a quick list...

There's nothing like the smell of raw sewage coming from tour basement in the morning... but enough with the complaining, here is my top 10: Nice Things Lately

10- Pretty fall colors and raking leaves with the family.
9- I learned how to make cinnamon rolls!
8- Honey crisp apples
7- readthescriptures.com emails me my scripture study every morning.
6- The awesome people in my Sunday school class that make my week!
5- My kids ARE hilarious!
4- My baby thinks I am hilarious
3- The plumber cleaned up the sewage and bleached my basement. (and since we're renting we didn't have to deal with the the "how much is this going to cost?" panic!)
2- Teaching the preschoolers and kindergartners to sing Albuquerque Was A Turkey, and A Turkey Ran Away.
1- The holidays are upon us!!

Athen's haircut!

This is not Athen's first haircut, but I understand everyone getting re-attached to his curls while they have been growing out all year. They are beautiful- even on a boy. But trying to convince as busy two-year-old to sit still so you can comb out ALL THE TANGLES in his hair is not beautiful. Nor was the mat of curly mess on the back of his adorable litle head, so it was time for a cut. Lucky us one of our new friends works in a salon!

Go Falcons!!

Jason loves all sports, and I love going places that have a social element, so how is it we have never attended a sporting event together until this weekend?

We went to a Falcons game... with ALL the kids. And what a blast! Jason was in charge of logistics (tickets, schedule,parking, etc.) while I, of course, couldn't resist making everyone look cute for the event, I even threw in a crafty project for good measure. Jason, Brooklyn and I found clearance Tees for under $10, but three little boy falcon t-shirts for $17.99 each? Not happening, I object on principle. So.... $3 brown toddler T-shirts+ $3 cheap felt mini-flags+ iron-on transfer paper = Falcon Wear for the boys! Hooray! What a great start to the day. Add some glitter ribbons and facepaint and it turns out this sports thing could really grow on me.

JUNE?!? My last post was in JUNE?

I had no idea how long it had been since my last post. Yikes!
Double yikes that blogger just ate all my text for this post.
Well, it is almost midnight so you'll just have to trust that it was poetic yet vague and not really worth the energy of recreating. Without further ado... Pictures from my phone!

Father's Day

This is my dad. He used to take an entire week off of work every year to be the door guy at my junior theater's show week. I'm glad he was able to spend Father's Day in sunny San Diego.

Poor Jason spent Fathers Day in the fathering trenches because I'm sick, but because he really is the best father and husband ever, he didn't even mind, and even said he had a good day.

My very own catch 22

My sweet hubby has been bringing me treats... A LOT. Probably not because grew so fond of those few weeks of weighing less than I do. Not that he minded, or at least mentioned it to me that he minded rather, I think its because of the reaction he gets when I see them- I have been SO sugar crazy, and they are a BEAUTIFUL sight and I love them! ( Deliciocity wrapped in a creamy, carmel, chocolatey, energy pick-me-up bundle!) Who doesn't love to be the bearer of good news? Meanwhile I am getting into a dangerous cycle.

Caring for a newborn + 3 small children
=
Fatigue
=
NO desire to expend energy (and annoying post surgery repurcussions and stress when I DO)
(enter sweet tooth)

THUS
I can't help but think a little exasperated sigh at people who tout breastfeeding as a huge weight loss help. Granted, if I wasn't nursing I'd probably be gaining a lot more that those 6-7 permanent lbs in that first few months, and those 300+ free calories are great, but I think even fantastically happy exhaustion takes it's toll ( and it is not helping my wardrobe options either).
Okay- so that is what is in my head this week, well that and the fact that i'm in need of divine intervention as far as what in the world to do about the tantrums in my house ( my own desire to tantrum included)

Perhaps i'll buck up and follow jason's lead by spending some quality time with our exercise bike, Wes, after the sun goes down each night.

But, that's enough of my anxieties! The truly great endnote is that I have this adorable little bit of heaven to enjoy all day, cuddle close to me every 2 hours (and then some just for the fun of it),

and 3 more little angels in their own right who can't get enough of him either and like to announce to me that he's the "greatest baby in the world." And no to forget one big, but not that big husbandish angel who knows I'm stressed and brings me king size Twixes, and the occasional mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Jason is in Kansas City. I am sitting on my sister's couch in Pocatello. The two littlest Ratliffs are napping. I hear: the next two Ratliffs happily playing with cousins, birds chirping, my nephew clicking on computer keys, baby snores and quiet. It's a good time to tell you that life is fine. I hope you are having a good day too.

