The Problem with Easter Egg Hunts

This morning at the gym a woman walked in and (very loudly) said, "Whoa! Someone's ready to go soon!" And then she stopped behind me and I realized she was talking to me. I gave my fake smile and agreed with her and said something along the lines of "hopefully soon". And then she asked if I was overdue.

Wow. Thanks. I'm glad to know I look that great.

I think she realized her mistake because she came back a couple minutes later and said something about me looking beautiful. But it was a little too late. I could just feel everyone else in the locker room staring at the gigantic pregnant lady.

Yeah. The last month of pregnancy just really shouldn't happen.

I'm so ready to have the attention off of me and on to my cute little baby. But NO TOUCHING, PEOPLE!!! I don't like having my newborns touched. But I'm sure there will be more rants to come about that one, so we'll leave it for another day.

Anyway, Saturday the kids got to participate in a little Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by our gym.

Bryce proudly showing his basket. I think my mom made that several years ago--from a milk jug. The kids think it's pretty awesome.

And Kayli wanted to take the basket that she won from her coloring contest last year. She's still pretty proud of that. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that anyone does coloring contests around here.

Side note: The little girl in the purple shirt in the background apparently got caught kissing Bryce in the child care center at the gym last week. And he was so cute when I asked him about it--not that I encourage kissing at this age. He just seemed pretty pleased. And she is a really cute girl.

So excited to stand by the Easter Bunny

And then the games began!

It was pretty sad to watch, really. Bryce was technically supposed to be in another spot with the younger kids, but I wanted to get pictures of both of them, plus Blake wasn't there at the beginning and I couldn't just leave one of them. So he got to be in the older group with Kayli. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. Then I found out that while Bryce's group was just ages 1-3, Kayli's was ages 4-12! That's a pretty big gap there.

So, I watched them get close to egg after egg only to have it snatched up by a bigger kid just before they got there. Which might explain this:

Back off my egg, Mister!

Kayli ran to find more eggs, but they were gone by the time she got there. She's old enough to notice the bigger kids with incredibly full baskets compared to the 6 or 7 in hers and she was a bit disappointed at the end.

But then we started opening up the eggs and magically, all was made better

8-Month Bump

I've made an executive decision. I'm going to try to be more tolerant of Justin Bieber.

Now that I've got that off my chest, here is a bizarre photo of me

This was me at 8-months pregnant with Bryce

This is me now

Blake likes to take photos of me straight on because he thinks it's funny I don't really look pregnant that way.

Haha. Straight on, or from the side--I still feel pregnant. Very.

And then he thinks I should pretend like I'm a model

Yeah. You can tell I have a lot of experience working it for the camera

I learned a lot from looking at these photos.

1. I like my house (and the decor) a lot better this time around (cell phone vs. the doggie door)

2. My hair style really suffers when I'm preggems

3. In addition to not fitting well, maternity jeans don't look good either

4. I look very pregnant

Well, I guess that's all I really learned from the photos. But it was fun comparing the two. For me, anyway.

Things are going well. I'm ready to be done with this part and begin the recovery/adjustment process. I'm tired of having the same conversation with every person I come in contact with. I appreciate the interest and concern and all, it just gets very repetitive for me. I might just make up a shirt that says,

"Just a few more weeks; yes, I'm ready to be done; Typically, early, but every baby is different, this one might be a couple weeks late; I know--it looks just like a basketball, you are very clever; a boy; yes, but we're not sharing; nope, this is #3; yes, I do look very young to be having my third; I think we're ready, but I'm sure I forgot something; I'm not normally this cranky, I'm just very tired."

Did I mention I can't wait to have this baby?!

Wednesday Wreck

So, today's Wednesday post was probably the most complicated so far. That's because we're really getting into the thick of things now. D!R!A!M!A! Yeah. It's that huge. So, grab a snack and buckle in, my friends.

And because I'm getting lazy (basically a month until D-day here, folks), just know that when you see "'s, that means I'm quoting from my journal.

