win a washer and dryer!!

http://www.mymotherload.net/index.html

Good luck!

Latino Festival at Fort Gordon

We had a really fun time at the Latino Festival with Skyler and Melissa!

Homesick? Yes.

I have been feeling a little homesick the last couple days. We are going home the very end of June. I really, really love it here. But, you can't beat home cooked meals at Mom's and Pat's houses. I also miss seeing my nephew, Luke. I have never even met my little niece, Amelia. She is going to be 11 months old when I meet her for the first time. How sad for my girls that they aren't going to really know their cousins. But, I just have to be thankful for the life we have here. We have such great friends that I will miss terribly when the military has up part ways someday.

On a little brighter note, Leah has started to say I love you. You can tell what she is saying. If I say it to her she says "I love you too, Mom". How special and precious. Sometimes she will come up to me and wrap her sweet little arms around my neck and tell me "I love you, Mom". She always calls me Mommy except when she says I love you. So sweet. I think it is one of the greatest rewards of parenting so far. She is not currently wanting to potty train. So we are stuck in diapers because I refuse to force her. She will learn when she is ready. She has decided she really likes Sponge Bob too. She isn't allowed to watch the show. I don't know where she picked up his name even besides commercials. But, she likes him and wants me to buy Sponge Bob snacks in the store. Another thing she really likes to do right now is color and draw. She especially likes to draw with pens. She has learned her bedtime prayer and table prayer (the singing ones not the common table prayer). I am so proud it just makes my heart swell to hear her little voice singing along and singing the right words! She is starting to grow so fast. Some of her 3T pj's and dresses are getting too small. I just can't believe that in a few months she will be turning 3. Wow does the time ever fly!

Lauren is growing so fast. She now knows that socks go on feet and tries to put them on all the time. It is so cute. She walk/runs all over the place! She is so funny! She growls when she thinks something is funny with this funny little grin on her face. She has been growling since birth. Some babies make cute little cooing noises. Mine made growling noises. It is hilarious! She really likes to put things in a container and take them out, repeat. She is also starting to like to draw with sidewalk chalk. She only tries to eat it sometimes. She had her first ice cream cone today. We stopped at Dairy Queen and got Leah a dish of vanilla and put a little in a cone for Lauren. Boy was she ever happy! We are really going to have to watch that kid, because she LOVES her food! She is so happy all the time. I have been weaning her a little. She is only nursing about 2 times a day now (including the night). I don't think she is ready to totally give it up yet and frankly neither am I. Her pediatrician said to nurse her to two years old. My ob-gyn said until I am 20 weeks pregnant. I guess we will when we are ready. The LLL says it is fine during pregnancy unless I am high risk for early delivery. I am not so we continue until she is done. Every kid is different. Leah really wasn't happy with nursing when she started getting teeth and then went on a strike when I got pregnant with Lauren. Pumping at work for her and at home got to be too much and she wouldn't drink it anyway. So I gave it up when she was 9 months old. That was a good time for Leah and I to stop. Lauren will wean someday. :)

I am doing really well. The pregnancy has been going smooth so far. I am 12 weeks, 4 days today. I have been getting sick in the afternoons a lot though. But so far I have only thrown up a handful of times. Compared to my other two, this one is pretty easy. I should find out the sex early June. Yay! Really my list of baby stuff consists of: car seat, toddler bed and bedding for Lauren, mattress for baby, pacifiers, diapers and if it is a boy....clothes, blankets, crib sheets, receiving blankets. My good friend Jenny gave me all her little baby boy stuff including a nice bedding set. So we don't need much for clothes. But we will need a few things. I know Pat is probably the only one who cares about what I need to get! I really was thinking about buying a triple sit and stand stroller. But they are around $300 and I think we can do the double and put Leah on a backpack leash. Jeremy hates those things. But, hey....what can you do! I will have to have one if I don't have a triple stroller. My double stroller needs to be junked but it might hold through one more kid. It was the best $15 I ever spent at a garage sale! I had no idea it would get this much use. I am getting a little excited and nervous about having another baby. I don't know what to expect as far as epidurals here at the hospital. I had such a bad experience with Leah and such an AWESOME one with Lauren. We shall see I guess. Another thing is we may not even be here when I deliver. Who knows what God has in store for us. Only Him! So my prayer tonight as I tuck myself in is that I am satisfied with my life and where(ever) it may take us. I need to remember who is in control. I also am so thankful for the blessings of THREE children in our lives when we thought we would never even have one. Praise God!

