Farewell February.....

Yay today is the last day of February......come on spring.....melt this snow and bring in the warm breezes I AM READY. Ohh wait I've been ready since the first snow fall. This also means that we have to give our 60 day notice tomorrow and we still do not have any additional news from Target.....grrr. This is REALLY frustrating to me right now. Ohh well....deep breath and one day at a time.

SO someone needs to make me go finish nesting.....that need for cleaning is now gone but I still have the living room to do and I'm not sure if my hips can handle any more furniture moving, curtain ironing, climbing on chairs, furniture restoring (yes I have literally restored every wood piece of furniture in our house) window washing or any movement at all right now. My hips kill and my sciatica is making it difficult to move right now. I am so close to being done but I don't think I have it in me to do the cleaning that I have been doing. Wow it was crazy I've never experienced such a feeling in my life. It was strange, weird, obsessive, compulsive, CRAZY but most of all AMUSING!!!

Kids are napping now and I need to get to it and get this done.

Another day closer.....

I have been nesting the last two days!!! I remember having an urge to clean and get things ready before Conners and Ethans arrival but nothing like this. I woke up the other day just feeling miserable with my cold. I got up fed the kids got my cup of coffee and crawled back to bed with the boys to read some books. About 30 minutes later, still feeling miserable, I got this sense....urge....neeeed.....to clean and I have not stopped since. I am leaving nothing unturned and I can't seem to stop myself. Even with knowing that I will have to do all this all over again when we move and it seems so pointless to scrub out cupboards move the furniture and wash and iron curtains. I am sore from moving things around and scrubbing floors and moving the fridge and washing EVERYTHING out. I have the living room left and the boys room then I will be done. I guess that to justify my crazy nesting behaviour we will at least enjoy a super clean place for a little while and I won't have as much to do when we move :)

The store opens this Tuesday and Neal is one day closer to the 16 days on being over. He literally leaves in the morning and comes home just to go to bed :( The kids really miss him and so do I. I guess it's a good thing that I  have been busy nesting. This week will also be busy and go by fast with Dr. appointments and such plus I will probably go to Madison on Tuesday for the store opening.

I lost the mucus plug about a week ago now and now with this nesting it feels like I am getting closer. With Conner I lost the plug 4 weeks before he was born and with Ethan I think it was only a week. I will know more of whats going on on Friday when I have my appointment.  I am getting so impatient now and so ready for April 5th to be here already. March is only  a day away now tho....yay :)

34 1/2 weeks!!!! 

Well I'm off to look at a couple apartments....wish me luck :)

 While the kids were busy playing with play-doh and making a mess (does anyone else hate play-doh mess) I was busy.....

listening to my morning show, enjoying a cup of coffee with a home made Samosa cookie and yes once again crafting.....I think I am really stressing because all I can think about is doing something creative while everything else seems to be falling behind. Check out what I made today :)

mmmmm....a little chocolate that melted from the cookie resting on the rim...hehe!!!

I hung up the pictures today. I'm not sure why they are just getting packed up soon, probably because the nails were already there from the other pictures that hung there.

Ohh and this is just another perfect example of why I am ready for this baby to come out. I am a clumsy person as it is but when I'm pregnant I am CONSTANTLY spilling things, walking into things (you should see my legs one big bruise) and when I cook I cant focus so generally things are either burned or undercooked or well don't taste all that great. 

Now I am snuggled up in our bed with the kidos waiting for them to fall a sleep so I can go and clean their room....it is a disaster and in desperate need of some cleaning. Washed their sheets today too so need to get those back on the beds. I found another apartment that is willing to do a 6 month lease but they cant show it till tomorrow so I rescheduled my appointment I had today and I'm heading to Madison tomorrow instead. It actually worked out well because we are still  sick here and would hate to drag the kids out into the cold.

Chicken Noooooodl.....

Do not underestimate the power of good ol home made chicken noodle soup. We have been living on this stuff the last two days. The kids are feeling much better already though still a little congested nothing a little warm soup can't clear up though :)

Conner loves any kind of soup but chicken noodle is his absolute favorite. 

Though it can be a little difficult to eat sometimes. 

And if all esle fails you can always use the noodles to make the alphabet on the table :) 

And Mr. independent gobbles the stuff up as well even if it means that half of it is all around him but the thinner the noodles the better :) 

Side note - Please try and ignore the big stain on the chair I just can't keep up these days and these chairs just simply need to go!!!

