I'm done.

WHAT IS IT WITH BOYS AND POTTY TALK? I swear to you, every time we sit down for a meal, it always ends up in conversations about bodily excrement. I'm SOOOO tired of it and it SOOO ruins my appetite.

Remember when you got your mouth washed out with soap when you were a kid? My mom reminded me of the time when I was 5 or 6 when she fed me some bar soap because my mouth was "dirty" and needed to be washed. I completely remember the incident and defiantly pretended that I liked the taste of soap. I mean, I didn't want her to win.

So I decided to implement the strategy at our house.

A few nights ago at dinner when the tides in the conversation turned where they shouldn't, I told the boys that the next kid who used bathroom words would get a mouthful of soap. Destroy stepped up to the plate to challenge me with one simple word. "Poo" he said, looking me square in the face. You can figure out where he ended up. With assistance from Daddy (strong arms, no large belly in the way), I squirted some foaming hand soap into his mouth. He immediately started freaking out, spitting, scratching and scraping at his tongue to get that icky taste out. Now, I've never tasted foaming hand soap, but by the looks of it, I'm thinking it doesn't taste very good. Must be worse than bar soap.

He continued to spit and drool and claw at his tongue until, alas.

He puked.

Saw that one coming.

Now fast forward to dinner the next night. Where did the conversation turn?

Not hard to guess.

Do they ever learn?

Snack Free!

The last few sundays we haven't taken snacks to chruch for the kids. It started one sunday when I forgot them, and they did just fine. So we haven't taken them for a few weeks. It's so exciting, I know. Just think, in a few months they'll be begging for Baby D's cheerios. How fun.

On another church note: I got released from one of my three callings. I'm no longer 1st counselor in the primary. It's nice not to have so much responsibility, and the new presidency is awesome. Now, just two more callings to shake before this baby comes :) We'll see if that happens.

Our Valentine's TRIP

Are you jealous yet?

My mom is the best. Have I ever mentioned that? She's out here visiting and gladly offered to watch the boys for a couple of days while Aaron and I took off for a little valentine's excursion.

So we went 2 hours south to Louisville. But if you're from around here it's pronounced Loo-voule (just rhyme that last part with bowl). We left on thursday and got back on saturday.

And of course I forgot my camera.

On friday we slept in. That's right, no little alarm clocks running in at 7 am, we got to sleep until, well, I don't really remember. I just know that we got up when we felt like it. We went to a breakfast buffet and then we went to the range. That's right folks, the GUN range! If we had remembered our camera, right here would be posted a picture of me, pregnant, in a bright pink maternity sweater, aiming Aaron's new AR15 (a beefy looking big black gun that the army uses) at an old destroyed bowling pin propped on top of a mutilated mini-fridge. We had so much fun, and even Baby D was jumping with excitement. Oh, wait, maybe that was from the shooting. Yes, that must have been it. We took four guns, including the AR15 which Aaron built himself and we shot at targets and whatever else we could find out there. I also shot the pistol just to refresh myself in case we ever have an intruder. I just hope we don't because I'm a horrible shot. But, at least I'll scare him off :)

On Saturday we went to the temple! Can you think of a better way to spent a day with your sweetheart than in the C room? We were able to do a session and then we met up with the youth from our ward who were on a temple trip and helped out with the baptisms. It was a great day.

We came home to two happy little boys hanging with Nana. They had so much fun with her. She took them to IHOP and bought them new legos. And that's all they've been doing for the last two days. They love legos.

Jinxed

That's what we are.

Just the other day Aaron and I were commenting on how lucky we have been this winter to have been so healthy. We've only had a handful of colds since last summer between the four of us and NO ONE has gotten the flu. Is it the intense hand-washing sessions we torture our kids with day after day? Is it the better job the flu-shot makers did with creating the flu shot this year? Who knows, but whatever it is, I'm glad for it.

Of course, the day after our conversation, the kids wake up with coughs and runny noses. And then Aaron got it, and now I have it. Lucky for me, getting a cold while pregnant automatically extends the cold by a week.

