Kid's First Fishing Trip

On Thursday Jason and I took all three of the kids out on his boat so that daddy the kids could fish. Jaycelyn and Noah have been on their grandparents pontoon boat before but this was a first for all of them on daddy's boat and Eli's first time ever. 

I, of course was a nervous wreck! The kids on the other hand were loving it! Although, Eli wasn't too fond of his life jacket and kept squealing, which is what he does when he's aggravated or tired and fighting his sleep. 

They looked at the ducks....

Noah waved and said "hello duckies",

Then, he waved and said, "bye bye duckies"

We stopped at Beeswax to get some minnows and Sandra brought out some bread so that the kids could feed the brim around the pier.

One nibbled on Jaycelyn's finger and she nearly jumped out of her skin, It scared her so bad she wouldn't put her hand near the water again....

We eased across the slough to throw the kid's lines out. On the way, Jason caught a little bass & showed it to the kids, they wouldn't dare touch it though....

We got the kids lines ready and threw them out. 

They weren't interested though! Instead, I turn around to see this...

And THIS!! NOAH kissing all over the fish!!!

I told him that was so nasty and to STOP it NOW! That's when he told me he was petting it, but he was really holding one in his hands poking it in the face and in it's eyeballs! Poor little guy!

I was so disgusted, plus all the other things that are probably going through your mind right about now! But, what could I say? He's a BOY, and that's just what boys do! ugh...

The kids were too interested in playing with the minnows that they didn't even try to catch any fish. That's okay though because it was a great experience for them and they had a blast! 

Wore them out too!

 

A Baby Shower!

Well, you know it's that time again for me to pop in with a random blog post! I do have every intention to keep blogging every time I start but it seems like something always messes it up! Hopefully I'm here to stay because I have so much I want to talk about! Yay You!

First thing, my sister's baby shower! I showed you the baby shower invitations we made for my sisters baseball themed shower here. We had the shower at the beginning of March and it turned out great! Everyone did a great job and gave every effort to make it a special day for Christian! And of course Conner too, who was blessed with so much by his friends and family!

We decided to go with a different idea for the shower, something out of the ordinary. Instead, more like an event.

For the guest book, we had everyone sign the front of this book, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame".

On the food and drink table we served hot dogs, nachos and cheese, cokes, gatorade, and water....

We also had a little bar with the cutest and tastiest "popcorn" cupcakes ever! Made by Danielle, one of our hostesses and a close friend of Christian's....

On the bar, we also served sunflower seeds, Cracker Jacks, Baby Ruth, Snickers, Gumballs, and Twizzlers....

This jersey was also made by Danielle and the adorable banners were made by Madison. Also a hostess and a close friend of Christian. One says Conner and the other one says Concessions....

 

Christian with Danielle and Madison....

The tables....

 

For games, we played The Price is Right, which is where everyone guessed the price of several items and the person who was the closest to the grand total is the winner. I thought that was a really cute game to play because of course Christian got to keep all of the goodies!

We also did the thread around the belly...

Our hostess gift...

It was a great turn out and we had a lot of fun with it! Game day wasn't supposed to be until on or around May 10th but Conner just decided he couldn't wait any longer and made his big debut on Wednesday, April 11th, weighing in at 5lb. 7oz. and 18.5 inches. ;)

Is he precious or what!?

Take me out to the Ball Game...

My sister Christian is due on May 10th with a precious baby boy! We decided to go with a baseball theme for her baby shower. I can't go into details just yet because it's a secret, but I can give you a sneak peek of the invitations that we made this week. 

I found these on the internet..

And we made our own from the idea..

The lighting is a little off because I took these pictures with my phone but are these cute or what!?

Staying motivated when it comes to housework...

I know that I'm not the only one that has a hard time motivating myself on a daily basis to do something that I need to do or want to accomplish. As a matter of fact, that is what I'm trying to do right now, so what better way then to write this post. I have a few tips that help me stay motivated and maybe they will help you too! 

