Family Visitors

This past week we had some visitors from out of town: Doc's sister Jill and her family.  Jill's kids were on spring break for the week and decided to spend a few days down in our neck of the woods.  Unfortunately, we just don't have enough room in our house so we could host them, but we were still able to meet up and spend a fair amount of time with them.

We met Jill and her family out for dinner Thursday night, but the bulk of our hang out time was on Good Friday.  Our kids were out of school and Doc was able to work just a half day (I was stuck at work all day, boo).  After loading up on ribs at the Rendezvous, their plan was to spend the afternoon at the zoo.  Turns out, that was the rest of the city's plan too.  Since it was so crowded, they opted for a park in our neighborhood.  Doc was sweet and took my camera along.

(Just so I'll remember:  Anna is 11, Wyatt is 12, Nathan is 8, and Henry is 6 in this pic.)

Looks like Anna climbed as high as she could to get away from the boys.

We sat outside while Doc cooked our dinner on the grill.  I gave Henry and Nathan a piece of cheese to feed Lolli so she'd love them.  I think it worked.

Lolli had extra kisses for Uncle Chad too.

Love this sweet face.

I had a long list of things to get done in the kitchen.  By the time I went to bed that night, I had baked a chocolate cake, a white cake, a yellow cake, and 3 batches of lemon cupcakes.  Luckily I had some helpers along the way!

Anna is always excited to be a kitchen helper!

All the baking was for a couples' shower my mom was hosting the next night.  I volunteered to make cupcakes in a jar (like I did a while back) and cake pops.  It was a huge undertaking but I figure I probably owed it to my mom, she does a lot for me.

The first batch of lemon cupcakes were a bit of a flop.  I used this recipe that's just a cake mix and Sierra Mist.  I accidentally poured in the whole 20 oz. bottle of Sierra Mist instead of just 12 oz.  Oops.  They still tasted good, they were just a little sticky.  It was a good thing I had a house full of willing taste testers!  We needed an appetizer anyway...

The second two batches went well but they didn't rise like most cupcakes.  Taste wise they were great, but that meant that it took one and half cupcakes to fill up each mason jar.  Gah!  We finally got 'em done before bed though.

But then there were the cake pops.  Oh, the cake pops.  It was my idea to do 3 different cakes so they'd be different flavors.  Sounds like a good idea, right?  The problem is that one sheet cake alone makes about 3,000 cake balls so that means three cakes makes roughly...quick math...9,000 cake balls.*  I would've taken a picture of all the fun** we were having rolling the thousands of cake balls, but my hands were too messy to pick up the camera.

We called it a night around 10:00.  I didn't sleep a wink because I couldn't stop thinking about all the unfinished balls in the fridge.  By 7:00am I was up and at 'em and back in the kitchen.  I'm new at the whole cake pop thing and had no idea how long it would take.

I pulled out the first cookie sheets and decided to start with chocolate.

I dipped my sticks in melted chocolate before sticking them in the cake balls.  I read that this was a good idea to keep the balls from falling off; it sounded legit.

Then it was just a matter of dipping them into melted chocolate.  Of course, I had to take it up a notch and do each flavor with a design.  My first batch got dyed blue.

Then I got fancy and drizzled white stripes on them.

With 9,000 cake balls in the fridge, I totally underestimated how much styrofoam and sticks I'd need.  I had to send Doc out to the store to fetch me some more.  By 10:00, I had an assortment of cake pops.

Obviously that's not how they were displayed for the shower, but we'll get to that in another post.

I had enough time to take a quick shower before Jill and her crew were back over for the afternoon.  We attempted to get a few shot of the kids, even though they weren't that interested in it.

This one cracks me up.  Ha!  I can't remember what Doc said to Nathan to make him perk up...

We got one of the boys with their sister Jessie too.  Lolli kept trying to photobomb this pose so getting a decent shot was tricky.

While we were outside, I got out some cascarones that I'd bought for Easter.  These are confetti-filled eggs that you smash on your head for good luck.  Wyatt was the first to go and smashed his hard!

Nathan got covered with confetti while Henry managed to stay clean.

I think Anna was nervous that it would hurt!

Wyatt got another egg so he should be extra lucky this year.

Unfortunately, after our confetti party I had to leave to deliver my goodies and help my mom set up for her party.  I gave my farewell hugs to our visitors since they were gone by the time I made it back.  It was a good to see them all and I'm glad they were able to visit!

