Three Men & Their Ladies

words can't even express

2012-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

how so very in love I am with this precious girl

❤

{1 Samuel 1:27}

Moriah's 1st Christmas :)

2012-01-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to taking Moriah's Christmas pictures since she was sick during the holidays and while I think it's painfully obvious I took them myself, we got a few cute ones!

She just loves to stick out that tongue! :)

She kept blowing raspberries and then giggling at herself, heheh!!

"Happy New Year!"

4 & 5 Months

2012-01-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

Let's just face it, I stink at keeping up with these monthly updates but man oh man, I'm trying! :)

In month four Moriah:

Weighs 16.5 pounds and wears 6-9 month clothes.

Likes going on walks.

Started grabbing at and putting toys in her month.

Always has her tongue sticking out of her mouth and is blowing rasperries.

Twists and turns every time we lay her on the changing table for a diaper change.

Finally decided to roll just days before turning 5 months. After having done neither yet, Moriah just decided to roll from back to tummy & then from tummy to her back again while laying on her blanket playing. She was clearly just waiting until she had her skill perfected to reveal it to us ; )

Makes the most hilarious faces.

Smiles at herself EVERY time we pass a mirror and she sees her face. I love it! haha

Hit a sleep regression at 4 months and also got her first bad cold so both of those things mean no more sleeping through the night. She usually wake 2-3 times after I put her down 7:30 and is up for the day around 6:30am.

Has a laugh that just makes me so happy!

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;If you can not see this chirbit, listen to it here http://chirb.it/8DgxsF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Check this out on Chirbit

Has beaaauutiful hazel eyes and oh how I hope they stay!!

At 5 months Moriah:

Has officially started teething. She is a drooly baby who gums on anything she can get her hands on. I can feel a bump under the gum but nothing is peeking out yet!

Weighs 18lbs even and is now filling out her 6-9 month clothes and already starting to outgrow some of them. Chunky baby!

Had her first high fever, 104.2, that lasted for 3 days and made me very nervous. I'm not usually a worry-wart but man, high fevers make me so uneasy!

LOVES being in her jumperoo! It was her Christmas present from my mom and she LOVES it. Video proof ;)

Still isn't on any "real" set schedule yet which is really strange for me (I was VERY schedule oriented with the boys, still am!) but when you're the third baby with busy older siblings I guess you just learn to go with the flow.

Still not sleeping through the night and is still co-sleeping. It works for us right now so I'm not stressing about it but am thinking I should probably start work on having her sleep in her own bed pretty soon. (But I'll miss her, waa! haha)

Is enamored by her brothers & lights up when they come into the room :)

Hasn't started cereal or solids yet. I've given her a taste of banana in her mesh feeder once and tried giving her cereal once but I'm just not ready to commit to it yet. Maybe this month? We'll see!

Makes me laugh every day, she's just so silly & cute!

Is such a happy, sweet and easy going baby. Sometimes I can't believe how easy! She honestly rarely ever cries or fusses. I've really been lucky when it comes to my babies but this girl is just plain laid back & not easily flustered at all... I love it!

Really is the happiest at home. She doesn't mind going out and is happy enough but at home is where all the giggles and smiles and happiness come out, such a little homebody.

Is super grabby now. Grabs at glasses, grabs at hair, grabs at toys, grabs at my phone. GRAB GRAB GIMME GRAB. Cracks me up.

Is such a cuddlebug.

Is a mover! I'll set her down on her belly to play, come back and she'll be in a whole 'nother part of the room. This is unacceptable and I am not ready for a scooty baby ;)

Celebrated her first Christmas :)

It's been real

2011-12-31T22:51:00.000-08:00

9 years.

2011-12-31T20:36:00.000-08:00

TJ & I are celebrating 9 years of marriage today, 9 years! I can hardly believe it... I was looking through our photo albums and found this picture of us getting ready to go out on our 1 year anniversary date & couldn't help but laugh to myself when I compared it to a picture of us last night.

My, my, my...so much has changed since then! :)
It's crazy to look back on all that we've been through from the beginning and every year just adds to the adventure. :) Our journey has not always been easy but God is so good and I am beyond grateful to have this man by my side every step of the way. Here's to many more years of adventure, together. ❤

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

My mom & I took the kids to see Santa Claus yesterday...

Isaiah and Moriah were much too enamored the elf to look at the camera :)

Malachi telling Santa what he would like for Christmas...

then Isaiah chimed in with his wish for a "red lava lamp. I saw it in my math book at school and it seems pretty cool."

Isaiah then proceeded to tell Santa about his new glasses he had gotten earlier that day; they're red and he thought that Santa should consider getting a pair so they would match his outfit.

(So typical Isaiah, haha!!)

It definitely seemed like Santa was considering a pair for himself! ;)

Malachi just did not want to leave Santa's lap, it was so funny!

Our 3 little snow people :)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours, I hope you have an amazing holiday! ❤

wordless wednesday

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-23T21:07:00.001-08:00

Malachi drew this sign today & put it outside the door to Moriah's room with one of his stuffed animals:

Translation:

(Moriah's Room, My little baby)

Eeep! Can you stand it?!

I seriously love how sweet these boys are with their baby sister, it melts me!!

♡♡♡

One year ago today...

2011-11-17T09:42:00.001-08:00

It all started with one little test...

And while there was some heartache on the way, it was so worth it...

because now we get to look at this precious face every day

❤

The Lord has blessed us abundantly and anytime I feel down I just look at these faces and I'm reminded of just how faithful He is.

I think she likes herself ;)

2011-11-16T12:40:00.001-08:00

This past week or so Moriah and I have had a cold and lately she's just not been herself- she's been super clingy and fussy and you can just tell she's not feeling very good. Well the other day I was on my laptop clicking around and decided to take a picture of her & I together in Photobooth. It's something I started doing every once and awhile since we brought her home and it's fun to look back and see how much she's changed since we started :) Well this particular time, as soon as I opened the window she started smiling at herself and thought it was the funniest thing. I already knew she liked the mirror on her activity mat but for some reason, seeing herself on the computer screen was an even bigger kick. And seeing her act like her usual happy self again made me a happy mama :)

So naturally I hit record and made a silly little video of her grinning at that baby in the computer ;)

(please try to ignore the fact that we both look a frumpy hot mess, HA)

Happy Wednesday!

Three Months

2011-11-12T16:46:00.001-08:00

She:

❤ Weighs: (We'll find out at her appt next week, definitely over 16 pounds tho!)

❤ Still has lighter eyes, they're more of a hazel color like TJ's now than the blue-gray she was born with. I'm hoping they stay light like this but we'll see!

❤ Can still fit in a few of her 3-6 month pieces but is now mostly in 6-9 month clothing! Chunky monkey.

❤ Caught her first cold at the end of October. Nothing too serious but enough to elicit lots more snuggles throughout the day

❤ Started sleeping in her crib at night on October 10...at 10 wks old.

❤ Sleeps through the night without waking! Goes down around 7:30pm and is up around 6am.

❤ Laughed out loud for the first time- that belly laugh is just the cutest thing ever! The boys are now obsessed with getting her to giggle at them... Ok fine, I may be too ;)

❤ Is babbling & "talking" to all throughout the day now, I love it! Her legs are always kicking & her arms are moving while she's talking too, it's so funny to watch.

❤ Is getting so close to rolling over but so far has only made it up onto her side.

❤ Has started sticking out her tongue constantly, especially when she grins & thinks something's funny :D

❤ Went to her first football game! The boys & I went to my high school's homecoming game with my mom...we ended up leaving early b/c Moriah needed to eat & I had forgotten my nursing cover at home. I didn't feel like whippin' it out (as TJ likes to say, lol!) and the boys were getting antsy anyway so we headed back home.

❤ Is getting stronger & is able to hold her head up for longer periods of time. I've been searching Craigslist for a Bumbo so we can get this little girlie sitting up- so fun!

❤ Has discovered her hands and has them in her mouth a lot these days. Also? DROOL!

❤ Is going to have quite the collection of crowns made by Malachi over the years if this keeps up ;) Here are two more I've caught him crowning her with- it's so cute!

The 2nd one was taped to her head, hilarious right?! hahah!!

❤ Hasn't lost her hair like I thought she would but instead it's been getting longer & coming in a little thicker! The back is so long I can put it into two pigtails now, it's hilarious.

❤ Loves to watch TV (& the boys' video games) and will arch her neck & turn around to try & see it if she's facing away. Every afternoon when Isaiah & Malachi get home from school they like to sit with her on the couch & watch a show before starting on their homework.

Oh Moriah. The boys are so enamored with you, even more so than before (which I would have never thought possible!) now that you're more interactive. I adore how your face lights up when you lay eyes on them. The 3 of you are so natural & comfortable together...I really couldn't ask for more.

❤ Am having so much fun dressing her up in cute girlie outfits- it really is like having a real live doll, ha! :)

❤ Have definitely got the picture thing down but am really trying to make more of an effort to video Moriah and my boys more often. Every time I see an old video and hear Isaiah & Malachi's tiny voices I wish I had MORE video of them at whatever age it was. I know that in a few years I'll be wishing for more video of this age now b/c they just keep getting bigger & bigger. it's crazy how time flies!

❤ Am enjoying my time off from school and am realizing just how much I'm not looking forward to going back as Spring semester approaches ;)

❤ Love that if someone else is holding Moriah and I walk into the room her eyes light up and she kicks her little feet excitedly. Man, I love to be loved.

