March 21, 2012

I know! I know! I'm still a little behind on my blogging, BUT this is what I have been working on... (I took half of March off to get things done)
1. Organized my kitchen and super dejunked and I mean SUPER DEJUNKED. Any appliances we did not use... GONE. I realized after junketing that I will never have to buy a pen or a pencil again for my entire life!
2. Organized all the kids clothes that were piling up on Laney's bed... she even started sleeping downstairs. (of course NOT because of the clothes taking over but because Andi is a light sleeper)
3. Redid Asher's room. Took down the bunkbed, touched up the gashes in the walls from flying hotwheels, and shampooed the carpet.
4. Cleaned out my closet. Got rid of clothes my hip will NEVER fit into again.
5. Found out that the attic is way better for storage than under my stairs... so 4 Christmas toes, 2 Halloween totes and 1 tote full of baby boy clothes I just couldn't bring myself to give away... just in case. =)
6. And lastly, I cleaned out my studio getting rid of props that I am so tired of because I either used them way too often, or not at all.
PHEW! That feels good, and I'm not kidding you, my list for cleaning and dejunking is still super long.

March 20, 2012

Easter is coming, and I needed Laney to model a new background in my studio. LOVE LOVE LOVE my studio. Especially when I end up with pics like this of my kiddos... FREE!

March 18, 2012

Been doin' a whole lotta this kinda stuff this winter since we would get snow then it would be gone a few hours later.

March 17, 2012

Andi is 1!!!! She cracks me up! It seems like I was just in the hospital having her yesterday! Okay maybe not yesterday, but last week. She can't walk yet, but she stands. She gives big hugs when you ask her, and she mimics facial expressions. So CUTE!

March 13, 2012

We have had a super mild winter this year. We hardly had any snow. Quite a few rainy days, however, which made for some fun without tons of snow clothes on.

March 10, 2012

Baylee's party was a piece of cake AND the kids had a blast! Our basement can get pitch black during the day if we put the projector screen down. We put up a cool disco ball that Adam gave her for her birthday,set up the computer to Pandora: kidz bops,passed out a few glow stick/necklaces and let 'em go! (they came out to eat pizza and cupcakes)

Baylee's party was a piece of cake AND the kids had a blast! Our basement can get pitch black during the day if we put the projector screen down. We put up a cool disco ball that Adam gave her for her birthday,set up the computer to Pandora: kidz bops,passed out a few glow stick/necklaces and let 'em go!

March 8, 2012

I just can't wrap my head around the fact that this baby:

Is this baby!!! Ahhh! My first born is 7!!!

March 6, 2012

Baylee and I put these invites together for her DANCE party.

March 4, 2012

Since I feel like I am behind my camera all the time taking pics of other people's kids, I get into slumps where I hardly take any pics of my own kid. BUT I finally made some time to get Andi's pics taken while she only had her four cute teeth. When babies get those two front teeth on bottom then the two bigger teeth on top... LOVE!

March 3, 2012

Baylee and I had delivered all 875 boxes of girl scout cookies. The last 125 are ready to get shipped to California. I can't believe she did it. When Hilary, our troop leader, asked us to set a goal we had no idea what to try for. When I asked her how much Daisies usually sell she said 200. I had heard that other girls in our neighborhood had sold 800 to 1000 the year before, so to be on the safe side we set a goal of 500. After 10 days of selling we were already at 500, so we just kept going! It would be snowing or super windy and Baylee would be all about getting out there to sell more cookies. I am so proud of her perseverance. This is the first time I've seen her do something from start to finish. She is usually not this passionate about stuff. Don't get me started on how all of soccer an dthe last two games of t-ball were a total JOKE!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Valentine's Day. I love having that special day to show my kids how much I love them! They are so special to me and I am grateful for their hugs and kisses each day.
We got up and had pink milk and waffles with sprinkles. They loved it!



Asher and Laney didn't get in to the Valentine thing this year, but Baylee did since she's in first grade. She and I had fun making hers.
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January 27, 2012

So I've found my self reading a lot of other people's blogs about the trials they are facing in their lives right now. It seems to always end the same with their testimony of how amazing the atonement is and how Spirit is so strong in their lives to help them through this time. I have found my self realizing two things:

1. I am so super blessed at this time to be able to have my four happy, healthy, and for the most part good and obedient kids playing, sharing, and loving me. An amazing husband who doesn't mind doing dishes or laundry, and still loves to snuggle with me all the time. :) Our home, neighborhood, friends that truly care about us, and our family, even though they are far away that area thinking of us and would be here in a second if we needed them.

