November 28, 2008

Dessert


Butterscotch brownies topped with butterscotch & chocolate ganache and pecans and butterscotch chips! Very very rich, but absolutely DELICIOUS! Elliot loved licking the spatula with the leftover ganache on it!


Guess I really shouldn't claim this as my own though either... everything is from this site... Bakerella

November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving...

wishing you all a very happy thanksgiving! May you all have a wonderful day filled with wonderful things and people to be thankful for! I am so thankful for the many wonderful things that I have, which include but are definately not limited to my wonderful husband, my three beautiful children that are growing up so fast, this wonderful baby that is growing inside of me, a home to live in (even if it doesn't have doors yet), an oven to bake lots of yummy treats in, a shower to shower in, meals three times a day, a bed to sleep in, the freedom to worship God, my extended family, a car to get me from a to b, lower gas prices, yummy thai food, a computer to type on, and oh, the list could go on and on and on, forever and ever! I know that for myself a lot of days it is so easy to forget the things that I have to be thankful and just rely on the difficult things in my life, if only for tomorow I want to focus on those things that are blessings and try not to think about the difficult things!

We are headed to St Joe to celebrate with my dad's extended family, we have not celebrated Thanksgiving (or really any holiday for that matter) with them in probably at least 10 years, so it should be a great time! My kids are very excited!

Enjoy your day and be safe and healthy!

November 24, 2008

All is well...

Ultrasound went well this morning! Baby looks healthy and is growing normally. S/he is about 6ounces, I probably would have caved and found out if it's a boy or girl but thankfully the girl doing the ultrasound said she couldn't really tell. (I'm only 16 weeks, so this is totally normal). Heartbeat was right in the middle, giving me hope that it might be a boy!

The roads were TERRIBLE on the way home from Grand rapids. We saw multiple slide-offs and accidents. We did make it home safely though and I was thankful for that! I am going to try not to go anywhere else today though, except for the doctor and BSF I guess... so much for not going anywhere! Oh well!

November 21, 2008

Looking back...

I'm just looking back on pictures from previous posts with Elliot sitting next to me... amazing to me how much longer his hair has gotten in the past two months. I really want his hair to be long, I don't want a mullet and I don't want it shaggy, but I'm not sure I could handle cutting it either.

Another random Elliot thought... sometimes when I'm editing pictures or checking an order Elliot sits next to me and asks me who that is. I never realized how much attendtion he is actually paying though. We were just looking back on things and came across a session from September... he totally named the person. And it's not someone he would know otherwise or has seen since. Kind of crazy actually! He must be the most brilliant child on earth, that memory of his is just GREAT! (Ha... just kidding... I'm not THAT mom).

Can you even believe that it's thanksgiving this week???? I sure can't! The kids are off from school all next week, which will be kind of nice, no rushed mornings... ahhhh, heaven! I didn't realize that they had the week off though when I scheduled doctor appts (2 of them) for Monday. At first I was struggling to figure out what to do with them, but I think that I've decided to take them to the first one with me... the ultrasound. I think they will like it and really the older two are more than capable of sitting for an hour w/o to much problem. (Elliot is still going to a friends house).

Regarding the ultrasound... I'm rethinking my thoughts on not knowing the sex of this baby. I'm not good with suprises and normally find out the suprise before it happens, but I know that I'm normally quite disappointed when I do find out, so I'm not sure how this would translate in this situation. More than likely I will have another ultrasound in 4 more weeks, so I can always change my mind. I think it would be a bit questionable to find out right now anyway.

Here is a picture of me and my boys... (I look really old and wrinkley though)
and one of my boys chillin' out watching a bit of t.v. (Landon always amazes me with his patience with his little brother)

November 18, 2008

Pictures

Pics form the Chicago workshop I attended are posted on MeRa's website... take a peek!!!!

HERE

November 17, 2008

Aren't these the SWEETEST????

Can you see the pout on his face?
He wanted to go outside soooo bad, but I just could not do it...

Can you say Matrix...

ha! Matrix metering... now I get it!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dad today too!!

I am torn... I just resigned from my last creative team, I just have not had time to scrap lately and could not keep up. I'm sad that I had to do it, but to persue other things it just was not working!

November 16, 2008

Home Sweet Home..

I just peeked in on little e, he is sleeping peacefully in his new big boy bed. Looking as little as can be! So sweet! I had such an amazing time, for so many reasons. I have so many thoughts and ideas in my head that I need to process, but I can't do it all tonight. I'm trying to journal a bit so that I don't forget what I'm trying to process, forget the ideas or feelings that I have. I'm thrilled that the puzzle for the technical aspect of photography was finally completed in my head. I get it ALL (ok, so there is always more to learn, but the basic stuff that is so hard to get sometimes finally all makes sense). I'm so excited about some changes I'm ready to make, I'm excited to be true to myself and not what others may or may not expect of me as a photographer! Ahhhh, so much to say and feel and think, I can't wait to share more with you! But it will have to wait until another day, for now I need to get some rest, I'm exausted!