❤ Know that no matter how tough times are financially for our family right now, that I am so unbelievably blessed to be waking up to this smile every day

and tucking these 3 precious little people in every night ❤

Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

my sweet little skeleton

Every time she gives me this look I feel like I'm getting a sneak peek into her toddler years ;)

"does it look like I'm blowing fire, Mama?"

dragon boy :)

Oh look, it's Superman!

off to save the day!

one giggly super hero :)

"But MAMA! Clark Kent NEVER reveals his identity!!"

Last but not least,

NINJA MOM!

I'm DANGEROUS y'all

;-)

my costumed crew ❤

:)
I hope everyone had a fun & safe night!!

2011-10-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain

Sarcasm, it runs through his veins.

2011-10-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this is a normal thing but my boys are constantly climbing on our vacuum cleaner and it drives me insane. I'm always getting after them to get off the thing and the other day was no different. We were getting ready for school in the morning and Isaiah was sitting at the breakfast table eating when Malachi walks up and starts talking to him. As he's talking he stands on the front of the vacuum and just starts rocking back and forth on the thing while he's having his conversation. I just looked at him and ~~shouted~~ said
"MALACHI! What the heck, how many times do I have to tell you NOT to climb on the vacuum cleaner?! I do not understand why you guys can't stay off of it, it's not like it says "Climb on Me" or something- what is your deal!?"

(yeah, I don't know, when you're a parent you say dumb things)

He got off the vacuum & I told him to hurry up and go finish putting his shoes on. All of the sudden I hear Isaiah start laughing hysterically and when I turned around, this is what I saw:

(-_-)

My son, the smart @ss.

2011-10-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

TJ took these pictures of us girls before we headed out to run some errands last week and they just make me giggle. Oh the fun the two of us girls will have, it's just too much fun dressing this dovie. I am still beyond thrilled that I have a daughter- I'm not quite sure when I'll stop feeling that way but I hope it's never. :)

I'm so excited to watch her grow and see her personality unfold- she already makes us laugh and brings so much joy to our family. One thing's for sure, we are truly blessed ❤

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup with Coconut Milk & Curry

2011-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

This week I found 2 recipes while searching out soups on Pinterest and decided they both sounded good but that combined...they might be even better. As it turns out, I was right!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice is one of our favorite soups in this house but I've recently discovered a love of curries and have always loved coconut milk sooo all together they should make some magic no?

Well, let's see ;)

Ingredients:

2tsp olive oil

3 large carrots, peeled & chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 onion, peeled & diced

1 small chopped bok choy

1 tsp curry powder

1tsp cumin

1 1/2 cups wild rice mix

1 can coconut (Chaokoh is the best & yummiest- get it!)

8 cups chicken broth

2 cups diced cooked chicken breast

Chop veggies, throw in pot & saute in oil until soft, translucent and slightly brown

Cook chicken while veggies are cooking

Add cumin & curry to veggies when done sauteing and stir to combine.

Add the rice & broth

Bring to a boil and reduce heat.

Add the chicken & coconut milk; simmer for 1-2 hours or until the rice is tender.

Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

The flavors of this soup are mild (so don't be afraid of the curry powder, I promise) and work together so well- it's delicious!

If you make it, make sure & come back to let me know how you liked it :)

Two Months

2011-10-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

She:

❤ Weighs: 15 pounds 2 ounces and is 24 inches long.

❤ Wears 3-6 months clothing and some 6-9mos. She's a chunker.

❤ Talks and coos at us a lot lately- we all love it, the boys especially. :)

❤ Doesn't have a set schedule but most days goes down for bed around 7pm, sleeps until 2am, eats and goes back to sleep until 6am-ish.

❤ Smile and starts talking to the pictures of matryoshka dolls above her changing pad, EVERY time we lay her down- it's hilarious!

❤ Is working on wrapping her daddy even tighter around her little finger ;)

❤ Got her first tattoo ;) hehe!!

❤ Loves spending time outside :)

❤ Took her first trip to the beach!

❤ Cosleeps with us in our bed

I:

❤ Am so madly in love with this baby girl. She's lucky if she even goes 5 minutes without being kissed.

❤ Feel like it was just a couple of weeks ago that we were driving to the hospital and I was having contractions & getting ready to meet this little girlie. Time is flying!

❤ Love watching the boys interact with their little sister. The other day I was washing dishes and I turned around and saw this:

She's just a little doll to them and she loves every minute (for now anyway) ;)

❤ Am still 2 sizes and 14 pounds up from pre-pregnancy and that's probably how it'll stay until after the holidays because, Mmmm fooooood.

❤ Could stare into these eyes all day long

❤ Am tired. And it's all my fault. WHY do I insist on going to bed at 11 or 12 every night when the baby's already been alseep for 5 or 6 hours? BECAUSE I'M DUMB THAT'S WHY.
(and I have a lot recorded shows to catch up on, ok?)

❤ Feel like I'm CONSTANTLY cleaning and picking up around the house. All 3 of the boys in this house could care less about it being neat & clean and that...is slightly maddening.

❤ Am so in love with this big ol dopey smile, hehe!! LOVE.
She looks so much like her daddy it's crazy.

Accent Vlog(s)!

2011-09-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

I kinda can't believe I'm posting these but I had so much fun watching Sarah's, Emily's and Raven's and it's always fun to hear if people sound like you have been imaging them to sound in your head so I thought, hey, what the heck, I'll do one too! And then I drug Isaiah into it so I wouldn't have to suffer it alone. ;) ALTHOUGH now I realize it would have been smarter to just both do it at the same time- ha! Oh wells.

A little background on us that I forgot to include in the intro of the video! Isaiah and I have both lived in Central California all our lives. We totally say "dude" "whatever" "like" and "totally" a lot and I may or may not roll my eyes too much and have been told I have the tendency to talk like a valley girl. (Pshhh, whatever.) According to friends I have that live in Canada, the midwest and on the east coast- this makes us sound very Calfornian- ha! :)

I think it's so funny that Isaiah says "I-ron" and "pee-can" "sawl-mon" and "law-yur" - he's always had a little bit of a twang when he talks and it cracks me up. We always blame it on the fact that we lived in the mountains for the first half of his life ;)

(My apologies for my rambling, ah!)

Have you done your accent vlog yet?

The instructions are below- What are you waiting for?! :D

Say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

Answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

Oh my gracious.

2011-09-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

LOOK AT THAT GRIN!

These two have such a special bond, it just melts my heart every time I see Malachi go over and love on his sister.

Every day when he gets home from school he runs into the house asking me "Where's Moriah?!" and when he spots her he runs to her and says "Oh there's my Moriah! My precious adorableness, I love you so much" in this sappy singsongy voice. Haha! It's just the cutest.

This afternoon when he ran in to see her he smothered her with kisses; one after another, after another, after another. Over and over he kept kissing her and right when I was about to tell him "that's enough Mali" this huge grin spread onto her face and I couldn't grab my phone to snap a picture fast enough :)

This was the biggest grin we've seen come from her yet and I just adore that it came as a result of some loving from her big brother. I hope this love for one another continues to grow as they get older. I love so much that Moriah has these two older brother to look out for her and protect her as she's growing up.

♥

( Twins! heh!)

Kindergarten & Third Grade!

2011-09-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how BIG they're getting...

Seems silly but I don't think I ever realize it until I see pictures of them.

haha!

Man, I love these boys.

My stomach was in knots every day of their first week of school- I was WAY more nervous about them starting at new schools than they were but we made it through and they're both doing so well.

Malachi LOVES Kindergarten and couldn't be more excited about being in "real school." His teacher, Ms. Howard, sings his praises and compliments me each and every day that I pick him up on what an incredibly polite and smart little boy he is. She lets me know what a joy he is to have in her classroom and Malachi just stands beside me listening to her words and beams. It's precious and exactly what every Mama wants to hear when they've been worrying about how they're baby boy is doing at his new school ❤

Isaiah is past the point of jumping up and down with excitement over school now that he's a seasoned elementary school student ;) But he is excited about what he's going to learn this year in 3rd grade, especially when it comes to Math (his favorite subject!) Isaiah ALWAYS has his nose in a book (or 3, which I always bug him about because I just don't understand how he can keep up with that many stories at once? But he vehemently insists that he can, haha!) He was elated to find out his campus has a library with "tons of books" he can check out and check them out he has!

And this little girlie?

She's attending the school of cuddles and cuteness...and earning an A+!

;)

First Days of School in the past:

2008- http://jimaiemarie.blogspot.com/2008/09/first-day-of-school.html

2009- http://jimaiemarie.blogspot.com/2009/09/school-daze.html

2010- http://jimaiemarie.blogspot.com/2010/08/first-day-of-2nd.html

♥ Walking home from school ♥

2011-09-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

One Month

2011-08-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

She:

❤ Weighs 12lbs and is 23 inches long. (That's a gain of 4 pounds and 2 inches!)

❤ Lost her umbilcal cord stump at 12 days old (which seemed like it took foreeeever)

❤ Had her first bath the day she lost her cord stump and LOVED it. Bath time seems to make her so relaxed :)

❤ Is not a fan of pacifiers. At all.

❤ Sleeps 6-8hrs every night (she too values her beauty sleep ;)

❤ Loves being swaddled at bedtime- unwrapping her in the morning and watching those big baby stretches are some of my favorite moments!