 Yeah why not just use your fingers baby.

Yup dig right in!!!

So I finally finished the PICTURES for the baby's room today not that we will be able to use them. My life can now go on as I have devoted every free min to them lately. I am feeling much better about the move now that we will not have to move till the end of April (after the baby's arrival and not the week of the due date) and Target is relocating us which is a big help. I am having a REALLY hard time finding a place that is willing to do a 6 month lease. So far after calling 10 places (and that's just today) I have found only ONE place that is willing to do a short term lease with a higher monthly rent. It's a 2 bedroom 800 square feet but they will let us in with 3 kids :) It will be TIGHT but it's summertime and we will be outside and they have a pool too which would be nice. TEMPORARY is what I would have to remind myself every day!!! I'm going to look at it tomorrow....I'm really hoping it's clean and in a decent area ohh and it has a washer and dryer IN THE UNIT.....not easy to come by I'm finding out in the Madison area.

Neal has been leaving before the kids wake up and coming home when they are getting ready for bed :( this 16 day stretch is going to take a toll on all of us. We miss having at least one meal with him. Ohh well this too shall pass!!! 

Now that I'm done with the pictures I need to get this house back in order :)

I finished the 2nd PICTURE and also posted the COOKIE recipe so take a look!!!

Monday schmunday......

This weather SUCKS!!! I don;t mind gloomy days but I hate gloomy cold days!!! Neal starts his 16 days on today :p that's how we all feel about that!!! Haha great attitude this morning huh. Might have something to do with us all being sick except Neal so far. I really really hope that he does not get this nasty bug with no time to rest. Conner was up most the night with nightmares and just not being able to breathe :( poor baby!!!

 We will be doing a whole lot of nothing today. I want to finish the 2nd picture for the baby's room. I did the border yesterday while the boys napped so all I have to do is the actual picture which does not take nearly as long. We will be eating a whole lot of soup today too. Home made chicken noodle....can't wait!!!

The kids are being punished right now.....hehe!!! ALL their toys were put away last week when Neal was off. Trying to teach them to appreciate their things a little more and take care of them better. They have to ask for a toy for the next two weeks and when they are done playing with it they have to put it away to get a different one.

Well that's all that I have for today. I did make home made Girls Scout Samona cookies yesterday....hoping I can get the recipe posted today!!! Seriously delicious!!!

1 down 2 to go....

I finished one of 3 PICTURES today! They match the crib bedding.....I wish I had not bothered though because if we end up moving the 3 boys will most likely be in one room since most places that we have been looking at are 2 bedrooms. Since I started I do want to finish tho!!!

sick baby....

Poor Ethan is not interested in much this morning. He just wants to lay in bed and watch " doobie doobie do" I love it how he says it!!!  I hate it when my babies are sick:(

Flashback...

When I got my little camera out this was still on it. Hehehe Conner was a little over 2 in his little cast :) in the corner of the room you can see all the baby things we were getting ready for Ethan's arrival and yes the move to the apartment we are in right now.

Need to vent.....

Neal's 1st day at the new store was yesterday and after the LONG day at work and the LONG drive and getting gas in the van he is back to moving again. Ughhhh I just don't even want to THINK about moving right now it literally makes me sick. This baby is due in 6 weeks and I just don't have it in me to pack everything up and unpack then do it all over again in 6 months OR LESS!!! I am so done moving and never knowing what's going to happen next and always wondering when is the next move. I WANT TO SETTLE DOWN, I want to buy a house and fix it FOR US or rent if that's what we have to do. I know I just feel like this because ONCE AGAIN it's all happening at the wrong time right when I want to enjoy my little baby. Ughhh so I am back to looking for a place. I e-mailed a few places last night hopefully we can work something out. Neal is working for the next 2 WEEKS straight with no days off which is just going to make this even harder to do but such is life. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr......I hope I can feel better about this as the day goes on :(Ohh and to make things worst we got a letter from our landlord saying that if we want to stick to a month to month lease our rent WILL GO UP.....frustrating.

Yesterday I managed to somehow get all my chores done before my favorite morning show was over probably because I was up at 4 and could not sleep. I decided to take the kids to the park but when we made it outside it was REALLY windy and Ethan hates the wind and would not even leave the garage so they just played by the house riding their bikes.

It has happened the thing that we have been trying SOO SO SOOOO hard to avoid. Ethan got this bug that has been going around. He is running a fever and is SO congested and crabby. Conner is not yet showing signs of being sick but as always I am sure thins thing will make it's rounds....that's all we need right now.

