News :)

Just to add to the chaos that is our life, we get to add the expectation of a new arrival to our family.  We're quite thrilled!  Baby #4 is due mid-January.  We went for an ultrasound a couple weeks ago and thankfully saw a little heart beat away.  Beating quite rapidly, too, which generally means a girl.  We'll see what sort of little one God gives us, we'll be thrilled with any sort of baby we get, while praying for a healthy one.

Springtime sunshine

Bright sunshine, blue skies.

Walking with friends.

Stopping to climb trees, roll down the hill in the spring grass.
(How would my kids survive without friends?  who would teach them how to climb trees?)

Sharing snacks and hugs as we say goodbye.

Kids napping after the exertion.

Pretty much the perfect way to spend a day.

yogurt cheese, anyone?

This is a bit of a convoluted story.  Sorry.  :)

I wanted to make sugar cookies.  Hubby's really only likes sugar cookies if they are frosted and he really likes cream cheese frosting the best.  I had no cream cheese.  I had just seen a recipe for making yogurt cheese that turns out the consistency of cream cheese, yet with the benefits of the probiotics.  So, I began.  I was sold.

You start with regular, plain yogurt.  This is the tutorial I used. And here is the final result.

So, instead of taking 20 minutes to run to the store for a brick of cream cheese, I waited for 3 hours while the whey dripped out of my yogurt to make yogurt cheese.......so that I could make frosting.  Yes, slightly backwards thinking, I admit.

You know what, though?  I couldn't even tell that the frosting for my deliciously sugary sugar cookies was made with yogurt.  (Hubby said he could, but he came back for more cookies, so it must not have been too bad.)  And, we all got some healthy stuff in our gut for my venture.  Too fun!

Now, to use this whey that I have sitting here, begging for some grains to sprout.......

And this is what I'm going to make for Bible study in the morning to use up the rest of that yummy yogurt cheese.  Goodness, I love fruit.

On the mend

The lovely flu is what it was.  Each of the big girls had fevers off an on for 4-5 days.  Not Fun!  Fortunately, the youngest had it for a day and moved right on.  The plus side to all of this?  We got lots of snuggles!  One great thing about breastfeeding a toddler is that you don't have to worry about them so much when they are sick.  Since E still nurses, the bulk of the day of fever was spent curled up on me nursing off and on when she wanted.  It is so very cozy and so very reassuring to feel like I can do something tangible when she is sick. Poor thing!

We are still recovering.  Amazing how much it takes out of you. 

We have done a couple fun projects around here that I will be showing ASAP!

We've been HIT!

AHH!  The bug has attacked!  It is official.  When getting kids down for nap today, two of the three (one home from school because of puking yesterday) had fevers.  The other is literally dripping with snot.  Pretty picture, no?  E had the fever two days ago, but seemed like she felt good most of the day, just extra snuggly and asking to nurse a LOT.  But it was ok.  She was over it in a day.  Hopefully that will be the case with the other two now. 

I have several projects that I'm aching to share with you all.  That will have to wait.  Until we're all done dripping snot. 

peace.  out.

MIA?

so, did anyone miss me?  :)  Life has happened, I'm afraid.  Just life, nothing exciting.

Let's see.  Baby E turned 2.  She's still a tiny little pipsqueak at about 22.5 pounds.   Much smaller than either of the other girls.  She's chattering and we're attempting to decipher.  She thinks she's pretty big stuff, though, and does her best to keep up with her sisters.

K thinks that she is ready to start Kindergarten.  Mommy is SO not ready, but that is another story for another day.  She's still a bit of a space-case, but very bright and sweet. 

First grade is going wonderfully for B.  She is a reading champ and soaks in just about every single bit of information that she comes across.  This has been her first year in girl scouts and she's really enjoying that.  Daddy helped her sell GS Cookies last month and Mommy is looking forward to them arriving.....mmmmm, thin mints....

I'm full hog into school right now.  In the next couple weeks I will be applying for two different nursing programs, both of which have a fall start.  We'll see where God wants me/us.  I have found it to be an incredible mixed blessing to have that decision out of my hands.  None of it is up to me, yet I continue to worry about it.  Crazy how we do that, no?

Hubby is in school, too.  Two semesters left - yahoo!!!!  He's also working as a warehouse manager for a chemical company, trying to keep busy.....because 3 kids and a crazy busy wife isn't enough.  :)

We're in the midst of trying to update a bedroom for the oldest and the youngest.  This involves painting furniture (2 beds and a dresser) and much junk disposal.  Unfortunately, the painting is the easier task.

Other than that, life is the same: busy, challenging, rewarding, crazy fun, and we are realizing how incredibly blessed we are.   You wonder why?  Look at this:

Sweet......Seven

My Beautiful B, I sure do love you!  I'm so incredibly proud of the sweet, young lady you are becoming.  Bright and caring and intelligent and curious and *mostly* happy and content.  :)  I love being your mommy and seeing you learn and grown and blossom.  I'm so impressed at how well you are reading and it melts my heart to hear you reading to your sisters every night before bed. 

They are so incredibly blessed to have you as their big sister.  Thank you for being so patient and kind with baby E.  She loves you so much and enjoys snuggling with you. 