From Russia With Love

All of my journal entries for the next few months began "I really should have been writing more..." It was a busy time. And a time for the drama to really begin. Remember my missionary?

Well, he hadn't written me in months, so putting him out of my heart while Blake filled it was getting easier and easier. Then early in the month of February I got an email from his older brother telling me that Nathan wasn't writing me because he had been deported out of Russia because the government suspected him and three other American missionaries of illegal practices. That was ridiculous, of course, but I hear the Russians can be fairly suspicious. His family didn't know where he was but his mission president said he was okay.

"A week before that I had sent Nathan a Dear John. I had a hard time putting it in the mailbox but finally one day the Spirit was pretty firm in telling me that I had to put it in the mailbox that day."

I remember the pain of writing that letter and then the days of deliberating when and if I could actually send it. I was definitely in love with Blake, but I still loved Nathan and didn't want to hurt him, or distract him from his mission.

Well, the day after I finally mailed it, I got a letter from him. We had set up all these rules before he left about not being lovey or romantic in our letters to each other, so that he could remain focused on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ

and not on me. But apparently, getting close to the ti

me he would be coming home had changed his mind about all of that and he was fairly mushy.

"All of the sudden, when I saw how much he loved me and was planning on "us", I flipped out and began doubting everything. So, I called Mom and she brought up the idea that this was probably why the Spirit had been so forceful in directing me to send that letter the day before because if I'd gotten Nathan's letter first I wouldn't have sent it for a couple weeks and then it probably wouldn't have reached him before he gets home. But I still was bothered by the feelings his letter had caused and Blake could tell something was wrong. When I finally told him, he was pretty sad because he thought I was unsure about him and everything. But by the end of our conversation I had both he and I convinced that I knew he was the right one. It's just such a big decision. It's hard to just rely on the Spirit sometimes."

I still remember that phone call with my mom. I was pretty torn up about everything and feeling quite lost. She later told me that conversation was difficult for her because she was very much a fan of Nathan and had yet to even speak with Blake, let alone meet him. But she did a great job of staying objective and helping me to follow the Spirit.

Anyway, it was shortly after this that I learned he had been deported. I emailed his brother back to see if he knew whether or not Nathan was still getting mail that had been sent to Russia. His brother emailed back with some emails forwarded from Nathan explaining the whole story, his new address in Estonia, and an email address where I could email him, but he couldn't email back. He hadn't been allowed to receive email from anyone but his family in Russia, so this was new.

Looking back, I don't know if it was the wisest decision, but at the time, the logical thing to me was to act like things were normal until he received the "Dear John". I didn't want him to have to hear that from me twice. So, I sent him a couple emails, trying to be friendly, but not like a girlfriend. And of course, he couldn't email me back, so I had no idea what was going on his side of the world, as far as we were concerned. I did continue receiving forwards of his emails to his family from his brother and it was nice to reconnect with him in this small way. And I began remembering all the things about him that made me love him.

But--I was still falling in love with Blake and wanted things to keep moving the direction they were headed. That felt like what was supposed to happen.

And since I didn't really fill Blake in on all of this until after the fact, he doesn't have anything to say for this part.

But don't worry! While searching for fun things to share in our next post, I came across a love letter Blake wrote for me about this time. He even printed it on paper with cute ClipArt. I tried to scan it in, but apparently I don't know how to use that yet.

Anyway, here is his love letter:

Cheryl--

In case you couldn't tell, this is a bona fide love note made especially for you. I don't have all of that cool stationary, but I make up for it in creativity.

I just wanted to let you know that you mean the world to me. I think about you all of the time. Even something as simple as eating an apple reminds me of you. Each twist of the stem represents one letter and I always hope that it lands on C!

I hope your day was wonderful. I'll be thinking of you until I see you next...

love,

Blake

P.S. Maybe the flowers will give you an incentive to water something else besides me! (c:

I used to write him cute little notes on all sorts of different stationary I had. And I used to really enjoy dumping water on him at random moments.