I realize I wrote a novel tonight and I apologize. That is what happens when I get banished from the living room so Jeremy can do (watch) something very important! :)

Good Friends!

I was so excited a few weeks ago when I got a call from my good friend, Lainie to tell me she was driving down and bringing my friend Sarah too. They came this last Thursday night. It was a busy weekend but we had so much fun! On Friday we just hung out and caught up. Then Friday evening we went to Good Friday service at church where I had to sing. After church Jeremy dropped us off at the hospital for my ultrasound. That was exciting! I was measuring at 11 weeks and 1 day so I would be due October 30th. I was able to see the little baby's arms and legs moving around in there. That always makes me feel better! On Saturday we went to the Easter egg hunt at church. The kids had so much fun. Leah got to color eggs and make a really cute little craft. Then they had the egg hunt. My girls got about 6 or 7 eggs each. Leah's were mostly empty because she was picking up the open ones! haha Then after the big hunt we all piled into the van and drove into Savannah. We found a $3 all day parking garage and walked all over the city. We went to the historic district and the shopping strip by the Savannah River. After we had enough walking we found a BBQ place that had been recommended to us. Lainie, Jeremy and all tried collard greens for the first time. I liked them! They had the same texture as cooked cabbage and had a bacon flavor. Lainie didn't like them! I think Sarah was a little grossed out that we were even trying them. After dinner, we drove back. It seemed like it took a lot longer to get home! We were all super tired. We stayed up late and talked though. Then we had to wake up at 6:30 and start getting ready for church. The girls wore the matching dresses that my mom brought down with her in March. They looked adorable! They "found" their Easter baskets and both had a couple treats. Then we headed to church. There was a nice breakfast before church and we sat with a girl from the Moms playgroup and it was her first time going to our church. Her girls were so cute in their Easter dresses! Jeremy and I had nursery duty but my kids got to sit with Lainie and Sarah and actually stayed in church the entire service! I am always so proud when they last the whole service but especially for someone else! We had a full house in the nursery. I had to go sing with choir and I thought Jeremy was going to have to watch all the kids solo but Sarah G walked in and said she would help him out. Thanks Sarah G! After church we came back here and I started making dinner. We had ham, green bean casserole, cornbread casserole, mashed potatoes with ham gravy, and rolls. For dessert we had a cherry jello cheesecake, lemon bars, and cupcakes. I was happy that all the food was hot at the same time and it seemed like everyone liked it! I miss my Easters at home though. I have a whole new respect for my Aunt Becki. There is a lot of work in holiday dinners. I cut corners though because we were so busy this weekend. I was going to make petticoat tail cookies and broccoli casserole. But I just ran out of time. Last Easter we had a neighbor and his wife over for dinner and I made enough food for a crowd! This year we ended up having ten adults and 5 kids and I made less food and STILL had leftovers! I always like using up my ham bone in bean soup. Yummy! I bought all the ingredients for petticoat tails so instead of Easter cookies we might have to have Spring shape cookies. I have a tulip and a butterfly cookie cutters. Leah loves to help me make cookies. I usually LOVE to eat ham. It must be the pregnancy though because I wasn't able to eat very much. It tasted good, but I just couldn't eat much. We stayed up late again last night. It was so nice to have a little Michigan here! We just talked and laughed the whole time they were here. This morning they left at about 10. They were going to stay until early tomorrow morning. But Sarah is driving to Minnesota with her Mom on Wednesday. I am sure she didn't want to spend two entire days in a row in the car being pregnant and she missed her hubby. So I was sad to see them off this morning but so glad they came down. I hope the next time they come visit we can relax a little and be able to show them around here a little. I hope Lainie will bring her boys down next time. Leah would love to see Elijah again! Now today I am relaxing. I haven't done a thing. (even though there is a million things I need to do!) I am still in my pj's at 3 in the afternoon. It is nice!

So most of you know by now..............