❤ Smiled her first big smile at Isaiah while he was talking to her and touching her nose playfully.

❤ Rarely ever cries but when she does I can't help but giggle because JUST LOOK AT THAT POUTY FACE!

❤ Makes the funniest faces and keeps us highly entertained throughout the day

❤ Is crazy intrigued by the wall of framed pictures above our couch.

❤ Has outgrown both her newborn and 0-3 mos clothes and now wears 3-6mos.

SO MANY outfits and so little tiiime!!

❤ Started taking a bottle once a day from daddy at 4 weeks. At first she was totally resistant but seems to be warming up to the idea.

❤ Started wearing her cloth diapers and oh my goodness are they adorable on her. And fun too!

❤ Has her daddy falling more and more in love with her every day.

❤ Am LOVING being a mama of three.

❤ Have been pleasantly surprised at how easy the transition from 2-3 has gone.

❤ Keep thinking how we look like a crowd now that we've added just one more person, haha

❤ May be borderline obsessed with kissing and squeezing and hugging our sweet baby girl. It's kind of ridiculous. But! am in good company as big brother Malachi cannot get enough of her either, haha!

❤ Had forgotten how much ~~work~~ pain is involved in those first couple weeks of breastfeeding! But am grateful that Moriah is a natural and things have gone so smoothly.

❤ Am eager to hurry up and lose the rest of my pregnancy weight (26 down, 14 to go!) but maybe not so eager to stop eating all sweets at every opportunity.

❤ Have convinced my husband that I am officially a crazy lady by mentioning that I would love to have "just one more?"

this is pretty much the same look he gives me too

❤ Take wayyyy way too many pictures of my daughter because I just can't get over her cuteness (Aaa! I HAVE A DAUGHTER!)

❤ Still can't get over the fact that I have a daughter. A sweet baby girl.

❤ Love that her brothers think she's the greatest thing they've ever encountered...melts me every time I look over and see them oogling over her

Times, they're a changin'

2011-08-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

When I was still pregnant with Moriah, the plan regarding me going back to work was that I would wait until she was 8 weeks old and then back to work I would go. I worked at the private Christian school both of my boys attended and the environment is like no other school I know. The people who worked there were like family to us and I loved so many of the students there as if they were my own. The people I came in contact with on a daily basis were such a big part of our lives and we love them so very much. The plan was that Moriah would go to the nursery there on campus and I would take breaks to go nurse her throughout the day. I would be working in a classroom as a teacher's aid and my boys would be attending Kindergarten and Third grade on campus as well. My paychecks have always gone directly towards my kids' school tuition and this was how it was going to continue, only now there was going to be the added cost of Moriah's care. It was going to be a HUGE sacrifice as I have never put a baby of mine in daycare before, I had stayed at home with both of the boys until they were in pre-school but it was a sacrifice that I felt was worth it in order to be able to continue their education in this environment we so loved. This was a great plan and I was confident it would all work out...until Moriah was born and placed in my arms. It was in that very moment that I began to doubt my ability to let her leave my arms and return to work.

We came home from the hospital on a Sunday and it was that Tuesday that I received a call from the principal of the boys' school and I immediately froze b/c I thought she was calling to discuss when I'd be coming back to work and holy oh my goodness, I didn't think I could have that talk yet! Turns out she wasn't even calling for that reason but we did touch on the fact that I was still planning on returning to work in the beginning of October and we'd talk more about it in detail later.

TJ left for work Monday morning of the next week and when he arrived in Bakersfield (he had been working/staying out of town during the week, remember?) after a meeting with his boss he discovered that he was no longer going to have a position with that company. It basically came down to, relocate your family in the next couple of weeks or this position is no longer yours. I didn't feel that the move was something that was right for our family in the first place (when TJ first received the job) and TJ, after working there and gaining more insight on the company, didn't feel it would pay off to relocate solely for this job in the long run.

TJ becoming unemployed (while unbelievably crappy and disheartening) was the confirmation that I needed to help me realize that going back to work and putting Moriah in daycare wasn't the right thing to do. I wouldn't be bringing home a paycheck since it would have to go directly towards the kids' tuition AND with all 3 of them attending we would actually be having to pay each month to cover the additional tuition that one more child created. (For all 3 of our kids to attend the tuition would be upwards of $1500/month. I make minimum wage.) This made no sense at all seeing as now we currently had zero income.

All of that to say that tomorrow both of my boys will be starting at new schools tomorrow- Isaiah in 3rd grade and Malachi in Kindergarten. They're being oh so brave about it but I can sense their trepidation when we talk. It's understandable since we're leaving the safety net of the school that's been a part of our lives for the past 4 years...and I keep reminding myself that everything will work out fine, it's just hard nonetheless.

I'll be staying home with Moriah and I definitely recognize that this is a blessing. This first year is fleeting and filled with so much change and growth... it was causing me so. much. heartache. to think of how much I'd be missing out on while she was in daycare- moments with my only daughter. I definitely realize that staying home with your baby isn't an option for everyone, it just makes the most sense for our family and am grateful to have been able to do so with the boys and now with our sweet girl.

TJ being unemployed for the second time this year is causing much strain on our family and while all I can seem to do is stress about bills, rent, bills, groceries and more bills that need to be paid I'm really trying to have faith that God has a plan in all of this. Definitely learning big lessons on relying on God & trusting in His provisions... and while I know I'll be grateful for these lessons in the end I'd like for them to be over as quick as possible- ha! ;)

If we happen to cross your mind over the next few weeks would you mind saying a prayer for us? It would mean so much to me, more than I can say.

Some Things Are Just Out Of Our Control

2011-08-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

When we first found out we were having a girl TJ & I both swore there would be no buying of princess stuff or calling her a princess from the beginning because we didn't want to force it on her.

Then this happened:

Her big brothers already consider her a princess, their princess. She is loved and adored and they dote on her right and left- it's pretty much the cutest thing ever. What I'm realizing is that it doesn't matter what we had planned, this girlie wears the crown all too well and the princess she will be ;)

❤

Moriah Grace: What's in a name?

2011-08-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver or gold.
Proverbs 22:1
❤

I always love hearing the stories behind why someone's name was chosen so I thought I'd share how we decided upon our precious girl's name. :)

I've always had several boy names picked out which each pregnancy, some of which have remained on the list with all 3 kids and others that got vetoed when we would find out we were pregnant again. But I've never had any girl names picked out for some reason. Girl names are hard for me. I think having a unique name myself has influenced my opinion about girl names...I like unusual names but not so unusual that no one would be able to pronounce it or spell it (ahem, thanks mom ;) I wanted a name that was meaningful and a name that when someone said it, made you picture someone who was pretty and sweet. I know, a tall order for a name right? All of that and I had to get my picky husband to agree with me... you see my dilemma? ;)

I don't know if you remember but back in April I blogged about how TJ had been laid off and he was unemployed from December of last year until the end of March and well, those times were tough. Those months were so trying. At the same time that TJ found out his company was making cuts we had just recently found out we were expecting our 3rd child, we had just moved from our duplex to a house and Christmas was soon and coming.

One morning while I was praying I was reminded of the story of Abraham & Isaac in the Bible (the book of Genesis) where Abraham's faith was tested on Mt. Moriah and God ended up providing for him in the very moment Abraham needed it.

The lesson in this story really resonated with me (even moreso since I've become a mother & have to imagine myself being put in Abraham's situation)- that I need to have faith and God will provide for us. It really hit me, I needed to stop worrying and fully rely on the Lord to provide. I shared this with TJ and we both decided that Moriah would be the baby's name. She still needed a middle name though.

The first thing that came to me was my mom's name, Catherine, because my mom means the world to me. She really is my hero and has been since I was a little girl- she handles life's struggles with so much grace and dignity and ALWAYS shows tremendous faith no matter what obstacles face her. She's hands down the funniest most adventurous person I know, ridiculously generous & just plain selfless. I couldn't imagine a better person to name my daughter after. Welllll, I told my mom my plan and she shot me down. Told me she didn't want me to name her after her and that Catherine was just a "meh" sort of name.
(Have I mentioned that my mom is also just a liiiittle stubborn? WELL SHE IS.)

Okey dokey then. Back to the drawing board, ha!

After talking with TJ again we came up with both the names Grace & Faith. We liked them both and were having trouble deciding which one we should use. I decided to look up both of their meanings in the Bible to see if this would give us some clarification.

I had always heard that grace was an "unmerited favor", but my Bible put it another way. It said that grace was an "undeserved gift." It got me thinking about babies and gifts. And not just any baby- the daughter I had always hoped I would have someday, a sweet baby girl. An undeserved gift? Yes indeed.
So Moriah Grace it was.

Now that she's here it rings even more true- we honestly can't think of a better gift we'd rather have ♥

my heart is full

2011-08-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

1 day old @ what would have been 40 weeks :)

She's here and I'm here, in all my exhausted non make-up wearing post-partum glory ;)

It's been a week since Moriah's arrival and a whirlwind of a week at that! Thank you all so much for your congratulations and blessings and well wishes!! I am just so smitten and in love with this sweet baby girl and we feel so blessed that she's a part of our family. She's such an amazing baby, there's really not a single thing I can complain about so far- She really is just the perfect addition. Watching the boys dote over her and talk about how cute she is and seeing how much they love her is just icing on the cake and she's already got TJ wrapped around her little finger. It just melts me to see them interact with her, I feel so blessed in life right now :)

I hope to find some time to update more later but for now I leave you with a few pictures from our first few days as a family of five.

