Less than a Month!

While I am busy counting down the days until baby comes, I'll update you on some of the other things going on.

Derek has started playing soccer and he really likes it. I am not a very good soccer mom, especially when he showed up the first day without shin guards, a jersey, or soccer shoes like every other kid had on. That's what I get for signing up late! By the second game, though, he looked much better.

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Roosevelt for a delayed family Easter egg hunt and a Laurence Welk Party to celebrate my grandma and grandpa's birthdays. Although it was "sweltering" (as Dallan would say) in the church gym, but it was really fun anyway. Ace made a great Laurence Welk and Mom and Lindsey threw a great party. Thanks guys!

Kudos to Bruce and Deanne's Family for the best costumes

And here's a link that I found on a friend's site, I thought it was cool. Of course I have always enjoyed BORING instrumental music, especially when it involves a piano and a cello. I also love both of these songs and I think they sound awesome together. If you get bored with the 8 minute video, at least skip to 2:45 minutes, it really starts to pick up there....

JON SCHMIDT - Love Story (Taylor Swift) meets Viva La Vida (Coldplay)

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Good Reads - At least for me

So once I took up reading again last fall, I have gotten back into the habit of picking up a novel at night. It's a nice excuse to unwind and put up my now elephant-looking feet, while Tom is absorbed with Mad Money or whatever riveting documentary he can find to watch. (Love you honey!) I've been trying out different books at the library and have found an author that I quite like - Lynn Austin. I got tired of the old books that you have to wade through all the complicated language to figure out what's really going on, and a lot of the modern books are filled with language and topics that are a little distasteful, so I really liked this author's approach. Her books are mostly historical, with some romance, some mystery, and even some nice all-around Christian morals included. If any of you are interested, some of my favorites are:

Candle in the Darkness

Fire by Night

A Light to my Path

Hidden Places

If any of you have other suggestions for good books you want to pass on, let me know. Of course, I think my reading days will be over in a few weeks, but you can pass them on just in case. :o)

Some fun pictures....

The Belly

OK Darla, this is for you. :o) I posed for some nice prego belly pictures and Derek made a pretty good little photographer. Yes, I am only 7 months.... and no I am not having twins (the two questions I get asked most frequently).


















And here's a cute picture of Derek's "fauxhawk" that he wanted me to try before he got his haircut. We used professional gel and a blow-dryer and everything and we were so proud that it stayed until the next morning.

Dallan on the other hand has been trying his own beauty makeovers. He got ahold of the markers and I found him with a mirror behind the chair in the living room, he was making his fingernails and toenails "just like mine" and his face "just like the grinch".

The boys

We took this cute picture of the boys in their matching ties a couple weeks ago and I just thought I would share.

Boy name ideas??

We have a pretty large list of boy names we are considering, but nothing is quite jumping out at us right now. If any of you have any good ideas out there, feel free to send some our way. Can't guarantee we'll use them, of course, but it would be fun to see any suggestions. We are not going on in the "D" trend, that was not really intentional, so no more "D" names. Before I was married I always wanted to name a son "Davis", but now that is definitely out for a couple reasons. :o)

I know some people wait until the baby is born to see what they look like and what name "fits" them. Since our babies come out looking like angry bowling balls for at least the first 48 hours (I hope that doesn't sound mean, I still think they are the cutest things ever!!), if I went along with that plan, our babies would have names like Bruno, Butch or Gus.

Do you think I eat to much junk food when I'm pregnant or what?? :o)

Derek newborn picture

Dallan newborn picture

Gotta love 'em!!!

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Something New

OK, I'm sure you all know by now that we're having another boy, so I thought I should actually post something new for everyone to look at. I have definitely been in a blogging slump lately, or actually more like an everything slump lately. Nine months is a LONG time, especially when I'm as big as a house already! Oh well, it's always worth it in the end. :o)

Here are some cute pictures of the boys we've taken lately.

Dallan likes to snuggle up next to Derek after Derek has fallen asleep.

Dallan chillin' at grandma and grandpa's house.

