Happy Birthday Daddy!

The 25th is Rich's birthday, and although he doesn't want to celebrate too loudly I know that he won't mind me posting this for all to read. He is an amazing father, an amazing husband, and the best friend that a girl could ever ask to be married to. He constantly provides me with what I need to be the woman that I am today. The kids adore him, and he is more than willing to make a fool out of himself to play the silly games that they love. Happy Birthday babe!

From Brynn: Dear daddy love. You are the bestest daddy in the whole world, and I love you. You are the bestest daddy and you come home from work to push me in the swing. Dear daddy love, I love you. I hope you have a happy birthday, love me.

From Cannon: Hi Daddy. Lookit the ball. Happy Birthday.

Easter Eggs and Bellyaches

We had a great Easter this year as usual. God supplied a beautiful day full of sunshine and warmth. Rich and I invited my parents and the next door neighbor over for a early morning breakfast before church. We shared a meal, got the kids ready, and headed for church. Everyone had the privilege of hearing Rich's brother preach, and he did an amazing job - as usual.
The church put on a massively huge (11,000) egg hunt, and Brynn did well in gathering herself some loot. Cannon plopped himself down and ate a few pieces of candy (wrapper and all) before we could stop him.
We enjoyed an Easter BBQ at my aunt and uncles, and then after a long day, crashed in bed. It was fun, and such a wonderful time. We are so blessed to have the joy of a risen Saviour.

All the cousins posing for the camera

My happy family

The "bunny" and the kids.

6 Week Countdown

6 weeks to go. Sleeping is getting harder, heartburn is hitting hard, and the feelings of panic that surface are more and more real everyday. I am ready in most ways, but I feel like I have so much more that I want to do. Plant some pretty flowers, clean the backyard, get rid of the junk in my garage, get the kids to take a nap when its quiet time, finish my to-do list, see if 3 car seats fit in the back of our trooper (uh-oh), go away on one last vacation with Rich and I..... The list seems daunting and endless. I am super happy that the weather is beautiful, and that spring has arrived so that we can all be outside. On that note, my toes are needing some attention, and since I can't reach them, I think a pedicure is in store...

Little Miss Helpful

Brynn made our bed the other day. A few more years, and some more practice she will be a pro, and I will never have to lift a finger. Rich is already training Cannon to take out the trash and mow the lawns. (So this is why people have kids......)

Easter Eggs

Brynn and I dyed Easter eggs on Thursday. This was her second year of fun, and my second year of stress. I am the mom who hovers, so that I don't have to clean up a counter top full of dye, or wash out massive piles of clothes that have color splatters all over them. I hate it that I hover, but I can't just seem to relax.
Brynn again dyed most of the eggs pink and purple like last year. Obviously she is a fan of the "girly" colors. The ones that cracked and were dyed anyways will be thrown away, but all in all we did a great job. I ended up taking over for her on the 3rd dozen because her attention span couldn't handle it anymore (or maybe I was stressing her out?). I can't wait to make my famous egg white egg salad and eat it for a week!!!

Enjoying the eggs and dye

Could care less about the eggs, but content to play with my old school fisher price barn set.

Singing Sensations!

Ok, so not really singing sensations, but funny none the less. American Idol probably isn't in their future, but I love their little voices, and the reminder to me to "Have Patience".

Stomach Flu

What a day, what a day...
I woke up Wednesday morning with severe abdominal cramps, and waves of nausea that I haven't experienced since month 3 of pregnancy. Figuring that it was the return of hormone induced morning sickness, I just sucked it up and went on with my day. Kids haven't been sick, so I figured that all was well. Dehydrated maybe?
Didn't sleep much wed night, and by early am Thursday I was miserable. We are talking revenge of the stomach flu. Had to run to the bathroom twice before it was even light outside. Bummer for me. Rich left for work, and stumbled out of bed to get the kids some sort of breakfast. I managed to slurp down some cereal with my eyes half closed, and my stomach churning.
I dressed the kids, sent them outside and went for a shower. As I finished my shower, I felt breakfast, and whatever else was left in my system rise. Unfortunately it was the same time as the kids came in to hang out with me in the bathroom. I yelled for both of them to get out as I was leaning over the toilet to barf. Had I not been throwing up (my least favorite thing to do in the world) this scene would have been hilarious.
Me: " OUT OF THE BATHROOM GUYS, MOMMY ISN'T FEELING TOO GOOD....."
Brynn: "Good job mommy, you are making it in the toilet, good job!"
Cannon: "Wha ya doin' Mommy?"
Brynn: " Mommy is throwing up in the potty! Good job Mommy, you are doing great!"
Me: "Please get out of here..."
Cannon: "Trowing up?"
Brynn: "Mommy is doing a great job, she is throwing up in the potty. It's OK mommy, you are doing great."
Me: "please..."

