The Question: Are You Having Any More Children?

It's been on my mind, and obviously Ryan's mind too. Ryan and I were on our monthly date today, and he said he wanted me to have another baby, preferably a girl - but he'd be okay with a boy too. We've had this discussion many times before. He tells me he wants another sibling, and I remind him of how bad my pregnancy was and it's hard for mommy to have kids. If you do not know, I'll fill you in on how my pregnancies have been in the past (skip this if you already know)...then I'll tell you what Ryan said that made my heart melt.

I start off pretty good until week 6-8, then this is how it goes - One day I am just fine, and literally the next morning I wake up throwing up. I then keep crackers by my bed to eat before I get out of bed, then I throw up. I drink juice, I throw up. I eat dry toast, I throw up. I eat fruit, I throw up. I drink water, I throw up. Because I can't drink water, I end up in the hospital--3 times with my last pregnancy. So my doctor decides to put a PICC line in me (an IV they put in through the crease in my elbow and the tube goes up my arm across my chest down right above my heart...NOT FUN). I have to go to the doctor once a week to get it checked/cleaned, (ouch!). Ben was going to school and working at the time, and he was my nurse. He would wake up at 3-4 a.m. to start my IV so it would be finished before he left for work. Then my mom/his mom would start another IV at night while Ben was in school. You're probably wondering, why couldn't you just do it yourself? I did not eat...anything for 5 months. No joke. Just fluids and multivitamins and Zofran (the anti-nausea meds for Cancer Patients). I could not even suck on a mint without throwing it up. I was out of it! I lied on the couch literally wishing (sometimes) that I would just die, because death would feel better than this. But then I remembered I had a little boy who needed me. Ryan was only 3, but he learned how to get his own breakfast and lunch. It made me cry, every day. I was so grateful to ward members who came and took Ryan for the day and let him play, and fed him meals. They also brought in meals for Ben and Ryan every night (seriously, every night for months!) I could not have done it without them!! My mom and Ben's mom both worked, and could only come at night (and I was so happy they still came out- they both live in Tooele-not super close).

I remember the most relief I had was at night. I would lay in bed, and if I did not move (or Ben did not move), I would not throw up, and I could just sleep. I loved night time, even if my stomach did hurt...it felt good to not throw up. Needless to say I lost weight, about 15 lbs. Not exactly safe when you're pregnant.

Around Month 5 was when I started feeling better. I could eat canned peaches and keep them down, yay! I had my picc line removed in month 5, and then I felt great...and gained a TON of weight towards the end because I ate everything I could see.

What I went through was called: Hyperemesis gravidarum. And I hope none of you have ever, or will ever experience it! Thankfully my deliveries were always pretty easy - 10 mins of pushing and they were out!

(side note: I know I'm forgetting some things, I've tried to block this time in my life. And please don't think I'm trying to be a drama queen, I'm just trying to explain what it was like)

This is why I've struggled with the question, Are you having any more children?
Yes, I would like to have more. Have you seen our boys? They are adorable, and so sweet! It's hard to not have another one. But I also have to think of what it would do to my kids if I were pregnant again. *Heart Melting Part* This is where Ryan chimed in saying: "but mom, I could watch Ethan for you. I'm big. I could make him breakfast and lunch, and help him get dressed." Yup, I cried today when he told me this. It makes me sad that my body can't do what most bodies can (well, female bodies anyway).

This is what I say to myself now: I have two very handsome boys who I love dearly. Some people out there can't even have one child, and I've had TWO! I'm so lucky!! Just think, vacations will be cheaper with two kids, and we will be able to put our kids through college. It's hard to do that when you have a lot of kids. I'm also going to school (slowly) and I would not be able to keep going with a newborn.

I love my husband, and I have two wonderful children--I don't have much I can complain about. It only makes me sad that other people don't understand why I'm not having more. One things for sure, I'm so grateful for modern medicine, or I would not be here watching my boys grow up!

So the short answer is: No, I'm not having any more children.

Yup, That's a Sheep & a Sleepover!

Our good friends/old next door neighbors came home from their mission in Cambodia last week. We stopped by to see them, and give them lots of hugs. We missed them! We were lucky enough to hear them speak in our old ward last Sunday.

Our nieces, Raygan & Malin had their first sleepover at our house the other night. We had a great time with them here. We played, made treats, watched a movie, ate cookies for breakfast, and I got to play with girl hair, weird! Thanks Rob & Kandis for letting them sleepover!

The little kids all wanted to snuggle with Ben while watching Despicable Me.

Mali loves Uncle Ben!

I was trying to get some stuff done, and Ethan was following me around crying (sad huh?), so Ryan carried him to the living room and got him to go to sleep. Ryan is such a good big brother. They have their fights, but for the most part, they are the cutest brothers ever!

