Great Gift, Fido Fun and Finally FINISHED!

So things around here have been pretty calm with the exception of trying to tie up all of the loose ends before our little one arrives! I have finished picking up extra shifts and am back to working just 2 days a week until the baby is born. I was questioning this decision as I left the gym today and Drew darted out of the door (he is very proud that he is now a four years old and has a new found sense of independence) and Ellie is determined to walk by herself in the parking lot! I explain to her that she has to hold Mommy's hand, to which she will have nothing to do with! So I tell her, "You hold Mommy's hand, or I am going to carry you!" Her response is to drop to the ground to throw one of her 10 minute temper tantrums - all in front of the door to the YMCA! Picture me, nearly 36 weeks pregnant loudly reminding Drew not to go in the parking lot, bending over to pick up my 21 lb toddler who's newest trick is to go completely LIMP when I try to pick her up and she would rather be throwing a temper tantrum! It was a sight for sore eyes - and those trying to leave the Y during this time certainly saw it all as I stood there, bent over and completely blocking the exit trying to contain Miss Ellie --baby belly and all! I look up to see Drew just staring at me, like "Mom, what ARE you doing?" Other than Ellie's new tantrums and her ability to go completely limp when you try to pick her up, things are pretty much the same around here!

My friend Robin gave me an awesome baby gift the other day - so much that I think I may steal it and make it my staple gift. Personalized family stationary - I LOVE IT! It is such a good gift because it is something that we all want, but never will justify buying it for ourself! Thanks Robin!!!


Sunday we went to church and I was determined to get a good picutre of the kids dressed up... we all know how that goes. Ellie did sit still for a minute, but refused to look at the camera...

And Drew did decide to get within 5 feet of Ellie for me to snap one shot...

Our neighbor Shawn had a doggy birthday party on Sunday and the kids all had a blast! There was a bouncy, pool fun, slip-n-slide, dog bone hunt, face painting and all kinds of stuff for the kids! Here are a few pictures!

So since we painted the kids bathroom, I have been in search of a way to redecorate it for them. I want something gender neutral and not to "kiddy" but still kind of fun. I haven't finished decorating (in fact, I have only just begun - but it is a bathroom, how long could it take?) but I did make a cute towel rack for them today. I had been searching for cute hooks and could not find any that I loved, so I just made my own! Hopefully it won't be pulled down off of the wall by two little rascals any time soon!

It was so easy to make too! Got a piece wood from Lowe's, painted it white, sponged some polka dots with the leftover bathroom paint, spray painted wooden letters from Michael's, added some hooks...and VIOLA! A custom built/made towel rack (which I might add is much prettier withOUT towels hanging from it)!

And we are FINALLY finished with the girls room! I feel like we have been working on it FOREVER! And I know that Kevin does too! So tonight, we hung the valence and are calling it quits! I must say, I have really had a lot of fun decorating it and can't believe how much pink and green I have crammed into one little room! So here goes the tour...

This is a shot from the door way. Ellie will be sleeping in the baby crib for a few more months and the baby will sleep in our room. Hopefully, by the time the baby is ready to go into the crib, Ellie will be ready for her big girl bed (and we will be able to keep her IN it long enough to fall asleep)!

I found these little birds on http://www.scribbleitonline.com/ and fell in love with them! They say "Sweet Dreams Ellie"...

And here is her side of the room! The picture frames I made are in an earlier post and the large monogram came from http://www.etsy.com/ - I just love anything with a monogram on it!

And for Miss Emmy's side of the room - she too has a little birdie wishing her sweet dreams...

Here is her little crib (slightly broken in by her older sister)...


and since I though two large monogram decals may be too much, I just put Sweet Baby over her crib! Got the letters from Michael's and used Modge Podge and scrapbook paper to cover them!

And don't forget the birdie mobile hanging at the foot of the crib (still to this day, the most crafty thing I have ever done).

This is the chest in between the girls beds... we painted it white and got polka dot decals from the dollar store to decorate it (I know, I am REALLY cheap - but I love a great buy!)

Here is the one and only dresser in the girl's room (now you tell me how in the world I am going to fit all of their clothes in this tiny dresser and in the tiny closet??? we may have to resort to an additional closet in the attic for them!) The dresser was dark brown and we painted it white and added new knobs...


Here are what the knobs look like up close, another etsy purchase (Yes, I am addicted!)

