Camping Chaos!

You guessed it! We picked the hottest weekend of the year to do what...go camping of course!!! And I say we, but the girls and I chose to sleep with the comfort of air conditioning, electricity, and running water. We were troopers by day and wimps by night. While the boys were roughin

it in the woods, the girls and I slept at Nanny and Poppy's house.

The weekend started off at Nanny and Poppy's house while we waited for Kevin to get off of work and then go and get the campsite ready. Emmy slept, as she does most of the time...

and Drew and Ellie played in the pool (yes, in their clothes - their bathing suits were still packed in the car and I was lazy :)

and convinced Nanny to get in the pool in her clothes too!

Kevin got home and the boys went to get the campsite ready while the girls finished getting the last few things at the house and ran a few errands (which was just fine and we took our sweet time getting out there, at least long enough for the sun to go down and the temperature to drop 10 or 15 degrees). The boys had the tent up, fire blazing (yes, we had a fire in the dead of summer - you can't camp without a fire), and chairs ready for us by the time we got there. Kevin was attempting to blow up the air mattresses - success with one, not so much with the other. There was a "small leak" around the place where you blow it up - but "not a big deal" according to Kevin. Needless to say, Kevin told us the following morning that he was laying on gravel by 1am (guess the "small leak" turned out to be a little larger than he thought).

Here is our first attempt at a family photo. This is the best that we could get (the best of about 25 pictures or so). Never mind that we are in our camping attire, plastered with sweat, smelling of insect repellant and very sleepy (i.e. Ellie). But here we are, all five of us!

I must say, I was very relluctant to go this weekend. I could use the excuse that it would be too hard with a newborn. Or I could say that since it was so hot I didn't want to go. Or I could say that Ellie is just not old enough to camp yet and we should wait a few years. But no, I will be honest and say that I am just not a camper. The idea of sleeping outside in the 80 degree weather, waking up in the middle of the night and having to WALK 150 yards to the bathroom, having no running water, no electricity, wildlife... lets just say, its not my thing. However, I must say that we had a lot of fun and I was perfectly content "camping" during the day (when it had cooled down a little, of course) and sleeping in the comfort of Nanny and Poppy's house :) I loved watching the kids enjoy the whole "camping experience."

We made Smores...

Ellie wanted nothing to do with the marshmellows and graham crackers. She wanted nothing but what? Yep, the chocolate! What can I say, she's mine!

We rode bikes... (Well Drew rode, Ellie sat on his bike while he was doing something else.)

played in the rocks...

cooked hot dogs over the fire... (with only one minor incident -- Joan and Steve ran into town to get something and said "Do you want us to take one of the kids?" to which we of course answered "No, we will be fine." Let's just say that they had not yet gotten out of the park before we had them on the phone asking them to bring back some Solarcaine, or anything for a burn. See Drew knew not to touch the fire or the hot dog that had been in the fire, but he did not know how hot the skewer had gotten :( Poor buddy burned his thumb. Nothing that a little cake didn't cure though.)

Ellie would have rather used her hot dog as a sword!


Poppy and Drew went on a nature trail...

Drew and Ellie played in the tent with Jesse...

And played on the steps with Ann...

It was a fabulous weekend and we are all officially exhausted! But it was a great way to spend Father's Day weekend.

We got home today, unloaded the car, and started unpacking. All of a sudden I hear Kevin say "Andrew Herman..." and I stop dead in my tracks. I knew that sound. This is what I saw when I turned around...

Do you see it? Look a little closer in the front of his hair. Yes, that's it...GUM! Gum in his hair. Apparently, it wouldn't stay in his mouth when he was "doing his flips." So, Drew will be getting a haircut this week to even up his now uneven hair!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Happy Father's Day!

Love to all!

26 pavers, 6 yards of mulch and lots of ibuprofen

The title says it all! The older two kids were with their grandparents this weekend, so Kevin and I tackled a little weekend project. I, like most women, think that all home improvement projects are simple. I think that Kevin and I can do just about anything that a general contractor can do. I mean, how hard could it be to lay a few pavers to make a walkway. Dig it out, level it, throw down some sand, place the pavers, fill it in with sand, and be done before lunch right? Not quite. It wasn't too bad, and yes I was out there with Kevin on my hands and knees laying pavers, spreading sand, leveling sand, digging dirt, leveling sand AGAIN, and leveling sand AGAIN until I wanted to BREAK that stupid level and all that fun stuff. All things considered though, it wasn't that bad and the walkway turned out looking pretty good... just don't walk on it ;) Mark my words though: We will NOT be laying our own patio (unless we decide to make it 2 x 20 ... a width of 2 pavers is our MAX).

