Fishing at the Fireman's Pond

Today was the fishing derby at the Fireman's Pond. The Hubby took the kids and I went along and watched. They caught one good one and had several other bites but they got away. My Sweet Boy mostly enjoys standing on the sidelines eating snacks and hot dogs that they had on hand. Twinkle Toes of course won't touch a hot dog with a ten-foot pole so she just drank soda for lunch. She is a bit like her Mom and could care less about eating. She lives on air.

The Pregnancy? Well, the belly is growing. The sick stage is OVER-thank goodness. I have been feeling very well of late and am trying to work out alot. Something neurotic though has overcome me and I cannot stop cleaning and organizing. Isn't it a little early for this? I have been cleaning every corner of every closet in the house, cleaning out drawers, going through clothes, even cleaning out the garage, you name it. This house is going to be organized before baby #3 arrives!

Taking Shonda's Advice....

Okay, so my friend posted something a long time ago about using this website http://www.mypublisher.com/ to make really nice, professional-looking photo albums from your digital pictures. I thought it sounded like a great idea, but like everything else I stored it away in my brain and did nothing about it. Well, right now they are having a really good special so I decided I better jump on the bandwagon and do it. I spent about 2 hours and made the most beautiful album of all of our 2007 pictures. I have done my fair share of scrapbooking, but now that we have 2 kids (soon to be 3) I find myself doing it less and less. I REALLY like this idea because I can archive a year's worth of photos at a time in a really beautiful, professional, and hopefully long-lasting way. I will post a picture later when I get it! I ordered it but haven't gotten it yet, but I am excited!

Family Home Evening

I am always trying to think of "what are we going to do for family home evening?" It's usually a quick and easy spur-of-the-moment idea, but it always comes together. So I thought I would share an FHE that we did in hopes that maybe other people will share too, and then I can get some good ideas.

So one night we had a lesson from the March "Friend" entitled, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." It had a diorama craft that you can do with a boy and a girl set up in front of the Savior.

We've been trying to teach Mackenzie this song. It's kind of a hard one but I really like the words. The first few lines read,

"If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?Would I think of His commandments and try harder to be true?Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously,If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?"

We finished up by making cinnamon-sugar popcorn with our Whirley Pop which is this little contraption for making popcorn on the stove. It has a handle that you can turn that spins the popcorn around on the inside. We got this as a wedding gift, and I'll admit when we first got it I thought it was kind of an odd gift. But the kids absolutely love it and we've used it a lot and it is kind of one of those "fun" things that we would have never bought for ourselves but we are glad we have it.

Changing Diapers

Okay, story about my kids. Got to start journaling these again. I took a shower this a.m. (I know so surprising) and when I got out I kept hearing "raise your bottom" "now lower your bottom" and so i quietly snuck a peek to find my Sweet Boy completely naked and Twinkle Toes attempting to put a new diaper on him. It was so cute. She did a pretty good job and then she said "now get up and let's go find you some clothes." Such the little Mommy. This could come in handy with the New Addition coming.

Doula Search

So I am just wondering if anyone out there has had experiences with doulas that they would like to share with me as I am sort of thinking of getting one of these for my next birth. I had a midwife deliver Twinkle Toes and a doctor deliver my Sweet Boy and honestly, the midwife was SO much better hands down. I really wanted to have a similar experience with this next birth, but after looking into a birthing facility it seemed way more expensive than a hospital birth (which is kind of odd considering it is a midwife and not a doctor). Anyhoo, so we've decided to do a hospital birth again but I am thinking of getting a doula to help out. I really love the attentiveness and nurturning that the midwife provided. They really seem to care about the wholistic birth experience, not just "getting that baby out" but also the comfort, atmosphere, and feelings of the couple, the mother, etc. I think having a baby is such an amazing and empowering experience, I want it to the best I can make it and extra support would probably be really be nice as we have no one to help us. It all falls to the Hubby. I have to admit, with my marathon labors that I have, it would be nice to have some backup as I think the Hubby gets a little worn out.

Pregnancy Cravings Explained

Okay, I just thought I might put this out there for all those husbands who really don't have a clue what a "pregnancy craving" is. See, it's really just not an excuse for me to eat endless amounts of chocolate or ice cream or whatever it is one might be craving. It is REAL. In my opinion, at least, here is the explanation. When you're pregnant your stomach just doesn't feel quite right. Maybe it's because your uterus is continually invading its space or maybe it's all those nauseating hormones that make you feel "just lovely." I don't know about you, but at a time when I should be eating most healthy, eating just doesn't sound appealing. I have a hard time coming up with stuff I WANT to eat. One day, I thought I was hungry for pickles and I happily set out to appease my craving. After 15 pickles though, it started to have the opposite effect and yep, my stomach did not agree with my choice. Anyways, it is so hard to think of something good to eat that when something finally does hit you, you're like "ah, eggs and ketchup, I think that sounds great. I would love to have that." Then, you gotta have it because you're actually hungry for something and THAT is exciting.

What we've been....

Doing. Last Friday we all went out to lunch in the "big city" with Daddy-O. It was fun and nice to do something a little bit different and special on Friday. I love Fridays. Then we braved the Grand Opening of Trader Joe's. It was nuts. Saturday Daddy-O stayed home instead of (fishing). After some encouragement by me, I sent him off to the gymnastics gym with the kids explaining to him as he left how much fun he would have. He was not convinced. Crazy Momma(me) went to yoga class. Ah. Breathe. It was great. I came home to find they were not home yet! Apparently, Daddy was having SO much fun, that he didn't want to leave. What did I tell him? He came home ecstatic about how much fun he had jumping in the foam pit and bouncing on the trampoline with the kids. Yay. He even got to speak some Russian with the Bulgarian owner. This week my kids have mostly been outside playing in the DIRT. They love dirt. They must get that from me. It has been fairly warm here this week (60's) so we've been outside a lot enjoying the weather. Let's see...NEWS. Well, my previous post on the "Weekend with the Bro." We just got the news that they are officially "ENGAGGED" as my husband likes to say. Engaged in April, married in June.