Up North

We have been very busy since we got back. I always forget how busy Summers get. It is fun busy but busy nonetheless. Anyways, this is where we stayed. Jared and I have been going to this lake since before we dated. This is where sparks first flew. We love it here.

It was a bit different with kids. Addie was teething. Eli got a little sick. It rained about 90% of the time we were there. BUT it was still nice to go back. I loved having Jared around to hear all of the hysterical things the boys are saying. I loved being there as a family. We definitely made some memories.

The boys were in heaven with all of the sand and water. They didn't mind the cold at all.

And they picked Mommy flowers every. single. day.

I'm sure we will all go back. How could we not? :)

BACK!

We are back from our get-a-way "Up North" and I am tackling THIS.

3 guys + cold weather + a beach + lots of rain = LOADS of laundry

Hope to be back soon to post pictures. We had and interesting time on our FIRST EVER family of 5 vacation. Details to follow.

Happy Father's Day, Honey!

Jared, thanks for being such a great Dad to these 3. Your love for them is fun to watch. :) I love you and am so glad I am raising these crazy kids of ours with you.

The Library

We hit our library almost weekly. Ours has a TON of videos/DVD's that the boys love and of course the books. They also have a puzzle, coloring and puppet area. We attend storytime during the "school year" and in the summer they have a reading program where you log reading time and get little prizes. This year they are also having some specials with the Fire Department and various story-tellers.

I love the inter-library loan system. I can reserve almost any book I want and it will usually be available in a couple of days. This summer I know I'll be reading books on photography so that I can learn to take pictures well. I also picked up a book on teaching the boys to read. They have been watching "Meet the Sight Words" (all from the library) and are suddenly very interested in reading words for themselves so I plan to go with it and see how far they want to take it.

Other than these types of books I've been reading a little L.M. Montgomery and may do the "Anne" series this summer. Not sure. I love reading series if you have any suggestions e-mail me or comment. Or just a good book is fine.

This book, "Caps for Sale", was familiar to me. I am assuming I read it as a child. It was written in the 40's. We read it yesterday and the boys LOVED it. I wonder if that is why I remember the illustrations. I love how some books span the generations in appeal.

The one below has a poem for every season. It is by John Updike, written in the 60's. It is really good and I do not consider myself a fan of poetry. We've checked it out a few times.

This week we are also trying a couple of wordless books. I tend to not get these because well, they are wordless. I have since read a little about the benefits of these types of books and "read" them both to Alex yesterday. He LOVED them.

So we will continue to make our weekly trips to the library and checking out way too many books and pay a few too many late fees. Yeah, I gotta be honest, we basically pay a little bit for the "free" library. :)

Crabby Pants

Here is puffy-eyed Addie after a particularly draining scream fest.

Here is her brother trying to cheer her up.

Mission accomplished.

The Village Part 2

Have I ever mentioned that Alex has a "few" cowlicks.

Eli and the girls had fun trying on hats. He didn't want to take his off. Colin took his off before I got a picture. He probably knew Aunt Becky would put it on her blog. Smart Boy.

It was definitely a fun day.

they crack each other up

a twin thing?

a brother thing?

who knows

\

We went to the village with my sisters (2 of them) and their kids yesterday.

We arrived a 1/2 late for various reasons (like Eli putting his shorts on backwards 3 times and then leaving without shoes, and Mom knocking over the juice she'd just poured AND of course Addie realizing she needs to dirty a diaper RIGHT before we leave).

oy

Within 2 minutes of arriving Alex fell and skinned his knee pretty badly and NEEDED to be carried.

My clean white shirt was full of chocolate custard and blood by the time I left.

My sisters and I sometimes ask "why do we leave the house? is it worth it?"

To which we answer a resounding "YES!"

otherwise we would be going crazy all by ourselves

:)

The boys had a blast with all of their cousins. It was fun to watch them all play together. I enjoyed stealing small bits of conversation in between all the Mommy duties we had to perform.

Yep, those smiles make it TOTALLY WORTH IT.

11 months old

Addie turned 11 months old today so we headed outside for a little photo shoot. I couldn't decide which pictures to post so here are quite a few of them.

I think this is a small preview of the teenage version of Addie. She is definitely looking at me like I'm crazy. :)

Happy 11th month my sweet Addie girl. Love you.

A little update on the fam

I am recovering from round 2 of Essure and it was a success. Yay! I have had my sister in law Grandma Lores and Aunt Linda over here helping with the kiddos.

I told Eli again today that I was going to lay down. He responded: "Mom, you're always feeling yucky!" Great.

He acts as if I've laid in bed for a month straight when in reality it has been on and off for a couple of days.

I have been reminiscing about my bedrest, which, was a year ago at this time. It is so strange that, that was to have a baby and now I have ensured that I am FINISHED having babies. I am good with it though. It feels like a bit of a new start. A new stage in life, I guess.

I have been catching up on my reading and on picture organizing so that I can actually print some.

Jared and I are planning a summer get-a-way with kids, of course. I think the planning is such a fun part of the process.

And that is about it. Here is a recap in pictures of some of what has been going on.

Memorial day with the cousins was fun. (Amanda and Andrew)

Alex and Eli had their last day of cubbies until the fall.

Alex LOVES to try and make me laugh and this was one of his attempts. He makes me laugh until I cry.

Alright, I am going to sleep.

A Glimpse into Motherhood

One on one time with the boys. Since the boys were babies I try to make the limited time that I have alone with them special. As babies it was during diaper changes. I added lots of rhymes and tickles and hugs and attempted to make them feel like the only baby in the world with ALL of Mommy's attention.

Now, I'd like to say that we take them out individually on a regular basis but we do not. It does happen here and there. Alex is always asking "Am I going with Daddy? Not you and Eli and Addie?" He LOVES his alone time (with other people). Eli doesn't seem to mind being with the whole crew, however.

I try and continue to make each of the moments I have with them individually, special. On this particular night it was 10 o'clock (2 hours past his bedtime) and he was scared of "the shadows". I was cleaning the kitchen and said he could come and sit with me while I finished chopping a pineapple and cleaning.

He thoroughly enjoyed it. And I could tell he thought it was really special.

Jared came home during our snuggle time and I asked him to snap a picture.

You gotta love a 4 year old boy. He told me "Mom, I love pineapple. It is so sweet. Just like you."

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. :)

Another small glimpse: Alex is in bed right now singing "though no one join me still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back". So sweet.

Diary Of a Date

As I mentioned, Jared and I headed downtown for our date.

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My goal: King's Books

Jared kept saying: "It's not like a little coffee shop type place you know." I kept repeating: "I KNOW it is a warehouse. It is old. Yada, Yada." I think he sometimes forgets that I grew up here too. :) I didn't need a Starbucks. I was planning to book shop and enjoy beautiful old books.

So, without further adieu......

5 floors FULL of books old and new. LOVE IT!

Unfortunately it closes at 5:30 and we got there at 5. BUT we will be back. I only saw 1 floor.

We then drove around the city a while and eventually got some dinner.

And here we are pre-date. Jared is looking great he has lost about 30 lbs. I've lost 12. We are walking and he is biking and we are eating more fruits and veggies and less sweets. I wish it were a faster process but we are on the right track nonetheless. I love that we are doing it together.

I had a wonderful 35th b-day with my husband and look forward to all of our years ahead, together. We are trying to squeeze a few more years in by getting healthy and I am so glad he is leading the way.