It is still a work in progress, but we did get a lot accomplished this weekend. I say we, but Kevin did do most of the work... I was obligated to feed a baby every 3 or so hours. And that was just fine with me...it was 72 degrees in our house and 92 degrees outside. However, I did try my hand at a pickax (sp???), a rake, a shovel, a wheelbarrow and a hoe. Lets just say that I much prefer "directing" than actually working.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Hope that everyone had a great weekend!

Love to all!

Just Another Day...but with Mommy AND Daddy!

So I am getting the hang of this "three against me" life and I have to say...I kind of like it (or love it)! We are trying to get into somewhat of a "routine" around here (and you all know how I feel about these) and things are going really well. Of course, some days are better than others (i.e. a one glass of wine day vs. two glass of wine day) but all in all we are doing ok :)



But today we had the BEST surprise in the world -- Daddy stayed home!!! It was SOOOOOO nice to have him here. Don't get me wrong, I love being home with the kids, but it is also very nice to have Daddy here to entertain Drew and Ellie while I am feeding/changing/rocking/holding Emmy.

So we started the day of outside to get some things done. We are doing more yard work this weekend to avoid being talked about in the neighborhood as being "those neighbors" with "that yard." Kevin is very about keeping the yard and doing the landscaping/planting/mowing etc., but quite frankly, this year we just have not gotten around to it yet. So we are mulching and planting this weekend, but Kevin wanted to get a headstart today and Drew and Ellie were more than happy to help him out a bit!

Hopefully I will have some good before and after pictures to post next week of our weekend work.

We went on our first walk as a family of 5 tonight! So here is how it started out.

Drew on his bike (this lasted just past Shawn and Cathy's house - yes, that is literally right next door - then he resorted to walking for a few minutes, then made Kevin get the double stroller out so that he could ride for a bit!)

Ellie started in the single stroller, was switched to the double stroller (after Drew's pleading to ride) and actually stayed in the entire time, a HUGE accomplishment for Ellie, as we usually end up carrying her and pushing an empty stroller.

And Emmy was right where she likes to be, cuddled up next to Mama (again, perfectly fine with me).

Last night some friends came over and brought pizza (I must say, I officially LOVE Mellow Mushroom). So I made a salad (or actually I kind of copied it from my neighbor Michelle, who brought it to us last week) to have with our pizza. It was so pretty I just had to take a few pictures to share.

Isn't it pretty?

So here are the ingredients I used (you can use just about anything), layered in any order you want: spinach, grean peas, red onion, tortellini, tomato, bacon, feta, crutons. We ate it last night and for both lunch and dinner today - it was really good with Balsamic Vinegar dressing! A perfect summer recipe - Thanks Michelle!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Love to all!

We're feeling HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

Summer is quickly approaching (officially will be here June 21, 2009), but it feels like it is here already!!! It has been 90 degrees here over the past few days. This weekend, Drew was away visiting his Nanny and Poppy! He had so much fun and could not stop talking about the forts they built. He also went to church with Gama and Jimbo on Sunday before coming home and he got to take communion for the first time. He explained to me how "you can't take a big piece of bread, just a tiny piece" and if you all remember this was the child that LIVED off of bread for the first 2 years of his life. He would walk around the house with a piece of bread as a snack, he would pull the lunch meat off of the bread at lunch only to eat the bread, he LOVED bread. So I am curious as to how "tiny" his piece of communion bread was.

Kevin had class on Saturday and then had to work a little - so it was just me and the girls at home. Ann and Amy came by to visit and so they can attest to Ellie's craziness. I must say, she makes me laugh out loud on a daily basis.


Just look at this face: How could you not laugh at her? She is such a comedian and even humors herself! Here she is again - eating, of course, chocolate (she may look like her Daddy - but she is a Mama's girl - in fact, she has chocolate on her face RIGHT NOW at 10am from a brownie plate she found in the bonus room from last night :)


So yesterday, I took Emmy to the doctor for her 2 week check up. Everything looks great. Her jaundice is gone and she weighed 6lbs 9oz! So she is back up above her birth weight! The doctor was very pleased. Maybe she will be my "big" baby - the others were smaller when they were born and gained slower! She likes to eat - like her Mama. During the day she eats every 3 and sometimes every 2 hours! Thankfully, at night she will go for about 4 or 5 hours! Hopefully, this pattern will continue and improve quickly - Mama likes her sleep :)

So here is my "big"girl, resting up after her MD appointment!


We played outside in the pool yesterday afternoon and Drew and Ellie had a blast. They love their little pool...


...especially when you put the slide IN the pool! Ellie prefers going down on her belly!


