Currently. {Vol. 5}

Enjoying:

Father's Day Weekend!

Picnic dinner at a local park

They all must sit in the big blue chair.

The first day of summer (per the calendar).

Eighteen25

 The last day in my 20s - gasp!

Also, enjoying my free birthday drink from Dunkin Donuts while listening to the Inspired to Action podcast.

Loving: 

I am LOVING the fact that we can finally countdown to moving!! As of today, we have 33 days until closing/move-in day!!! AHHHHH!!!! Stay tuned for posts on saying goodbye to this house and HELLO!!!! to the new house! We cannot wait to show you our new home!!

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(Ok, maybe it's not the final countdown... I do still have the first day of kindergarten and a new baby to countdown to. But, Ross on the keyboard?! I couldn't resist!)

Planning: 

Oh. You have NO idea. I just got my AWESOME Erin Condren planner in the mail on Friday. (psst! click that link and you'll get $10 off your first order!)

Do you see how pretty?!

One happy planner - me!

Oh, yes. All the school dates are penciled in. The moving date is penciled in. PENCILED. Key word. (Do they make erasable colored pencils? Hmm...) My mom got me the carry-all clutch for my birthday! And, I plan on getting some customized stickers for different categories. See? You have no idea. Erin Condren is fabulous!

Feeling: 

Excited!! I think this pretty much sums it up:

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Making: 

Making menu plans based on everything in the pantry, fridge, and freezer. We have 33 days left in this place and I can probably make it about 2 1/2 almost 3 weeks on this (of course adding the needs like milk and fresh fruits/veggies).

I'm not the only one making things around here. Here's something that Andrew invented. Basically, you write a word in one box and the thing appears in another box. I would buy that. Or write it in and then it would appear. Only, he told me that this is for fruits only. He is working on making a few other "chart machines" for other things later, he says.

Listening:

Listening to these guys play Super Mario Bros. is HILARIOUS!

Andrew picked a level that I guess Alex didn't want. So Alex went into the bubble. But Andrew had the fire flower, so kept popping the bubble. Then, at one point Alex was floating over a drop where Andrew popped the bubble. Alex yells at him, "YOU DEADED ME!!!!!"

Another level Alex had picked and they were both playing fine until one grabbed all the mushrooms out of a mystery box instead of just taking one and letting the other get one. Whoever it was happened to be on a Yoshi, so he ate him. And spit him out over a drop. Nice.

Finally (after a lot of laughs from mama), I explained that Mario and Luigi are BROTHERS. Andrew and Alex are BROTHERS. You have to work together to win the level, guys. They said they know and giggled, then continued stealing coins from each other and throwing each other over the drop. Oh, dear. So, silly.

Reading:

I am happy to announce that I am FINALLY done with Wizard and Glass. Y'all. I really would have rather travel back in time to the grade in which I was FORCED to read The Grapes of Wrath. I mean, it was basically the same thing. I went to add it to my GoodReads account and, apparently, others seemed to think the same...slow read...what on earth did we have to go into such great detail in the middle of the book for...etc. I am so happy it is over.

Who knew a 30 week bump made such a great page holder?!

On to the next read: Death by Coffee!

Watching:

Austin and I watched some late afternoon cartoons while Jason and the bigger boys took a load of boxes to the new house and made a trip to Costco. He is such a little snuggle bug...

That's it for now! Lots of fun and exciting posts will be coming up in the next few weeks. YAY!

Have a great weekend!!

Offering You The BEST Entertainment Around

Note: if you have trouble viewing, click the bottom right corner to view full screen. Or, click through to the actual blog...sometimes viewing through an email is tricky. Enjoy!

VBS - Expedition Everest

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Exciting times happened last week! Andrew AND Alex were both able to attend our church's Vacation Bible School. They had so much fun!! Andrew was really excited that Alex was old enough this year. He told him everything his little mind could remember about last year's fun the week before, then the day before, and then all the way to church the day of. Too cute!!

Wow...when did they get to be so big...?

Since I didn't volunteer again this year (maybe I'm a 2 on, 2 off person...So, I will volunteer next year!), I am thankful for the photos that were taken by volunteers and my handful of friends that texted me during the week. Thanks!!

Craft time!

Father Wilfred talking with all the kids (Andrew and Alex in blue and yellow)

Totally cheesing it when they should be practicing their songs LOL

Andrew was THRILLED that Laura was at VBS and was his game partner

 

I don't know the question, but Alex KNOWS the answer!

Last day celebration = lots of people and bad phone pics. I did circle them for you though.