Spring Break Madness!

That's right. It's Spring Break. And even though that effects a total of 5 1/2 hours of our entire week, it still feels incredibly open.

So, we set up a little date with some friends at the children's museum this morning.

Learning about rockets, I think

Dressing up to act and play on the stage

The stage

Face painting

I just had to include this because she actually stood still and smile and looked at the camera. Amazing!

Sail away, Enya

They actually managed to stay relatively dry

And then there was another face painting table. Because one face painting table just couldn't be enough. And we moms got to talking and were watching the babies play in the space shuttle and then I went to check on the older kids and discovered this.

And this.

And that was just my children. The others were getting a little carried away as well.

And when we got back to the car, Bryce thought Kayli's sunglasses would be just the thing to complete the look he was going for.

And today we became members. So now we can go back for this much fun any time we want to. Yay.

Not Necessarily Necessary

Really, people?

So, Mother Nature has been a tad confused lately. We'll start to have a bit of a warm up, just giving us a tantalizing taste of spring, and then it will freeze and snow and the wind will blow.

But last Thursday was really quite lovely (and then it snowed Friday), so we went for a walk to the park. There was another little girl there enjoying the toys and sunshine with her dad and grandparents. We were all chatting about the kids and our dog and whatnot. Then they went over and played on the swings for a bit.

They must have made it look like a lot of fun because Bryce asked me to push him on the swings as soon as they were vacated. As I got there to push him, I noticed something on the ground. I told the dad that he must have dropped something and stooped down to pick it up. That's when I realized what it was--a switch blade.

As in, a knife. At the playground.

Understandably, he was a bit embarrassed when I handed it back to him and said something like, "Oh, that's probably not a good thing to leave laying around."

To which I replied, "No, not really. Not at the playground."

Really?! We live in a nice neighborhood. This park is in our neighborhood. We have a few police officers and I think even a sheriff living in our neighborhood. Now, I'm sure there have been a few crimes in the area. But I would be willing to be that no one has been jumped walking down the streets of our neighborhood. Or at the playground. In the middle of a bright bright sunshiney day.

Why in the world does this man feel that he needs to carry a knife around?! And while he is with his daughter? I kind of think he's a freak. I don't appreciate him bringing a weapon to the kiddie playground. And I get that I probably won't ever change that, so I wish he would wear pants with deeper pockets at least, so his "I'm-a-freak-for-needing-to-carry-a-knife-around-in-perfectly-safe-environments-weapon" would at least stay far far away from the curious hands of my beautiful children.

And thus concludes today's venting session.

Request Granted

So, between the two blogs I've had requests for a few recipes lately. Here they are. But I'm warning, two of them might be frustrating because they are kind of vague in the measurement area. They were my lazy adaptations of other recipes.

White Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting (from Wilton's website)

18 oz. white chocolate

1/4 C. milk

1 C. shortening

1 C. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

8 C. powdered sugar

1/4 C. milk

Microwave chocolate and 1/4 C. milk on medium high for 1-2 min. Stir halfway through cooking time.

Cream butter and shortening. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, beating well on medium after each addition. The frosting will seem really dry at this point. Add 1/4 C. milk, beating at medium until light and fluffy.

Beat in chocolate.

I cut this recipe in half and I'd say it still made about 3 or 4 cups of frosting.

St. Patty's Day Green Smoothie

1 ripe pear, quartered but leave skin on

1 banana, cut in thirds

1/2 can pineapple chunks + juice

6-8 oz. vanilla or lemon yogurt (we tried it both ways)

Ground flax seeds (probably about 2-3 T.)

Chopped spinach, as much as would fit in my blender

Ice cubes

I actually used more than the 1/2 can of the pineapples the first time, so it was less than 1/2 the second time and it seemed really thick (well, it was really thick both times, but it seemed too thick the second time), so I added some milk too. I have no idea how much.

