Baking Cookies

Trevor decided that this year he did not want a normal cake for his birthday. He said that he would rather decorate cookies with his friends at his party. So I spent the morning baking sugar cookies. Jason and Reagan love when I bake - they circle around the kitchen, like the Hawk in our back yard, waiting for their chance to get something sweet to eat. I caught Jason with the camera:He promised that he was only smelling the cookie ~ I think we will set that one aside just in case!:)

Halloween week

With Trevor's birthday and all the school parties, it seems as if we have been celebrating Halloween all week. Today was Joshua's school costume parade/party and the twins and I went. They decided to be cowboys today - they are already picking out different costumes for the birthday/halloween/trick-or-treating party Saturday night - we will have to see - but - here are the pics:)

On our porch before we left - next to the pumpkin I carved this year (I never do a pumpkin but this year I wanted to try just scraping the skin off so that the pictures carved are illuminated by the glow of the candle:))

The twins watching the costume parade at school

Joshua marching in the costume parade - He was Han Solo

A picture of me before we left ( for those of you who complain that I do not post pics of myself:))

What are you going to be for Halloween?

What are you going to be for Halloween? This is a question that has been circulating in our home for quite some time now. Brandon, Trevor, and Joshua all have their costumes picked out and set aside (I am not going to reveal what they are going to be until after we have pictures - ie. after Halloween - check back after Oct. 31st;)). I will be wearing my traditional (meaning I have worn it for the past 2 years:)) scarecrow costume, with one minor twist to the costume. The twins, however, are having a very tough time deciding which costume, or combination of costumes, they want to wear. Any suggestions?

Another beautiful day in Ohio

After a few weeks of cold, windy and somewhat rainy weather, we finally had a beautiful sunny day today!! The sky was blue, the sun was out, and it was warmer than 55 degrees. That might sound cold to some of you (and I have to say when we first moved here that was definitely cold for us too), but it is perfect weather for this time of year! So... the twins and I went to the zoo!!

We saw fish, and sting ray...

We saw Penguins...

We saw Jellyfish...

We saw the Lions...BUT...

The Tiger SAW US!!

The twins were a little freaked out by the Tiger - it was looking right at them. The twins were quick to back away - Jason was quicker than Reagan (you can see Jay off to the left of the photo). I wonder how strong that glass wall is?

A beautiful October day here in Ohio!

Today is just a beautiful October day. The boys and I spent the day putting away the summer clothes and getting out the winter ones. We have already put the flannel sheets on all the beds because our nights are very chilly now. We also brought in the dresser and nightstand, that I am in the process of refinishing, and got the twins room a little more prepared for their sister's arrival. It was a nice quiet - but busy - day.

This tree in our front yard - made the day a little more picturesque

Today has also been Leah's best day since her attack. For those of you who haven't heard, our little dog, Leah, was attacked this past Sunday night - by what we don't know. The vet seemed to think it was a large animal that actually picked her up in it's mouth. Chris and I think it was probably a smaller animal that got her good or perhaps a night owl. Whatever it was, it did some damage. She has been traumatized. She is on antibiotics and pain killers, has had difficulty all week walking, has been very jumpy and quiet (she usually barks at everything that comes by the house and everyone that comes to the door), and has not been eating well. Today, however, she is getting around better, she ate a good bit of food this morning, and she actually barked at and ran, as best as she could, to the door when the doorbell rang today. She is still pretty swollen on the left side, and I know not having any fur on either sides has made her quite cold during the past week, but she is doing much better. I know this may all sound a bit silly - fussing so much over a dog - but she is my dog, and I love her. Look at how sad and pathetic she looks...

Project #1 for our little girl.

For the last week I have been working at recovering the stroller and car seat that I got for our new little girl. The stroller was a freebie, someone just not wanting it anymore, and the car seat was a garage sale find for 10$. I got the car seat because it is the same brand and color as the stroller and it fits together as a system - YEAH!! They are clearly USED, however, I am pretty happy with the recover project. Tell me what you think!

These are the before pics - the top pic is the fabric from the car seat cover I removed.

These are the after pics

Tree stumps

Last winter we had a tree fall down in our back yard. It laid there for a long time. The boys would climb on it (it was a big tree!), they would tear branches off of it, tear the bark off of it, and Chris would mow around it. Finally, last month we chopped it up and removed it. We had a huge bon fire with most of it (see Chris' blog for the video), but I did manage to get Trevor to saw off 3 stumps for me. What did I do with the stumps? I sanded them down, sealed them, and made a centerpiece for my table out of them. YEAH!!

IT'S A GIRL!!

Can you believe it? I do have to say that all along I have felt like this baby is a girl - not for any good reason though. There hasn't been anything really different about this pregnancy. I have had different cravings, but since we moved to Ohio we have eaten so different that I crave different things anyway. The only other thing that has been different about this pregnancy has been the heart rate of the baby. With all my boys the heart rates always fell between 130 and 145. With this baby, the heart rate has been above 150 every time. Yesterday it was 156. However, that isn't an indicator of gender, just an old wives tale. So really it has been just a weird inner feeling that this time it is a girl. I really would have been excited with a boy, too. I truly have the best boys on the planet. However, I have to say that this is all very exciting for us. It is going to be so fun to have some pink around the house. I keep wondering if girls are that different from boys - I cannot wait to find out! She was just beautiful in the ultrasound so I had to share the pictures. She had her hand, fingers, thumb in her mouth the whole time.

In this last photo she is clearly going for the thumb!! The ultrasound tech loved this pic!