A New WONDERFUL Kid's Book Series

I have been wanting to blog about this for several days but just have not sat down to get it done. On a recent trip to our local library, I quite accidentally discovered a truly wonderful kid's book called, "Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall". It is written by Emily Bearn and illustrated by Nick Price. I basically picked up the book and was struck by the cute title and neat illustrations. I read the back of the book and it appeared appropriate to read to our girls. We brought it home and that night read the first chapter to our kids. Our whole family is now hooked on this tale! I can tell that we will read the whole series together. The descriptions are absolutely charming and it uses some Old English words that are so neat. Even though we know the girls don't always understand every single word, I love exposing them to it. Each night we sit down and all of us, yes even my husband, cannot wait to see what happens to the endearing little mice! We are quite particular about what we expose the girls to, and frequently we have to do editing just to make the material appropriate. I have not had 1 single time where I needed to eliminate a word or sentence. The storyline is captivating and the characters are memorable. I hope that we collect all the series because I think it will be read over and over and over. If you are looking for some wholesome books to introduce your kids to, you really should check it out!

Fun at the Aquarium

Yesterday the girls and I took a day off from school and I surprised them with a trip to the Newport Aquarium! To top it off, my parents took the day off and met us there! The girls were just going crazy with excitement! We had such a wonderful time there! There is this really cool diving cage simulator. You go into this small area with a huge screen in front of you. They have footage of great white sharks swarming a diving cage and whenever the sharks bumped the cage the floor would shake under you! It was amazing!!! The Hippie was scared but stayed in there with us. My personal favorite was the jelly fish area. They just looked so beautiful! The Genius said her favorite was all the sharks. The Hippie said she liked everything but the sharks. I think she really liked the crabs and sting rays and the fish that stayed towards the bottom. But the girls both agreed their favorite part of the day was when we got to hand feed the Lorikeets (very pretty birds). Gampy bought a cup of nectar and held it to feed the birds. One of the birds pooped right down the back of his neck! LOL! The girls thought that was incredible! LOL! They also enjoyed seeing the alligators and penguins. If you have never been I would encourage you to go. We went during winter days (Jan-Feb) when 2 kids get in free per paying adult. On a normal day it would have cost our family of 4 almost $80 to get in! I hate to say it, but that place was not worth $90, BUT if you can get discounted tickets or wait til next year and go during winter days you will have a great time!

Here Comes the Sun

Today was a nasty rainy day, but over the weekend we had plenty of SUN! Yesterday our family went to take a hike together. We got out of the car and the Hippie walks up to me, grabs my hand in hers, looks up at me and whispers (in her distinct little lisp), "Mommy, do you want to come stand in the sun with me?" Who could resist that??? So we took a few steps, hand in hand, and she closed her eyes and let the sun hit her in the face. It was a positively priceless moment!

Sunshine and Mud

Just in case you were wondering.... the Hippie's shirt says, "Play in the Dirt".

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek at our newest addition! Our scanner was not working so my husband used his webcam to capture the image. I hope you can see the images ok!

21 weeks

We are 21 weeks along with mystery baby 3!!!! It is so hard to believe! This pregnancy is FLYING by! The baby is active now and it seems the personality is shining through already!
Today the sun is shining, my husband and I get three hours alone, we are meeting friends for coffee and going to the library! What could possibly make this day any better? How about winning? There is a great contest at my friends blog! Come check out her blog and get a chance to win TWO free shirts!!!!
Happy Saturday everyone!!!!!!!

Leftovers = Love

Yesterday the Genius told me she was excited. I asked her why. She said, "Because I heard you say that we were having leftovers for dinner tonight. Are we having leftovers for dinner tonight?" I told her that was correct. She squealed and ran up the stairs screaming her sisters name. "GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? Mommy said tonight is leftovers night and do you even KNOW what that means????? More yummy biscuits!!!! I even saw them in the fridge and tonight we will get to eat them again!!! YEA! WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kinda makes me feel like making those biscuits for her every day! =)

