Another Masterpiece

When Sam turned a year old, we kindof started this crazy tradition of making crazy birthday cakes. I really should say Adam started the tradition because I really have very little to do with the whole process. Adam had no idea what he was getting himself into... now with each birthday comes the expectation of another amazing cake. He really does an incredible job!!!









Frog
Sam's 1st Birthday










Tonka Dump Truck
Sam's 2nd Birthday










Stegosaurus
Sam's 3rd Birthday










Elephant
Seth's 1st Birthday







Shark Attack
Sam's 4th Birthday





And, finally, the latest:















3 Little Monkeys Jumpin on the Bed
Seth's 2nd Birthday

This one was an experiment with a new medium --- Fondant. It took a while to figure it out, but by the end I think he mastered it. Very cute cake... once again. Good job, Babe!!!

I LOVE Craigslist!!!

The highlight of my day was cleaning up the new carseat I bought yesterday for the new baby. I figured since we have only 2 weeks to go I probably better get one. Actually I had one in mind that I really wanted and have spent the last several weeks scouring craigslist for it, but I never saw the ads in time. Each time I called on one, it had already been sold (for like $75). Crazy! Well, yesterday I found one and called within 10 minutes of the posting and it hadn't been sold yet - yay! And the best part.... I only paid $20. Double yay!!! It is in super good condition, and I saved myself (or rather, my husband) $160. I just love a good deal...



This is one way the boys spent their day... when they weren't fighting with each other :( I hope this fighting phase they are going thru passes very soon and they realize that it is much more fun to be friends. They really do have lots of fun together a few moments of each day.

Finally, we decided to make a little treat -- I was really craving something chocolate. So, I went to allrecipes.com and found a really great recipe... Rocky Road. It only has 3 ingredients; can't beat that! Here they are if you're having any cravings like me: 2 cups chocolate chips, 1 cup peanut butter (super chunk is yummy!), and 4 cups mini marshmallows. Melt the chocolate and peanut butter in a saucepan, remove from heat, add marshmallows, pour into greased pan and place in fridge until cool. The recipe said to completely melt the mallows, but I tried to leave them a bit un-melted cuz they are just yummy that way. Sam and Seth loved them!

Time is just flying by...

It's amazing to me that we will be packing up and headed to Wisconsin in just 5 months. We'll be there before we know it. I am getting very excited (and nervous) about it. This week I have been working on getting things in order for the big move. I've been on the phone with real estate agents, loan officers, moving companies, etc. this week. I have learned a ton about loans and buying a home. I know it is a little early, but I am starting to work on these things just so I have some idea. I think it's just a mom thing, the whole nesting instinct. I just want to know where we'll be in 5 months. Plus, I don't think I'll have as much time after the baby is born.

We have an appt. on February 24th to have the baby (5 weeks from today). It seems so odd to plan the day, but smaller is better, in my opinion. I think we've finally come up with a name for the little guy - and no, it is not an S name. I sure can't wait to meet him. He is so much more active than the other boys were, so I am a little nervous. How can anybody have more energy than Sam??? :0) We went and toured Renown, and it was amazing - A huge improvement from when Sam was born there. We will now have our own suite with pull-out beds for the hubby, 300 count sheets, and a European style shower. When Sam was born, we had to share rooms - not fun!!!

Well, I am going to attach a picture of my belly, just for Lisa (who's been bugging me for weeks). A couple days ago I told Sam that I couldn't wait to be skinny again and this is what he said: "But I love your big, fat belly Mom!" I'm still not sure whether that was a complement or not.

Me at 33 weeks (I am now 34 today). Another photo courtesy of Sam.
You'll have to excuse all the water spots on the belly. I had just finished the dishes and it seems as though I have a hard time keeping the belly dry these days.

Seffers enjoying the tub to himself. We got him a bubble maker machine, and he had a blast. Though I didn't think it worked that well.

Seffers not too sure about his lemon. So funny!

Mr. Potato Ears

Yes, we are still here...

We've just been a little busy. I haven't really had the motivation to put all my pictures onto my computer (it takes forever!) so I was finally forced to put them all on Ad's computer because I ran out of space on my memory card - on Christmas morning. Good timing, huh? Anyways, Adam's computer is much quicker at downloading and working with pictures, so I am finally doing something. Maybe I'll just use his from now on.

Here are just a few of the things that have kept us busy lately:

Homemade ornaments for all my nieces and nephews and various other very special people. These were so fun to make and are now my favorite ornaments. I made 22 of them, I think, and have another couple to make for a couple little boys to be born this spring (ours and Becca's).


Sam's Reindeer Project. Sam did a lot of work on these little guys. We made them to give as gifts to the great aunts and uncles and grandparents. They were so much fun! They're made from wire hangers, knee highs, and felt. (and lots and lots of hot glue)


This is what accompanied the reindeer project. We made tons of goodies, mostly things we could dip in chocolate so that Sam could do a lot of the work :). I found a new favorite recipe for cookies, using Andes mint chips (which I found at Walmart) - so delicious! Not too many of those made it onto the cookie trays.. ha..ha!! Maybe I'll post the recipe sometime. I actually went to Walmart the other day and bought several packages of the mint chips - just in case I couldn't find them again :) They were sooooo delicious???


These are just some wooden cutouts that we purchased at Michael's. Sam painted them up for the aunts and uncles this year. Didn't he do a great job? Another artist in the making, I think.


And finally, these are some monsters we decided to make a couple days before Christmas, when we finally ran out of Christmas craft ideas. I drew several monster faces and bodies and Sam picked out the different features he liked best, and we put them together. I was rather pleased with the results.