And 2. Because I don't have any physical trials I still need to be diligent about my testimony. I had been Young Women's president for the last three, almost four years. It was the most spiritual calling I had ever had. I was on my knees often about the needs of my girls,my counselors, my family (since I was so busy). I felt as though the Lord and I were so close. I was diligently working on my Personal Progress which meant meaningful fasts, scripture study, and lesson preparation. After being releases I think I took too big a breather. I am now in Nursery and I need to remind myself at this calling deserves as much of my attention as the latter. These little ones are so precious in the sight of our Heavenly  Father and he is trusting me with their little growing testimonies.

So I guess I'll end with this,
Although I have not seen someone healed I do know that the Healing power of the Priesthood is real, I know that my Heavenly Father is mindful of me and blesses me with little tender mercies daily. I know the Spirit speaker to my heart of the things that are important in my life and helps me to make decisions, and to choose the right. I know my Savior lives and loves me. I know he gave His life for me and for that I am extremely grateful. I know the Church of Jesus Christ is His church restored to the earth in our day by the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that there are prophets on the earth today that lead and guide us against the trials of our time. I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon are true scripture. I know that if we live righteously, keep the commandments, live up to our covenants we make in the temple our families live together forever with our Father in Heaven. I don't have any miraculous  stories to tell of why or how I know... I just KNOW in my HEART that these things areTRUE.

January 25, 2012

Snow Day!


We've had a super mild winter this year. I just can't believe that we haven't gotten very much snow. Every once in a while it snowed and we threw our snow clothes on to play just to have it melted and gone by the end of the day. My kids LOVE the snow and we wished it had snowed some more. We weren't able to ski or sled this year which was pretty sad. But we did build one snowman and he was an awesome one!

January 18, 2012

C'mon everybody it's cookie time!

This friday kicks off cookie season for my little Daisy scout. I can't believe everything that cookie sales will be teaching her. I got on the website last night to see what all of this mess entails and it's crazy. Cookie sales will prepare for so many things. Social interaction skills, work ethic, goal setting and achieving, keeping records, etc. It's awesome!! Her troop goal with 12 girls is 1200 boxes of cookies. I'm not sure Baylee understands how hard this is going to be because she came home and told me she wants to sell 1000all by herself. I'm totally on board for her to try although I know it will take a lot of time and hard work. So here goes nothin'! 

January 17, 2012

Slumber Party!

Sometimes on the weekends or when there is no school the next day we let the kids have sleepovers in each other's rooms. On this particular night we found them like this. All snuggled up in storage bins. Baylee, however, was super comfy in her queen bed all by herself. LOL!

January 16, 2012

Unfinished Business
I am calling this post unfinished business because my business has been weighing on my mind lately. It's as if my business is taking off without me. When I started my business I thought it would slowly build and I'd still find time to take pics of my kids, keep up my family and photo blogs, update my website as often as needed as well as keep my studio current with what is popular.
BUT instead I am hit with wave after wave of clients and can't seem to find my footing long enough to get caught up. Sometimes it makes me feel good to know I'm liked and needed, but sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on my kids.
Oh what to do? (sigh)
In the meantime I better start booking appointments with myself for my kids.

January 15, 2012

Laney's Birthday!

For Laney's birthday she got a fish tank with the coolest glowing fish inside. She thought it was pretty darn cool! Since she is number three we took it easy on the party deal and just did family stuff. We had McDonald's for dinner so she could go to the play place. And she also started preschool on her birthday. Her very first day ever of preschool! What a fun day!

January 11, 2012

Poor Andi!

The kids got these block toys for Christmas which are AWESOME! But they have these small holes in them that baby's fingers can fit into. Today as I was putting Andi down for a nap I noticed she was holding a block in her hand. I just figured since it wouldn't fit in her mouth I just let her hold it and put her in her bed. Three hours later when she woke up I was amazed that she was still clinching the block. Then as I went to pull it away it wouldn't budge. Totally stuck on her thumb. Which I was super glad was not purple or totally swollen. I had my brother in law Pete cut the block off with pliers. The block wasn't hurting her, but she was super scared of the pliers. Oooops!