Life. Is. Good.

"Every good and perfect gift comes from above..." James 1:17

She's here!

2011-07-30T04:57:00.000-07:00

Our precious baby girl has arrived! Moriah was born this morning, July 30th at 1:55am, weighing in at 8lbs 1 ounce! We're obviously biased but we think she's absolutely perfect! :) :)

So very in love already!

❤

39 weeks!

2011-07-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

BUMP!

So after all the excitement of finding out I was dilated after my appointment last week and then-POOF, nothing all week- I went to my 39wk appointment yesterday afternoon hoping and praying I had at least made some progress and TA-DA!

Apparently I'm now 4cm and 85% effaced, the baby has dropped significantly and things are "very favorable"- my doctor thinks exciting things are going to happen this weekend and boy oh boy, (girl oh girl?) I hope she's right!

My boys went up to my mom's house tonight armed with their overnight bags and enough clothes to get them through the weekend and here I sit on my yoga ball bouncing away and planning to walk, walk, walk to try and get these Braxton Hicks contractions to turn into something a little more convincing.

;)

Wish me luuuuuuck!!

♥

The Waiting Game

2011-07-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Baby Girl,

We get to meet you really soon. I'm so excited! And a little anxious. I don't know why I'm so nervous this time around! Is it because it's been 5 years since I've done the baby thing? Or is it just because you're a girl? Is it silly that I still keep thinking "omg, we're REALLY having a girl!"? I bet I'll still be doing it once you're here too, just sitting & staring at you, amazed that you're really ours. ❤

I went to my 38 week appointment on Friday, the doctor told me that I'm 3cm and 70% effaced....that means you could be here any day! We're ready for you precious girl, as ready as we'll ever be anyway! We've got your room all ready, your tiny clothes are all folded in your drawers, your swing is sitting in the living room, your stroller and car seat are ready and all of us are just waiting for that sweet little someone that goes along with all of those things-- that's you! :) xoxo

Evening bike ride with my boys ♥

2011-07-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Objects in shadows appear MUCH smaller than in real life.

36 & 37 weeks

2011-07-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm now officially FULL TERM which means this baby girl has the all clear to come whenever she pleases! (well, actually I had a list of 5 things I still needed- a Boppy, a diaper bag, a stroller, a changing pad cover & a changing pad- all of which I got this weekend (you can click the links to see which I got if you're nosey like that ☺) except for the changing pad ...so I guess you'll have to wait a little longer please, baby! ;)

ANYWHO, I wanted to thank you guys for your sweet comments and your thoughts and prayers regarding my ultrasound and fluid levels- I so appreciated them! And good news! I found out at my last appointment on Friday that everything is looking good! My fluid level went up by .5 which was just enough to calm the concern, so we're in the clear! Hooray! :)

I haven't done one of these little quizzies in awhile so I thought, hey! Why not?

Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along: 37 weeks 2 days

Size of baby: At my ultrasound 3 weeks ago they measured her at about 6 lbs and she's supposedly gaining around half a pound a week which according to my dr. would put her at about 9lbs (+/- a pound) if she's born at 40wks. That would make her my biggest baby! Isaiah was born on his due date at 8lbs 4oz and Malachi was a week early and 7lbs 13oz so we'll see!!

Total Weight Gain: 36 lbs.

Gender: GIRL!

Movement:

There's a whole lot of stretching going on in there these days, apparently the poor girlie is SQUISHED! Her new favorite hobby is trying to move my ribs out of the way with her feet to create more room, which much to her dismay hasn't quite worked out for her. ;) Also? HICCUPS! This baby has the hiccups like no other. Both of my boys used to get the hiccups in my belly but she definitely takes the prize for getting them the most often.

Sleep: hahahahahahaha!! That's funny! Now that the baby has dropped I've reached the point in my pregnancy where I literally am up to pee every 30 minutes, sometimes more often. Last night I got up to pee, came back laid down and got RIGHT back up and had to go back. TJ just looks at me like I'm insane. There could only be 1 tbsp of pee in there but you will have to run to the bathroom with an urgency like you haven't peed for days...even if it was actually 10 minutes ago. In addition to my bathroom antics there is now the point in my night where I lie WIDE AWAKE from 2:30/3ish until 4:30 just staring. During this time you can probably find me in the kitchen looking for something to munch on and staring at my phone begging it to entertain me.

What I miss: My old jeans, not feeling exhausted after the simplest of tasks,

Cravings: I haven't really had any legit cravings with this baby, it's kinda weird! With my boys I used to send TJ all over town fetching me things I just had to have RIGHT THEN (such a good husband!) but that's really only happened a few times this go 'round, in the 1st & 2nd trimester. I was however overcome with an intense craving for macaroni salad last week, which I don't even normally eat but it just sounded SO GOOD for some reason! So there's that. Oh, and San Pellegrino Limonata. Mmm.

Aversions: Potatoes. (salty french fries, potato chips, hash browns) It's not that they don't taste good, b/c oh yum they do, it's just that I'll spend the next 24 hours burping them up. I know, gross.

Stretch Marks: Still no new ones, thank goodness. I've got enough of those. ;)

Best Moment this week: Finishing the nursery! It feels so good to walk in and know that it's complete & ready for her ♥ I LOVE going in there, sitting & dreaming- it's my favorite room in the house now, I just love it so much! I can't wait to share it with you :)

What I'm looking forward to:
Meeting my baby girl! I can't wait to see that sweet little face of hers, I'm SO anxious to know who/what she'll look like, it's killin me! haha :) Although, I keep going back and forth between "Hurry up sweetnessl! We want to meet you!" and "Take your time little girlie, I'm in nooooooo hurry" haha!

Good Clean Fun

2011-07-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

This wasn't originally on our summer fun list but it should have been! I was browsing the Dollar Store today and when I saw the shaving cream I thought, "Ooo, shaving cream fight!" so I grabbed a couple cans and when I got home the fun (& mess) ensued!

The nozzles were actually really hard press down so I ended up emptying the cans into big bowls before giving them to the boys.

What? You don't hang out in the backyard in your underwear during summer?? ;)

Each boy had his bowl and it was ON!

Poor Malachi didn't stand a chance, haha!

trying to convince his brother to play nice

After they were done, I just turned the hose on 'em and rinsed them off. As a bonus they smelled nice & clean! haha!

$2 well spent, wouldn't you agree Isaiah?

(I think that's a yes!)

Summer Fun 2011!

2011-07-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

WHOA! Here we are one month into summer vacation and I never posted our summer fun list, whoops! We've gotten a start on our list but still have a good chunk of things left to do (as Isaiah so kindly pointed out to me this morning, ha!) I tried to pick more activities this summer that we could do inside as I'm not too keen on venturing out into the heat these days (high of a humid 104 today, what? That kinda heat translates in a sweaty puddle of 9 month pregnant lady right thurr).

I'm hoping to be able to cross of the vast majority of this fun by the end of summer but sadly I'm thinking this might be the most boring summer my boys have had so far...sorry kids.

Anyone have an energy I can borrow??

p.s. If you're reading this from Google Reader come on over and check out my new blog name/design! I was going to wait until our little miss got here but decided to get a head start on it as I might be a little busier once she arrives ;)

Hope you're having a great summer so far!

Carnival of Cuteness! AKA: My Baby Shower!

2011-06-30T17:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago 2 of the sweetest ladies, one of them being my bff Sarah and the other one of my bloggy besties Alyssa, threw me one of the cutest baby showers ever! It was seriously just perfect and I'm so excited to share some pictures of the day with you!

ADORABLE felt pinwheels made by Morgan!

Mmm, candy!!

Darling cupcakes made by Alyssa!

Just a few of the gifts I was spoiled with!

Isn't it all so cute?!

I just adore this girl ♥

Cheers to the baby! haha!

I felt so unbelievably blessed to have friends like Talia, Alyssa, Steph, Heather, Elizabeth & Britt who drove HOURS to get to Fresno and be a part of this baby shower. I was of course so stinkin' overjoyed to have every single person there but it was especially significant that these girls sacrificed so much of their time just to support me :) I love you girls!

♥

Opening gifts was SO much fun, I wish I could show you them all but here's just a few. There was just too much goodness! :)

A little hello kitty for the baby! My friends know me too well :D

Most adorable baby blanket EVER made by Talia! I was absolutely giddy over it!

Darling felt hair bows made by Morgan, I cannot wait to put them on my baby girl!

Heather made this felt wreath and it matches the baby's room PERFECTLY! I love it so much!

I saw this bib in a boutique here in town months ago while out shopping with Sarah & thought it was just so adorable! So one day sneaky her went back and bought it for me! I was so surprised when I opened it! :)

This picture makes me giggle because it's just such a good representation of how I felt all day long, I was smiling so hard and so big that by the end of the shower my cheeks were hurting so bad. haha! I was just SO happy and filled to the brim with joy- the whole thing was just magical. I honestly never thought I'd be a mom to a little girl and I was truly a-ok with that, but now that it's coming true I am just brimming with excitement and cannot wait to meet her! This shower just made the fact that I'll be bringing home a precious little sister to my boys next month THAT much more real, I love it.

