P is for Pirates and Princesses

The letter of the week last week at Kyle's school was P, so they spent all week learning about pirates and princesses (and other things too, of course). They made their own eye patch and telescope and even learned how to talk like a pirate. They ended the week with a little party where all of the boys dressed up as pirates and the girls as princesses and invited the parents to come in and see all of the great things they've been doing all week. They also entertained us with a little song. Here is his wanted poster:

Check out that mean face! The reward: $10.00. Wow, I think I'd steer clear of that one for a measly ten bucks!

Here's his little pirate figure, how cute is this? I hope we get to take them home :)



And as I mentioned, they sang us all a song. Here are the boys giving it their best. They're always so excited to perform for us!



"Row, row, row your ship,
Gently out to sea.
A Pirate's day is lots of fun,
That's the life for me. Arrr!"

Now we can't forget about the other little pirate we have in the family. When Ryan caught wind of the whole pirate theme, he wanted to join in too, running around the house shouting his best, "Arrr Mateys!" So, here are the pirate brothers before school :)

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Pretty in Pink

Well, thanks to a visit from Grammy last weekend, we were able to get this little girl's nursery together! Grammy has come to paint each and every nursery. So, this will be her 3rd and final :) I have to say, I absolutely love it! It feels so strange to walk by and see this pink room in our house. Daddy wasn't too thrilled with the color, considering his only stipulation was that he didn't want it to be pink. Hmmm....a little girl and no pink? Come on. Although he wouldn't say it, I think it's growing on him. I knew he'd come around (wink, wink). At least now I think we're on our way to being ready! So, here it is. A room fit for a princess. Thanks so much Grammy!

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Showered with Pink

Last Friday my girlfriends threw me a surprise shower. I must say it was absolutely beautiful and pinkalicious! The funny thing is that I almost didn't go. We ended up getting a pretty good snow storm that night and I thought about turning around as I passed car after car in the ditch. Being the "Northerner" that I am, I was determined to make it to our Mom's Night In, or so that's what I thought it was, especially since a dear friend was visiting from out of town. Fortunately, I made it. It just took a little longer than usual. So, as I walked in the door, I was greeted with a sweet surprise! The food was fabulous and the company was even more fabulous! I got so many great things for this little girl from some really adorable outfits, to handmade hats, bibs and bows, to her first baby doll. Thanks ladies, love you all!

Look how beautiful it was decorated! Extra special thanks to Amy for being the hostess with the mostest!

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Roomies

Well, last night we made the switch. We moved Ryan into his big boy bed and into Kyle's room. The two will be sharing a room in order to make room for their baby sister. The boys couldn't have been more excited, especially when they saw their new car sheets and quilts! Ryan actually likes his a little too much, we spend a lot of time pointing out the different cars and trucks before bedtime. Here they are ready for bed, or so we thought.....

We read our stories, tucked them in, turned out the lights, and then the fun began. We sat outside their door for a while, listening. Unfortunately for Kyle, Ryan likes to talk. And talk. And talk. Granted, he was a little wired over the whole situation, but the kid just kept babbling. So, Kyle would get frustrated and come out and tell us he couldn't sleep because Ryan was talking. Then, of course, someone else would follow. Ryan tried every trick in the book. He heard noises. He wanted a drink of water. He couldn't find puppy or baba. He wanted his covers back on. Anything to get us to come back in. We'd send them back to their beds and repeat. This went on maybe 10 times before we finally retreated downstairs. Don't think the fun stopped there, we were just tired of sitting on the floor in the hallway. It kept on going, and going, and going. I think it was about 2 1/2 hours later, they were both finally asleep! THANK YOU LORD! Nap time today didn't go much better, that was about an hour process. Tonight, though, things are looking up. Ryan only came out once and it appears that he is asleep (knock on wood)! Hopefully they'll get used to this soon. They've got 7 weeks to figure it out :) By the way, they will get real beds soon. The beds I had ordered are now delayed until middle/end of March, so we couldn't wait any longer. There's a nursery that needs decorating!