January 13, 2012

The Price is Right !

On the 13th of January I was helping out the Elder's Quorum with their quarterly activity which just so happened to be "THE PRICE IS RIGHT." The other three ladies and I that volunteered to help ended up being Barker Beauties. And we had such a BLAST! I was a little hesitant at first, but it ended up being a super fun night. Thanks Zimmers for all the work you did!

January 9, 2012

My Laney
My little Laney turns three this week andI just can't believe it. It's like she just went from one to sixteen over night. She is such a spitfire... Loves to talk back, just to see what will happen or hit someone for no reason to see if they will respond and give her attention.
She loves animals and bracelets/necklaces still. She loves to put them on and take them off again... And so on. Her favorite color is pink. She surprised us one day by blurting out the first and second articles of faith in her adorable two-yr-old accent. She wishes so badly that she could do everything the big kids do and she almost can.
Our Laney is the clumsiest kid you'll ever meet. At about 20 months she broke her collar bone. I had no idea. Baylee said she fell. I held her for a while then when she kept whimpering I chalked it up to nap time and put her to bed. At 5:30pm when she didn't come bounding out of her room I went in and noticed she hadn't moved. An hour or so later I noticed she wouldn't move her left arm. I took her for x-rays and sure enough it was broken. During our latest trip to California she tripped over my mom's dog and hurt her leg. After 4 days of crawling around I took her for x-rays and nothing, but now it's been three weeks and she is still limping around. Poor thing. She cracks us up though with herstumbles and her random run ins with the wall. Of all our kids she has fallen down the stairs the most... BUT I got to hand it to her for being the toughest cookie!
We love our Laney. She always makes us smile!  Love, mom

In my defense...

I have been blogging, just not formally on my blog. Let me explain. After having four kids the only time that is actually mine to do what I wan with is 6am to 7:30am when everyone is still sleeping. As most of you know I am not a morning person, BUT THIS YEAR I AM. I have been getting up at 5:30am to nurse Andi so that I can get to the gym by 6am. My friends and I work out til 7am and then I come home to read scriptures and write in my journal/blog. So these are my posts to date:

January 2nd, 2012

I just cant believe how time flies! It feels like I was just in the hospital having my first baby and now I have four babies. I get teary eye-d often when I think about how quickly they are all growing and changing. I am so grateful that they all still love to be around me and snuggle with me. I miss their tiny hands and feet and when I could carry them and they'd rest their tiny heads on my shoulder.
I was reading someone's blog the other day about when they lost their 18 month old and I just started bawling and realizing how much my children mean to me and how precious this time is with them. I don't want them to remember that I yelled all the time or that I was always saying, "I'm too busy." I want to cherish every moment and if something happens to me I want them to know how much I love them.
So, that said, her goes blogging intention year 2012.

Losing my head! (Beware of super long story)

I'm sure you are all under the assumption that I am going crazy with four by the lack of blog posts... and you would be right! I have had to cut back on the amount of projects I am taking on, appointments I have been booking, and trips to the grocery store. So here is a funny/ not so funny story as of late:

I had to go to Idaho Falls for my freezer meal food at Winco and decided to get all of my other Idaho Falls errands done as well. A feat that would take a normal childless person an hour or so. It took me 7 hours. AHHHH! And I was determined to finish every errand. The kids were troopers. They got popcorn at Target and we played at the play place in the mall since they were good at Old Navy. And they got a treat from the gas station on the way home for being amazingly good for me despite the random stops and probably because of all the threats from me that I would leave them in Idaho Falls if they were not good. I got everything done.

We got home and unloaded the car of all the perishables, then took a break to sit down and well just sit down.On Sunday I got everyone ready for Easter Sunday and couldn't find my Old Navy bag with Andi's dress in it. I looked everywhere. I chalked it up to it's somewhere in our house in my random junk piles that need to either go to DI or get thrown out and forgotten. The whole next week I kept looking. $60 worth of Old Navy newborn cuteness LOST! Called mall security.. not there. Ripped my car apart...not there.

