Christmas

I think I should get extra points for posting these before the New Year. :) Christmas was pretty low key. We had planned to go to church, but that got nixed when Sophia woke up with a nasty stomach bug. We opened presents at our house first, and by mid-morning she seemed to be over the worst of it.

My parents probably regret telling us to come on over. We passed the illness on to them, but we had lots of fun in the mean time. We spent the afternoon eating, hanging out, and opening more presents.

Sophia got some bows. She loves them, but she insists on putting them on all by herself which means she almost never makes it out of the house with one actually in her hair.

I think Aunt Annie's presents trumped all the others for Levi. she gave him Woody and Bullseye. Generally, I do a big eye roll over character toys and start scheming ways to land them in the Goodwill bin, buuuuut Levi is nutso bananas over those two. Annie even asked before she bought them. How could I say no. Do you see that grin?

New Year's Eve is fast upon us now, and my one goal (more like hope, wish, prayer) is that everyone gets well and stays well for awhile. Over the past few months, the kids have gone through two rounds of stomach bugs, numerous colds, and some weird two day illness. Stephan and I have managed to (so far) avoid the stomach bugs, but we've gotten the other illnesses. That just seems like a lot for 3 months. I'm ready for a little wellness around here.

Hope y'all had a very merry Christmas!

Hello

Well, hello there. I'm kind of shocked that I went over a month without blogging. It's so unlike me....and through December too! Gasp. 

There's really not much to share. With the exceptions of growing a baby bump and keeping my other children alive, I did absolutely nothing throughout the whole month of December. I didn't even knit...or sew...or cut out a snowflake. I don't think I even did laundry. My husband rocks by the way. 

I'm 14 weeks along now and finally starting to get some energy. Also, I'm impatiently waiting to feel those first flutters. I felt them at 14 weeks with Levi and Sophia (super early, I know), so I admit that I fully expected the same thing to happen with this one. So far, nothing. There's still a few days for the little one to follow in his/her siblings' footsteps. We'll see.

So, how were Thanksgiving and Christmas? Mine were low key, but nice. Well, Sophia did wake up throwing up at 1 am on Christmas morning. Not so nice. She recovered enough by mid-morning to still enjoy the day, but then she passed the illness on to my parents. Oops. There aren't many Christmas photos, but I'll post a few soon.

Hope y'all are having a lovely post-Christmas week!

The Party

Levi turned four last week.

 The Saturday before, my parents threw him a wonderful party full of everything he had asked for...trains, a hayride, brick oven pizzas, and roasted marshmallows.

My mom made the cake...

Levi blew out the candles...



and opened a few presents (to Sophia's amusement and delight).

Stephan's mom, Mimi to the kids, got to join in the fun!

A hayride topped it all off perfectly...

It was a beautiful way to celebrate 4 years. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for putting it all together!

Everyday Blessings

This first trimester is kicking my rear, but I am grateful for so many things...

: : My parents threw Levi a family birthday party the Saturday before his birthday. It was wonderful! I am beyond grateful that they took over and created such a wonderful day for him!

: : For the two weeks leading up to Levi's birthday party, morning sickness became progressively worse. I barely left the house. The poor kids were going stir crazy. And, it got to the point where the only thing I could eat was jello....not exactly the most nutritionally dense 'food' out there. It finally dawned on me that it was likely the prenatal vitamins. With Levi they made me so sick that I lost 8 lbs. With Sophia I refused to take them in the first trimester. I decided to give vitamins another shot with this pregnancy. Since I've stopped I've felt so much better. I still have morning any time of the day sickness, but it is way better. And, I can eat...even leafy green vegetables! Also, being able to leave the house on occasion is a nice luxury.

: : Although Stephan's mother came to visit for sad reasons (her father passed away last week), we were glad to be able to spend time with her while she was here. My kids have been blessed with good grandparents.