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31 weeks and counting

Wow, it's hard to believe that tomorrow I will be at 31 weeks! Yikes! We are so not ready. We have yet to move Ryan out of the crib and room, for that matter. We're waiting on the beds that we ordered for the boys to come him. I sure hope they come soon! As for this pregnancy, I really can't complain. It's been fairly easy. Now I'm just getting to that awkward stage where I can't do as much as I use to. The other day I asked Rick to take a picture of me because I couldn't remember the last time he did. With Kyle, I made sure I had pictures every four weeks, with Ryan a little less, and now with this one, definitely less. Don't worry, this little girl will be far from neglected. Things are just a little bit busier these days around here. So, in case you're wondering, here's what 31 weeks looks like :)

Seriously, how much bigger can this belly get? 9 weeks is a LONG time when we're talking bellies!

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From Sand to Snow

Last week we had a beautiful day in the 60's so we met up with some friends at the park and had a picnic lunch. After so much rain this winter, it was great to get outside.

Then Friday rolled around and we were slapped with this!



I think we ended up with about 5 inches or so and then some sleet to top it all off.



The kids had a good time, that is, until Ryan got snow in his hat. Then came the meltdown and inside we went. Nothing like 30 minutes of getting dressed for 30 minutes of fun!

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Just Like Old Times

Four years ago, when my girlfriends and I used to get together with the kids for play groups we use to invite each other over for these elaborate lunches, I'm talking homemade everything, straight out of Martha's latest cookbook. Those were the days. Spread out a blanket on the floor, throw some toys on it, and everyone was happy. Fast forward to today. We all now have 2+ kids and with the older kids all in preschool, we don't get to get together quite as often as we'd like and we certainly don't have time to make lunch anymore. So, I decided that I would host an "old fashioned" play group, and invited everyone over last week when school was out for a teacher work day. I must say, there is a reason we don't do this anymore, it just takes up way too much precious time, but I'm glad I did it because it was great to have everyone together. Plus, I figure the likelyhood of doing this after April is pretty much zilch! Sorry ladies, it's back to BYOL or Uncrustables and juice boxes for everyone. Did I mention we all have 2+ kids? So that means there were 7 adults and 16 kids! Check it out :)

After getting out about every toy that we own, there wasn't much floor space left, but the kids all play so well together. I think everyone had a great time!

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Jamaica Mon!

Rick and I recently got back from a nice little vacation in Jamaica. To be honest, it was only two weeks ago, but it seems like months ago! Not that things have been rough here, it just always seems to be quickly forgotten once the daily routines start up again. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time! We actually went down for a friend's wedding and also thought this would be our last real trip for quite a while, so we decided to take advantage. The place we stayed at was beautiful, much smaller than the resorts that we have stayed at in the past, but absolutely perfect for a group of people traveling together for a wedding. Here is the gorgeous view we had out of our room!

and some pics of the resort itself.....







And the beach of course.....



This place is kind of known for its service and I have to say they were pretty accommodating for this preggo mama. They gladly substituted things that I couldn't eat and set me up with special cushions so I'd be comfortable sitting on the beach. So, we just chilled on the beach each day, ordering our drinks (non-alcoholic for me, boo hoo). Oh and I loved that someone would come around and spritz you with rose water to cool you off! Ahhhhh!

One night they had Jamaican night, so after dinner we decided to check out the entertainment. It was actually pretty good, but it got even better when they decided to have people from the audience participate. Rick got chosen to try out the stick dancing AND the limbo! You know that he is 6'2" and not exactly Mr.flexible, so this was pretty entertaining for me and our friends! I do have to give him props, he hung in there thanks to the few drinks he had beforehand :) Love you Honey!



(I think we're lucky he didn't split his pants!)

As for the wedding, it was beautiful! We had our own private little beach where they had the ceremony, dinner and a bonfire. It was a good time! Here we are dressed for the occasion!

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