Derek showing off the ever popular 'pants on the head' look.
Derek hasn't lost his love for sledding and even tries the jumps now!

The boys have found a new love. Fingerpainting!! Well, any kind of painting, but this is mom's preference for them. :o)

And here's some Christmas photos......

Boy #3 on the way....

Yes, we are having another boy! Due May 26th. Dallan wants to name him Dallan. Derek is voting for John. Both very original. :o)

O Holy Night

I thought since Tom's birthday has been over for a while I should post something new. I'm sure he'll be crushed that his lovely mugshot is not at the top of the page anymore.

Here is a Christmas video I found that I just love, even though it makes me cry. Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Tom!

Happy birthday hun! I am one lucky woman! :o) For real, too.

A Shadetree of Our Own

After we put in our patio this summer, we quickly realized that it would be unusable a lot of the time because of the hot sun. So.....since I have some connections in the shade business (my dad is a manager and installer for a shade company, and I also worked for them for a couple years) he was able to get me a really good deal and build us this beautiful canopy system. We love it!

Six Random Things

OK, I guess maybe now I'm a 'real' blogger since this is the first time I've actually been tagged, so I'll do my best.

SIX RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

The rules:
1. Link to person who has tagged you: Darla
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

ONE: I am not a lover of pets. I used to have many when I was growing up, but somewhere along the road I definitely lost the love. I appreciate that other people love them, so you don't have to hide them when I come around or anything, but I don't really ever want to own any pet that makes noise or that I would have to clean up their poop more than a few times a year. Our one goldfish, George Plant, is perfect for me.

TWO: I am a daydreamer. I don't really daydream about anything in-particular or exciting, I just have to make a fairly constant effort to focus on my surroundings instead of thinking about this or that in my head. I believe this is now called Adult ADD (ha ha), but daydreaming sounds better, right? :o)

THREE: I am fascinated by all abandoned buildings, the older the better. I have no idea why, but I've warned Tom that some day when we are retired I might drag him on a trip to visit the ghost towns of the American West.

FOUR: I am terrified of any activity that requires balance: skiing, skating, hiking in steep places! I can't even walk down stairs without looking at my feet or else I fall. I've made up this excuse that there has to be something amiss in my inner ear (it's all in my head, ha, ha), but I have no scientific excuse to back that up.

FIVE: I am not extremely fashionable or trendy; not in appearance, home decor, etc.... and this is fine with me. Now there are some pictures of myself out there that I wish someone really would have given me a little outfit advice before I walked out the door, but overall it's kind of nice to be oblivious. Almost every time Tom asks me how he looks I honestly think he looks just fine (and then the kids at school are sure to let him know otherwise....teenagers!)

SIX: Someday I want to learn to play a violin, viola or cello and play in some kind of orchestra. I realize that when I have enough time and money to actually reach this goal I may have arthritis and palsy, but it's a goal nonetheless. :o)

Edward vs. Edward

OK, so a couple weeks ago Tom went on a school trip to Indianapolis for a whole week, and in the evenings after the kids went to bed I decided to indulge and get out my favorite book, Jane Eyre. I think it's probably the second time I have picked up an actual novel or anything like it since I had the boys. Anyway, I absolutely love that book, that is after I skim through the first 10 chapters, which move VERY slowly. After I finished that book(again), I decided that I should start a habit of reading a little more in the evenings instead of getting bored with whatever Tom is watching on TV (love you, honey!) so I decided to finally get with the "in" crowd and see what all the fuss is about the Twilight books.

I must admit I've never been very intrigued by vampire stories, but I did quite enjoy the book, and will probably read the rest of them soon. I did think it was a little sensual for a teenage romance, but maybe I'm old fashioned. :o) Somehow the high school biology class setting wasn't quite as romantic as an 18th century mansion, and I prefer the rough Mr. Rochester to the "pale male model look-a-like" character of Edward Cullen, but I am intrigued to see the movie coming out soon. Not as much as I am looking forward to getting the new 4-hour movie version of Jane Eyre for Christmas, however. The other 10 versions haven't done the book justice. I'm hoping this one is much better.

