Musings

I wonder...

*do animals get morning sickness? I've never seen them stumbling around yakking up their food, or anxiously trying to find the clover they are craving.  Do they get cravings??

*The shortest gestation period is 13 days, for some kind of opossum.  The longest is almost 2 YEARS!!! Poor African elephants have to be pregnant for a short eternity!

*I can not figure out if I want a boy or girl more.  This is a good problem, no? :)

*I am stumped on girl names.  So any and all suggestions are welcome! The only caveat is that the meaning has to be something nice, good or positive. 

*Baby movement is probably one of the most amazing feelings ever.

*Is it wrong that I want to spend my Christmas money on baby stuff???

*I have never been involved in a food fight.

*My right eye has been twitching for 3 days and is still going strong.

*I am addicted to Pinterest and have SO MANY inspirational pictures pinned.  I can't wait to start implementing some of them in my home.

*Josh gets to take off the week between Christmas and New Years and I'm hoping to rope him into doing some of my Pinterest projects. :-D

*I love the cartoon Arthur. I may or may not be caught watching it all by myself.

*I can drink coffee again!!!!!!!!!!!!

*I need to start using my new camera more.  And I need to find the cord so I can download pics to the computer.

*The kids are starting to mutiny, so I best go referee.

Catch Up

Its been a while since I've posted here.  I blog much more regularly on my other blog.

The Skinny Turtle

It used to be my weight loss blog, but now it's turned into my pregnancy blog. ;-)

In other news, here's a glimpse of what's been going on around here.

*Josh has been Super Dad/Husband and has picked up soooo much of my slack since I've been pregnant and sick. That man deserves a medal, a long vacation and a beer.

*Owen melts my heart.  Every day when we drop Kate off at school he asks me to open his window so he can yell out, "Bye, Love!" to her.

*All 3 kids are trying to figure out what we should name the new baby. Mostly it's names of kids they go to school with.  We have a boy name picked out for sure (Josh and I do, that is) but we're still working on a girl name.

*I am starting to look pregnant, even though I'm only 14 weeks.  I'll have Josh or my sister take a picture and I'll post it soon.

*I have NO IDEA how or when I'm going to finish my Christmas shopping.

*I discovered a new, "healthy-ish" scone recipe and it's super good.  I'll post the recipe soon.

*My brother is getting married next month and I have nothing to wear.  I'm afraid to buy something now in case I totally balloon up in the next 4 weeks.

*My aversion to coffee that came along with this pregnancy is FINALLY starting to abate.  I got an iced coffee from my fave coffee joint today and it was DELICIOUS.

*I miss my friends.  I basically have to do next to nothing in order to stay out of the hospital and off IV fluids.  I got to hang out with Jen last week (??) but haven't seen hardly anyone for SO long. 

*I am so super excited for Jan 19th when I find out what we're having!! Then the shopping will begin! Since it's been so long since I had a baby I got rid of all my baby stuff, so as far as clothes go I get to buy new stuff! :-D

*I also get to get a new stroller, which I am unreasonably excited about! I am addicted to strollers!

*I'm going to try to go all natural this time.  This will most likely be my last baby, and I want to have the natural experience at least once. I had epidurals with all of my other 3.  I've bought a HypnoBabies course to help me prepare and I'm excited!!

*Josh doesn't think I can do it and still had me find out how much epidurals cost and what our portion will be. :-P

*This pregnancy is starting to go by a bit faster.  In the beginning it was d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g but now I'm busy with other things, and I can feel the baby moving so much, that the time is going faster.  Plus, it'll be Christmas, then my Ultrasound, then my brother's wedding, and probably Christian's eye surgery so I have lots of things to look forward to and keep me occupied.

*3 of my sister-in-laws are pregnant too! We're all due within 3 months of each other, too.

*I had a dream that my 4th sister in law (that's YOU, Jen!!) got pregnant too. ;-D

*I love Arthur.  My kids are all sitting quietly, totally enraptured with the episode where DW gets ear tubes.  I asked the kids if we should name OUR baby Dora Winifred and they all yelled, "NO MOM!!" :)

*I'll try to post here more regularly!

Genius Idea

Have you guys heard of Pinterest? It's an amazing site; although it can be QUITE addicting. *ahem*

Anyway, these past few days I really haven't felt well at all, so I've been perusing Pinterest. I think I've pinned probably 15 recipes. At least.  And lots of other things.