So we are VERY glad that the room is all ready for baby! However, all of this work and Drew would rather have Ellie right beside him! and I think she wouldn't mind either! This is where she slept tonight as we finished our final tasks in her room!

Now we are just impatiently WAITING (or at least one of us is)! Kevin has been busy taking classes for work, so he is back and forth from Richmond! We just hope that he will be around when the baby is born! Will keep everyone posted!

Love to all!

Parties, Painting and Patiently Waiting

This blog is done in rememberance of Cooper - yes, Cooper has passed away. Kevin came up one morning and pulled me aside to break the news - he thinks we let the house get too cold overnight and that is why he died (is 64 too cold for a beta fish?). I told him that he was the one that had to break the news to Drew (you all know that I would have NEVER let the house get cooler than 72). He did and Drew was not phased (did I mention that Kevin told him while Drew was watching TV?). Drew did ask us tonight where Cooper was (guess he really wasn't listening when we told him the first time), so we reminded him that Cooper had died and he started to get upset so I told him we could get a new fish. Guess what Drew said his name will be -- Cooper 2! Right now, though, I am happy to have my Southern Living Hurricane (what had become Cooper's home) back! I'll make the boys buy a fish bowl next time!

So all of the April birthdays are over (well except for my cousin Edmund: April 29th)! And boy was it crazy for a week or two! Don't you think that all 4 year olds need FOUR birthday parties? Well that is exactly what Master Drew had - one as his preschool, one at home with Mom and Dad, one at our house with his friends, and one at Gama and Jimbo's house with our hometown clan! In fact, I was very surprised that he didn't wake up last Monday asking where the party was that day.

Here are a few pictures from Gama and Jimbo's house. So I have to mention that Drew insited that he open each and every present and is came through the door. I know, I know, it's sad, but I was finished arguing with him and trying to explain to him that presents were not the most important thing and all that stuff...he obviously DIDN'T get it this year. Maybe at 5 he will grasp this concept a little better. He was however, very thankful and LOVED all of his nice gifts. This was his typical expression after opening a gift (shown here opening army guys from Nanny and Poppy - another battle I lost and Kevin won [the whole "no guns in the house" thing]).


We hadn't seen Brook, James and baby Liza in such a long time! Drew and Ellie were so excited to see them and loved playing with Liza. Drew kept calling her to come over and look at what he was doing! And I am pretty sure that Ellie thought she was a baby doll! She just wanted to pick her up and drag her around (but who wouldn't - look at how cute she is!).


Here is Ellie, cutting her eyes at Brook and getting ready to go after Liza!


So Liza found safety in Mommy's arms!


and Ellie crawled in Jimbo's lap!



Since this was Drew's fourth birthday cake, he decided that he would take a try at serving everyone (note the cake falling OFF of the spatula)


and Ellie decided to feed everyone!

And yes Ellie is in nothing but a diaper. I have never understood how some people feed their kids and not one morsel gets on their clothes! My kids have it from head to toe, on every inch of their body, clothes, hair and all! And needless to say, I did not want to try my luck at getting green cake icing stains out of their clothes! My track record with stain removel is NOT GREAT!

So I let them smear it all over their little bodies, instead of their clothes!

Here is Katie and Matthew - the two brave ones that kept Drew and Ellie the morning after the final party. I was informed that Ellie had green poop (a little two much cake you think?) - now that takes a good aunt to change!

And poor Kevin, with his birthday being two days after Drew's, he gets forgotten in all the craziness! But we were able get a babysitter and go to dinner for his birthday and actually eat in peace and quiet. You know it is funny because we are so used to having the children with us and talking/disciplining/eating/disciplining/feeding/disciplining/cleaning...and disciplinig that we hardly know what to do with ourselves when it is just the two of us! It was so nice! And after dinner we went to Target and I now know why it is probably a good thing that I have to go with children most of the time! There is so much great stuff in there that I have never seen or either missed it for several reasons, some of which include: darting from the back of the store to the front to "go potty" (AFTER asking as we walk through the front door and right past the bathrooms "Drew, do you need to go potty?" "No," is always the answer - guess I'll never learn), holding a screaming 18 month-old in my arms that is having a fit to get down and run up and down each and every ailse, working a 12 hour shift and wanting to do nothing but GO HOME or various other reasons that I could go on and on about, but I won't bore you with the details, and will just say my checkbook is glad I am not able to shop at Target in peace and quiet!