*Slight exagerration.  But only slight.

**Sarcasm.  Nothing is fun with that many balls.

Lollipops

I've got a quick and fun project for you before I recap our weekend.  The good news is I got my camera out and was very "snap happy."  The bad news is that means I have LOTS of pictures to go through.  I'm tired just thinking about it. Right now, I'm here to talk about Lollipops...the candy, not the dog.  I cannot take credit for this idea, I found the idea here, but I can tell you that they are awesome, easy, and delicious.  My coworkers gobbled these up so quickly that I've already had to make a second batch.

First, gather your supplies.  Jolly Ranchers (I could only find the original flavors but I bet the other flavors would just take this to the next level!) and lollipop sticks.  You'll also need a cookie sheet and parchment paper.

Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and unwrap all the Jolly Ranchers.  Place them in groups of three on the cookie sheet.  Make sure that the candies in each group are touching and that you save enough room between the groups to add the sticks.

With your oven heated to 200 degrees, slide the cookie sheet in and let the Jolly Ranchers melt.  This took me anywhere from 7 - 10 minutes (not sure why the differences between batches).

Remove your cookie sheet from the oven when the candies have melted enough to push a stick into them.  When adding the sticks, push them down and twist so that the candy covers both sides.  You've got to work fast because they harden back up pretty quickly!  I had Anna helping me and we worked from opposite ends of the cookie sheet (this is a  great project for kids!).

The lollipops harden back up within 5 minutes and then they're done!  Pictured below is watermelon, grape, green apple - by far my favorite combination!

I picked up a few baggies at Michael's that came with little bows so we could package our lollipops up.

 

The second set I just wrapped in saran wrap and it worked just as well but they obviously weren't as cute.

What are you waiting for?  Go make yourself a batch!

Blogging in Bullets

I've gotten into this routine with blogging.  Around Wednesday of every week, the only thought constantly running through my head is that "I haven't blogged this week, I haven't blogged this week, I haven't blogged this week..."  And then at some point towards the end of the week, I force myself to sit down at the computer.  Most of the time, if I can keep my eyes open long enough at night, I try to crank out two posts at one time: the first to post immediately and the second to be scheduled for the next day.  Then I pat myself on the back for not being a complete slacker blogger and exhale a sigh of relief for buying myself some more time before I've got to put the fingers to the keyboard again.  Before I know it, the following Wednesday rolls around and the vicious cycle starts all over. And it's not like I don't have anything to say because I do.  I actually have several things I could blog about right now.  It's just that after sitting at a computer all day at work, I just don't want to do it again at home.  Plus, with my newly adopted 8:30 bedtime, it's hard to squeeze it all in.  So, just like last week, I'm going to have to turn to bullet points.  I had planned all week to do a weekend recap, but now maybe it'll just be a recap of the weekend plus a few days.

• Friday night, the weather was perfect.  We sat on our porch and cheered on 5K participants as they made their way past our house.  After the race, the street was full of shrieks and laughter from all the kids playing (ours included).  I chatted with neighbor friends while the yummy smell of dinner wafted from the grill.  It's nights like this that will really make me miss our little street when we move.
• Saturday morning was all about being productive.  The yard got some much needed attention.  Weeds were pulled, bushes were trimmed back, monkey grass was pruned, and the patio was pressure-washed.  Doc also washed both of our cars, just in time for the rain to come this week.
• Saturday afternoon was spent running errands with my mom (surprise, surprise).  We both had numerous things to pick up before this coming weekend and it was good to get all those things checked off the list.
• All the shopping made me pretty hungry.  Our last stop was the mall and I was just drooling thinking about the Auntie Anne's pretzel I was going to devour.  I was so bummed when they didn't have the kind I wanted (almond with caramel dip!) and ended up leaving with no snack.  My stomach growled the whole way and right as we pulled up at my house, Anna came out and announced she made cupcakes all by herself.  I could've hugged her so hard her little head would've popped off (I refrained).  She even died the icing Easter colors.

I had scarfed down half of a green-iced one when I asked her what color she had.  "Dad wouldn't let me have one yet."  Oh.  Oopsie daisy.  I told her to go ahead and help herself.  Who can wait when there are freshly baked cupcakes?  Also, I hope she always enjoys baking like she does right now.  I will make sure there is always a box of cake mix or brownie mix in the pantry.