Oh... and in case you are wondering, I'm alive! Because I know you were all as worried about that as I was! :) (why or why do I let myself worry????)

November 15, 2008

We're Here

We are here in Chicago, just starting to get ready for our day. Last night we walked a few miles to the bar where we had a meet and greet, we got there early and didn't stay late. Definately took a cab back... it was quite a hike. We may try to walk it again this morning though! Our hotel is GORGEOUS! I don't have diapers to change or children to feed this morning... We will be at the workshop until 6 tonight and then group dinner, I'm sure we won't be out late though!

OK, that was a random, quick update, but that's how I feel right now, the thoughts aren't quite putting themselves together!

November 14, 2008

Irrational

My irrational fears are starting to get the best of me as I prepare to leave for the weekend. I won't go into what they are, but let's just say that I should probably have some anti-anxiety meds or something. And, I know that they are irrational, all will be fine. So... while I'm in this mood and was trying to find an audio book to put on my ipod I also came across the book "Last Lecture". I know this book is "old news" by now, but it still strikes a chord within me to live for today.. to not waste time, to make every moment count.

OK, off to try to condense my stuff so it might just fit in the suitcase I have, I am such an overpacker, but have literally got it narrowed down to JUSt what I need, lets hope there are no spills or anything like that... wouldn't be a good thing! Everyone have a great wekend, enjoy the cold weather (or try at least)!

November 13, 2008

Cuties...

I stole this from Kari's blog (Thanks Kari)... aren't they adorable!!! Mayci has on a nightgown that Bailey used to wear that I just love, and I love to see someone else using it! I think they were playing "pocket rosey" here! THe sweetest thing I heard today was when I was laying them down for naps and told E to say goodnight to Mayci and he said "love you Mayci" all on his own, I never get that from him, she must be pretty special!

November 11, 2008

Making thier lists...

and checking them twice!

Onions, garlic and other roots

Something about this pregnancy is totally different. I've had boys, I've had a girl and while I feel like this may be a girl, the symptoms I'm having are like none I've ever had. The headaches are occuring about 5 times a week (always bearable, just annoying) which I've never had before and the worst things is that I can not eat onions or galic... the taste causes mild headaches and lingers in my mouth (I know, GROSS) for the entire day and into the next. I'm tasting onion and garlic right now and have a mild headache and could not figure out why... just dawned on me though that I had an everything bagel for breakfast... with dried onions and dried garlic on it (among other things). Seriously, DRIED and I'm still suffering. I'm so glad that I can figure out my headache cues, but I'm not sure I can avoid onions and garlic (I LOVE LOVE LOVE garlic) until May. OK, I guess I'm sure I can if it means I don't have to suffer, but it won't be fun!

I was trying to lay down this afternoon and the neighbor chooses today of all days to come home from work early and pick up his leaves with his lawn mower, right outside my (and Elliot's) bedroom window. Lucky for him E is still sleeping, but I'm not getting a nap today, that's for sure. Probably ok though, maybe I'll actually sleep tonight!

This weekend I am headed to Chicago for a photography workshop and I can't tell you how excited I am! No kids, no husband, no one needing me. I love my kids (and husband) and love being needed, but a break is so what I need right now! We are leaving Friday afternoon and won't be back until VERY VERY late on Sunday. Crazy late actually, but hopefully worth it! The first night we have a "meet and greet" which was supposed to be at 7pm (8pm our time) but just got changed to 9pm (that's 10 our time if you having difficulty figuring that out). Then we have to be at the workshop around 9 if we want breakfast. (I guess that's 10 our time too, didn't think about that). I don't think I'll need Ambien this weekend, I'll be exausted enough to sleep on my own (but I'll bring it anyway to be safe)!

November 9, 2008

God's Timing


God's perfect timing has been sooo evident to me this weekend! I was down for a good part of the weekend and Matt was able to pick up the slack for me (without complaining of course!). At one point I was in tears laying in bed feeling quite crabby and I got a phone call from a friend that eventually had me laughing. God knew what I needed at that time and while I feel bad for the reason of the phone call, we were both calmed down (I think) by the end of the conversation and feeling much better. I got some good sleep last night (it's amazing what Ambien will do to help that out) and woke up feeling quite a bit better. I took a nap this afternoon with Elliot, something that the boy has not done since he was a newborn. He's never been a big snuggler when he's sleepy, he likes to go in his bed and sleep by himself (and he does that like a pro, so I'm thankful for that). But he cuddled with me for almost 2 hours, and I loved every minute of it! This afternoon Matt did something to his back and is now having a very hard time moving, much less picking Elliot up or doing much of anything. I'm just so thankful that I'm feeling better so that we are not both down and out at the same time. I hope that he get's better soon, because I like it so much better when we can work together like a team! But I'm so thankful for God's good timing in everything!