One of the things that caught my eye totally made me go, "DOH!", smack my forehead and wonder why I never thought of it myself!!!

Self Serve Snack Stations. 

I made one for the fridge and one for the cupboard.

 

For the fridge I put cheese sticks, baggies of grapes, baggies of sliced apples and tubs of peanut butter in a tupperware and set the whole thing on the bottom shelf where everyone can reach it. For the cupboard I have granola bars, baggies of pretzels, animal crackers and Cheez-Its.

Now when the kids say they are hungry, I can direct them to either of these tubs!  My only concern is that they are going to eat it all up in one day. ;-)  So I'll have to monitor that, but I must say I'm excited to try it out!

Babies!

Wowza, that was a looooong time with no update or post or anything, huh?

Shame on me. ;-)

But I'm back, with some lovely, wonderful news!

I AM HAVING A BABY!!

 

We are so very, very excited and I will keep you all updated here.

There has been SO MUCH that has happened since my last post, but the thought of writing it all down and finding all the pictures is too daunting.  So just know we've been alive and well and we're all ecstatic about the newest member of our family coming to join us in June!

And please excuse me if I go a little (ok, a lot) baby crazy for a while... It's been 4 years and by the time the baby comes it'll be almost 5 since I've held a little newborn. ;-)

To Maarje, from Estonia

I'm sorry.  I really am.

You caught me at a bad time.  You might have noticed that I was trying to keep 4 kids and 2 dogs inside the door as you gave me your schpiel about books.  I understand you may not have understood the "No Soliciting" sign right above the doorbell you rang.

I admire your perseverance, continuing on even when the kids and dogs went crazy.  And how you followed me around after they all got out and I was frantically chasing the dog we're babysitting.  Who runs like a wild animal if she gets out.  And only understands Spanish.

Truly, it was amazing that you could keep a straight face and tell me about your books as I ran like a crazy woman, calling out "Princessa!!! Ven aqui!!" and not even knowing if I was telling the dog to come here, or maybe saying something completely different. All the while trying to tell my kids in English to please go back inside and take Charisma with them.

Maybe it was the heat.  I could see your fair, European skin couldn't take the direct sun.  I could tell you were hot and tired.  Yet you still took the time to show me on the map where Estonia was.

And even though I repeatedly told you I wasn't interested, and was clearly occupied with my menagerie, you did your job flawlessly.  You did not stop telling me about those books!  For even a second!

Thank you for telling me that flamingos are pink because of all the shrimp they eat, and that if they stopped eating them they would turn gray.  I am SO going to use that piece of trivia some day!

But in all seriousness, I'm sorry you got stuck with such a poopy job, walking neighborhoods trying to sell books to harried mothers such as myself who don't have the time or energy you deserve.  I hope your time in America isn't defined by the semi-insane woman you met at the door today.  Or the circus that you unsuspectingly walked into.

So, dear Maarje (from Estonia).  I'm sorry.  I wish I could've bought your books, or even just listened quietly and respectfully to your speech.  Maybe even offered you a glass of cold water.  Unfortunately, my children and my dogs were very uncooperative.

I hope you had better luck with my neighbors.

Estonia.  It's by Russia.

This and That

*My brother is engaged!!!!!!!!! To a very sweet and fun girl who fits perfectly into our family. =)

*My sister and I gave ourselves fake French manicures with press on nails.  And I spent a good 5-10 minutes trying to get my contacts out afterward, because the nails kept scratching my eye. Oops. (I filed them down the next day and all is well now.)

*I put up some wall words at approximately 11:00p.m. with one of my good friends.  We were very tired and silly, and it was a lot of fun.  I love the way it turned out! I'm trying to get a good picture, and I'll share

*I bought Kate some new shoes and she wore them for a whole day before we realized they were both left feet. :-P

*I started making french press coffee and it is delicious, but it uses way more coffee than the regular kind. :-/

*I had milkshake literally explode all over me TWICE in one week... both times at the hand of my sweet but clumsy daughter.

*We have to start patching Christian's eyes, so we bought him a pirate patch hoping it would make it more fun.  It doesn't, and he doesn't like wearing it, but we're working on it.  Hopefully it'll help until we can get the surgery done in January.

