What I'm Lovin' Wednesday

I can't sleep.  I woke up because I thought I might have a stomach bug (we have been exposed this week), and now I feel fine, but I'm up!  So I figured I would take a little bit of time to link up with Jamie again and share what I'm loving this week!

I LOVE this little dress for Baby Minnie.  I think this cute little pink sailor dress is the perfect coming home outfit for her!  I found one MUCH cheaper on Ebay, so I think that I'll order her that one!  This is just precious!

Speaking of the baby, she needs a new infant car seat.  We used our last infant seat with all three of the big kids (well, Wyatt used it for two months after we had to replace his original after a car accident), but it's definitely in need of replacing.  It was green and very practical, but since she is most likely our last baby, we can afford to be a little less gender neutral!  I love this seat from Babies R Us, and I wish I'd ordered it on Monday when it was $20 cheaper with free shipping.  There are some places with my babies that I don't take chances, and car safety is one.  We are on the road a lot, so I spend A LOT of money on car seats, but it's worth it!

I got this smoothie maker for Brian for Christmas, and it is awesome.  I ordered a second smoothie cup, and that way I can make him a smoothie (almost) every morning before work.  He can still have a healthy, filling breakfast even if he doesn't have time to sit down and eat.  And the ability to make the smoothie in the cup and not have to use the blender is a definite perk!

So I jumped on the 50 Shades bandwaggon about 3 weeks ago.  I loved it.  I read them all in three days (there were consecutive nights of hockey games and I'm a fast reader). I mean, it's a little scandalous, but I don't think that's what the story is actually about.  And it's not the finest piece of literature ever crafted, but it holds my attention.  I mean, I've seen people complain about the writing, but have you ever read a James Patterson book?  Not the best written stuff, but still interesting and all best sellers!  I definitely wouldn't recommend it for everyone though! 

And as usual, some pins that I'm loving this week!

Love this idea!

Source: marlaandshane.com via Brittney on Pinterest

This sign cracked me up!  When the kids are bigger and they know more about Harry Potter (I'm seriously begging Brian to let me start reading some out loud to Wyatt this summer), I need this!

Source: etsy.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I think this would be so fun!

Source: redtedart.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea!  We bought a gift for each big kid to give Hudson, and we bought each big kid their own little camera when Hudson was born, but I think these kits are super cute!

Source: ducksinarowblog.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I mentioned last week that I've been trying to plan our summer "curriculum" so that the kids retain what they've learned.  I'm planning daily lessons and crafts for them, separate phonics lessons, sight word work, and writing and math.  We'll also try to go to story time at the library and check out some of their readers for Wyatt each week.  I think that these preschool packs would also keep their interest!  They are both fans of Tangled, and fire safety is an important "real world" lesson!

Source: livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com via Brittney on Pinterest

Source: homeschoolcreations.com via Brittney on Pinterest

Source: notimeforflashcards.com via Brittney on Pinterest

We aren't doing any work on the baby's room until after she comes, but I am in LOVE with this nursery!

Source: projectnursery.com via Brittney on Pinterest

And of course, we're going to need other things to do this summer besides swim lessons and schooling!  I love links like this that give me ideas that I never would have thought of!

Source: sixsistersstuff.com via Brittney on Pinterest

Winners! And a Bit of a Brain Dump.

Congratulations to Tiffany (Organizing Utility Tote) and Maureen (All In One Organizer)!  I've sent you both emails to double check your pattern choice before I order them!

The rest of our weekend was pretty low key.  On Sunday we watched a movie in the morning and then went back to my parents' house to do a little more swimming.

Hudson put his life jacket on, but he wasn't really having it.

 He walked me to the shed, because he decided that he would rather play baseball.

Wyatt is seriously having the worst trouble with chafing this year, and I have no idea what to do.  I guess he needs to change out of his swim suit and not run around the pool?  I cut the liners out of his swimsuits, but the pain seems to be pretty unbearable for him.  Like, screaming pain.  I can honestly tell that he hurts so bad that he wants to hit something, but he doesn't.  I guess that's progress :)

 

We had some time to kill before we picked Brian up from work, so we went to The Skinny Dip for some frozen yogurt.  The kids may have worn their jammies. :)

They are so typical!  Reese always wants chocolate with Reese's Pieces, and Wyatt gets vanilla with M&M's.  I got cherry limeade fizz and orange creamsicle - SO good!