• Look at the bigger picture, what and who am I doing this for? How will I feel when I lay my head down tonight and I've had a productive day? How will I feel if I don't? Besides, who else is gonna do it? Do you want more stress in the morning when tomorrows duties start to pile up on top of today's? 
• Mentally prepare yourself. Pump Yourself Up! Make a checklist for the things you need to accomplish or set new goals.....What is your Game Plan?
• Don't dread what you need to do or dwell on it. Like my husband would say, which by the way, is my BEST motivator! Try to see the positive side to it. Like, Thanking God that I am able to walk or that I have a house to clean, I have a family to clean up after, and even the smaller things like a very content and happy baby because there is a few rough days and boy do I wish I would've managed my time more efficiently when I was able.
• Try to keep clutter down daily. Make it a habit for everyone to pick up after themselves.
• Don't get distracted by the computer, tv, or phone. (One of my biggest problems, clearly!) It really becomes a problem when you allow yourself to get distracted by other's people's drama that will only bring you down.
• Turn everything off except for your favorite kind of music. Unless it's depressing! I always seem to get more done when I play Christian music. It always puts me in a better spirit too! As far as my kids go, I put a movie on for them in a separate room with a snack.
• If it's a pretty day, open the windows. Put your favorite scent in a warmer. 
• If you're overwhelmed, set a timer for 15-20 minute intervals and take breaks.
• Put shoes on, even if you're still in your pajamas! You'll be ready to run! Or FLY (Finally Loving Yourself) as Flylady would say! You can read more of her tips here and how to cut out CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) in your life!

I must get busy now! How do you stay motivated?

Birthday Idea

I saw a cute idea on Pinterest the other day that I thought would be fun. Starting with your child's 3rd birthday, every year you ask them the same 20 questions and see how their answers change over the years. Add a pic and then make a book out of it.

Since Jaycelyn had her 3rd birthday in September I decided it wasn't too late to ask her the questions now and continue on her next birthday.

So this is what she answered...

1. Favorite color? a sparkly polish purple

2. Favorite toy? my dollhouse

3. Favorite fruit? bananas

4. Favorite TV show? Bubble Guppies

5. Favorite thing to eat for lunch? peanut butter & banana sandwich

6. Favorite outfit? my blue bunny shirt

7. Favorite game? Candy Land 

8. Favorite snack? brown things with jelly in them (Frosted Mini Wheats with fruit in the middle)

9. Favorite animal? a cow

10. Favorite song? Old McDonald

11. Favorite book? Veggie Tales

12. Who is your best friend? Noah

13. Favorite cereal? Kix cereal

14. Favorite thing to do outside: play in my sandbox

15. Favorite drink? milk

16. Favorite holiday? Easter (hunting easter eggs)

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? milk

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cereal 

19. What food do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday? pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a singer

Meet Eli

Eli will be 5 months on the 30th. We got a couple of weeks behind on his appointments so we just went yesterday for his 4 month check up. His stats are:

Length: 27" (90%)

Weight: 18.7 (90-95%)

Head Cir: 17 1/2 (90%)

Let me start off by saying that this sweet baby boy is the best baby I have ever seen! 

He had to have 4 shots yesterday and after a few minutes of being upset he was okay, he was really more tired than anything! He took a little nap after we left the doctor and woke up all smiles. 

He's been having some allergy troubles for a while which causes him to stay congested a lot. Mainly when he sleeps which leads me to believe it's something in our room that he's allergic to. I tried Zyrtec and it didn't help, then we tried Singulair and it was horrible. He couldn't sleep and was very irritable and wanted to be held constantly. Yesterday, the doctor recommended trying Claritin so I guess we will give it a go and see if it helps any.

He is drinking 7 oz. every 4 hours with cereal. I know everything they say about cereal but I guess I'm old fashioned. I've given it to all of my babies. I think it really does fill their bellies up more. Well Okay, I gave it to Jaycelyn and Noah because they needed it. Doctors recommendation, but Eli wasn't having a whole lot of problems with spitting up but it was very acidy. 