Lincoln is here *pretend I am humming "Hail to the Chief"*

Well, these ended up in reverse chronological order, and it would take me 7 years to sort them out, and I only have about 20 minutes until this little cutie will be hungry again, so mix and match, or start at the bottom and ENJOY. As for me, I will be enjoying watching the cute little faces he is making in his sleep.

Not much new here...

... but I just wanted to show you a picture of the little house we are renting when we move to Ohio in August. It has hardwood floors throughout, W/D hookups in the basement, and you now know as much about the inside of it as I do. But it is less than a mile to campus, a few blocks from the school we want to send B to, equally close to a great big park, has plenty of storage (basement AND garage), is the price we need, recently became available, and appears to be a lovely answer to prayers!

Oh by the way, we are moving to Ohio in August.

Things I would have taken a picture of this week had my camera not been broken by a toddler.

My camera is broken, so here's what I would have taken pictures of IF it was functioning.

This is my pregnant belly- trust me, it has grown. I am starting to suspect there's not enough room in this body for the both of us. Also, I'm getting a little nervous about surgery- mostly the panic attack I get after the spinal block/losing control of my body from the ribs down, but before going loopy and thus contented. Well, and also the whole taking care of a newborn while skin, muscles and a major organ are trying to grow back together.
Mostly though, I'm excited to meet the little guy, and SO excited it is so soon!

This past weekend we drove to Ft. Collins to check out CSU and for Jason's assistantship interview. Naturally I was in constant alertness for possible signs of labor as we drove though the random snow storm that would have really spiced up the trip. But now we are back, and it was a great trip! The city/school/ ward were all lovely and the hotel had cable so the kids were fantastically content.

And last but not least, Jason is bringing me entertainment to no end with a new pedometer challenge at work. He lost it at the park last night and spend an hour walking back and forth across the park, getting more aggravated with each uncounted step he had to take before he found it. You would have thought he lost a diamond as opposed to the little $3 plastic thingy. The pedometer was found and now Jason can return to his all day potty dance that is his effort to get in more steps. I'm counting on that to distract me while I'm on the operating table.

I was on TV! ksl.com - High winds hit northern Utah

ksl.com - High winds hit northern Utah

So, it's kind of embarassing trying to think of something new to say about the weather for 10 minutes in front of a camera, but thank goodness for editing!

(so the picture looks like it will play the video, but it doesn't, only the above link works. I just added it as a visual record for when I print my blog book. BTW- I love the "snipping tool" that makes taking a still of a video possible.)

Winter is totally over!!! *

HOORAY!!!!! Winter is out and Spring is in!

"But Lucia, haven't you seen a calendar lately? Winter has been out for a while," you might remind me. Well no it has not been out for very long at all in Utah. Spring here was greeted by a fresh snowfall, and extra chilly weather, but now, it is actually, truly, really Spring! Tulips, daffodils and blossomy trees are in their full brilliance. I, personally, am dying of the heat already but even that is welcomed when it also means that:



-We get to go on walks to the park every day.

-The watermelons have come on sale again and they are actually sweet unlike the tasteless teasers of these past months. (here's a chart about picking good fruit!http://www.dvo.com/newsletter/monthly/2000/july/freshfruit.html , but it's not as fun as looking for the mystical "bee stings" or trying the straw trick, or just making a show of thumping each melon in the bin. Also, you can feel for ridges around the middle of the melon. ridges = ripe)

-I've offically packed away the winter clothes neatly in their bins, and brought out the summer stuff.

-I've even finished some extra spring cleaning to-do's like vigorously scrubbing my tile floors, and cleaning out everyone's drawers of the things that don't quite fit or don't get used often enough to warrant the space they take up.

- My feet have an obvious flip-flop tan, which makes them always look dirty, even if they are clean, but who cares?



So, when does it offically FEEL like spring/summer to you?

* since I started this post we've had snow. Crazy utah weather.

the baby grows

So, monitoring my belly growth through pictures is pretty anti-climactic. I love seeing my friends blogs, and how their bellys get bigger, and I keep getting excited that i'm feeling tons bigger and taking pictures only to find out it's not much different than the last one. Especially in these last 2 pics, you can only tell time has passed because my hair is longer.

