For my hubby...

Most of you see me, but since my husband will be able to have internet access here soon - I am posting this picture so he can see what the baby has done to me so far. BTW I am currently 17 weeks! How crazy is that!? Fuzzy picture, sorry hon. But... you get the idea.

What's that SMELL??

This is what Melanie promptly asked me upon opening her car door when we arrived at Perrydell Farms (milk cow farm/family store). We decided it would be fun for them to see the cows and have some homemade ice cream! When my family lived in York PA we used to get our milk here. They always have the babies on "display" and if you get there at feeding time, they let you help with their bottles. Since my childhood, they have added a wooden face cut-out for people to take pictures at. My girls had a blast, you can tell from the pictures. Melanie was hilarious while trying to eat her Ice cream cone. She used about 5 napkins (or more) to make sure her face stayed pretty clean. Julia on the other hand - LOVE that face! Thanks for tagging along Jocelyn!

As a side note, upon reaching the farmland of Northern Maryland/Southern Pennsylvania my children kept calling out "BARN!! COWS!! HORSIES!! SHEEP!!"

The Land of Chocolate

While visiting with my family, we had the opportunity to have a couple "field trips". Our first one was a trip to Hershey. They have a place called Hershey's Chocolate World. It is free to get in and they have a great little ride that tells you about their factory. There are things there of course that you can pay for if you like... they have a pretty extensive variety of chocolate (of course!). We took the ride with the girls and got our free chocolate treat at the end (always a plus!).

Feeling Old

This is why.... I CAN NOT stay up all night (even though I currently am)! It's physically impossible for me. I would love to some nights - I really would. Not long ago - I could pull one of these no sweat. Now, AM (after Marriage), there is NO way! You will never find me up this late unless I have a very good reason. This all night affair is out of obligation to my sweet girls (to whom I promised myself I would make Easter dresses for). The zippers are on - the last few odds and ends need to go into it and they will be done - BEFORE Easter! Yay! I have then attempted to help my sister, Jocelyn, make her very own Tote. Which comes to why I am on here so very late at night (or early in the morning). I was hoping to find that tutorial that would just be perfect for this project. Maybe I'll just keep fussing around with it and see what we come up with. Pictures will be soon to follow. Alas, I think I'm going to finally catch some ZZZZZ's because Jocelyn has fallen asleep on the floor waiting for me to find what I wanted so we could get back to work! I can just hear... "Here's your sign....".

Spiritual Food

Gearing up to be off to listen to the leaders of our church! I hope with some extra hands around, I will be able to hear more of the talks that have been prepared. If you are looking for something to print for your children to do during Conference this weekend, check this out. If you have any other great ideas that you do with your children, please send them my way and I'll try to post them for others that might be looking (or as a reference for myself!).

We arrived....

We arrived safely and without delay on Tuesday to my parents. I can't believe this week is already coming to a close!! I've started Easter Dresses, gone to the Outlets, and have many other plans I hope will work out. There should be some fun posts coming up soon if the weather cooperates. We'll be back home the day after Easter. Just postin' to let you know we are still going and hope to have some great fun while we're with family. Oh - I scheduled my ultrasound for April 29th. So, by the end of the month we'll find out what gender child will be joining our family come school time!

BOLT

I know, I know... super tiny picture. However, my children LOVE this movie! If you are wondering what you can do with your family and haven't seen this movie, check it out from redbox for $1 some night. So far, it has babysat my children better than I do! Definitely a movie the whole family will enjoy (including you). It will be part of our movie library eventually.

Need Dessert??

If you attended the dessert auction at our ward building last night, you wouldn't. There was pretty much a little bit of everything there. The highest bid of the night went for Heidi's delectable desserts for $425 (or $450)!! Jenn, the Vaughans and the Knights also had some pretty high bids for their yummy treats. I think the Gaines had some pretty high bids for their upside down apple pies as well. The youth of our ward should LOVE us!! I think it's safe to say that camp is paid for for all of them this year after this event! It was fun to finally attend one although I did lose my girls a bit in the beginning. We bought some twinkie derby cars made by Tara for $20. That would be the first twinkie EVER for both of them - and they took to it pretty well. All in all - a success for our little girls. Watch out high bid desserts, I'm on a quest for some really yummy recipes/ideas!

Dedication.... or Torture??

I've been doing really fabulous about exercising. So far my childrens' noses have cooperated too allowing me to get there every weekday since last Monday (16th). We've been bouncing around, trying new classes, visiting ones we've done before but haven't been to in a while.... BOY DO I FEEL IT!!! Everyday I've had a little muscle ache here or there or just felt kinda exhausted. I'm starting to think... is this dedication or torture? I've definitely gotta hand it to the ladies I work out with though - they are tough cookies!

A visit from Angels

I had a little visit from angels today. I know, I know... don't get jealous - they can come to a living room near you too! The sisters came over to my home to teach and it was wonderful. They talked about family (also the visiting teaching message for the month!). They didn't even know that it was, either! It feels so wonderful to have them in my home, and I am so glad that we have sisters so that poor military moms (alone)like me can enjoy hearing from the missionaries! If you haven't had them over yet, sign up to see them. It will greatly enrich your life and edify your spirit.

Happy Birthday Babe!