I feed him his cereal on a spoon quite often now too and he does really good with it.

He sleeps in the bed with me the pack n' play beside my bed from around 8-9 pm until 8-9 am. ;) Really he does sleep in the pack n' play and comforts himself to sleep. He has a little cry that says, "Mommy, I'm very tired, can you please put me in my bed?" He only sleeps in my bed sometimes when I start to think about how big he is getting and I want to soak in every moment before it's gone, or like the other night when not thinking, I put him in bed with a short sleeve shirt on and when checking on him before I got in the bed, felt little chills on his arms. That's when I scoop him up from his bed and tuck him in beside me. I should've already moved him to his bed but I'm just not ready yet. Pathetic, I know! lol

He rolled over for the first time Monday night. He was completely on his belly but he still had his left arm tucked under him a little bit. I don't know if I can really count that or not? 

He chews on his little chunky fingers and it's the cutest thing ever! He has a smile that could kill and dimples that just melt my heart! His gums have been swollen for a while now and the drool is overflowing but no teeth yet. 

I've been trying to teach him Momma for a while now. He said what sounded like Momma twice when he was a little fussy and I'm not the only one who heard it. So I'll take it as his first words. hehe

Loves:

 His jumperoo. We got it for him a few weeks ago. At first he was a little too short for it so I kept a pillow under it but now he has jumped so much he's stretched the springs out and can touch the floor. Poor little thing is on a break now from it because he has blisters on his feet. He really know's how to get down! 

Snuggling with his frog binky when he's taking a nap or going to bed. 

Taking a bath. He always smiles and talks to me when I get him out and dress him.

 Watching his big brother and sister and listening to them talk and interact with him. 

 Talking and sitting with his Daddy while watching my every move.

Talking to his toys or anything colorful.

Eli's Birth Story

Hey friends! Sorry I haven't posted anything in quite a while! I realized the last post I wrote was from my 31st week of pregnancy and seeing as how Eli is almost 5 months now I thought I would start somewhat from where I left off and tell you about my birth story. First off, there isn't much to say with it being my third one. It was quick and everything went well....The End! 

Okay, Just kidding...

I was induced with all three. Not one of them made an effort to make their appearance on their own. I was induced 2 days after my due date with Jaycelyn, 5 days early with Noah, and 2 days late with Eli.

The night before my induction we took Jaycelyn and Noah to my mother-in-laws to stay the night and she was planning to bring them up when we got close to the big debut.  

Jason and I went home late, so of course I was up most of the night doing crazy things. I think it was about 2 am before I went to bed and I got up at 4am to get ready and head out by 5am since we are an hour away from the hospital.

Jason parked the car while I went in to sign in. After I got in the delivery room, I realized I was in the same one with Noah. I was praying that I wouldn't get the same nurse as with Noah! We won't go into detail, but let's just say, we had some major differences. I had already planned to send Jason out and request a new nurse if I wound up with her again. 

We did all the paperwork and they finally got my IV in after the third time of blowing my veins out. I was like come on people, "these are the biggest veins ever, how can you not get it right?" That was the first time I've ever had that happen! 

Turns out, I didn't have the same nurse. I had a wonderful nurse that I really liked! 

The Doctor came in at around 8 am. I was 3 cm dilated and around 60% effaced. He broke my water and they started Pitocin around 8:30. Then the contractions started! Like no other, I was having back labor with the added joy of Pitocin and it hurt like hell! I decided to have an epidural around 9:30 or so. 

After getting the epidural, my mom and sister joined us in the delivery room. In the waiting room was every one else in our entire family. You would think this wasn't the third go around. But, you should have seen the first! Can we say looney tunes very excited!? :)

We talked for a couple of hours and my nurse decided to go to lunch around 11:30. I decided I was going to take a nap so I turned the lights off and the tv on. Right when I did, the doctor walked in to check progress. Then he said, head's right here, it's time! My poor nurse had to leave in the middle of lunch to come in and get things ready. 

I started pushing at 11:49am and we met our beautiful baby boy at 11:53am.