Let the Nesting Begin...

I have officially begun "nesting" in my third trimester.  We were thinking of driving to Louisiana today for Bart's grandma's 90th birthday party, but the kids were in a very active mood and I was not looking forward to driving five plus hours today and five plus hours tomorrow to come right back...especially since we're going home in two weeks for Easter, so we decided to stay home.

But rather than be unproductive, we worked our tushes off!  Bart installed our new fan in our bedroom, and we both worked all day cleaning and moving things out and dusting and vacuuming.  It looks SO GOOD, and now we can start painting and hanging curtains and all the fun stuff.  All this for a new little baby??  Well, that and the fact that momma just needs a change!

This afternoon, we were all hot, so we got the girls dressed in their swimsuits and decided to take them to the community splashpad.  They were sooo cute and sooo excited to go.  We drove down to the area, and it was closed!!  :(  We called the YMCA and they closed at 6pm too, so we knew the girls would be so disappointed if we didn't do SOMETHING.  So, what did we do...Bart ran the sprinklers in the yard, and the girls went WILD!

 Even Zoe got in on all the action.  Zoe likes to stick her face in the sprinkler and try to eat it.  Hilarious....and she was soaked.  Probably the most movement that pups made in a while!

 When the sprinklers ran their course, our next door neighbor Necoy improvised some more water action.  Takes so little to impress my girls.

 After some backyard fun, we ordered takeout Chinese food, and the girls had their favorite (and messiest) RICE!  Amelia learned how to say CHEESE, so when I point the camera at her now, she smiles and says CHEESE!!  It is SOOO cute with her little lisp.

Ella is a MESS!  She won't say CHEESE....in fact, she barely looks at the camera. Such a little stinker.

We had a great day...the girls went out easy peasy, and I spent the rest of the night going through ALL the girls toys.  We just needed to throw away the happy meal toys and the destroyed stuff, put some stuff away for the baby, etc.  It took FOREVER, but totally worth it.  My den is next on the list of things to organize.  Let the spring cleaning begin!!

7 weeks till baby Farrell #3 will be here, so we gots to start working!  I can't wait to see her beautiful little face.

Sisterly Love

This morning, while loading the kids into the car for Bible Study, Ella looks over at Amelia in her carseat and says to me, "Mom, Amelia is my friend?"  I innocently tell her, "Amelia's your sister, Ella."  She looks back at her, then back at me, "Momma, Amelia is my sister AND my friend." 

Awwww.....warms my heart.

Why my dinner was not what was expected...

I will be honest....I don't love to cook.  I liked to cook more when I wasn't pregnant and didn't own a business, but now, not so much.  I try to have a fish sticks, mac & cheese and peas night only once a week, but that still leaves me with six days out of the week to figure out what the heck we're going to eat.  The thing I really hate most is thawing out stuff...I don't know why.  I hate to wait.  I am a spur-of-the-moment kinda cook, I guess.  Anyway, this past week, I have been working a lot to get my embroidery orders done, and we've had take out quite a lot.  So, this week I decided to cook something every night of the week.  I had fresh ground meat and potatoes, so I decided to make meatloaf, homemade mashed potatoes and a veggie.  I love my meatloaf, and the whole family loves it too.  It's one thing I do well. 

Before Bart even left with the girls for the gym for an hour, I had my potatoes peeled and cut, and my meatloaf was in the oven.  I had to run to Hobby Lobby to pick up one piece of fabric, so I could just boil my potatoes when I got back. 

Baby Farrell had another idea though, as she continues to suck all sense from my brain.  I drive down to the Hobby Lobby, and as I go to grab my wallet and keys out of my purse, I realize I forgot my wallet at home AGAIN.  This is the second time in one week!!  What!?!1  I needed this fabric badly, so I drove all the way home, get my wallet and go back to Hobby Lobby to run my errand.  This set me back almost an hour.  By the time I got back to the house, I started boiling the potatoes and I threw the quickest veggie I could find in the microwave:  carrots.  I am way behind here! 