Yeah. Nothing like puking and being encouraged by your 3 year old. Or having your 2 year old with his head in the toilet with you checking out all of the happenings...
Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch in comfy clothes, trying to sleep with two active kids running around the house. So much fun. What a day, what a day...

Bad Mommy, Belly Pics, and Bedtime Fun

Just thought I would combine all the stuff that happened yesterday in one, easy to read blog entry.
Had a long day of errands, doc appt. (baby is doing perfect, head down, lots of hiccups) I made the move to start dinner when I finally got home. Unfortunately I forgot to thaw my meat, let alone put it in the crock pot, so that meal was a bit botched. Luckily we had a few different random leftovers for dinner. The good news: I didn't have to cook. The bad news: I don't think I have ever put a more unhealthy meal in front of my kids. I mean we are talking everything that should be consumed "in moderation" was on their plates. Hot dog, mac and cheese, french fries with cheese...Luckily I happened to have some tomatoes to round out the color on the plate, but come on...
Mmmmmnnn, dinner!

I felt especially pregnant yesterday. Could be the fact that I can't bend over, or reach my toes, or shave my bikini line without some major maneuvering at this point. I took a couple of shots to show the progress. My doc says that I am measuring small, but I sure don't feel like it. (Don't get your hopes up world, this kid will inevitably pop out huge, and everyone will wonder what the heck happened.)

I got a picture of Rich reading to the kids before bed. They love to have books read to them (especially Brynn) and Rich loves the time that he gets to spend with them. I try not to interfere in this area, and honestly, it gives me a break in the evening and some time to finish up my days work. Just think, in 2 years, there will be one more clinging to his every word...wow.

Nighty Night!!!

Its 9pm, and the kids are in their beds - not sleeping - but in their beds. Tonight's bedtime ritual was especially long and pretty funny. It consisted of a running around naked after the shower, cleaning their room, eating a cookie and drinking some milk as a treat for cleaning their room so well, watching the Muppet's on You Tube, a couple of stories, brushing teeth, and a wrestling session with daddy.

This is one of my favorites, and the tune will stay in your head all day...Enjoy!

The kids are always enthralled with the Muppet's...

9 More Weeks

So I am in the single digits for the pregnancy countdown. (Not that this baby will arrive on the due date, but I am sure that it will be sometime around then.) I tried to get Rich to take some pics of the belly for me to post, but it turned out badly, so we will wait until next week for that.
I have the typical fears, the baby is huge, the baby is ugly, the baby will cry all the time, labor will be horrible with a capital 'H', etc. All of these things are out of my hands, so I try not to dwell on them, or focus on the unknown. The one thing that I can actually take part in controlling is picking out some names for this kid. Rich and I have yet to nail down a girl name, and we are not even close to discussing a name if its a boy. I am at a loss for my procrastination on this one. Usually, I have a few good ideas, and then I mull them over for a couple of months, and finally decide in the last couple of weeks or so. This time, I don't even have the desire to open up the books. Poor kid, already experiencing the 3rd child syndrome. Hope that we find something soon, otherwise it might start to keep me up at night, and that is something that I definitely don't need.

Blessed

We recently bought a book that contains 24 date ideas (12 for the men, 12 for the women) and have committed to try them out and have a few regular date nights for the next couple of weeks before the baby comes. Our first date in a long time was Friday night! I was totally looking forward to it.
Rich apologized at the beginning of the date because he knew that it was going to be a tiny expensive, and we have been working hard to save up some money and budget everything well these last couple of months. When we got home that night, we were amazed at the way that God provided a fun night for us, for next to nothing cost. Our dinner turned out to be less than planned, the event for the evening was going to cost around $30, but ended up being free due to a coupon that I just happened to have in my wallet, and the babysitting cost was nothing, since his parents volunteered to do it.
The next night, we had a long awaited night out with some of our friends at another restaurant. Again, we realized that it was going to cost, but were willing to go because (we love our friends) and we had been so disciplined all month with spending. Our evenings plans included stopping by at a childs' birthday party, and then joining our friends for dinner. Well, turns out the birthday party also included dinner (yummy BBQ) that we ate, so when we arrived at the restaurant later, we bought nothing more than milk for the kids, and a small salad to fill the veggie void.
This morning, it was on my mind to buy a gift for a couple who are in our Young Marrieds group who will be moving out of the state soon. I knew exactly what we were going to give them, but was hesitant to spend the full amount. I started a bit of online investigation, and found the item for 50% of the original cost on good 'ol eBay. I went and told Rich, and we both agreed that it had been an awesome money weekend. It just feels like God was blessing us by allowing us to do money costing activities for a lot less than we expected. I am so grateful for a God who meets needs in ways that are never expected and always perfect. Yippee!