September 2015 {Music Video}

Just wanted to share all the things we did in September with some music! The boys love this song from the movie "Cars" which they just call Lightning McQueen movie. Cute! Enjoy!

Highlights:

• Austin was admitted to the hospital for 1 night... Thanks stridor... UGH! 
• Lots of playground days thanks to beautiful weather
• Andrew turned 6 years old...what?!
• Aria was Baptized - thanks Father Wilfred!
• Alex got to work his own magic in the kitchen
• Andrew earned the "Smarties:award for knowing all his sight words

It was a great month (minus the hospital stay...)!!

Little White Dress

Dresses, and bows, and sparkles... Oh, my!

There are many special dresses that a girl will wear in her life. And, each serves specific purpose. You cannot wear the same special occasion dress twice. Then, it's not all that special, you know? And, specific colors can mean different things. Especially when you are Catholic. White is a very specific color that girls will will wear for 3 very special Sacraments: Baptism, Holy Communion, and Marriage.

I remember before we ever decided to have Austin (baby 3), that I knew I wanted a daughter one day (even though I was still playing the denial act). I kept seeing posts from friends and some of my favorite bloggers sharing their excitement in purchasing a First Communion dress and, then, realizing that there is only 1 more white dress to buy. I wanted that, too. I remember seeing all the excitement with my mom as we went Wedding Dress shopping. I remember the smiles from when we went Communion Dress shopping (though, I'm not sure I was super in to it at the time... Sorry, mom!). But, I do remember it.

And now it is my turn!! I have started the hunt for the perfect Little White Dress for Aria's Baptism. Only...there are a LOT of gorgeous Little White Dresses out there! A lot of beautiful dresses that are just perfect. I've narrowed it down quite a bit thanks to different price ranges. Some I came across had me saying, "Oooooohhhh!" and "Soooooo pretttttyyyyy!" Then I click on the link and nearly have a heart attack. I mean, really?! $800 for an INFANT DRESS?! Sure, I'm all about the importance of the Sacrament and all, but wow! So, yeah. There is a limit to the pretty. And there are some gorgeous dresses and the right price.

After two weeks of searching, I think I have narrowed it down to these choices. Also, I should point out that I don't do bonnets... I found the perfect thing to go with the dress which I'll share later. For now, ignore the bonnets.

Choice A

Cotton Christening Dress with Dobby Cross Design

Choice B

Circle Dobby Gown with Lace Trim

Choice C

Eyelet Organza Christening Dress

Choice D

Split-Front Christening Dress

There were a few others, but I had to cut it off somewhere. And, sure, I am WAY ahead of the game here since Aria will be Baptized sometime in the fall. But, with the moving situation and a kindergartner in the house... I just have to be on it here.

So, help a mama out! I know which one I am leaning toward, but let me hear from y'all! Which dress do you like?

Happy Easter from Our House to Yours!

Fabulous graphic from Catholic All Year

Happy Easter, y'all!! We hope you had a wonderful start to the Easter Season!! That's right....start. It isn't over, people! Easter has only just begun. So, let's get this party started!

Oh, and it started quite early, but it was well worth it. Our alarm went off at - gasp! - 5:30 am. I know, I know. What in the world?! We had a wonderful breakfast and happy smiling faces all day. It was great! We headed off to the 7am Mass. We arrived a few moments late according to the start time of the Mass...not late in when it actually started, though! And, there were parking spots...in the main lot. And, there were PLENTY of seats left. I tell you...best decision ever to go to this Mass for this very important day in our Church (of, course, we celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection at every Mass...but, ahem...). Anyway, it was a wonderful start to this day. 

After Mass Easter photo!

Once we were home, I had Jason get the boys out of the car while I set out the Easter baskets. Now, I may have said this before, but we don't actually say much about the "Easter Bunny" around here. I never understood what the heck a rabbit had to do with Jesus, but whatever. Now, the colored eggs...that, I can explain (if you are curious, ask!). Anyway, enough chit-chat...where are the photos?

Working hard on his new Where's Waldo book

Deviled Eggs in my grandmother's egg plate!

Yummy Herb Yeast Rolls on a perfect plate from Denise

Mama Update: 19 weeks and 1 day in this photo taken by my sweet Alex (3). Baby FINALLY started kicking for me this past week - yay! We will find out who this little person is going to be named on April 16th. Guesses? Boy or girl?? What name do you think we picked out? And, if you are one of the special ones that know...no guessing!! 

Blessed in our mess!! Another photo taken by Alex :) 

Really loves his carrot cake

I think you have something on your face....