I blended the fruit, yogurt, and flax seeds first and then added the spinach a little at a time. I don't know if it was just my blender, but I had to kind of push it down with a spoon to get it to chop in.

Garlic & Mushroom Mashed Potatoes

6-8 potatoes (I can't remember how many I used. It was whatever was leftover from the prior night's dinner of baked potatoes)

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

Butter (can't remember)

Light sour cream (however much I had left in the fridge. Maybe 1/2 cup? But I would've used more if I had it)

Milk (no idea how much)

White wine (maybe 1/2 cup?)

2 cloves garlic, minced (again, all I had. I totally would have at least doubled this. But I LOVE garlic.)

Rosemary (no idea how much)

Cook the potatoes, leaving the skins on. Mine were already baked, but you can boil them or microwave them as well.

Saute the mushrooms and garlic in some butter (I think I used 1 or 2 T.) in a skillet. After they're mostly ready, add in white wine and turn the heat way down. Let it simmer so you cook out all the alcohol. While that is simmering and smelling yummy...

Mash the potatoes (I use my hand mixer), add sour cream, butter, milk, whatever you like to make your mashed potatoes creamy. Just remember, they will be getting a little more liquid from the wine. Oh, and salt and pepper to taste.

Then add the mushroom mixture and a goodly amount of rosemary. Stir it all together. DO NOT prepare gravy. That would ruin it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these. Sorry about the lack of amounts. That's just sort of the way I cook. But you can do it too!

When Birthdays and Leprechauns Collide

Bryce gets that joyful combination every year. He seems to think it's pretty cool.

I was a little worried that he would be in a bad mood to wake up and discover that he was only three. That may sound odd, but with this guy, it is a very legitimate concern. He has had the following conversation multiple times over the last few weeks:

Other Person: And how old are you?

Bryce: Two.

Me: Tell them how old you're going to be soon.

OP: How old are you going to be on your birthday?

B: FIVE!!!

Because everything cool apparently happens when you're five.

So, yesterday Kayli's music teacher asked him how old he was and he held up a hand desperately trying to make three fingers and excitedly proclaimed, "Free!"

Whew!

But before that we started things off with a super exciting breakfast

Can't you tell?

How about now?

Actually, he was so excited about these that his blessing over breakfast went something like this, "Thank you for my birthday and thank you for the green cupcakes Mommy made."

So worth getting up a little earlier to make him the green cranberry orange muffins he requested for his birthday breakfast.

Then we went about our typical day for a few hours with violin lessons and the gym and whatnot.

Once the kids were down for naps, I went in to overdrive and started the cake decorating. This year he asked for a Lightning McQueen cake. I wasn't about to attempt making Lightning himself, so we went for a race track.

Professional cake decorators, shield your eyes. I am an amateur.

This was my first time with fondant, so I struggled a bit. It was a marshmallow fondant though, so at least it tasted good--unlike your traditional fondant.

But I didn't know how to handle it at first and unfortunately, I made it crack. Very sad.

Fortunately, the cars covered up a little. And at least the birthday boy could not have cared less. He was actually quite impressed by all of it--the woad, the bwidge, the flags, and especially the grass.

I was proud of it too. For my first time with fondant and the fact that piping the grass involved duct tape--definitely something for "Cake Wrecks". But all in all, I was happy with it. And Bryce was overjoyed. And that's all that really matters, right?

Then I set to work making Bryce's birthday/St. Patty's Day dinner request. Basically, his current favorite dinner tinted green.

Strawberry-filled crepes and green beans. And I tried my hand at a "green smoothie". Blake was a little skeptical when he saw the spinach going in, but it was so yummy! I didn't know for sure what I was doing because I just kind of combined all the recipes I found online. This one had a pear, a banana, vanilla yogurt, canned pineapple and juice, and some ice. And the spinach, of course. I liked it so much, I'm making another tonight.

