InstaFriday #2

It's time for another Iphone photo dump, courtesy of InstaFriday from Life Rearranged and my everpresent phone to catch those little moments. So, without further ado, here's our week in grainy Iphone photos:

The Boy Scouts have been selling ice cream treats after church each week to raise money for their troop. For several weeks, we had been steadfast naysayers until the Nerd finally gave in this past Sunday, allowing the kids to pick whatever they wanted while I visualized my laundry detergent at home and fervently hoped it would erase any damage made by the popsicles.

I was very proud of Davey - although the ice cream cart advertised Spider Man popsicles, they ended up not having any. Instead of having a major meltdown, he very calmly chose another character and seemed pleased with his selection. (and in case anyone is wondering, the SpongeBob and Sonic popsicles taste awful! My kids didn't think so, but I ended up with a taste or too and they were disgusting. )

I managed to catch a few shots of party guests at our "Monkeyin' Around" bash on Saturday.

That's full-on party excitement, folks!

The birthday boy wanted me to take a picture of him and his cookie cake with my "funny phone camma." I obliged.

I have slowly been getting my feet wet in the whole couponing thing - this week I really managed to get some great deals without stressing myself out too much. With coupons and a quick trip to the local bakery outlet, I managed to get all of this for five dollars. Go me!

Surprise! They were serving up 25 cent bowls of ice cream at the splash park on Tuesday. This was a perfect scenario for me - eat the ice cream, get it all over yourself, and then go rinse off in the splash park. I call that a "win-win."

Halloween costumes have emerged from the closet as various little people around here have taken turns being Ironman, Spiderman, a shark, and Thomas the Tank Engine. Apparently the Shark likes himself a little TV time.

Library time is always a fun excursion for me. I take four kids and tell them repeatedly to be quiet and pick out their two books without disturbing the other patrons. The Spud always picks his books out in record speed because that leaves him more time to terrorize the library. Here he is searching for the key in a treasure chest "can you find?" book.

I scored some much needed girl time with my Rachels last night - no it's not a secret club; I just happen to have two close friends named Rachel. :) We hit up Panera Bread where I greatly enjoyed the above meal. The cashier had the nerve to ask me if I would like the pastry packaged up to take home later. I said to her, "Lady, look, I'm pregnant! Just put it on the tray with all the rest of the food!" We fully intended on walking through the mall or visiting the local bookstore after we ate, but conversation led us to stay firmly at that table until closing time. Ah yes. The food was very good, but the fellowship was far greater.

And that's it for this week. Now my phone is ready to capture whatever is in store for us this coming week.

Nine Weeks

So. It's been officially announced now and only the johnny-come-latelys are asking, "Oh are you pregnant? I had no idea?" For me, it's a huge relief to not have to cover up the growing belly with baggy clothes or pretend that I am fine when in reality I feel like puking all over you. :) And, of course, it was even harder to hide the excitement and joy we were feeling!

We were able to use Mothers Day to tell my mom and mother-in-law. We gave them each a big collage picture frame with five photo openings. One contained a picture of Chris and I, three more contained a picture of each darling child, and the last opening simply said "Coming in December 2011."

The Baby: Is currently the size of a grape and is about an inch long. This information is proudly shared by the Drama Queen with whomever she encounters. As far as we know, there's just one in there!

Me: "Morning sickness" hits about lunch time and doesn't let up until the evening. Super strong ginger beer, ginger chews, and sour candy have all been helpful for this. I miss my morning coffee a lot, but have found that some caffeinated teas are okay. I am also super tired and have been trying to sneak little naps in here or there.

The Belly: Is sticking out already. I guess that happens when it's kid #4. The kids kiss it every day and say "good morning, baby." The Beast also likes to lift up my shirt to check if the baby is ready to come out yet. haha

The Siblings: I told the Spud first - it was a little secret that he and I shared for a while. He would point to my belly and whisper, "Baby!" It was and is still so adorable. The Beast is REALLY excited. He loves babies and is fascinated by the fact that there is actually a baby inside me. The facts are what interest the Drama Queen the most - the baby's size, does it have arms and legs yet, etc. She is also fervently praying for a girl. We'll see!

and them there's the facts, folks. The (sort-of) due date is December 11, 2011 - but a dating ultrasound in June will be able to pinpoint it a little better.

happy times!

Monday Mischief

in case anyone was wondering how my Monday went. . .

Proof Positive

that the Drama Queen can be quite the little angel when special occasions call for it.

that the Beast is indeed as studly as his dad.

that no matter how many times he gets in trouble, the Spud can immediately pull out his squishy smile and be redeemed.

that is quite possible for all three to sit peacefully on the same couch together.

that I have an amazing, adorable, and absolutely perfect little family. At least for a day!

