Rainy Day...

My kids are so silly sometimes. Lately Carson has been trying to wear Tatum's dresses and gets so upset when I tell him to take it off. Is this what your life looks like on a rainy afternoon??

ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?!!!

New baby gear and fear...

At first I thought having the little baby pregnancy ticker was a good idea. Whenever I blogged, I would see this floating alien thing on the sidebar that reminded me there was a reason for throwing up, feeling awful and tired. As the days turned into weeks and now months...I am watching the alien turn into a real baby and I'm finding it a little intimidating. Am I really ready for a third child? I know people do it everyday, I just haven't figured out how they do it. Luckily the learning curve for parenting is high and relatively forgiving. But I've gotten a few new things for this baby that will hopefully make my life easier when she arrives. The first thing is a Moby wrap. They are pretty popular here in the Northwest. It's a long wrap that's 18 feet long. You basically can tie it all different ways and put the baby inside so that you have both of your hands free. I've had baby carriers before, but they were so heavy and awkward. A lot of my friends use the Moby and claim it's really easy on your back because of the even weight distribution. Here's hoping. I just hate dragging around the infant seat everywhere I go the first few months. It's annoying and heavy and impersonal. Plus the other advantage is when you have the baby in the wrap no one touches the baby. Friends and family are fine to hold the baby. But when I had Tatum and Carson...complete STRANGERS would come up to me in stores and restaurants and seriously ask to hold the baby. Or they would have to touch them. One time, I was at Wal-Mart and Tatum was 3 months old. She was sleeping in the car seat and this guy comes up to her, wiggles her foot to wake her up and says to me "She was just too cute to stay asleep". I about punched the guy in the face. The next cool things I got was a co-sleeper. As you can see in the picture, it's a portable crib that is on the same level as the adult bad and you can secure it to your bed and have the baby sleeping right next to you but in a safe way. I'm hoping this will help us both sleep better in the beginning. There are A LOT of changes happening in our family in the next few weeks. I can't really blog about them right now but I can update the details for you soon.

Best Mother's Day!

So this story is a little long...but it's a funny one. As you all know, I love to entertain. It's one of my favorite things to do. I had originally planned on making an edible fruit arrangement for Mother's Day dinner. I didn't have enough time to do it on Saturday, so Ned offered to be in charge of dessert. I suggested we just have brownie sundaes. Anyway, took the kids over to a friend's house to babysit her kids while she and her husband went to dinner and a movie. After returning home at 10 pm I went straight to the freezer and noticed there was no ice cream. I asked Ned if he got the ice cream and he just kind of looked at me and said that he'd forgotten and it had been a "hard day". A hard day? Really? Anyway I am a little embarrassed to say that I actually was so annoyed and confused that I slept on the couch Saturday night. When I woke up on Mother's Day, Tatum was so excited to give me her gift...it was an ice cream maker. Ned told me the rest of my present was in the garage fridge. There was whipping cream, ice, rock salt and toppings for ice cream. I was so surprised that he thought of the idea and made sure he got everything to make it. He had to work yesterday morning before church, so it was such a fun thing to do with the kids while we waited for him to get home. What a great Mother's Day sup rise! Looking back, I feel really petty for being so annoyed about ice cream to begin with. But Ned knew that I would be really ticked which I suppose was half the fun of it all. Anyway, thanks Ned, Tatum and Carson for a great day. I love you and am grateful to be a mommy!

A bug hunt

So my Tatum has been pretty interested in all things nature. They have been doing nature hikes at school and Friday she came home with a bug kit and we just had to try it out. We took the kids down to a trail and let them explore. They were so excited!

This is a bug catcher we got for Carson. He saw it and was so excited. "A bug purse!" was what he called it. We try to get him a lot of guy stuff...but having a big sister sometimes shows a little too much.

Hunting for bugs...

Carson found a roly poly. "There's a bug in my bug purse!"