Advice for my new brother

Dear Baby Brother,

This is your big brother Search. When you finally arrive I will surely take you under my wing and teach you and protect you and play with you. But, I figured I'd get started ahead of time by making a list of tips and other important things that you need to know to make the most of your baby/toddler/little boy career. So here it is.

1. No matter what Pampered Chef says, their stonewear CAN break. You just have to shove it off the counter onto the tile floor.

2. It's easy to rip blinds down out of their brackets by simply jumping off the window sill with the blinds cord around your neck.

3. Rotary cutter rulers aren't good for hitting your bother(s) because they break in the process. They also cost $20 to replace (which will be taken from your allowance).

4. Despite time-outs, threats and yelling from mom and dad, it is possible to flood the bathroom EVERY time you take a bath and cause the molding to separate from the walls and caulking.

5. Ball point pen does not come off of white leather couches and chairs, no matter what you try (or your mom tries).

6. Orange crayon doesn't come out of carpet either.

7. There's nothing a barstool can't help you reach.

8. Flour is fun to play in and makes a monumental mess in the pantry and all over the floor.

9. Hiding Mom's cell phone isn't a good idea if you want her to be happy.

10. Brushing your teeth requires toothpaste. And lots of it. And Mom likes it when you "clean" the counters and mirrors with it also.

11. Redecorating always starts with tearing down loose wallpaper. In any room you can find it. Mom keeps saying that she needs to switch my name, Search, with Destroy on the blog, but I have no idea why. Then she says it would just be too confusing for everyone so she doesn't.

12. It's easy to help air circulate in the house. All you have to do is rip holes in the window screens. The holes are also great for shoving your super-heros down to the ground on the first level.

13. It is possible to empty entire shampoo bottles in one bath session. Numerous bottles, numerous bath sessions. I don't know why Dad doesn't just put it up out of reach.

14. Drawing on walls with orange and red crayon and pink pen helps to spice up the life of the home decor (especially when the wallpaper is as ugly as ours).

15. Drawing on the computer screen and speakers helps to remind mom and dad that they should be playing with you and not wasting time blogging and checking game scores.

16. Destroying Mom's bed right after she makes it really gets her going.

17. The filling inside a Pull-Up makes a huge mess if you repeatedly bang it against your bed. But, cleaning it off your bed, dresser, bookshelf, floor and toys isn't very fun.

18. Ripping clothes off of hangers in Mom and Dad's closet will most definitely land you in time out.

19. When Mom strips her bed of the matress pad and sheets (because you just peed on them), the vinyl matress bag is fun to rip big holes in.

20. Dumping large amounts of hand soap on the carpet makes a pretty good mess. And even after it's "cleaned up", it still attracts lots of dirt.

Here are just a few to start with. I'm sure I'll be able to add more in the next few months, so stay posted. You might be wondering how it is that Mom hasn't booted me out to the nearest adoption agency. Well, here are my tricks. You just have to be outrageously cute and tell her that you love her and that she's "the best mom in the whole world" without being prompted. Then you'll win her over and you'll be allowed to stay. See you soon!

Love,

Search

Man Post

You all may think you have the best husband in the world, but you're wrong. Because I do. Looking through my past posts, I realize how much play the kids get and how little my hubby gets. Well, here's a post to help equalize the situation.

REASONS I LOVE AARON:

The other day I went grocery shopping in single digit weather (it's the only thing grocery shopping in nice weather). I drove up to find him outside with the kids building them "polar bear caves". Not one but two caves, and for not one, but two hours he was outside with them. In the freezing cold. HE LOVES HIS BOYS and will do anything for them.

HE IS ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP OUT. In November our furnace broke. Luckily I was out of town for Thanksgiving, and Aaron was gone working a lot so he didn't have to be in the freezing house too much. But instead of hiring someone to fix it, he fixed it himself. And he doesn't know anything about fixing heaters. It saved about $300.

A couple of weeks ago I bought paint for three rooms in our house and I was all ready to do it myself. He immediately intervened telling me that the paint wasn't good for me or the baby and did all three rooms by himself. Primer and paint, no small feat!