Hope you all had as fantastic an Easter as we did!

Not So Easy Peasy

It's not so easy to find time to blog when you are:

*wiping snot every five minutes - major allergies around here!

*still attempting to potty train the Beast

*dressing your boys in matching outfits because you can - and because you know one day they won't let you do it anymore

*shopping for the perfect Easter outfits for the kids. matching of course

*cleaning up a mess to turn around and clean up another mess, only to turn around and discover that the original mess is now on Version Two

*trying to accomplish housework with two not-so-subtle and not-so quiet shadows

*taking advantage of the sunshine that has FINALLY graced us with its presence

*working on Easter projects for the kids and not having the slightest idea what you are doing

*sneaking in a sloppy kiss here and a squishy hug there - because, like the matching outfits, those will not be around forever

*driving Hot Wheels and Thomas trains endlessly around the tracks and actually enjoying it

*listening to yet another knock-knock joke that makes no sense and offering up yet another rendition of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" at the top of your lungs

Yep, it's busy. Crazy busy, fun busy, I wouldn't-want-it-any-other-way busy. (Of course there is always time to play around with photos in Picnik!) ;) Gotta go pick up the girlie from school! Happy Tuesday, all!

Wordless Wednesday - Davey's Smile

a smile that makes my day - every time!

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom...

Summertime. . . and The Livin is Easy

We had the privilege of attending my husband's uncle's wedding this past Saturday. The Nerd himself was out of town on vacation (yeah, we take separate vacations - more about that in a later post. -grin-) I then was in charge in three lovely littles by myself at an outdoor wedding on a very large property. My in-laws were awesome and helped as much as they could, but it was all I could do to sneak a few photos here and there. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Beast: "I am so over this tie. and all the smiling. Can we go now?"
The Drama Queen: "Hmmm...how can I come up with a new way to ask Mom and Dad for a puppy?"

The Spud: "You got to be kidding me, right? I don't see any cheese! What am I supposed to smile about? Now if you had said, 'Say Cookie' or 'Say Mass Destruction', I would have been all over that."

The Spud managed to drink his soda out of the can on his own quite well. Well, if you don't mind several streaks down the uber cute tie and a brown puddle on the porch. (no, it's not beer, people! It's cream soda!)

The Beast paused long enough for a cute shot with the man of the hour . . . and his soda. What can I say? I knew it was going to be a tough gig - allowing the kids to have soda helped me maintain some of my sanity.

Other random facts about the day:
1) please note the Spud's adorable loafers. I found those on sale at Wally World for just $3.
2) the Drama Queen picked out her own dress because it "sorta matched Momma's." (also a great bargain for $6 at Burlington Coat Factory!)
3) the sun and crazy activity had really gotten to me, so naturally I had to stop on the way home and get a Northwest Chocolate Cherry shake with expresso from Burgerville. Have you all noticed they have started printing the nutritional information on your receipt?? My splurge of the day ended up costing me 1100 calories! (guess who didn't eat dinner that night!!)
4) a HUGE thank you to my in-laws, who despite their exhaustion too kindly took the littles off my hands for the night and brought them to church the next morning. ahh sweet no-kid time. It was glorious!

Family

I finally got the family picture wall all set up in the living room. I picked my favorite candid shots of the kiddies for their own portraits in the center, around the word "Family." On the far ends of this picture, the collage frames hold shots of the little rascals at the playground and at the beach. I chose to put the long frame with pictures of all the far-away relatives on the bottom, where the little ones can reach it and point to their Grammy and Pop and Uncle Andy and so on. And see those small bright paintings at the top?

After getting all the photos up, i still felt something was missing. After reading my Bible that morning, I was reminded again of some verses that have really meant a lot to me lately. And now those verses grace our wall as well, as a daily gentle reminder to TRUST HIM and

NEED HIM.

I love having all my pictures up - our living room finally feels like a family room. And that is a great feeling!

Wordless Wednesday

sorry about the lack of posts this past week. I have had a lot on my mind and heart lately. That's why seeing these smiles refreshes my soul and encourages my heart. i am truly blessed.
(see more photo love at 5 Minutes for Mom)

Gotta Love the View

The view from our front deck:

The view from our front door:

The view from our side window:

Is it any wonder that I love Oregon so much? Now if I could just see Mt. Hood from our house, that would be perfect!
Oh wait. I just have to drive for a couple of minutes for that awesome view!

Happy Friday, all!