You are a loved child of God, my darling daughter, and I am so grateful to have you in my live.  You are a joy and delight!  Happy 7th Birthday, baby girl!

New pictures!!

I always love seeing new pictures of everyone's families. It is one of my most favorite things to do.

My very talented sister, Mary, took some new family pictures at my cousin's house. They turned out GREAT!

The girls got a little antsy after some family "posing," so we let them run around and climb and swing and play.

My sister brought one of her older daughters who was able to help keep kids under control while we were otherwise occupied, which was fabulously helpful. How many photographers can boast an assistant who is cousin to those in the pictures? ;)












































It was so funny trying to catch personality from each of the girls. The oldest is a ham and totally cooperative. The middle cooperates but has a wonderful "picture" smile (that she gets from her Daddy.) The youngest is.....well, the youngest. She does what she wants. Mary did a great job, though, and I can't wait to get these up on our wall.


Of all of them, though, this last one of my three precious girls is my favorite. Makes me feel so very blessed to have this sweet little people in my life.

the girls

Well, it's true.

I'm the mom to a 6 year old. It's true. I'm finding it rather hard to believe.

It's true that I allow my 15 month old to watch television. She doing it right now.












It's true that she'll be content for maybe 3 minutes. So I had better type quickly.

It's true that I ride the bus to and from my classes to save money on gas.

It's true that I actually enjoy riding said bus. I use the time to read or study or close my eyes or *gasp* knit. I love it! My favorite is to knit while listening to a book on my mp3 player. Fabulous!

It's true that I currently have A's in each of the classes I'm taking--microbiology, 2nd semester Anatomy & Physiology and an Art class.

It's true that I've amended my schooling plan to include a major in Art. This is only so that I can hopefully enroll in a photography class or two. I will then drop the Art major.

It's true that my 3 1/2 year old hasn't nursed for at least 3 weeks.

It's true that this makes me a bit sad.

It's also true that it makes me very grateful for having another baby still nursing.

It's true that my 15 month old will sign "all done", "milk" and please. She also nods and/or shakes her head vehemently to get her point across.

It's true that my hubby and I had our first uninterrupted night of sleep in more than a year this weekend.

This was only true because we convinced the grandparents to keep the girls overnight on Friday.

It was lovely. This is very, very true.

It's true that the youngest has lost interest in the video and has now gone in to wake up her big sisters who are napping. She has also found the camera cord and thrown it in the garbage. She is now stuck between the couch and the end table.

Time to go. This is most certainly true.

13 days from now...

My beautiful B will be 6 years old. CRAZY! We have some rough plans for a birthday party. It will be her very first party where she invites friends rather than just expecting 30 of our closest family. :) Most likely we'll also have a small dinner party for her with the grandparents. Once again, our little princess is wanting a princess party. Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure was the request. Guess we should get used to pink and purple fluffy sorts of thinks.

one smart cookie

Yesterday "Baby" E was throwing a fit--one of those unexplainable, throw herself on the floor fits. I had tried to distract her, tried to feed her, tried to snuggle her, all to no avail. So, I got up and went about my day.
She was following me around, hanging on my legs, wailing the entire time. I leaned down and told her that when she was all done crying, I would give her some milk.
Pretty soon, she stopped crying, walked up behind me and started signing "all done." :) Sure enough, she knew exactly what I was telling her and what I wanted.

After a little milk, she was good to go again.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week is almost done. I have a mental list of what I was going to get accomplished this week during my break from school--there are very few items marked off. Instead, we've played outside, visited with family, snuggled, put up Christmas decorations and eaten much too much sugar.














Here I sit, hot apple cider in hand, three little girls in their beds, enjoying naptime. Right next to my pile of laundry waiting to be folded and put away (though the fact that it is already clean is a step in the right direction.) I have homework needing to be done and a test to be studied for.

But this afternoon, instead of doing any of it, my honey and I went on a date. It was wonderful. We took the baby as it was her naptime and the neighbor we've been sharing babysitting duties with would have her hands full with 5 kiddos already. Sweet little E just snoozed in the sling and the stroller, while hubby and I were able to stroll through a couple stores--nothing needed, just looking and enjoying each other's time and company. Crazy how that part of marriage gets lost in the shuffle of life, kids, laundry, etc. It was fun to walk hand in hand and chat without interruption. To drink hot chocolate without sharing or worrying about spills.

We got home, were greeted by little girls running to us with arms outstretched followed by wonderful precious hugs and slobbery kisses. They had a wonderful time, obeyed well and are looking forward to the next time already. Hmmm....tomorrow maybe? :)














Times like this, I want to take a mental snapshot. Something to capture the moment to pull out when I'm having a rough day in the near future, sometime when kids are whiny and crying and I'm not feeling like the mom I want to be. But for now, I'm going to enjoy. Treasure the moment. Be thankful.

carving out a few minutes for myself

Between caring for three children, a husband, a home, working part-time for my parents and going to school full-time, I rarely have a minute to myself. I often taking kids into the shower with me in order to save time by washing us all. The baby is frequently found crawling around in the bathroom whenever I'm in there since she's always happiest around me. I hardly have any desire to be on the computer because I'm feeling guilted into doing homework rather than relaxing. This is my life for now, I guess. When I'm not feeling overwhelmed or exhausted, I'm actually enjoying the challenge. I'm enjoying using my brain, learning and broadening my horizons.

