weekend update

this past friday i volunteered to go with carson's preschool class to the skating rink. now, i knew that at 35 weeks pregnant i wouldn't be able to chase both boys around the rink so i left harper with grandma for the day and off i went. my original plan was to go, plant myself on the bench, and take a bunch of pictures of carson and his classmates rollar skating (it was carson's first time!)...but that didn't quite work out ;)

for some reason i was thinking they would have beginner-walker-like things to help them stay up (like at the ice skating rink!). fyi: they do not. and with only around 10 adults (including parents) and about 25 kids, i HAD to help carson. the kids with smaller feet got to wear the plastic skates that hardly roll, but my baby has big feet so he had to wear the "real" skates. once he got out on the rink, he literally could not stand up. so i had to hold him up (and pick him up!) for around 45 minutes or so until i BEGGED the attendant to give him some plastic skates. she pitied me and we managed to shove carson's feet in the fake plastic skates. 

afterwards, we left and i took him to the store to spend some birthday money, hit up taco bell and then met my mom and harper at my house. the boys and i crashed for about an hour and when i got up, i was having some minor back contractions as well as some uncomfortable braxton hicks. thankfully, kane saved the day by bringing home some NY style pizza and a movie :)

on saturday, we headed to walmart and few other places to run some errands. when we got back home, we ate lunch, put the boys down, and then got a phone call....kane's sister (aleah) was in the general area and had had a blowout. so we got the boys up and headed out to go help her. i spent the car ride on the lookout for her car and didn't think anything was odd until we pulled into our church. it was raining so my first thought was that she (and her 1 year old) had managed to make it to the church before the tire was completely gone. as we got closer, a lady we know came up to the window and told us that aleah and annlyn were inside staying warm. so we got out and when i opened the church doors...

i walked into my SURPRISE baby shower!

my family, friends, and church family stood before me. i was in such shock! most people see baby showers for consecutive pregnancies as taboo so i really never expected one. 

two REALLY special ladies from our church put together an amazing shower that we will forever be eternally grateful for. 

we received SO many wonderful gifts and i cannot wait to organize it all this week! :)

this is just some of the gifts we received:

 we had a pretty standard sunday. church, lunch afterwards, home, nap, sunday night dinner at my parents house. and just because he's cute, i'll throw this picture of my harper in that i took with my cell at lunch yesterday:

so sweet.

hope everyone has a great week! tuesday starts my weekly ob appointments until our newest little guy is here! i cannot believe how fast this has gone by!

Batman Birthday Party

**so first and foremost, my oldest baby is 5! like every mom out there, i simply cannot believe how quickly this all goes by! i could write some sappy note about how my baby isn't technically a baby anymore, but i'm afraid my hormones will get the best of me!**

the big 5 year old on the morning of his birthday!

when carson said he wanted a batman party, i wasn't thirlled...but its his day, and if he wants a batman party, then a batman party he will get!

**i will warn now that i didn't get a lot of pictures and the ones i did snap are not great quality...i was busy hosting 12 kids (not including my two!) and their parents...oh and our families as well. it was SO very worth it, though!

one more side note: i made all of the labels for the food. i simply googled-imaged the batman logo and added the food name to it (i used photoshop, but you can literally use any photo-editing website like picnik). sent the files to my husband who printed everything out for me at his work (amen for unlimited access to office supplies!) and i laminated the labels at home. 

first up, the food layout:

the party punch:

(2 liter Hawaiian punch, 2 liter ginger ale, 1/2 gallon Orange Juice, served cold)

Bottled Water:

i made the labels on photoshop. copied them onto a word document. printed them out. cut them out in strips. and then used packaging tape to secure them onto the bottled water. honestly, i just kinda winged it because i didn't have a lot of time to work on them. they worked though!

Cookies:

a quick shot of the far left side of the table:

oh, and of course the cake:

my mom and i made the cake. we squirted yellow dye into a container of white frosting. frosted the cake. i printed and cut out the batman logo and then placed it on the cake. my brother outlined the logo with black icing. after we removed the paper logo, my mom painstakingly filled the entire logo in.

I didn't get pictures of the rest of the food, but the snacks included:

Penguin Popcorn
Catwoman Cupcakes
Gotham City Party Dip (a cream cheese dip and a spinach dip...compliments of my mom ;)
Robin's Raw Veggies (a vegetable platter)
Poison Ivy's Pretzels
Riddle Me This Party Tray (pepperoni/cheese/cracker tray)
Two-Face Oreo Cookies
Batman Birthday Cake

and the beverages were:

Joker Juice (aka party punch)
Bottled Water

i also made batman masks for the kids to wear. i printed and cut out this template and traced it onto felt. (each sheet of felt can fit two masks). i cut them out and tied elastic to them. total cost for 16 masks: $3.50.

harper was my tester:
(bad cell phone picture to follow)

as far as activities go, it was pretty standard party stuff. we had a play-doh table and a batman coloring table. we played the batman version of pin the tail of the donkey (aka pin the batman logo on batman's chest;) and musical chairs.  

