90 Years!

We got to celebrate Grandad's 90th birthday...

more to come later... the phone is ringing.

Fun in the Snow

I think one of the greatest things growing up was spending hours playing out in the snow, so when we went back home we were blessed with a few inches of the white stuff. The girls were overjoyed with the thoughts of snowangels, snowmen, and snowball fights. Therefore, the first morning Rose and Lily, along with their cousins, suited up for the event. We were a scene straight from A Christmas Story..."I can't put my arms down!" kinda stuff. And after a good thirty minutes they were out the door...I was extremely proud at our accomplishments and was rewarding myself with a cup of coffee and a magazine. So, for about 10 minutes I was in bliss....until the doorbell rings (my children are so polite) both girls are crying... Lily has disobeyed the number one cardinal rule in playing in the snow and has taken her gloves off and Rose well, has taken a boot off (because it was bothering her) and besides "Mommy it is really cold out there."

Seriously??? They unsuit. I sigh.







We decide to try again later...when it warms up a bit. And it does. A little less snow, but nonetheless they get back out there. I join in this time...and show them how to roll snowmen and make stellar snowballs. Needless to say we (I) had fun. We stayed outside running around and playing for at least an hour, and Rose wouldn't come in; she was having such a great time. Hopefully, at Christmas we'll get another snow and we can get Daddy out for a snowball battle!

Carving pumpkins

Our annual pumkin carving fest...

got pretty cool this year!

We went to our neighbors just like last year, but we had cupcake decorating, pumpkin carving, hot chocolate drinking, roaring fire watching, and marshmallow roasting. Yes, all on a school night!!

To quote a 10,000 Maniacs song from the 90's "These are days you'll remember. Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this. And as you feel it, you'll know its true that you are blessed and lucky. Its true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you." And the great thing is... there are so many days like this...

Good Times.

Evie!

Here is our newest bundle of JOY. Evie was born Sept. 19th at 8:27... via a c-section. She is amazing and a little sleepy-head. She is surrounded by two big sisters that love love love her and two proud parents that adore her.

So much more to follow....

The waiting game...

So, today is my official due date. The date that when asked from the grocery store clerk, "When's your due date?" I firmly answer September 15th. The date that you count down to. The date that for 9 full months you look to. That date that on the family calendar says... "Rose Hot Lunch" "Karate 6:00pm" "Bathroom Final Inspection 4:00pm" ... you see writing down "Baby Due" would be to permanent. And I know that nothing about babies arriving in this world could be written down on a calendar like all of the other appointments in my life. Honestly, how could it? So, as an expectant mother I wait by filling up the calendar and trying not to be to concrete about anything...

I feel fine no pains to really slow me down, well besides the 40 pounds I have gained. (That when lost, Lily is going to be in total shock that I can finally beat her in a race to the car. I'm so tired of being the rotten egg!) But, it's just the waiting game, the wondering game, the known fact that in a few days our lives will change. And wondering about all the beauties and struggles it will bring with it.

I have totally enjoyed my third pregnancy all the little and big kicks. The girls have been so sweet I will never forget their hands on my belly anxiously waiting for the baby to move. Or all of the kisses they've given to the baby. (They are at the perfect height to reach my belly for a kiss.) But, we are ready. And from all the calls from my family and friends they are ready... my brother Vern called yesterday asking about the baby. So, it must be serious now.

As for due dates. This one is almost over, and the C-section date is the 19th. Which I will be taking more seriously now. I honeslty, just want the safest and healthiest delivery possible. So, what does the calendar say for tomorrow? "Rose Mass- Wear Jumper" "Afternoon Playdate?"

Getting Ready for Baby

The dreaded snot sucker.... good thing Lily will help out with that. I hate to use it.



Rose learning the fine art of diapering a dalmation.


What a gentle holder!


In preparation for the baby our hospital offers a Big sister/ Big brother class. I did it mainly so the girls could see the room and the bed, and let their little minds know what was going on and what to expect. As you can see from the pictures they got to have a little crash test on what the experience will be like. They were so wide eyed and eager to do everything that I think the experience went very well. It is crazy to see all of the advancements that hospitals have made it just the last 4 years that we might as well take advantage.
With the countdown to the new baby just days away... 8 days to the due date as I write this... we all hold our breath with anxious anticipation. Knowing that each birthing experience is such a wild ride I have no idea honestly what to expect; much less after our newest little girl arrives what our lives will be like.
Right now my prayers are focused on a healthy baby with a safe delivery... but daily I pray that Rose and Lily embrace their new little sister... and that Jack and I can smile and laugh through the daily stuggles of a newborn.

