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!

Waking up!

So, it's no coincidence that I've had 4 months of morning sickness/extreme fatigue and 4 months of blog neglect. The past couple weeks, I've begun to wake up from survival mode and remember that it wasn't always like that, and I would eventually feel like myself again. That's common sense right? No. With each pregnancy, even common sense is lost for a while. But the dawn is breaking! Hooray!

Saturday was: A major freak out realizing what exactly happens to a house where only the RAW essentials of housekeeping are done so my limited energy can go to the peoples inside the messy house.

Sundaywas spent: Resting. Enjoying tender mercies from heaven. Hope, even opptimism!

Monday was spent: Gathering organizing supplies, and a day out at the movies with the kids. Taking 3 little kids to the movies during nap time by myself is further proof that I have regained my ambition! And it was even fun! Finally, getting a bed off my porch and delivering it to a friend- without even Jason around to help!

Today I: Went to town with just 3 of my 10 new storage buckets and put away halloween costumes, christmas decor, outgrown baby clothes, too big summer clothes, and random stacks of bedding. I also washed the dried mustard painting off my favorite bed spread from a praticularly artsy 3 year-old about 3 1/2 weeks ago. Yee-haw!

Welcome back world, I'm glad to see you. (But please don't drop in until further notice, as 4 months of housework neglect is one thing, but an audience is mortifying! Seriously, it's too grevious even for a nasty before picture, because I want you all to still be my friends.)

Meanwhile, you can look forward to posts about our Thangsgiving in Orlando, my sister's wedding, Christmas and New Years in Idaho, and in about a week you'll get to hear the OFFICIAL gender of baby #4, the adorable little culprit of all this fatigue, since apparently the last ultrasound was too soon, even though it looked obvious to Jason and I.

Love ya all!

PS: I saw a tutorial for THIS luciously beautiful do-it-yourself headboard, and I would SO be making it if the wall behind my bed wasn't plaster over brick. But what do you think Sochi, wouln't this look lovely behind your bed? Maybe we should tackle it next time I'm in Idaho!