Last week one of the belts in his car broke. Once again, instead of taking it in, he thought he'd give it a whirl and try to fix it himself. Here's me thinking, "you and your soft doctor hands are going to fix your car?" So he bought a new belt for $12 and a one day on-line subscription to Mazda's car manual... and he fixed it himself. You know, it's just like cooking, just follow that recipe, right? Ha! He doesn't know much about cars, but my grease monkey is slowly becoming the resident handy man. Him and his soft doctor hands.

HE'S SO CUTE. Even his kids want to look just like him. (Destroy is his clone).

HE'S A KID AT HEART! I think the thing he misses most about So Cal is Disneyland.

See? The only different is the gun (now he has REAL guns).

HE'S AMBITIOUS AND DEDICATED. It's one of the things that attracted me to him so much when we first met. I didn't really care what he wanted to be, I was just really impressed that he was so driven in his goals. Not only is he like this with work/school/training, but in other aspects of his life also. You know, like mastering Guitar Hero and Mario Kart. Those important things in life.

He MISSES SLEEP for hours on end just so that he doesn't miss anything fun that the boys and I are doing. Like going trunk-or-treating after you've been awake for 36 hours.

HE LIKES TO COOK. Especially breakfast and anything on the grill. And not only does he like it, he's dang good at it! Aaron can make some mean scrambled eggs and he's got some scrumptious grilled dishes under his sleeve. Come visit us in the great state of Indiana and he'll whip something up for ya!

HE'S AN EXCELLENT TEACHER and he finds lots of moments to take the opportunity. Not only does he teach the kids, but me as well. I'm sure I've said it before, but he has a large reservoir of strange facts in his head. It never ceases to surprise me. The primary kids love it when he subs for their classes.

HE LOVES HIS FAMILY (meaning us). He always puts us first. He rarely goes to anything social unless we can come too. He's very considerate and caring of us and our needs.

HE LOVES TO PLAY WITH HIS BOYS. From building train tracks, to legos, to reading, to playing board games, to sledding and swimming, there's nothing that he won't do with them. And they love it!

HE TELLS ME I'M BEAUTIFUL. Even when I know I'm not, or when I look like a cow. Like here with Destroy,Here with Search,
Or here with Dodge.

He even tells me I'm beautiful after I've birthed a child and am anything but.HE LOVES BABIES. I think he's more excited that I am for baby Dodge to make his appearance. He's always enjoyed holding babies and isn't ashamed to be animated and goofy to make them smile. He was always better at soothing the boys when they were tiny than I was.

HE LOVES ME.

AND I LOVE HIM! I'm so grateful to have him in my life.

30 weeks

For those of you asking for pics, here's baby bump at 30 weeks. I think we're in for another overly-active, crazy little man because this kid doesn't stop moving! He's woken me up at night a few times and stretches and rolls around like he's running out of room. Little does he know that he's still growing and he's not gettin' out any time soon!

We've set a date to get induced on March 31st because Aaron has a vacation week. If we wait, baby Dodge would be coming during a super intense rotation (the pediatric ICU or PICU). So, we picked that week to bring this little guy into the world! I wouldn't be surprised though if I went into labor before hand though (which I'd rather) because Search and Destroy were both a week early and this kid is measuring big. So, we'll see. Plus it's numero 3. That counts for something, right (Julia, you don't have to answer that:).

No names picked out. Maybe he'll just be Baby Madsen, or Dodge (not really). We came up with a few names that we both agreed on, but none that stood out. And, honestly, I can't even remember what those were. We already had a hard time naming Search, so baby Dodge is even harder! Why is that? We have a list full of girl names that we love, but boy names are hard. It's the same with everyone I talk to. I tend to like really nerdy names which my dear husband isn't too keen on. Bummer. He says Dexter is out of the question. But, seriously, isn't Dex the cutest name?

My pregnancies have become increasingly harder. I don't get morning sickness in the first trimester, just tired. The second trimester is great, as it is for almost everyone, and of course the third is uncomfortable. Varicose veins make my pregnancies just a treat... especially since I get them in an especially uncomfortable area, if you catch my drift. I didn't have any varicose veins with Destroy, they didn't appear until 7 months with Search, but with this one, they were here to keep me company around 3 months. I can't wait to give them a one way ticket home (well, round trip if we decide on number 4). But, I feel very lucky that I'm able to carry children full term and that my deliveries are easy!