*I was helping Owen after he went to the restroom and he said, "Mom, you're my BEST FRIEND."  And then he gave me one of his exaggerated winks and told me I could be in his club.  :-D

*I made 4 loaves of banana bread and 4 dozen scones for a bake sale at church, and I was so happy that they all sold!  I also bought some cinnamon rolls from said bake sale and they are super delicious.

*I have played more hands of Spades in the last month than in my entire life combined.

*I am obsessed with fresh basil.

*Bubble baths + books = happy me.

*This could possibly, maybe be the last month  Josh has to travel weekly out of state for his job!!!!!!

*I'm not holding my breath on that last one, but it's nice to dream. ;-)

Love Story

I don't remember exactly when we met.  It was about 3.5 years ago, or so I guess.

Our attraction was instant and undeniable.  Love at first sight.  We couldn't get enough of each other.  And we still can't.

Some would call our relationship "unhealthy".  To be so completely, utterly, hopelessly devoted... that can't be good, right?  Don't you want to see what else is out there? Why limit yourself so soon? So completely?

But when you know it's right, it's right. Sometimes you really do just know.

Throughout the past 3.5 years we've met many times over.  We've spent lots of quality time together.  Late at night, while watching a good movie or tv show.  During times of stress.  During times of celebration.

A match made in heaven.

 

Is there anything better than chocolate and peanut butter?? I think not.  And that, my friends, is my love story.

**This post brought to you courtesy of insomnia and an insatiable need for chocolate.**

You're welcome.

Weekend at the lake

A few weekends ago the kids and I, along with my sister and her daughter went to a cabin on a lake.  It was SO nice!

Josh was at a youth retreat and instead of sitting at home twiddling my thumbs, I was enjoying this view:

 

Not too shabby, huh!? It was soooo gorgeous when we arrived and I immediately fell in love with the little cabin.  It only has 2 rooms, but plenty of sleeping space for all of us.  It had a fireplace, open floor plan and little swinging chair hanging from the ceiling that was the highlight of the trip. ;-)

The morning after we got there the kids woke up bright and early, so what did we do? Had a rousing game of Hi-Ho Cherry-Oh, of course!! Christian was a little grumpy because his cherries kept rolling off his tree. :-D

 

We worked up an appetite after our game, so we had breakfast at the bar... And it's SO MUCH MORE FUN to eat at a bar than at the table, don't you know!?

Here's my Owen Boy. 

 

Isn't he sweet!  Although, these days more often than not, THIS is what he looks like:

Ha ha ha, this guy cracks me up!! He's totally into the exaggerated wink/head tilt.  The other day he was helping Josh mow the lawn while Liz and I sat on the porch and watched.  We waved "hi" as they walked by and Owen gave us a sly wink. ;-)  Hee hee!!

There was a dock that the kiddos loved to look at. They threw bread to the seagulls while I had minor heart attacks about them being so close to the water, even though they were wearing life jackets.  Later on I went down and looked for myself and the water was only about 2 feet deep for about 5 feet out into the lake, and then it dropped off.  So even if they would've fallen in they could just stand up and the water would come to their waist; or to Kate's knees, LOL!!! 

As you can see it was really foggy/rainy/cold the second day but the kids didn't mind one bit.  They were out looking at the seagulls, running laps around the house and playing tag.  It was great!

We even had a cleaning crew!

 

Christian was very meticulous and washed a whole sink full of dishes by hand.  So sweet. =)

Sunday of that weekend was Father's Day and Josh came up to join us. =) 

All in all it was a lovely weekend and we can't wait to go back!

I Confess

I confess:

*I am very frustrated with the lack of summer weather.  As posted on my FB page today, it is absolutely ridiculous that I'm wearing knee socks, jeans, 2 shirts and a vest while drinking hot chocolate and it's June 29th. RIDICULOUS, I tell you!

*I skipped swim lessons yesterday because it was just too rainy and cold.

*I ate far too many chocolate chip coconut cookies yesterday.

*I have a muscle in my chin that is twitching and it's driving me batty.

*I've been ripping the velcro out of some cloth diapers for my sister (we're replacing with snaps) and I feel like a little old lady, with my glasses on the end of my nose doing finepoint needle work.

*I am so excited for next week, because we get to stay in a cabin at our church property and hang out with good friends for a week!

