He's so cute!

A few more pics

My mom asked for more pics so I'm back to share a few more. I finally got around to editing another from week 17:



And a couple more from last week (18 weeks/4 months!)





I really need to go through all my pictures and get some printed out and hung up. My walls are still SO bare it's ridiculous! I have been saying this since Marah was a baby though. I hope that one day soon I'll follow through with it!

Yesterday Jenna FINALLY had her first Girl Scouts meeting/event. She was SO excited! Her troop went rock climbing at the mall and she had so much fun! She said she was a little scared but she did it anyway. She even climbed the most difficult wall! I only was able to get two pictures before they even started because during the climbing I was not there. Her troop leader did say that she would be sure to take lots of pictures though, so hopefully I can get some of her actually climbing the wall emailed to me.

Here she is all harnessed up in front of the wall:



And here the troop listens to this guy tell them a few safety rules:



I'm hoping that tomorrow I can run down to the office to pick up her sash and patches/pins that she needs and her books. It's very exciting for me too! I always wanted to Girl Scouts so now I get to live vicariously through her :)

Today has just been a nice, relaxing day. I took a nap in the late morning and when I woke up I saw that Eric had cleaned up which is always a nice surprise :) and other than that I've just been hanging out, enjoying a day with the whole family and not having to worry about doing anything.

Alright, Marah is begging to use the computer so I'm gonna sign off for now. Later!

4 months

I've been bad about updating this thing lately. I go through phases with it, so I'm not surprised. I'm trying to at least add at least a little bit each week, but even that has been tough.

Anyway, Alex is 4 months old now! Hard to believe how fast it goes. It was right about this time last year that I found out (Surprise!) that I was pregnant. Yeah, that was a shocker! Nervous, but still happy, I couldn't wait to meet this new addition to our family. And now he's here and I love him so very much. Things are definitely different with a boy around and there is so much yet to discover with him. I love it, it's new and amazing!

Here is a picture I took of him this morning. I got a few more, but I am having trouble editing them.



He's a real sweetheart, let me tell ya! I could just kiss him all day long. :) He's a major drooler lately, so I won't be surprised to see a tooth in the next month. Jenna sprouted her first tooth at 3 months, Marah I think wasn't until about 7-8 months.

In school we've been learning about dinosaurs, slavery, and the states (where they are, a little history, and how to spell their names). Jenna has been doing really well with it. She really enjoys the dinosaurs and learning what they eat and their sizes and stuff. She was very heartbroken to learn about slavery and she told me that if she ever sees a person with a whip she will stop them. So sweet. Then she said she was going to go to other countries and help the people who are underprivledged. I explained to her about missionaries and she really liked that idea. This girl, she has the sweetest heart.

She also started silent reading today. She has really been against reading and I am trying so hard to foster a love for reading in her. I have always enjoyed books and it kills me that she hates to read so much. She really is a pretty good reader so today I introduced her to Ramona and had her start with Ramona Quimby, Age 8. She was happy to see that the main character is 8 years old, just like her. So she sat and read quietly for 10 minutes and when she was done she told me that she wants to read more tonight. So hopefully she'll start to get into it!

Marah's language just has been flourishing lately! She impresses me more and more each day. It's so interesting to listen to her talk because it's so different from Jenna at age 4. She's really almost caught up with Jenna in language development. I love hearing all her funny little quips! I wish I could just record her all day long because she seriously cracks me up. She has a great imagination too. It's all just so cute and dramatic all day long! She still gets on my last nerve too, but I'm just trying to get used to it *lol* cause I think she'll be that way forever.

Not much else to report. Have a lovely weekend!

a better idea

I'm gonna do a project 52 instead. :) yes, already giving up on the photo a day but I think I can manage one a week.

And I'll update this here blog thing soon too. But not right now cause I've got mouths to feed. Just wanted to come post Alex's 17 week photo before I forget!



And the little guy seriously just puked a big chunk on my leg so I've gotta run! Enjoy your weekend!

A bit about me right now

I am: sleepy at 11 pm but not ready for bed


I think: he will never understand.


I have: cold feet


I dislike: Call of Duty


I miss: my old self

I fear: losing the ones I love. and flying.


I feel: unfulfilled


I hear: Jenna coughing


I smell: my rootbeer float lip gloss


I crave: junk food


I cry: often


I usually: can be found stalking Facebook at 1 am


I search: for fulfillment


I wonder: all the time

I regret: things I care not to write about here


I wish: I had a housekeeper, mm-hmm.


I love: my Jesus, my family, my extended family, and junk food ;)


I care: enough to send the very best.


I always: have a backache, feel sleepy, worry too much, am behind on housework.

I worry: too much.

I am not: organized, scheduled, good at math

I remember: not much it seems. my memory is terrible now.

I believe: in the Lord, Jesus Christ. And the sanctity of marriage.

I listen: well

I sing: far less often than I used to.

I don't always: remember to pray, give my kids the attention they need

I write: on my blog and sometimes I journal in books and write poetry but not as often as I once did.