Another project that we recently took on was having the house painted. Doesn't everyone choose to have their house painted when they are 34 weeks pregnant, redecorating their kids rooms and working nearly full-time? I know, I have lost my mind, but we just couldn't pass up the opportunity when it came along. So I quickly picked out colors for my downstairs kitchen/dining/living room and my bedroom and hall bath. Now some of you may remember the "Coral" (aka: bright flurouscent glowing) room in South Hill or the "Eggplant" (aka: dark purple gone wrong) bathroom in Richmond, but for the most part I can pick out paint colors pretty well. I have to say I am very pleased with all of my color choices execpt for 1 and of course it is the dining room and living room - the FIRST rooms you seen when you walk in my house. The color is called Sherwin Williams Hearts of Palm and I really like the color but it is just a little to "limey" on my walls and in certain lighting I feel like I have a lime green house! I think it would look ok with the right decor, so do I repaint or redecorate? I have lost sleep over this decision over the past few days (well not because of this, but my pregnant bladder wakes me up and when I lay back down to go to sleep paint colors/decorating ideas are running through my head)!!! I am so frustrated because I am entirely too cheap to want to pay someone to come redo it, and I really don't want to do it myself (nor do I think I'll have much luck convincing Kevin to help me) and the whole idea of redecorating another room just wears me out! Ughhh! I'll post pictures of the color later! Meanwhile, the girls room is pretty much finished, with the exception of curtains! I'll post pictures of this later too - it turned out really cute! I am waiting on a few things for Drew's room and it will be finished soon too!

Otherwise things in the house are moving on along! Drew only has a few more weeks of preschool left, Ellie is talking a little more each day (and I do mean a VERY VERY little more - she absolutely REFUSES to say Mama), Kevin is getting busier at work and I am getting bigger by the day(as are my ankles)! Hopefully not too much longer before out newest addition will be here! I am sure that she will decide to come a week later or so, since I am expecting her a few weeks early!

Hope that everyone is doing well and enjoyed this beautiful weekend! I had to work, but probably better that I keep my kankles hidden under compression hose and Danskos!

Love to all!

Sun, Soccer and Sleep

Happy Birthday Drew!!!

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day for a soccer birthday party! It was 80 degrees and perfect for all of the kids to play soccer in the yard. Drew had so much fun playing with all of his friends today that he couldn't even make it home from dinner without falling asleep! And he didn't even wake up to Ellie's screaming in the car for the last 5 miles home - one worn out little boy! But he had a full day.

It started with decorating for his birthday party! The dining room was transformed into a soccer party table with decorations...

a soccer ball cake...

a soccer field cake...

and a 4 year old little boy ready for his friends to arrive...soccer jersey and all! Drew helped me make each of his friends a soccer jersey with their number, a soccer patch and their name on the back! He was so excited to give each of their friends their presents!

Here is everyone ready to play!



And showing off their name (everyone turned around so nicely - except for Miss Ellie)!

We had cake (note my face - the wind kept blowing out the candles... and you try explaining to a 4 year old why the candles aren't lit!!!)


make that TWO cakes (of course Drew wanted Vanilla and Mommy wanted chocolate - so we compromised and had BOTH)...

and ice cream...

And Drew opened all of his presents! Now being the honest person that I am (and knowing that some of my neighbors might be reading and call me out on my misleading blog order), I must admit that these pictures are in the typical order that a party should go. Something like this: friends arrive, play for a while, have cake and ice cream and THEN open presents...right, sounds normal? Well Drew would have nothing of that! He was absolutely insisitent that he open presents IMMEDIATELY! It was all we could do to make him wait until everyone got there to open presents. If it was up to him, he would have opened each gift as it was brought through the front door! I promise, we really have tried to teach him that it is not all about the presents, but what can I say, he's 4! So needless to say, Drew opened...

they played with all of his presents...

played a little bit of soccer...

Ellie got in the drink bucket (filled with melted ICE, she wanted to play in the water so bad but she couldn't understand why it was so cold)...

played games with Nanny...

blew bubbles with Nanny...


and ate orange slices!

So today was a packed day and we now have two soundly sleeping babies -- soon to be two soundly sleeping babies AND two soundly sleeping parents!

Hope that everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather!

Love to all!