Spring is here!

I haven't lef the blogging world, I've just been busy trying to finish all these last minute projects before little D decides to come. I'm pretty positive I wont go early with my history (9 days late with Sadie, 8 with Eli), but, I can't plan on it. We've had a fun few weeks....here the kids are at a Grasshopper's game (the minor league team in Greensboro). It isn't really about watching baseball anymore, Steven has realized, but the grassy lawn, snow cones, music, and awesome playground make it a fun family event.

We had a pre-Easter get together in Charlotte at my parent's house, 2 of my girlfriends and my sister-in-law came over with their kids to dye eggs, go on an Easter egg hunt, and make resurrection rolls. We had 10 kids 7 and under, it was great! Here are the 8 of them, not sure what happened to the other 2.... 

Steven and I got to take a nice trip to Sunset Beach for a couple nights, just the 2 of us, on a company trip. It was a sweet time together with good food and pretty sunshine, I can't lay out like I used to but I did manage to get a little sun on the arms. Mama always said "tan fat looks better than white fat" and I need whatever help I can get right now! :)

Last weekend my parents came up for the weekend, to visit but also to help with my latest project.....that has gotten me started on many home projects this week (nesting, maybe?). Apparently I am not very good at keeping the kids quiet while Steven works from home in his downstairs office. My personal opinion is no one could keep our 2 quiet for that long but the obvious answer to the problem was to move his office upstaris to the bonus room and move the kid's toys to the downstairs office, the "new bonus room" as Sadie now calls it. I told Steven it would be an easy move but I underestimated the amount of stuff he had collected in his office over the past 2 years. Thankfully, we got it done, and just a week later almost everything is into place. I had a thrilling day of organizing every toy in the house, unfortunately the kids want to play with them now, which messes everything up! They are not content, as I am, to just look at them in their rightful place. Oh well.

After a hard's day work last Saturday we enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day Sunday, here's a picture of 3 generations....I just hope the Mommy on the right can live up to the one on the left!  

Our sweet neighbors have given us many hand-me-downs, and this might win the prize for the Spring. They love this little jeep and Eli is quite content to ride in the passenger seat, for now, although I can't imagine he would be a worse driver then she is....

Typical girl....my Dad said, on the phone while driving and not paying attention!

As for little D, he's a busy as ever and puts on a quite a show at times. He was bouncing the hymn book all over my belly the other day at church, it's fun to watch. I've been getting the baby things out, including all the cute clothes....and it's making me excited to meet him! Less than 3 weeks now, and I'll take him anytime he wants to come. In the meantime I'll try to improve my blogging frequency....

The terrible 2s and a fun girl's weekend

 Last year some of my best girlfriends, Julie and Rachel, and I flew to Louisiana for a surprise trip to see our other friend Rachel who was about to get married. This year, she is expecting her first baby (a day after me!) so we decided to go see her again, this time in Georgia where her parents live. It was a shorter trip but the time spent with dear friends, minus kids, was priceless. Of course the subjects of conversation rarely veered away from our families, even though we were states away from them. I drove down to Charlotte Friday morning and the three of us spent a girl's day in Charlotte, a little shopping, a pedicure, and a yummy dinner at The Cheesecake Factory before heading to Columbia, SC, where we spent the night. The next morning we got up and drove the rest of the way to GA in time for Rachel B.'s baby shower and a few hours of visiting. I am so happy for Rachel and Reagan as they get ready to welcome their first little blessing into the world! They will be wonderful parents and are in for a good time. Here we are below at her baby shower, showing off our bellies!

The kids stayed mostly with my wonderful mother-in-law since Steven traveled to Richmond, VA, to speak at a youth rally there. They got to go to Charlotte and stay with Aunt Leslie, which is super-fun, especially since it included a soccer game and Chick-fil-a, as well as some amateur wrestling between Eli and Leslie's youngest. Since they got home Sadie has been saying that she doesn't really live with me, Eli is her cousin and I am her aunt. She also has a dog named Hooch (coincidentally that is Leslie's dog's name). She has not let up on her dog pleas, lately she has been promising that she will take care of it all by herself. The other day I told her I didn't have the money to pay for a dog and she immediately responded with "Daddy has money to get a dog, he takes all your money so he can buy a dog." I laughed for awhile at that one. She has actually been pretty grown-up acting lately, and Eli has been my handful. I should never have bragged about what a good sleeper he was....because he is starting to show his true colors with fussy bedtimes, early waking up, and faking naps. And of course, poor sleeping = whiny 2 year old. I was beginning to wish I could cap him out at how many times he can say "Mommy" in one day, especially with no real request. But then I laid down with his exhausted little self and watched him fall asleep and realized anew the blessing it is to raise a child. Or two, or three. God bless all you mommies! It's trying at times but wonderful all the same. Thank you, Lord, for the honor of raising these you've given me, for now. Goodnight!

Anniversaries and Birthdays!

