my blog. I wonder if I can do that or if I need to start all over again? We will no longer be The Perry 5 as we are expecting one more Perry to make his or her debut on February 27, 2012! I'm actually hoping this baby decides to wait until February 29th to make an entrance. I think it would be awesome to have a leap year baby!
We found out that we were expecting on July 5th. Minutes after taking the test Ron made it "official" by posting that he had exciting news on Facebook. Seconds later someone asked if it was a girl this time and thus the cat was out of the bag!
We are beyond excited and feel very blessed to be given one more opportunity to have another child. The boys are all excited too. They all want a sister and have already asked if we can name her Charlie just like the little girl on the TV show "Good Luck Charlie".
I've been to see a midwife (who has 4 children herself) and everything is looking great so far. I got to see the baby on the ultrasound and we were able to see the heartbeat. I have another appointment in 1 week for first trimester screening and blood tests. At that appointment I will get to have another ultrasound and hopefully will get a good picture that I can post.
This pregnancy has been different for me than the other 3. I have feel like taking a nap everyday around 1pm or 2pm. I get nauseous when I'm hungry and I'm always hungry. I've already had 2 migraines. One of them lasted for 3 days. Everyone says this is a sign that it's a girl. I try not to think of it that way. In all honesty I don't really want to find out the gender until he or she makes their arrival but practically speaking it's best to find out ahead of time. That way we can start shopping for baby items. I'm already excited to do that! Every time we go to Target I pass through the baby section.
We are truly blessed and we look forward to the new adventures that one more Perry will bring!

Showing God's Love

One of the great things about my job is that I love what I do and I get to see my boys all the time. When one gets hurt or gets sick they only have to come to my classroom instead of wait in the office while I drive to school. Also, I get to see all of their accomplishments first hand.
Every Friday our school has chapel. One of the classes does a chapel presentation or we have a guest speaker. During chapel time teachers can give out two awards. One is called a ROAR Award. ROAR stands for Respect, Obedience, Attitude and Responsibility. The second award is called a Showing God's Love Award. This award is given to students who demonstrate God's love to others.
Today, Seth earned a Showing God's Love Award. His teacher gave it to him because he took someone else's feelings into consideration and put her wants before his. His class was choosing animals to do a research project on and he chose a lion. When he made his choice another student was upset because she had her heart set on researching lions. When he saw her upset he told her that she could choose lions and he would research the black bear.
I'm so proud of my son. My desire for all three of my boys is that they will grow to be men of God. For them to have Godly character is very important so watching him get a Showing God's Love Award was fabulous for this mom!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

After watching my husband lose over 50 pounds and growing tired of being unhappy with my body I decided to make a change. My sister-in-law was kind enough to partner up with me on this journey so that I didn't have to walk this road alone. We began at the end of February. We started watching what we ate and learned to make better choices and become more conscious about the food we put into our mouths. We also started exercising on a regular basis. With 4 kids between us we usually just work out at home.
After 2 1/2 months I have lost 13 pounds. It has been quite a discouraging journey for me. Every week when I weigh in and see that I've only lost 1 pound or that I haven't lost any I get frustrated. I second guess everything I've done and I've even felt like giving up. It's rather difficult to lose 1 pound a week when my husband lost 12 pounds his first week of weight loss and kept up the big numbers by losing over 50 pounds in just 90 days.
However, relief and encouragement came to me this weekend! Ron and I are going to Las Vegas on Thursday and we went shopping to pick up a new outfit. I picked up a couple of dresses and trudged off into the dressing room. When I tried on the first dress it was too big. I thought there must be some joke. Maybe it's the style of dress or something. I tried on the second dress and it was also too big. I went back and picked up a smaller size in both dresses and they both fit! I was so excited that I couldn't wait to get out of the dressing room to go tell Ron.
Since my dressing room experience went so well I pulled out a couple of things from my closet that I used to wear but were now just a bit too tight to wear and was given another boost of confidence. They now fit better and I was able to wear a shirt to work today that I haven't worn in awhile.
I am not finished with this weight loss journey. In fact, I'm pretty sure that this will be a life long journey for me. I have about 23 more pounds to reach a healthy weight and be officially out of the overweight category. However, I will no longer allow myself to look at my progress and compare to someone else. For me it seems that slow and steady wins the race and so I keep my eyes toward my goal and I press on while I enjoy the small victories.