• Anna and I worked on another quick kitchen project after that which I'll give a post of its own since I have several pictures.
• Sunday after church we stopped by a friend's house to meet their new puppy.  They were walking out the door for lunch so we kidnapped the puppy and said we'd babysit while they went out.  I really had a lot I needed to get done but I just can't turn away from a sweet puppy.  I mean, just look at this face!  His name is Miles and he's a cockapoo.

• Miles may never be allowed to come over again after all we put him through.  We took him to my parents' house for some fun in their backyard.  Part of that fun was a few trips down the playset slide.  Poor Miles has really gotta working on that landing.  Henry didn't realize how much bigger he was than the puppy and kept trampling him.  Oh, and we hadn't even been outside an hour before we looked over and saw Miles laying on his belly in a big mud puddle.  We had the honors of giving him his second bath ever.
• Sunday evening we had dinner with some friends that we hadn't seen in far too long.  It was good to catch up!  And the weather was nice again so we were able to sit outside.  Thanks to Mary, I now have a couple of pregnancy/baby books to read, including one all about mocktails for moms-to-be.
• Doc and I made a big grocery store run Sunday night, which is not fun at all...I only mention it because my lunch bag this week has weighed about 5lbs. everyday.  I have so many good snacks to choose from!  We also stopped at Walgreens for one last item and as I checked out, a man was escorted out in handcuffs.  So that was fun.
• Speaking of our grocery store trip, have you had Simply Lemonade with Raspberry?  Ohmygosh, it's goooood.  Definitely my newest obsession.
• I finally got my winter clothes packed away and all my summer clothes hanging in the closet.  My "offseason" clothes are stored in the playroom closet down the hall and since I was home alone and tryingnot  to carry too much at a time, it took FOREVER.  I was worn out afterwards.
• We have two pots that sit on either side of our front door.  Usually, I just plant a fern in each one of them for the summer, but this time I decided I wanted a big assortment of plants.  My mom helped me pick things out - we had to visit several stores - and I finally got them finished up around 8:15 last night.  I hope at least half of this stuff lives.  Don't know the names of everything in there, but there's some sweet potato vine, creeping jenny, 3 different fern varieties, and...other stuff.

 

That's all I have for now.  I'll try to squeeze one more post in before the weekend.  We've got lots of stuff planned so it should be a good couple of days!

Preggo

I've gone back and forth about how much I should or shouldn't say about the pregnancy.  Is it too personal, do people really care, etc.  But when thinking about this blog and why I even maintain it, I know that it is first a place for me to record my thoughts and life, second a place to keep our long-distance relatives informed of what we're doing and show off pictures of the kids, and third a place for entertaining or sharing tutorials and befores and afters.  When I broke it down like that, it became a no brainer.  Why wouldn't I want to record my thoughts on this journey?  One day I'll want to go back and read them, especially if I'm blessed enough to be pregnant again sometime. There were LOTS of things I wanted to say or ask during the first 12 weeks when I wasn't talking about it.  Now that the secret's out, it's kinda weird.  After spending 3 months NOT talking about something, I still occasionally get surprised when someone mentions it.  Wait, you know I'm pregnant?  Of course they know, I put it on the internet for crying out loud!  Now I'm kinda drawing a blank on all those things I wanted to write about, but I'll still try.  I'm sure for those of you that are old pros at this whole making-a-baby thing, you'll be able to point out how I'm doing it all wrong.  I may even elicit some eye-rolls at my amateur-ness.  But maybe for those of you who have been out of the game for a while, I'll spark some fond (or not-so-fond) memories.  And heck, those of you who are still waiting for your turn, maybe you'll learn something new here! 

Let's do this bullet point style, shall we?

• As for the stats, I'm currently 14 (and a half!) weeks along and our due date is September 24.  We're a mere 5 weeks away from the big ultrasound and yes, we plan on finding out the sex.
• We've had 2 ultrasounds so far.  Last time the baby's heartbeat was 155 and he (she?) looked a little something like this.  (Sorry for the crappy picture of a picture.)  That little white blob above the head/nose is his (her?) hand waving at us!

