Bathcloths and Dishcloths

I have a bunch of dishcloths for sale. They are 2 for $5, or 3 for $7. Buy four or more for only $2 each. Plus shipping. Let me know what you want and I will give you a total then send you to Paypal (info3@garrcreative.com) to pay. Or you can send me a money order.
These crocheted cloths are very durable and are great for use in the kitchen or the bathroom. Much better and longer lasting than regular washcloths and dishcloths. For the bathroom, the cloths I make are a solid color. They all make great gifts for weddings, showers, birthdays, etc. Put them in a gift bag with soaps or kitchen items. I just gave some to my cousin for her wedding shower as part of combined gift with dishtowels and Tupperware. (For Tupperware, contact andy@andymetcalf.net)

Giveaway!

This is my first giveaway. Will there be more? That remains to be seen. I have taken up a new hobby - crocheting dish/washcloths. Many of them are for gifts, but I have lots that I want to sell. So first, the giveaway: I'm sending you to my awesome friend's blog - http://dgoddessblog.blogspot.com/ Please go there, look at the cloths and browse her blog, she is amazing! Follow her instructions for entering the giveaway and at the end of the week, she will pick a winner. The winner will let me know which three wash/dishcloths you want and I will mail them to you.
For those of you who do not win, you can purchase the cloths from me directly if you would like. They are 2 for $5, 3 for $6 or 4 for $8. Plus shipping. I have more colors than those pictured and will add more pictures soon. Let me know what you want and I will give you a total then send you to Paypal (info3@garrcreative.com) to pay. Or you can send me a money order.
These crocheted cloths are very durable and are great for use in the kitchen or the bathroom. Much better and longer lasting than regular washcloths and dishcloths.
Good luck!

Test-drive winner!

This was an exciting week for me. I entered a contest to win a week-long test drive in a brand new Ford Flex. At the end of the Studio 5 show on Wednesday, I heard about the contest and entered once on the very last day. The next day I received a call from one of the producers of the show. It was a complete shock. On Friday, Garr and Alison and I drove to Salt Lake and I made a quick appearance on Studio 5 where I was announced the winner! I get to drive the car around for a week and enjoy all the amenities of a brand new SUV with leather seats - nice! Since Garr had an overnight trip with the kids already planned, he took the Ford. I am so glad we had it! He was going to take his little sedan, but the kids have much more room in the bigger car. Actually, they call it a crossover, not an SUV.

On Tuesday they came to film me and the kids getting into the car and driving around. It's a fun experience. We've taken a bunch of pictures and the photos and filming will be on Studio 5 this Friday.

Alison and Peter news

It's been a couple of busy weeks for us. We all managed to be feeling well enough to pull off Alison's baptism. Alison was so happy. She loved being in water, if only briefly and I loved being able to watch from the font steps and now worry about Michael because Jacob was taking care of him for me. What would I do without my big boys?! When Alison came out of the water, I helped her change her clothes. She was so happy and I was, too. It was the first time I was able to help my newly baptized child change clothes - Garr got to help the boys, of course! It was beautiful and we had over 40 family members join us and there were 12 men in the circle for her confirmation. Wow. Afterwards we had our entire group over for something to eat and it was great to visit. Garr and I are so grateful for our families.

In other news, Peter and his friend have been busily working on their project for the science fair. They timed marbles going along the track you see pictured. They used different sized marbles, but also wanted to know if cold or hot marbles would travel faster. They had a great time and they won a trophy and are going on to the district competition! Very cool.

I'm still working on changing the name for my blog and getting my header to look nice. As of sometime in June, I won't be able to call it Three sons and a daughter anymore because I'll have two girls!! So bear with me for awhile and I hope to be having it look better soon.