Clover

Yesterday the Genius said something SO cute and funny I just had to get it down before it slipped my mind. We had a playdate yesterday with 7 of their friends at Chick-Fil-A. When we got there the Genius was looking around and she (oh so sincerely) said, "Look Mommy! They have green clovers up everywhere in here and according to our calendars it is not even close to Green Clover Day yet!" LOL! We never make a big deal out of St. Patrick's Day (to be honest I don't even know the history of it). So I guess in her 6 year old mind it is "Green Clover Day"! She is so cute!
Last night I made my first batch ever of homemade spaghetti sauce! It was SO good! It made a huge amount! We had it last night with spaghetti, tonight I am making baked spaghetti with it and I froze enough to make a homemade lasagna! Plus I found this recipe for Italian Drop Biscuits. The Genius said, "These are the best biscuits I have ever eaten in my whole life!" They tasted JUST like Red Lobsters biscuits and were so amazingly easy! I love cooking and trying new things out!

Still Guessing

We had out ultrasound this morning and they could not/would not tell us the gender! The good news baby 3 was adorable and healthy looking! We saw two arms and two legs, a spine, the heart, the bladder, kidneys, tummy etc... It was amazing! Once it looked like the baby waved at us! The baby was estimated to weigh .82 pounds! We saw the heart pumping and the heartrate today was 147. Once I thought I saw girl parts on the ultrasound and twice my husband and I thought we saw boy parts (but that could easily have been the cord). When she turned the machine off I said, "Wait! What was the gender?" She said, "well it might be a boy but I couldn't tell." We are convinced it will be a boy.....or girl! LOL! 4 more weeks!!!!!!

Tea Party with their Aunt!

Valentine's at our House

Today was just an unbelievable amount of fun here at our place. Last year I made the girls special chocolate chip muffins in heart shaped dishes. They were hoping for the same this year and I did not disappoint! We also get them each a small gift and I set it up with their muffin on the table. They were so excited when they went to bed last night that they got up, put in ponytails and changed into Valentine's clothes! And they kept calling yesterday Valentine's Eve. This morning they woke up to their heart shaped muffin and we got the Hippie a Littlest Pet Shop toy and the Genius some bracelets and a little wallet. They LOVED it! Plus we made them cards, they got packages from Nana and Gampy and some cards from their other grandparents! A week or so ago for their craft time they had made Valentine's for us and each other. They kept them hidden this WHOLE time and they were bursting to hand out their homemade cards. It was so sweet! My husband said, "I feel like I am living in a Hallmark commercial." LOL! We went to church and on the way there they were BOTH talking at the same time the ENTIRE way there! After church we went to lunch, the grocery and washed the van. Tonight for my hubby's gift I let him plan the menu and I cooked it. So we continued the celebrating with steak, homemade mashed potatoes and chocolate cake. It was a hit! I hope everyone else is having a wonderful Valentine's too! Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who Makes the Rules?

Friday nights are usually our family nights! Even though we usually eat dinner together 7 nights a week, on Fridays we watch a kids/family movie or show and order pizza (or something Mommy doesn't cook). Last night we picked up some Taco Bell (dinner for 4 (plus baby 3 =) ) for $11)! We chose a Little House episode to watch. When it was over it was close to bed time and the girls picked some library books to read. Since I knew Presidents Day and Lincoln's birthday were coming up, I had chosen a bunch of books for kids about Presidents. We were explaining that the President helps makes all the rules and the Hippie said, "Oh, so he is the one who made up the rules for Red Light/Green Light!!!!" My husband and I lost it we were laughing so hard! Kids are cute and I love hearing what they think!

All in the eye of the beholder

Remember the tea party the girls went to with their Aunt? Pretzels with M & M's were one of the snacks offered there. The Genius was quite enchanted by the idea of two of her favorite foods combined. She described them as "M & M's with pretzels stuck on the bottoms of them." LOL! I love her view of things!