Of course, Reese ended up puking this all up when we got to the waterpark.  She will literally eat anything I give her, but I have to watch her very closely.  I think that she drank an entire water bottle in 10 minutes, and it just didn't sit well on her stomach.  Fortunately, I noticed the look on her face just before she started to vomit, and I was able to get her out of the car pretty quickly.  But man, I am definitely putting together and emergency puke kit for my car - sand pails to catch it, towels, changes of clothes, water bottles to wash them off, febreze.  I had a change of clothes and things to clean a lot of it up in the car already, but I seriously can't take much more of this!

• On Monday the kids spent several hours playing very nicely together outside.  In those three hours, I would say that they opened the back door approximately 528,000 times.  They are the first ones to complain if there is a fly in the house, but they can't seem to grasp that they're the reason we get them.  

• It's been two weeks, but I'm still really bummed about Lexi Grey and the season finale of Grey's.  Like, unforgivably mad.  I may never forgive Shonda Rhimes for this.

• We got back into our "routine" today.  Kind of.  After school drop off, I had a glucose test (yuck!), and Brian took the boys to Toys R Us to kill time and buy presents for two birthday parties.  Then we had Natalie come over to play for a few hours before a baseball practice turned game tonight.  There was a game scheduled and one team just didn't show up. I am so lost.  Parents sign their kids up for sports and then don't want to follow through with the season.  What does that teach them about commitment?  Frustrating!

• Wyatt played a great game, though!  He had three really good hits, and he even slid so that he beat the baseman to the base!  But honestly, that pales in comparison to how proud I was of his sportsmanship tonight.  He really encouraged his friends when they were on the bench, and he and Hunter high five constantly!  It's all about little steps!

• Brian and I are watching the Hatfield's and McCoy's  on the History Channel.  I'm a big fan of Kevin Costner and Bill Henrickson Paxton. It's really good! And not just because I grew up dreaming of being a history teacher.  Which, by the way, will never actually happen.

• Tomorrow I have to take Reese to the pediatric dermatologist to have her bumps looked at.  I really hope they can treat them, because they are driving us both insane!

• We're supposed to have the final game of the baseball season tomorrow.  We're also supposed to get hit by a tropical storm tomorrow.  I'm supposed to make cupcakes to celebrate the season.  I already made some for the game last week that got rained out, and I ended up sending them to school with Wyatt.  Reese's class may be getting leftovers on Thursday. 

• I really can't wait until I qualify for a phone upgrade in October!  I used Brian's iPhone to deposit a check tonight, and it was crystal clear!  My old phone constantly gets errors when I try to use it to make a deposit! I also think being able to FaceTime with Brian would be lovely right about now!

What We're Up To

So I started this post to write about yesterday, but then I remembered these super cute pictures I took on Thursday!  We've been driving back and forth (anywhere from a 45 minute round trip to an hour and a half with the traffic) to drop Brian off and pick him up this week.  It's been too crazy to get the Jeep looked at, so hopefully it will get fixed in the next few days!  I hate being stranded at the house without a car, so it's not too big of a deal!

When we got there on Thursday night, Brian asked the kids if they wanted to come take a look at the new section of the park.  They've just completed at 3.5 acre expansion at the water park, which includes a new Adventure River.  The big kids were very excited to check it out!

This isn't a "lazy river."  It has waves, a waterfall, tipping buckets - it's all very cool!  I can't believe that it's the same place that I started working 14 years ago.  It has changed so much over the last 11 years, and it looks great.  I'm super proud of my husband and all his hard work to make it great!

And so are the kids!  They sooo wanted to get in, but it was NOT happening!  I even got them ready for bed before we left the house in case they fell asleep on the way home, so they were out in their jammies!

Yesterday we spent a pretty quiet morning at home (after a two hour trip to get Brian to work and back.  We got stuck behind a bunch of Model T's on their way to our local Strawberry Festival.  On a two lane road.  And there was no way to pass them.  It was an adventure).

After nap time we went out to our court's annual Memorial Day cook out for a little bit (a highlight was a neighbor who had the bee keeper scheduled to come remove 15-18,000 bees from her cherry blossom tree).  I had a lot of fun chatting with the neighbors, but I'd already told the kids that we were going to go swimming at Didi and Pop Pop's house, so they just wanted to leave!

Hudson had fun watching them swim.  He was NOT happy when I put him in the pool!

But these two had such fun!  My parents have friends in town, and they have a little girl who is 6.  Reesie had the best time swimming with her!  Those bumps on her arms are Molluscum.  She's had them for 18 months, which is how long they can stick around.  Our pediatrician won't treat them, but they are really starting to look bad, so we're going to a pediatric dermatologist on Wednesday to (hopefully) get them treated!

Wyatt likes to try to show off for Ava's big brother's so he was doing some "super cool jumps."