For those of you who know me know that I pray about everything. Especially when I lose things which is usually my keys that I most of the time lose in department store shoe boxes still sitting on the department store shelf. Or when my grandma with Alzheimers put them in a bucket in the back of her coat closet. So usually right after I pray the spirit tells me exactly where my lost item is and this time I was told Old Navy. So I call Old Navy and the lady tells me there is no lost bag there with baby clothes in it. So I was super bummed, and decided to call again at the shift change. Called again and the lady says we found a bag but it has a black coat in it and the coat is not from our store. So I hang up and I am so weirded out at this point that I lost a $60 bag of clothes. That night i couldn't sleep thinking about all that money I wasted and where would it have gone, I retraced my steps in my head and remembered that while I was checking out laney handed me her black coat and I put it in the bag. So what do I do? Third call to Old Navy went something like this:
Me: I am calling about a bag I lost and I think you have it.
ON: What is your name?
Me: Brianne Serrano
ON: Didn't you call yesterday? We have your number here and it has not been turned in since you called yesterday.
Me: Yes, but I think the bag you already have is mine. I lost it 2 weeks ago. And I would like to describe to you the little black jacket that is in it.
ON: Okay let me get my manager(manager gets the bag and gets on the phone)
Me: The jacket is a Faded Glory from Walmart with hearts in the front.
ON: yeah this coat has hearts on the front and its Faded Glory
Me: Size 24 months?
ON: Yup
Me: Thats my bag!
ON: But the items you say you purchased from here are not int he bag.
Me: There are no newborn things int he bag?
ON: No
Me: How about pink Capris size 5t or girls XS.. or anything XS that was on clearance. I would have bought clothes for my 6 year old.
ON: There are a couple things in here that size. There is no receipt in the bag.
Me: I have my receipt. Did I leave the bag in the store?
ON: No it was found in the dressing rooms at SEARS. (As I start to remember that I asked Baylee to carry said bag and the kids ran into the dressing rooms at SEARS as I was eye-ing the infant clearance dresses on our way to the car.)
Me: So you think someone took stuff out of my bag?
ON: No we put some of it back out on the floor.
Me: (IN MY HEAD: WHAT THE?) So then I should read to you whats on my receipt so you can put it back.
ON: Well I can look up your receipt... it says here there are about 5 clearance items that I don't know what they are.
Me: Okay then just refund my entire purchase because I bought alot in threes for each of my girls so they would match and if I only get two back then I don't want them completely.
ON: Okay I'll just refund your purchase and you can come get the little black coat when you come back in.

So moral of the story, carry your own bags, and if you Old Navy finds your stuff they will try and resell it to make more money!

Andi is two weeks old!

From Uploads 2011

From Uploads 2011

~Andi Mae Serrano~ March 17, 2011 7lbs 12 oz

From Mar 3, 2011

From Mar 3, 2011

Laney the bookworm...

Laney is such a bookworm. She is constantly bringing books to anyone available to read to her. When I get her up in the morning she is already sitting on her bed reading books. She has really opened our eyes as parents to the fact that we should be reading more to our kids.

38 week Update

On Wednesday I went in for my weekly check up and I am 3cm dilated. I was a little bummed at first since I am usually a 4 at my 38 week appointments, but then realized I have no bag packed, I couldn't tell you where my camer is or whether or not the battery is charged, I had Baylee's birthday party planned for Saturday the 5th then we recieved an invite to her friends party same day and time, so we need to change ours. If I had this baby tomorrow she would have a super nasty car seat that has been sitting in the garage for a year, no socks, no diapers, and no where to sleep since her bed is not yet put together.
I have to just laugh at the fact that I am such a procrastinator with this baby. I actually at this point could care less if I go to the hospital without my toothbrush. I would much rather focus on Baylee having a "birthday" so we don't have a psychological "mommy doesn't love me anymore" issues down the road. LOL! We are however, getting a little antsy!

From Mar 3, 2011

We still have SNOW

Adam took a week off from work to help me get things ready for this baby and to PLAY a little with these kids who have been cooped up with a prego mommy for a long time! We went sledding at the college and the kids had a blast! They LOVE the SNOW!

From Mar 3, 2011

I'm always amazed at how long my kids will stay outside and play in the snow, and especially Laney. She LOVES being out in the snow with her big brother and sister! But it was all fun and games until someone got a fat lip!

