All I can say is, "Thank goodness for Grandma's flowered chair." Once again, we don't have a computer chair, and me being this far along in my pregnancy, my bottom wouldn't allow me to sit here at the computer and blog. And, right now, I am feeling a little long winded, so bear with me with this long post! :) And Grandma's flowered chair? Well, it is pulled up to the computer desk so I can have a semi-comfy place to sit!

It's been an overwhelming week! I'm not sure where I want to begin.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the park so Ben could take to boys fishing. It wasn't until I was ready to leave that the boys got into it and really enjoyed catching fish. Preston especially. He would just laugh and laugh and laugh.
Okay, so I took a lot of pictures. I LOVE pictures! I wish I knew more about taking pictures so they would turn out better. Oh well! :) But, I also got video. Ben was excited to get it on film Preston catching a fish, since we already have Parker catching one when we went to the mountains.


Aren't my boys just the cutest:


After spending time at the park, it was too late to go home and make pizza, so Ben suggested we go to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Can I just say, "Yummo!" (10 points if you know who says that!) We haven't been there since Parker was a little baby. And, it's probably a good thing. Greasy burger and fries, not quite the healthiest choice of food. But, oh wow, it is so good. On yesterday's menu:
That's right. The potatoes are from Idaho. Only the best! Actually......


Look closely to see where these taters are from! (From the look on Parker's face, it appears he was confused as to why I wanted him to take a picture by the potatoes!)
Their burgers are amazingly perfect, and the french fries....the only thing that could make them better is some fry sauce. The cup of fries is over flowing....plenty for a family of 4, and it's a small order. Can't beat Idaho potatoes. :)
Alright, so I was extremely camera happy. Doesn't it make it more fun?

And now, for some other news:

I set my c-section date. So, now I know when our baby girl will arrive! (Unless she decides to come early. I sure hope not, I am now realizing how much time I DON'T have until she comes!)

The date is November 13th. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30am, and the surgery will be at 7:30am. For those of you who don't know, I had an emergency c-section with Parker, and so now each birth will be a planned c-section. I don't mind, I know what to expect. And frankly, giving birth still kinda terrifies me. (I think because I haven't had to go through it yet!)
So, just for the record, I have 34 days to go! EEK! :)

Eek! It's 11:30. I should be in bed!

Hello, Grandma Fe!

We had a really good day. We had a fun time at the park this morning. And then this afternoon we all took a nap, and woke up happy! They both played well this evening, and after baths were done I couldn't help but snap some pictures of them. They were being extremely cute! They would stand by the couch, smile for the picture, then come over to see the results. Laugh a little bit, then run back to the couch for another picture. I love my boys! And I love good days!











Here is a message for Grandma Fe:





Parker loves to sing "I love to see the temple." Maura taught him to say temple by putting his hands on his head. Thanks, Maura!



Can you believe how much Parker is talking? He NEVER stops!

Quirky?

J'lene tagged me a while back, and, I think I have been in denial. (And now, I can't find where she had them posted.) You are supposed to write about your 6 quirks. Well, I have been thinking about it, trying to come up with my 6 quirks, and I honestly think I don't have any quirks. And then, my friend Robin tagged me with the same tag. (Is that how you would say it?)
Anyway, here are the rules:

1. Link the person(s) that tagged you (J'lene and Robin)

2. Mention the rules on your blog

3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours

4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them

I'm just a normal person, right? With no quirks! Well, I guess that is my quirk number one.

1. I think that I don't have any quirks. I mean, what is a quirk anyway? And...reading everyone else's quirks, I realize that I might be the same way...well except for a few things, thus making us all NORMAL, not quirky, right?

2. I hate hair on my legs. I have to shave every single day. Sometimes, if I take a shower in the morning and then in the afternoon, I shave both times. Maybe I should start waxing...ouch!

3. I love to clean. But only on Monday's. Monday is my cleaning day. If I don't clean on Monday, I won't clean the rest of the week. I wait until the next Monday. And speaking of cleaning...

4. Quirk number 4. When I clean, I have to do everything. I have to dust, and vacuum and everything else on my routine. If I don't, it's not clean. And I don't feel like I have done anything productive. And after I clean a room, I don't go back into it, especially if I have vacuumed already. OCD much?