The boys came home with some neat things, too. They made a banner that shows the different things that God does for us: He provides, comforts, heals, forgives, and loves us!

Alex's banner

Andrew's banner

Each day they learned a bible verse, bible story, and about the Saint of the day. They were also given a CD of all the fun songs they learned and memory buddy dog tags (which Alex was extremely excited about as Andrew told him all about the ones he got last year).

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It was a great week for them!! The boys were, of course, worn out by the time we got home.

Sleepy Alex

And, Austin and i had fun pretending I was a mommy of 1...almost 2. You know instead of 3 almost 4. LOL

Loves playing Legos at the books store and puzzles at home!

Just like last year (which I didn't realize until we were home), we ended our week with an afternoon at the pool with friends! Sorry, no pics! But I promise they had a blast!

Happy summer!

Wordless Wednesday

In the summertime when the weather is hot...

We have picnics and Popsicles!!

We (now) eat watermelon the easy way - stick form!

We play a lot outside!

We play with bubbles as much as possible.

We keep a close eye on those pop-up summer storms.

And we always watch for the rainbows to show up afterwards. If we are lucky, there might even be two!

Happy summer!

Answers For All Those Crazy Questions {Summer Edition}

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1. Any big plans for the summer?

Well, where do I even start? I will be 30 weeks pregnant on Saturday (whoa...I just had a slight panic attack...10 weeks until our daughter is here? Like...HERE?!). We are moving across town in the middle of next month. I am registering Andrew for kindergarten as soon as that deed is in my hands. Yeah, that's about all. Haha! Now we know why I have SO much coffee...

From Instagram: 2 out of the 4 with Mama <3 #29weeks #19months

2. What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?

How about that a bird brought the babies? LOL Kidding. My mom and I were talking about that the other day and I just had to share. I mean, really, though. How sad. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Mr. Stork really did bring the babies? I wouldn't mind one bit. Come on over, bird.

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3. What is your favorite amusement park ride?

If I was asked this question ages ago, I would have said roller coasters. However, my last roller coaster ride was that stupid Goliath at 6 Flags outside of Atlanta. Never again. All that is holding you in that death trap is a bar! A BAR?! Jason made us sit in the front, too. I swear I though I was going to die. I kept my eyes closed the whole time. Not kidding. So, I'm just going to stick to the merry-go-round...when I am not pregnant, anyway. I'm so old... ;)

4. What is on your summer reading list?

So far these are the current reads:

We all hear my rant on these Dark Tower books, so I will move along to the other ones. But, I am over half way through with Wizard and Glass!


Death by Coffee - I had heard this book title briefly in the Spilled Milk podcast the other day and it just sounded fun. I plan on starting this one over the weekend. Coffee? Mysteries? I'm in.

Hands Free Mama - This one has been on my want to read list for a while now. I can't wait to pick it up from the library later this week!

5.  Have you ever fallen asleep in public? 

I try really hard to not do this. I have a fear or something that I'll be left behind. I think I fell asleep briefly on a plane once. But, here's a funny one. I was SO tired after having Austin, naturally, that one time at Mass, I did fall asleep - just for a bit - while saying my prayers before the start. Luckily the organ music woke me. Hopefully, people thought I was just really in deep prayer... Haha!

6. What is your favorite smell?

I have a few. First, the stereotypical girl smell - Vanilla. Second, brand new baby all swaddled and cozy. Third, it might sound different to those that don't practice Catholicism, but the Sacramental oils at Baptism. Don't worry if you don't know that smell. We've got a baby baptism coming up in the fall. I'll let you take a whiff. Really, I probably should know what that smell is, but I don't. I just know that I always know that smell and I love it!

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That is all I have for now. Next week will have some more fun question and answers. Have a great week!

Currently. {Vol. 4}

Enjoying: Having my husband back home!

He was gone ALL last week... NOT fun. A day or two long business trip, I can handle. All week? Um, no thanks. Please no more of that. For a good long while, ok? Ok.

Happy birthday, Daddy!

Oh, yeah! I am also enjoying asking Jason if he misses his 30s and teasing him about it!! Ha!! It is so much fun!! Of course, it will come back to bite in just a week or so. I'm up next to turn - gasp! - thirrrradjghaljyyyyy. We just won't say it yet. I shall enjoy these last days in my 20s.

Loving: Our friends being out of school for the summer!! We have had so much fun this past week! Splash pad fun, impromptu treat outings, and more!

Planning: LOTS of stuff!! Thanks to Trello, I have picked out Aria's announcement, planned a rough draft idea for the end of August, and taken care of a few other things.