After swimming was over we made one s'more each and then they headed in for baths with Didi.  Fortunately I brought jammies because we headed straight to pick up Brian and Wyatt passed out in the car on the way home!  That little guy was exhausted!

Reese kind of loves s'mores.  She would eat a ton if I let her!

We'll probably head back over for more swimming this evening!  Maybe tomorrow, too?  Hudson isn't that easy to watch around the pool (he hates it, but that won't stop him from walking up to it), so it can be a little tiring, but it's so much better for the kids to be active!  

We only have three weeks left of school before break (I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with all three of them, all day, all summer while I'm in my third trimester!)!  We have 5 weeks of swim lessons lined up again this summer, and I'm looking forward to watching them become more confident swimmers!  Wyatt actually ended last summer with his Station 5 sticker, so he's halfway done with the pre-school program!  I'm hoping that Reese will actually open her eyes under water this summer so she gets her Station 2 sticker finally!  I'm also scouring Pinterest for fun and cheap ideas to keep them occupied and planning out their summer "school" curriculum.  They've both made amazing progress this year, and I don't want them to fall behind!

Rare Moments

Last week Brian downloaded a new app on his iPhone.  The kids both wanted to play with , but when it was Reesie's turn he found them snuggled up on the couch playing together.  How I wish this was the norm around here!

Reesie the Soccer Super Star

If you haven't entered my Thirty-One Giveaway yet, make sure you check it out! 

Reese's soccer season is almost over (her last game is next week).  I can not even tell you how proud I am of this little girl.  She had no interest in it AT ALL last season, but now she just runs out there and plays!  The coach calls her his go-to player because when everyone else wants to sit down and have a snack Reese is ready to go out and play!

She is so funny when she plays!  She runs down the field (y'all she is fast) with her mouth wide open!  She will go head to head with the boys, she is not afraid of them one bit.  Last week she was on the field and she was trying to get the ball from a little boy.  Wyatt shouted, "Come on Reesie, show me that speed!"  Ha!  They crack me up cheering for each other!

Baby Minnie: 24 Weeks!

If you haven't entered my Thirty-One Giveaway yet, make sure you check it out!  

• How far along: 24 weeks!
• Size of baby: She's about 9 inches long and 1.5 pounds.
• Total weight gain/loss: At my appointment on Tuesday I officially crossed over into the "weight gain" category.  I'm up 1 pound!
• Maternity clothes: Jeans, t-shirts, dresses.  I've accumulated quite a pregnancy wardrobe.  
• Gender: She's still a girl!
• Movement: She likes to move to music.  She kicks in the car when we're driving and the music is up.  She rocked out to Phillip Phillips on Idol this week (I just think he's amazing).  Apparently she'll fit right in with our music loving, dancing crew!  She gave Brian a big kick last night while we watched the finale!
• What I miss: My energy.  I have none.  Like, I have days where I fall asleep while the kids nap and I don't even mean to.  I know Brian thinks I've lost my mind.  And complete control of cleaning the house!
• Sleep: I'm up to go to the bathroom, but I sleep well otherwise.  I've had some trouble falling back asleep, but nothing crazy.
• Symptoms: The carpal tunnel. Hip pain.  I'm tired. I waddle.  My sugar levels were slightly elevated on Tuesday, so the doctor is having me come in for my glucose test this Tuesday.  Fun, fun!
• Best Moment this week: Hearing her heartbeat at the doctor's appointment on Tuesday!  She sounds great!
• What I am looking forward to: Getting the glucose test over with!  Ordering her "coming home" outfit.  I think I've narrowed down what I want, I just have to find it at a reasonable price!  I'm also looking forward to getting more work done around the house.  I put a dent in my laundry pile and my To Do List today, so I hope I can keep on trucking!
• Goals for this week:  I would like to create more space in my room to start preparing for her.  While I would LOVE to have a beautiful nursery for her to come home to, it's just not feasible right now.  All 3 kids are pretty well settled in their rooms and she'll be bunking with us for awhile (the boys will eventually share a room). 

And for fun: here's Hudson's 24 week update!

Our Weekend

We spent all day Saturday running around (or, at least it felt like it)!

Wyatt had his final soccer game of the season that morning at 9.  He had a lot of fun this season, and he learned a lot.  He got really good at passing the ball to his team mates (and looking for them to be open for him to pass to), and he learned to play some defense too...

For those times when 7 or 8 goals was enough.  After the game we went to thank his coaches for working with him, and teaching him new things.  His coach told us that he definitely has "it."  It's a little weird to me to hear that about a 5 year old, but he is definitely good!  It's going to be hard in the fall because he's going to play baseball, and he gets to choose between soccer and flag football!