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can i just say that planning, creating, and implementing this party at 34+ weeks pregnant with #3 was REALLY hard on this mama.

but it was SO worth it. 

birthday preparations

carson's birthday falls exactly 3 weeks after Christmas Eve.

so that raises 3 problems:

1. what kind of present does a kid need just 3 weeks post-Christmas? 

2. Because it was just Christmas, our funds are drained.

3. After the holidays (which for us always extends until the New Year) I have about 2 weeks to plan AND budget for the birthday party. 

see what i'm working with here?

in the past it hasn't been a huge deal...we just invite close family and that was that. but this year....this year is different. carson is turning the big 5 and he really wants his friends (both from church and school) to come. 

so i've been planning and preparing diligently.

first and foremost: location. we are going to host the party at our church. because it is smack in the middle of January and because the weather is SO unpredictable (it was 15-20 degrees a few nights ago. it will be 70 by Saturday) it will be in the fellowship hall so that we'll have plenty of space to work with....and if it is warmer, then we can let them go out to the playground!

next up: decorations. i ran to party city the other day and picked up batman cups/plates/napkins, etc. it was over $30 and i didn't even get half of what i needed. after re-thinking and checking around, i decided to return the items and go with plain black and blue partyware. oh...and did i mention the dollar store sells 20 (plain black/blue) packs of plates for $1?? yeah, i think i  made a wise choice :)

(source)

another rip-off i was trying to figure out was the batman party masks...party city sells these cheap, cardboard batman masks $3.99 for a pack of 4. so for masks alone, we were looking at around $15...and there was no way i was going to pay that for masks. i found this tutorial for DIY batman masks and i am SO excited about these. i'm heading to A.C. Moore tomorrow for the supplies (black felt and a roll of elastic) but i did make a test one tonight just to see if i could do it :)

here is my test one: (very sloppy and without the elastic headband)

next up: food. we are having the party from 2-4ish so we'll keep the snacks pretty simple. i did make food labels as well as water bottle labels. it was my first time creating the labels and because of time constraints, they are VERY simple. here is a peek at one of the food labels and water-bottle labels:
for the vegetable platter:

and for the bottled water (the original label will be removed and the ones i made will be placed around them.)

and last thing: Cake. i checked around and a Batman-themed sheet cake starts around $25. Oh, and we wanted to do cupcakes for both his class party at school AND for the party. once again, i took to pinterest (my BFF) and my mom and i decided we could totally pull off a batman cake. it may not be perfect, but it will definitely do. and for the cupcakes? my mom found batman baking cups.

so thats all for now! i'm still working on it all but for the most part, i have a pretty good start on most of my projects!

stay tuned for the "after" pictures!

Looking ahead

**you can click on the blue links to take you to the original blog post**

2011 was such an important, monumental year for us...

in a nutshell:

-we started the year off with carson turning 4,

-followed immediately by moving into a new home after living at our previous home for 4 years. 

{it was such a welcomed and blessed move.} 

-shortly thereafter, our harper turned three...which also means potty-trained!-for the first time in 4 years, we were no longer changing diapers! 

-but as we all know, that was short-lived ;) because in June, we found out we were expecting baby #3! 

-we celebrated four years of marriage (which is no small feat!).

-we also had a huge scare with harper. there was a period of frantic concern that he may have cancer after finding a large mass in his leg. 

-soon after harp had surgery (and we found out that it was NOT cancer!), 

-carson started school. (read: field trips and class parties, galore.)

-we found out we would be welcoming our third baby boy into our family.

-and after a couple of years of hard work, i finally obtained my associates in both general education and pre-social work.

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2011 went by in a flash.

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and as the new year starts, we know our lives will be changing once again. this year will start off with our oldest baby turning 5 (in less than 2 weeks!), the arrival of our newest baby sometime in February, our middle baby turning a whopping 4, celebrating 5 years of marriage, and another son starting school.

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so from our family to yours...

Christmas pictures & pregnancy

we hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! 

we've been busy with this crazy group of kids!  the three oldest girls are kane's brother's daughters and the youngest "baby" girl is kane's sister's daughter. they are all between the ages of 1-6 and it makes for a LOT of chaos...and of course loads of fun!

(l-r, Azzy, Pea, Briana, Carson, Annlyn, Harper).

yes, kane's brother had all of the girls and we are having all of the boys ;)

with carson being just a few weeks shy of 5, he was SO into Christmas this year. everything about it; baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the lights, the ornaments, Frosty...you name it, he was in complete and utter awe. don't get me wrong, harper was too, but at 5 carson was able to appreciate Christmas and all of the things that go with it on a completely different level. 

here are a few pictures:

preparing for santa: tossing carrots out in the yard for the reindeer and setting out cookies & milk for santa.

we told the boys straight up that they would receive 3-4 gifts (per kid) from us/santa. we've always given 3-4, and probably always will. i want them to be grateful, not spoiled. but that's a completely different post :) also, stocking stuffers are ALWAYS practical gifts. new toothbrushes, shirts, underwear, bath sponges...you get the point. 

this is by far my favorite picture from Christmas. the boys had just gotten up christmas morning and kane had just finished reading a short note santa had left for them...the lighting is bad, the picture is a little blurry, and kane had very obviously just been woken from a deep sleep...but none of that matters.

 i haven't done a belly shot in a few weeks, so i had kane snap one the other day. i had an appointment today and everything is going great! i'm up 29 pounds and will probably gain at least another 10...i ALWAYS gain loads of weight while pregnant and my goal was 40, so hopefully i'll stay in that bracket :) FYI, i gained 55 pounds with carson (yikes! i know. BUT i was underweight to start with, so...) and i gained 35 with harper. my start weight with this one was higher, so i'm pretty much feeling like a house, but i keep reminding myself that i can always lose the weight.

and for comparison:

hope everyone has a great week!

from my family to yours...