Ned and Carson tried to catch a butterfly but it didn't work out. It was a great sunny afternoon and the kids had such a good time. We ended up walking about 3 miles on this trail. I think I may have over done it, but a small price to pay for a delightful Saturday with your sweeties!

A Sunday stroll at the beach

This evening we took the kids down to a beach and got some fresh air. I absolutely love Whidbey Island. We're so spoiled to have probably 30 beach spots to visit within 15 minutes of our house. I just love the water! And I love my kids! A couple of cuties, if you ask me!

My cuties on some driftwood.

The kids and on a little trail by the beach!

Make your own pizza fun!

My kids love making thier own pizzas. It is a great activity for them. Plus, my kids aren't the best eaters. I've found that if they help make something, they will eat it a lot better.

Carnival time!

We took the kids to an annual carnival Friday night. They had a lot of fun.

As a background story...Carson has been asking for a helicopter ride for 2 months. It was the first thing Carson asked Ned when he got home. Being the crazy people we are...we actually entertained the idea of taking him on a helicopter tour or something. Then the $300/person price tag made us reconsider. Carson is just in love with helicopters. So he was beside himself when we saw this ride. He got to go high up in the air and was so happy. What a relief that a 2 dollar ride was good enough!

Ned took Carson down this huge slide on a potato sack. Carson is definitely an adventurous soul. He had a great time. Tatum and I watched, both grateful that we didn't have to do it!

A day at the ball feild

Yesterday I took the kids to a little leage baseball game. Our friend, Marcus was playing and it was great to let the kids play for THREE HOURS at the park while Amy and I chatted. Also, Marcus played a great game! It was really fun to watch. Here are some cute pics from the afternoon.

I heart flowers!

I was surprised on Thursday with a delivery of flowers from my dear friend, Sheree. It was so thoughtful of her, I still can't believe it. I absolutely love flowers. They are my favorite and I especially love lots of greenery. Thanks, Sheree. Your sweet gesture didn't go unappreciated!

Something to consider...

I've been meaning to share this quote for two months and keep forgetting! I think of it almost everyday for some reason.


We ask for strength and God gives us difficulties which make us strong.
We pray for wisdom and God sends us problems, the solution of which develops wisdom.
We plead for prosperity and God gives us brains and brawn to work.
We plead for courage and God gives us dangers to overcome.
We ask for favors and God gives us opportunities.


What will you do with today?

Easter weekend...

Saturday we had to drive to Renton to pick up our plates from our Mini Van we bought a month ago. Anyway, it was two hours away and while we were there we decided to take the kids to the Rainforest Cafe. It was a blast. The kids had a great time!! I am really sad that I didn't bring our camera. We got great seats right by the waterfall and it was so nice to have the kids entertained during a dinner out!

Ok, don't laugh. This was my first attempt at a buttercream cake. Wow, kind of scary I know. I wanted to do a special Easter cake this year. But I have felt so bad lately that I can't let the kids help with my fondant cakes. So we tried doing this bunny cake so the kids could help me. Carson did a lot of the coconut around the sides and Tatum helped me do the piping on the bunny. I did make the Easter eggs out of some leftover fondant. I'm sorry...but doesn't fondant just look so much nicer? It's so much easier to work with. It just doesn't taste very good. Oh well.

Decorating some eggs!

There were a lot of tears Easter morning from Tatum. I think she had just gotten to sleep way too late the night before. She woke up at 6 AM and decided to conduct her own, private egg hunt. She burst into our room with her basket and eggs and was really sad when we re-hid them again so Carson could have a turn, too!

I decided not to get Tatum and Easter outfit this year. She has a lot of dresses already and just didn't need one. But she still wore a pretty dress to church! I did get Carson an outfit because he really needed one.

My cute kiddies! Lately whenever I have tried to take a picture of the kids together, Tatum kind of grabs hold of Carson in a headlock...but I think it's still a cute picture.

We ended the day with a nice Easter dinner. I just LOVE getting the china out and making big meals for lots of people. We were lucky enough to have our friends Amy and Dianna over along with thier children. We miss you Paul and Dave!