I have news. I have BIG news. On Saturday I was getting all of my baby stuff ready to go back to Michigan with my Mom for my sister. I initialed all the little tags and got a little teary eyed thinking about my babies in those sweet little clothes. I packed it all in a tote (the 0-3 month stuff). I added a couple Halloween costumes and a snowsuit. I even put the little strawberry sweater and hat set in there. I was feeling really sad but super excited that my sister is having a girl. She has a little boy that is three already and having a girl was a nice surprise. Well, that night I had the strangest dreams. I dreamed that I took a bunch of pregnancy tests and they were all positive. In my dream my Mom came to visit and we told her then that we were expecting. Then I woke up. I thought, what a wild dream....can you imagine? One would have to be crazy to have three kids three and under! We stayed home from church on Sunday because Leah was still feeling a little sick. But later on we went grocery shopping. I was walking around Kroger trying to remember when my last period was. I couldn't remember. That isn't all that unusual because I have been nursing Lauren for the past year and haven't been all that regular. Well, I asked Jeremy if I should buy a test. He said no because it is a waste of money and I would probably start tomorrow anyway. I went over to the pharmacy because I just couldn't get that dream out of my head. The tech that was working said the cheapest test they had in stock was $17.99 and I should go over to Dollar Tree because they have them for ONE DOLLAR! Let me tell you, I will never buy a test anywhere else now!! So, after shopping I asked Jeremy to run over to Dollar Tree. He wasn't too happy about it because Dean's Bridge traffic is horrible. But he went anyway because he knew I would obsess if I didn't know. I bought two tests, $2! We went home and got the girls settled. Then Leah followed me upstairs to the bathroom where she very intently watched me do the test. It was a pee in the cup and dropper kind-very complicated but worth it! As I watched the results, I couldn't believe my eyes! I told Leah to run downstairs and tell Daddy to bring up another test. She then went to the top of the stairs and yelled at the TOP of her lungs "Daddy! Bring 'nother test!!". So Jeremy traunced up the stairs with the other test. I showed him the first one. We couldn't believe it. So we waited a minute for the second one. Leah had a very concerned look on her face the whole time like she knew we were doing something important. Well, the results showed up.......and.....drumroll......WE ARE PREGNANT!! I went into the clinic on post Monday morning first thing and got a blood test. She called me back pretty quickly. She confirmed that yes we were pregnant and set me up for an appointment on Thursday. The bad thing is, I really don't know when my last period was. I think it started January 6th which would make me 7 weeks along.

This pregnancy was completely unplanned but not unwanted. I had committed to teaching the preschool at our church this Fall. I am now going to continue to stay home with all three kids. I feel really bad that I can't teach. But, this is more important! :)

A Healthier Me

I am really feeling motivated today about losing my weight! I love it when I have a really good diet/exercise day! I have been trying to do little things to be more active. Every morning Leah and I dance. This morning we danced for an hour and ten minutes!! We had so much fun. It has been warming up outside a little too. So I am going to force myself to stop being so dang lazy and start walking. Anybody want to join me? We have tons of trails and tracks and neighborhoods on post just calling my name. I think my Dad's heart problems and diabetes diagnosis was a real wake up call for me. I have both illnesses on both sides of my family. I want to stay healthy for my girls and for myself. Jeremy and I have both been trying to drop a few pounds. So far so good! I am trying really hard to fill up on veggies at dinner instead of the main dish. Tonight was an easy diet night for me. I made manicotti and broccoli. Let me tell you, I HATE manicotti. Like I hate it with a passion. The texture is so disgusting. YUCK! I think I ate a cup and a half of broccoli and I only ate half of a manicotti. I am from Michigan and one thing we Michiganders like to have with dinner is bread. Well, I held off on that as well. I have been buying more tortillas and less bread. Some of the meals we have had lately...beef or pork stir fry with tortillas, mexican stuffed peppers (turkey instead of beef), homemade pizza with turkey pepperoni, baked chicken among others (recipes available). I think my biggest thing is portion control. Also, we haven't cut out all of the sweets out of our diets. Like today I had a couple chocolate chip cookies. I just think if I don't let myself have something that I like to eat....this diet will fail. I am totally staying within my calorie intake as well. Like today I actually have 825 calories remaining. I don't know what to do about that! I earned an extra 414 with dancing. Crazy! I have a long way to go with my weight loss. But I am on my way to a healthier me. YAY!

My weight loss challenge

I started with this program a few months ago and really started using it lately. It has really helped me. It is www.myfitnesspal.com. It is like Weight Watchers online but it is a free site.