5. I won't throw out moldy food. Once it gets remotely old, I won't touch it. I've left a pineapple upside down cake on top of my fridge....for about a month. (Okay, maybe it was 3 months. And, considering how clean I like my house to be, I can't believe it stayed on the fridge for so long.) I wouldn't go near it. I thought my husband should just throw it away. But he wouldn't. I thought it was moldy....but it was just dried out. So, I could have thrown it out at any time without freaking out. I'm such a dork. If food in my fridge goes moldy, I have been known to just throw away the container, hence the reason we don't have any plastic containers to store leftovers.

6. I don't sit still. Ever. I think I have ADD, so, I'm not sure if that is considered a quirk or not. I am constantly doing something. Constantly moving. My poor boys follow me around the house all day!

So, there you have it. 6 non quirky quirks. So now...I tag Pam (because she has some quirk about underwear!), Marie (cause face it, you are the middle sibling, I am sure you have lots of quirks), Beth (because you really need to update your blog), and Emily (because, well, just because!).

I had a 3 hour nap today!

And not only that, but then the boys slept for an hour after that! :)
But, that is not what this post is about. I was just excited to tell you!

Benji gave me his camera so I can upload his pictures onto my computer. So, enjoy!

My cute little pumpkins:



When Ben and I went to DC, Donna and Benji took the boys to the Oceana air show. Pretty much since then, all Parker says is "I saw a truck on fire at the airshow." Repeat 20 million times. No joke! He will tell you ALL about it. They had SUCH a good time, and I am glad that their grandparents took them.



Yesterday was Ben's birthday. I can't believe he is 27! He is getting to be such an OLD man! I'm only kidding. It was such a yucky yucky day, which made be very very cranky (sorry, Ben), but, I think in the end, he enjoyed his birthday. His parents made an AWESOME meal for him.....Tenderloin steak on the grill, baked potatoes, salad, and CAKE! That was Parker's favorite part!


Ahh...my 3 boys. I love them so much. :)

hApPy BiRThdAy, bEn! :)

Today is my husband's birthday! I was going to post a few pictures of him throughout the years, but didn't want to embarrass him. So instead, sit back and enjoy this short clip of my husband!

Guess what we did this weekend! :)

That's right! We went up to DC. And, not only that, but we were kid free! (Hey, that rhymes!)
Ben's wonderful parents said they would watch the kids for us, so we could drive up and stay the night. It makes for an EXTREMELY long day if you drive up and come back in the same day!



As it was, it was a pretty long car ride! These are the only pictures I got of the whole trip! Sorry! For those of you who don't know, DC is about 3-4 hours away. And it all depends on traffic. (I don't know how people can live up there!)
We stayed the night in Woodbridge, VA. Right down the street from IKEA! Yeah, that's wasn't planned. NOT! It is such a huge, fun, awesome store. And, I always come away with so many fun ideas for our house. We ended up buying this:
We turned it on it's side, and it is a table by our front door.

This:is a lamp to go on it! :)

This:
is a bookcase for Parker and Preston's room.

This:
is storage for scrapbooking supplies.

Okay, this is what happens when I don't take any pictures! I have to find pictures! We bought some more odds and ends....but I don't want to bore you!

It was so much fun going to the temple. It was such a perfect, beautiful day.
I won't get the boys back until after church tomorrow. Donna is watching them because tomorrow is the Primary program, and I need to be on the stage. I think this is the longest amount of time I have been away from them. I miss them. But....I can honestly say it is nice to have a break!

I am so STINKIN lucky.....

.......these are MY boys!!!

call me ambitious

This week started out really slow. In fact, it has been dragging along at a snail's pace. Don't ask me why. Maybe I am in denial that time is running out before the baby arrives. I just haven't really felt like doing much of anything. Yesterday things seemed to pick up. I made sugar cookies for (I think) the first time. I don't know where I got the patience to roll them all out, but it came from somewhere.
I have had my eye on a sugar cookie recipe for a while, and I was curious how good they could be. Let me tell you, they are pretty much the best sugar cookies I have ever had! :) I know there is an art to making sugar cookies, and maybe it was just a fluke that they turned out so well. But for some reason, I am extremely proud of myself for (1.) actually making the cookies, and (2.) having them turn out so stinkin yummy! I had stumbled upon this blog about a year ago, loved the beautiful aprons, and even tried some of her recipes. I hope she won't mind me sharing this with you! :)I actually used my own buttercream frosting recipe, since Ben seems to think only almond extract can be in wedding cake frosting.