What I didn't plan for is my inevitable mini panic attack while taking care of and rearranging some of these to-dos... HELLO?! I'm 2 days into the 3rd trimester!!! Eek!!

Feeling: A mixture of excitement, stress, and other things. But, that's a 3rd trimester thing, I'm sure... 

All I will say on this matter is PLEASE don't stop praying for our buyers and us. I do hope I can share more information very soon!

Making: Personalized coke cans! One of our zoo days included an stop by the #shareacoke stand where you could personalize a coke can. How awesome! And, of course, since Coca-Cola is one of my top 3 drink choices, why not? Also, anything I have...I end up sharing in some fashion with Aria. So, yes, please!!

Awesome

Listening: Alex had a message from the librarian at one of our libraries last week... He was the winner for week!! He loved hearing this message!!

Scored a book and a bear. He and his favorite librarian named him LiBEARian Bear! Love it!

Reading: It is just not in the cards for me... I have been reading a lot of Magic Tree House with the boys lately. And I did start a few of the books, but eh. My rule is (sad, but true) that if the book hasn't grasped my attention by the 5th chapter, I'm not wasting my time. However, there is one book that I have to read...not because I want to or anything.

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Yes, we are still reading this series... Why on EARTH is it so long? Jason and I are reading these books together. And, no it hasn't grasped my attention, but he says that they are awesome books and all. I'm really trying to give these books a fair chance. But, OH. MY. GOSH. Can we just get to this damn tower already? It is so drawn out... I had no idea going into this either that there were 7 of these books (or 8?)... We should be reading Harry Potter instead... But, I am saving that for when I can read it to the boys. Anyway, I'm at the part (if you care to know or have read these books) where Blaine the Dumb Train has crashed into oblivion. Uuuuuggggghhhhh.. I swear. I am going to make Jason read all of Jane Austen's books or something when this is all over...

Watching: Farmer Jason, y'all!

This was so much fun! We went to the Summer Reading Kick-Off Concert for our new library near the new house and we had a great time! At first the boys were not at all impressed. But most of the kids acted that way. Once they all warmed up and the songs were going, everyone seemed to be having a blast! Glad we went!! Have you heard about Farmer Jason? He's pretty cool.

Oh!! I did watch (and finish) the first season of The White Queen and LOVED it!! However...I'm back to square 1... When does the 2nd season come out? I need another historical drama to watch... Otherwise, I'll just be re-watching The Tudors... Ideas?

I'm also watching my email and Facebook messages. I'll let you know if I see something worth mentioning!

Have a great week, y'all!!

End of May = Super Fun Times!

May 29th --> Back at the McWane Center!!

Hanging out at the massive train table

Vroom, vroom!! Alex loved the giant Monopoly car!

 
Ok, this next photo is for my brother, James!! I actually screamed - out loud - to my friend, Kelly, "It's Buddy!!!!!!" The McWane Center is sharing the popular toys from the good ole days called Toytopia and WOW! I just couldn't believe that James' sidekick was hanging out behind the glass!! How funny!! Jame took this little boy everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I so, so wish I had a photo. I have one in my head that I remember.... He was like...4 or so? He was wearing some rain boots, a fire hat, riding a trike, and Buddy was along for the ride. Hilarious. Love it!

It's.....Buddy!!

May 30th --> Just hanging around the house...

Loves watching his Daddy!

LOTS of board games have been happening around here lately. I am LOVING it!!

Sequence!

 

Andrew is such a serious little guy

Made his move - closer to winning!

 May 31st --> Open House Day! Where do you thing we all headed? Yes...McWane!!

Austin and I played cars and kitchen while Jason was running around with Andrew and Alex

Found Daddy! Loving the pic of Austin reading to the baby in the highchair. So sweet.

A very unbalanced game of Tug-of-War before heading back home

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It was another fun week here at the House. Want to see what is coming up for our summer? Here's just an idea...

Good times are ahead!! 

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Pregnancy Updates: Last week of the 3rd trimester!! Which is great and not great... More on that later. Anyway, lots of kicking, of course. Apparently, Aria is picky. She does NOT like it when I try to sleep on my right side. So weird. And, blah blah. I know... "Sleep on your left side when pregnant" bologna. Whatever. I think I may only follow the no alcohol rule. Anyway, Aria is not a fan of the right side. So, I have now become a left side sleeper...which I am not a fan of. But, she definitely lets me know about it until I move. So, yeah. Princess Picky Pants.

House Updates: PLEASE PLEASE pray that we will be getting an offer soon.... We should know something this weekend. We are hoping that it is good news.