Sarah and Alyssa, thank you from the bottom of my heart for working so hard to create such a spectacularly special day, I can't say thank you enough- I'll never ever forget it! xoxo
I'm so grateful to everyone who came and was a part of this special day. I was showered with so much goodness & I am beyond blessed to be surrounded with such love. It meant the world to me to have you all there!

❤

p.s. To see more pictures from the shower go here! :)

p.p.s. Special shout out to Johnny, Morgan and Steph for your contributions to the shower as well! It wouldn't have been the same without your special touches so thank you, thank you, thank you!! <3 xoxo

1, 2, 3, 4, FIVE?!

2011-06-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

The "baby" of the family turned 5 years old last week, just in time for him to soon become a BIG brother and usher in the new baby of the family ;)

It's crazy to think that come August this handsome boy will be entering Kindergarten and I'll have TWO school age kids (and an infant!!!) Just the thought of it all makes my heart feel so full :)

Happy birthday to the other half of the hilarious Shelton Bros. duo, to the little boy who gives me all the cuddles a Mama could ever wish for, the boy who will take one bite of whatever treat he's eating and selflessly offer you the rest, the boy who will roll over in his sleep when we nap together and mumble "love you Mama"♥

Happy Birthday to the sweet sensitive boy who lights up all of our lives, you're the best little brother ever Malachi Josiah!

xoxo

33, 34 & 35! (Let's catch up!)

2011-06-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Taken by Alyssa at my most adorable baby shower ever, thrown by some of the best friends ever!

More pics to come soon!

35 weeks along and 35 more days to go until my due date!

I'm getting excited! It's so fun to answer "next month" when I'm out & people ask me when I'm due, I just can't wait to meet this baby girl! Things are really starting to come together and there are just a few more details that need to be finished up in the baby girl's room before I'll feel like I'm ready for her to come. My hope is to refinish/paint the old dresser we're going to use in her room, wash her tiny clothes and get those drawers filled up this week! After that all I'll have left to do in her room is figure out where I'm going to arrange the wall art I have sitting in a pile on the floor of the nursery...it's proving to be quite the task, that arranging! I'm thinking I need to try drawing it out on paper first maybe?

We are definitely set on clothes for now thanks to all of the ridiculous cuteness that I received at my baby showers and some hand me downs given to me by a dear friend. (Although that doesn't keep me from drooling over the girl section of EVERY store I walk into and maybe buying just "one more" outfit...or two, haha!) I keep meaning to snap some pics and share with you of some of my favorite baby things so I'll have to get on that!

I had my first doctors appointment in TWELVE WEEKS at the beginning of this month. (I KNOW) When TJ got "temporarily" laid off from his last job in December I was able to continue using our insurance because they (and we!) were hoping work would pick back up & he would be asked back. Well, that didn't happen but the company continued to let us pay in cash to them what would normally be taken out of TJ's paycheck. Until March.

Come March, I found and applied for private insurance and the paperwork and arranging of my first appointment with my new doctor took twelve weeks. It actually didn't seem like that long until I sat down and counted how much time had actually gone by...I think it's because I had gotten all of my "fun" appointments and ultrasounds in and everything was looking good so there were no worries on my part.

My new doctor sent me for an ultrasound/OB workup so that she could see for herself how things were looking and when the results came back she informed me at my next appointment that there were 2 things she was concerned about.

The first one was that my iron levels were "shockingly low" (which would explain my frustrating fatigue the past several weeks) and that I was going to need to start on a high dose of iron rich foods & supplements right away. No big deal.

The second thing that concerned her was that my ultrasound report showed that my amniotic fluid level was measuring low and she'd like me to go back for yet another ultrasound and have it remeasured again. If the previous measurements were found to be correct then I would be monitored more closely and be sent in for weekly non-stress tests and ultrasounds to continue monitoring the fluid levels to make sure they don't continue to dip. If they do dip below a certain level then it can be cause for induction. (We don't want to be induced!)

I went in for my ultrasound last week but of course the tight-lipped ultrasound tech would tell me nothing, except to point out to me that we are indeed having a girl (confirmation round #4, ha!) and let me know that I would have to wait until my next doctor's appointment to find out the results as she "wasn't at liberty to discuss" anything with me.

Sooooo, if you've stuck with me through my lengthy rambling, first of all -I love you ;) But could you also say a prayer that everything is going a-ok in the ute? I'm trusting that everything will be just fine in the end but you can't help but ~~google~~ wonder in the time being, you know? :)

♥

oh mylanta.

2011-06-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

It is seriously getting harder & harder to get a "normal" picture of these little hooligans.

"Smile guys, I want to send Gramma a picture of you wearing the Angry Birds
shirts she bought for you..."

Cute & Easy Teacher's Gift!

2011-06-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

I came across this idea on Pinterest while searching for crafts to do with my kids and loved how bright and colorful it was, not to mention EASY! I loved the idea of my boys being able to make their teacher's end of the school year gift themselves and when I showed them, they loved it too :) I know I'm posting this a little late, as most people have been out of school for a bit now but maybe it'll come in handy for next school year? :) Let me show you how easy it is!

You need one tall tin can, we used a spaghetti can, and THREE packs of color pencils.

(It took one more box of colored pencils than I originally thought.)

Wrap a rubber band around the can and stick the colored pencils under the rubber band.

It takes LOTS of concentration ;) haha

Pick some pretty flowers out for your teacher!

Ta-Da! Vase is done!

Shhh, even Darth Vader likes to craft ;)

Personalized printable tags from crafty blogger, Skip to my Lou!

Wrap with a ribbon to cover rubber band. Cute out tags, glue onto some card stock that you've cut to (sort of, ha!) resemble a flower and glue onto a pencil.

Stick in the vase with water & flowers and there you have it! :)

From picking out the flowers to making the vases and choosing which color paper & ribbons, Isaiah and Malachi had a lot of fun putting these together for their teachers. :)

They were SO PROUD to hand their thank you gifts to their teachers on the last day of school and the teachers gushed over how cute they were, so fun! Another thing I thought was cool about this was that since we didn't glue anything down, when the flowers die the teachers can take apart the vase & use the pencils as supplies in their classroom. Definitely a win-win! :)

oh hi!

2011-06-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

I started my weekend off by heading down to the lab at 7am and drinking this tasty delight. (HA!)

I go back to the dr for my 34 week appt on Friday, here's hoping I passed!

We all get a little excited when daddy comes home from work for the weekend, we miss that guy so much during the week! One of the boys' favorite things to do lately is play board games & card games. This time they chose Uno and we stayed up way too late playing round after round. Turns out Malachi is quite the Uno player! :)

I stopped at a rummage sale on Saturday & stumbled upon this gem. I could not stop giggling over him! Hands down, best 10 cents I've ever spent.

I think he likes his new home ;)

Our latest baby purchase!

The bedrooms in this house are super small so finding something that I can put next to our bed for the baby to sleep in during those early weeks was proving to be a challenge, until I found this!

I think it's going to be perfect :)

Summer vacation means more time to spend with my mom, who's a high school teacher. This pleases all of us greatly! :)

(Especially when that time involves lunch dates, ha!)

Clearly I was most excited about the strawberry shortcake dessert.

(it was SO GOOD!)

Hey look! We got a new toaster! Isn't it cute??

It was definitely time to retire our old toaster, it was still kickin' and serving us well after 8 long years but honestly, it just didn't hold as much curb appeal as this baby does. I love it so much!

Baby belly at 33 weeks pregnant!

I was browsing Old Navy the other day with Sarah & Johnny and wandered into the baby girl section only to come across this tiny Hello Kitty onesie!!

I had to have it immediately, I've never seen tiny baby clothes sporting HK cuteness! :)

One of my best friends had her baby boy on Monday and I just can't get enough of his sweetness!

It's kinda hard to believe he's really here, this was us just a little over a week ago at her baby shower :)

This pregnancy is just flying by lately!

I'm so excited for my baby girl to get here so we can introduce her to baby Roman, they are going to make the cutest little couple!! ::cough:: arranged marriage ::cough:: ;) haha!!

31, 32 & some other rambly tidbits!

2011-06-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT!!

I woke up last Monday, looked at my phone and saw that it said June 1st and immediately went crazy with this realization on Twitter:

All this time I've been counting down in weeks and when you say "8 weeks" it sounds like we still have a pretty good good chunk of time left but when you say "the end of next month" suddenly everything seems so imminent! I realized we have a lot of loose ends that still need to be tied up and omg, we need to real serious about preparing for this baby girl! haha!

Ooh! Speaking of preparing for this baby girl, look what came in the mail! We've decided to cloth diaper this go 'round with a really awesome hybrid diaper and I am so stinkin' excited about it! We still have a couple more shipments coming in the mail to build our stash but when this first package arrived I got so giddy and ripped it open with excitement :) I just can't wait to see her cute little booty in these adorable diapers!

In other exciting news around here, Malachi graduated from Pre-K a few weeks ago! :)

I can't believe my baby boy is headed to Kindergarten in the Fall! And Isaiah to 3rd grade! It just blows me away you guys.

The picture of him in the cap & gown just slayed me! heh!!

The boys are thrilled that school is out for summer and I am too because that means I am officially done working for now!

I am oh so happy to be able to sleep in and snuggle down into that pillow every morning while I can, however my wallet is oh so sad since I'm not getting a paycheck, haha! Ah well. :)

This week I'll be sitting down with my boys and making our annual summer fun list, I'm really excited to revisit some of our adventures from last summer and try to think of some new fun things to do as well!