Everyone else was pretty excited too

Then it was gift opening time

Yes, that is Christmas wrapping paper. That's all we have. It involves and unfortunate tale from the Christmas that I was pregnant with Bryce. And I still have 2 1/2 rolls left. So, I'm not buying regular wrapping paper until we're down to a normal amount of the Christmas stuff.

Remember that fire truck I bought to paint for him a while back?

I finally finished it! Actually, I finished it a few weeks ago. But I got it for his birthday, so he hadn't seen the finished product yet. He was pretty excited. Then Blake told him that it was going to be hung on a shelf in his room.

And it was quickly cast aside to get to the other, more exciting gifts. And that's okay. I made it with lots of love and I'm sure that will mean something to him when he outgrows the sociopath phase.

And the other gifts went over really well. Superbly so.

I don't remember if I blogged about it here or on my other blog, but a few weeks ago, I found the perfect gift for him. I'd been searching dump trucks on-line for several weeks before that and then just happened across this beauty at Target

And it couldn't have gone over better. Last night he told me it was the best part of his whole day. And then this morning while I was getting ready, he said, "Mommy, I'm so escited about my new dump truck!"

Although, I think the Thomas train track went over pretty well, too.

Actually, everything did. He got a cute truck play mat with roads and construction sites from his Grandma Cindy and he had loved playing with everything else on top of that. It's just all the more fun.

Then he and Daddy set to work taking apart the dump truck with its drill and putting it back together. His hands are a little small for operating it, so he wasn't quite as excited about that part as I thought he'd be, but he's so ecstatic about the truck itself, I'm okay with that.

Here they are playing on the play mat. It came with some cute little Tonka trucks that he's been enjoying quite a bit as well.

And then it was time for cake and ice cream

I just love how well he shows his excitement

And then he blew out one candle, was reminded to make a wish, did so, and blew out the other two. And then we ate it. Yummy! Blake and I aren't super big cake or frosting fans. But the other night, at a baby shower, a friend brought these cupcakes that were divine. She mentioned something about white chocolate butter cream frosting, so I decided to try it myself.

I don't think it was quite as good as hers, but I feel like a frosting convert. It was so yummy! I'm not sure I converted Blake, and I don't think the kids would have cared one way or another (they were bigger fans of the marshmallow fondant), but it was fun to try something new.

Now I have a bunch left over, so I've been trying to think of an excuse to bake something to put it on. Maybe a birthday cake for the little one? I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that day isn't too far off...

If I Could Read The Mind of A 3-Year Old

Well, I'm not sure I'd want to.

But sometimes he really does leave me baffled.

Today he got kicked out of the child care center at our gym. As in, they came and found me and said, "You have to leave because your kid scratched another kid so badly that he made him bleed."

Only they said it more politely than that.

Yeah, I got the to be the mom of that child today. So fun.

Some days it seems like he is bound and determine to hurt and/or destroy everything and everyone he comes in contact with.

Is this typical behavior for a 3-year old boy, or am I raising a sociopath?

Variety Is the Spice of Life

Well, I'll be honest. My zest for blogging has died down yet again.

But I don't want to get too far behind because who knows what life is going to be like in another month or so.

So, here is the highlight of our weekend.

The Church Variety Show!

Kayli played "Tucka Tucka Twinkle Sandwich". She did amazing. So many people came up to me afterwards just gushing with praise for our little sweetheart. This time she was accompanied by her music teacher (also a member of our church) and I was really proud of how quickly and how well she adjusted to this addition. They only practiced a few times at her lesson on Wednesday.

But she did great. And stayed very poised and completely un-nervous.

Blake and I decided to show our true colors.

We made out for everyone--on stage

Okay, not really. Apparently, my friend who kindly took pictures for us forgot the part where I told her how to activate the flash. So, we're a little blurry.

But we had a great time dancing and lip syncing. Yes, that is a talent.

And I think Blake juggled his microphone for a bit as well. When you're this talented, it's hard to pick just one.