This and that

We are recovering from our illnesses. Jacob has managed to remain completely healthy - knock on wood. Alison is doing much better and just needs to get over her cough. I'm happiest about Michael though because the poor baby was so sick was such an awful fever. But it's nice to be on the way back to good health.
While we were sick, Garr and I asked the boys to pitch in and help out when they see something that needs to be done - even when we don't ask. Yesterday Jacob started dusting the blinds, another day he sorted the laundry and did dishes. This morning, while I was still in bed, Peter unloaded then loaded the dishwasher. They both also made dinner by themselves one night. So I am proud of my boys for being so helpful.

I am cleaning my desk today. It's something that needs to be kept up every few days because it is a catch-all area in the house, but I have neglected it. I found a newspaper insert about health and started going through it. One of the articles was about chocolate and of course I stopped to read it! I already knew this, but it said that if you are going to eat chocolate, eat dark. Sorry, but I have better things to do with my time than to eat dark chocolate!!!

I am 27 weeks into my pregnancy now and things are going well. The baby is doing great. I am so glad that she doesn't get sick when I am sick. I went to my OB while I was sick and feeling horrible with my cold, but the baby's heartbeat is strong and she is a good little kicker, so I am pleased. It seems like I wear the same clothes every other day, but I don't really care at this point. With other pregnancies I got so sick of wearing the same clothes over and over again. But this time I want to save my money to buy new clothes when I get back into shape. I am looking forward to my hard core workouts again. At least I didn't gain any weight this last month.

Moms Don't Get Sick Days

It doesn't happen to me very often, but I am sick! I usually only get sick when I am pregnant and so there you go! When I am not pregnant I am a die hard exerciser and I eat pretty healthy. I love salads, fruit, poultry and fish. I never eat red meat. I've never liked it and the thought of eating it makes me sick, so I go for Boca or veggie burgers, ground turkey, and I don't even like steak so that's not a big deal.

The hard thing about being sick is that I am the mom and I am not supposed to get sick. Dads can get sick because they get sick days at work or in Garr's case, he just works around it with his business, but moms don't get sick days. There are still dirty dishes to wash, laundry to clean, fold and put away, shopping and of course the kids don't go away so they still need to be cared for. Then when Mom, Dad and 2 kids are sick, the fun just never ends! Garr and Mike are getting better. Mike is on antibiotics for an ear infection and he is feeling much better but it has taken a week.

Now Alison is sick. She has a fever and I took her to the doctor today. I wouldn't have jumped the gun and taken her in so soon (she started feeling sick yesterday) but she told me her ear was hurting so to me that's an automatic ear infection - might as well get the antibiotics going on her, too. But the doctor said her ears were just fine. He asked her where her ear hurt (good idea, Mom) and she touched her earlobe. She has sensitive ears and doesn't wear earrings very often but of course I didn't think to ask her where her ear hurt. Oh well, so I'll probably end up taking her back to the doctor on Monday if her fever keeps up and then he will tell me that she now has an ear infection. Or maybe she just has what Garr and I have and in a couple of weeks she'll be over it. I'm hoping she feels better sooner than that, though because her baptism is planned for next Saturday and you can't baptize a kid with a fever of 103º!

Even though I am feeling a little better, I still need my rest so I'm off to bed to dream about breathing freely and sleeping through the night without coughing!

Daylight Saving Time

I have come up with a solution to Daylight Saving Time that I think everyone would be happy with! Some people like it, they can enjoy more daylight in the evening and they are probably the kind of people who like to sleep in anyway! Others hate it (like me!) because all it does is throw off their schedule for a few days twice a year and it is especially annoying to help kids adjust to the time change. Arizona and Hawaii don't even observe DST, but maybe we could get them to agree to this solution.
So here is what I propose: set the clocks ahead in the Spring 30 minutes and then just leave it alone! That way, you add just a little bit more daylight in the evening and then in the Fall, the time change from the Spring before will not seem like such a big deal.

So we changed our clocks yesterday and when I got up this morning it was dark. It was really hard to get up since I was used to it being a little bit light when I woke up. The kids drug themselves out of bed and Alison's eyes are bloodshot. It's not that they went to bed really late, it was basically their regular bedtime, but something about the time change just messes with your body and it takes time to feel back to normal. I'm putting more information about DST on my JoBloom blog, if you are interested!

