Monday update

So this weekend was a little more crazy than normal. A few months back, my loving husband installed a new shower head in the upstairs bathroom. Some how it came loose and started spraying the ceiling a little, but the shower still worked. As soon as I noticed, I let him know and asked him to tighten it. The next morning, he took a shower before work without tightening the shower head first. Later that morning, I walked in to find a mess of popcorn ceiling in our tub. Needless to say, the shower head got tightened as soon as he came home from work. Unfortunately, the damage was already done.

I don't know if you have ever tried to patch a popcorn ceiling, but it never quite looks right. So you either respray the whole thing or live with the mismatch. Well, we hate popcorn ceilings and thought, hey lets try removing it! A few of our friends are avid DIYers and have done this successfully. Our friends, the Marzka's, removed the popcorn ceilings throughout their entire house!

Well, the hubs knew this needed to be accomplished before his camping trip this past weekend, so he started the project when we were out of town on Tuesday. Little did he know the HUGE mess the ceiling dust was making in our ENTIRE house or I'm POSITIVE he would have figured out how to control the mess a bit. I shared this lovely image on FB last night. The clean spots on the dining room table were from birthday party decorations.

I finally convinced EC to let me take them down before we went to Blakely. I intended on putting them away when we returned from my sister's house. And this is what I got for being lazy. They were also covered in dust. EVERY little nook and cranny. It was especially fun to clean the glittery parts! You see, the hard part about cleaning ceiling dust is that you can't just run water over it to wash it off, you have to actually wipe it as well. So this weekend was super fun! And did I mention I had the girls to myself because Bo was camping? :)

I don't be grudge him for going camping, but I really didn't realize the mess he was leaving us in. We returned home late on Thursday, I cooked dinner, and then ran out the door to my 31 meeting. So the house was dark when I came home and it wasn't until Friday morning that it hit me. So I spent the weekend telling the girls I couldn't stop to play because there was so much to clean :( It broke my heart. EC told me at one point, "Mom, All we ever do is clean." I then found my favorite sweater in the dry cleaning pile, not in the same condition that it was in the last time I wore it. So sad.

I still don't know what kind of bugs were on it. That is a picture of just one, but there were several. I haven't ever felt so gross in my life, just knowing those bugs had been in my house. And the funny part is, a teacher friend told me a story at my 31 meeting on Thursday. She had a child open his planner at school one day and there was a magot crawling in it. Gross! I took pride in knowing that even if my house gets covered in toys and clutter, it is not disgusting. Well, think again! Those bugs made the entire house feel that much more disgusting this weekend.

Luckily our friends Kelly and Emma Kate had us over for dinner and play on Friday and Saturday. I think they were our saving grace! The girls got to play with a friend and I had time to visit with an adult and sit in a clean house! Seriously, it just changed my mood to get away. There is something to be said about taking a break when the task at hand seems to daunting to handle. Just make sure you come back to it ready to work ;)

Well, today has been the complete opposite of this weekend :) We took some time this morning to play in the leaves. The girls thought this was the best activity ever!

And we did follow it up with a messy leaf project that they both enjoyed!

Not the best picture, but speaking of pictures...our Fairography sample picture is up on FB! I'm just blown away!

Heather is insanely talented and GREAT with kiddos! I am ordering this is the biggest print possible to hang some where, I'll figure it out! LOVE!! So that brightened my Monday even more! AB's face cracks me up every time I look at this photo :)

And my new lifeproof case came in today, so even more to be grateful for!

I'll leave y'all with two more pictures. The cookies were enjoyed yesterday with good friends for a very special occasion and the card was made with love for a very dear friend who is celebrating her 29th birthday today the 29th of October!

Annabelle knows a lot of words.

Annabelle has not spoken as clearly or as early as her big sister. I hear this is very common for the second child. It also doesn't help that Emma Catherine spoke so clearly as a very young toddler. She was one of the youngest in her daycare class, but spoke as well or better than all the older children. So Annabelle had a tough act to follow. She has taken her sweet time, but in the last two weeks she has decided to make up for lost time.

When we arrived in Blakely last weekend she said, "Hey Pop!" Then ran up and gave him a big hug without being asked and as though no time had passed since she saw him last. Then she would tell him things like "I got it" "that's mine" or "where's my sass? (pacifier)". She loves to tell me, "Mommy, I unna [want to] eat." Or things like "no sissy, that's mine!" "I unt [want] duce [juice] mommy." "I unna tea party mommy!" "I unna cookie mommy!" She makes it very clear what she desires these days, which is making life a bit easier and leaving her with other people is easier too. I'm so glad others are beginning to understand her as well as I do!