Last night for scrapbooking, instead of "scrapbooking" I made these adorable headbands for my baby girl! I am SO excited to be able to dress her up in all things girlie! :)


Today we went to the firestation. (Ben wanted me to make some pumpkin bread for him. So I made 2 loaves this morning. Will post the recipe at a later date!) Parker was so excited to drive the ladder truck. And yes, it is a ladder truck, not just a fire truck. He WILL correct you! :) Preston is getting big enough to ride on it too! They drove around the block and Parker rang the bell the entire time.

Since Ben is working today, and Matt has duty, I invited Pam over to have dinner with us. The boys love her to death, and it is so nice to have some adult conversation. I hope she doesn't get sick of me talking her head off!
Before bed, we always read books to the boys. Normally, they get one book each, and I am DONE! Ready to send them to bed. But with Pam here, they read a whole pile of books! Preston was so worn out, that he went right to bed, too!
Preston thinks that he is so funny sometimes. I don't know why he keeps giving me this face when I try to take his picture:

And then....here is a typical Preston face. It seems to say, "Do you know who I am? Do you think I'm crazy or something?":

Parker is finally sitting still for pictures, and now knows how to really smile good for the camra:



Here are some milestones.

Parker: He is completely potty trained. I knew if I blogged about it, I would jinx it. But, it has been well over a month since he started, and it has been the whole month of September without an accident or him going in his pull-up. :) Yeah!

Preston: He is well aware of what is going on around him. I can ask him to do something, for example: Tell Parker he is sorry, throw something away, throw the ball, give me a kiss, give me five, say goodbye. All of these things he can do. He just isn't talking! He's not even saying Mama or Daddy. (Ben will beg to differ!) But, I think tonight, he was saying "ball". He LOVES balls. Doesn't really play with any other toy, so I shouldn't be supprised. This video isn't the greatest, kinda blurry, but can see that he is saying "ball" and when I ask what a puppy dog says, he says, "Woof!"



Oh, and baby girl: Her update is she's moving A LOT! I really do love feeling her move, that is probably the best part of being pregnant!

Ben: He is going out on he dad's boat tomorrow. He is really excited to go fishing. I am excited for the fish that they will catch, so they better catch a lot!

Kate: I have been enjoying reading Midnight Sun, which is Edward's version of Twilight. You can only read it online, and we don't have a computer chair, so I have been scooting over our big flower chair so I can at least have a decent place to set besides a hard kitchen table chair. :) It's taking me a while to read it, but it is a lot of fun! Actually, that is what I am going to go do right now! (After I go get myself another sugar cookie!)

I help daddy cut grass today

That is what Parker has been saying all day long! This morning, Ben was mowing the lawn, in the heat (I can't believe it was 90 degrees today) and let Parker "help" him. And because of that, all Parker can talk about is being a "big helper" and helping cut the grass. Shoot, he helped me vacuum yesterday, does he remember? NO! Apparently that isn't as cool.
Preston normally has to stay in the house while Ben does the yard work, because he is ALL over the place. But, I decided to be a nice mommy, and went outside with them to keep an eye on them.. It was SO stinkin hot! I was sweating and could barely stand it! I am SO ready for fall.


{And yes, my children pretty much ALWAYS wear matching outfits. It has turned into an obsession!}

I never thought

that I would be ready for summer to end. I am soo ready for fall. I am ready for cooler days, and even cooler nights so we can open the windows and have a breeze flowing through the house.
I already have my fall decorations out, and a cinnamon candle to make the house smell yummy. I am ready to get my christmas shopping done, and even start my christmas cards. It doesn't help that I want to have all of that done before the baby gets here. Because once she arrives, who knows how I will feel, let alone even what I will accomplish with 3 kids! :)

I went and got the bedding for the nursery. I have been debating the last couple of weeks whether to use my sister's bedding she sent me, or get new ones. It's hard because (a) free bedding, or (b) this is might me my only girl, let alone my last baby, so shouldn't I have it just how I want it?
I decided on something really simple, that way I can mix and match and I'm not tied down to just one "pattern".
Somehow, I will tie all these colors together, to make a cute, pink nursery! I got a couple of different sheet patterns, so each day the nursery will look a little different. (Or each week, depending on how often I get around do changing the sheets!) As you can see, I LOVE pink (light pink and bright pink) and I LOVE polka dots!

We have the nursery primed, we just need to paint now. Ooooo.....I love how it is all coming together. Less than 76 days to go! {Can you believe it?}

This is weird!

Ben just left with Benji to go to Richmond to pick up a boat. They took both boys. I am alone for the day. This is VERY weird. What to do with my time....hummm.....