Beach Vacation

Yep, that's my girl!













The girls playing some beach golf.













Stopping by the sea oats for a quick picture.





Our family....


So, another summer has come to it's official end. What a whirlwind! I know that we went to WV and the beach for a total of about three weeks, but for the rest of the time we really stayed put at home. The girls are really such a joy... they honestly are laid back and content to go to our neighborhood swimming pool for the afternoon and enjoy splashing in the hot NC sun. So, the beach was suprisingly easy this year. Rose loved loved boogie boarding, and thank goodness so does her Aunt Miki. Lily could find joy in a sandbucket and ankle water, and I was able to be a pregnant beached whale at the water's edge. The weather was beautiful and we have such a large family that comes to the beach there never was a shortage of conversation. Especially, when you get my Aunts and Uncles together... I honestly don't think there is a conversation topic that is taboo for them.... Political Candidates. Check. Religious Freedoms. Check. FEMA. Check. Teenage Growing Pains. Check. War. Check. What is the best beer to drinkat the beach? Check. (Jack's answer is Landshark. Uncle Franks is Coors Light any time.) Check. And where does one put a fart machine to impose maximum laughter. Check.
Needless to say I enjoy my week at the beach not only for the awesome view and relaxing beach time, but for the ever changing dynamics of family! Until next year.

At Mom's

Here's the entire family at my mom's. We got to enjoy an evening of togetherness poolside. The girls played in the pool most of the time. The guys sat and talked about WVU sports and made predictions about the Steeler's up coming season... not to mention later on that night they watched the Buccos rally from behind to actually win a game. And of course we had the dogs: Maggie, Abbi, and Bomber to entertain us as they chased deer.... Well, Maggie and Abbi chased deer my Dad made Bomber stay at home. Poor guy.
My two bathing beauties haning out in the pool.


Lily making a splash off of the diving board. What a summer for her and swimming. She is a little go getter and soooooo fearless. "No, Mommy I can do it!"

Friends at Valley Falls

Check it out. This is a rare picture of me pregnant... I don't do so well being photographed in general. I normally prefer the other side of the camera. But, here's a pic of the girls and I that Stac snapped!




Ok. You all know how much Valley Falls means to mean. I love it here. So, I always try to take the girls on a trip out to share my love of this place with them. This was the first time they were really able to explore the area, but if I could have had a string tied to them to make sure they would not float away I would have been happier.




Stacy and Iona soakin' up the life... As always Stacy too is ready to head out an enjoy time here. So many memories ...




It was great being able to see Matt. Here he and Rose are having a swinging contest... I do think Matt got a little higer than Rose, but I'll never tell her!

More fun at Deep Creek

Here's a few more pictures from our beautiful week .





Ama and the girls cruisin' the lake.




Rose and Ryan cooling off after a whirling around the lake. No doubt Ryan is angling how to get Ama or Brian to take him on the jet ski. Which by the way is one of the favorite past times for all the kids at the lake.





Here is Maggie's first attempt at sailing. You can see Jack is helping out here. She totally got the hang of it after spending some time figuring it out.
I must say being pregnant at the lake does take a little fun away... I never got to do some really cool stuff (That was just a tiny pitty party for me).









A quiet moment sitting by the shore. Our family did take the canoe out on the lake for a brief spin, but it was a pretty bumpy ride. Any time the girls moved or slightly shifted I had the feeling we all were going on the water! And of course they had to paddle a bit too... which again left Jack and I helpless to their movements.

Deep Creek

Here I am playing catch-up on my summer. This bloggin' thing is harder to keep up with than I thought.

The pictures I have here are a few from our Deep Creek week with Jack's family. We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect. All the things that you could wish for at the lake. We enjoyed a hike to Swallow Falls that made me want to freak out due to the amount of rushing water and the age of my children. We went on many cruises in the boat and got to watch Maggie work her new boat toy as well we got to see AMA water ski was such ease it was amazing. To bad Jack did not have the same experience. We also got to have campfires and watch an spectacular (and legal) firework show that was put on by Ama's husband and little boy.

The pictures here are from one of the last nights at the Creek. We went on a little sunset cruise after dinner. Which in my opinion is the best time to be out on the lake.



My little poser.












Rose and Lily with Grammy getting ready to set sail



Both of the girls get to sit with the Captain and drive a bit.













Ahhhh..... sunsets.