Y'know, besides having a baby at some point ;)

Wheee!!

EIGHT.

2011-06-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

Isaiah celebrated his 8th birthday on May 16th and with work & the end of the school year wrapping up, in addition to baby preparation, this year we decided to nix the birthday party and spend the weekend celebrating with just our family. I was feeling some guilt over not throwing him a big birthday party with his friends like we've always done in the past but it turned out to be really nice just to celebrate our birthday boy and have some fun as a family. Isaiah didn't mind either b/c as it turns out, this year his actual birth date landed on a Monday, so he got to bring cupcakes to school and celebrate in the classroom for the first time! :)

We kicked off the birthday weekend by heading out to Boomers for some fun, it was our first time going and the kids (ok, ok and the grownups!) ended up having a blast :D

my handsome 8 year old!

Riding gas powered go karts at the mini track for the first time.

Malachi exclaimed "It's just like Mario Kart!"

contemplating whether or not to ride the big faster race cars as Mama's passenger.

(muahahah!!)

;)

Malachi taking a popcorn break with Uncle Joraie

Gramma love <3

Bumper Boats! With squirt guns attached! haha, they were intense.

Just a little shirtless mini golf after getting SOAKED on the bumper boats

check out that stance! ha!!

Heyyyy!! This was supposed to be a 'smile & say cheese' photo but apparently my husband had other plans

The next day was a rainy one but we wrapped it up with some yummy frozen yogurt at TCBY!

The birthday boys yummy pick, Cotton Candy with gummi bears!

MINE! White Chocolate Mousse with strawberries & bananas!

shovel, shovel, shovel it in! lol

Monday came and I had made some cupcakes the night before but fell asleep waiting for them to cool (whoops!!) so I ended up rushing home on my lunch break & having about 15 minutes to make a double batch of buttercream, mix 5 different colors and hurry up and pipe these babies to transport back to school in time for him to celebrate with his friends. Which is why they look so, um..."poopy." lol

Ah well, the kids didn't seem to mind at all :)

Silly Isaiah and some of his classmates at school :)

Malachi was so pleased that Isaiah saved a Luigi cupcake just for him and delivered it to him after school :)

Every year it always blows my mind that Isaiah is yet another year older

(I know, I know, what else do you expect to happen Jimaie!?)

and although every year comes with a new set of challenges, it also comes with just as much fun.

I feel so blessed to be Isaiah's Mama and am praying LOTS of blessings on my sweet 8 year old this year, especially as he embarks on his new adventure of becoming a big brother yet again but this time to a precious baby girl in just a few weeks :) :)

I just know he'll be absolutely amazing.

❤

29 & 30 weeks!

2011-05-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

THIRTY WEEKS!

This past month has flown by, I remember thinking at 25 weeks that I had hit this major milestone but 30 weeks feels like it even more so! The other day when TJ and I were talking about all the things we need to get done before the baby comes (most importantly buy a car seat and a bigger car, there's no room for baby!) and he said to me "oh we have time, don't worry we'll get it done" and I freaked and shouted "HONEY! We have TWO months! WE DO NOT HAVE TIME!" lol! Everything is suddenly feeling very imminent and although I know this baby isn't coming next week or anything, the preparer in me is sort of panicking about what still needs to be done and the things we still need to get. I think I'm feeling especially anxious because TJ is only with us on the weekends and then out of town he goes for the week on Monday morning- we end up cramming so much into Saturday and Sunday and then I feel guilty for making his time at home feel so rushed. =/

I have faith that everything is going to work out in time tho, especially since I'm now done with my classes for the semester (woo hoo!!) and only have 2 more weeks of work left! I'm REALLY praying that we're able to get a reliable car that fits our family in the next 4 weeks or so and that will take a huge load off of my shoulders.

So if you think of us when you get in your car, say a little prayer will ya?

(Mama wants a minivan! What?)

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

I hope all the Mama's out there had an amazing day being spoiled by their loved ones!!

28 Weeks!

2011-05-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

How far along? 28 weeks {Twelve more weeks left!}

How big is baby? Somewhere around two to three pounds and about fifteen inches long.

About the length of an amusement park cinnamon-sugar-coated churro (yum!)
And oh my goodness, her feet are 2 inches long. Eeeep! SO CUTE.

Total weight gain: 28 pounds in 28 weeks!

Which is why I laugh so hard when people at work tell me "You're all belly!" b/c noooope. I'm all belly, butt, BOOBS (omg the boobs) & thighs. But it's cute that they think so. ;)

Maternity Clothes? Urgg. We've reached the point where I've outgrown nearly everything I've worn in the previous 6 months and am now needing to go out and buy new (SIZE LARGE) stuff...but I don't wanna b/c I'll only wear it for a few weeks! But if I don't then I'll have to go to work in my pajamas and I don't think that's allowed. Dang!

Stretch marks? Still no new ones! When TJ's home on the weekend I have him inspect the underbelly area to make sure and so far so good, haha!

Sleep: 4 words: Unisom is my friend.

Movement: She moves SO much these days! It's cute because TJ, Isaiah & Malachi can feel her so often now and her movements are a lot stronger than they were before. Her most active times are mid-morning and at night when I'm laying in bed...and pretty much any time I eat anything, lol! There are a few students at work that will ask me if the baby is moving and get all excited when I let them feel my belly, it's adorable! Oh and then there are the hiccups! All 3 of my kids have gotten the hiccups while in my belly, it's kinda crazy! Especially when they go on and on for awhile and it feels like her poor head just keeps rhythmically bumping against my ribs...I mean, as annoying as it can get for me, it's gotta be bothering her too? Ouch!

Food cravings: Lately I've been craving BBQ (ribs, tri tip, chicken, MEAT!), Italian salads, yummy sandwiches (turkey, avocado & cheeeeeeese!), annnnnd banana splits. Like, I can't stop thinking about ice cream with bananas and hot fudge and... *drool*

What I miss: My favorite GAP jeans. Not being exhausted at all times. Being able to just skip a meal if I want to. Which sounds horrible but GEEZ, I am so sick of eating! I love food like no other but having to constantly think of things to snack on throughout the day has gotten to be tiresome.

What I am looking forward to: School being out for the summer! I have one more week of classes and less than 4 weeks left of work and we're freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! I can't wait to kiss my 4:45am alarm goodbye (well, until a whole new sort of alarm enters our world about 8 wks later, haha!) and be able to SLEEP IN! I can't wait to focus on getting the baby's room decorated and finishing up our "To Do Before the Baby Comes" list!

It's so weird that I can say I'm 7 months pregnant now, some weeks seem to drag by, especially now that TJ's gone all week but at the same time it seems like we JUST found out we were pregnant!

I know this sweet baby girl will be in our arms before we know it so I'm really trying to remind myself of that and make a conscious effort to soak up these last few weeks of being a family of four.

I'm so looking forward to having more free time with my boys when school gets out and trying to make sure they know just how precious they are to me. ♥

This sort of anxiety hit me a couple of months before Malachi was born too, I just get worried and start feeling a bit guilty about rocking my kids' world by bringing this baby into it... It's just been me & my men for what feels like so long now and as much as I KNOW everything will be alright once the baby gets here and we adjust, as much as I KNOW she's going to bring so much joy into our lives and I get absolutely giddy when I imagine my favorite guys holding this tiny girl bundle, I guess the protective Mama in me can't help but worry :)

2011-04-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm in my 6th month already!! Everything is going great pregnancy-wise, baby is growing, my "morning" sickness is finally gone (hallelujah!) and I am getting more excited with every week that goes by to meet this precious little girl that's kick, kick, kicking me & making her presence known every day :)

I feel like I've been so boring since getting knocked up & not really blogging and just posting these pregnancy updates but holy moly, life has just been SO hectic lately!

TJ went from being unemployed since December (STRESS!) to starting a new job 2 weeks ago that has him out of town Monday through Friday (OMG EVEN MORE STRESS!) which means no breaks for Mama. Which means I'm just plain exhausted. Annnd grumpy. (oh hello hormones! my poor kids =/)

My day starts at 4:45am, I get myself and the boys ready and we leave the house by 6:15am to get to work/school at 6:30am. The day usually ends after school with homework/dinner/bath & the kids in bed around 8pm and me to follow soon after, except on Wednesday's when I have class until 9pm. Throw in Isaiah's piano lessons and Malachi's gymnastics class and yeah, tired. I miss my husband! My mom has been amazing taking time out of her own insane schedule to run the boys around to their different activities and spends the night on Wednesdays to watch Isaiah & Malachi when I have class... I honestly don't know how I would do it without her. (I love you mom!)

I'm so looking forward to June 2nd when I'll be done with classes, my boys will be out of school and my maternity leave begins! It will be so much less crazy when we're able to relax at home, have some summer fun, and take those next 8 weeks to prepare for the baby's arrival at the end of July! :)

Until then I'm focusing on exercising patience (and definitely praying for more of it), taking lots of deep breaths and doing my best to rely on God and remember that He's got our family in His hands.

Sing with me! ♪ He's got the whoooole world, in His hands. He's got the whooooole world, in His hands, He's got the whooooole world, in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands ♪

Are you picturing me in a corner of my house rocking in the fetal position whilst singing this song? No? Oh ok, good. ;)

Happy Sunday!

happy st. patrick's day!

