Sunday Pics

Family tradition was to take pictures on Sundays, right before or after Church, when everyone was still nice and presentable. We were finally able to take pictures without too much hassle or fuss this past Sunday of the kids. This is Knut's "cheese" face. Getting them to look at the camera is another matter entirely.

Birthdays

Yes, it's been awhile, this week has been interesting to say the least. We decided on Sunday we would spend the day doing some major cleaning and rearranging which is good, but tedious and difficult with three under foot. So things are being sorted, gotten rid of and found a proper place for everything or being added to the mending pile.
On Tuesday I received an interesting call from one of Nolan's coworkers about his birthday and whether we had plans or what we were going to do. Then she asked if we had discussed his lunch and what he usually liked to eat, which resulted in Wednesday's activities.
Wednesday dawned dark and gloomy with a severe misting of rain and worries that it would be to much to take our planned walk. But by the time the kids were finally dressed and ready to go the sun was trying to peek out and was just a little drizzle. After walking slowly and having some fun with kids talking about street safety and looking for birds, we arrived at our destination. Knut was first into the door and then Keileigh was released from the stroller and they ran straight to the back to where Daddy sat at his desk. Yeah! He was so surprised. It was so much fun. They had gone to our favorite deli that we go to at least once a week and treated the whole office. It worked out really well since right after we got there the rain started dumping and we got to sit down and eat as a family. Nolan's boss even commented that they enjoyed having us there even though once they were done eating Knut and Keileigh were running and yelling all over the office because they knew how important Nolan's family was to him.
And then on Thursday it was Nolan's Mom's birthday. Not that from this distance we can do much to celebrate with her, she got her present from us last week when they were down: some money to spend and a trip to our favorite fabric store M & L Fabrics which has awesome prices on every fabric you could possibly need.
Today I hopefully get to sit down and do some fun sewing for me and maybe work on Keileigh's dress that she has been carrying the fabric for around for a week. I'll have to post pics of this project since I'm taking Nolan's old Liberty overalls he got on his mission and turning them into two fun purses, with his permission of course.

Nevan's Pictures

I'm starting to gather specific pictures for Nevan's announcements and tried to come up with some good ones of the other two interacting with him. We'll see what I ultimately end up with, but here's some of them for you to see.

BookMooch

I just received another book and had to share my joy in a great service. Nolan loves to listen to his favorite podcasts while he works and last year he came home and had me look up the webpage www.bookmooch.com I immediately signed up and love it. I read a lot and sometimes I find some great books at thrift stores or the Friends for the Library sales. But sometimes when you read a book and it's not quite what you expected or you didn't like it at all, what do you do? With Bookmooch I can list all the books I want to get rid of and I get 1/10 of a point. Other people on Bookmooch can see what I have available and can request that I send it to them, which is usually media mail book rate, just a couple of dollars. When they do that, I get a point. When I request a book, I spend my points. I've also got a wishlist and a save-for-later list so that when the books I want become available I get an email. I was able to get an advanced reader copy of Physic by Angie Sage last year before it was released and I just got Lost by Gregory Maguire. It is so much fun to get the mail to see if my book has come.

Family Gathering

We were very privileged this weekend to get together with Nolan's family. His parents had to bring Bryce, his nephew down and it was the anniversary of his older brother's death. We were all at the cemetery except for Aaron and Alice who are still in Texas. That's the first time we've all been able to do that for almost three years. Afterwards we had a big family dinner with lots of noise and garlic bread. The meal plan had been simple but then 3 of the 5 families thought we needed garlic bread, way too much, but still really good. We also had cake for Madalynn's birthday and sang for Keileigh too. Lots of fun, but I still feel the need for a relaxing day after being around that many people and that much noise when we're relatively quiet when on our own.

Breakfast

There are definitely some mornings where I know exactly what I want to eat, and that the kids will either still be asleep when I cook it, or that they will be so excited to share that they let me cook. Mornings are usually snuggle times, so we do something easy like cereal or instant oatmeal. But this morning was different.
Have any of you heard of the Glad microwave steaming bags? Well, I hadn't up to about a week ago and we received one as a sample at Sam's Club. I looked at the recipes and saw that most were 2-3 servings, great for during the day when it's just me and the kids who have to share or if I want to cook something Nolan wouldn't like.
So, this morning my experimental breakfast was "eggs cooked light and fluffy" with lots of yummy stuff added: sausage, cilantro, bell peppers, cheese, and green onions. All cooked in the microwave
to perfection. Unfortunately, the kids don't think so. It's cheerios for them this morning I guess, but all the more for me.

Good Big Sister

Keileigh has decided it is her job to take care of Nevan when he cries and then let Mommy know about it. She brought him his teddy bear this morning and a toy and then shared her silky dolly with him. Then she goes to get her dolly to take care of it just like Mommy.
Anyway, this week has been interesting. What I thought would be a fun low-key week, definitely wasn't. We celebrated Keileigh's birthday on Sunday with part of Nolan's family since his niece's birthday was this week as well.
We tried to get Nevan's social security stuff, but found out we were missing a form of id for Nevan and they sent us away after sitting there for an hour and a half. Then Nolan had a meeting down in Orange and there was a mall a block away and he decided that we, meaning the kids and I, could go and walk while he was in his meeting. Yeah, me with three kids and only a double stroller. Knut actually did very well and walked right where he was supposed to with only a minor fuss from Keileigh who thought his hand was where hers should go. Nevan slept the whole time which was great.
Then we received a phone call from Nolan's brother that their new little girl had been born and they were getting ready to fly out to Texas to get her and finish all the paperwork. Nolan's parents are also on their way down from Idaho to return one of his nephews and to see family.
Very busy week, but I finally got to sit down and finish Keileigh's nightgown that I started 2 weeks ago, but got sidetracked on. She was so excited to get to put it on that she won't let me adjust the hem which is about 1 1/2 inches too long.
But that's life isn't it?

Sleep is overrated

Ever feel like there is never quite enough hours in the day to do everything you need or want to do? Well, last night Keileigh decided that she needed to catch up on snuggle time bright and early at quarter after 5. Now that I wouldn't have normally minded if I had been up with Nevan anyway. But this morning he happened to sleep through that usual feeding and get up at 7 instead. It is very hard to deny a sleepy little two year old when she says very clearly, "snuggle mommy". Needless to say naptime is a very definite possibility today since everyone, and I do mean everyone, ended up in our bed this morning.

Pictures

I just realized that the picture I uploaded isn't a true representation of my family as it now stands. Nevan was born about a month after this picture was taken. We'll be taking new family pictures in March, right before his blessing. But for now, here's his Christmas picture, sitting in a 42" long stocking Christmas morning.

Getting Started

Well, now that several friends and family members have started, I guess I might as well too.There are definitely some interesting stories happening here everyday of something one of the three little people did and I forget to write them down. Hopefully someone else finds them as entertaining as I do.