I win: at board games

I LOSE: at most video games when I'm up against Eric.


I don't understand: electronic junk. I can work it once it's plugged in but I hate dealing with set up and wires and all that.

I can usually be found: in my computer chair or just basically at home. I don't get out much.

I need: a break. A getaway. I'd love a girl getaway.

I forget: too many things, but not the important things.

I am happy: to be mom to the three sweetest kids on Earth and wife to the perfectly imperfect man of my dreams :)

IF I DIED TODAY: God help my husband!

Have I mentioned...

How much I love my girls? When they are good... well, they are just so stinkin' adorable and they fill my heart. :) I can say this right now because they are being so sweet to each other right now, playing together with their dollhouse. Earlier today though, not so much.

Anyway, okay so the pathetic thing is that I have had my Christmas pictures resized and ready to post for a week now but I still haven't posted them here. I have posted most of these on facebook, but not all of them. I am so sleepy today. I need to eat better. I know this. We need groceries and I hate to go buy them. But I digress... that was just to let you know that I'm busy and tired and that is why I haven't posted these yet. :)

Christmas Eve I was planning to go to the candlelight service... well that didn't happen. Too much for this year. I let it go. Next year though, for sure. So we basically just hung out at home. We were going to make cookies but that didn't happen either. Luckily I had made some two nights before and we just threw those on a plate for Santa. He didn't eat them cause I messed them up, but the kids don't know that! We also set out treats for the reindeer. 9 of them, for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolf of course. Oh and of course I didn't find our Santa plate until after Christmas. Go figure.



Jenna drew a picture for Santa



Then Eric read Twas the Night Before Christmas



Then we tried to get a good picture of all three of them. They are too dark and I'm too lazy to fool with it too much right now, but you get the idea.



Then the kids went to bed and Eric and I did something, but I don't remember what.

Jenna was so cute, just so excited about Santa coming. She woke up in the middle of the night and asked me if Santa had come yet. It was just so sweet, you could just see the wonderment in her eyes. I loved it. I'll be sad when she's not a believer anymore. Can't I just fool her forever? :)

Okay, and I'm just gonna put all these pictures up and not comment on most of them cause there's too many.





















and because I just loved them so much and only want to make them every day of my life from here on out... but of course can't :)



and I'm spent. I still have to go through my family get together photos. I'll do that this week.

love to all.

before I forget

Marah: "That's what I'm talking about"
"I have a great idea!"
"That could be perfect!"
"I can't... my baby's kicking and it's hurting."

Project 365

I'm gonna try it again. It's hard to remember to take that picture each day and I keep saying that I will put a little note by the computer but each day passes and I forget to do that. So far though, I have remembered my one picture each day. So I'm gonna keep on going with it. Then I suppose I'll do a scrapbook page either each week or each month, haven't decided yet.

I'm not going to get fancy and do a separate blog though. That's just more work than I can handle right now. So in the interest of keeping things simple, I'll just post them here when I remember to. I am keeping up with it daily on Facebook though, just check out my January album there if you want to see it each day. Anyway, here's days 1-5 of January.

January 1- The last piece of Lefse



January 2- Cranium Family Edition Team Jenna and Eric take the win



January 3- Sleepy Marah cuddles with her daddy



January 4- Just lovin' on my boy



January 5- The adoration between them is mutual



And yes, Christmas stuff is coming, as well as New Years. I tell you, it's very hard for me to get back into my groove after a holiday. It happened after Thanksgiving too. It's bad. I need to get better about it.

Eric and I started watching Heroes recently on Netflix instant queue which we can access through xbox live. We got all caught up and are ready to go for Season 4 which starts the Monday after the Superbowl. We were very surprised to find ourselves really enjoying it!

We also started watching Lost a few months ago and LOVED it as well! Funny how you hear about shows so often and just don't have any interest in them but then get going on it and just cannot stop! So we're trying to get all caught up on it (4 seasons worth!) before Season 5 premieres on the 21st. Not that you really care, but that's how interesting my life is right now! :)

Not a whole lot else going on. We're learning about life cycles in science here and I think we're going to start reading Charlotte's Web next week. I need to get to the library and return some overdue books. I owe like $15 in fines so that's not good. I think we're also going to do some health work this week. Talking about the importance of brushing teeth and bathing and making a schedule because I will admit... I'm not doing a good job of teaching this stuff. I'm also planning a little bit of government lessons to get the kids interested in the upcoming inauguration. I've had to help them learn that Barack Obama is not the President just yet and that there have been many Presidents before him. So we're learning about the Presidency which is hard for me to put into terms that children can understand, especially since I do not know a whole lot about government myself.

But this is what I love about homeschooling. I get to learn new things too! For example, I recently learned that octopus eggs are about the size of a grain of rice and when the octopusses hatch, they are only the size of a flea! I also learned that the octopus mother dies when her eggs hatch and the octopusses are left to fend for themselves in that great expanse of ocean where only about 6% will survive to adulthood. I thought that was pretty interesting :)