So, now I am officially out of ideas for what to do next. Any ideas? I have found that life goes much better when we keep Samuel as busy as possible with projects :o)

****************

We had a wonderful and white Christmas this year! We woke up to a couple inches of snow, which continued to fall throughout the day. It was beautiful! It just doesn't seem like Christmas without snow. We spent the whole day feasting and opening gifts. As usual, we all received so much more than we could possibly need. We are so blessed and really enjoyed each gift.

Fall has come and gone... & winter is ALREADY here???

Well, we have really been enjoying the cooler weather the last couple days; HOWEVER, I was in no way prepared for what happened this morning....


Did you all know it was Christmas! Boy, time really flies... for me anyways. I woke up this morning to Samuel bursting into my room, throwing open the curtains, and VERY EXCITEDLY proclaiming the good news that it was Christmas because it was snowing outside. This was a huge surprise to me, and a big disappointment for him too I am sure when he realized that there were no Christmas presents on this particular Christmas day, not even a Christmas tree. Well, we finally settled the issue of Christmas - I had to get out the calendar and explain to him that each square represented a day and that there were many of them before Christmas. The boys were just so excited to see the snow falling, there is just something so amazing about snow, and the seasons beginning to change. For Seth, this is a whole new experience since he was so young during last winter's snow falls.


Another great thing that happened today was that Sam actually realized the hugeness of a prayer. The snow quit falling soon after we decided it wasn't Christmas, and the poor guy was just devastated - not only was it NOT Christmas but it was also NOT snowing anymore. He was very upset about this issue and begging me for more snow, and I mentioned that it was God that makes the snow fall and there was nothing that I could do to make snow. He then, without any other prompting on my part, started praying "Please God, can you please give us more snow." I then had to explain to him that sometimes God takes a little while to answer our prayers, and that sometimes he says no, just like Mommy and Daddy. Not long after, the boys grew weary of staring out the window waiting for their precious snow and resorted to their bedroom to play with their cars and trucks. I noticed about 5 minutes later that it was once again snowing, only much harder than before. I ran to Sam's room and asked him if he remembered what he had prayed for. Sure enough he did, he ran out to the window, and was just amazed "Mom, God said Yes. He gave me snow!" So, he had his first real answer to prayer today. What a good day for us....

You just gotta love the wonder and excitement on their faces!

Oh, as you can also see, Seth got his first haircut. I am sure Gene will be very pleased with this news (and will hopefully get off my back about it... Sheeze! =) It was hard for me to cut off those beautiful curls, but I figured since it was getting harder to comb - because of the tangles - it was probably time. He looks so different to me, so grown up. It's hard to believe that he's already exiting the baby stage, but he's still definitely mommies' little boy. He is such a snuggler, he loves to be held and give "lovies." I just love it!

Fall is FINALLY Here!

I have been dreaming a lot lately bout fall, and the nice cool weather that accompanies it. I was so excited to finally experience some of it this past few days. In fact, yesterday we really experienced it and had a most wonderful time.

The boys and I headed to Ross yesterday morning to look for some new tennis shoes for Sam's ever growing, size 11 feet. Well, we finally found some, as well as many other little things - I have now officially began my Christmas shopping - Yay! (If there is anything special on anybody's Christmas list, you better tell me now or you just might be stuck with some random thing Sam or Seth picks out for you =). Anyhow, on our way
home I called Ad at work just to check on him, and he just happened to be heading home at that very moment as well. Another yay! An extra afternoon to spend together as a family (doesn't really happen so often these days).

So, we bundled up and set out for Fallon - Lattin Farms puts on a Fall Festival every Saturday in October. They have a great corn maze, hay rides, a cow train, build your own scarecrow workshop, and (our fav.) a Pumpkin Patch. We picked out some very amazing pumpkins this year. Sam's is so HUGE, it probably outweighs him by a few pounds at least. I picked out the double pumpkin, I figured it was as close to a pregnant looking pumpkin as I was going to find. I won't really go into what Adam thinks it looks like, but I am guessing you probably have an idea ;)

We also braved the Corn Maze again this year. Last year it was 2 acres and had several solutions; however this year, because it was Fallon's centennial year, it was 3 acres (they had to fit in the Fallon logo and several words) and only had one solution. It started out pretty fun. Sam loved being in charge and telling us which way we ought to go. But Seth lost his binky not too far in and everything went downhill from there. The stroller was too bumpy for him to sit in, he only wanted mommy to carry him, and he cried much of the way through. Carrying him was definitely a workout for me - he is a heavy little kid! Needless to say, Adam had us out in no time at all. It only took us 45 minutes to make it all the way through - I think that might be a record. The staff guys at the end were pretty impressed anyway.

It was nice and cool, though a little windy,and the boys just loved being out where they could run and get all dirty. We were all pretty worn out for the drive home, so we stopped and got some $1 cardboard pizza's (Totino's - Mmm! definitely the best!) and curly fries for a lazy and very late dinner back at home. Overall, it was just a very fun fall day!!!!

My New Kitchen Gadget

I love getting new things for my kitchen. I don't think I'm Martha Stewart or anything (not even close actually) but I do love to get new gadgets that make cooking more efficient. I guess I just love food, so anything that helps it taste better or cook better is my thing.

My newest addition is the pizza stone from Pampered Chef - it is awesome!!! I especially love the fact that it has handles on the sides. Thank you Micah and Daniela!!! It was delivered to Gene and Patty's just this morning, so we rushed home to try it out - well, after a nap that is. We had a very yummy garlic chicken and olive pizza for dinner. My plan is to try some bread on it next. If any of you have a really great recipe, please share. I really want to try something new.