After 9:00 soccer we went to a 10:30 baseball game. 

Wyatt played two innings in the outfield, and got to play first base once.  He cracked me up this time.  His buddy Hunter was pitching (which is a big place to stop the ball and throw to first), and when Hunter looked over at first and saw Wyatt, he shouted, "Hey Wyatt!  You better catch whatever I throw you!"  Ha!

Well, on the second play - he did!

He caught the ball, tagged first base, and stood there looking at the kid like, "You're out."

He and Hunter worked together for 2 more outs that inning!  Wyatt would walk over to the pitcher's mound and give Hunter a high five!  Ha! These two need to stay on the same team because they have so much fun playing together!

When we finally got home, Brian needed to head to work.  The waterpark opened this weekend, so he had to go in.  I can't believe it's that time of year again!  I also can't believe that my husband wasn't there that morning, but I guess his priorities have shifted a bit over the last 12 years :).

The kids and I spent most of the weekend hanging out at home.  The Jeep is having some issues, so Brian ended up taking my van to work.  The kids were able to get outside to play on Saturday, but Sunday was gross!  Reesie went to North Carolina for Piper's birthday party with Mimi and Baba and the boys had a pajama day.  Really, a quiet day.  That may have included a nap for me :).

Brian and I did make it out to see The Avengers again that night thanks to my little sister, the Pro Bono Babysitter.  It was just as good the second time as it was the first.  I'm honestly a little surprised every time I go and see little kids Wyatt's age (especially to a 7:45 movie on a Sunday).  I would never let Wyatt go to a movie (or see one) like that if I hadn't seen it first.  I mean, he likes superheroes, but I think that there are definitely elements that are too boring (like when the Avengers actually "assemble") and there are also parts that are too scary for him.  It's just really weird to me.  I'd much rather have him experience it at home when he can see some cool parts, but everything else can be fast forwarded.  Movies aren't cheap, and you can't really trust Hollywood (or anyone else) to be a parent to your kid!

Thirty-One Giveaway!

I am super excited to give away not one, but TWO Thirty-One products!  I absolutely love everything about Thirty-One.  They offer so many storage solutions, incredible bags and totes, and awesome patterns! 

This month's Customer Special is that for every $31 you spend, you get an All-In-One Organizer for only $5!  And you have the option of getting the All-In-One in the exclusive Think Pink pattern!

So, I'm giving away ONE Organizing Utility Tote and ONE All-In-One Organizer!  Just follow these instructions for one entry each!

 1. Become a public follower of my blog (of course, it counts if you already are)!
2. Go to my Thirty-One site and check out the Organizing Utility Totes and the All-In-One Organizers and leave a comment saying which pattern you like best.
3. Like my page on Facebook (once again, you get an entry of you already do).
4. Blog about or Pin this giveaway!

5.  Place an order on my Thirty-One site!

Leave a comment for each entry, and I will use random.org to determine the winners on Tuesday, May 29th!

A Little of This And That

I figured I would update the blog with "stuff" that's been going on lately.  Sometimes I feel like I get far behind, or forget things that I'd like to remember, and today is just as good a day as any :)

This is the Mother's Day card that Wyatt made for me at school.  I think it is hysterical.  I love this little boy so much!

On our trip to Brian's parents' house on Sunday, there were a few short naps in the back of the car.  Although I found after I took this that Reese was actually faking it!

My mom invited Wyatt over for a sleepover on Monday night after Reese's soccer game.  I knew that she was going to take him out for some frozen yogurt, and asked Brian if he wanted to take the Littles after the game.  Reese was very excited to go and get some chocolate yogurt with Reese's Pieces and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I think she's a little obsessed)!

On Tuesday we went to get haircuts for the boys, and then picked Reesie up from dance.  My mom met us back at the house with lunch for the kids and then watched them for three glorious hours while I went and got a massage and a pedicure!   It was Heaven! I hate asking for help, and I'm so thankful that she knows when I need some and offers to watch the kids for me:). It was raining all day, so to help me out, my mom gave the kids baths and had them in their pajamas when I got home!  The only problem was that we assumed that Wyatt's baseball game had been rained out!  So she helped me get them changed and packed up for the game and we left. After living through a monsoon all day, we got to his fields (5 miles from our house), and not ONE DROP of rain had fallen on them all day!  Thank goodness!  I can't imagine what Brian would do if he had another set of games to reschedule!

After we got home from the game I got Reese and Hudson set up with milk and Caillou, and I couldn't believe how big he looked watching the show!  He looks like such a big boy!