Merry Christmas!!!

christmas time at preschool

i just want to preface this by saying that of all the fun things carson's class has been doing lately, i keep forgetting to bring my camera. i'll blame it on my pregnancy brain. thank goodness for cell phone cameras.

friday was carson's class party. they made crafts, ate junk, and sang songs for the parents. of course harper gladly joined in.

carson is such a good brother letting harp tag along. 

singing songs: these three are carson's best friends: Cheyenne, Amani, and Chase (his other BFF, Tanner,  is not in the picture).

they even broke a pinata outside. harp got a few good swings in:

this morning carson's class went to a local nursing home and sang for the residents there. i was excited about this especially because my grandmother use to be a resident there and i knew how much joy it brought to them when kids came in. its been about 10 years since my grandmother was there (and then passed), but would you believe that i saw a man there that was a resident when my grandma was?? crazy. he's still going strong!

getting off the bus:

group shot:

carson-clearly not happy about having to take a picture :)

kane's brother (who we haven't seen since before he left to Iraq 6/7 months ago!) arrived last night with his three little girls, so we'll be spending the week visiting! 

hope everyone's week is merry!

Christmas things, school and sad news.

its been quite the whirlwind of the past week. 

last week marked my last week of classes! i'm officially d.o.n.e....well for now. i'll go back for a few more years once our little one is older. i'm kinda playing that part by ear and leaving the timing up to God. if i go back next year or 5 years from now, i'm not sure. but what i do know is that i will welcome this time of "rest" (ha! do moms ever really get rest??) from school and am SO excited about it!

i take (took) full time internet classes and never have to go to campus, but last week i had to go twice to take two final exams...most professors don't make distance-learning students come for the final, but it just so happened that i had two professors who required it. normally, it would not be a big deal, as my mom (who is a housewife) could watch harp for me for a few hours so i could run to campus...however, she received a call midweek that my grandmother (her mom) was very sick in the hospital, didn't look good, and didn't have much time to live. so i booked her the first flight out to Texas the next morning, and off she went.

wednesday night i had my first final...no biggie, kane just got off a few minutes early and took the kids to church. friday morning, i had my second final....it was really tight, but we managed to pull it off. i dropped carson off at school and harp and i rushed to kane's work. harp hung out in kane's office for a couple of hours so i could get my last final completed. 

sunday morning while at church, i received word that grandmother had passed. my mom is understandably upset, but she is thankful to have spent a few days with her before her passing. she is also surrounded by her sisters and my brother and sister (who all live in TX). I booked a flight for my dad yesterday (AND managed to get him on the same flight home as my mom!) and today he is traveling to be with my mom in TX and attend the funeral. my grandmother's health has been declining for quite some time and at the age of 91, it wasn't a huge shock, but even so there is always a sadness accompanied with it. 

here are few pictures from the week...wednesday morning, carson's preschool class had a "gingerbread" party (they made gingerbread houses) so i went in to help out...harp LOVES to go to carson's class and hang out with him and be a "preschooler" for the day, and carson loves having me there to show off ;)

here is some of the class on the rug while i was setting up.

(ps- can you spot harper?? ;)

carson working on his gingerbread house:

sunday night was the Christmas program at church. the boys' classes opened the program by singing a few songs...of course, i forgot my camera, but did managed to snap this one (blurry pic) before leaving:

 
have a great week!

polar express night

saturday night we had a polar express night!

we made cookies, got in our PJs, and drank hot chocolate (and of course ate cookies ;) while we watched the Polar Express. 

just a few pictures from the night:

until next time!

deck the halls...

it's Christmas time again! 

we aren't finished decorating yet, but here are a few things we've done...

the tree...i just realized how crooked my bow is! totally okay though, i'm looking for a new one anyways.

ornaments. 

we have the classics:

the boys' favorite: the nativity ornaments (although there are a few with missing baby Jesus' :))

and of course some homemade ornaments, compliments of the boys.

the stockings: (can you believe we'll have an extra one up next year?!)

free Christmas printable: 

and a portion of the entertainment center:

PS-those candles are my absolute favorite...forget the pricey Yankee candles, those are from Glade's Holiday line and they smell incredible! oh, and for future reference, Glade's Fall collection is pretty amazing too.

and we cannot forget the boys' Christmas bears hanging out in the corner:

thats all for now! hopefully, we'll get to crafting a few more things once my finals are over next week! we do have something far more important to do this weekend though...make our first batch of Christmas cookies of the season! and all the pregnant women said, amen!