: : I am blessed with the best husband in the entire world. He's been cooking and cleaning and changing dirty diapers and bringing me tea and going for late night runs to the store. He is patient with our children even though they sometimes get grouchy when mama is down for so long. He is patient with me even though I get grouchy when I'm tired and feeling perpetually carsick. He's all around wonderful, and he makes the first trimester more bearable.

: : In the mornings, the kid who wakes up first climbs over us to wake up the other one. They grin big and snuggle with each other. My heart melts every single time.

: : I am thrilled that Sophia is no longer sensitive to what I eat. Nursing and being pregnant equal major egg cravings for me...a food that was once on the no list. It's so nice that she can nurse happily, and I can eat happily.

: : Last but not least, Sophia has been passing out the kisses in liberal doses lately. Big mama grin. :)

Hope y'all have a very blessed week!

Sunday

 “Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”
 ~1 Corinthians 15:55

In memory of Stephan's grandfather who passed away last Monday. May his soul rest in peace.

Four Whole Years

It goes by fast.

Happy birthday to my sweet, imaginative little boy! It's a pleasure to be your mama.

A Not So Everyday Kind of Blessing

A couple of weeks before we went on vacation I started to feel a little off. Odd things were happening...at one point I had to talk myself out of an extreme and very strange craving for raw beef. How gross is that?! Obviously, red flags went up. I took a pregnancy test but thought there was no way it could be positive, and it wasn't. I chalked the weird craving up to needing more protein or iron and just moved right along. But, then I missed my period, so I took another test. It was negative. The night before we left for the beach I fixed Levi the only vegetable he'll eat...asparagus. I could barely finish cooking it. The smell! Ugh. That feeling was all too familiar. The next morning I took another test. Turns out that it is indeed possible to have two false negatives.

That's right. Baby number 3 is on its way! Arrival is estimated to be June 23. We are thrilled! Now if only I could get through this first trimester fatigue and sickness, so I can get to knitting! I have 9 months worth of stuff I want to make, but at this rate I may only have 6 months of time to make it in.

Sunday

                                                      Source: etsy.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Everyday Blessings

I am so very thankful...

: : that Sophia is outgrowing her allergies!!! She no longer reacts to anything from my milk, so I don't have to be on the Sophia diet anymore. What she eats is a different story, but I think it's significant that she's not as sensitive as she once was.

: : for my husband. Seriously. He is awesome....really, really awesome.

: : that Levi has the potty thing 100% figured out. When he decided to start using the potty he really didn't have many accidents, but I can't even remember a single one in quite some time. He also just walks on in and does his business with no reminders. I think that might be one of the perks of waiting until he was truly ready.

: : for Saturday's girls night out with my mama and Sophia. So much fun.

: : for Sophia's very earnest attempt at 'singing' along to the songs in church yesterday. 

: : for the crunch of leaves underfoot.

: : for a decently tidy and newly organized sewing room/office. 

: : for the feeling of relief and calm that I get when I give away excess stuff. It's a very good feeling. I'm realizing that less really may be more.

So, what's on your gratitude list today?

Sunday

 

                                       Source: cosmic-dust.tumblr.com via Please Note on Pinterest

"The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born."

~ Psalm 33:6

Weekend Loves

(She's pretty much fearless.)

Fun links:

  : : This reminds me of the cardigan that I knit for Sophia except in my size!

: : A hexagon quilt may be in my future, especially since it would be a great on the go hand stitching project.

: : A tablecloth into a rug? I am intrigued.

: : The candy fairy came to our house Tuesday morning and traded out the Halloween stash for a dump truck. The candy fairy is now loved by all...especially for her ability to thwart an all day sugar induced tantrum. (idea via Soule Mama)

: : Upsidedown Kate just finished up a cool series: 31 Days of Joy Filled Parenting.

: : Who knew that clear nail polish had such a fabulous use?

: : Last but not least, Christmas is on my mind already! Love it!

Have you found anything fabulous this week?