EC's prayers

We have been gone, Again. Blakely last weekend and then up to my sister's house on Monday. The girls had their fairyography pictures taken on Tuesday in Athens and I am all too excited about seeing them! There should be a preview up on facebook in the next few days. I really enjoyed meeting Heather, the photographer. She was absolutely fantastic with the girls! I think it helps that she used to be a preschool teacher. She was so so good with them! I really cannot say enough good things about her.

Well, while we were at my sister's house, EC had one of those prayers that was just too cute! Her prayers never cease to amaze me, but I need to write this one down so I do not forget. She started off as she normally does, "Dear God, Thank you for momma, daddy, AB and me. Thank you for..." Then it got more interesting and more passionate than I have ever heard her pray before, "Please please God heal Ms Leah and make her body not have cancer. Please help me to listen better to my mommy, daddy, brother, and sister - oops, I mean sister. And please put a baby in my mommy's tummy and don't take it home to live with you God. I love you Jesus. Amen."

We pray daily for Leah as a family, but the rest of her prayer just blew me away. From time to time we will pray about her behavior, but usually not in front of her. And I can honestly say she came up with that baby business on her own!

About two months back she asked Bo why AB isn't a big sister. So after they chatted about that, she told him that mommy needed another baby in her tummy. Bo mentioned it could be a boy or a girl and she said, "No, I want a girl and I want to name her Brandy Sandy." haha! That poor baby huh? I will be sure to remind her of this if she has children one day! ;)

I can make your van look better. $150

After my last post yesterday, I had to share this because it was too funny :) The girls and I went back to the van after story time and lunch with friends today, only to find this stuck in my window.

Some random stuff on EC's special day!

On the way to EC's birthday lunch, we had to turn back around because one of her toys rolled under the van before we left. I couldn't reach it after she dropped it, so I told her I would pick it up after we backed the van out. In the commotion that all of us out the door, I forgot to pick up the toy. She remembered. We turned around. As I tried to swing into the garage to be in a good position to back out again, but to also be able to get the toy, I swiped the side of the van on the garage opening :(

By no means did I let this dampen the birthday celebratory mood, but it was a bummer. EC went to grab her toy and I check out the damage. Luckily, I think it will mostly buff out and my brother in law does body work, so I will let him handle it. We are going up to see them on Tuesday anyway, since the girls were asked to be models for a photographer in Athens! I'm super excited! I feel in love with Fairyography, thanks to a friend who posted her daughter's pictures on facebook. I started budgeting to have the girls' pictures done next fall, but Heather was looking for a little girl with a Shirley Temple kind of look and she offered to do a free session with our girls! Woohoo! She provides the outfits, we just show up. And the best part is that she will be doing them at the Botanical Gardens where Bo and I got married. Have I told you I'm excited?!?!

So we made it to lunch with daddy today. At first EC said she wanted to go to Moe's. 

Can y'all believe that CFA was not even mentioned? Could she finally be tired of CFA? 

Anyway, I asked if she wanted to go into the city to have Willy's with daddy and at first she said, "No, because its too far away." But she thought about it for a while and I guess the temptation to see daddy was too great, because she came up to me after breakfast and said, "Okay, we can go to Willy's. Do we have to get on the interstate? Can we go a different way?" Yes, she still "doesn't like the interstate". To me she sounds like an old woman sometimes :) Here are some pictures, post our SUPER long 26 mile drive to lunch ;) 

After lunch, she used some of her birthday money to buy a couple toys from the store. This is the first time we have let her do this. I told her she had $25 to spend. She picked out a new doctor kit, a toiletry kit, and thank you cards "to tell [her] friends she really liked her birthday gifts". She still had $5 left and decided to "save it"!

I have really been thinking about chores for the girls lately and "commission" (as Dave Ramsey calls it) for doing their chores. I'm just not sure which chores I want to pay them for and how much. I do want them to have money to save up, give, and spend, so they can learn about money early. EC and AB already help with things in the kitchen like loading and unloading the dish washer, wiping down the kid table, putting away groceries, and EC feeds her fish. EC is responsible for putting her clothes in her hamper, making her bed, and putting away clean clothes. They both help clean up toys through out the day. Those are all things that we feel like they should just do as their part of living here. So I'm not sure what that leaves as far as being paid to do. Dusting maybe? I don't trust them to really sweep or mop yet. Any ideas from you seasoned parents? Or memories of what your parents paid you to do and how much? 

Happy hump day everyone!

Emma Catherine birthday questions, age 4 (for Kimber)

Emma Catherine Lane, Age 4

1. What is your favorite color? pink
2. What is your favorite toy? balloons
3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? Dinosaur Train
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? soup, chicken noodle soup
6. What is your favorite outfit? a skirt and a shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Shoots and Ladders
8. What is your favorite snack? fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? giraffe
10. What is your favorite song? Dinosaur Train at the end, We sing Hosannah to Annabelle
11. What is your favorite book? Dora
12. Who is your best friend? Kirsten
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play games, like tag you’re it
15. What is your favorite drink? sweet tea
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? a toy giraffe
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cheerios
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? mac n cheese
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a doctor

EC's 4th Birthday Party!