This past weekend was great. Steven took the kids to Charlotte on Thursday afternoon since I had to work Thursday night and he was going down for work anyways. Obviously they had a great time, as always, at Nana and Papa's house.

 Friday I had a (routine) doctor's appointment then was able to sleep until Steven and I left for his TEST. Obviously, Sadie has very little concern (here she is while he is taking the test, helping Papa water the plants).

The dreaded exam that he had poured hours of his life into. It was a stressful and prayerfilled 2 hours and thankfully..... HE PASSED! I have my husband back and am so excited. And if he ever considers higher education I just might have to put my foot down. After that we headed down to Catawba, SC, to the Harmony House Bed and Breakfast. A lovely little B&B just south of Rock Hill, in celebration of our 7th anniversary. We went to downtown Rock Hill for a nice dinner, pulled through the Baskin Robbins drive thru for dessert, and had a delicious breakfast the next morning. I tried to upload pictures from the beautiful

Harmony House Bed and Breakfast but all I could get to work was the link. Check it out!

On the way back to my parent's house we found out that Eli had thrown up overnight....and Sadie was going to follow suit a little bit later. Unfortunately we had to postpone his party until the next day, but to be honest it was kinda sweet since they both just wanted me to hold them for several hours each. Even though sick kids are pitiful, unless they're in a whiny mood, it's also enjoyable.Thankfully by Sunday everyone was well so after church we had Eli's party. Here are most of us, 9 adults and 10 kids! And that's just family. Mama and Sadie had made the cake on Friday and decorated it with farm animals. After blowing out the candles (actually Bennett got to them first, we re-lit them so Eli could have a fair shot), we let every child pick an animal off the cake. That seemed exciting enough, I shouldn't have bothered to get party favors!

Here's my little man being shy during the Happy Birthday song, something Sadie never would do!

But he ended up a pretty happy guy! Happy Birthday to the sweetest 2 year old I know!

Pregnant Sadie and Girl's Night.

 As I know I've mentioned in the past, Sadie is very resistant to going to sleep. This is usually what her bed looks like when I go in to check on her and turn off her light. This was done with very little light, too, if you're wondering. The other night when my Mom was in town she went to check on her and told me to come up and bring my camera. Looking closer at her I realized what was so funny......

 Apparently Sadie is now expecting too....and not just 1, but 2 of her favorite stuffed animals! The next day I was at work and my Mom asked her about it. She put them back under her shirt then starting jumping around, saying that's how they come out. I wish.

 This weekend marks the annual guy's beach trip that Steven has planned for several years now, 8 maybe? (I posted about this trip last year in "boys will be boys...") Last year Jenn and Maegan came for a short visit during the beach trip so we decided to do it again this year. The more the kids multiply the more fun it is to get out of the house while our husbands are gone. This year 5 of us got together at my house on Friday afternoon with the kiddos, most of them spending the night (which meant 4 moms and 9 kids!). We had a total of 10 kids in the house, ages and 5 and younger. In a few years we might feel like the Duggars when we get together!

 We had three precious ones less than 6 months old and they were troopers, here they are on their baby mats, trying to survive the rest of the gang running around.

 Eli is quite outnumbered, as you can see. Evan (in the first baby picture) is only 4 months old but in a year or two will help balance out the girly-ness. He seems perfectly happy here, though!

Not sure where Sadie's clothes went (that was popular all weekend), but apparently it was time to chill out and read a book.

We had a great time together, thanks girls for being willing to pack up your families and bring them over! Sadie can't stop talking about her friends. Hopefully no one had any serious meltdowns and everyone got a good nap in Saturday. It was well worth it and I think we have us a tradition...

Single Parenting

Steven's work has been crazy the past few months, and we are both getting quite tired of it (especially me!). There is an end in sight, so he says, in the next month or two. Sitting here tonight by myself, after pretty much single parenting it all day, makes me so thankful that I don't do that all the time. It was one of the hardest things to do tonight getting Sadie to go to bed, I'm not sure how we created such a monster, maybe it's genetic, or maybe it's payback (that's my parent's vote I'm sure). She finally stopped asking to come down and watch one of her shows to "sometimes Daddy lets me watch American Idol with him....". Wrong night, babe. And the answer is still "No!". Eli, on the other hand, has started sleeping in a big boy bed and couldn't be better about it. No tears, no getting up until morning, it's amazing. Here's my guys, Eli is getting ready to watch his Daddy play indoor soccer. Now every time he sees a sporting event he says "Dough Daddy!" 

 In other news, we are trying to make sure our kids learn loyalty and how to handle disappointment, so we've turned them into Wolfpack fans. Sadie's first experience was a good one, however, since Steven took her to the NC State/Clemson game and they actually won! She was excited, but truly it had nothing to do with the victory and everything to do with meeting Mr. Wolf and holding one of the cheerleader's pom-poms. Being a cute 3 year old helps you get on the floor without tickets, apparently.

We love you Daddy, and are ready for you to slow down and spend more time with us again! In the meantime, I'm off to bed.