How Do You Know When You Have a Larger Than Average Family?

Every Saturday I go to Albertson's for my weekly grocery shopping trip. I usually spend Friday night planning the family menu for the week, making my grocery list and pulling out coupons from my coupon binder. This weekend was no different.
Saturday I leave Evan with Ron and take Seth and Levi to the grocery store. After two trips to the bathroom(both taken by Seth) we managed to get everything we needed and headed home.
Sunday night arrives and since it's Ron's week to make lunches and my week to make sure the boys get a bath we head off to do our parental duties. I've got Evan in the bathtub and while I'm trying to convince him for the thousandth time that I will not drown him while trying to rinse the soap from his hair I hear Ron saying something to me. After I get Evan out of the bath Ron says again, "Did you know we go through 10 slices of bread a day?" Uh....I've never really thought about it but 5 people times 2 slices of bread per sandwich...yep...10 slices per day. Half of our loaf of bread is gone in one lunch! He says, "Maybe we need to start buying two or three loaves of bread a week." And that's how you know you have a larger than average family!

Demolition & Renovations

When I was 12 years old my parents bought a house. I lived in that house until I married my wonderful husband at age 22. In 2004, when my parents moved to Texas, my family moved in. At the time we had just found out that I was pregnant with baby #2 and Seth had just turned 1.
One of the benefits of renting the house from my parents is that we get to paint and remodel rooms! With a carpenter for a husband....this is wonderful!
Our most recent endeavor is our bathroom. A few years ago my husband put this lovely blue tile in our bathroom floor. Unfortunately with potty training 3 boys this poor tile didn't stand a chance of survival. So, we decided it was time to fix it.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of getting rid of the tile on the bathroom floor and this weekend we installed the new tile. It's been a timely project (we're still waiting to grout it tonight) but it's been an interesting experience. I've learned how to use a tile saw and how to grout tile. Both of these were good experiences.
Once the renovation is complete I'll be posting pictures....
Goodbye blue tile. Thank you for your years of service!

60th Wedding Anniversary

In June our family is taking a trip to Texas. We're going to pack up our car with our 3 kids and drive from CA to TX. I'm sure it sounds crazy to most but it will be well worth it. You see, my grandparents will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary with a big anniversary party. All of my family on my dad's side will be making the trip. It is rare that we are all together at once. In fact it hasn't happened in a long time. Most of us got together a few years ago for my cousin's wedding but there were still a few of us missing.

My grandparents have 4 children and they are all married. There are 7 grandchildren of which 3 of us are married and 1 is engaged. There are also 8 great-grandchildren. That's a total of 29 of us. My grandparents and my parents live in Texas and the rest of us live in various parts of California and 1 in Washington.

Some of my fondest memories as a kid were spending time at my grandparent's house (back when they lived here in CA) or hanging out with my aunts and my cousins. I can't wait to spend time with them and have them spend time with my kids. I'm excited for my kids to make memories of their own while they get to hang out with their great-grandparents, their grandparents, their great-aunts and uncles, their uncle and aunt, and their cousins.

One of my goals while we're there is to make sure we get a good picture of all of us. I don't know how we're going to get a good picture of 29 people or how long it's going to take but I'm hoping we can do it. What a treasure that picture will be!

About 1 month after my grandparents celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary my husband and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. I wonder what our 60th wedding anniversary will look like?

Zac Brown at Church

Today we visited the church of some friends of ours. At this church the elementary school kids stay in the service with their parents for the first few worship songs. Seth was sitting next to me and he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Mom, that guy in the band looks like Zac Brown." And you know what....he was right! Little things like that make me smile!

It's a New Year!

We rang in the New Year last night in true Perry style. We went to Grandma's house for a little while and then came home and made dinner. After dinner we played Toy Story Uno. Everyone pitched in $1 and the winner of the games got to take the money. Strangely enough Seth and Evan won all of the games. I sent Ron a text half way through the game and asked, "Is it still wrong to cheat if you're cheating so that your kids will win the game?" We then watched Dick Clark's countdown on TV. Seth fell asleep but Evan and Levi had no problems staying awake. Evan and Levi are more like their dad but Seth takes after me. I was ready to go to bed at 11:30pm but made myself stay up until midnight.

2010 is gone and the kids are growing quickly. God has a plan for our family in 2011 and I am excited to see how that plan unfolds! Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!