My heart is so full right now. AB started feeling much better towards the end of last week (HOORAY!!!) and I finally had some time to prep for EC's princess, flower tea party! We started with decorating. I used all of our normal birthday decor and then EC asked me to tie a ribbon on the back of her chair. Then she decided all of her friends needed ribbons for their chairs. We finished decorating the room Thursday. She woke up Friday and the first thing she said was, "Mommy, My tea party room looks SO beautiful!" 

Friday we spent the afternoon baking. EC was a big helper! And AB was a big taste tester :) After the first layers came out of the oven, EC walked in and said, "Mommy, It smells so delicious!" And the compliments just continued! She was so so sweet. Four is an awesome age!

EC had much more involvement in this party than any before. She helped make invitations, planned the menu, and helped decorate the room. We had some help from Mrs. Holly too! She had hats, gloves, and purses on hand that they did not use for Kirsten's birthday party. She gave them to us when she found out we were doing a tea party. So the girls had hats that they decorated, candy necklaces, bracelets, and gloves to wear for tea. Then they had purses we filled with party favors for the them to take home.

The girls were absolutely precious! I think they really enjoyed making the hats and then the gloves were a big hit when it came time to have tea and snacks! They really looked like the little princesses they are :)

EC was very much into gifts this year too! I would say more so then any holiday yet. She plowed through those gifts at lightening speed, even at my best attempts to slow her down by reading the cards. Ha! Also, she was exhausted by that point at the party. She hasn't taken regular naps since she turned three. She will have quiet time, but very seldom does she fall asleep. That does not necessarily mean she wouldn't benefit from a nap some days! And birthday party day is definitely one of those days! She had been so excited for so long. The morning of the party she woke up extra early and immediately woke me up saying, "Mom, I'm so excited! Today is my tea party day!" It was very similar to that Christmas morning feeling :) She was precious!! 

At the end of the day I asked what her favorite part of the party was and she replied, "Dressing up in beautiful dresses with all of my friends!" 

Special thanks to Holly and Elizabeth for helping the girls glue flowers and butterflies to their hats. To Mary and Mike for cooking sausage balls for like the entire party :) and helping with all the other odds and ends. To my mom for bringing the tea set and trusting the girls not to break it :) And especially to Kimber for bringing Lily to play with AB while she took fantastic pictures of the party! Y'all rock!! 

I will post pictures as soon as I get them! 

EC's 4th Birthday Prep

So the prep for EC's birthday party is off to a slow start after yesterday. It shouldn't be too hard to throw  a princess, flower tea party for six little girls should it?

We have started decorating, but if someone would like to come over and clean our house, that would be fantastic!

I am planning to do a few extra things for EC this year since her party is not on the same day as her actual birthday.  This post is kind of a list for me, so I don't forget ;) Thank you Pinterest and fellow pinners for the following ideas!

Waking up to balloon all over your room. Sure hoping Bo will help me out with this on her birthday since he gets up before the sun.

Tearing through crepe paper on the way to breakfast! 

And of course, we have to ask her the list of favorites questions for the year!

I'm a little sad I only started doing this for her last year. She really could have done it when she was two, because she spoke so clearly and in complete sentences, even back then. Oh well! If you can think of other fun things for us to do or traditions your family loves, please pass some ideas our way! I love making birthdays feel extra special :)

A messy mommy day

There's that moment when you are a mom. A moment of desperation. Where you actually consider pulling over on the side of the road to give your toddler a glycerin suppository.

Yep.

How do you get to this moment? Slowly.

Before you realize it, your toddler is trying her best to straighten her entire body that is strapped down in a car seat. Her cheeks are red, she is grunting, and little tears are streaming down her face. Pitiful. Heart wrenching mommy moment. Then the screams begin again.

AB has had a little issue lately. She weaned a few weeks ago. Did you know coming off breast milk can contribute to constipation? Never had this problem with EC, so I was clueless.

AB doesn't like cow's milk, almond milk, soy milk, goats milk. Nope. Just momma milk. She likes juice sometimes and water almost never. So you can see how our problem just started building little by little.

AB is equally as picky about food. Some days she will eat yogurt, other days not so much. Some days she will eat fruit, other days not so much. We have a lot of waste around here if big sister doesn't eat it her leftovers.