A few little things that I've been doing to stay sane. My hubby bought me an mp3 player for my birthday this summer. I keep that loaded up with audiobooks that I download for free from netlibrary.com. This is one of my favorite things to do--I listen to a book with one ear and listen to the kids with the other. I can frequently be found "plugged in" while doing dishes, cleaning bathrooms and now even driving/walking to and from class. One HUGE saving grace these past few days has been the fact that my husband has taken over doing more baby care in the evenings. Thank you Hubby!! In addition to taking her from me in the evenings, he's been working on getting her to sleep by herself in the pack-n-play rather than being constantly attached to me and sleeping in our bed. For those of you who have co-slept, you know how huge this is. Thanks again, Babe! I love you!

bad mommy award

Want to know a great way to feel like a terrible mommy? It's very simple, really. Just roll your ankle while walking down the stairs carrying your baby. Just that easy, you see the baby rolling on the floor with her head on the edge of the bottom step.

I hear from those who saw it happen, she really only rolled off of me onto the bottom stair, so I didn't really drop her. Not that it makes me feel much better. It all happened so fast I can't even remember if I tripped or what. I went from walking down the stairs to lying on my behind on the hard concrete watching my baby rolling on the ground. Made me feel like an awful mommy and it hurt my pride a bit, too. Not to mention my ankle.....

Mommy, some assistance, please?

E is getting into EVERYTHING these days. She's crawling at an ever-increasing pace, pulling up and this combination is somewhat disturbing to her big sisters.


























Quite frequently, one or the other 'big' girls is hollering for me to move E out of their way or something of that nature. B asked the other day, 'Mommy, some assistance, please?" How very polite. :)

cold, cold go away

Since Monday of last week, we've had coughing, hacking and fevers at our house. I think that there has been at least one child with a fever every night for the past week; generally after having a mostly symptom-free day. We've also had some gut-wrenching cough-induced puking. Chest congestion has necessitated more upright sleeping, which is easier said than done when sharing a bed with a stuffy little one.

On top of all of that, last night baby E swallowed a little hair clip similar to these, resulting in the third threatened trip to the ER of the week (none of which actually materialized.) After much nursing, praying, debating and several calls to the doctor, we decided to wait and see. Don't worry, all is well. Apparently her little digestive tract is fairly efficient because the clip was in her diaper this morning and she seems to be no worse for the wear.

So, pray some prayers for us that we'll all be well soon. We're ready to be out and about playing.

sisters

I've been so incredibly blessed with my wonderful family. To have so many sisters, my best friends, live so close to me has been such a blessing. Now, two of my dear friends have moved away. One because she's now married to a California almond farmer and one to be a missionary in Ethiopia. I miss them. We've had a tradition of taking a sister picture at the mother's day bash that we host every year. These are pictures we'll treasure for years to come. (If you'll look closely, you'll see the top of a screaming baby's head. :D)

Last month we were all together for my sister's wedding, too.

And last week for my sister's farewell party.

One thing that I hope for my girls is that they'll be best friends with each other. That they will take advantage of the built-in friends in their adult years and treasure each other dearly. Sisters are a gift from God.

She's counting the days

My precious baby sister is getting ready to leave on a mission to Ethiopia. She'll be gone for two years. The planning has lasted for about 9 months and we're down to the final week.

Sophie is one of my very best friends. We've coached volleyball together, played volleyball together, talked for hours and so much more. I'm going to miss her desperately.

She's the 'baby whisperer' of the church/family. Where there's a baby, you'll most likely find Sophie there. Here she is snuggling baby E at about a week old.

Pretty much all babies/children love her and she loves them. When B was itty-bitty, she was quite a handful. Sophie spent a few nights over at our house, slepeing on the couch with B so that we could sleep a little bit. She'll take my girls to run errands with her or take them on a walk. She came over last week and watched all three girls for a couple hours while Scott and I went out. It was the first time we'd been on a date by ourselves since E was born.

She leaves on Sunday. Tomorrow we're going to take a day trip to visit some friends 2 1/2 hours away. I'm looking forward to spending the day with her, even if it will be driving for hours with 3 little girls in the back seat.

Yesterday, she was commissioned at our church. When B saw the tears in my eyes, she told me, "It's okay, mommy, we'll still be able to email and talk on the phone." Yes, we will, it's just not the same. I'm not looking forward to this trip to the airport.

I'm going to miss you, baby sister!

when?

Is there a certain time at which I can...
....tell baby E that she's supposed to be a baby still. she's not supposed to be scooting/crawling across the floor. she's not supposed to be clapping and waving. she certainly does look adorable while she does all of the above, though.

...tell my girls "no, you can't watch Tinkerbell.....again....and not break their hearts?" They've been (starting to) watch it at least 3 times a week while I try to work, or do school, or cook or clean. I think they've only watching the whole movie maybe two times, total. We know the beginning very well, though.