Catterpillars to Butterflies......or is it a fairy?

Okay, so the last few days it has felt like we've skipped spring being in the high 80s. But I hear we're supposed to have a normal spring soon. Anyway, the kids have NOT COME inside at all and played and played (awesome because there's no mosquitos out yet!) On our deck there seems to be 5-6 new caterpillars every time we go out. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Here they are playing outside and Camden is showing off one of his.

(Warning Mom: this post MAY disturb you since you think Aleeya isn't enough of a "girl".....especially considering she's outside playing with dinosaurs on the table.) Oh, and that caterpillar, along with 3 others went to preschool with Camden today too. Awesome show-n-tell, huh.Before our walk, here's Aleeya holding a caterpillar. She puts the death grip on them and doesn't let them go.....and didn't the WHOLE walk.......as you see, Emerson even tries to take them from her while she's distracted but he has never suceeded.

Oh, I need to add on that walk we found a driveway that had literally hundreds of caterpillars on the ground. The boys kept stuffing them in their pockets to take home and Aleeya added a few more to her fists. They ended up in the backyard, in the empty wading pool just WAITING to be the kid's entertainment for the next couple hours.
Here is the fairy/butterfly showing me her personal bucket of the caterpillars she caught herself. She's pretty talented.

In my defense, I DO dress her up and do her hair when we go out, and even put a shirt on. I promise Mom, I do. But isn't my little fairy (Brooks hates that word) so cute even with these incredibly dirty faces and nasty hair-dos?

Sleeping Angels

I just LOVE looking in at my kids after they go to sleep. Here's Emerson just looking like the angel he is. If he wakes up in the middle of the night to pee he'll crawl into Bronson's bed with him and they snuggle. It's so cute. The other morning when I went to wake up Bronson for school Emerson and he were RIGHT up against each other and Emerson lifted up his head and sleepily said, "Buenos dias, Bronson" and put his head down and went back to sleep. He's so funny. Here's Aleeya-beeya, cuddling her baby with her scuffed up face from keeping up with the boys. She's such a trooper.

I have the BEST friends.....ever

Ok, so the memo to all was WEAR pjs or comfties....but some didn't listen, or just look TOO cute in their pjs (man, their husbands are lucky!)......but here are some of my friends that were sooooo sweet to get together, bring snacks and get this, they EACH brought a freezer meal for me for after the baby comes.

Aren't they the best?

I could probably sit here and go on and on and tell you what each one brought, but I'll spare the details. We had such a FUN night!

(Note to self: green or ALL one color on me is NOT flattering and could come across as a big slimey blob.....or Flubber)

The happiest kid on earth!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY EMERSON!!!!Take a look at that kid's sweet face. He was sooooo happy with his pinata that he SPECIFICALLY asked for. It's a certain cartoon character and I'm going to see if you can guess who it is (the ultimate test of my pinata making skills......even if you guess wrong, it won't matter Emerson said it's perfect. :) and yes, he's easy to please).

Let me just say something about this kid. He's my angel and has my heart. He's the biggest Momma's boy and lights up when I walk in the room. Being prego, and about 6 weeks away, I can't help but think when he was born. On Good Friday 3 years ago he was the longest labor (after Camden's 45 minute one, ANY one would be long), opting for natural again (silly me.....I'll try not to make that mistake again), almost losing it mentally/emotionally, and being so worried about if my other kids at home were okay without me. So after his birth being the worst I've had so far, I guess it's only fair that he owns my heart even more. I love his smile, his laugh and his sweet stuttering. Okay, enough going on, I'll save it for his journal! :)

Potty-trained

Wow, am I sure glad I got Aleeya potty-trained at 18 months before the new baby came!!!!WAIT......WHAT THE?!?!? Aleeya, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Ok, so NO, I'm not potty-training her, nor would I be crazy enough at this point. So WHERE she got standing up next to the toilet seat to pee is beyond me. :)

After I ask the boys to go pee before bed, she always runs in, pulls up her shirt, grabs her ABNORMALLY LARGE AND PROTRUDING belly button and holds it

out to go pee. We're going to have HUGE gender identity issues when it comes time

to actually potty train her come fall. She's so cute though.

Easter Morning Rolls

These are fun and yummy rolls because they are "empty" inside just like Christ's tomb on Easter Sunday.

1 pkg. of frozen bread or roll dough (or use the dough from you fav. homemade rolls
6 T sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 bag large marshmallows
1/4 c. butter, melted
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Divide dough into individual roll-sized portions. Press each portion into a flat circle. Place 1 marshmallow in the center of each roll. Pinch roll dough very firmly around the marshmallows. Roll each into a seamless ball with your hands. Brush rolls with melted butter. Sprinkle sugar mixture over rolls.
Cover rolls with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight.
On Sunday morning preheat oven to 350. Bake for 15 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

Happy Birthday to Me!

So I'm officially 28 and old. :) The night before my b-day Brooks told me to go pack a bag so we could go to a hotel that night! This is us on our way out and me thinking:

-I don't have, I mean GET to put them in bed

-not wake everyone up at 6 to feed them breakfast

-not make breakfast

-not drive Bronson to the bus stop
AND Pat (Brooks' mom) told us NOT to come home before the afternoon. Ummmm, if you twist my arm.

We both automatically woke up early anyway the next morning, but I still lounged in bed for a while. Then we looked at carpet samples (for downstairs), b-ball standards, maternity clothes (got yet ANOTHER comfty outfit), and went to Olive Garden for lunch. We came home around 1:00, stuck the kids down for a nap (the only one REALLY excited to see me was Sally, the dog), and just relaxed......since Pat already had dinner cooking.

Pat even took the kids to 3 stores getting me a cake, balloons and other b-day surprises. But don't worry, I got plenty of b-day songs (mostly from Emerson), hugs and kisses from the kiddos. I love those kids.

To top off the evening nicely, Biggest Loser was on! I've never liked Tuesdays for birthdays, but this year was the BEST!

The New Mommy

Here is the new Mommy. Or at least that's what Camden asked. ("Is Grandma Emerson's and my Mommy?") We had the BEST visit with her here! Darnit, I just didn't pull out my camera enough, and partly because she kept taking my kids and disappearing. (Trust me, no complaints here) Bronson kept ending up on Grandma's lap. He's six and heavy and not allowed on my growing belly unless just resting his head on my lap. So you SEE he found a sucker in Grandma and someone to unconditionally scratch his back. I loved the backyard picture because Bronson and Camden were with Brooks at the church watching conference and here is Grandma on double-duty pushing Aleeya and pitching to Emerson. Super Grandma.

Then the last picture is her at work with Brooks getting ready to witness an autopsy. Pretty gross, but I guess I would want to know what my boys do one day at work too!

Unfortunately no pics with Camden which is weird because he was the one that had the hardest time with Grandma leaving.

My rascals

A few pics of the kiddos. They are soooooo cute all bathing together!
On second thought, maybe we don't want a girl next with as big of a Daddy's girl as this one is!

Sharing the high......

I had 6 $5.00 off Huggies product coupons still and they were going to expire soon. So I recruited Brooks on this one and we ran to Target. Since the wipes were only 2.50 we ended up getting the hairspray, toothpaste and laundry detergent (I'm so weird but I LOVE the smell of this kind) almost free.The total for all of this was $3.50. But the funniest part is how
Brooks arranged it and wanted to take a picture. Nothing brings a marriage closer then a good deal! :)