Where have I been???

Hanging out in...



Baltimore.

And what a wonderful time it was.

Back in March for my birthday my husband got me tickets to see Trans- Siberian Orchestra's Beethoven's Last Night tour.  What a show they put on.



This is not our first time  seeing them.  We saw the Christmas show in Seattle, WA in 2012.  I just loved it.  They have such a great performance and there Christmas music is fantastic.  He thought it would be nice to see them again.

This show was great too.  (Although my favorite was the Christmas one).  They had lights and lasers.



Lots of 70's art and pyrotechnics.



We sat on the floor and could feel the warmth of the flames.

As wonderful as the show was my favorite part about our trip to Baltimore was...



the FOOD.

This pregnant mama loves to eat and we went to Chaps!  It is a Baltimore must go to spot and the reason why?



Again the food.  It has been on Food Network many times.  Guy Ferrari ate there and featured it on triple D, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Baltimore's own Duff Goldman.



Even the man I want to meet Adam Richman ate there on Man vs. Food.  I often think I am up for his challenges.  There were plenty of pregnant women there I think we all could give Adam a run for his money.

It was so good.  Very good.  Yum.

It was a nice time.  A nice break.  Especially since the rest of the week I have been suffering through allergies of course all the while being soccer mom/ baseball mom/ AWANAS mom just plain supper mom.

How is the baby doing?

I get this all the time.  Then usually followed by another comment:

• wow your brave
• better you than me
• are you having more
• this IS your last isn't it
• did you move
• you know how this happens right

There are the few who have been nice and truly happy for us but it is not the majority.  The comments and remarks people say to me, about me have been hard and hurtful.  My kids and family are excited.  They are very much looking forward to another sister AND hoping to still add another in the future.  The boys want a sister for each brother, I feel so lucky that we are being blessed with two girls.  Through all this I have felt more guarded of this pregnancy than any other so few picture I have took and only one update.  But as I enter my third trimester this week I felt an update was do.

I will be 28 weeks on Wednesday entering my third trimester!  But I consider it the end when I can start counting down not up.  So for me 30 weeks is final stretch.  Personally I believe that I am further along but ultrasound after ultrasound confirms that I am due July 25.  We will see.  I have had more ultrasounds with this one than any other, that has been so nice.  They also say this is the biggest baby I have carried.  By the looks of it she will be over 10 if they let me go to my due date which they assure me they wont.  By that time I will be ever so thankful.  Truthfully I will probably be such a pain in their side at the end they will take her early just to be done with me.

I have been busy.  I don't always have time to stop and think about being pregnant.  But when I do it is because I am uncomfortable, in pain, or having such sever heartburn ahh.  The more you have the more it hurts and the harder it gets.  There are still wonderful moments when I can feel her move in my belly.  That is always what I miss most about being pregnant.  That and eating what I want.

Speaking of eating I am huge.  I am weighing now what I delivered my last one at.  I would like to think the weight gain will slow down but I still have a good bit left and I am always hungry.  Since I joyfully became pregnant when my baby was only 7 months old I also started with some extra baby weight.  I am not to worried I am sure I will lose the weight just a bit slower.

I am very excited.  The addition of another little girl sounds wonderful.  I worry about Faith and her not being the baby.  She is so very close to my heart.  But I have worried about this with all of them how the others will feel and the changing dynamics.  Each time it has worked out wonderful as it will this time.  Every baby makes are family happier I could not nor would not want life with out any of them.  Five may be a lot but it certainly is not to many and most definitely not unwanted.

We are planning on this being the last.  But never say never.  I just love babies.  And I love the kids my babies have grown into.  They are amazing.  Such blessings!

I have a few ultrasounds and a few picture to let you enjoy.

So itty bitty.

I can't believe in just two weeks she grew to a little girl just swimming around.

Ah look she is sucking her thumb!  Just like my Smiley!!

Freaky?  Yup.  The boys loved this one.  Looks like she will love Halloween.  What should I dress them up as this year?

A little more normal from the side.  A sweet profile and her spine.  I am looking forward to meeting her!

Hello little baby I love you so much, we all do.  We few more months to go believe it or not.  I never understand how you babies fit.  I am always amazed how big I get.  But you are a miracle and that is part  of it.

Happy in Shades

My little girl is turning out to be such a mini me.  It sure makes me laugh.  She prefers her mom best, and I love that!  She sits with me and copies my habits.  She tries to do what I do.  The little girl she's my darling!