Halloween Weekend

Phew. We had a wonderful weekend, but this mama sure is worn out! Saturday we went to our church's Fall Festival. Before the sun went down my dad and I ushered the kiddos outside for an impromptu photo shoot. They were moving targets....

We headed back indoors to enjoy some fun games and good food. Levi...oops, I mean the Dragon, especially liked apple bobbing...

Monday rolled around at an unusually fast speed...possibly due to the incessant questions about when we would go trick or treating. Our town puts on a Halloween festival each year. I'm not a fan of crowds, so I've avoided it until now. However, my dad was volunteering there, so my mom and I took the kids around while he passed out candy. It was actually very well planned and not at all the overwhelming experience that I had imagined.

You'd think that would have been enough, but Levi wanted to do more. When we got home (well past dark and bedtime) we did some trick or treating around our block. Just as we were nearing our house Levi fell splat on the ground. After that he decided he was done. That is until we got into bed, and he cried because he realized it was all over.

Personally, I was ready for the all over part. Now for Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations to commence!

P.S. Levi is definitely going to need to learn to sew. He was insanely picky about every last detail of his costume. There were things he requested that I just couldn't even figure out how to do (at least I couldn't figure out how to do them and keep the outfit comfortable)
P.P.S. Sophia's costume was tedious, but I love it.
P.P.P.S. Sadly, Stephan never gets to do Halloween with us. Sniff. Sniff. 

Everyday Blessings

We've been at my parents' house all weekend. I can't download any of my pictures from this weekend until later tonight, so you get a random phone pic. :) Onto the blessings:

I am grateful for....

: : A weekend at my parents'! Of course! We had planned on just spending Saturday night, but ended up staying Sunday as well. It's been fun and a much needed change of scenery during Stephan's loooooong work week.

: : A successful shopping trip. I have such a hard time finding jeans that I like. I was down to a single pair, so my mom, the kids and I went shopping. I've never found pants so easily. They were on super sale, too!

: : Finishing the kids' Halloween outfits on time without any major rush or last minute panic. I wish I'd taken a phone pic of them all dressed up for Fall Festival Saturday night, so I could post it from here. Sniff, sniff. I have lots of pictures though. Promise I'll show them when I get back to my own computer. Sophia's owl costume was way more time consuming than I thought it would be, but it turned out awesome. And, Levi makes one heck of a cute dragon. We'll be trick or treating tonight, so they get to wear them again.

: : Time to knit. I haven't had much knitting time in weeks. Cry me a river, right? Anyway, I've gotten to knit some on Levi's sweater this weekend. I feel like a better person when I knit...not because of what I make but because the act of knitting calms my soul. That probably says something about how weird I am, but we won't go there, m'kay? ;)

: : Cozy sweater weather. Need I say more? I will though. I heart a cool, crisp breeze.

So, what where you blessed by this past week?

Sunday

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 
~Jeremiah 29:11 

*The photo was taken when we went pumpkin picking earlier this month. I still haven't gone through most of the pictures.

Weekend Loves

Levi at our library's story time in his unfinished dragon costume.

Good links for you...

: : Leigh's thoughts on unschooling.

: : A list of fun science experiments.

: : Nifty toy car storage.

: : Super adorable DIY doll.

: : Sewing inspiration...here, here, and here.

: : Recycled scribbles.

Happy Friday!

Everyday Blessings

It was a week full of them...

: : Stephan took half a day off last week to help my disorganized self get ready for a beach vacation because he's sweet like that. He also did a bunch of late night, last minute grocery shopping because I kept forgetting things. I'm super grateful for a patient and (mostly) helpful husband.

: : We went to the beach! Okay, okay, so Levi threw up the whole way there...not so much of a blessing, but then he was fine until the evening before we left, so yay for the strange stomach bug break.

: : The beach was a blast. It looks super cold in that picture because I took that in the evening when it was pretty chilly. During the daytime, though, the kids got to bust out their swimsuits. 