Ultrasound day

Today I went in for my 20 week ultrasound and we confirmed that this baby is a girl! Yippee!! We love boys, but we were really hoping this last kid would be a girl so we are happy. Alison, of course, is completely thrilled to know that she for sure is getting a little sister.

Needless to say, I am going to have to come up with something different for the name of my blog.

It's a girl...?

Why the question mark? Because I am only 17 weeks pregnant but I still had a quick ultrasound in my doctors office and because the baby is still a little small (but normal size for the gestational age) and was breech, we had a hard time getting a good look at the gender. HOWEVER, we got a quick look and didn't see any "boy parts" so we are hopeful that it is a girl. I will have my big 20 week ultrasound on February 19 so we will be able to confirm the results!

Alison is very excited and I am, too. I have already started buying girl clothes and making pink and purple blankets!

So now I guess I will have to change my blog name, I'll have to think about what to call it now!

January 10

Things are going well. I am now in week 15 of my pregnancy and still taking drugs for nausea. (That should end soon.) My energy is definitely returning and it's great to feel much more normal again!

Peter's birthday is this month and we have typically been doing friend parties only every other year. He had friends over last year so we will more than likely skip this year. But we always take the kids out to dinner for their birthday and the entire family tags along. Tonight Peter informed me that he wants Garr to take him to The Olive Garden for his birthday so they can eat some calamari! Who knew a 9 year old would eat fried squid? This is a monumental year for Peter as he will be a decade old (10 years!) and no longer be in the single digits!

Alison will be 8 years old soon and we are preparing for her baptism in March. She is looking forward to it and so are we!

We had a nice break for Christmas but the kids wanted more time off school. Who can blame them? I enjoy having them around and we are looking forward to being off-track at the end of this month. We'll probably be doing some Valentine's Day crafts and things like that to keep ourselves occupied for 3 weeks and 3 days of no school.

Michael has been so cute lately - but he is also a 2 year old terror! He is into everything! But he is talking more and copying what Garr and the kids and I say. It's really cute.

I guess I should say something about Jacob. He is so fun to be around. He and I are reading a lot of the same books right now and it's fun to have someone to talk to about the stories.

Poor Garr has been working so much and ran himself into the ground. He got sick right after Christmas. The thing is that it takes a lot for Garr to get sick, but when he is, it lingers in his body for about 2 weeks until he finally feels better. Thank goodness that is rare.

Well, it is a new year, so maybe in my next blog I will share a few of my resolutions with you.
Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

This year our Christmas card will be online. I already mentioned in the previous post that I am not sending out cards this year. But I wanted to get this up anyway.

Garr and I are busy parents and we love our kids. We can't believe how fast they grow.

Jacob is 12 and was ordained a Deacon this past October. He loves being in Young Men's. He is so fun to be around and is always making us laugh.

Peter is 9. He has been in the school choir this year and enjoys that. We attended his Christmas concert last week and had a blast. He is always positive and helpful - a great kid!

Alison is 7 going on 13. She is a beautiful girl and a joy to be around. Alison is a great artist (she takes after her dad) and very organized. She gets great grades in school and loves helping the other kids.

Michael is 2. Need I say more? He is actually very sweet and funny! He does typical two year-old things which makes me both crazy and happy. He loves cars and trains and his older siblings. He is spoiled with love and we are all happy.

We are looking forward to the birth of our 5th child sometime in June 2009 and know that he/she will bring us as much joy as the rest of our troop.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you. May you find much joy and happiness this Christmas Season as well as in the New Year.

Love, Garr and Jennie Ovard and kids

• Here is a link to a photo of us that was taken in October. http://garrcreative.com/family/ovards-2008-sep.php

Christmas Cards

I was just reading a friends blog and commented on something she wrote so I decided to expound here. She was talking about whether to mail or e-mail Christmas cards. She pretty much said, why bother? That's what blogging is for. In a huge way I agree with that. I mean, there's Facebook and blogging. People read about your life and see pictures all year long, so why do you need to send a Christmas card? I think it's nice to send one in the mail to people that you almost never hear from. But I don't need a card from most of my friends and family because I read their blogs and keep updated on Facebook.