Today as we were playing she grabbed my sun glasses right off my face.



haha mommy now I got them!



And look mommy I look just like you!

Baseball, Soccer, Taxi Servive

Sports are in full swing here.  We are running all the time to baseball or soccer.  And all the time means it.  Many days both of them in the same day.

This year I put the boys in a different baseball league.  Last year they played in a local Cal Ripken league but there were many parts to it that I did not enjoy.  Plus I thought it was a lot of driving.  Before that league they played in another one that practiced and played at the park at the end of our block.  I thought that would be a great way for them to play and this pregnant mama not to go crazy.  Because as we know baseball goes on forever.   I would be atteneding games and practices all through my third trimester and would not always feel like it.  And how convienet on gas.  So I signed them back up for that league, PenMar.

You may have seen the ball fields before if you like Extreme Home Makeover.  Back in 2008 they did a house around here and they played on our fields.  You can read about it here.  And see more pictures of the very handsome Ty Pennington as the catcher.  This is there photo not mine.



Well after signing them up and paying a ton of money, I can't believe how expensive kids club sports are.  I found out they moved the practices and games!  Apparently I was the only one to find this out, everyone else new and looked at me in disbelief for not knowing.  The practices are not by my house nor are the games.  They are a good distance away.  It is a mix team pretty even of Marylanders and Pennsylvanians.

Our county is on the Mason Dixon line.  Why is that important?  Well...as the issue of slavery became more and more contentious, the people of the various U.S. states began to think of themselves more as living above or below a certain "line." The Mason-Dixon Line became a convenient dividing line between North and South.  Half of my kids were born below the line in Maryland and the rest north in Pennsylvania.  I say they fight like the north and south too.





Back to baseball, but you are welcome for the history lesson.  Since we are such a mix team the pratices are in another county and close to Maryland.  We live the furthest in Pennsylvania.  Ugh.  And the games are at the Extreme Home Makeover field, and why not, but not the close ones.  They used to use both to play games on. I almost thought about pulling them but did not want to lose that money nor hurt a team that was depending on not just 1 but 2 of my kids to fill its roster.  So we stayed.  And I drive out there 4 times a week at $4 a gallon.  But I am glad we stayed.


They have such good coaches this year.  I am grateful for the instruction they are getting.  The moms are nice and welcoming.  Both of these are different from last years team.


Neither of the boys are baseball stars and it does not look like that is in there future, sorry boys.  We all have strengths and baseball is just not it but they are having fun.  They are taking pride in the fact there team is undefeated, mostly due to in-field home runs.





Gregory at bat.(up)  He can play and often makes it on base.(down)





And then there is Evan.  





He takes a lot of pep talks and instruction on what to do.  But he is young only a new 7.  Plus he broke his finger the first week.  I am happy and surprised he is still playing.





He gives it a try, swings a lot.  But misses.  Sometimes that is the hardest part.  You wait for so long for your turn and then 3 strikes your out and nothing.  No running the bases just back to the bench then to the outfield where you try again next time.  







In between baseball games and practices we head north for soccer, 2 different teams.  Yeah, I am crazy I know.  But soccer is for there school.  They both play on school teams and I love them.  I think it is very important that they support there school.  And since it is a private school not a neighborhood one this gives them more chances to have fun and interact with their friends.  Many of them travel great distances to come to school so we don't see them outside of it and this gives us that chance.  Plus these moms are super.  I enjoy spending time with them and call them all friends, at least facebook does :-)


They are both better at soccer and Gregory he has got some real talent.  I love watching there soccer games.  Evan's are just to funny.  He is on the k-1 team.  He gets plenty of play time in the 30 minutes the game last.  He is actually one of the bigger kids and often plays more than his share when his brothers 2-3 team is short a player or someone gets injured it is Evan they always pull in and he plays well with the older kids too.


Gregory is just awesome and he knows it.  He is fearless.  He loves being the goalie best and it great at it.  i would not want those balls to come flying at me but he stop over 90% of them.  His skills have improved so much, the teams skills have improved so much.  They are now working together.  They have moved on past huddled around each other on their side of the field to now passing to each other and staying on the other side of the field.







Gregory is also a very fast kid.  They put him on offensive often because of it.  Today he scored the first goal and the winning goal.  I try to remind him that soccer is a team sport he did it with them.  He knows.  He tells me mom I try passing it to so and so because they are open and they can shoot the goal.