• Both ultrasound visits brought out a range of emotions for me.  My thought pattern probably resembled something like this:  Oh my gosh, I'm freaking out this is weird why do I have to take off my pants that's cold what if it's really not there what if she can't find a heartbeat how many will there be she's showing me the screen but where the heck is the heartbeat doesn't she know I've never done this before that just looks like a blob where's the freakin' heartbeat oh there it is a heartbeat! oh my gosh a heartbeat! holy cow are you telling me there is seriously a baby? in my belly? holy crap I'm gonna be a mom.
• Even not pregnant, I'm a bit of a worrier and have a fair amount of anxiety.  Because of that, I've given myself a fairly strict "No Googling" rule.  As I'm sure you know, it only takes a few clicks on sites like WebMD to turn a little symptom into a fatal tumor.  I figure I should steer clear of that right now, or I might think I'm dying every single day.  I also, to date, have not read a single pregnancy book.  As far as making this baby goes, I'm totally wingin' it.
• I lied.  I'm not completely wingin' it.  I do have the What To Expect When You're Expecting app on my phone.  I don't use it much except to occasionally read the weekly updates.  I feel like there's got to be a better app out there.  Any suggestions?  Please, nothing that will scare me.
• Doc was there when I found out.  I was way late but had had several negative tests.  I was actually getting ready to call the doctor to see what party of me was broken, but decided to take one more test before making the call.  It was a new brand of tests that we hadn't used before, and I must've woken up on the bad side of the bed because I was grumpy when I pulled a fresh test out of the box.  A few minutes later, I glanced at the test before stepping into the shower and saw a plus.  We'd been using tests that were one line or two.  I yelled to Doc, "It's a plus!  What does that mean?  Grab the box!" and after fumbling through the box instructions we found that plus = pregnant.  Then we high-fived.  (True story.  Our immediate reaction was to go for the high five like we'd just defeated our opponents in some kind of intense playoff game.)
• After the first test, I took the other 2 in the package just to be sure.  Then, I convinced myself that someone could've tampered with the whole box, so I made Doc go out and buy the brand that kept giving us negative results.  I now have a nice little collection of positive pregnancy tests.  Gross?
• I've tried to be proactive about preventing stretch marks from day one.  I immediately bought some cocoa butter lotion and use it every day.  I'm not sure how I made it this far in life without putting together that cocoa butter lotion would smell like, well, cocoa.  I'm like a walking tootsie roll.  I hate it; Doc and Lolli think it's the best thing ever.
• My parents were the first people we told.  I'd always daydreamed of sharing the news in some kind of creative or elaborate way.  Maybe with blue and pink cupcakes or a wrapped up ultrasound picture or something.  It didn't happen that way at all.  We kept it a secret for about two weeks, I think, but then Doc was scheduled to go out of town for the better part of the week and I was going to stay with my parents for a few days so we could knock out some of the remaining beach house projects.  The problem with that situation was that I felt a little sick and I could no longer be in charge of all the painting.  Remember the post about our backyard painting party?  I kept finding other things to do while my dad, Doc, and my brother Nick did all the painting.  Finally, right before Doc left for the airport, we managed to get my parents alone in the kitchen.  Doc had the honors of telling them and asked that they not let me paint or lift anything.  They were excited but I squashed all the celebrations by yelling out "Here comes Nick! We can't talk about it anymore!" and we wiped the smiles off our faces and acted like we were having just a typical Sunday afternoon conversation.
• We ended up telling my brothers and their wives before the 12-week mark too.  We had to since the beach house move-in day was quickly approaching and I knew they wouldn't let me get away without helping carry furniture in and out.  We also went ahead and told Doc's parents by sending them a picture text of the ultrasound.  Everyone was sworn to secrecy!
• Speaking of moving into the beach house, I feel bad because I was really no help at all.  I gave orders from the couch while everyone else moved furniture and hung curtains.  One day I felt so bad, I laid down for a nap before 1:00 and woke up sometime around 5:00.  Whoops.  I really wasn't any help that day!
• After the second ultrasound at 11 weeks when we felt like everything was going well, we finally told Anna and Wyatt.  I think they're initial reaction was shock since we completely caught them off guard, but if they were upset at all they hid it very well.  They both seem excited for different reasons, Anna because she'll be able to babysit and Wyatt because he can help us figure out what new car to buy.  (My MINI is not carseat friendly.)
• Anna asked if we could get a pink or blue cake to find out if it's a boy or girl, so I guess we'll have a mini gender revealment party.  If a cake makes her happy about a new sibling, then we shall have cake!  That same night we also had them right down on a piece of paper what they thought it would be and we stuck them in an envelope with mine and Doc's guesses.  We discussed having a prize for anyone who guesses correctly.  The prize would have to be something that could possibly be split by a number of people, so Wyatt suggested that we all put in $5 and the winners split the money.  We're teaching them to gamble at a young age.  :)
• I think boy; Doc thinks girl.
• I've started taking weekly photos and it's really awkward.  More awkward than the turtleneck pictures.  I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to ever post them here.  Maybe when the belly actually starts poking out some.
• In addition to a bigger car, we need a bigger house.  I shouldn't say need; we would like a bigger house.  Our current house has 3 bedrooms - ours, the kids, and one set up as a playroom.  Technically we could convert the playroom to a nursery, but since I want Anna and Wyatt to love their new brother and sister, taking something away from them and giving it to the baby is not really what I want to do.  Plus, they can't share a bedroom forever.  We currently have no prospects but I'm not letting myselft worry...yet.