Halloween!

Here are my cute little cowboys! From the looks of the kids around the neighborhood and from others blogs, it looks like cowboys were pretty popular this year. :o) I was proud of myself for actually sewing something that they could wear (in the dark, at least). The boys had a lot of fun trick-or-treating, although once again Dallan got a little tired and went home for a break while Derek finished going around the block.

Craters of the Moon

Over UEA break we took the boys up to Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. We had a lot of fun! We mostly stayed in the area with the underground caves, they are amazing (some are a little to scary for me) and the boys loved it. We decided though, that if we were to go back we would make sure and bring the boys bike helmets to wear because of all the climbing on sharp rocks. I kept getting "no mom, I can do it myself!" and was pretty nervous about some of the climbs, but they were troopers.

Yes, Tom's goatee was back for a couple weeks thanks to him having to be a Siamese triplet with two other teachers at a high school dance (don't ask), but to my delight it is already gone again. :o)

More Free Color by Numbers

OK, I drew another group of color by numbers for the boys and thought I would post those as well if anyone else wants some more.

http://portraitsbymel.net/colorbynumberB.pdf

There's a few more girly ones in this group for the girls out there. :o)

Hallelujah!!

A monumental thing has happened in our home.....our boys are finally starting to play nice together! Ok, yes, they have been "playing" for some time now, but it was usually a five-minute activity followed by a lot of screams and someone getting bitten or shoved off the couch. But for a week or so now I have actually found them playing cars together, reading books together, even racing or wrestling for long periods of time without any major fighting. I LOVE IT!!! Hopefully it lasts. :o)

Happy Birthday Dallan!

I can't believe my baby is three! He is growing up so fast and is already starting to look like a "little boy" instead of a toddler. I talked him out of the Teletubbies cake that he had his heart set on, and tried a recipe from a friend's blog (thanks for sharing Maria!) for chocolate dipped cupcake lollipops. I think he was very pleased with the results. Neither my husband nor either of my boys eat cake very well, which usually leaves the rest for me, but they all ate these up.

Home Sweet Home

No, we haven't been gone anywhere, I just thought I would post some pictures of our house and yard before the summer is over and everything dies. This is our place. I really love our house, not that I wouldn't change a few things if I could, but it's a great place for us right now. I'm a little sad that most of the flowers in my flower pots have given up, but they've been taken over by the sweet potato plants, which I love, and so I think they still look OK.

Our backyard has come a long way in the five years we lived here. Tom built the sandbox a couple years ago, then the swing set last summer, and this summer he did the shed. SOOOO nice to have! I did the mini-garden and most of the landscaping stuff. Still a few more things I want to do. We also finally put in our patio this summer.
I think our biggest accomplishment, though, has been ridding our lawn of the crazy puncture weed that we have around here. The backyard was full of these things when we moved in. If you have them you know they are deadly, can pop tires and seriously injure your feet, even with sandals. After religiously keeping after them (and even using the shop-vac to try and get all the seeds), we have them mostly under control.

Happy Birthday Derek!

Yesterday was Derek's 5th birthday! I can't believe he is that old already (even though he looks even older). For the last two weeks he has wanted to go bowling for his birthday, and I was proud of him for being a really good sport when we pulled up at the bowling ally and it was closed for "employee Lagoon day". Bummer! We settled for Slurpee's and a movie and a promise to take him bowling later this week.

Derek wanted a Transformer cake, or actually Transformer brownies. Since I am too cheap to buy a cake, this was my best attempt. I've never professed to be a great cake decorator, but Derek was pleased, although one friend said it looked like just some masks, and another thought it was a Power Ranger cake. :o) Oh well.

Last week we took the kids to the Museum at Hill Air Force Base. That was really cool! If you've never been, you should check it out (it's free). There are tons of great planes and helicopters indoors and out to look at. The boys loved it and I came away with a much greater appreciation for those who have participated in air force battle. I could never do it.