I am so proud of him.  He enjoys soccer thoroughly and he does so well.  It warmed my heart that every time they blew the whistle he would run over to his sister (next to the water bottle) and smother her with kisses and head nuzzling until he had to go back out. He is a great big brother to them all.


Sports make for a long day and fast weeks.  They keep the kids running and me too.

The Cozy Coupe taker number 4

Someone has found a new favorite toy.  If I leave the door open she escapes and runs to her cozy coup.  Still not walking she crawls across the yard hand and foot climbs in and drives away.



She turns the little wheel, beeps the horn it is all just to cute.  Smiley can't help but join in.  He is actually still to little to make his go by himself but he loves for mommy to come behind him and zoom him around the yard.  When I can't he like to just play in it with his sister or climb on top and use it as a jumping platform.  That one terrifies me.

My Smiley never ceases to amaze me.  Cleaning out the fridge the other day I pulled out a bottle of blue Mt. Dew.  I was gonna through it out  I gave it to my kids as a special treat one day just a little and realized that was a mistake.  But when I pulled it out they saw it again.  And no that does not mean they have to have it but they asked and it was rather early in the day so I agreed.  I gave each a little.  Smiley drank his bit and ran straight for the door, outside to the trampoline, and started yelling mama watch me watch me!



That little boy bounced and had so much fun.  What a sweetheart he is.  What a smiley blessing.  Even on a caffeine rush.

playing on the swing set

  When nice weather come we run outside.



As the chores pile up I push the kids.  When I get a spare moment and most often even when I don't.



We are outside everyday of the week.  Boy do I want a new swing set.  I have been battling getting one for some time now.  We certainly use it often.  I keep thinking the kids will outgrow it but then I keep having more kids.  I wish I would have just gone and got one a while back.



With weather hitting near 90's in April, the sunshine sure feels hot, but so welcome.  You complain throughout winter it is cold but when it hits 90 you complain it is hot.  People just need to not complain and put on their flip flops.  My little one are all ready sporting farmers tans.

Speaking of farming....  here are my big two heading off to the farm for the morning.  Yes a real farm.  Out here there are tons of farms and today the boys along with their classes are going to a 650 cow dairy farm.  Out here kids learn to farm.

S is for Shower

It is time for your bath!- mom
       
                No I don't want to now.- Smiley

                           But you have to have a bath now.  We all are getting showers.  It is shower day.
                           S is for shower.  S is Saturday.-  Evan





He certainly does not want that bath.  Nope not at all.




p.s. if anyone know why or how to stop blogger from squishing my pictures funny after I have cropped them, that is the only time it happens, I would greatly appreciate it.

A frightful experience

The week before Easter  was full of holiday activities.  One of the ones I wanted to do was get a picture of the children with the Easter Bunny.  Wouldn't that be darling?

The day I had dressed them up and planed to do it was the day of the library Easter Egg Hunt. They day they unknowingly dyed eggs there and got dye on them in the first few minutes.  I took them home right afterward and stain treated their outfits.  I cleaned them, pressed them,  put them aside, and picked the kids up from school Monday afternoon and went straight to the mall.  In the parking lot they changed.

We went in to see the Easter Bunny at a great time no line no waiting.  No pressure to take the fist snap shot because there are many other families waiting either.  And that came in much needed.

I forgot how much kids hated the Easter Bunny in real life.  They did great with Santa.  Maybe that is why I had blocked out bad Easter Bunny trips in the past.  They walked up to the statuesque bunny holding still and oh so large.  All were okay at this point and then he moved.  It scared the two big kids like a figure out of a haunted house.  The babies were absolutely terrified.  Smiley ran, Faith cried worse than when she gets shots.  It was horrible.

The big kids got over it and were able to stand next to him.  Brendan I was able to talk into it only for a second at a time to sit on an egg in front of then bunny and near his brother.  Faith, my poor girl, just kept screaming.  Stress levels for all of us were high.  All my kids are scared and some crying.  I am sitting the poor things on the bunny of terror squatting 5 feet in front of them yelling stop crying and smile.  Great mom moment.

I gave up I figured a crying picture is cute too, sorta.  We will look back and laugh, right?  Not yet.  For now when the kids are acting up and I drive by the mall I have found myself saying don't make me stop and take you back to the bunny!  Another great mom moment.

We won't do this again next year.  But for this one at least it is over and at least they were all looking.

Disney on Ice

I kept this a secret from my kids for so long.  Till the morning of basically.  I told them we were going to have a special surprise.