Soon after, Bart arrives with two starving girls...

Potatoes are not close to being done, so I served them carrots and meatloaf, except as I am cutting my meatloaf, it seems really soggy???!!  I still don't know what happened, but apparently, I didn't read the recipe correctly, and I put too much milk in it (for the first time in five years).  Bart actually spit a little of his back onto his plate during dinner...politely OF COURSE (yeah right)!, because it tasted funny.  And the carrots??  They were freezer burnt and tasteless too.  Ella put one in her mouth, chewed it, and spit it out as well - YUCKY!  It was a disaster!!

Ten minutes into our "meal," the mashed potatoes were finally ready.  Those at least were a hit, and even the girls, who rarely like mashed potatoes, scarfed them down (probably because they were starving!) 

A little sidenote:  Ella is all about helping in the kitchen right now.  If I am cooking, she wants to stir.  If I am adding items, she wants to pour them in.  If I am serving, she wants to serve. 

Since the pot of mashed potatoes were on the table, I decided to let her serve everyone seconds on the mashed potatoes.  She plopped a spoonful onto Bart's plate and then onto her plate, but the glob of potatoes didn't quite come all the way off when she served hers.  So, she swung the spoon back and forth to get it off....shooting a big dollop of potatoes behind her.....right at Amelia's face. 

In her eye to be exact.

I could contain my laughter no more.  I was laughing.  Bart was laughing.  Ella was laughing, and Amelia was screaming!  She started to rub at it, getting it more in her eye and all over her face.  I finally helped her wipe it all out, but it was just what this disastrous dinner needed to make us all laugh as a family.  It's moments like this that instead of crying (which don't get me wrong, sometimes I do!) I laugh...hysterically, and embrace the chaos and craziness that is my life.

Bad, bad mommy

Ok, I am officially fired from being Super Mommy Blogger! 

It has been a LONG time (since last fall) since I have posted on my babies blog, and I should be ashamed.  In all honesty, I have been EXHAUSTED!!  I found out I was pregnant in October AND my business went into full swing all in the same month, so the blog was last place on my priority list.  More time passed, and I knew I had a lot of catching up to do.  Then it kinda became that tee tee game....you hold it and hold it because you know once you go, you're gonna have to go all the time.  So, I held off on posting....and here we are 7 months later.  I have SO MUCH to say and update on here, but rather than trying to backtrack, I am just going to press forward with the present. 

With that said, here's a quick intro:

Yes, I am seven months pregnant for a baby girl.  We just had an ultrasound yesterday, and she is healthy and beautiful.  We have a few names in mind....Sophia, Olivia or Isla.  We really kinda know what it is, but I like to leave something for that big day!  Plus I have no clue on a middle name just yet.  It's fun to refer to her by a name though....especially when talking to Ella and Amelia.  They point to my belly and tell everyone that she's in there, and they like to put their hands on my belly and feel for kicks.  Since I know they have the attention span of a cocker spaniel, I fake some bounces and Ella gets so excited!

My embroidery business has really taken off since last August when I started.  I haven't even had my machine a full year yet, and I have put some major miles on it.  My friend Kim and I have done three craft shows in the Fall, and we did one this Spring in Louisiana, all of which were successful.  It has been so much fun and rewarding making cute little things for people, and of course, I love making clothes for my girls.  It gets quite busy and hectic at times though....especially with the pregnancy.  I usually was sewing at night after they go to sleep, but I've been so tired after they go to bed, I would crash too.  It's much better in this third trimester....I'll be happy to get my full energy back.  I'll need it!! 