15 weeks (barely showing at all)

22 Weeks





28 weeks (in a particularly large hour)

The latest pic. That actually looks smaller than the one 4 weeks prior.

So, you see, not much to show, but in 32 short days, little Lincoln be encircled in our arms instead of squished between my vital organs. A step up for both of us.

Jason is a funny guy

I am always surprised when I hear people say that Jason seems so serious. Really? Are we talking about the same Jason? The man that wears bowties every tuesday without fail (and any other day he can get away with it) and liked sweater vests before they came back into style BECAUSE they were obviously not in style. The guy that forgot to pack his belt with his work clothes one morning, and promptly aquired a pair of suspenders, never to miss an opportunity to be a little awesome. This is also the guy that picked me up over his shoulders (when we were dating, mind you, not now with 3 babies and 7 weeks away from the next) and lollygaged across the lower quad BECAUSE the sprinklers were on. Jason who talked to the gas station attendant like they were old friends for a good 2 minutes only to follow it with "You don't remember me, do you? That's probably because I've never seen you before in my life. Have a good night though!"

*sigh* He's so entertaining, and I'm excited to add yet another little guy to follow in his silly ways, and even sport a few bowties.

For your enjoyment, here are a few of the pics we took for a special multi-media event at the ward talent show entitled "The cheesburger song"

The ever changing Ratliffs

With 2.5 more months until this baby comes, it's getting pretty obvious that I'm "with child" Here is exactly what I look like tonight- no glamour, just the facts (except I really needed to apply at least some lip gloss for the sake of my dignity before this end of the day, tired mama hit the world wide web) Notice the bulbousness of my belly these days. Notice also that it's 10pm, and my shirt is fairly clean still- even more momentous with 6 sticky hands around me all day!

Oh, and not to leave out Jason, he had his hair done today. It took us 2 hours just to comb out/cut out the tangles last night so he could let the proffesionals at it today. We love it! Although, I think I'll take a crack at doing the whole thing myself next time, and I wont charge Jason $80. (i'll give him my $79 special!)
ALSO- did you know Jason has lost about 90 lbs in the past 9 months? So, with 30 more to go, stay tuned in a few months for the final before and afters! He's amazing!

MSU FIGHT SONG

Brooklyn's little metamorphisis.

Well, even in the midst of kids being quite sick with croup (especially poor Athen), things have been exciting here.

1. Last week, Brooklyn lost her first tooth and was VERY excited for a visit from the tooth fairy. It's a little early because her front teeth got knocked loose by Diego's cranium about 9 months ago, and the bottom two never tightened back up. But finally, one gave out, to Brooklyn's delight! They've been talking about it in preschool, and she was so happy to be the first, although, she'll most likely be the only one for a WHILE.

2. Today the kids happened on little keepsake boxes for a baby's first curl, and first tooth. They have been so excited about the baby, so I knew they would remember and be anxious to get lock of his hair in there. They had other idas, and wanted their own hair in it, which I figured out when I saw Brooklyn on a kitchen chair taking the scissors to one of her braids, I stopped her double quick and sent her to her room... about 4 minutes too late. It would appear the kitchen chair was the second scene of the crime. Time to blog. Well, first, time for naps, then to the blog.

No no, 1- Take a picture

2-NAP TIME!

3- Email my hairdresser friend for advice.

4. Inform the blog world.

Yes, she cut almost half of her braids, luckily none too short. Rather than leave her with this braid mullet, we will even off the rest and attempt for the Shirley Temple short ringlets.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ UPDATE * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Is that all? NO, because while I was posting this, I heard a cry from the bedroom. Can you even guess? Another run in with Diego, and the other loose tooth GONE. So, here's the latest picture of Brooklyn in all her hairless, toothless glory.

* sigh* Aye caramba.

Thanksgiving in Florida!

This Thanksgiving, we went on our long awaited trip to Florida with Jason's mom, grandma, uncle, brother and sister, and it was a blast! There are plenty of stories and pictures, but I am just posting some pictures here. Sorry they are not in order, and as far as the details on everything, well, they are either relaxing at the resort, or playing at one of the theme parks.

Look how cute our little green neighbors were!