Then we walked over to our neighbors to visit at their "BIG POOL" and they had so much fun playing with their friends! Drew likes to "observe" from outside the pool. He is very afraid of "sinking to the bottom of that deep part" and will not get in the water without a screaming crying FIT! So this is a catch 22 - I am glad he won't go near it because he can't swim and his lack of interest in the water makes me worry a little less, but how is he ever going to learn to swim if he is scared. Hopefully, we can get him in swimming lessons and he will be in the pool with the rest of the kids by the end of summer (wishful thinking I am sure - but we can all dream).

But for now, he would rather drive his friends remote control boat (very cool toy, I might add).

Now Ellie, on the other hand, would not surprise me if she just jumped right into the pool - or diving in would be more up her ally. She has NO FEAR! We have to watch her every last second that we are around the water. She also likes to walk backwards and not watch where she is going - not a good idea around water! Don't let her innocent face in this picture fool you ... she is TROUBLE!

We ventured back into our yard to the "little" pool for a little longer before meltdowns began. My two had total meltdowns and I had to drag them inside - I am sure that it was the heat, afterall, my kids don't "meltdown" (my how we eat our own words)!

Katie and I walked last night for about 40 minutes - I am just about to DIE to go running. I have tried very hard to find some reference, somewhere that will endorse running before 6 weeks postpartum - no luck yet! So I figured I will walk for a week or two and then try out the running. In the meantime, hopefully this crazy (but wonderful!) life with three will keep me busy enough to call chasing them my exercise!

Love to all!

Trader Joe's and Ketchup Kraziness

Trader Joe's has been conquered! We ventured out to Trader Joe's yesterday. I really needed to go and get wine :) And you just can't beat Trader Joe's 3 buck chuck! So, with the help of my sister, we went to all the way to Trader Joe's (45 minutes away)! Drew and Ellie were surprisingly good (maybe they are getting used to being lugged in and out of all of my favorite stores - I am trying very hard to create good shoppers :) ) and Miss Emmy was, of course, sleeping! We did our shopping, got happy meals from Wendy's and parked in the parking lot to let all of the kids eat. I fed Emmy while Katie wrestled, I mean tried to feed, Drew and Ellie. All things considered it was a great trip and I could NEVER have done that one by myself. Feeding a baby and having two others crawling all over the van like monkeys would have been NO FUN - I really have GOT to get a DVD player! Then maybe I'll try it on my own! Until then, I'll have to con Katie into coming with me - THANKS KATIE!

Just me and our three!


And me with our newest little one! Doesn't she looked thrilled? (I can only imagine what she is thinking - Mom, just let me sleep!)


So last night I was trying to get Ellie to eat the wonderful dinner that our neighbor brought over. She was kind of playing around with it and not really eating, so I decided to let her have ketchup so that she could dip her food in it. She loves to eat anything with any kind of dip - ranch, ketchup, butter, bar-b-que sauce - you name it she'll eat it! So I gave her ketchup and thought (first mistake) that she would start eating. My cell phone rang and my attention got diverted a little bit (second mistake). Next thing I know, Ellie was using the ketchup to literally PAINT her arms. I see her scooping it up and rubbing it all over her arms! When I gasped and said "Ellie, NO!" she looked at me as if I were crazy! Here she is caught in the act!



And showing off what she had done!

Now you may wonder why she has on no clothes, and I feel like I may have posted on this before (but I am losing my mind, so I could be dreaming), but for those of you that may not have read that post, I almost ALWAYS undress my kids to feed them. I don't know why but they are completely incapable of eating without getting it ALL OVER their clothes - and sometimes I don't mind it, but sometimes they have on really cute outfits that are RUINED in 2 minutes flat! So that is why Ellie has no clothes on :) and it is a good thing or it would have had ketchup covering it. But it would have matched her outfit yesterday!
She looked so cute and actually kept her hat on for a little while!

Love to all!

A Wonderful Wednesday

So yesterday I ventured out with the babies (yes, all three) to Swoozies. I LOVE that store, but went with just ONE thing on my list - black and white damask wrapping paper. I was fully prepared to walk in, get my paper and walk out. Easy enough, right? So very low expectations here people. Well, I put the carrier in the stroller and used this new sling that I got to carry Miss Ellie. At first she really liked it, helped me push the stroller, played with my earrings etc. Well the moment we walked into Swoozies she flung her body back and started screaming to get down. So I make a b-line for the wrapping paper with a stroller, toddler hanging out of a half worn sling, and a 4 year old pleading to go over to the M&M dispensers! So as every eye in Swoozies focuses on ME and my screaming child, I reluctantly let her down! How much damage can she do while I walk to the wrapping paper! I have to mention that literally every table in Swoozies has some cute platter that is breakable - NOT a store for toddlers! I get over to the wrapping paper and can NOT believe my eyes - NO BLACK AND WHITE DAMASK PAPER!!!! You have GOT to be kidding me! So my trip to the mall for one thing turned into a trip to a McDonald's drive-thru that is very far from home! Oh well, better luck next time, at least we made it out with out any broken objects (I am sure that my time is coming) :) By the way, Swoozies is having a huge tent sale starting tomorrow - dare I try it out again?