And he's a Hulk!  Last night I was cleaning out the pantry, and I left the trash can open so that I could bring some trash over (it pulls out from the cabinets, so it's kind of hidden). Hudson walked over and tried to do pull ups on it.  He pulled it down and broke it!  This is NOT the week for this kind of stuff - the water park opens this weekend and Brian is soooooo busy! Fortunately my Dad came over to fix it for me this morning.

We had parent teacher conferences at school today.  Wyatt's teacher shared his self portrait with us.  I absolutely love the hair!

He is doing so well!  We know that his teacher just loves him (seriously, it's a mutual admiration society.  He almost cried the other day when I was telling him he would have a different teacher next year).  He is doing so well in his reader (he's on the 4th one now), and even his handwriting has improved drastically since the beginning of the year.  He can count to 100 (and above if he's actually concentrating), and he's a good listener (at school).  Of course, he's also a talker like his mommy.  I can't tell you how much I got in trouble for talking!  I just couldn't keep my mouth shut!  His teacher asked him what he loves and he said "hugs.  I just....one time there were two birds...." and then he went off on a crazy story about birds.  She said she had to stop asking questions during circle time because he would start answering and then sharing some story from his life.  Ha!  I know my mom is surprised by none of this!

I'm getting a little stressed out because he's the ONLY boy in his class that is going to kindergarten next year, the rest of the boys are going to Pre-K.  Fortunately, he apparently spends most of his time on the playground playing sports with the current Pre-K class, so he'll have some friends when they move up with him!

Reese's conference was awesome, as well.  Her teacher crossed out "Most of the time" for listening, sharing, and being kind and changed it to "All the time."  Apparently Reesie is a good little helper at school (of course, she can be for me here when she wants to be).  

Ms. Megan showed is her handwriting sample, and said that Reesie is ready for her first Phonics book!  Yay!  Wyatt didn't get his first Phonics book until September of this year, so she's a little ahead of him! I was also super pleased when I asked about how she's doing in regards to the "older" kids in the class.  Sometimes I hear horror stories about the late summer babies being farther behind, not as mature, etc., and her teacher said none of those things are concerns with Reesie!  We'll obviously have another talk with Ms. Janette next year, but that was really great to hear!

The teachers fill out their progress report with them, and at the end they ask them some questions.  Reese's answers cracked me up.

I think that just about catches me up.  I have TWO Thirty-One Totes that I'm giving away TOMORROW, so make sure you check back then!

Mother's Day

We spent our Mother's Day on the go!  I was able to sleep in until almost 8, but then I rushed around like a mad woman trying to get everyone out of the house to get to my parents house.  My dad made a yummy brunch, so we were able to go over and spend time with my parents, my aunt and my grandmother.  Stevie and Katie also gradually made their way home from their after prom parties, so we were able to see them a little bit, too!

It was a nice day and the kids really wanted to go swimming, so we let them.  In what I'm saying is a case of perfect planning, but is really just my own forgetfulness, they had swimsuits and their lifejackets waiting for them!  I wish I had pictures.  I had the camera.  But I took the card out the night before to empty it, and I forgot to put it back in!  Mommy fail!

They both got back in the pool like they had been in it yesterday and did a great job with their swimming!  Wyatt even jumped off the diving board!

We stayed there until 1 and  then made our way to Brian's parents (with a stop at home to get the card for the camera).  The kids had a great day playing with their cousins and celebrating Piper's fourth birthday!

She LOVES to swing!  She would do it all day, but she actually still prefers the baby swing!

As usual, there was lots and lots and lots of baseball!  I've heard rumors of a batting cage, which would pretty much guarantee that I will be getting requests to head over to Mimi and Baba's house every day!

Wyatt wanted to wear his Cano shirt because he loves Robinson Cano, but also because he just knew that Derek would be wearing his Yankees gear, too!  And he was pinstriped out!

As usual, Hudson wanted to do whatever the big kids were doing, but he was more content to do it all on his own!

After spending the rest of the day there, the kids were exhausted!  We came home and got them to bed so that my husband could treat me to my Mother's Day dinner - pizza while we watched the Survivor finale.  This is tradition - long before the children we had reality TV Thursday - we watched Survivor and the Apprentice (when it was good) and ordered pizza every week.  When our metabolism's quickly dwindled at the same rate as the quality of the Apprentice, we switched to just ordering pizza when Survivor premiered and on finale night. It is really one of the only shows on TV that we both still enjoy (along with The Amazing Race, SVU, and Modern Family)!  I like some shows and he tolerates them, and he has some shows he likes that I tolerate, but we both still love some Survivor!