Picture post

Just some family pics we took yesterday that I liked!


November 7, 2008

Pumpkins

First though, this picture proves my point in the previous post about the monkey... he even goes potty!
We did carve pumpkins this year, it's just taken me this long to upload the pictures! The kids had a great time, "Kake" (as Elliot refers to her) came over to help us which was wonderful since I just LOVE to carve pumpkins so much! Landon pretty much carved his own ("Electric Bill" and Bailey helped for a little bit (Spider), Elliot even got to help quite a bit with his Mickey Mouse! Thanks Kate for all your help and patience!




Another Friday...

I really can't look forward to Friday's anymore, the mornings just are a bit to stressful for me.

Speaking of stressful, I think Elliot has been having a bit of anxiety lately. Our smoke detectors must be extermely sensitive in this house. They have already gone off 4 times, I dont think the smoke detectors in our other house went off 4 times in the 10 years we lived there. One of the times Elliot was sleeping peacefully in his room when they went off, the next time he was sitting on the potty (trying unsuccesfully to go) all by himself, and last time the poor boy was in his dark room trying to get a diaper for me (all by himself) (not sure about the other time). I rushed in there, turned on the light and scooped him up amidst his terrified screams, he just clung to me, I could not get his arms off me, I just took him to the couch and cuddled him for the longest time, I felt so bad! He is now very cautious about going anywhere by himeself and a common phrase out of his mouth is "not gonna beep???"

Another funny Elliot thing is this monkey he has taken in. I'm kind of starting to wonder about it... it seems to take on a lot of his fears or concerns. The monkey get's hungry, not Elliot, and then the monkey sits on a stool near the table and watches us eat. The mokey sometimes needs pipey (even though e never get's pipey outside of the crib), he will get the pipey and pretend to put it in the monkeys mouth, never putting it in his (wondering if this somehow brings him comfort). The monkey needs to get tucked in at night (even in the middle of the night) and even has his own blankie. The monkey cries sometimes, goes EVERYWHERE with us. It really is cute, I just find it funny that he is two years old and while he has always gotten comfort from pipey and nigh-night, there has now been added one to the mix! Oh yeah... and Bailey has finally come to the conculsion that she won't be getting her monkey back, "because Elliot would probably be pretty mad". Oops, guess you shouldn't give your brother your toys!

Matt and I are going out tonight, for the first time in 3 months or more. (I lost count). Last time we went out we visited home improvement stores which while very exciting at the time, really has no appeal to me now. I think we will probably just go out to eat, but that's fine with me, I just need to get out with my husband! Not sure what the rest of the weekend will bring, the leaves really need to get picked up, but with rain and snow in the forcast that probably won't happen for a while! Once again, the snow has to fly before we get rid of all of our leaves!

November 4, 2008

Babies...

The things kids say...

At dinner Bailey said... "Kids at school say that Obama kills babies that mom's don't want". OK, why are second graders talking about that?? I address moral things with my kids, but maybe not so bluntly. I guess it's true, although I did make sure she knew that he himself was not there murdering the babies. But the fact that I had to explain that to her, while being VERY careful so I didn't have to explain other things too, was very irritating to me!

I'm so ready for all this political stuff is almost over... and I just deleted the huge paragraph that I had to follow that statement. Have a good night!

I...


...am so ready for this election to be done!
...don't really think either cantidate is ideal, but am picking the best one for my moral values!
...voted (did you???)
...am anxiously awaiting a UPS package from Amazon!
...am anticipating a very yummy lunch on Thursday!
...am baffled by the number of headaches I have had during this pregnancy! Normally pregnancy is a time of relief as far as headaches go!
...love Apple/Pears!
...wish it could be this warm year round! Perfect temps!
...wishes all the leaves would fall already!
...love my three kiddo's (and the adopted monkey baby)!
...am trying to be more regular in my bible study time!
...am anxiously awaiting a package from Amazon! (did I mention that yet???)
...loves random kisses from my baby!
...loves the sounds of the kids in the backyard crunching in the leaves playing nice together!
...hate the thought of burning all those leaves!
...am thrilled to have basement doors all painted and hung! Now for the upstairs!
...just got word that my Amazon pkg actually shipped today!
...get to go to Chicago in a week and a half, just me and Becky and our cameras, no kids, no husband! I soooooo need this!
...wonder when we'll know!
...have just under three weeks til we see the baby again! Hopefully we'll get another 4d!
...really really really dread winter!
...am off to cook dinner! Enjoy!