: : The waves on the beach in front of our hotel were too high the first day, so we looked for other things to do. We ended up finding an incredible beach spot that was protected by a natural rock wall. It was like a giant, beach-side kiddie pool. To top it off it wasn't as sterile as the hotel beach, so Levi and Stephan got to catch hermit crabs, chase fish, and even watch a raccoon go fishing.

: : Watching my kids experience the beach for the first time was priceless.

So, what are you grateful for today?

Sunday

Levi circa 2008

"Hatred stirs up quarrels,but love makes up for all offenses."

~Proverbs 10:12

Weekend Loves

The photo is from a trip to the Science museum that we took weeks ago. It makes me smile every time I see it.


And, now for some links

: : Stickman fun. You're welcome. :)

: : I want this for supper.

: : And, this for dessert.

: : I like this playhouse a lot.

: : This sweater is lovely.

Have an awesome weekend!

The Daddy And Kiddos

Last night I sat down to look through the pumpkin picking photos. Levi woke up twice and wasn't going back to sleep, so this is all I've got to show for it. 

Maybe by Thanksgiving I'll have the rest of them up. Hey, that's still seasonally appropriate at least.
Happy Wednesday, y'all!

Everyday Blessings

A few blessings that I'm especially grateful for this week:

: : After Levi was stung by the yellow jackets, I took him to the doctor where I was warned that his legs were going to look much worse the next day. I prepared myself for a day of comforting my little man, but when we woke up his legs looked nearly perfect! It was hard to even spot where the stings had been. Other than having to change shoes because one set rubbed on a sting, Levi didn't mention any pain the whole day, and he was super happy. Now that's what I'd call a blessing.

: : I know I've mentioned the autumn light in one of these posts already, but there's really nothing like it. It has a certain quality that makes me super sentimental, and I like it. I especially like the autumn light in the kid's rooms. The rest of our house is kind of dark and blah, but when I walk into their rooms I always feel good.

: : One and (almost) four are currently my favorite ages which is especially nice since that's where both my kids are right now. Levi has entered into this incredibly fun stage of pretend. His imagination melts my heart. Sophia's curiosity is really starting to blossom, and she's becoming so playful and engaging. Snuggling itty bitty babies is very sweet, but when they make the leap into toddlerhood it's just plain fun.

: : Sophia has discovered brushes. She'll hand one to me and say "Mama" which is her way of asking me to brush her hair. I brush it very gently, and she gets the sweetest look on her face that totally turns me into a giant puddle. I have a girl, people! It's so much fun. (Not that having a boy isn't a barrel of fun. It totally is. It's just a different kind of fun.)

: : We've been able to spend lots of time outside every day lately. The weather has been awesome, and the vitamin D does me good. Even on days when we're super busy, I squeeze at least one walk in for us, and it puts everyone into good moods. 

: : Months ago our favorite park closed for renovations. We were so sad, but it reopened this weekend!!!! It is awesome now. Yay! We will be there weekly. I'm so excited. Lately when we've passed it Levi looks over and says, "When our park opens me and W (his buddy) are going to play there." Gotta put a playdate on the calendar!

So what are you feeling blessed by these days?

Sunday

"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?"

~Mark 8:36-37

Just A Sweet Moment

During Sophia's naps, Levi and I have our special time together. Often it involves a cup of tea and some snacks followed by a game. Sometimes I feel like I ought to be doing something else with that time (like cleaning), but I know that someday he won't think it's cool to have tea parties with his mama. I guess I'll have plenty of time to clean then.

Weekend Loves

Is it Friday already? Not that I'm complaining, but it doesn't seem like it's been a whole week since the last one. I still haven't gone through the pumpkin photos. Shame on me, but here's another instagram one...

Alrighty then, on to some links...

: : Awhile back I did the whole shampoo free thing (no this doesn't mean I quit showering or cleaning my hair). Anyway, I loved it for months and then not so much. I went back to shampoo which I still didn't love. Then I read this article. I'm back to being 'poo-less, and I like it. Yay! I think I was using too much vinegar before.