Contentment....and overdue pictures.

I am reading a book called "The Secret of Contentment" by Dr. Barcley, the pastor at my parent's church. It is a great book and has challenged me already to get a better life-perspective. I believe this is one of Satan's best tricks, to lure us into pity parties over what's not perfect in our lives, which leads to grumbling, bitterness, and the sin of discontent. Thankfully the Lord gave me a husband who lovingly corrects my attitude when the complaining flares up again. Look at these boys, they look pretty content! Eli had a blast his little buddies, the Hendley boys.

And here is an overdue pregnancy picture, one of the only ones I think I've taken this time. I'm good if I can remember which week I'm in, much less remember to chronicle the pregnancy with pictures. Poor little 3rd child. He's hard to ignore though, he's quite the mover and making me feel quite wimpy these days as I huff and puff up the stairs. We haven't been as good about going to the gym lately except for the mistake of trying "Boot Camp" last week. Probably too hard of a class when I'm not pregnant, my calf muscles felt like they were in a constant cramp for a week! Another short-lived item....my bangs. They lasted not quite 2 months and I've officially began growing them out again. I didn't mind the way they looked I just felt like I was in hair prison, when I lifted them up I felt freedom and just couldn't go back. Maybe when I'm 40 I'll finally find a hairstyle I like on myself.

In preparing for our whirlwind weekend last weekend I did some baking (we drove to SC on Friday for a family reunion on Saturday, then Steven and I drove 5 hours to Richmond, VA, for him to speak on Sunday). After the kids "helped me" make the chocolate cake, they willingly cleaned the bowl, too. Needless to say another quick load of laundry had to be done that morning. By the time I made a jello fruit salad, chocolate cake, and banana bread, packed and loaded the car, and cleaned up the house I was pooped. But it turned out to be a nice weekend. Steven's stress level has been maximum the past couple of weeks due to work stress so it was nice to get away from it all, especially for me!

My parents talked us into leaving the kids with them in SC which saved them about 7 hours of car time. A GREAT decision, I missed them but it was nice for Steven and I to have time together and the kids had a blast with my parents.
This little rascal learned how to climb out of the crib this weekend. It started with the pack-n-play while we were in SC, he apparently climbed out and went running through the house waking up his cousins....at 6:40am. Sorry Byron and Mandy! I'm not used to my kids being the early risers.

I thought for sure Eli wouldn't be able to get out of the crib at home, there is nothing to grip your feet on and the railing comes up to eye-level on him. However, this morning I heard him talking and was waiting to see if he would go back to sleep, until I heard the doorknob rattling. Sure enough, I opened his door and he was calmly standing on the other side. He's officially not my baby anymore! So sad. I dragged the extra mattress in at naptime and had to do a little threatening but.....amazingly....he fell asleep! We'll see how tonight goes.

In case you looked closely, please don't tell him he's sleeping on pink sheets. He looks pretty content to me. And, with the good Lord's help, I am too!

Goodnight, sleep tight!

Bedtime prayers

"Thank you God for our wonderful day, for Daddy's stress (that's just how she prays for everything), for me and Mommy and Eli, thank you God that God doesn't do anything wrong and that the snakes wont get us because they're on the ark, and the mean bears, thank you God for our families, Amen. "
There was more but of course I can't remember it all. It doesn't help that I worked last night and even though I had a relatively "good night" at work, we went to Charlotte and had a busy day so I am hitting a wall about now. Or maybe it's pregnancy brain. Thankfully with little kids their books are pretty easy to read so you can hide your exhaustion fairly well. It was a busy January, despite the yucky weather. Last weekend we had a great Harrell family get together which included 20 adults and 9 kids, 7 of those were 3 and under (from 5 original siblings!). It was a great time, it is fun to see families grow. If Steven's aunt BJ could have come with her family it would have been perfect attendance. As we were wrapping up the party Sadie was talking to one of Steven's aunts about her Daddy, she said he couldn't help us clean up much because he had to work hard, so he could make money to pay for preschool and skittles. A beginning level on economics, I guess you could say. Eli is hammin' it up, as well. He loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and even though you can only understand "Jesus" "Bible" and "strong" somehow it is obvious what he's singing. He definitely has a language, I'm not sure if Sadie or I understand him better. "Mon, Dadie" = "Come on, Sadie"...."deenk!" = "drink"...."ov u mommy" = "love you Mommy". And his all time favorite is when he is getting in trouble he immediately puts on a smile and waves and says "Hey Mommy". The name changes for whoever is fussing at him at the time, he thinks he's a smooth operator. Ok, enough about the kiddos, although they are kind of all consuming at this time in life. And pretty darn funny. Last one, then I'll close this disconnected post.....the other day Sadie and Eli were playing together and Sadie couldn't get Eli to stay still, I heard her say "Eli, I'm going to tie you up", in the very next breath she said "Mommy, can I have some tape?".
Hopefully I'll be able to collect my thoughts a little better next time, thanks for hanging in with me.
Sallie :)