I did start a really fun project yesterday when the kids were napping which now I am really regretting doing but stay tuned for pictures.

A week in a blink of an eye......

If Neal could stay home for the next 6 weeks then this baby would be here much quicker or so it would seem. This week has gone by in a blink of an eye and Neal starts at the new store tomorrow :( We have changed our minds about moving (or so we think for right now but if we find something reasonable in the next 2 weeks we still may move) after looking into prices for the Madison area and what you get for the money we decided that financially it would not make sense for us to move. Even more so since we can not commit to more than a 6 month lease and for most places you have to come up with 1st months rent and then a deposit not to mention the cost of the move and the hassle of it all plus short term leases cost more monthly. It's going to be very straining for him for the next 6 months, we just hope that the move South can be expedited. 

I still have not gotten my adapter for my computer....grrr....I was really hoping it would be in the mail when we came home today but no such luck :( Neal is letting me use his computer tho so that was nice of him!!

On with our glorious week!!! So sad it's already over!!! Starting with last Friday I had a surprise night planed for Neal but he ended up having Friday off work so I had to reveal it to him a bit early. We dropped the kids off at my sisters house for the night Friday night and went out to supper ALL BY OURSELVES (originally I was going to have a romantic dinner ready for him when he came home from work Friday). It was fabulous though a little strange not to get the kids menu and coloring crayons when we were seated. We stopped at a store and got ourselves $20 worth of fruit and enjoyed strolling the isles without any crying whining or toddler talk then headed home and watched a movie, enjoyed our fruit and went to bed early. We got to sleep in Saturday, if you can call 7:00 AM sleeping in :) and it was so nice not to have to get up and tend to children or worry about breakfast and getting everyone dressed. We got ourselves big bowls of fruit for breakfast and hopped right back into bed to watch another movie. We did eventually get up and go walk the outlet mall and enjoyed lunch by ourselves then headed to my sisters house to pick up the kids (though to be honest we were not quite ready to do....hehe....is that terrible....I don't think so) I think it's very important for parents to get away ALONE once in a while and we RARELY do it!!! I do have to say that it was nice to see my babies though. We love having the house to ourselves MUCH MUCH better than going to a hotel!!!

 Thank you sis and thank you girls for watching our babies for us. You guys ROCK!!!! I'm pretty sure that they did not miss us a bit and they had a fantastic time.

 They got to play with play dough!!!Thanks sis for the pictures!!!

 Cupcakes...yum!!!

Horsie rides....it's no wonder they had such a great time....someone to play with every second of the day!!!

 Cutness!!

Awwww.....thanks again girls!!! And Steve I bet it was nice not to be the ONLY man in the house for a day ;) I feel for ya man!!!

 This is how happy they were to go home!!!A little tired tto, at least that's what I was telling myself  :p

We even got to go see Babcia and Dziadzia for a little bit and G'ma and G'pa which was super special we don't get to see them enough!!! 

 I was so excited to score this on Freecycle on Sunday and got to go pick it up get it washed up and put together. It is literally like brand new and FREE!!! The only thing that does not work is the mobile which I would probably not use anyway. She even gave me the matching blanket and the cute receiving blanket!!!

It also rocks or it can stay put....and it also can be used as a co-sleeper....I love it!!!

And in case you wore wondering it does fit two toddlers as well :)

We had a fabulous Valentines Day and to go with my New Years resolution I tried to make it super special. For breakfast I made the boys heart shaped banana and chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and fresh fruit!!

 For supper we had grilled chicken (a little taste of summer) baked sweet potatoes, home made dinner rolls, our favorite salad EVER (mandarin orange, apples, home made candied walnuts, carrots with poppy seed dressing...yum) and for dessert I made peanut butter (yum) chocolate covered bananas with sprinkles for the kids and for Neal and I cheesecake with a strawberry sauce.

 I think that even mac and cheese tastes batter with a pretty set table....I think I will make this a habit to make the table all pretty at least a few times a week.

I made the cute little heart shape silverware holders with Conners help. I wanted to write a little message for all 3 of my babies but ran out of time :( next year!!!

 The salad....it had grapes too :) and we had a sparkling juice too that was yummy!!

 Conner and I made this frame for Daddy a while back. He helped paint the letters and glue them. Though I just found out that he may not even have a desk at this new store since it's so temporary.