: : Levi has been collecting pine cones lately. I'm thinking wreaths.

: :  Small scale marble painting looks like fun...doable fun.

: : All For The Boys is cool....I'm especially digging the diy's like this plane and this stethoscope.

: : Soup...It's that time of the year.

Happy Weekend, Y'all!

P.S. Levi woke up in a very cheerful mood this morning. I think he's feeling much better after yesterday's yellow jacket incident.

The Wrath Of Yellow Jackets

This afternoon we headed out to a nature trail to meet some friends. We enjoyed a leisurely (albeit mosquito riddled) jaunt through the woods. When we came to the end of the trail Levi and his buddy did a bit of exploring while his buddy's mama and I chatted. (The boys were well within eyesight). As we were considering packing up (due to the pesky mosquitoes), Levi started screaming and came running towards me. I asked him to use his words and tell me what happened while I checked him for wounds. And, then I saw them....angry yellow jackets buzzing around. I yelled for everyone to run. We headed for the parking lot, and I started frantically trying to get all of the yellow jackets off of Levi. Of course, the bad thing about yellow jackets is that once they're angry they lock onto you and don't back down. I kept knocking them off and killing them, and more kept coming after him. Thankfully we were next to a fire station, and two of the firemen saw us and came over to help. I'm so glad they did. I think it would have been much worse had we not had the extra hands. We were finally able to make a full escape but not before Levi was stung 11 times. Ugh. Thankfully no one else was stung. The firemen checked Levi for signs of an allergic reaction and scraped a stinger out of him. Then we headed for the doctor's office where they dosed him up with some Benadryl and told us what to watch out for. Levi is fine...sore and a little grouchy, but fine. 

When asked how he'd managed to get into yellow jackets, Levi said, "I stepped on them."

"On purpose?"

"Yeah." 

 "Why?!!" 

"To kill 'em dead." 

"Please, don't ever do that again."

Levi was, of course, properly spoiled by BawBaw who brought him pickles and Nanno who bought him a piece of strawberry cake. Then he got to watch a movie (a rare event around here)...

When it was all said and done, I realized that I had indeed touched yellow jackets without hesitating or flinching. Apparently motherhood combined with adrenaline = fearless.

So, how was your Thursday? Hopefully better than mine. :)

Everyday Blessings....on Tuesday

We've been busy in a good way, and it doesn't seem destined to stop anytime soon. I guess it's the gorgeous fall weather keeping us out and about more than usual. So, better late than never, here are a few things I'm grateful for...

: : A husband who gets me.

: : Pumpkin picking with the family...Stephan, my parents and my sister included! One day maybe I'll get to sit down at this computer long enough to sift through the pictures and post a few.

: : New Bolga baskets. I buy one every year at the pumpkin patch. This year I splurged and bought two.

: : A trip to the fair with Stephan and the kids. Have I mentioned that I love having Stephan home more. Yeah? Maybe once or twice, huh? ;)

: : Planning a vacation! Gasp! A first for us.

: : Two sweet munchkins curled up asleep. They look like angels.

What are you grateful for today?

Sunday

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

~Matthew 6:21

Aunt Annie!

My sister and Levi have quite the special bond. This was how they greeted one another at the pumpkin patch this morning...

Seeing the two of them together brings a smile to my face.
More pictures with actual pumpkins to come....once I sift through the 400+ that were taken. About half of those were Levi's doing. I think the boy needs his own camera...

Weekend Loves

Some lovely links...

                                         Source: carladyck.blogspot.com via Madeline on Pinterest

: : Brown Paper Flowers 

: : Thrifting Tips

: : 7 Steps To Manage Yourself When Your Child Melts Down

: : Glitter In Salt Shakers. Yes.

: : More Owl Inspiration

 

Happy Weekend!