Another thing is that cards can be very time consuming and even costly to mail out. Every year I stress out about getting pictures printed (and if I even HAVE a current picture of my family, it's a miracle), getting envelopes, colored paper to print the letter on and who knows how many stamps! Not to mention what to write about in the Christmas letter. I write and rewrite and wonder what to say and what not to say.

This year I told myself I wasn't doing Christmas letters or neighbor gifts. Not because I am being a Scrooge, but because of my morning sickness. Now with neighbors bringing gifts to us I am feeling a little bit guilty but I just can't stress about it this year. I can only do what I can do.

I know we will receive cards from people that are not on Facebook or that blog, and that is wonderful. I will probably mail a letter back to them and tell them about my blog if they want to see pictures of my family.

For those of you who may disagree with me about this, I totally understand. Christmas cards in the mail are a great tradition. It's fun to get them, but if you want me to read your blog instead, just shoot me an e-mail. It's great to hear from friends anytime of the year, not just Christmas!

Exciting news

So I had this great exciting news that I wanted to tell everyone and then Garr said, "Let's wait awhile." So we did, but we told the kids. They, of course, were so excited that they started telling people, which was fine, but we were still going to wait.

So yes, I am pregnant which a lot of people found out on Facebook. I haven't gotten onto my blogs for a few weeks because I am sicker than a dog. I don't mean to be a wuss, but I really get very sick and if I don't have drugs to help me, then I am in bed or throwing up all day for 8 weeks. Even when I do have drugs, I still have days when I can't hardly move.

So I guess I am going to start every paragraph with the word "so". I wanted to wait awhile longer to tell everyone in the world this news because I wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat, etc. Yesterday was my first appointment and Garr and I did hear the heartbeat and it sounds wonderful! And there is just one baby. :)

So this is going to be the last child and I am really hoping for a girl and so is Alison. I'm getting too old and it's just too many kids, you know? he he.

So this is the last paragraph and if anyone wants to donate to my eating out/craving fund, please send a check to my address.

Now it's November

The only reason it has been so long since I have posted a blog is because the kids are off-track and I am always extra busy during those times. Besides the fact that the kids often want to play on my computer and I have limited time to use it myself!

I'm sitting here thinking about all of the things that are happening in our lives right now and not wanting to write about them yet. There are going to be three major changes happening in the next little while, but I'm openly discussing them at the moment. So, I am sorry for the short and boring blog post, but there will be more info coming very soon. Stay tuned!

Week before Halloween

My kids are off-track right now and the weather could not be better! It has been so nice outside for the longest time. I am glad it is finally cooling down somewhat, though. Fall is my favorite time of year and right now the weather is perfect!

I love Halloween. It's so much fun to send the kids out trick-or-treating. Tonight was the ward trunk-or-treat party and we stuffed ourselves on chili and cheese nachos. Then the trick-or-treating began along with the candy eating! Jacob and Peter went around to all the cars about 5 times each. They are so loaded up with candy now and don't have a problem sharing with Mom and Dad!

The kids had fun creating their own costumes this year. I'll have to take pictures of the kids on Halloween night and put them up. Have a great week before Halloween!!

Jacob's Birthday

Saturday was Jacob's 12th birthday and I can't believe I'm old enough to have a Deacon! He was ordained yesterday and it was wonderful. We had a very fun weekend. Saturday was the last day of flag football. Peter played a double header and his first game was at 8:00 a.m. followed immediately by a 9:00 a.m. game. Although they tried their best, they lost both games. :) He was pretty worn out and spent the next few hours playing Game Cube. Jacob's game was at noon and, with Garr as his coach, they won the game! Both of the boys did great and I will put a picture up soon.
For dinner we went to Red Robin. That's where the kids always like to go for their birthday dinner. Yesterday we had family over to celebrate and visit. It was a busy and fun weekend!