*I hope it's sunny and warm so we can swim.

*Josh cleaned the carpets, and although the look much better they still are gross. =( Too bad new carpets are so expensive.

*Josh and I stayed up talking and laughing past midnight the other night and we both felt like we were engaged again.

*We are now squared away and know what we'd spend our money on if we win the lottery. :-D

*I have been a super bad blogger friend and haven't been reading/commenting on anyone's blogs.

*I have some friends from Norway coming over to visit next week, and I can't wait!!!! One of them has an adorable baby girl that I can't wait to hold and give squishy kisses to.

*I am doing a liquid fast until dinner today because I ate far, far too much junk yesterday... and the amount of trips I've made to the bathroom is just insane.

*Please, please summer... Come shine on us!!!!

Things I Loved This Weekend

*Doing a pop can drive with the kiddos in our church for a fundraiser

*Chilling with my hubby after said fundraiser. ;-)

*Mastering the art of starting the charcoal grill all by myself and not setting anything on fire.

*Playing Uno with the kids, and Christian winning the game. It was his very first time ever playing. =)

*Strategically handing out Candyland cards so the game will just END already, since it's way past bedtime. ;-)

*Puttering around in the yard with my hubby and kids, and it being warm enough for us all to be in swimsuits.

*Fresh homemade strawberry shortcake

*Watching Monk with Josh and eating Good & Plentys

*Sleeping in. The kids are big enough that they can get up and start a movie so we can lay in bed a while longer. Bliss.

*BBQ chicken salad

*Having a clean house

*Getting in a nice walk with the family

*The way the yard looks after Josh edged, weeded and mowed

*Showering and shaving TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!! :-D

Because of him...

Because of him, I clean all the garbage out of the car every time we get out so it doesn't end up looking like a HazMat zone.

Because of him, I have 3 beautiful children.

Because of him, I have a very well kept yard that welcomes me home every time I drive up.

Because of him, I know unconditional love.

Because of him, I get a head massage every night as we fall asleep.

Because of him, I get to stay home with my kiddos every day.

Because of him, I have help with the laundry, dishes, bedtime, etc...

Because of him, I don't have the 7 year itch and I can't wait for the next 7 years together.

Because of him, I am treated to bubble baths with candles and wine.

Because of him, I get to watch chick flicks, cuddled up next to him.

Because of him, my life is richer and fuller.

Because of him, I am so very lucky and so very, very blessed.

Happy Father's Day, babe.  I love you and you mean the world to me!

June Happenings

June is a busy month around here!

First off, my sister Liz celebrated her birthday!!  I made her breakfast on our special birthday plate.

 

And here is the birthday girl with her daughter, Miss Savannah. Aren't they gorgeous!?

 

I didn't get any pictures of her opening her gifts, but did get one of the dessert. My mom made a supremely delicious lemon cheesecake that was just divine.

 

Happy Birthday, Liz! May this next year be infinitely better than last year was, and my you be filled with joy, love and peace. We love you and I'm so glad we are back in town and can spend all our time together. =)

Next up we had Kate's kindergarten graduation.  Oh my, it was so cute! They performed 6 or 7 songs, complete with sign language.  I videotaped it, but unfortunately my camera is broken or something and the whole thing is blurry. :,-( **sob**  I did get some pics with my cell phone and some with my sister's, so that's better than nothing.

Here she is after the ceremony with Grandma Kris.  She has brain cancer but is doing well right now. We love her to bits and pieces!!

 

My sister-n-law also came. Her name is Ruthanne. My name is Ruth Anne.  We get each other's emails and texts all the time. ;-)

My mom, my sister Sarah, my boys, Kate, Lilly and Savannah

 

Kate and Lilly, Sarah's daughter

 

Can you tell Kate *LOVES* babies!? :-D

Here we are with her.  These are my old glasses (I refuse to wear my new, ugly ones) and I just can't get used to seeing myself with glasses on. :-P  Ugh, blurry cell phone picture. =(

And we were super fortunate that her great-grandparents were in town and they came too!! Yes, my daughter had a full-on entourage at her kindergarten graduation. :-D

 

Kate and her little friend, who whispered back and forth to each other during the whole program. ;-)

 

All lined up with her class

 

I'm sorry for the blurry pictures, but so glad my sisters took some with their cell phones so I have some! I can't believe she is done with kindergarten already.  The year flew by! Next year I will have 2 kiddos in school. :-O

Kate couldn't wait until Father's Day to give Josh the present she made at school.  So we did it early. =)

 

They folded the paper bag to look like a shirt/fishing vest! So clever! And here's the back:

 

 Josh opening his gift:

 

And here is what was inside:

 

A can they decorated with a baggie of goldfish inside and a pencil with a fish on it.  The back of the fish said, "Dad, you're a great catch!"  I must say, I agree wholeheartedly! ;-)

Sweet kiss from dad. AWWWWW!