From Mar 3, 2011

Baby Update: 37 weeks

I feel like there isn't much to update everyone about, besides my pregnancy woes like how I wake up every couple hours at night and have to walk off the achiness, my heartburn is a nightmare, my clothes don't fit, etc etc. WAH WAH WAH!
On a happier note: my kids only drive me nutso about twice a week lately, maybe they are giving me a break. We are trying to get Baylee's birthday planned and carried out before baby comes so she doesn't get forgotten. We have a camp director called and ready to serve. Adam is taking a couple days off this week just for fun. Laney keeps me super entertained with all the new words and phrases she is learning. Asher still bounces off the walls... ALL the time. All three love to sit by me and feel the baby kick... which is a lot! Guess I shouldn't be expecting a calm child when I already have three crazy ones.
Tomorrow I will officially be 37 weeks and my guess is I'm probably a 1 or 2. With all three of my kids I haven't been a 4 til 38 weeks. I am back and forth as to whether or not I am ready to have this baby... my to do list is far from being done, but I assure you there are some pretty dumb things on it that are just there so they even get remembered that they are unfinished. (like repainting my baseboards and cleaning the garage - not going to happen while snow is still falling.) On the other hand, I am so excited for my three day hospital/spa getaway, where the nurses will be at my beck and call and the kids will be not be my responsibility, and I will be able to just relax and hold our new addition. Maybe its the anticipation of said "three days" that is making time stand still.

Four weeks left...

I can't believe how time has flown and then slowed so much that each day is torture! Baylee loves to feel the baby move and hopes it will be born on her birthday. Laney doesn't really care, and Asher is pretty sensitive to how mommy is feeling and snuggles with me often. Adam took these for me since it was on my raging list of all the things I need to get done in the next few weeks before baby comes. he did an awesome job and I love them! At the top of the list are things like get a pedicure and clean my room. The way my side of the bed looks right now from not being able to bend over easily is not good, and that's where baby's bed needs to go, so I better get on it.

My thoughts from January...

I apologize ahead of time since I am pretty sure I am writing this just for posterity purposes and everyone else may think its pretty dumb. So like I said before January went by super dang slow, however, there were quite a few things I had time to contemplate while sitting around waiting for this baby. After the holidays we (the kids and I) fell into a sort of go nowhere and do nothing slump, then I started to feel a little guilty that we were just stuck in the house all day. They started to get cranky and I reciprocated the crankiness. One day I said to Baylee, "you are really starting to make me mad" with which she replied, "no, YOU are starting to make ME mad." To remedy the tension in our home we went to lunch at McDonald's one day, swimming the next, the library the next and then by Thursday I sent them to play at friends'. The weird thing is this actually didn't remedy anything. They were even more cranky than before. So I decided to slow down, only this time, spend quality time at home, not just sit around with the t.v. on while mom gets chores done. We have played with play-doh, and read millions of books, many of them multiple times, built trains and race tracks, helped each other clean rooms or empty the dishwasher, and colored at the table. If I step back I realize that it doesn't take much to have quality time. I am so grateful for my three babies! I can't believe how big they are getting. I am a stay-at-home mom and still feel like the time I get to spend with my kids is whooshing by. I used to hate the winter months because of being cooped up, but the last few years I have been grateful that my kids are stuck in the house with me so I can just watch them grow.

I also realized this January, and this makes me a little nervous, that this baby may come so fast I won't have time for my "dear" epidural. As most of you know I am a huge epidural fan, and not just because I am free of the pain, but because I have TIME. Time with no worries, pains, or distractions. Time for me to listen to that tiny baby's heartbeat on the monitor next to my bed. Time to reflect on my pregnancy and how excited I am to meet this new joy that will be mine to hold and love forever. Thank you Mr. Epidural inventor for TIME.

Lastly, I am so grateful for my amazing husband who has put up with me being pregnant for what seems like forever! I have been pregnant for 3 years (36 months) of the 7 years we've been married. And he's been such a trooper. I couldn't raise our kids without him and I am grateful for the work he puts in during the day and then the work he continues to put in once he gets home. I just so enjoy my 3 day stay at the hospital with my new baby and my husband. I just can't wait!