2011-03-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

20 weeks

2011-03-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Halfway there, baby!!

(that's so exciting!!)

This belly is getting serious, folks.

People are actually noticing that this belly is indeed a baby belly and not a food baby, hurrah!

(And really, it's about time. I'm mean, come on people.)

Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along: 20 weeks 1 day

Size of baby: a little over 10 inches long and weighs about 10.6 ounces. Baby is the length of a large banana!

Total Weight Gain: 15 lbs.

Gender: GIRL!!! It makes me smile every. single. time :)

Movement:

Baby is getting good at kicking now! I was getting worried because I wasn't feeling her as often or as strong as I had remembered feeling the boys but the past week her movements have been a lot stronger! TJ got to feel her for the first time this morning, that made me giddy :)

Sleep: For some reason I wake up every night/morning at 1am and it usually takes me about 15-30 minutes to fall back asleep but other than that I sleep pretty well.

What I miss: Laying on my tummy to sleep or read. See also: Beer & Margaritas (with salt!)

Cravings: oranges with salt, fruit smoothies, veggie bols & burritos from Chipotle, peanut butter & chocolate ice cream!

Aversions: Taco Bell ::shudder::

Stretch Marks: No new ones yet!

Best Moment this week: Being able to announce that we're having a baby girl! TJ being able to feel her kick for the first time! Isaiah and Malachi voluntarily kissing my belly goodnight before bed ♥

What I'm looking forward to:
Registering for girly baby things! Starting to collect things for the nursery! Spring break and Getting hand me downs from friends who have precious little girls and LOTS of darling clothes that they're willing to share :)

It's a...

2011-03-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

So this morning we went to our ultrasound to find out what exactly I've been carrying around in this belly for the past 19 weeks.

(boy? girl? puppy?)

And we found out that my boys are getting a....

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it!?

We're going to have a baby girl!

I am so so so SO very thrilled (and shocked!) and elated to be able to welcome a baby girl into our family. I am SO excited to see my boys with their baby sister (!!!!) and I just know this little girlie is going to have TJ wrapped around her little finger in an instant.

OMG we're going to have a DAUGHTER!

This is nuts, you guys.

Now you'll have to excuse me while I dive headfirst into the sea of ridiculous handmade frills on Etsy ;)

16 & 17 Weeks

2011-02-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along: 17 weeks 2 days

Size of baby: a little over 5 inches long and weighs 5 ounces. About the size of a baked potato :)

Total Weight Gain: 10 lbs. I gained 4 of those in the last 2 weeks and it must be apparent because in the past week or so when I'm out people have started to ask when I'm due and if it's my first, etc so that's fun :) My husband has also noticed the poundage and has shown his appreciation with increased slaps to the butt & whistles as I walk by. That guy's always keepin' it classy, yo.

Gender: To be determined.

Movement: I just felt baby for the first time last night! And then again this morning :) :) I love this part so much!

Sleep: For some reason I wake up every night/morning at 1am and it usually takes me about 15-30 minutes to fall back asleep but other than that I sleep pretty well.

What I miss: Not being nauseous. But we've all heard me complain about that enough ;)

Cravings: I've yet to have a craving this time around that I felt I would die without, or even one that's popped up consistently BUT I am loving fresh fruit (mangoes! strawberries! blackberries! raspberries!), Jamba Juice and ego waffle sandwiches (with peanut butter & syrup)

Aversions: Nothing different this week, unless you count my aversion to homework, ha! SO LAZYYYY.

Stretch Marks: Oh I've got 'em ;) But none from this time around at this point in time.

Symptoms: new symptom that flared up in the past couple of weeks, varicose veins. Painful and UGLY.

Best Moment this week: Feeling the baby kick! Oh how HAPPY feeling that little "thump thump" against my hand made me feel ♥ It's just so reassuring to be able to feel the baby and know that everything's ok in there, Isaiah is excited for when the kicks are strong enough that he can feel them too! :)

What I'm looking forward to:
My "big" ultrasound is coming up! Kaiser is being all bossy and wouldn't let me schedule it until my 19th or 20th week but that's coming up pretty soon! Both the boys are going to be coming with us for this appointment, it'll be cute to hear the commentary between them. Hee!

14 & 15 Weeks

2011-02-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

Pregnancy Stats:

How Far Along: 15 weeks 2 days

Size of baby: 4 inches long and weighs 2 ounces. About the size of a single Kit Kat bar :)

Total Weight Gain: 6 lbs.

Gender: ??? - Isaiah, Malachi & I guess BOY -TJ thinks it's a GIRL.

Movement: None yet (I'm so excited for this part!)

Sleep: I sleep pretty well, I wake up 2 or 3 times a night to pee but am usually able to fall back asleep easily. The only thing about sleep is that I wish I could have MORE of it! I wake at 4:50am every day for work and I usually go to bed around 8 or 9pm these days to get 8 hours of sleep. I'd like more but then I'd be in bed before my kids! haha

What I miss: MY APPETITE. See also: Not puking.

Cravings: None really... I pretty much take advantage of anything that sounds good at the moment (which isn't much this time around) but haven't had any consistent cravings as of yet!

Aversions: The smell of coffee grounds, eggs, cigarette smoke, cardboard boxes, (I know, WEIRD)...these smells send me running to hug the toilet.

Stretch Marks: Oh I've got 'em ;) But none from this time around at this point in time.

Symptoms: Fatigue, lack of appetite, sore boobs, annnnnnnd barfing.

Best Moment this week: Super Bowl Sunday. I started off the day going out to a delicious breakfast date with my husband and then later that afternoon was invited to my friend Rachel's Super Bowl party where the goodness of junk food abounded. I ate for 6 hours straight...I left her house ACHING from how full I was but it was the most I'd eaten since finding out I was pregnant 3 months ago and it was amazing. (and I'm SURE the scale will show it next week haha! So worth it tho.) It was as if God had given me the gift of my pre-pregnancy appetite (NO nausea, no heartburn, it was amazing.) I nommed on 7 layer bean dip, hot wings, bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers, spinach & artichoke dip, a veggie platter, bratwurst, and as the night came to a wrap, blackberry pie a la mode. Preggo lady heaven, lol!

What I'm looking forward to:
I have an OB appointment this Thursday and since there will be an ultrasound machine in the room (and they usually ask me if we want to peek at baby- who says no to that?!) I'm HOPING that they'll take a peek between the legs this time and confirm what this baby is!! Then I can come back here and report to you all!!! Wanna leave your guesses in the comments? Wheeeeeee! THIS IS THE FUN PART!!!

Baby Makes Five

2011-01-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, you guys. You have BLOWN me away with your kindness and excitement with the announcement of our impending arrival! Thank you for your congratulations and sweet sweet comments! I'm so excited that other people are excited, it's such a fun feeling!

To answer what seems to be a popular question: Yes, This baby was VERY much planned! ;-) haha!! I'll explain.

I know I had said before on this blog that I thought we were DONE... that this baby factory was closed for good and I loved what we had with our family of four. In fact, I think I had mentioned it several times before! (See where that gets ya? ha!) But then, in August 2009, my nephew was born. And seeing my boys with that sweet baby boy...well, it got me thinkin. I mean, how could it NOT?! Just look at how precious they were together!

They were so enamored by him and so curious about his sweet little toes and fingers and the love continued every chance they got to see him. Every time I saw those boys love on and gush about Tiernan I couldn't help but wonder if maybe that was something that we needed in OUR family?

I think so.

♥

After much discussion with TJ over the next months, come January 2010 I made the appointment to get my IUD removed.

It was official, we were trying for baby #3!

When we decided to have Malachi it took us 6 months to conceive so I figured it wouldn't happen right away this go 'round either and I was ok with that.

Well, months went by and one day in July I woke up and decided to take a pregnancy test. It was 3 days before I was due for my period but I went for it anyway.

What did I see?

So I took another. Annnnd another. I couldn't believe it! I was so excited, especially since my sweet friend Morgan had found out she was pregnant just a couple of weeks before, pregnant with friends! I called my best friends and excitedly told them the news. TJ asked me if I was going to go on Facebook next and tell the internet (I had blabbed my other pregnancies right away in excitement) but for some reason I felt like I wanted to keep this secret between my small circle of friends and family for now. About a week later I started bleeding. I made a phone call to my OB's office and told her what was happening and she tried to reassure me that "spotting" was normal, Dr. Google confirmed the same thing but this was more than that... and in my heart I knew what was happening.

It was over.

Before this all happened I had read blogs of girls I follow who had experienced miscarriages, Her New Deal and Kathleen in particular and when I read their experiences the first time my heart broke for them, I couldn't imagine going through anything like that- having something so exciting, something you somehow LOVE in an instant, being ripped from your world as quickly as you had learned about it. I sympathized as much as I could but really, I had no idea.
When I went back to read their posts again after my experience, their words meant so much more. There is an incredible amount of bravery in being able to articulate all of those feelings, details & honesty into words for the world to read and I respected them so much for it. I knew I would never be able to do the same but was so grateful that they had because reading their stories...helped me.

TJ and I decided to take a break from trying for a couple of months.
Fast forward to November.

We were back on the baby train...
and on the 17th of November I saw those two lines again :)

I prayed (we all prayed!) and prayed with all my might that this baby would stick. I must've taken 2 pregnancy tests a day for over a month, it was kinda ridiculous, lol!
But we've done it, we made it to the 13wk mark!!
We had an ultrasound appointment yesterday and got to see our precious baby, for the 3rd time now, kicking and jumping away! It never gets old you guys. I <3 me some ultrasounds.