In other news, we've had a few sunny/warm days and we broke out the sprinkler and our tiny pool  My sister Sarah rigged up this makeshift clothesline to dry the swimsuits. =)

And lastly, just because it's true:

 

:-D  

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Friday Fess Up

If you're reading this Thursday, SURPRISE! ;-)

Otherwise, Happy Friday!

I confess:

*I am having a love affair with Boulder Canyon Rice and Bean chips. If you read my weight-loss blog, you know this.

I've also been enjoying Good & Plenty.

Not by the case.  Yet.

*Josh and I started watching "Monk" and we love it.

*My sister and I got our eyebrows threaded today.  It was an experience. It takes the place of waxing or plucking.  I am super happy with the results and will probably do it again.  It is very funny to watch.  I think it originated in India, and the gal who did ours was Indian.  They hold the thread in their mouth like that, and bob their head up and down to pull out the hairs, while twisting with their fingers.  I want to know how on earth someone came up with it.

*I might paint our windows black.  The actual glass.  Because the sun comes in so bright that my kids get up at 6, when they are CLEARLY not done sleeping.  We have blinds, curtains AND a blanket tacked up, yet no dice.  I'm kidding about painting the windows black.  But we will be getting black-out shades. Probably not as nice as these, because my children would rip those paper tubes to shreds.  I tell ya, they've been beasts lately!

 

*I made my very first tissue paper puff ball and I *love* it! I would show you a picture of the actual one I made, but my cell phone can't capture it's gloriousness.  I am totally making some and using them in Kate's room when I redo it. So easy! So cheap!

*I planted a zinnia today.  Kate brought it home as a seed and it grew into a little baby plant. Today we planted it outside and I'm excited to see what kind of zinnia it is.

 

*I can count on two hands the number of times I"ve flossed this year.  And last.  I know, it's sick and wrong but I just don't ever do it.  My teeth haven't fallen out yet and I don't have gingivitis so all's well that ends well.  Or something.  It's all fun and games til my teeth fall out of my head.

Um, no? Yikes. Please don't burn my teeth out of my skull menacing freaky Jason tooth!

*I just read the book Heaven is For Real.  Oh. My. Goodness.  It is amazing!!! Whether you're a Christian or not, you should read it.  It's a very easy, quick read and it's just amazing.  

 

*The book mentions Akiana, the amazing little girl who painted this picture of Jesus when she was only 8 years old.  When Colton (the boy in the book) saw this picture of Jesus, he said it was the only one that was "right".  All the other depictions of Christ he'd seen were not accurate.  But this one is.  Akiana was raised by an atheist, but began having "visions" of heaven and Jesus and started painting them at age 4.  Goosebumps, anyone!?

*I am a sheet snob.  I love 600+ thread count sheets.  They are muy expensivo, though.  So we have 3 of them that we've used until they got holey.  And we still use them.  Because they are just SO SOFT.  And we don't have $50 to spend on sheets.  But oh, are they ever lovely!

 

*I do not own anything that is monogrammed. But I think it would be fun.  I'm not sure what I would want monogrammed, though. 

 

*I wouldn't mind being here for, oh, a week or so.  I'd also like to bring the kids.  WITH A NANNY.  So they can be along in the fun but I can still get my massage in peace, knowing they are in good hands.  

 

*Christian had his 5 year check up last week.  I forgot to bring his immunization records from the state we moved from last year.  SO  after we'd waited forever for the doc, then saw him for 10 minutes, I had to run home, get the papers, and then we had to wait AGAIN.  Because they weren't sure if he needed any vaccines.  He didn't.  But while we were waiting to find out, I snapped this picture of them all saying "MACARONI AND CHEEEEEEESE!" And yes.  I left them unattended on the table. :-P

 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!