Funny story... So, when they got their Easter goodies, they were each given a Pez Dispenser. Because, you know...what's Easter without Pez? Kidding. Alex later asks me, "Hey, you wanna pig, mama?" I was cracking up for a while with that one! A pig?! It's a PEZ, man!! 

Post-nap runaround

Post-nap runaround

Out of ALL the egg-hunting photos I took...this one above was the only one that was not blurred with excitement! Oh, well, at least they had fun and I got the "after" photo. 

As the day came to an end, the boys watched some Bugs Bunny...

I know.... Thanks for the laughs, Father Jaya!!

Around 730, the boys ALL asked in their own ways (some with words...others with their actions) if they could go to bed. Ha! Silly boys. Once they were all tucked in with lots of hugs and kisses, I got started on my newest read:

Thanks Father Muller! Get a copy here! It is really good :)

 We hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday!!

Currently. {Vol. 1}

Hopefully, I will get back to the regular posting soon. We've been running off of our Labor Day weekend high

Starting the boys off early with a Catan lesson

We still have been going at it with the homeschooling. Though, we have had to change it up a bit. I'll tell you about soon. Week 4 before the trip (letter D / make Way for Ducklings FIAR) and Week 5 after trip (Letter E / Babar: To Duet or Not To Duet).

This guy wants to walk SO bad... And, I'm ok with him crawling just a tad bit longer.

He turned 10 months old on the 6th!!

I got Jason to search the attic and grab my boxes of Fall/Halloween items. Don't worry. Halloween won't go up until October 1st. But, all the Fall stuff is out!

We are working on a reward system... And, I'm not sure how it's going just yet. But, so far, the fact that Lightning McQueen and Mater are on these charts seems to make a small difference.

The Homily from the past Sunday's Mass really hit me hard... My brother, Brendan, signed the papers... He will be serving in the United States Army after graduation. And, while I am supportive of whatever any of my brothers do, this is just hard. I question his decision all time - at least I have since I found out 2 weeks ago... And, I question what is wrong with our world... And why it seems like God is doing nothing...

But, back to the Homily... Father Muller told us a story (pictured below) and I realized what it is that we need to do when we know nothing else that we can do: PRAY. Just pray... And, while yes, that doesn't seem like much to those that don't "get it" or are losing faith in all of this, we are reminded that when we are gathered in prayer God is there....

Love that kid. He is going to be an amazing soldier.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." ~ Matthew 18:20 (outdoor Catholic Mass, Vietnam circa 1966) source

Road Trip - Adventures in Mineapolis (Sightseeing}

Note: If you followed our travels on Instagram, these pictures are pretty much the same. But, enjoy them just the same!

Wait! Did you miss Day 2? Click here!

Since we were able to make it a day before the rest of the family got it, we did a bit of sightseeing. And, oh my! It was a lot of fun. We drove over to St. Paul and we walked all over Minneapolis. It was a lot of fun. The boys LOVED it!!

 On our way over to St. Paul, I grabbed a picture of  the Basilica of Saint Mary. Just beautiful!

 The gorgeous Cathedral of St. Paul - one our must sees on the list. 

The Altar - just beautiful. 

 Looking up at the dome

 After learning about the organ at our church, Andrew was very impressed with this sight!

 On our way back to walk around Downtown Minneapolis, I had to make sure I took this picture... That is the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is FROZEN...something is just wrong about that.

 We learned how people survive here - the Skywalk System. I kid..but only a little.

 At the Well Fargo History Museum. A free place that is pretty nifty for kids! Alex loved the telegraph. 

 And the carriage!

 Once everyone was in town, we took the train to the Mall of America. Oh, yes. The Mall of America. 

Aren't those brothers cute?!

 The city train - Andrew and Alex called it the Polar Express! They thought it was super cool!

How about a sneak peek at the Mall of America before this post comes to an end?

Holy. Moly.

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Click here for Day 4 - Mall of America and the Rehearsal Dinner!!

This Week at the House: Aug 12-16

Taking a look back at this week's adventures...

{MONDAY}

I'll spare you the pictures... But, apparently it was a day of "nesting" for me. I cleaned like crazy (welcome to the 3rd trimester, right?) and organized for the upcoming preschool year, organized Austin's room/dresser/closet, and even got a bit of shopping done in between thanks to my Zulily app (which is really a BAD idea...I may need to get that thing off my phone). 

