Vacation in TN...final day

Vacation in TN...Hard Rock Cafe and the Finger Dance

Vacation in TN...

All Together

At a "GEM MINE"

Scoop the dirt from your bucket into the sift.

Swish it around in the water, and ta-da, gems!

WOW, look at that winner!

(sydney is less than convinced, she saw the owner put it in)

Family time at the Gem Mine.



Vacation in TN...family pics

Elijah loves his hat....like LOVES it.

Elijah and Mommy and the mountains. 

 Family

Family again



Vacation in TN...visiting a little petting zoo

Going to the Exotic Petting Zoo...

Sydney getting scared...first of the goats, then of the braying donkey.

Daddy and Sydney leave the zoo...

Elijah checking out the goats.

Elijah likes the "big" until it starts to follow him along the fence.

Eric, Sarah and Elijah

Mommy and Elijah

Elijah trying to feed the cat his empty cup outside the zoo.

of course, playing with the gravel pile outside the zoo is pretty fun.

Sydney and Daddy got to feed fish in the little pond...so they still got to see the "Exotic" animals.

crashing after the zoo.

Cousin time in Sheboygan

Sydney stealing the lime light from Elijah.

Kaemi and Sydney

Cousins...getting three kids to look the same way is really hard.

Sydney found a quarter on the beach. 

Elijah walking out of the mist.

Finding a feather.

mom!  enough already!



food goes in here

in case there was any confusion

sydney's smiley face

while I know she is at the age developmentally to draw faces, I've never actually seen her draw any before.

so it came as a big surprise to me when sydney came over and showed me her "two guys."

tag, it's your turn to not sleep

that seems to be the game the kids are playing lately.  which usually means that I also don't get to sleep either.

Elijah, a.k.a. Mr. 5am, has seemingly returned to almost normal.  He has been sleeping til at least 6:30, sometimes  7:30...*sigh* those are glorious mornings.

Of course, this means someone must take up the slack of keeping mommy and daddy tired, and this task has been dutifully taken up by Sydney.  We had a bad storm about a week or so ago (tornado warnings and everything) and we had to camp out in the basement for about a half hour...Sydney had a death grip on our little flashlight the whole time.  All that night and for the next few nights, we had really bad wind gusts that made all our windows really rattle.  Her bed, while next to the radiator for heat, is also located right under a window.  So, she came into our room a few times each night and one night I just let her camp out with her blankets on our floor.  This event has lead to an amazing amount of distain for her own room.

Every night, when it is bedtime, she insists on sleeping in mommy's room.  "I no go Sydney's room, I go mommy's room."  Last night she was up til 11pm.  She kept coming out of her room and sneaking downstairs where Wayne and I were trying to watch a movie and just enjoy some mommy and daddy time alone.  Tonight, we've spent over an hour sitting next to her bed just watching her try to fall asleep.  It is Wayne's turn right now cuz mommy was going to lose her mind. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Mr. 5am and Miss I-no-sleep-in-my-room-ever-again do not do their little tricks at the same time, but it be nice if everyone took a break at the same time. 

so, in honor of "sleep"....here is a little video I put together about a year and a half ago...another time when Sleep was very far away.

no, I'm not kidding

Yes, I know it is april fools...I cannot help when I have time to post. 

We had an ultrasound on March 28th.  We want to find out the gender this time around (didn't with Sydney and Elijah).  Well, during the beginning of the ultrasound, baby was soo wiggly that the tech could hardly get any good measurements.  Finally, baby fell asleep and cooperated....until we wanted to find out the gender.  Baby was sleeping with one folded up so the heel was parked right

in the way of everything!

The tech went back and did a few more measurements, hoping baby would shift and adjust.  Baby did move a little...one quick leg stretch then back in the way the little heel went.  thanks a lot!

We will be going back April 12 for another ultrasound...could not get great pictures of the heart and umbilical cord, so we get a second chance.

so for now,

It's a ............. stubborn baby.

what i've been up to lately

more to follow, but just a quick few pictures cuz I am so dang proud of how it is turning out.

 the front...twin size comforter/quilt

close up front

the back

close up of back: EVE's "plant" symbol and Sydney's hand print

close up of hand print:  Yellow is actual, green is a tracing she did of her own hand.

attack dog, with a built-in force field

that is what I need for my craft area....

or a lock on the door.

Thank you Elijah and Sydney.



the power of the shirt

so, these are from a couple weeks ago...behold the power of suggestion as displayed with:

the maternity shirt. 

I call them:

is she, or isn't she?

and

would you look at that glow!

taken on the same day a couple weeks ago by my wonderful hubby.  15 weeks at time of photo.  due Aug. 17, 2011.



(you have no idea how hard it was not to "suck it in.")  :)

and now: a temporary cognisance of location

so apparently you need to be pathetic enough to blog about your lost camera and then it will magically appear the next day. 

*sigh*  so ridiculous.

well, I am now experiencing the "perfect storm" concerning my camera...all the pieces have aligned and are in place!  The battery is fully charged and I have the battery charger, the USB cable and the camera...all in known locations.

proof of possesion.

a temporary non-cognisance of location

Growing up, dad never lost anything.

He would never say that we were lost while driving.

His keys were never lost.

Nor his glasses.

He was merely experiencing a

Temporary Non-cognisance of Location.

Well, I'm wondering when "temorary non-cognisance of location" becomes truly and simply "lost."

I've had a TNL (temporary non-cognisance of location) concerning my camera for a few weeks now.

I know, I know, I should really put a leash on that thing.  I've checked all the usual places as well as  a few not so usual.

~purse

~jacket pocket

~couch cushions

~behind couch (elijah's favorite "hiding place" for mommy's things)

~desk

~ridiculously mess craft and guest room

and some not so normal places:

~behind washer

~under couch

~behind tv

~inside the dvd shelves

So, that is why my posts have been lacking.  I like to have pics available for my viewing audience.  oh well, here are a few old ones.

my super crunchy cloth diaper from last summer...notice I am holding it at the bottom and it is able to stay upright.

Elijah's favorite "aat"  hat.

Sydney sleeping on the baby gym.  This is also last summer, Sydney has been nuk-free since December.  whew!

The bane of wayne's existance last summer, removing the clothes line pole.