Strawberry Pickin'

One of my favorite things to do with the girls is strawberry pickin'. There are so many great farms in the area that allow you to buy a bucket and fill it with those sweet berries that we take full advantage. This year was our best pickin' yet. The weather was great... not to hot with lots of sunshine, and as an added bonus both girls were totally into it. In years past Lily was more of a curious on looker that would run through the patch like Godzilla and create her own strawberry stomping that was a little more resembling of the infamous "I Love Lucy" grape stomping episode rather than a utopian "Sound of Music" the hills are alive scene that I had romantically concocted in my brain. But, this year we all had buckets and plenty of red, ripe strawberries to taste test our harvest. After, the girls played checkers outdoors and drank orange Crush. Which in my book is definition of a perfect afternoon! Enjoy the pics...

Kindergarten Graduation

Well, our sweet girl has offically graduated from Kindergarten. What a fun and exciting year. It is hard to believe that time has flown so quickly and my baby is going to school. Don't get me wrong I don't want her to stay a baby forever. I love watching her grow, learn, and just have a zest for life in her own spunky way. It's just that it all goes so darn fast, doesn't it? It's probably the pregnancy hormones kickin' in, but during her graduation ceremony her principal delivered a little speech about how the next time we blink they will be driving, going on dates, going to dances... and I got choked up. I feel that that is ten years away hold the phone let'em grow-up slowly. And I know there is no stopping time, but I just want to savor time a little bit especially while she still wants me to hug her, read to her, play with her, and have a bed time snuggle. Being a parent is such a delicate balancing act when to let go? when to hold back? But, I guess its mostly just holding on and enjoying the wild ride.

What a Spring!

Spring has been very busy as anyone can see with my lack of blogging, but I've a bit of time and have pictures downloaded. Finally. Our computer is extremely slow. So, welcome summer and more fun... but just to recap our spring.... here we go.

Holding up my donkey!

News Flash: Just added to our families vernacular! "I'm holding up my donkey!" Last night upon getting out of the bathtub Lily asked for the coveted princess towel, and when I handed it to her she said, "Yeah, I'm holding up my donkey!" I asked what that meant she said, "It means I'm excited." Enough said...

Reading

Just wanted to share a great moment.... I was busy cleaning the kitchen after our baking explosion for Memorial Day parties and the girls were playing in the family room. They have spent the morning creating a blanket fort. (A great Saturday morning past time in my book) Anyways I digress, I hear Rose reading. Yep, she just picked up this cute book about ants and starts reading it with as much enthusiasm and expression as I always give it. But, the cutest part is Lily is sitting there beside her listening very intently. I am such a sap for moments like these...
Mainly impart because we read to our girls every night for 20 minutes. We have done this since they were days old. And watching my children in such a simple moment just as this lets me know that they love to read... you know without prompting or not because it's part of the bedtime routine. And ultimately they chose to read instead of turning on the TV.
So, ya'hoo for reading and the joys of childhood!

Disney!

Here's the new version of "Steamboat Willie". Who's steering the boat??

On our way to the Magic Kingdom the first day. The boat ferry was the perfect way for the girls to first see Cinderella's castle.
Meeting Cinderella. The girls were troopers. It was about 9:30 at night and we had spent the entire day on rides... so the smiles though genuine, were very tired. Lily and I spent much time in Dino Land at the Animal Kingdom. The Triceratop Spin was her favorite. Four times her favorite! Jack and Rose spent their time riding big kid rides.
Yes, my husband bought a Mickey shirt... when in Disney. It was unseasonably cold and rainy.

So, I have a bunch more pictures, but I just wanted to share a few. We had a wonderful time and can't wait until we are able to go again. I love the family fun!

Obi-Wan Vs. My Girls

Getting my children dressed for school is always interesting. Now that Rose wears a uniform life is sweeeet. There is not much discussion. "Do you want to wear a jumper or a skort?" Simple. Now last year at preschool the conversation was much more critical. Of course desiring my child to be independent and responsible I wanted her to get herself dressed. But, this lead to some crazy outfits: stripe shirt and stripe pants, dark pink sweater with a summer pink skirt, Christmas dress in May...you get my drift. Not wanting to totally squash her budding fashion sense I would redirect. (My Star Wars parenting advice taken from Obi-Wan Kenobi..."Those are not the droids your looking for." Translated to parent redirecting, "That's not the outfit perfect for today.") Normally my redirecting would result in a meltdown of epic proportions and I would tell my 5 year old that her outfit would be great for playing around the house. "Anyways" I would say, "You look ridiculous!" End of story.