We got home and Drew went over the a friends house for the afternoon, so it was just me and my girls.
Ellie was just dying to hold Emmy...

And my sweet Ellie gives Emmy kisses ALL DAY LONG... literally, it is so sweet...

Then we gave Emmy some tummy time and floor time. Ellie thought this was so much fun!

Today, we just hung around most of the morning and Drew and Ellie went over to a friend's house this afternoon. Emmy and I went to the Dollar Tree and Kohls. Can I just say how much I LOVE the dollar store! So we eat the Nature's Own whole wheat bread and it usually runs about $2.79 at Harris Teeter, a little less at Target (~$2.50ish) and sometimes you can get it on sale for like 2/$5 but would you believe that they have this exact same bread at the DOLLAR STORE- and you guessed it, it is $1.00!!!!! I couldn't believe it when I first saw it and thought it was a fluke, but they have had it every time since then! Today I got bread, 4 white plates, 4 placemats, some storage baskets, a diet coke and some snack food, all for $20!!! It was great! So after my Dollar Tree spending spree I thought I would check out Kohls. I got a couple of dresses only to get home and put them on and still feel pregnant - gotta return them tomorrow :( Definitly do NOT want to wear anything remotely "maternityish" now!

We had dinner again last night and tonight from some of our wonderful neighbors and it was so good!!! All of our neighbors have been SOOOO good to us and have kept us very fat and happy during these first days at home with Emmy!

Here is a picture of Drew and Kevin playing - this is their nightly ritual! Kevin is such a good Daddy. I swear he plays, like on the floor playing, every night when he gets home from work. They tear up the bonus room and pull out every single toy the kids own, but they do it with a smile on their face, and I love every minute of watching them! Tonight was an army fort out of blocks and army guys "camping out" inside.


Sweet Emmy, after her tummy time - which she was a little less happy during!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Love to all!

Another Manic Monday???

Nahhh!!! Actually it was a pretty mellow Monday :) Although, I must say, we got quite a bit accomplished this morning. Emmy had to go back to the lab (which is across major highways and down long roads - i.e. about 15 minutes from the house - grrrr) to get her bilirubin retested. We had it done Friday and it was high, so the doctor wanted us to get it tested again today to make sure that it was coming down. So we made it to the lab before 9 am and then ventured on to Target before Emmy's 11am doctor appointment (which is literally a mile from our house) to discuss the results. So about our Target trip - pretty much unchanged! The only difference was less cart space to store things (Emmy was in her carrier, in the cart). Drew wanted to get a toy, Ellie wanted to crawl out of the cart, and Emmy just slept. So it was pretty much the same as taking just the two older children - with the exception of hauling all three in and out of the car. So to overcome this challenge of having an infant in the carrier and a toddler that I also have to carry, I just park right beside the cart return and unload them out of the van, directly into the cart :)

We got our Target shopping done, came home to feed Emmy, and then ventured back out to Emmy's appointment. Thankfully, her bilirubin levels are coming down and the doctor said that he is "thrilled with her weight gain." She was 6lbs 2.5oz today - almost back up to her birth weight (6lbs 4oz)! Since we had been to the doctor Thursday, Friday and again today, I am THRILLED that we do not have to return until next week :) Whewww. We ran into Walgreens to pick up some pictures that I had ordered. So 3 kids, 4 stops in less than 4 hours - not too bad for a Monday :) Still haven't braved Michaels with all of them, maybe tomorrow (or maybe next year) :)

The rest of the day was spent lazying around the house, playing in the garage and enjoying our day together! We had dinner again from our neighbors and it was delicious. Here are a few pictures of the kids from today!

Why play IN the playhouse when you can play on TOP of it?


Ellie LOVES her baby (I keep Emmy up on the counter so that Ellie must resort to her doll - otherwise, Emmy would be toted around all day long) - she is so funny she wakes up darting into our room saying "Baby! Baby! Baby!" and walks straight over to where Emmy sleeps!


And little Miss Emmy, taking it all in - and there is A LOT to take in at this house :)


Love to all!