Conference Weekend

What a crazy day! The weather has been so nice for September/October and all of a sudden it's freezing, raining and windy all day today when we have two flag football games and outdoor family photos scheduled. But we're tough! Peter's game was at 8:00 this morning - that's just too early for a Saturday! We were cold and wet, but he played a great game, getting the flag a few times (Yay Pete!) and we had fun cheering him on! Jacob's game was at 11:00. I didn't want to take Mike out into the cold again so I missed the first half. I put Mike down for a nap, Peter came home to be with Mike and I got to go enjoy the second half. Garr was awesome coaching those boys. He was really getting into it and he does a great job recognizing their strengths and putting them to work. Jacob was amazing! The first part of the second half he ran 4o yards for the touchdown!!! That was so fun to watch! Boy were we all glad to get home and warm up after that!

But we were not able to relax and watch Conference like we had hoped because we had family pictures scheduled. Thank goodness we were able to find a place indoors because the rain and wind were relentless! But the pictures were fun and we are just waiting for Garr's awesome photographer brother to let us see the results. So glad everyone in Garr's family could be there. I think we had 24 people!

Our family loves to watch Conference. We treat Conference Saturday like Conference Sunday! Of course on Saturday I get any shopping done that's needed or the kids play with friends during the break, but we are always watching, taking notes, drawing pictures or playing Conference Bingo and eating candy! It was hard not to be able to watch all of it today, but we saw what we could and listened in the car. We are looking forward to the next two sessions.

Garr took Jacob to the Priesthood session for the first time. Kids grow up so fast.

Flag Football

Jacob played flag football last year and he wanted to play again. He talked Peter into playing this year, too. So now we not only have Jacob's games twice a week and practice once a week, but now Peter has games twice a week and practice once a week. To top it off, Garr is Jacob's coach! Wow, what a great dad! Garr doesn't even watch football! But he played in high school, and more importantly, he wanted to be there for Jacob. So it's fun and crazy. Garr and I can't both be at all the games and practices, but between the two of us, the boys will never be alone. There is a girl on Jacob's team this year and when Alison found out about that, she decided she want's to play flag football next year! She also likes to wear Jacob's jersey from last year to the games.

No, no, no, no, no

What a smart little boy that Mikey is! He learned how to say "no". But he doesn't say it like most toddlers. he does not shout, "NO!", rather, he calmly says, "No, no, no,no, no". It's so cute, how can I be upset when he says it? However, when I am forcefully (picking him up and moving him) making him do something he doesn't want to do. He won't calmly say, "No, no, no,no, no", he just screams.

Chores and pets

Well, it's Saturday and we are doing chores. We tend to get distracted with chores around here. Jake and Pete like to listen to music on their iPods and Alison has a stereo in her room that she uses to play her favorite CD. Mike is walking around chattering and I am trying to keep focused on what I am doing while redirecting the kids every few minutes. Speaking of Mike chattering, he is starting to pick up more words here and there, but fortunately hasn't quite picked up on the word "no" yet. I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

Alison's family chore today was to clean the bathroom - a first for her. I showed her how to clean everything and she was really good about it. In fact, she cleaned the mirror to perfection! She also has been keeping her room clean for about a week because she wants a hamster. She has been begging for a puppy for months. At first I just kept telling her, "No pets. No dogs, no cats, no fish, no pets!" She did her share of crying and I think Garr finally softened up and said that maybe when the yard is fenced in we can get a puppy. Everyday for the past several weeks she has been asking when she is getting her puppy and it's about to drive me bonkers! Finally, Garr and I decided to let her have a hamster because a hamster is better than a puppy! Maybe it will satisfy her need to a pet. Although I am not sure what to do about her need for a sister! Every time there is a baby sale advertised in the paper, I ask Garr if we can go get a baby girl. To which he responds with a smile.

Guess it's time for me to get back to my chores so I can set an example to the kids!