So this year with Lily in preschool the morning dress has been a breeze. She never cares what I put on her. As long as she has two options for Iniminiminimo we are golden! But, today it happened... all going well with the normal routine... lay out two outfits (both pink) and a meltdown comes from nowhere. "No Mommy! I don't like pink. I don't want to wear pants! I want to pick out my own!" OK. Deep breath. I'm cool. "Sure Lily, let's figure something out together." After 10 minutes of stripe shirt and stripe skort combos (As well as "that's not the perfect outfit for today.") we come up with a very blue outfit...decidedly her new favorite color. Off to preschool...

Now my life being, well my life, later in the afternoon I go in to pick up Lily from her classroom. She is standing in the middle of the room very proud holding a pink balloon. "Mommy look I got the pink balloon. Everyone wanted it, but PINK is my favorite color!" Great Lily... Great.

So now knowing I have a third girl on the way I hope that I will be ahead of the game. You know wiser... sharper and ready for some Jedi mind tricks!

Obi-Wan you're my only hope...

Smurfs

While spending the afternoon outside my girls were innovative. Yes, innovative. I was busy pulling a myriad of weeds from the planting beds and the girls were at work. It honestly was great. Every now and then I would holler asking if everything was alright, and I was always returned with a "yes, mom". So, I was productive and got to work in the yard: two of my favorite things to do.
After thirty minutes I decide that I should physically look in on the girls, and yes this is what I saw. Lily a little smurfette and Rose was admiring her handy work. "Look mom, Lily is Blue!" "Yes, Rose she is...let me get the camera!" So we snapped pictures and Lily danced around for awhile (notice the blue footprints) until it was time to bathe.
It's funny when children are left to play they will be children. A bucket of chalk, a little water, and two sisters can turn into some serious fun. I know it was a mess, but with the next rain it was all washed away. And to quote Cyndi Lauper, "Girls just want to have fun... ohhh, Girls just want to have fu-un!"

Family Walks

Ok I'm a romantic..... it's Sunday early evening last week and the weather was beautiful. You know 70 degrees, a slight breeze, and just sunny. So, I recommend to my husband that a family walk would be great. He agrees.
In my mind this is how I picture the walk. Rose cautiously riding her bike along with us as Lily patiently sits in her stroller and enjoys the sights of the neighborhood. I am walking the dog as my husband and I have a wonderful conversation about how ideal our life is.
But, this is not my life. In fact, I know it's not any body's life I know. Yet, I have hope. Remember I'm a Romantic and I always hope for the best possible outcome. So, the walk starts. Kinda. The first stroller chosen is to small for my husband to walk with (he's constantly walking on the wheels). So, he goes back to the garage to get the double jogging stroller. 10 minutes later after pumping up all the wheels on the stroller he emerges from the garage. Rose in the meantime has been doing figure eights on her bike in the pool parking lot as I let the dog smell everything. So the walk officially begins. I won't bore everyone with the details, but just hit the highlights. Rose, God bless her, really does a pretty good job listening and trying to stay a safe distance to us, but we honestly spend the entire time watching her stretch the boundaries. Lily stays in the stroller about a 1/4 of the time and then tries chasing after Rose the rest. Which left my husband walking the empty stroller. (So glad we pumped up the tires.) Our dog, which is just a little welsh terrier, thinks she is the biggest dog in the neighborhood pulls my arm out of socket each time we pass a dog. Yes, she's thinks she the Alpha.
By the time the walk ends it in no way resembled my initial idea. Of course they never do. What I can say is we'll try the walk again on the next sunny Sunday and pray for a better outcome. The one thing about life is that it's never the ideal, romantic fantasy I imagine; it's the beautiful struggles that make us who we are and more importantly the family that we are.

blog worthy

Comments from my girls...

"Lily, I'm glad your my sister." -Rose

"Look mommy! The flowers are blooming." -Lily's first words to me this morning.
(And yes, my rhododendron got it's first bloom.)

The ending scene of Big Mama's House has a church chorus and congregation doing some serious singing and dancing. This was my conversation with Rose. "Mommy what kind of church is that?" "Well, Rose I'm going to guess that it is a Baptist church." "Oh, Mom those Baptist look like they are having a fun time. Can we be Baptist?" "Go ask you Dad."

"That's disgusting....." - Lily referring to the cat vomit I was cleaning up on the floor. "Why Lily, are you going to eat it?" -Rose

"I ate a lollipop once when I was kid." -Lily

First Blog

Well, after reading a blog of my friend's wife she has inspired me to start my own little blog. I guess primarily this blog is for my family and friends that I don't get to see on a regular basis. Since our entire family is at least 6 hours away hopefully this will be a way for them to know about the little things that happen to us on a daily basis....

There won't be poetry or world renowned writing (in fact be prepared for poor spelling and bad grammar), but my goal is to share our fun, zany, and bad days!

And on to uncharted territory.