{TUESDAY}

Terrible pic, sorry. The boys' have been doing GREAT on getting their "school" work done after they have cleaned up from breakfast. Andrew and Alex are doing so well with using their scissors correctly (I hear Andrew's new teacher is pretty serious about scissor usage, so we are READY!). Alex now knows ALL of the ABCs - in order, in any voice (from monster-voice to quiet mouse whispers LOL) thanks to Andrew! We are DEFINITELY ready for back-to-school! We meet Andrew's teacher next week!! Then he starts the following week. Alex will start the following week. And this mama is excited! I excited for them to see their friends again and I am excited for a "mini-break" before Austin arrives in 11 weeks :)

 

And, speaking of getting ready for Austin's arrival...  Check out this cute onesie Andrew saw at Target.  LOL Yes, there is a reason... Andrew and Alex have both decided that orange is Austin's color and that his baby is going to be a fox. Andrew has an elephant named Tusker. Alex had a lion named Roary. So, Austin will get a fox (thanks, Nana!) and Andrew and Alex think his name should be Mr. Fox. Oh, my. I have very particular...and silly boys, don't I? I can't even begin to imagine what life if going to be like when Austin is big enough to play with them!

{WEDNESDAY}

 

Oh, doctors appointments...ugh. Honestly, I don't mind going every month. I get to hear Austin's happy little heart. But this past appointment was just obnoxious. I can't stand the glucose test. No the drink is not horrible. Just a really sweet version of the red Hawaiian Punch. But, you have to down it in front of the nurses while they ask you a bunch of stuff... Then you have to wait in the office for an hour... Then you get to hand over some blood. Fun. Not. I know it is a "good" test, but really? I have better things to do than hang out at the doc for an hour. The quiet was nice, but you know. I just think that there should be a better way to figure out if I have gestational diabetes or not. Someone get on that! Luckily, there is a Starbucks at the hospital, so I busted out of there as soon as they gave me my bandaid. The funny thing about this Starbucks is that I have only HEARD the espresso machines from the other side of the wall where I was holding newborn Alex. Sweet memories. But, when you are in a hurry to get back to your regular doc appointment, you have only seconds to take in that moment. But, the good news is that I passed that test, so yay me! 

{THURSDAY} 

 Look who joined us for breakfast this morning! Kristi is just a month behind me and today was her appointment, so I offered to watch her little man. He is such a sweet kid!! These guys were SO funny all together. The conversations that they have crack me up - mostly because I have not a clue in the world what they are talking about. So funny!

 We played with playdoh for most of the morning. We made animals and letters to begin with. Things got crazy after a while when they all start making telescopes and horns and such. LOL

Best friends forever!

 After we cleaned up, I let them watch some Super Why and such. Then giggles galore began. Look at these silly monkeys! I love that you can see all those little legs and toes - SO cute!

The sillies didn't stop at the couch, though. All of a sudden there was this group of little men taking swigs of Alpha-Bits cereal and yelling, "CHEERS!" Ah, well...this is the cutest little fraternity in the world, right?!

 After a while it was time for Braxton to get home and EVERYONE down for a nap. But, I ran out to the mailbox before and check out what Austin got in the mail! I guess when I joined some baby club from Fisher-Price, they decided to send a gift! Fun!! 

 Alex was sleeping for a bit and Andrew was being....rather quiet... That is sometimes a good thing or a bad thing. This time it was the cutest thing! He was trying on his Daddy's belt. I heard him say it was "time for work" once he got it where he wanted it. Adorable!

One everyone was up, we had to get ready for Mass - today was the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary (a Holy Day of obligation -  so it's a big deal for us). We picked up Jason from work and headed out to grab a quick dinner at Zoe's - yum! Afterwards, we headed back to Jason's work to get his car...

 The boys were rather excited that a train was passing by ans BLARING its horn more than a few times. This is the EXACT reason why Andrew says he wants to be an engineer like Daddy when he grows up. Not because he knows that Daddy does super cool stuff with computers and robots, but because he is under the impression that his daddy is a TRAIN engineer. He knows he doesn't drive the trains really - he just thinks that he must work with the trains by using those computers and robots. LOL So cute! Yes, we have tried explaining it, but he doesn't think so. Especially at times like this one where a train (or two) is just hanging out behind his office. Love it!

{FRIDAY}

Movie night! I wonder what will be tonight's pick...

And, apparently some more nesting ;) I'm working on all the games and puzzles we have just thrown in the hall closet.

Luckily, dinner has been cooking away in the crock pot since lunch time. Can't wait for our "Stuffed Pepper Casserole" YUM!!! No, this is not a crock-pot specific recipe. I just tailored it to just make it happen.

Y'all have a great weekend! Hopefully, there will be some painting going on... If not, I am sure we will be enjoying these wonderfuly wacky temperatures! It was 64 when I woke up this morning and it is only getting up to 73. Sweeeet.... 

Y'all have a great weekend!!