My mind has gone blank.  I'm certain there was more I was going to say, but this has already gotten pretty wordy anyway.  I'm sure there will be more posts like this along the way.  In the mean time, if you have any tips or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Birthday Finale

I finally got a chance to upload the pictures from my final birthday celebration, but I have not had time to do any kind of editing (story of my life these days).  My last party was with my family and was held last Sunday afternoon after church.  It was perfect - the weather was nice enough to play outside and a lot of little people that I love were there.  I hadn't seen them in what felt like forever! Bren and Jett were the first to arrive and we spent some time playing with sidewalk chalk.  I had them lay down on the driveway so I could trace around them.  They are so ticklish that they couldn't lie still!  When we finally got a decent outline, we decorated them.

 

Bren's drawing is on the left and says that she's Gone Flower Pickin'.  Jett's is on the right and he's Gone Fishin'.  Of course, as soon as I drew something for one, I had to draw it for the other so they're actually both holding flowers and a fishing pole.  Multitaskers, I tell ya.

We also played some hopscotch and man! that's a lot more tiring then I remember it being!  And either I'm really, really bad at it or there was some creative score keeping going on by Jett because I lost big time.

Bren made up her own rules when it was her turn so she beat me too.

I finally told Jett, my six-year-old best buddy, about the baby in my belly (did you catch that announcement?).  After I told him he gave me a quizzical look and said, "You want one?"  I wasn't sure if that question was because I'd never expressed interest in having a baby (around him) or if it was more of a 'but you already have me' kind of question.  I like to tell myself it was the latter because he loves me so much and wants to keep me for himself, but I'm pretty sure it's really the former.  While I love all the little people in my life equally, Jett was the first baby born in my adult life that I've spent a lot of time around.  He'll always have a special place in my heart.

The other two boy munchkins arrived as we finished up hopscotch.  Parker was sporting a nice bruise on his forehead.  He is ALL boy!

And this little squish face was wide awake!  I can't believe how much he's grown.

My mom had everything ready so we could grill out hot dogs and hamburgers.  She'd also made not one, not two, but THREE different dips (dips are my favorite food group).  After lunch I had several extra hands while I was opening my gifts.

We moved outside for dessert and this little sassafrass said she'd help me blow out my candles.

I really think Jesus (and the wind) blew out the flames before the birthday song was over, but we pretended anyway.  It just wasn't in the cards for me to blow out candles this year.

Jett, Bren, and their parents had to leave soon after dessert because they were headed camping.  I'm still waiting to hear how that went!  Bren had her minky dot princess sleeping bag packed and said she was ready to sleep outside.  I hope, for her parents' sake, that she did do some sleeping that night.

Ramer took turns in all of our laps.

This was my favorite shot of him; Doc had him grinning pretty good for a few minutes.

And then they had to leave too to go take naps.  I konked out for a pretty good nap too, so it was an excellent birthday afternoon!

Ok, enough of that.  Who's staying up late tonight to go watch the premier of the Hunger Games at midnight??  This is the first time I've ever considered going to a midnight movie, but in the end I decided a 3 am bedtime would not do me any good at work the next day.  Doc and I have purchased our tickets for a 4:30 showing tomorrow afternoon.  I can. not. wait!!