They guessed all kinds of things.  Many I wish were true.  But as I was dressing them I said make sure you ware longs sleeves it will be cold there and they pretty much guessed it then.  They said to an arena?  A hockey game?!  I was surprised they seemed excited about that.  But I don't them no, not a hockey game but it is where the Hershey Bears play.  There next guess was ice skating.  I neither confirmed nor denied it.

They were excited the whole way up.  (And slept the whole way back!!!)  Can't you see the enjoyment?



The picture is deceiving they were having a great time watching and clapping along.

The show was cute.  It went through 4 of the Disney movies, sang to them and told the story while ice skating.  There was a lot of clapping, which is what they are doing.



There was not that much of Mickey who is Smiley's favorite.  But he squealed with delight through most of it.



He was so funny we sat on either side of him to just hear what he would say next.  But all boys agreed their favorite part was Peter Pan



They just loved it.  It had swords, a pirate ship, lot of charters they knew well and a HUGE crocodile that ate Captain Hook!




A good time I am glad we did.  I think any later and it would have been to baby for the big boys.  I could have waited a little longer for the babies because 1.5 hours was to long for Smiley and Faith well she just like the clapping part.

Oh my Easter...

This Easter season was busy and felt rushed.  I think because it just felt like another party, another celebrating event, backed up to our March madness birthday month.  In March we have one or two birthdays a weeks and it is draining.  This year Easter was less than 2 weeks after my daughters 1st birthday.

I wanted Easter to be everything that it is supposed to be celebrating the Resurrection and having special family time.  The kids and I managed to have many special family events spread over those two weeks.  But sometimes it was another event in a time of over booked schedules with AWANAS, swimming, too much baseball, fundraisers, work, church and cleaning.  I need to learn to slow down.

The kids attended a great Easter Egg Hunt and dyed eggs there but they were looking forward to doing it here too.  It is funny they know my distaste for it and kept reminding me of the colors on the floor last year.  This year with record warm temps in March and April we were able to head outside to dye the egg.  It was still stressful but they had a good time.





Faith looked like she wanted to join in.



But then we gave her a bag...



and she tried to eat it.  Typical Faith.



They did great.  They only broke 2 of the eggs we dyed and the mess was outside.



They were so proud of their eggs they could point out which one was theirs a week later.



A hard part of this year was the older boys figured out there was no Easter Bunny, it was mom.  It was not by friends telling them at school but I had left all the candy in the backseat of the Subarbun and they climed in before me, before I remembered to hide the candy.  I was a little sad but it did make it eaiser to shop for the rest of the basket stuff.  But because of this I wanted to make it more fun and special  for them.  I do believe they enjoyed the glow in the dark egg hunt the best.



What a fun time.  We all filled these sparkly clear eggs with glowing pieces with much more difficulty and tape  than we had imagined.  Once filled I hid the first round.  They ran around like crazy finding these glowing eggs.



Remember the flower photos we hung them in a tent with icicle lights.  It came out so pretty.



It was a glowing oasis the kids played under with their eggs.  They also hung art they had made inside the tent.



We watch HOP twice.  What a cute movie.  It was so good it even made the boys reconsider there newly found reality, and that the Easter Bunny or E.B. is real after all.  They were so excitied  for Easter to come.  And finally the night was upon us.  The boys set out traps to catch the pink barrets, form HOP.  They were sure they could.  I was sure they couldn't.  I left piles of jelly beans on the floor to let them know E.B. had been there.  (He poops jelly beans)



I dressed the table in less this year than normal.



But with such young babies crawling around pulling everything I was going to stress over them breaking stuff.  So i just did not put much out.



The boys picked out this basket for their sister.  They bought all the stuff for inside of it.  And helped her eat it.  Not by her choice they were just faster.  So fast I never got a picture of them Easter morning with there baskets.  They all ran down grabbed their basket and ran off to have a sugar overload before church.

I dressed my precious children in there Easter Sunday best.  They looked darling for 5 minutes.  Then they each had candy and breakfast over there clothes.  AWWW!  Before church.  Before I showed them off.  Before I got a family picture.

We went to church made it on time and enjoyed ourselves there.

Dirty or not jelly bean covered and all my Easter princess was beautiful.





She enjoyed the candy and the boys had another egg hunt for the candy filled ones E.B. had left them.  They all had more fun.



Me I wore a white lace dress with a simple bow and lose long hair.  Oh yeah and crocs.  I was a little sad I did not get a picture with the kids.  I will though.  It is supposed to be beautiful and warm this coming Sunday I will pack up the kids redress them and try with out candy.