Ella is in a mother's day out program called Lamb School at The Met church.  She goes two days a week, and she loves it!  She knows all the kids in her class, and most of her best friends are BOYS!  Ha ha...next year (September), both girls are registered for a similar program at Bear Creek Baptist.  Two days of mommy and new baby time a week....whatever will I do with myself??!!  Ella's working on potty training, and she's becoming such a big girl.  I love that she can speak so well now....it's so nice to communicate with her.  Most of the time.  She's an average two-year-old: headstrong, opinionated and bossy!!  But she makes me laugh every day with the new stuff she comes up with, and she's so beautiful.

Amelia is growing at a rapid pace.  She talks ALOT for a 16 month old - she's a regular little parrot, and it makes life a little easier to somewhat communicate with her too.  She tells me if she likes something, and has no problem telling me NO if she doesn't.  She has the most adorable head of light brown curls, and people talk about it everywhere we go.  She's loves her big sister, and they wrestle (no, not like cute little wrestling...I'm talking, legs wrapped around the head, wrestling), which is hilarious (and a bit disturbing) to watch.  She has the sweetest smile and personality, and she is as big as her sister.  Literally, they are one size apart.  She is so beautiful as well. 

Bart's doing great...keeping busy with his job.  He likes the position he is in now, and they had a good year, despite the Gulf shutting down most drilling (thank you, Obama).  He joined a country music band, and they practice Thursday nights.  It's definitely a different atmosphere for him, but he loves to play no matter what, so he's enjoying it.  He loves his girls, and they LOVE their dad.  I would have no business it if weren't for him, and he helps me SO MUCH with them.  I could NEVER be having a third child if it weren't for the relief he gives me as a momma.  I am so blessed to have him as a husband, and the kids are lucky to have such an active father as a dad. 

And we're quite settled into Houston now.  We love our neighbors and our new friends.  Life is pretty busy with 2.5 kids, so it's hard to get homesick, although we still do now and then.  Louisiana is just a quick five hour drive away though, and even though we don't go home as often as we used to, we still get to see friends and family often enough. 

Now, I am committed to get back to this blogging.  Baby number three is entitled to some blogging love, so I promise to start getting back into the routine.  Every day is a new story to tell, and I know I will write a book one day.  Hopefully this will help me do it.  Thanks to everyone who has been urging me to get back into it!!

Love, MamaFred

Picture Day

Today was picture day at school...doesn't she look like a little autumn princess?  Hee hee.

P.S.  Her hair was curlier this morning....yes, I actually took a curling iron to her hair.

Morning Playdate at the Zoo!

The weather has been absolutely fabulous for the past week or so here in Houston, so we couldn't pass up a chance to go to the zoo with some of Amelia and Ella's best friends.  It was Meganne & Mason, Kai, Anna & Nathaniel, and Nathan - the whole gang.  Ella Pearl was especially excited to ride in the wagon with Meganne, since she's used to being cooped up in the double stroller. 

We all met at 10am, and the weather was almost a little chilly.  The zoo was empty, and all the animals were eating and out and about.  It was the BEST time to be at the zoo.

Amelia is ready for the zoo in her little pink jacket!

Ella and friends had a great time brushing the goats.

Nathan wanted in on some brushing action!

Amelia bug taking a little snack break at the zoo playground.

After the zoo, we had a picnic in the park, and then another playground.

Amelia in her first pair of jeans....could you not just eat that up!?

Giggly, smiley girls!

The brat pack, attempting to all pose for a picture.

Ella's Fun Run

Ella participated in a Fun Run at her school.  For every lap she made, friends and family pledged her money to go towards the school.  Ella had a blast, and she ran 14 laps!!  The race took place in the atrium at the Met, and it was roped off with checkered flags and pom poms.  Parents and teachers waved and cheered from within the course, and Ella trotted along.

Here's Ella sitting with her class, conditioning for the big run!

Thank God for the pom poms, or else we never would've made it!

 

Every time they completed a lap, someone would holepunch their number.



Fourteen laps and we earned that water bottle!!



I just had to get a shot of Ella lined up with her class to go back to her classroom.  Aren't they so cute?!

This was just a shot to show what the atrium looked like all set up. 

Fun times!