This weekend was the longest AB has gone in between "messy diapers", that's what we will call it for the sake of everyone's gag reflex. After the grunting, groaning, and straining had become much more frequent this morning, I called the pediatrician AGAIN. We were on day four of this struggle, which wouldn't normally be a big deal, but you could tell she was uncomfortable and not eating well. I'll spare you the other gag worthy, painful details.

The nurse finally called back at 2:30. We finally saw the doctor around 4:30, her appointment was at 3:30. I am grateful they fit her in, don't get me wrong. She discussed diet and reassured me we were doing everything we could. Awesome. Apparently toddle constipation is common. She recommended miralax, glycerin suppositories, and told me to watch one swollen area over the next few days to make sure it did not become a hemorrhoid. I practically ran out of there with my rigid, grunting toddler to find the nearest store. She cried and screamed 90% of the way. 

At Publix, I checked the pharmacy over and over. No luck finding the children's suppositories. We asked at the pharmacy. Meanwhile, AB found a shelf to lean her forehead on as she grunted, groaned, strained, and wept while trying to go potty. The pharmacist sent me to the baby isle at the other end of the store.

On isle three there was still no luck and only more screaming, but at least AB let me pick her up and hug her.

Going potty is a very hands off, private kind of thing for toddlers - just fyi. They like to find their own little corner of the world. Do not look at them, do not dare talk to them as you might throw off their concentration. They will cry/scream "mommy" when they are ready for your comfort.

Off we went to customer service. My patience was gone, so I reached out for help. They called an associate. We waited. This "quick" Publix trip felt like it was dragging on FOREVER. Back to isle 3. Then back to the pharmacy. Then up to the pharmacist's counter for them to finally "find" it behind the counter.

I'm sure there were daggers coming out of my eyes at this point. I kept my mouth tightly shut. The associate walked me to the front of the customer service line to check me out. Maybe he was just tired of hearing my toddler scream. Either way, brownie points for that associate.

I practically sprinted to the van and coaxed AB back into her carseat by offering snuggles, bath, food, tv shows, sleeping in mommy's bed until she is 18, and millions of dollars as soon as we arrived home. Of course, she again had the urge to go potty as soon as we were on the road fighting rush hour traffic. She screamed, grunted, groaned. Her body was as straight as she can get it in her carseat. Feet were pushing firmly against the passenger chair in front of her. I convinced her to bite on her pacifier instead of her hand that was quickly becoming raw from the afternoon of constant struggle. How did it get so bad without me realizing it sooner?

We barely made it home with my emotions still intact. I left the keys in the ignition and climbed to the back with the medicine. I freed her from the chair and hugged her rigid body all the way inside. I tried to get her to drink the miralax. That did not go over AT ALL, so on to the suppository. There was a battle, but it was over quickly and she laid their clinging to my legs.

She eventually drank the miralax and juice combination, then promptly asked for "dordor and boo" aka Dora and boots.

A few hours later the poor girl finally got some relief. I cleaned her up and she said, "I eat."

First Trimester, You know you are pregnant when:

It is amazing that I am pregnant for a forth time and still find the first trimester taking me by surprise, again. Yes, it has been different each time. My pregnancy with EC was definitely the most challenging by this point, in all aspects. It is true, after pregnancy there are things that you tend to block out and eventually forget. Did y'all know that I had issues with my heart racing and fainting during my pregnancy with EC? I saw a cardiologist, had an echo done, and even wore a heart monitor for a month. You don't remember? Neither did I!! Anyway, here is a little bit of my first trimester joy with the newest baby lane!

You know you are pregnant when:

You feel like you could drink all the water in the county and not quite quench your thirst for the day.

You wake up with dry mouth every morning.

You have an insatiable hunger for any and all food for weeks. Then, out of no where, (around week 8) thinking about food makes you nauseated. Suddenly, planning meals for the week becomes the most torturous task on earth and you wish your eating out budget could quadruple for at least the next three months.

Halfway through your chick fil a biscuit one morning, you just cannot bare to take another bite because it suddenly tastes disgusting.

Giving four viles of blood at the OB feels like they sucked the life out of you. You desperately needed that blood to survive, you just didn't realize it until you stood up. Immediately all the lights in the world dimmed a little and it felt like you had been riding a merry-go-round instead of giving blood.

Thinking about your favorite food while shopping at the grocery store makes you vomit a little in your mouth.

The muscle you worked so hard for (after baby one and two) slowly turns to mush because working out is not an option. Right now keeping food down is workout enough.

You suddenly wish for those days in the office when you could hide behind your desk and focus on keeping your breakfast down instead of chasing after two little cuties.

You are only 10 weeks out and are already considering bringing Crabby back.

Okay, yes, some of this was dramatized a little. We are filled with joy at the thought of adding another little one to our family. And nothing compares to seeing that little heart beating strong on a sonogram machine!