We went to Grandma's for dinner on Sunday for Jaxon's birthday. Happy Birthday Jaxon!

Yup, that's a sheep.
I saw it from slightly far away and I thought, wow, that's a really large hairy dog! Nope, it's a sheep, going to Kohl's.

We were on a double date with our good friends Ash & Audrey, and Ben would not stop so I could take a picture and blog about it. So Audrey was a sport and walked over to it with me (she even pet it!!) after Ben parked the car. Thanks Audrey!

Love to all!
p.s. -
Results for "The Vote" will be coming shortly.
Thanks for all of your input, and I really like the two honest people who voted for "I don't give a hoot". Nice.

The Vote

I know that no one cares about my house as much as I do, but please humor me with a vote on which photo is best. I have an idea of what I like, but I want your input.
Vote either by leaving a comment or by the voting poll on the side of the blog. Thanks friends, you're super cool!!

Arrangement A

Arrangement B

Arrangement C

I Need Help (haha, hold the jokes)

Ethan had his cute little friend over to play. They wanted to watch Toy Story. It was the cutest thing ever to watch them sit there!

Tuesday Ben took the day off so we could go do something fun as a family (go to a children museum or something), but Ryan woke up throwing up. Nice. So with kids, you go to plan B: Go to the store to pick up new toys to keep them occupied during the day we were supposed to be out and about.

Here is Ryan with his new Lego set, perking up with his soda crackers and sprite. (with our stinky, ugly garbage can in the background...Yum!)

Today I made Ethan run errands with me. His favorite (I wish). Thank goodness he got to watch Cars in the car and play with his Light Saber. (poor guy, he looks super tired)

Here is where the help comes in.
First, I purchased some super cute items for cheap at Ross today. Who knew they had such cute decorations! Anyway, my Mantel - This looks a little funny to me, but I can't figure out how to arrange it so it does not look funny. If it looks okay, let me know... if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!

Just more super cute Ross stuff for the bathroom.

These are actually from Target-Black and Yellow is super adorable. If you know me, you know I love all colors! So I have a mix of them in my kitchen. I loved the yellow with the black. These will be used soon though and will not look this cute for long...too bad huh?

I Have a Name Ya Skank

Ben and I were doing the dishes after dinner tonight, and I glanced over at the mail. This is how our conversation went:

Kelly: Oh, I'm glad they sent this to me again. I was going to fill it out, but somebody threw the return envelope in the garbage.

Ben: I have a name ya skank!


p.s. For those of you who don't know us Clegg's very well - We are big teasers. He said this with a joking tone and we both laughed. I know Ben doesn't really think I'm a skank...is that even how you spell it?? And I don't really call him just somebody on a regular basis.

The Year 2000

Blast from the Past:
The Year 2000 - I graduated from high school, then 2 weeks later I left to be a nanny in New York. I thought I'd amuse you all with photos. Just skip this post if you're not into non-recent pictures.

Niagara Falls with our ward's single adults.

Outside of the Sacred Grove

Sacred Grove again.

On top of the World Trade Center.
Don't mind my belly shirt, obviously I did not know how to buy clothes my own size.

Rockefeller Center.
Do you remember when Doc Martens were cool? I wonder why...look how heavy they look!

The house I lived in. I drove around that Explorer...oh man, brings back memories. Crazy!


I hope Ben does not kill me for this, but I figured why not throw in a blast from the past of him too. Although, I think this is 1998.
Do you see why I feel in love with him in high school?
So handsome!

Socks & Sweaters

I love my little helper Ryan. Or I should rephrase that - I love my big helper Ryan.
He is growing up so fast. I just want time to slow down. He is such a good helper, and a great big brother. He is always teaching his little brother how things work in the world. I love it! He got straight "4's" on his report card, and we are so proud! (grades go from 1-4, 4 being the best).
His favorite after school snack is homemade frosting and graham crackers. This time he wanted to make the frosting all by himself, and I let him. I showed him how the measuring cups/spoons worked and he made it all by himself. He loves to help me in the kitchen!

Ethan has been having asthma issues for about a month now, coughing, weezing, etc. This last Monday night it got pretty bad and he could not say a full sentence without getting winded and hacking. So we took him to instacare. He is such a good boy! We were there for 3 hours and he was so good the whole time. Here he is with the nebulizer. He is now on steroids to help him get better. Poor guy!

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is go to my sock drawer (because you all know how much I love socks) and put on a new pair of socks. Here is Ethan thinking he needed to be just like mom.

I can't wait for Spring! But here are two things I am going to miss during the hot months ahead:

Socks & Sweaters