Two Purchases

Tuesday when Parker was at school and Maryn was taking her morning nap I sat down at the computer. I caught up on some emails, checked out tickets to the circus (we're going Saturday night! I am very excited), and made two purchases. I have been wanting these art clips from Land of Nod for quite awhile and now that Parker has been going to preschool and actually doing art projects we need somewhere to put them. Why not the refrigerator you ask? Because Maryn pulls them off every time and usually ends up ripping them. So I thought these would be cute in his room. We got the stars.




That purchase led to this art portfolio that I found on a friend of Abby's blogs. I am so excited about this! I have let Parker's art pile up on top of the fridge long enough. And since the kids had some Christmas money I thought these two things would be helpful to have. So that's how I wasted my time Tuesday while Parker was at school. Much more fun than cleaning or laundry!

Fun in Auburn

Our trip to Auburn MLK weekend... pictures in no certain order.


Doesn't he have the cutest expressions??


3 babies in a basket. What will we do when there are 5?


Joseph built a great fire. Obviously Ford is enjoying it.


Nothing to do with the trip- just a cute picture of them sharing the chair together. Parker wanted Maryn to sit with him.


Parker packing to go to Auburn. Notice there are no tracks on his train table. They are ALL in his suitcase. I asked him to pack some toys. Won't be doing that again until he's a little older!

We went to Auburn this weekend to spend some time with Joseph, Sarah and Ford. They moved into their new house a few weeks before Christmas and we had not yet seen it. Wow!! It is beautiful. What I refer to as a grown-up house! We are so excited for them!! There is lots of room for Ford to play, tons of cabinet space in the kitchen that isn't even being used yet, gorgeous hardwood floors that Sarah has to swiffer all the time, a gigantic pantry that the kids loved playing in, a fantastic master bath that rivals the best hotels... I could go on and on.

We didn't arrive until 11:30 Charlotte time Friday night. Parker did not sleep the entire way- although he was really good. I blame it on the car seat. Maryn has the Britax Roundabout that we bought when Parker was little and she slept like a baby. When she moved to that car seat we bought Parker an Eddie Bauer car seat. Not a fan. It's not very padded and sits really straight. So do I cough up $270 for the Britax Marathon for Parker? Any suggestions? One other plus about the Britax is that they have removable covers that wash well. Hmmm... we'll have to see. It's a lot of money.

So we got there safely although very tired. Saturday the kids didn't even make it out of their pjs. We did bathe them and put them in clean ones for bed. Sarah's parents and sister and husband stopped by Saturday morning. Parker loves them so much! Clayton threw snowballs (yes, it snowed in Auburn!) at the window while Parker watched. He had a blast! And Maryn and Ford were so cute together. Maryn was actually pretty good about not taking Ford's toys. Probably too much to do.

Sarah made a delicious breakfast casserole and garlic cheese grits Saturday morning. YUM! I told her that if I had had the casserole every morning during my first trimester I would have felt MUCH better. I swear protein first thing in the am makes a world of difference. There was lots of other yummy food- Amsterdams turkey wraps, Momma G's, a chocolate chip pound cake... I'll let you know after my dr. apt. Thursday just how much weight I gained!

Sunday afternoon while the boys watched football and the kids (in what order I'm not exactly sure!) Sarah and I went to see 27 Dresses. So cute!

All around a great trip- made even better by the mini van. The room, the dvd player, the style (ok, maybe not stylish), the comfort... one of our best purchases ever!!

WAR EAGLE!!!

Dilemma Answered

Admittedly not the best picture but its like 30 degrees outside and I wanted to show off my t-shirt so I didn't wear a coat.



Happy Jennie!! I get so excited every time I get in Olivia.


Don't you love this t-shirt??!! My sweet friend Nicole gave this to me for Christmas. What a great find.

I know you are all on pins and needles to know what we ended up doing with the car. Well, we are the proud new owners of a Honda Odyssey, aka Olivia. Let me start a couple of weeks back. As of Jan. 4 post we had still not gotten our Tribute back from being fixed. The parts they were waiting for had come in and it was supposed to be ready to go that day. Until someone at the body shop scratched the roof and it had to be repainted. Of course! So Monday comes and they say that one of the tail lights is not working right and they send it to the Ford dealership to be looked at because they did all the wiring (why, I have no idea!). Tuesday comes and we FINALLY get it back.

Long story short we bought Olivia this past Friday night after we found out Mark had passed his exam. Yeah, Mark! He works so hard studying for these exams and this last one has been a real challenge. Of course timing is not always the best since the last time he took it was about two weeks after Maryn was born. Anyway, he now has his ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries). Way to go Mark!! He still has a few more tests until he's done but this is a good place to be- a little more security which is always a good thing. He works really hard, and I am so proud of him.

So back to my van. It is beautiful and has so many nice features. Parker loves that the doors open by themselves and always wants to push the buttons. Mark loves the navigation system that we barely know how to work. I love the conversation that's built into the sunglasses holder so I can see the kids. And the heated seats and all the room and that there are built in sunscreens in the kid's doors. The list goes on and on...

The kids love it too. (Maryn enjoying a book about construction vehicles.)

The Mini Van Dilemma

I still don't have my car back. It has officially been TWO MONTHS since the fire. TWO MONTHS. Ridiculous you say. Yep. Completely. As of right now we are supposed to be able to pick it up today but I am not holding my breath. We turned in the rental car a week and a half before Christmas when they told us it would be ready. We didn't really need two cars anyway over the break because Mark took the week of Christmas off. So our friend Juan drove Mark for a few days to and from work and the kids and I took him a few days. Its not quite as bad as it sounds because he is studying a little so we don't leave until around 9. But we will all be so glad to have 2 cars again. Having to load and unload two kids out of a Honda Accord is not fun. I know lots of people do it everyday but its a pain. And the car is just so low to the ground that I feel like I am going to get run over on the interstate.

Which brings us to this...



A minivan. With baby number 3 on the way its now a must not just something I have REALLY wanted for a long time. The dilemma is which minivan to get. Most of our friends have the Odyssey and I think that's what I am leaning towards. I know I will be happy with either one. There are little things about each that I like. The Odyssey has a dvd player that you load up front whereas the Sienna's loads at the actual player which will be hard to reach. The Sienna has a power lift gate in the back but you can only get that on the most expensive model which we are not getting. I like the outside of the Sienna and the inside of the Odyssey. So... if you have any input please let me know! It may come down to whichever we can get the best deal on!!

Obviously December was not a month for posting

So here is the main reason for the lack of posts...



Meet Baby Pizza. This is what Parker has called the baby since we told him that he was going to be a big brother again. Thankfully Pizza is a gender neutral name. This was an ultrasound from last Thursday, Dec. 27. I was 11 weeks and 6 days pregnant at that point and am due July 11. I have been felling really well for the past week now but have been really tired since I found out I was pregnant. Thus the lack of posts. My normal blogging time is when the kids are napping and now their nap time is my nap time. So there you have it. We are having another baby. 3 kids 3 and under. Wow.