My dear, sweet husband turned 28 today! I can't believe it! The past 5 years and 3 months with him has been the best of my life. I look forward to getting to know him even better than I already do in the years to come. I couldn't even count the number of times he has made me laugh. He truly is my best friend. I hate being away from him, but now is the time in my life that I need to be self-less. Eventually I will get him all to myself (sorry ladies... he's mine!). =0) Happy Birthday Babe!

A busy week with some Hope

This week was a hopping one for our family. We were busy with something every day! Sometimes it took right up until dinner to finally get everything done. Most nights I slept horribly and didn't get the rest I was hoping for. Last night I got the most sleep I was able to get all week! It was wonderful! At first, I thought that it wouldn't happen with children who passed out by 6:30pm. They woke up a few hours later and I thought they might not go back to bed. They did and Heavenly Father blessed me with some really great sleep. I even had a dream! Can you guess what it was about? I am so excited about this.... I had a dream that the baby I am carrying is a BOY!! So, we'll see if my dreams can tell the future. I will keep you all posted when I get my ultrasound.

I treated myself to JOANN's yesterday. I bought fabric to make the girls' Easter dresses, fabric for a few baby blankets (all generic colors of course), and a few odds and ends that I didn't have yet to round out my sewing stash. I have projects to do! I am so excited! I'll post pictures of them as I finish.

It's finally here.....

THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!! I'll be visiting Rita's today. For those of you calorie conscious ladies, grab a sugar free treat (complimentary on the first day of spring). I will be trying one of those today. I will post later with an "update" letting you know what flavor I chose. I hope you beat the bleak weather and feel a touch of spring sometime today!!

UPDATE:: Sorry it took me a day to post, but I got the sugar-free Pineapple (really quite yummy)flavor at Rita's. My girls tried the Mystery Flavor. They seemed to like that one too.

ONE of the best days of the year....

I got this pic from the Rita's Website!! Friday is the first day of spring which means a FREE regular Rita's!! They have some great flavors, I hope you all get the chance to stop in!! The one around here is located off of 21st street. I'll be joining all you Tropical Smoothie lovers for the first day of Summer too! If you get in to try a Rita's, leave me a message and let me know what flavor you got!

Happy St. Pattys!!!

Since I am part Irish - I need to respect my heritage and put up a nice greeting for St. Patrick's Day. Since it is a Holiday in Ireland. Don't forget to wear green so you don't get pinched!! Hopefully there will be a pot O gold at the end of the rainbow that comes after this dreadful rain passes!

Here is a recipe for those of you that want to add a little Irish to your dinner tonight:
IRISH POTATOES
Ingredients: 8-10 medium potatoes (peeled and cooked), 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened), 8 oz. sour cream (low-fat), ½ cup butter (melted), ¼ cup chopped chives, 1 clove garlic (minced), 2 tsp. salt, paprika.

Mix and mash everything and place in a lightly buttered casserole dish, then sprinkle paprika over the top. Place in the frig overnight. Bake @ 350 uncovered for 30 minutes. (Yields: 8-10 servings)

A Few things I've been doing lately....

As desperately as I try to sit down and "craft" I just haven't been able to do it yet! In lieu of the Visiting Teaching Workshop (being held today) I had an excuse to craft a bit. Here is what I have. The crowns are little magnets for your fridge with a fitting quote and the box I decorated to transport the handouts for today. I think I will get some uses out of it since Spring is on its' way!


Sorry the picture is a bit dark. The design showed up better without the flash.

3 weeks down

Hooray! We've made it almost a month now that Jeremiah has been away. I am SO grateful I've had help and had friends to visit with and things to keep me busy. Being busy really is the cure. I've been blessed enough to hear from him a few times since he's been away. It's always a comfort to know that he is safe and doing as well as possible. Thank you everyone! I may not have asked you for help yet, but just knowing you are there if I need anything is SUCH a comfort and relieves any stress I might feel!! I will have plenty of OB appointments - so you may get your chance to keep an eye on the girls!

got SOAP?

My Julia just loves to "wash her hands". Her favorite soap is the Kandoo foam. This morning was her latest adventure. She started out by saying "I need some soap", to which she plopped some soap on her chin to make a beard.... and shortly... a mess! My little sister took these pictures (the flash on my camera takes a bit at times... so these were the best she could get). No doubt this girl loves to get clean!

It's about time we joined the Zoo!

Last year I decided we should get a membership somewhere fun to enjoy what Norfolk has to offer. We started with the Botanical Gardens, and got quite a few chances to play and have fun (although the main attraction was the water in WOW - but what child doesn't love to be soaked to the bone?).

This year my adventure is joining the Zoo (since you've all seen the title).

Yesterday was in one word: Perfect. Everything about it was just beautiful so we decided to venture out and join the zoo (since we are all wild animals at our house anyway). It seems as though everyone had the same idea. The line wasn't too bad and the girls really enjoyed it. Melanie seemed to enjoy life a whole bunch more behind the lens of her camera. I watched her "creep" around with her camera trying to get a good shot. What could be better than that??

New "Do"

I decided to get a new "do" yesterday. I've definitely needed a cut for a LONG time!! Jaesi's sister, Julie, cut it for me (and hopefully Nancy will be around long enough to help me maintain it). I pretty much told her to have fun with it. It turned out looking similar to a few cuts in the ward - which is totally fine. I just wanted something different and I love it! It makes me want to go crazy with highlights now!! Maybe closer to summer though. What do you think my hubby will say?