Easy Easter Craft

On Sunday, we did this quick Easter craft that I saw through a blog I found on Pinterest.
I used painter's tape instead of the masking tape they suggested. We also used finger paint instead of watercolors.
First, I taped a cross onto white cardstock. Then I had them paint over the cross. After it dried, I removed the tape to reveal a white cross. (Check out FJ wearing Miss A's art smock. Miss A is wearing my old gym shirt from middle school. Anyone else still own their's?)

Penny Passed

It passed today and not a moment too soon!!! Donning rubber gloves and touching poo was NOT my idea of fun. My stomach turned each time.

But today, after 4 other checks, it finally passed on the 5th "deposit".

Cherry Blossoms...Gone

As quickly as they bloom, they are gone...

On Blessings and Challenges

Thankful for-having a house
Challenging-having multiple levels to keep clean and running up and down the stairs to get a child back to sleep

Thankful for-having a washer and dryer
Challenging-having it in the basement and our bedrooms on the upper third level. Getting laundry for 5 people down to the basement, washed, dried, folded and then back up to the bedrooms to be put away is a challenge.

Thankful for-having multiple children
Challenging-when you feel like crap from a cold and your husband is out of pocket on a Saturday and you just have to get to the grocery store with your multiple children (with runny noses) and get back home preferably before baby needs to nurse and do it all in the rain and having no one local to call last minute that can come over to watch your children for you (for free)...did I mention the feeling like crap part?

My husband was talking on the phone to his dad a couple of weeks ago and he said, "It takes a special person to babysit 3 children."
I corrected him..."No, it just takes money!" ;-)
Then I followed up with, "It takes a special person to babysit 3 children for free."

A really GINORMOUS blessing-my mom is coming here in April to visit for ONE WHOLE MONTH!!!!!!
There just isn't anyone like your mama! :-)

A Penny Swallowed is a Penny Earned?

Guess who swallowed a real penny at 7:45 p.m. last night?
Rosie? Nope-thank goodness!
E? No, he's outgrown that
Me? No, I wasn't hungry.
FJ?-nope not him either
The correct answer is Miss A.

Right when we were getting to the end of watching the new Muppets movie for the second time, she said with a panicky tone, "I swallowed a penny!"

This is one of those parental moments when you are sitting right by your child and you still can't fathom how they managed to do something like that without you actually seeing it occur.

She said her chest was hurting too.

So, I paged the pediatrician on call.
Then I called a friend, Sonya, who used to be a nurse before having children.

The doctor said if the pain hadn't subsided in 15-20 minutes we would need to go to the ER to get X-rays.
I got worried then about her and also about who would stay with our other children and how there wasn't really anyone we could call to come over so we would probably have to leave one parent at home...etc...etc...etc...

Her chest stopped hurting, thank the Lord. But the doctor also said I would need to check her poop the next 2-3 days to make sure the penny passes.

Now, I had to smear Miss A's poop on a card three days in a row about a year ago when I thought I saw blood in her stool and I never wanted to do THAT again.

But, alas, it looks like I'll be donning the rubber gloves again and be up to my elbows in...

You get the picture...
Prayers are appreciated for her to pass it and for it not to make a permanent home in her intestines.

Old Town Anniversary Celebration

My love and I celebrated our 7th anniversary early and headed out to Old Town Alexandria last Saturday.
It was St. Patrick's Day so I wore the obligatory green and I was not alone.
The Irish pubs were busy and the streets were loaded with people celebrating the saint's day.

We visited a few shops and walked down to the river and my hubs took a pic of me there.
We stopped in at the Torpedo Factory to peruse the art. My father in law gave us a heads up and let us know that "ya know...some of it is art...and some of it is crap."
Oh yes, I think I would classify the chewed gum art that we saw as something less than art. However, it did have a hint of a really fun art project for kids.

We dined at Jackson 20 on Southern cuisine. I made sure to get the catfish as that is hard to get around these parts.
It came with hushpuppies and I added a side of fried green tomatoes. Delish!
Don't worry-there's a pic of our menu too...y'know...just in case you wanted to know what else was available.
Oh and I have to give a very BIG thanks to my father in law and his girlfriend for volunteering to watch all 3 of our kids that day for 7 hours! We came home to a quiet, clean home. It was lovely.
Okay, one more thing, my love got to borrow a fun ride from his company for the weekend so, I'll throw in a pic of that too.