 While eating their dessert they got to open a little something.....nothing fancy I only spent a couple bucks I don't think it should be about gifts but it's always fun to open something.

Daddy did get a little spoiled....he got a wireless keyboard that he has wanted for what seems like AGES. 

And this was our dessert!!!

The kids got to play outside almost every day with daddy and I did manage to go out once with them. We managed to get SOMETHING productive done while Neal was home too. We got our garage all cleaned out and organized. We would like to get rid of our storage unit when it warms up and save a little money also possibly have a garage sale this spring to get rid of some junk.

Hard to believe that a lot of this snow is GONE today!!!

 Spring come on GET HERE SOON please!!!We are ready....more than ready....this little taste of warmer weather feels like a tease!!!

 LONG awaited pictures of the van....sorry no outside. We still love it even though it has given us SOME trouble.My favorite feature is still the power sliding doors and power trunk opener thing. SO awesome and whoever invented those two things 1. was a genius 2. was a stay at home mom or dad Those two little things have made my life SO much easier. I love it that I can push a button and the doors slide open the kids can climb in on their own I do not have to worry about banging doors into cars that are parked next to us and walking around doors and I can again push a button and they close same with the trunk by the time we get to the car the trunk is opened and I can load it up....AWESOME :)

 I miss using Stella (our GPS) but I am getting used to Bertha the built in GPS in the van :) though I hate the fact that you have to pull over in order to find a new destination or to look up restaurants or stores in the area. 

On Wed I had my Dr. appt. early in the morning and guess what in 2 weeks I may be getting my membranes scraped(that sounds terrible). I am so excited though it's not a for sure thing that it will work or that it will even happen but there is a SLIGHT possibility so keep your fingers crossed for me. This week with Neal being home it has not been good on my behind....ugghh. I am up 25 pounds now but hoping to do better now that Neal is going back to work. After my appointment we headed for our FREE night at the Country Springs.The kids had so much fun this time and we learned our lesson last time not to let them skip their nap....it was WAY more enjoyable for all of us this way. They are little fish and the perfect age for the water park now. 

 This place is the best....we love to stay there. Ethan absolutely hates it when the water bucket dumps and as soon as he hears the bell ringing he goes running away Conner does the opposite heads right for the water. When we first got there Ethan started to get in the water but right away he heard the bell and went running and grabbed onto this random older lady and held on so tight. I think he thought it was me but did not notice for a long time ant it was just hilarious when he did :)

 Waiting for Conner to come down the slide.

 This guy LOVES pizza :)))

 All I can say is AWWWWW.....sorry for the blue it was at night and all the lights are a hue of blue....pretty!!

 This is so cute....Conner traces EVERYTHING....from signs to pictures to numbers and letter. Ethan saw Conner tracing this warning sign so of course he had to do it too.

 Snacks and juice before bed.

 His eyes are more and more green every day!!!

Conner was addicted to this slide....he spent hours on it. I have to say that I was not as good about going on the tube slide with the kids this time. I did make it up the stairs 20 times or so over the course of the 2 days but it was HARD work. My swim suit did not cover as much either which just amazed me because it has only been a couple weeks since we were there. This baby is SO low I feel like he is going to just fall out sometimes....seriously!!!

I finally got my little camera out and got some batteries for it so I got a few little videos. Ethan was FINALLY brave enough to go down this slide all on his own without us holding his hand every time. It was nice because Neal and I could just sit on the edge and watch the kids play. 

I love this one!!!

Now our fabulous week with dad home is over :( so sad that it went by so fast. Tomorrow we are all back to reality. We did finish the week off with a BANG. While the kids were napping at the hotel Neal and I watched HGTV the show was called the worst cook in america or something like that and they made these crapes filled with with a mascarpone filling and topped with a cherry flambe....it looked so yuumy. I ran out when we came home to get the stuff to make it tonight. OHHH MY WORD....AMAZING......we ate it for supper but it really is a dessert. It was a bit pricey to make but ohhh so worth it!!! I will post the recipe soon on my cooking blog so stay tuned.

 We made a strawberry flambe instead of cherry. SO cool to see it light in a flame did not get a good picture tho.

SO rich and creamy and yummy....I could not eat more than one and I do not even want to know how many calories are in one....haha. I love cooking with Neal and wish we had a chance to do it more often. He is a MESSY cook though everything out everywhere and I always end up cleaning it all up but it's still fun.

Back to reality :(