Poll

Well the polls are closed! It looks like most of you think we are having a boy! 19 voted boy and 7 voted girl! We hope to learn the real answer on Tuesday so look for an announcement either Tuesday or Wednesday. We really do not care what the gender is, we just want healthy, happy baby! We are both VERY excited for the ultrasound! We are praying the tech will clearly see the gender and be able to tell us. If the tech can't/won't we have an additional 4 week wait! That will drive me crazy if we have to wait, plus there is this HUGE consignment sale coming up and I want to be able to clothes shop for baby 3!
Even though it was very disappointing to leave our vacation so early, we are LOVING our time together! We still have 8 inches of snow and found a city park with great sledding hills! I am sorry I don't have any pics, but I am too nervous carrying the camera on the rough terrain. The girls are having a blast and totally wearing themselves out! My husband even pulled me on a flat icy part so I could get a small thrill! LOL! They are planning to go back out and play more in a little bit here. I hope everyone is safe and warm and enjoying your week too!

Our 54 hour "vacation"

We had a week long vacation planned that included and overnight stay in a hotel for just my hubby and I, as well as a surprise trip to an aquarium for the girls. Sadly, we drove 1,000 miles (total) and were gone a total of 54 hours. We got chased home by the big snow storm. We arrived home to find about 8 inches of snow here! The area we were going to be has been declared an emergency and the roads are a level 3. So, while we are thankful to be safe at home we are still disappointed at all the things we did not get to do. Our day that we had was fun though. We met some family for dessert, did some shopping and met more family for dinner! While we were at dinner my husband's sister took the girls to a tea party! They had SO much fun! Evidently there was punch fountain there that the Hippie found irresistible! I am not sure how many cups she drank but her tummy was actually swollen and she was on a sugar high ALL DAY yesterday! She must have really outdone herself because she could barely eat a bite of food until dinner last night and when asked what she wanted "fruit and crackers" LOL! They had a great time and got to dress like medieval princesses! Now we are back home and planning on taking them sledding in a little while. I am waiting on their snow clothes to come out of the dryer. Hopefully I may have some pictures to share later!

19 weeks!

We are 19 weeks along with this baby now! This pregnancy has been flying by for us! We are all able to feel the baby moving and kicking now!
Yesterday the girls were invited over to a new friends house for a playdate. We ended up staying around 2 hours and had a great time! I was able to enjoy some adult conversation and they got to play and play and play! They have 2 dogs and had kindly locked them up so the Genius wouldn't be scared. However, the Genius decided she was willing to meet their Golden Retriever. She would not pet him but she did put out her hand and let him lick her hand. The she giggled and just kinda watched him. He was a very sweet dog! The Hippie stayed to meet their other dog. This dog was about 50 pounds overweight and he wanted to lick the Hippies face but he couldn't jump. It was very cute! The Hippie was in doggie heaven with two big dogs begging for her attention and licking her all over. This family also had a bunny (one of the Genius's FAVORITE animals). The mom let the bunny into the bathroom and the kids all fed her carrots. After having ALL this fun and a special snack I was ready to get home. I told the girls it was time to clean up and do you know what their response was? "Yes Mommy." Man, I love our girls and I am SO thankful to have them in our lives!
We are getting ready to be out of town for a few days so my blogging may be sporadic. Hope everyone stays safe and has a great weekend!

More about baby 3!!!!!

I went in for a check-up yesterday. The only nice things about those appointments are hearing the heartbeat! LOL! Yesterdays appointment was fun! My husband texted me and asked how it was going and when I told him we were still waiting he literally ran across base to come up and see us! He got there just in time and was able to hear (and record) the baby's heartbeat! Yesterday the heartrate was 153 so that makes me think girl! LOL! Hopefully (Lord willing) we will learn the gender on Feb. 16th! I am posting a gender poll so make sure and cast your vote! Everything looked good at the appointment except that my blood pressure was slightly elevated for the 2nd appointment in a row. It made me nervous but they said it is still within normal limits but they are keeping an eye on it. The girls enjoy coming to the appointments with me and love hearing the heartbeat! We are all feeling the baby move more and more every day. It is a special time for us all. We are off to an appointment in the "big city" but remember to stop by and vote in the poll!

Wordless Wednesday (Meet Hairy Head)

Dreams

As we were driving along today the Hippie asked me, "Mommy can dreams ever be real?" We had a conversation about dreams and how they can have real things in them but they are not real. She said, "Well, I keep having a dream where I am on the back of a giant bird and we are flying and Mommy, I can feel the wind!" What a SWEETIE!!!!