Toys “R” Us Backyard Blast Sweepstakes

Toys “R” Us Backyard Blast Sweepstakes

I entered today and thought I would share it here!

A Bit Here...A Bit There

I've been sewing again...when I can grab a few minutes here and there.

I decided to use some scraps leftover from making bibs to make some cosmetic wipes for myself. I saw someone selling them on etsy and thought she was genius AND that I could probably make them myself.

I also needed a bag to hold the used ones before they are washed...so I banged out a 2-ply bag during nap time today. I did not follow a pattern but just sort of eye-balled it and Remembered how I made a similar bag a couple of years ago.
Yes, I could have gone and bought a small laundry bag to do the same thing but this was free and I luckily had two children sleeping simultaneously today.

One more project- I have been working on a bib and burp cloth for Rosie and the same project for a cousin who had her first baby in January.

Yes, I realize that Rosie is almost 6 months old but I just REALLY wanted to make a burp cloth for her like I did when I was prego with FJ.

Today, I finished both burp cloths during nap time.The one that's pink and brown is for my cousin and the floral one is for Rosie.

I'm so thankful for this creative outlet. Today, I was in the zone.

Spring Has Sprung!

Our cherry blossoms have bloomed!

Look Ma!

It's a flashlight!
(Oh yes...parts from the br.east pump can be used to make flashlights! Who knew?!)
Oh and a telescope too.
And a milk contraption.
And a pair of glasses.
Apparently those bottles and flanges can provide minutes of creativity when asked to simply put them away while helping with dishes.

St. Patrick's Day!

In case you were wondering...yes my children are a little Irish. My grandfather on my mom's side was Irish/Scottish. He had reddish hair before his hair turned a beautiful white. His last name was Russell...look it up if you are curious about the origin.

We started out the day with some St. Patrick's Day-ish pancakes, stickers, and visors-

Later we had a fun "photo shoot" with our visors and hats-

E's Birthday Celebration

We went out to eat at a fantastic pizza place in Leesburg with some of our dearest friends for E's birthday. (We also had free childcare thanks to our dear children's ministers-Jim and Sue)
It was chilly the night of his birthday and we had to wait outside for about 45 minutes before we wised up and went inside. Thankfully, they had a heated lamp for us outside and us ladies had some coffee to warm us up-
E and D-

 Me and T-

 E and Me-

 T and D-

All those "names" rhyme! (I'm so cheesy...I know.)

E also had a birthday dinner at Grandmond's house and we all went over to eat and enjoyed some cupcakes too-

 Rosie Rose during the party-

Sleep is for the Weak

Miss A (September 2008)-

FJ (March 2010)-

Rosie (March 13, 2012)-

Losing Weight...and Losing Hair

On Sunday, I weighed myself...you know before I had eaten too much...and with only a few basic items of clothing on. Oh and my hair was dry too.
I saw a number pop up that made me very happy-I'm now within 5 pounds of my average pre-pregnancy weight. Not pre-Miss A weight but just the average number I was at after both of my previous pregnancies. I'll take it.

I also started trying out gyms in February and this week I finally decided on an exercise class that I previously did after I had Miss A and when I was prego with FJ.

I am very happy to be back on the exercise train and I hope to not get off that train ever again. After all, what better way to teach my kids the importance of exercise than by doing it myself?

So while I've lost weight...which I hope not to find again...I've also been losing hair.
I always lose hair post partum but this time it feels like I've lost a bucket load. I find it everywhere and I'm quite ready for that to stop.

A Big Change

After looking at a couple of pics of hair that I liked...and with some prodding from my hairdresser (Sarah), I agreed to let her put my hair in a pony tail and cut off 10 inches of my hair-

So I went from this-

To this...

With the bangs pinned back-

It is taking some getting used too...my hair is darker, a whole lot shorter, and I have BANGS...a lot of them...a little more than I was expecting.
FJ saw me and said "hair!" first thing in the morning...
Miss A said she want her hair to look like mine now.
She says my hair looks like Rapunzel's after it is cut in Tangled.  Yeah...that pretty much sums it up...before I had long golden locks and now they are short and darker.

(I was thinking about donating my pony tail to Locks of Love but I've been reading about them online and it doesn't seem very likely my pony tail will actually be used to made into a wig but it would probably be sold...so I'm not sure what to do with the pony tail now. As for Pantene Great Lengths, they say that the hair can't be color-treated).

So that's my new look...if you hate it, please don't tell me!