So yes, this pregnancy was oh so very planned (Eeeee!!)
It has been one heck of a ride so far and I'm so thrilled & grateful to God to be on this journey again, especially with both our boys along for the ride this time!
♡

We've been keeping a secret from you...

2011-01-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

"Should we tell 'em Malachi?"

"Yeah, I think we should tell 'em"

"Alright then, hold it up so they can see!"

"I'm gonna be a big brother!"

"muahhaha! It's your turn to be a big brother now Malachi!"

"I just can't believe it!"

♥ big brothers ♥

We're so excited to announce that we're welcoming baby #3 this July!

8 years.

2010-12-31T11:17:00.000-08:00

Today I'm celebrating 8 years of marriage to this guy.

I love him more today than I could have ever imagined possible and feel so amazingly blessed that we have each other to walk hand in hand with for the rest of our lives. His love & adoration for me shines through day after day with all that he does and I hope that my love for him is as ever apparent in his life.

He is not only an amazing partner but a incredible father to our children and this is what makes my heart burst the most.

I'm so proud of the team that we've become over the years, the life that we've built and the one that our dreams are continually shaping. I look back on all that we've experienced and everything we've been through in the past 8 years, good times and bad, and it is so apparent that God has truly had his hand in our lives.

I love the fact that our anniversary is on New Years Eve (not only because it's a date that's much impossible to forget ;) ) but also because it's so symbolic of us closing one chapter of our marriage novel and looking forward to the next- with fireworks, sparklers, banging of pots and pans, champagne and all the other hoopla that ringing in the New Year entails! :)

So here's to the closing of 2010 and everything that 2011 brings, I am oh so very excited for all that is to come.

♡

Welp.

2010-11-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

I don’t get to vote today and that made me sad. But my mom referencing the The Bed Intruder Song during our chat last night made me laugh, fo’ real.

11:16 PM me: well crap. I just realized I didn’t RE-register to vote after we moved ot this address! Can I still vote? =/

11:18 PM me: ugh, i just looked it up and i can’t. DUMBBBBB.

11:34 PM Catherine: that is so dumb. really really dumb. for rills.

11:36 PM Catherine:<3

Edited to Add:

I got to vote today afterall! Thanks to the help of smart friends, I found that I was able to go down to my current address' precinct and vote via Provisional Ballot! I took my boys along and Isaiah was pretty pumped about being involved in the process (he understood it much more than he did 2 years ago, which was really cool!) and was so proud to walk out with his "I voted" sticker.
Ok, I might have been too. See?

Voting is cool, kids!

WORD.

Oh Look, We Dressed Up Too!

2010-11-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

I originally wasn't going to post any pictures of my boys' Halloween costumes because they were just going to be wearing their Mario & Luigi costumes from last Halloween.

But then, the day before Halloween I got the costumes out of their closet to wash and what did I see? A hole in the rear end of Isaiah's Mario suit, snags and scuffed knees and stained white gloves. All from the copious amounts of dressing up my kids do on the daily.

It was then that I realized with some panic that, oh no no no, these costumes were not going to work. After failing (miserably) to convince both boys to wear leggings or leotards with their superhero capes (ha!) it was off to Target we went. We went crossing our fingers and saying a prayer that there would be 2 costumes left in store on that Halloween morning, that would appeal to our boys.

And what did we find?

Darth Vader!

powerful & menacing

and

Obi Wan Kenobi!

He was oh so serious about these poses.

Isn't the facial hair a riot!? I die.


Dueling to the death. (or at least until Mama yells at us to knock it off)

"I've been waiting for you, Obi-wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master."

And then there was me. I really wasn't planning on dressing up this year, I wasn't feeling creative and didn't want to spend the money on a costume... But when the boys got so excited about putting on their costumes and the clock was ticking closer to go-time, I decided I wanted in on the fun too! So I ran to my closet to see what I had and this is the what I came up with in the 10mins before we left.

Yeehaw! Hillbilly Cowgirl!

I hope you all had a fun (and safe!) Halloween this year!!
xo

Hey!

2010-10-30T10:30:00.001-07:00

First (day) of 2nd

2010-08-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Monday was Isaiah's first day of second grade and when we got there bright & early I asked for some photos- these are just a few of the shots I got:

air guitar?

he was seriously cracking himself up

"Can I please get one normal picture Isaiah?"

That's better!

I don't know why he always does this head tilt thing, haha!


My handsome boy is ready for 2nd grade!

When I took him to school to start Kindergarten 2 years ago I shed a few tears... there were tears because I was feeling both sad that my baby wasn't a baby anymore and so very proud of the little boy he was growing into.

Then he graduated Kindergarten and I shed a few more tears, just thinking about it is making my chest feel all tight and I can feel the tears trying to come to my eyes, I know it's so cliche but it's just crazy how fast the time flies.

Last year he walked into the door of his First grade classroom and I watched him through the window amazed at how big he looked sitting there at his desk. His own desk! Not sitting with another student at a little table meant for small 4 & 5 year old Kindergartners, no this was a REAL desk! I watched him sit up straight and have his hands folded and just felt so blessed & overwhelmed by the fact that God had given us this amazing child to raise.

This year? This year was easy-peasy. No crazy emotions, no wistful feelings as he walked through the door into his Second grade classroom and you know what? That felt good! He was confident, I was confident in him, we hugged, we kissed each other goodbye and I told him I loved him & I'd see him when the bell rang after school.

This isn't to say I'm any less proud of this precious boy (quite the opposite!), it's not to say that I'm feeling any less wistful about how fast my "babies" are growing up (make it stop! ;]) but I guess we've just got this elementary school thang down?? haha! I don't know, but what I DO know is that it does not mean that I will be any less of an emotional mess when Malachi starts Kindergarten next year...oh man.

Hold me?

lunch date

2010-08-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I was subbing for a pre-school teacher at work and when it came time for my lunch break I decided to take Isaiah with me- it was nap time for the pre-k class and Malachi was laying there snoozing away...I thought it would be a good chance for us to go out on a date and spend some one on one time together. :)

I happened to be craving Chinese & Mexican food at the moment (thanks to Twitter this happens often, haha!) so I gave Isaiah a choice between the two and I was so surprised when he picked Chinese! Surprised and excited!

We drove over to my very favorite Chinese food place, a place I've been going with my mom & brothers since we were little kids. Isaiah has never eaten Chinese food before so the fact that he chose this spot and was excited to partake made me so happy!

He tried a little bit of everything and while he wasn't a huge fan of the Chinese chicken salad or the "strange veggies" but he loved the pan fried chow mein, which I must say pleased me very much since this is my very favorite dish.

silly goose

The fondest of memories, dining at Shanghai, include drinking hot tea out of the little ceramic cups they give you. Isaiah was so excited when they brought over our pot and he poured himself cup after cup of oolong tea.

I think the reason we loved the tea so much growing up is that the best part was adding the sugar, haha!

I remember our server showing us to our table and we would all take a seat and my two brothers and I would grab the sugar container and compare how full it was when we began our meal to how full (or empty!) it was when we finished. It would usually be full to the top when we sat down and we'd each point to the spot on the glass where we thought it might end up when the meal was over.

If you were one who guessed that it might be on the emptier side when we left then you would pour more and more tea into your little cup to tip the odds in your favor.

When I told Isaiah this story he laughed and laughed and said he wanted to play too, so for traditions sake, I let him. :)

This was the sugar container when we left, somewhere my brothers are shaking their heads thinking "what?! that's it? SO WEAK!" haha!

Hey, that's no fortune! But yet, so true.

At the end of out lunch we opened our fortunes, mine wasn't so exciting but Isaiah's? Oh Isaiah was pleased.


"WOOHOO! When do you think I'll get my great honor, Mama? This is so cool!"

Thanks for the memories Shanghai, see you soon!

i wish

2010-08-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

♡ I wish I had enough money to fill my kitchen with all of these beautiful goodies from this shop ♡

{all photos click through to item in shop}

It's Your Life

2010-08-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

We discovered Francesca Battistelli while listening to our favorite radio station last year and with this song she instantly became a favorite of Isaiah's. He especially resonated with the lyric "On my own I'm so clumsy but on Your shoulders I can see, I'm free to be me" because at the time he was going through a growth spurt and was proving to be quite the clumsy guy, bless his heart.

After seeing Francesca in concert a few months ago I finally bought her album on iTunes and we've been listening to it quite a bit lately. For the past couple of days the song, "It's Your Life" has been stuck in my head and I just love it so much. The message speaks volumes to me and I began to think about how I could incorporate it into a sort of lesson for myself & my boys.

I just started back at school for the Fall semester on Monday and Isaiah starts 2nd grade (!!!) on the 23rd, and I've decided that this song is going to be the song of the school year for my boys and I.

We're going to listen to it every morning before school to remind us of who we are and how important making good choices are because every move we make in life tells the people around us something about who we are as a person. I've been thinking lately, what messages have I been sending?

I think this will be a sweet way to remind me to be the person I'm called to be in Christ while simultaneously echoing this ever important message in Isaiah & Malachi's life. :)

Give it a listen, I bet you won't hate it, Francesca's music is so filled with joy & loveliness and who knows, it might even resonate something within you as well. ♡